Weekly Family Newsletter

Burns Park Elementary

August 28, 2022

Welcome to the 2022-23 School Year!

It is FINALLY here! The 2022-2023 school year! We were overjoyed to see so many of our families and students during Popsicles at Glencoe Hills and Burns Park. It always feels uplifting, especially after two very challenging years for everyone, starting the school year off with strong collaboration, new/old friendships and feeling the love of this wonderful community.

We could not ask for a better community to serve. Leslee and I have felt the support and strong partnership already and could not be more appreciative. We know this year is going to be filled with wonderful opportunities and memories.

Below is important information about the first day of school: arrival/dismissal, lunch, teacher communication, etc. This information is meant for you and your student to feel prepared for the first day and week of school.

We look forward to seeing you all at school tomorrow!

Principals Bullock & Miller

Drop-Off/Pick-Up

Be Early, Attentive and Efficient!

The first few days of drop off and pick up at Burns Park can be overwhelming, especially for families that are new. We are asking for your help to make this process as smooth as possible.

Please be patient, kind and use these tips:

Arrive early (8:25 for breakfast/8:35-8:40 for arrival) to avoid traffic
Pull as far forward as you can so cars behind you can pick up and drop off, too.
Parents should not get out of their cars. We want to be as efficient as possible with helping students exit/enter the vehicle.

REMINDER: The parking lot is ONLY for pick up/drop off. FAMILIES SHOULD NOT PARK IN THE PARKING LOT. We need ALL of these spaces for our wonderful staff - when they don't have a place to park, it creates a critical issue. If you would like to walk with your student to their line up zone or wait for them on the playground after school, you must park on one of the neighborhood streets that allow parking and walk to Burns Park. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

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Breakfast/Lunch/Snacks

School meals will no longer be provided free of charge for all as they were in the 2021-2022 school year. Families will need to fill out free & reduced lunch forms to qualify: 2022-2023 Free & Reduced Lunch Application. Please note that families are responsible for the cost until the application is approved. If you need help, please refer to this document. Paper copies will be available in the main office once the school year begins.

For more information about this change and to learn how to load funds onto your child's account, please click here. You will receive your child’s ID number on Monday via their backpack. You may set up your meal magic account with that information.

Please have a conversation with your child if you would like them getting food from school or not. Families are responsible for the cost of food.

Breakfast Distribution: 8:25 - 8:45 (Cafeteria)

Lunch Times:

Y5/K: 11:57-12:45

1st: 11:27-12:15

2nd:11:25-12:13

3rd: 11:32 - 12:20

4th: 11:30 - 12:18

5th: 12:02 - 12:50

Snacks: Please pack fruits or vegetables for snack time. Classroom teachers will share details about snack time in their classroom.

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Family Involvement Opportunities - Noon Hour

At Burns Park, we offer many opportunities for families to become active within our community. We invite all families to find ways to be a part of their student's school experience that works best for their needs.

We are in great need of additional support during lunch and recess time. If you are available only a few days a week, please consider volunteering in our lunch room. If interested, please use this sign up link.

If you are able to commit to 5 days a week for the entire school year, you might consider applying for a noon hour supervisor position at our school. A typical work day will run from 11:00 AM -1:00 PM.

If you are interested in being a Noon Hour Supervisor, please:

1. Email Mrs. Bullock, jonesl@aaps.k12.mi.us and

2. C omplete the AAPS Noon Hour Application as soon as possible. The job ID # is 11658 – Noon/Lunch Hour Supervisor

Please be on the look out for more volunteer opportunities in future communications. We appreciate your support!

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School Supplies

The only school supplies your student needs are a backpack and water bottle. All other school supplies will be distributed by classroom teachers. We recommend that every family sends the following items to school with the children.

Their school issued device (iPad or Chromebook): Chargers do not need to be sent to school, but families should make sure the device is charged each night. Devices will likely be distributed the second week of school.
Water bottle
Masks (optional, see below)
Lunch (if bringing from home)

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Teacher Communication

Teachers have been working hard to get welcome letters out to families. Please check your email and thoroughly read through your student's welcome letter. It contains important information about your student's teacher and their classroom. Our teachers work really hard to ensure all families have access to classroom information. Please check your email and student's backpack daily.

