Dicken Family Newsletter
9.29.23
Principal's Corner
Upcoming Dates
Monday, October 2 - Picture Day
Monday, October 2 - New Dicken Community Engagement Event
Friday, October 6 - Dicken Dash
Friday, October 13 - Monday, October 16 - No School, Fall Break
Friday, October 27 - Pumpkin Patch
Tuesday, October 31 - 9:30 All School Halloween Parade
Tuesday, October 31 - 1:00 Early Release Day
Dicken Dash Spirit Week
Monday, 10/2 - Get those feet ready to run! It’s picture day, so start the week off with some fun socks today.
Tuesday, 10/3 - Calling your inner athlete! Dress up like an athlete today.
Wednesday, 10/4 - Show your team spirit! Wear your Dicken gear or your favorite sports team.
Thursday, 10/5 - Pajama Day! Rest up for the Dash by wearing pajamas to school.
Friday, 10/6 - Ready to Dash! Sport your Dash team shirt and get ready to run.
New Dicken Community Engagement
On October 2, the architects we are working with to design the new Dicken building (slated to open in the fall of 2027) will be on site to host a series of engagements events for our families, students and staff. The two opportunities for parents to engage with the architects regarding our new school design are:
- 9:00 - 10:00am - Room 103
- 5:30 - 6:30pm - Media Center
Hope to see you there!
The Character Effect
This week classrooms were introduced to the strength of "Hope". Below you can find a snapshot of the language we use with the children and a prompt you might discuss with your child(ren) at home.
Noon Hour Volunteers
We are still looking for parent volunteers to help at lunch. This can be once or twice a week. If you are interested, please fill out the Parent Volunteer Form and email our noon hour coordinator, Jean Kim: kimhy@aaps.k12.mi.us Thank you!
~~~
All the Best,
Heather
PS. See below for two events taking place in our community in the coming weeks!
Fall Family Day—Hands-On History: Ancient Technologies, Modern Discoveries
Join the Kelsey Museum of Archeology for our fall Family Day as we explore the theme of “Archaeology and Technology” in honor of International Archaeology Day!
PTO News
Message from the PTO President
September has flown by and the PTO has had a busy month. We have purchased new lunch carts for all of the classroom teachers, and helped the Garden Club get donations from Turner's Garden Center and Downtown Home and Garden to help with their efforts. We are also in the process of working on organizing many upcoming events for the month of October including: the Dicken Dash (next Friday in the afternoon), the first assembly (Monday, October 9) and the Pumpkin Patch (Friday, October 27) and another Community Night Out (stay tuned for details)
Speaking of the Dicken Dash, we are now in our one week countdown! I hope that students are having fun lacing up those shoes and are getting ready to run next week. It's such a wonderful community building event and I encourage everyone who can to come out and cheer on our Dolphins as they take to the field next week.
If you are available, please consider helping out on Dash Day, we still have many volunteering opportunities available on our sign-up genius. It takes a lot of help to put on this event, and we couldn’t do it without your help. Thanks!
Our fundraising efforts are going great. We are 46% of the way to reaching our fundraising goal for the Dash with 10 fundraising days to go!
As of Friday morning, we have raised $13,691 of our $30,000 goal and have 33% community participation! The current fundraising leaders are Mrs. Posey's 2nd grade class with 60% participation and Ms. Brogno's class with $2,092 raised! Keep up the great work Dolphins!
Happy Friday,
—Hallie Jewell, Dicken PTO President
ps. There is a missing Razor scooter from front bike rack - pink with broken handles. If anyone finds it, please return it to the office.
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.
Thursday, October 19
Thursday, November 16
Thursday, December 21
Thursday, January 18
Thursday, February 15
Thursday, March 21
Thursday, April 18
Thursday, May 16
Thursday, June 20
To see all Dicken school & PTO events in one place, click here for our PTO Google Calendar.
Another helpful link: the AAPS School Calendar.
Please Add Your Contact Info to the Dicken Directory!
Garden Happenings
Here’s what we have been up to in the Dicken Garden!
Dicken Farmers Market
Tuesday, October 3
Afterschool (3:45-5:30)
The Dicken Garden Club will be holding its first-ever farmers market next week! There will be one-of-a-kind decorated mini pumpkins, more mini pumpkins to decorate at home, gourds, and fall flowers. Funds raised will be reinvested in our garden.
Look for our stand outside the garden! While you shop, please use street parking or the Carol Drive lot to keep the driveline running smoothly.
Tulip Bulb Drive
The garden club is looking for tulip bulb donations! There will be buckets outside the garden and
near the front entrance. Our goal is to plant 150 tulip bulbs this fall and have a tulip sale in the
spring!
Join the Garden Club! Sign up here.
Want to help? We are always looking for parent volunteers to supervise recess gardening (Fridays),
class visits and after school garden club. Contact Anne Erickson amcerickson@gmail.com.
Help us Reduce Lunch Waste!
We are still seeking parent volunteers for our push to reduce waste at lunch. If you’re interested in learning more or available to help with these efforts during noon hour, please reach out Abby Rosenbaum - abbylynnrose1980@gmail.com or (734) 846-2852.
Dicken Pumpkin Patch
🎃 🎃 🎃 Save the Date! 🎃 🎃 🎃
This year's Dicken Pumpkin Patch will take place on Friday, October 27. Get ready for outdoor fall fun and maybe even a return of the haunted house of years past??
Stay tuned for more info - and a call-out for volunteers! 😉
Friday, Oct 27, 2023, 05:00 PM
Dicken Elementary School, Runnymede Boulevard, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Dicken Dash - Donations Under Way and Volunteers Needed!
You should have received an email last week with details on the October 6, 2023 Dicken Dash, our largest fundraiser of the year. Please consider volunteering your time (there are many easy roles to help with your child's class) on Dash Day and helping your student to collect donations on their pledge page with 99pledges.
Call for Volunteers. A great way to see the whole event is to volunteer on Dash Day. You’ll be in the thick of the action and see everything, including your Dashers running. If you are available, please consider completing this sign-up genius for one of the volunteer positions. It takes a lot of help to put on this event, and we couldn’t do it without your help. Thanks!
Donations on 99pledges. We have an interactive web platform for students to track their pledges and donations, you can find your student’s donation page at the main school page here. A $75 minimum goal per Dasher is suggested but is by no means required. In the past, many students have sent emails and videos to family and friends showing them training or just talking about their favorite things about school and asking for support in their Dash fundraising efforts.
Last but not least, a huge thank you to to the business that have generously agreed to sponsor the 2023 Dicken Dash:
Champion Sponsors
Ann Arbor Remodeling
Blossom Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics
Green Tree Pediatric
Spirit Sponsors
Carlisle/Wortman Associates
Goethel Engelhardt PLLC
McNamara Orthodontics
Midwest Graphics
Unwind Salon
Race Day Sponsors
Bank of Ann Arbor
Beltone Hearing
Christina Kim, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Investment
Domino’s
Guardian Tree Experts
Joy Dance Company
Main Street Optometry
Rise Wellness Collaborative
SBK Orthodontics
Dolphin Sponsors
Abby Rose Photo
Ann Arbor T-Shirt Company
Betsy Stover Realty
JHem Salon
Play It Again Sports
StudioStudio
Thriving Minds Behavioral Health
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!