Upcoming Dates

• Tuesday, May 7 - No School
• Tuesday, May 14 6:00 - 7:00 Y5/Kinder Spring Concert
• Wednesday, May 15 1:00 Dismissal, Early Release
• Monday, May 20 12:30 - 3:00 4th Grade Disability Awareness Workshop
• Tuesday, May 21 6:30 - 7:30 5th Grade Instrumental Concert
• Monday, May 26 - Memorial Day - No School
• Friday, May 31 5:30 - 7:30 Ice Cream Social
• Monday, June 10 Field Day
• Tuesday, June 11 6:00 - 7:00 5th Grade Promotion
• Thursday, June 13 Last Day of School - Half Day

AAPS STEAM & CTE Expo

Come Join Mrs. Kipp Dohm and Mrs. Chappell for the AAPS STEAM and CTE Expo on Tuesday, May 14th from 6:00-7:30 pm in the Skyline Commons!

What is STEAM?
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math

In AAPS, some of our STEAM offerings include engineering, computer science and biomedical, including all PLTW courses

What is CTE?
Career and Technology Education

In AAPS, our CTE programs are Automotive Technology, Business, Computer Science, Cosmetology, Culinary, Engineering, Health Science, and Homebuilding

What to Expect at the Expo:

Student work showcase Y5-12th Grades Hands-on, interactive STEAM Demonstrations, including our district robotics teams and CTE Programs, and Community Connections.

**See flier below for additional info.**

Building AAPS Connections, Community & Awareness - Seeking Campaign Advisory Committee Members

The Ann Arbor Public Schools is seeking advisory committee members to recommend, review and support a campaign to help build awareness, community and connections to retain and attract students to our schools.

The advisory group will consist of approximately 15 people who will support the AAPS Team in developing and implementing a campaign that will revitalize district enrollment. Anyone in the community is encouraged to apply, regardless of experience.

Marketing, public relations, graphic design and communication experience are a plus but not necessary. We are looking for current students, alumni, staff, parents/guardians and community members who are dedicated to the success of AAPS.

Click here to apply to the advisory group.

My Future Fund Account Update

Dicken is excited for our continued partnership with My Future Fund, a program for all 1st through 6th grade students in our district. The program provides $25- $500 in free money to jump start students’ savings for college and career training. Research has shown that having dedicated funds set aside for college or career training can increase the likelihood that students continue their education after high school. Families should be on the lookout for their students’ My Future Fund Account login information via email on May 7th. Eligible 2nd-6th grade students have FREE money in their accounts to jump start their savings for college and career training.

Here are answers to some FAQs:

• Every 2nd - 6th grade student, who was enrolled in our district as of the 2022 Fall Pupil Membership Count (Count Day) was eligible to receive a My Future Fund Account which includes a free $25 deposit. Some students will also receive an additional $475 deposit, which is allocated on a rolling basis to students’ accounts.

• 1st graders and new 2nd-6th graders will receive their account information at a future time.

• The program is run by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District in partnership with our district, and has been approved by our district’s Board of Education and Superintendent.

• To get all the benefits of the program, families should complete the My Future Fund Release of Information form. Families can complete the form online or print and send to the program via fax or mail.

• There are also translated materials available for families on the My Future Fund website.

• Acknowledge that this is a new program and the best way to learn more is to reach out directly to the My Future Fund Program:

• Visit: www.myfuturefund.org

• Email: myfuturefund@washtenawisd.org

• Call: 734-302-2626

The Dicken Talent Show

Our Annual Dicken Talent Show will be held on Wednesday, May 29th @ 1:30.

*We will not be having a second Talent Show date.*

Remaining Auditions:

5th Grade: Thursday, 5/9 in Room 112

The following are required for tryouts:

1. Act must be 90 seconds or less

2. Music (if needed) must be provided via jump drive or emailed to Ms. Brogno BEFORE the audition.

3. Music (if needed) must be kid appropriate.

4. All props must be present during audition.

5. Students may only participate in one act.

Any questions, please contact Ms. Brogno at brognoj@aaps.k12.mi.us

The Character Effect

This week, students learned about the character strength of "Appreciation of Beauty". We held our last Pods of the year today, and created beautiful pinwheels to help beautify our school grounds. Many thanks to the PTO for funding this project!

All the Best,

Heather

With many end-of-year field trips, and other opportunities to volunteer, we would like to remind all parents who want to volunteer to fill out the Parent Volunteer Form if you have not done so already this school year. Thank you for supporting our teachers and classrooms!