Student ID information will be sent home this week in your child's backpack. This is used for technology login and breakfast/lunch. Please be on the lookout for that information.

Attendance communication MUST go through the main office, not your student's teacher. Of course, you can include your student's teacher on any communication regarding attendance, but they are not responsible for making sure the message gets to the main office or to your student. If your child will be absent or tardy from school, email bur_attendance@aaps.k12.mi.us or call 734-994-1919.

As a friendly reminder, teachers are an important component to the arrival/dismissal procedure. This time is not ideal for trying to "catch a teacher" for a conversation/meeting. Please be respectful to our teachers' schedules and time. If you need to meet with a teacher, please reach out to them via communication methods listed in their welcome letter to schedule a time.

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Specials

Your child’s classroom teacher will communicate the weekly plan for your child’s “specials” classes. Every day your child will have at least one special class, e.g. physical education, art, music, and library. (Students in grades 4-5 have Spanish instruction twice/week.)

Please be sure your child has gym shoes for PE/Gym days!

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School Safety + Visitors

We welcome families and hope you can be a part of school activities!

We will continue to put safety as our top priority. All visitors must proceed to the office upon arrival and share a valid driver’s license or state ID. The ID will be scanned into our Raptor Visitor System. Name tags (badges) must be worn at all times while on school grounds.

Once your visit is over, please come back to the office to check out.

As we return to normal practices, your classroom teachers will reach out with opportunities for parents to support in the classroom as necessary. Teachers will work with parents to schedule these opportunities prior to visits during the school day.

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Health Plans & Medications

Please reach out with any changes in your student’s health condition to our School Nurse, Meghan Stelzer (stelzerm@a2schools.org) We need current information on health conditions for your child such as food allergies, seizure management, diabetes, asthma, or any other condition that requires school intervention for care. This must be in place in order for us to provide care for your child’s needs.

If your child requires medications at school, reach out to your child’s health care provider to obtain the necessary medication forms or use the AAPS Medication Form. When medication is dropped off at school by a parent (ONLY), medications must be in the original packaging. Click HERE for the AAPS Nurses’ Corner.

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AAPS Masking Policy

Fall 2022 Guidance on masking in AAPS schools:

As of today, August 28, Washtenaw County is in the CDC HIGH/RED Community Level. Link to CDC Community Level page here.

Masks are strongly recommended indoors when CDC Community Level is ‘HIGH’- RED
Masks are encouraged indoors when CDC Community Level is ‘MEDIUM’ - Yellow
Masks are welcomed indoors when CDC Community Level is ‘LOW’ - Green

Beginning August 29th, the decision for when to mask will be made by the individual/family, except in specific circumstances.

Families will be encouraged to discuss with their children their own best approach to masking at school based on their circumstances. Individuals at higher risk for severe illness should consult with their health care provider about masking. Anyone with concerns should wear a well-fitting mask; masking will always be supported and affirmed in our Ann Arbor Public Schools.

For more detailed information about the AAPS Fall 2022 COVID and Health Guidance, please click here.

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From Your PTO

Welcome back to Burns Park Elementary!

We hope that everyone was able to attend our Popsicles in the Park event last week. Our PTO is gearing up for the beginning of the school year. The Burns Park Elementary PTO works to build our school community by supporting students and teachers with enrichment and fun activities like field trips, special events (like Popsicles in the Park) and family activities. Every parent and guardian of a BPE student is a member of the PTO - and there are lots of ways to be involved, whatever your schedule or interests!

Everyone is invited to learn more about the PTO by attending the first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 14th at 7:00pm on ZOOM.

Another great way to learn more about our PTO is to visit our website at www.bpepto.org where you can learn more about who we are and what we do. On our website, be sure to join our directory, which is ‘opt-in,” meaning you need to create an account in order to be listed in the directory. You can choose what information is shared publicly, and then search for other families shared info by grade, class, or name.

Again, welcome - or welcome back - to Burns Park Elementary!

Your Burns Park PTO

Al Masias, President

info@bpepto.org