Our thanks to everyone who came to the used book sale and to those who have bid on items in the collectible book auction, benefiting a fund established in the memory of Burns Park parent Karen Thomas.

We sold more than $1,000 worth of books at the used book sale, and collected additional contributions. The Burns Park PTO and the AAPS Educational Foundation collaborated to organize this used book sale and online auction of collectible books from the collection of Karen and Andy Thomas. One thousand dollars of the proceeds of the book sale go to the PTO and are earmarked for the school library; proceeds beyond that went to the Karen Thomas Fund and were matched by a generous donor. All proceeds from the book auction, and any direct contributions to the Karen Thomas Fund made by 12/31/08, will also be matched up to a total of $25,000.

School Announcements:

Halloween Costume Donation Drive – Each year Burns Park families donate Halloween costumes which are given to students without costumes to wear in the all-school parade and to take home and wear that night to trick or treat. If you have a gently used costume (sizes from Youth XS to XL) that you would like to donate, please place it in the box labeled “Halloween Costume Drive” outside of the auditorium. Students in need of a costume will have an opportunity to select a costume from the box on Halloween day.

The Ann Arbor Public Schools has prepared draft policies regarding three important issues relating to elementary schools. These are:

• Attendance
• Acceleration (moving students up one or more grades)

• Retention (holding students back to repeat a grade)

Superintendent Todd Roberts has requested PTO Council to assist in soliciting comments from interested parents regarding these proposed policies (see attached PDF files). Copies of these proposed policies are also available from the school office. All parents are encouraged to review these proposed policies.

Please join us for a used book sale, and collectible book auction, to benefit a fund established in the memory of Burns Park parent Karen Thomas.

The Burns Park PTO and the AAPS Educational Foundation are working together to organize this used book sale and online auction of collectible books from the collection of Karen and Andy Thomas. The sale itself will take place at the Burns Park school Auditorium this Saturday, October 18, from 9 am to 1 pm.

In addition to the used books, thirty lots of first editions and other rare and collectible books will be on display during the book sale. These books are being auctioned on our PTO’s auction site (http://www.burnsparkpto.org/auction), and the auctions will remain open at least until midnight, October 31st.

All proceeds from the rare book auction will benefit the Karen Thomas Memorial Fund at the AAPSEF, which is dedicated to help fund literacy programs for at-risk children in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Proceeds from the used book sale will be shared between the Karen Thomas Fund and the Burns Park media center (library).

Please note that contributions to the Karen Thomas Memorial Fund made by the end of this year will be matched up to a total of $25,000. Here is how the Educational Foundation describes the fund:

The Karen Thomas Memorial Fund of the AAPSEF was established by her husband, Andy, in early 2008. The Fund honors Karen’s profound love of reading, and her belief that literacy is essential to a successful and fulfilling life. The Fund will sponsor literacy and academic retention programs for children at the elementary level with an emphasis on academically at risk students. Karen loved to read, and especially loved reading aloud to children. On just about any school morning, you could find her sitting on the bench outside the office at Burns Park Elementary, reading to her son Jonathan. She never missed an opportunity to volunteer as a reader during “March is Reading Month” — even while undergoing chemotherapy.

School Announcements:

Sally Foster Gift Wrap Sale – Deadline extended to Friday, October 17.  Burns Park will receive 55% of every order to support Golden Apple Grants and field trips.  Orders can be placed in the collection box in the office.  All checks should be made out to Burns Park School and please do not add tax to the orders.  Please remember to complete the order form in full, especially with the student’s name.  If you are ordering online, please enter the school’s account number 253593 so Burns Park gets credit for the order.

School Announcements:

Summer Learning Program Award Assemblies – Thank you to all the families who participated in the Summer Learning Program! We have 181 medals to award to students for completing 50% or more of their workbooks. The first and second grade assembly will be Friday, October 10 from 9:00 – 9:15 am; the third, fourth and fifth grade assembly will be Tuesday, October 7 from 3:15 – 3:30 pm. Both assemblies will be in the auditorium – parents are welcome to attend. Questions? Helen Starman (hstarman at comcast dot net or 994-8553).

Burns Park Used Book Sale & Silent Auction – Saturday, October 18 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. The sale will benefit the Burns Park Media Center and The Karen Thomas Memorial Fund (Karen’s son Jonathon is in 5th grade at Burns Park) which supports literacy programs for underprivileged students in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The silent auction will feature many rare and first edition books, please visit our website for more details about these books. We need your help with the following:

School Announcements:

Fall Festival – Come to the flag pole area this Wednesday, September 24th from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. for Fall Festival! Bring a blanket, a picnic dinner and a dessert to share! The 5th graders will be selling drinks to raise money for their end of the year graduation activities, and the Pioneer High School Jazz Band will provide entertainment! This is a fun Burns Park tradition, so be sure to join us!

We hope everyone had a great first week of school! The PTO Weekly Notes are sent out at the beginning of each week, and contain important information and announcements about our school and community. If you are a PTO committee member and want to announce something about your committee, or anyone that has something to share with the school community, please send it to Elizabeth DeRose at ederose (at) comcast (dot) net by Sunday at noon of each week. The following are the Weekly Notes for this week:

At the PTO’s general meeting on April 17th, we heard a presentation from the Citizens’ Millage Committee about the two school tax proposals on the May 6th ballot. In response to that presentation, the PTO members present agreed unanimously that the PTO should take a public position supporting the proposals. They also approved the following resolution by a unanimous vote:

1. There is no school on Friday, March 21.
2. Lunches with Love meets on Tuesday just after drop off in the cafeteria until 9:30.
3. Fresh, local, pasture raised, organic chicken eggs are available again this week. Please order by Wednesday, March 19 at 5 pm (hstarman@comcast.net) The eggs cost $4.95/dozen and Earth Shine Farm is donating 10% of sales to the PTO. We need to return the egg cartons – there will be a box outside the office where you can leave your cartons.