Happy Friday Dolphins,

Can you believe we have less than six weeks of school left? We have lots of fun events planned in the upcoming weeks and appreciate all the volunteers and community members who will help make these events happen!

Next year's PTO board will be voted on and approved at our May meeting. We still have many openings and would love to get more people involved in our board. We have board meetings on the third Thursday of the month over Zoom, and other time commitments vary by role. If you are interested in learning more about the PTO roles open for next year, please reach out.

Here are a few ways that the Dicken PTO has used the funds we've raised this year to help our school this week:

• The PTO approved a grant request from our 4th grade team to purchase cursive curriculum for next year's 4th graders!
• The PTO purchased healthy snacks for students and the staff lounge.
• May PODS were held this morning and the PTO bought supplies to make pinwheels and other colorful artwork!
  

If you have any questions about these initiatives or how you can be more involved in the Dicken PTO please do not hesitate to reach out!

Have a great weekend,

Hallie

—Hallie Jewell, Dicken PTO President

dickenptopresident@gmail.com

Want to connect with other parents and caregivers outside of school?

Click here for the Dicken Elementary Parents Facebook group.

Find information about events, meeting minutes, and more on the PTO website at www.dickenpto.com

All PTO Meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month from 7 - 8:30 pm via Zoom.

All Dicken community members are welcome to attend PTO meetings.

Click here for the Zoom link.

Thursday, May 16

Thursday, June 20

More Helpful Links:

Dicken Student and Staff Directory

Dicken PTO Google Calendar

AAPS School Calendar

We have the following openings for the 2024-2025 PTO board. If you are interested in one of these positions or learning more, please reach out to Hallie at dickenptopresident@gmail.com. All PTO Board members are expected to attend (via Zoom) our monthly PTO meetings on the 3rd Thursday of the month.

President-Elect (1 opening):

The PTO President is responsible for overseeing the work of the officers and committees of the PTO to promote community, fundraising and volunteerism. The PTO President also creates meeting agendas and facilitates PTO board meetings. This position will shadow the current President for one full year before taking over for the 25/26 and 26/27 school years.

PTO Treasurer-Elect (1 opening):

Responsible for the financial accounting aspects of PTO. This position will shadow the current Treasurer for one full year before taking over for the 25/26 and 26/27 school years.

Secretary (1 opening):

A great role for a new Dicken Parent or one who wants to learn about the PTO Board! This involves attending all PTO meetings and taking minutes during the meeting. You also create the Dicken Directory at the beginning of the school year.

Hospitality (2 openings):

This is a great position for you if you love planning, hosting and spreading joy for all Dolphins! You will also get to meet a lot of people and develop a deeper understanding of (and relationship with) the Dicken community. You can expect a lot of activity in September-October leading up to the Pumpkin Patch and April-May leading up to the Ice Cream Social. For these beloved events, you can just follow the playbook or add your own unique spin! And you'll be massively supported by volunteers on the "day of." Other ongoing responsibilities include: regularly stocking the teachers' lounge snacks and occasionally organizing catering for staff luncheons. Historically, this position has been co-chaired by two parents.

Fundraising Chair/Co-chair (1 or 2 openings):

The fundraising chairperson is responsible for helping the PTO board reach our fundraising goals for the annual budget. The Fundraising chair oversee the Read-a-thon (and assist the Dash chair) which are the two major fundraising efforts for the year. The fundraising chair is also responsible to facilitating smaller fundraisers throughout the year, like Community Nights Out.

Order NOW through Sunday May 5th.

Orders will be ready for pickup at Dicken School the week of May 20th.

National Teacher Appreciation Week is next week, May 6-10. We have some suggested themes for the week. You may have received more information from your room parents about specific things that your class is planning to do. Participate however you can! The goal is to share with our amazing teachers and support staff how much we appreciate them. The PTO will also be providing lunch and snacks in the teachers lounge all week.

Teacher Appreciation Week Themes

• Sunday - chalk around the school.
• Meet at Dicken at 6:30pm. Bring chalk if you have it.
• The weather is looking pretty good but we'll cancel if it's raining
• Monday - A garden of appreciation
• Make, draw, pick or buy a flower for your teacher (note: a few teachers are allergic to real flowers, see teacher favorites spreadsheet below)
• Here are some fun origami flower ideas
• Tuesday - No School
• Wednesday - Words of affirmation
• Write your teacher a note or email of appreciation (adults or students)
• Prompts for kids: How does your teacher make you feel? What is something you learned from your teacher this year? What is your favorite thing about your teacher?
• Here are some suggestions for things you can write if you get stuck.
• Draw a picture of you and your teacher together (students)
• Thursday - make-up or supplies day
• Did you forget something on one of the other days? Or couldn’t get to all of the other staff on your list? Bring in a flower or note.
• Are you super on top of everything and didn't forget? Bring in tissues, soap, hand sanitizer, or another supply your teacher has asked for.
• Friday: Gift cards or teacher favorites
• Gift cards to favorite stores or restaurants
• Other gifts inspired by their favorite things (e.g., something that’s their favorite color or animal)

One logistical note: if you bring things for non-classroom teachers, the PTO will be going around to classrooms to pick them up so just send everything with your child and we'll handle getting it where it needs to go.

