Hello Penguin Families,
Happy last week before Winter Break! Our first hybrid PTO Meeting was a bit rocky, but it was wonderful getting to see some of you in person. It’ll only get better from here. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 14 at 7 p.m.
PTO MEETING FOLLOW UP
Thanks for everyone’s patience during our technology issues. A special thank you to AAPS Special Education Assistant Director Kim Cieszynski for leading the discussion on the differences between IEPs and 504 Plans. We were unable to record it, but notes on the talk and a link to her presentation are in the meeting notes here. Please send any questions to cieszynskik@aaps.k12.mi.us.
We’re still looking for anyone interested in coming up with a plan to have childcare at future hybrid meetings. If you’re interested, contact us at info@bpepto.org.
TEACHER/STAFF GIFTING
This month we will be using GiftCrowd to send holiday wishes and gifts to Burns Park Elementary teachers and staff. GiftCrowd is an easy, FREE, and virtual way for families to gift this year. The deadline for joining gifts is Friday, December 20 at noon.
You can select as many individuals as you would like from the list of teachers and staff, enter your amounts and payment info, and add optional personalized greetings. A video with instructions is available here.
On December 20 at noon, every gift recipient will receive an email indicating the total gift amount they received together with personal greetings from all the contributors. Each teacher and staff member will then be able to use their gift amount to select cards from hundreds of brands, including Amazon, Etsy, Sephora, Target, Nike, Visa and many other stores, travel, restaurants and entertainment brands.
We believe this process will be more inclusive, since the emails of every teacher and staff member are included. It takes the onus off of Room Parents to collect money and determine how to split it. Families can still gift personal items to teachers and staff if they so choose.
Start gifting by clicking here.
IMMEDIATE VOLUNTEER NEEDS
The Burns Park Community is only made stronger by it’s volunteers and we have some immediate needs:
Willy Wonka (3rd Grade Play) - Our wonderful Theater Teacher Ms. Kelmigian is assembling a team of adults to help with costumes, sets, and props. No experience is necessary. For some of these items, we’ll need some crafting and for others it will be to find the item through donation or to purchase through our show budget. Those interested should email kelmigianj@aaps.k12.mi.us.
Fifth Grade Capstone - We need help planning the last week of school activities for our fifth graders. Help make sure our kids get a memorable and fun filled send off from Burns Park Elementary. We will split up the tasks among the volunteer group with a goal of making it very manageable for everyone. If you can find a few minutes to help out, please reach out to Ellen Delonis at ellendelonis@mac.com for more info.
Library Morning Helpers - Rachel Erdstein, our building library/media specialist, is collecting all due library materials first thing in the morning. We need a core group of 4-5 volunteers to regularly check-in and shelve materials just after drop off from 8:45-9:15 am. If you are available and willing to help sign up here.
LOST & FOUND LAST CALL
This week is your LAST CHANCE to reclaim your missing items from the Lost & Found. Photos are available here. Unclaimed items will be donated by Friday, December 20! Lost items are available weekdays from 8:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m in the hallway between the library and the gym.
CALL FOR YEARBOOK PHOTOS
It is time to start putting together some of our favorite memories to the Burns Park Yearbook and we need your help to make it AWESOME! Please share any photos you may have of your Penguins in action during Burns Park activities using this link.
To upload photos: click on the down arrow to find your child’s grade folder. No identifiers are needed, but please tag your photos with the classroom’s “Teacher name – event.” For example: “Hane – Lansing Field trip.” Please do not include Rec & Ed sport photos.
Here are just some of the activities we'd love to capture in the yearbook:
Lunch/Recess
Parties
Field Trips
Classroom Hijinks
Buddies
Garden Time
Specials
Have questions? Contact us at yearbook@bpepto.org.
Your Burns Park PTO,
Kory Zhao, President
Michelle Ding, President-Elect
