Dicken Family Newsletter
4.12.24
Principal's Corner
Dear Families,
Thank you to all who were able to come out to join us for the Total Solar Eclipse on Monday! It was lovely to gather together as a community for this special celestial event.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to show support for our staff during the current budget challenges. Below you will find upcoming dates for the community sessions next week. This information is also included in the AAPS Weekly Update. More information can be found here as well. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out. We encourage families to share input at these community events.
Upcoming Dates
Monday, April 13 - After School Running Club begins!
Monday, April 15 6:30 AAPS Virtual Town Hall
Tuesday, April 16 6:30 AAPS Community Meeting @ Huron High School
Thursday, April 18 6:30 AAPS Community Meeting @ Skyline High School
Saturday, April 20 8:00am - 9:00pm Science Olympiad (WESO) @ Pioneer High School
Friday, April 26, 3:48 - 4:45 WESO End of Season Pizza Party - Dicken MPR
Thursday, May 2 12:45 - 2:45 - 5th Grade Transition Day - Slauson
- Tuesday, May 14 6:00 - 7:00 Y5/Kinder Spring Concert
- Monday, May 20 12:30 - 3:00 4th Grade Disability Awareness Workshop
- Tuesday, May 21 6:30 - 7:30 5th Grade Instrumental Concert
Student Lighthouse Team - Love Drive for the Humane Society
1st and 2nd Grades member of our Student Lighthouse Team are sponsoring a Love Drive for the Humane Society of Huron Valley!
When: Tuesday, 4/9 – Friday, 4/19
Action Requested: Please consider sending in the following donations during the drive:
- Gently used or new bath towels (The bigger, the better! Washcloths okay, but please, no hand towels.)
- Small blankets and pet beds that can be laundered in a normal washing machine
- Pet food in the original bag/can up to 3 months after the expiration date
- Scoopable cat litter
- Canned dog food (They love the Pedigree yellow cans with ground meat!)
- Waterless pet shampoo, Alcohol (must be 70% CLEAR alcohol – no scent)
- Liquid Vick’s Solution (for steam vaporizers)
- Yards of fleece for animal projects
- Ziploc bags – both gallon and quart sizes
We will also be sponsoring a Dog Wash this Spring in the Dicken neighborhood! Date and location TBD!
The Character Effect
This week, students learned about the character strength of "Perspective". See below for a family prompt!
All the Best,
Heather
PTO News
Message from the PTO President
Happy Friday Dolphins,
In light of last night's AAPS board meeting, we want to make sure we provide extra love and support to our amazing Dicken teachers and staff. Staff appreciation week is coming up the first week of May, so be on the lookout soon for an email from your classroom room parent with more details.
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 remaining 5 of the 20 Schuler's gift cards were delivered to students on Tuesday who were lucky winners from the March is Reading month BINGO and art activities. Congrats to all the winners & thanks to all the students who participated!
To show support for our amazing Dicken teachers and staff, the PTO provided four dozen donuts from Washtenaw Dairy Thursday morning. Ahead of last night's AAPS School Board Meeting where the board voted to authorize layoffs in response to the budget shortfall, we want the Dicken teachers and staff to know that the Dicken community supports and appreciates all of them and everything that they do for our Dolphins!
The PTO is also recruiting for next year's board. If you are interested in learning about the open positions, please reach out to me or other current board members to find out more about these roles.
Our openings for next school year include:
- President-elect (PTO President for the '25-26 and '26-27 school years)
- Treasurer-elect (PTO treasurer for the 25-26 and 26-27 school years)
- Fundraising chairs
- Hospitality chairs
- Enrichment chairs
- Secretary
If you have any questions about these initiatives or have ideas for other funding opportunities please do not hesitate to reach out!
Hallie
—Hallie Jewell, Dicken PTO President
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
Upcoming PTO Meeting Dates
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, April 18
Thursday, May 16
Thursday, June 20
More Helpful Links:
Dicken's USED BOOK FESTIVAL: A Festive Success!
The donations were generous!! Each Dolphin got one free book, and Ms. McHale and the teachers had the opportunity to shop free for their classrooms and the library in addition to the community support that made almost a 1/3 of our total sales. Adult books have already been donated to AADL and leftover kids books are being held for final decision regarding circulation.
My rough estimate is over 3000 books left in new hands to make new stories. The sale made $777.25 (a lot of quarters!!) After we covered our operating costs (we had to rent the space from AAPS on Saturday), each grade teacher will receive a $35 gift card to Schulers.
Save the Date: Dicken Ice Cream Social
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!
Dicken Garden News
Seed Starters Wanted!
We are looking for student volunteers to start seeds at home for transplant into Dicken Garden. You will be provided with seeds, soil, container, and instructions. Starting our own seeds allows us to push back our harvest date closer to when school starts in the fall. We’ll be starting peppers, tomatoes, celery, broccoli, brussels sprouts, eggplant. Almost everything else will be sown directly in the garden in May or June.
Recess Gardening starting soon (rained out this week)
There is a lot we can do to prepare for planting. We need to pull weeds, add soil, and make fence panels for beds (to keep the critters out). And there are some cool weather crops we can plant for a spring harvest! Recess gardening is during lunch recess, usually on Fridays. Parents, let me know if you can help supervise.
Contact Anne at amcerickson@gmail.com if you’d like to help!
Dicken Running Club - Spring 2024
We’re kicking off Spring Running Club on Monday, April 15. If you’re a seasoned running club veteran or a never-run-before newbie, we’d love to have you join us for another season of fun. Running Club meets from 4pm to 5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays through June 3rd. We wrap up the season with a fun 4k race on June 5th.
Sign up on our form to participate!
Our Original Works Gallery is Live!
Our Original Works gallery is live! Original Works is our annual fundraiser that turns your child's art into high quality products such as cups, grocery bags, ceramic tiles, t-shirts, wall art, key chains, pendants, and other office and home accessories.
Orders are due on Wednesday, April 17th.
How to order:
- Visit the Original Works site.
- Enter school code Dic
- Search gallery using the teacher or title (provided on the order forms sent home in backpack mail: example: Dic012)
- Order by clicking the image of the product you want to order.
- Please note: you will need the 6-digit student code provided on the order form sent homd in backpack mail.
- All orders are processed and shipped to the school for distribution.
Final Wrap Up to March is Reading Month
There were so many beautifully drawn book covers and completed bingo sheets when we returned from spring break! The remaining 5 gift card drawing was completed. Recipients are listed below. The gift cards are in the office for pick-up. Thank you!
Kiara W
Isla P.
Ly’Liah S
Mudaser F.
Clara H.
Mabel's Labels Fundraiser!
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!