Save the date for this year's Dicken Ice Cream Social!

Friday, May 31

5:30 - 7:30 pm

Watch this space for more details!

Meet up at Pretzel Bell outside of school hours to hang out with other grown ups in the Dicken community as the school year winds down. No RSVP required.

We will once again be hosting a wine pull at this event! If you'd like to donate, please purchase a $12-$20 bottle of wine and drop it off at either the Walker's house (1553 Covington Dr) or the Wright's house (1842 Harley Dr) by Friday, May 24th. At the event, attendees can pull a random bottle of wine for $10!

We have exciting news! Our Original Works Online Gallery will remain open through 5/11.

You can continue to place orders during this Late Order Phase of our program.

PLEASE NOTE:
Orders placed during this time period will arrive after the main order, no promised date.

Keep in mind, the products make great gifts for any time of the year!

Thanks so much for your support of our amazing art program!

How to order:

1. Visit the Original Works site.
2. Enter school code Dic
3. Search gallery using the teacher or title (provided on the order forms sent home in backpack mail: example: Dic012)
4. Order by clicking the image of the product you want to order.
5. Please note: you will need the 6-digit student code provided on the order form sent home in backpack mail.
6. All orders are processed and shipped to the school for distribution.

Seeds are sprouting!

Last Friday, some of our lower elementary students planted seeds at recess, and many of them are

sprouting! If you want to watch some grow at home, let Anne know and we can arrange a pickup.

There are marigolds, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers, celery. All they need is a sunny

window and a little water. This is a fun experiment, there is no pressure. We will plant the ones that

make it and buy more seedlings as needed.

Recess Gardening – volunteers needed

We want to give students a chance to get in the garden at least once a week during lunch recesses

from approximately 11:30 – 1:00. We need at least two volunteers to make this happen, one to stay

in the garden and one to take groups to and from school. The more volunteers we have, the more

students can participate. Interested students will sign up in the classroom, and teachers will do their best to make sure everyone gets a turn. If your student is interested, please be aware that they may get dirty on gardening days.

Volunteers are needed for recess gardening next week on Monday (5/6) or Wednesday (5/8) (maybe both) from 11:30 – 1:00.

What’s Growing On

Our strawberry bed was overtaken by weeds (and maybe a bunny nest?) so we are in the process of

transplanting them to raised beds. Three different types of peas were planted this past week, and we are ready to plant lettuce and other greens alongside them. There is a lot to do to get the rest of the garden ready for planting.

• Most beds still need weeding and turning and compost/peat moss before they will be ready for planting.

• Peas need trellises and fencing so they don’t get nibbled off before they get established.
• Strawberries need covers so the birds don’t steal them.
• Wood chips need to be moved into the garden paths, so grass can be planted in that area.
• Raspberries need to be pruned and weeded.
• “Pole Bean” house needs edging and weeding and more soil, we’re hoping to plant mini
• pumpkins in there this year!

Families are welcome to take on any garden tasks at any time. We have materials for all of these jobs, we just need hands!

Join After School Garden Club!

We’ll meet every Tuesday through the end of the year. Join anytime. Sign up here.

What’s App Gardeners?

If you are interested in helping in the garden or just want to stay informed, please join our What’s

App group. What’s App will be our primary communication for all things garden. But you can still contact Anne at amcerickson@gmail.com with questions/comments.

Location and Time: Monday, June 10, 2024; all day (rain or shine)!

Grades 1st, 2nd and 5th in the morning

Grades Y5s, K, 1st, 3rd and 4th in the afternoon

If you like to have fun outside, then this day is for you! We need a LOT of volunteers to make this a great day for the kids!

Click here to sign up to help with Field Day.

Support our Fundraiser - Dicken Elementary PTO

Buy Mabel's Labels waterproof, durable labels to help reduce classroom mix-ups and keep your items coming home!

Use code: BTS10 for 10% off your purchase

Search Dicken Elementary PTO (Ann Arbor) on the Mabel's Labels website for a portion of your purchase to go directly toward our school!