Dear Burns Park Families,

This past Wednesday, the Board of Education approved plans to offer an in-school hybrid option starting with Stage One on March 25th. The decision follows a new partnership with Michigan Medicine and IHA to provide vaccinations for K-12 staff in Washtenaw County as well as antigen testing for AAPS staff and students. Registrations are being shared today to families in Pre-K, elementary school and self-contained classrooms to be completed by March 8th. Please check your spam folder for the email from A2Schools@aaps.k12.mi.us  if you have not seen the registration. A transportation survey will also be shared for eligible students. Registration for middle school and high school students will be available in the coming weeks.

I am very excited to begin discussion with you regarding our hybrid option for Burns Park Elementary School.  I will be hosting a Zoom webinar meeting to present details of this option at 6:30 PM, this coming Monday, March 1^st, at the following Zoom address.

https://a2schools.zoom.us/j/92935187902

The webinar will be recorded and made available to you in case this time does not work for your schedule. During this meeting I will be describing the plan that is being developed for the hybrid option. There will be an opportunity for some Q and A although plans are ongoing and I may not have answers at this time to questions about specific details.

All Kindergarten students will start a PLTW Science unit on March 1st, where they will study pushes and pulls! As part of this unit, the PLTW department is providing every kindergarten student with 10 plastic cups, 2 small balls and a bag of dominoes. You may stop by Burns Park on Tuesday, March 2nd from 3-4:30 and Wednesday, March 3rd from 9:00am - 5: 00pm to pick up a supply bag. Bags will be on the table located near the parking lot entrance.  Please let me know if you are unable to pick up these materials and I will find a way to get them to you.

Here is the list of supplies your students will need for Ms. Becker’s art classes this week

Y5-2: Construction paper, scissors, glue, crayons

3/4: Paper, pencil, ruler, coloring supplies (watercolors optional)

5: Paper, pencil, coloring supplies, black marker

Mr. Leonard wants to give your students a heads up for P.E. class this week. He’s asking students to gather the following to be ready for upcoming lessons.

Y5-2nd Grade Supplies: Striking with a paddle or racket

-  One  ball to hit.  This could be a sock ball, paper ball, balloon, plastic bag ball, plastic ball, small stuffed animal, bouncy ball, ping pong ball, etc.

-  One paddle or racket.  This could be a spoon, spatula, shoe, hat, or homemade paddle (paper plate taped to a paper towel roll)

-  Six items that you can use as targets to knock over.

3rd-5th Grade Supplies:  Disc Golf

-  One item that you can throw like a frisbee.  This could be a hat, paper plate or two paper plates taped together.

-  One laundry basket, box or bin to throw your frisbee into.

It has been one year since our March is Reading Month celebrations were interrupted by the Covid 19 quarantine! Here is the March is Reading Month 2021 calendar link and a pdf version for MIRM activities in our current and virtual environment.

tinyurl.com/AAPSMIRM2021 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rPYhVYXaYj3oCRCdznjChIaY_0H5uD5L/view?usp=sharing

The Ann Arbor Public Schools will distribute food Monday, March 1st and Thursday, March 4th at the regular locations and times. Food distribution will shift to one day a week on Wednesdays only starting March 10th. The Wednesday distributions will provide food for seven days: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Two new afternoon distribution locations will start at Carpenter and Scio Farms on March 10th. Full details on the food distribution program, including distribution times and locations, are available here.

Another round of EBT payments will be mailed home to eligible Free and Reduced Lunch families beginning the end of March from the State of Michigan. If your home address has changed recently, you must update it with your student’s school. For more information, including how to update your address, learn more here: EBT Card Information.

The Rotary Fights Child Hunger fund drive is an annual spring food and fund drive to support meals for children and families that experience food insecurity. This year, the drive will primarily be collecting funds to support Food Gatherers. All gifts, $25 and over, will be matched up to $10,000 through the generosity of the Harold and Kay Peplau Family Fund.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused food insecurity in our community to rise dramatically since March 2020. Feeding America estimates that overall food insecurity in Washtenaw County has risen by 37%, while child food insecurity has risen by 101%. Since last March, Food Gatherers has worked closely with local school districts, including AAPS, to supplement their modified meal programs with groceries and fresh produce, and to make food available to families that cannot access the meal programs now in place.

Burns Park Elementary School has established a designated spot for this campaign. If you would like to participate in this effort, here is the web link to the Burns Park team donation page. The drive and the web link become active tomorrow, March 1st. Please know that your contributions to our PTO fundraising efforts have been serving to supplement help for family’s basic needs as well.

https://give.foodgatherers.org/teams/15029-burns-park-penguins?ref=1&uid=989734

As we move forward with planning for our hybrid learning option, and many folks are now able to become vaccinated, I continue to think of historical context for this time we are living through. I grew up hearing the stories from my parents and grandparents describing emigration to the United States, the two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1917. I always thought of myself as living in a time when these kinds of calamities were improbable, if not impossible.

We’ve all found that the human story continues with such events and, in many ways, rediscovered how connected and dependent we are on each other. I am sharing thoughts that Ms. Charlotte Fullerton, our wonderful English Learner teacher shared with me a few days ago.

My grandma was an elementary school teacher for two years, but contracted Polio right before the vaccine came out and had to stop working. She lived most of her adult life using canes and then a wheelchair, while raising 7 children! I will be thinking of her strength when I get my Covid-19 vaccine and am excited to interact with students in-person again soon.

I’m inspired by Charlotte’s story and grateful for the support that we continue to offer and receive, as teachers, parents, health care professionals, and every member of our school community. I am expectant and grateful for better days ahead.

Your Principal,

Chuck Hatt 

Your PTO Update 

• Thank you to all of the helpful participants at your last PTO meeting. Meetings minutes are here. Your next PTO meeting is Tuesday, March 9th at 7:30.
• Shop Amazon, Kroger, Busch’s or Arbor Farms and raise money for your BPE PTO at the same time! Details on how to make this magic happen are here. Or, shop the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop at 2280 S.Industrial to further support your BPE PTO. 
• Donate to your PTO. You can donate online here or send a check made out to Burns Park PTO to: Jane Hollingsworth’s (PTO Treasurer). 1707 Morton Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. We have raised just under $25,000 toward your budget goal of $30,000. Thank you for your incredible generosity! 
• Join the Directory. This is the best way for families and students to connect and create community with others. You have absolute control over what information is seen.  

On behalf of your BPE PTO,

Laura Hayden