School Announcements:

January PTO meeting – The January PTO meeting will be this Thursday, Jan. 15th. Our meeting will be preceded by a special presentation about our Bucketfillers program, starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium. The PTO meeting will follow immediately afterward. As always, fun & free childcare will be provided in the Gym. We hope you can join us!

Lunchtime Choices – Our Lunchtime Choices program begins this week, and will run until the Mid-Winter break. Students who signed up to participate will go to their elected activity once per week during lunch recess. Thanks so much to all of the parent volunteers who are helping to make these activities possible. And an extra special thanks to Coach Pedro of the Michigan Tigers soccer club, who donated all of the balls for Futsal, which is being led by Bob Schoeni. With the weather forecast calling for temperatures below 10 degrees this week, these activities will be appreciated even more!

Volunteers Needed – We are looking for two volunteers to help during Community Circles this Wednesday, Jan. 14th, from 8:55 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.. The groups will be doing an activity to help highlight Martin Luther King day and the historic event of the election of our first African American President. Volunteers will take pictures of the students (cameras will be provided) which will then be displayed at our upcoming NAAPID day in February. If you are able to help, please contact Elizabeth DeRose at ederose at comcast dot net.

Burns Park Foreign Language Initiative – The Burns Park Foreign Language Initiative is getting closer to our goal of funding in-school Spanish instruction in grades 1, 2, 4 & 5 for the 2009-2010 school year! Please let us know that you support this valuable educational program by making a contribution or pledge to be paid by September 2009 (BPFLI is a 501c3 non-profit corporation so all contributions are tax deductible to the extent of the law). The per pupil cost of the program is $120, but any amount that you can contribute will help!!!!!!! As a reminder, we fundraise now to provide job security for our teacher and to allow planning time for curriculum and program needs. You can visit our website http://www.bpfli.org to make an online pledge, print out a contribution form, or use a credit card. We are happy to answer any questions. Thank you for your support!

Burns Park Disability Workshop – Burns Park Fourth Grade Disability Workshop still needs two or three more volunteers! Don’t miss your chance to participate in this experience. All Burns Park fourth graders will be participating in the workshop. In the morning, they will rotate in small groups through a series of “hands on” stations that allow them to experience the challenges of physical, visual, auditory, speech and learning disabilities; in the afternoon, they will meet as a large group with adult presenters who will talk about their own disabilities. There are two opportunities to volunteer, please let me know if you are available for either or both:

• Set-up: Thursday, January 22nd (after the 4th grade concert ~ 8:15 pm)

• Workshops: Friday, January 23rd (8:45 am – 12:00 pm)

Thanks, Helen Starman (hstarman at comcast dot net)

Blood Drive – You will be treated like royalty at Sandy Kreger’s class blood drive! Thursday Feb. 5th 2008, anytime between 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm in the Burns Park Auditorium and Gym. You can expect: A hand written thank you note, a goody bag with local coupons and treats, home made yummy baked goods, a personal chaperon, and live entertainment! To sign up, go to http://www.givelife.org and type in “bpe” in the source code box, for Burns Park Elementary. Fill out a profile and pick your time! Questions? E mail Sandy at kreger at aaps.k12.mi.us

Special Interest Fair – Mark your calendars! The Special Interest Fair is Tuesday, March 24, 2009. For those of you not familiar with the fair, it is similar to a science fair, but almost anything goes. The purpose of the fair is to encourage students to pursue a topic of their interest and provide a showcase for their efforts. This year, we are encouraging students to make projects that relate to our multicultural focus on Treasures and Wonders of the Arab World (Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Syria). Look for more information after the new year. Questions? Contact fair co-chairs Carol Durgy (carole at durgey dot com) or Jenny Jalet (sutton at umich dot edu).

Science Olympiad – The Burns Park Science Olympiad Team will be forming in two weeks. Has your child ever wondered what sinks and what floats? Or how to name each bone in the human body? Or what it takes to make the fastest rubber-band-powered toy boat? Then Science Olympiad is for them!!

The 2009 Burns Park Science Olympiad (BPSO) Team will begin sign-ups for children the week of January 20th, with practices beginning in February. Practices for many events will be Sunday afternoons, like last year, while some events will have practices at other times during the week. The Burns Park Science Olympiad event will be tentatively held the week of March 23rd during regular team practices, with the major event Sunday, March 29th, during the team practice.

The Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO) is Saturday, May 16th, 2009 at Skyline High School. Second and third graders compete in the morning. Fourth and fifth graders may compete morning or afternoon.

We continue to need a Burns Park volunteer to become an Event Supervisor for WESO. Event Supervisors run an event at WESO, and communicate to coaches what to teach kids in order to compete in that event successfully. If you are interested in helping WESO offer as many events as in the past, please call me! Sue Cutler, BPSO Head Coach, (734) 995-5399

Community Announcements:

Adventurer Greg Mortenson Discusses His Book ‘Three Cups Of Tea: One Man’s Mission To Promote Peace… One School At A Time’
Saturday January 24, 2009: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm — Huron High School
2727 Fuller Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Humanitarian and adventurer Greg Mortenson will make a special appearance at Huron High School Auditorium as part of the nation-wide tour for the new Youth and Teen versions of his book, “Three Cups Of Tea: One Man’s Mission To Promote Peace… One School At A Time.” Greg is the co-founder of the nonprofit organizations Central Asia Institute and Pennies for Peace, as well as co-author of the New York Times bestseller “Three Cups of Tea.” This event includes a book signing, with books for sale courtesy of Nicola’s Books. There is no charge for admission and tickets are not required.

Stumbling, lost and delirious, into a remote Himalayan village in Pakistan after a failed climb up K2, Greg Mortensen’s life was saved by the villagers. He vowed to return and build them a school. Over the next 15 years, Greg established more than 78 schools in rural, often volatile, areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The schools provide education to more than 28,000 children, including 18,000 girls, where few educational opportunities existed before. He has endured death threats, a kidnapping, and more to dedicate his life to building literacy and peace, one child at a time. (Notice copied from aadl.org website events list)

Support Girl Scouts – Alison Schulte (4th grade, Ms. Spiegel’s class) is collecting and recycling empty juice pouches as part of a Girl Scout service project. She has put a collection bin in the cafeteria. Please encourage your child to toss their juice pouch in this bin after lunch instead of into the trash. Thanks for supporting Girl Scouts! Questions can be directed to Krista Schulte (pschult1 at comcast dot net) or Sharon Boyd (skb63 at earthlink dot net).

Pennies for Darfur – Thanks so much to everyone who donated pennies! So far, we have nearly 20,000 pennies! We will continue until we reach our goal of 400,000 so let me know if you still have pennies you’d like to donate. Gayle Rosen, and the Tappan Middle School Enough! Club (sugrosen at comcast dot net)