Order Sally Foster!

If it's fall at King School, it's time to order Sally Foster gift wrap and other great products.

The Sally Foster fundraiser raises money to support King fifth-graders to attend Space Camp in May 2008.

Since 1999, King has had the wonderful tradition of sending all fifth grders to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, for a week each spring. While most fifth grade families are able to financially support most of our expenses, fifth graders each year need the whole King Community to help make Space Camp happen for the whole class. When your child is in fifth grade, other King families will support you, too!

Parents recently received a complete Sally Foster packet and order form. You have until Thursday, October 4, to turn in your order. Orders will be available for pick up at school on November 1.

Remember, you can order Sally Foster online. Go to www.sallyfoster.com and use the school's account number 253608.
Sally Foster offers really high quality products and a full 50 percent of the earnings go directly back to King's Space Camp program.

For more information, please contact Cynthia Gur-Arie (cynthia@gur-arie.com) at 718-5683.

Picture Day is Friday, September 28

Picture days is on Friday, September 28--which is this Friday :-)

For your convenience, picture orders can be placed online at schoolpictures.com using our school ID: AA0404

Of course it is also acceptable to send orders to school using the schoolpictures.com envelope sent home with children. Just look for the flyer about pictures, and the envelope is attached it it.

Farm to School Initiative

New this fall in the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) elementary and middle school cafeterias - Farm Fresh Fridays - which will provide children, for free, a taste of fresh, healthy produce grown right here in Southeast Michigan.

Students will find these items available either on the food line or handed out by volunteers in the cafeterias. Signs will be posted every Friday describing the farm where the Farm Fresh Friday food was harvested.

AAPS is also are pleased to introduce the new fruit and vegetable bars in the elementary schools that are available to all students whether they purchase a meal or not. The middle schools are also serving more fresh produce in the cafeterias.

Farm Fresh Fridays are a project of the Ann Arbor Farm to School Collaboration whose members are:

• Ann Arbor Public Schools
• Chartwells Dining ServicesProject Healthy Schools
• Ann Arbor Farmers Market
• The Agrarian AdventureFood
• System Economic Partnership
• Washtenaw County Health Department

The Farm to School Collaboration embraces local and regionally grown produce as not only a healthy choice for students but as a way to educate students on the availability of fresh foods in their area as well as supporting local and regional farms in their efforts to be sustaining contributors to our local economy.

The Ann Arbor Public School District serves the City of Ann Arbor and parts of eight surrounding townships covering 125 square miles. The district has 20 elementary schools, one K-8 open school, five middle schools, two comprehensive high schools, three alternative high schools, one pre-school and one adult education program. As of September 2006 enrollment totaled 16,680 (excluding adult education and a portion of pre-school). The district employs 3,000 full and part-time staff members. Approximately 76 percent of the teaching staff holds a master's degree or above. 100 percent of district teachers are highly qualified according to No Child Left Behind regulations. The district serves a diverse ethnic and socioeconomic population of students with over 36 different countries represented by students in the district. The Ann Arbor Public Schools has opened a new preschool and family center and looks forward to opening a new comprehensive high school with with four magnet programs of study in September 2008. Every school in the district will have facility renovations and updates to be completed over the next two years.

Keys to Sucess and Improvement at MLK, 2007-08

At the PTO meeting this week, I was sharing information from the State of the School address from Curriculum Night, and I realized that some didn't know what I was talking about . . . because they weren't able to be at that part of Curriculum Night.

During that address, I shared what I saw as being the keys to success and improvement at MLK for 2007-08. Here they are again:

• Continue emphasis on reading and math--we have done exceptional work in these areas
• Writing emphasis
• Consistent implementation of AAPS curriculum
• School Improvement Team emphasis
• Parent Writing Presentations
• Parent Writing Education Night--learn about the Lucy Calkins Writing Program
• Family Writing Workshop--experiencing the writing process as a family
• PTO support by organizing and implementing after-school writing opportunities in conjunction with 826michigan.org

• Continued use of the Lifelong Guidelines and Lifeskills by our school community
  

These "keys' were developed collaboratively with the King teachers, the School Improvement Team, and the King PTO. I hope everyone will keep these goals in mind as we progress through this year. Our collective attention around them will bring us ever closer to fulfilling them.

School Closing Information

If it becomes necessary to close school because of weather or emergency, information will be shared in the following ways:

• District website: http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us
• District hotline: 994-8684
• Television:
• WJBK - Channel 2
• WDIV - Channel 4
• WXYZ - Channel 7

• Radio:
• Ann Arbor
  
• WAAM - 1600 AM
• WUOM - 91.7 FM
• WEMU - 89.1 FM
• WQKL -107.1FM
• WWWW - 102.9 FM
• WTKA - 1050 AM
• WLBY - 1290 AM
  
• Detroit Radio:
  
  • WJR - 76 AM
  • WWJ - 950 AM
  • WDTW - 106.7 FM
  • WNIC - 100.3FM
  • WDFN - 1130 AM
  • WDTW - 1310 AM

Wednesday October 3 IS INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY!

This is a great opportunity to teach your child about the importance of daily exercise. If possible, walk, bike or scooter with your chid to school. Join other families in your neighborhood that will also be walking. We would love to see the bike racks full!

For those of you whose children ride a bus, you also have an option. In the past (unless it storms like last year) we have arranged to have the 4 King buses drop students at the end of Waldenwood, close to Earhart where there are sidewalks, and have staff and other parents greet the students and walk with them to school. This fun activity enables even the bus riders to get a taste of walk to school day!

Look for a permission slip in your child's backpack and return it to school by 9/28 so that your child can participate. If you would like to help be a parent walker, please contact Susan Aaronson at 741-9878 or susaaaro@umich.edu

King of Hearts 5K Date Set

The tentative date for the 2007 King of Hearts 5K run has been set for Sunday, October 28 at 1:30 PM.

I'm sure the PTO will be sharing more information soon, but I hope you'll mark this on your calendar because we'd like to see you at this wonderful event!

Medicine At School

Dear Parents,

If you have children enrolled who have need of emergency medication(s), please bring the medication, alone with a completed physician and parent authorization forms, to the school office. Blank forms for the physician and parent authorization of the administration of medication at school may be obtained from the school office or click here. This process must be followed for all medications, including those that are "over-the-counter." In other words, no medicine can be administered at school without doctor's orders.

Thank you assisting in this very important matter.

Sincerely,

Mazie Hamilton
King School Nurse
(734)994-8292 x52126

New faculty at MLK for 07-08

Many families already know we have some new faculty at MLK this year, and they bring tremendous skills, dedication, and enthusiasm to their work—all complemented by a good dose of friendliness! Here is a listing of who is new on the MLK faculty roster this year:
• Mrs. Becky Gracey, 3rd grade teacher. Mrs. Gracey taught at Pattengill Elementary School last year.
• Karen Hadddas, 5th grade teacher. Mrs. Haddas taught at Pattengill Elementary School last year.
• Jeff Taylor, 5th grade teacher. Mr. Taylor taught at Clague Middle School last year.
• Veroncia Monford, communications classroom teacher. Mrs. Monford taught at the Preschool and Family Center last year.
• Laura Wayne, art teacher. Ms. Wayne was hired this summer to be a part of the MLK faculty. She brings a vast amount of teaching experience outside of the AAPS, ranging from preschool through adult art education.
• Caroline Hughes, media specialist. Ms. Hughes taught at Abbot Elementary School last year.
• Helen Chamberlain, speech and language pathologist. Mrs. Chamberlain was hired during the summer to be a part of the MLK faculty.
• Patricia Goucher, psychologist. Ms. Goucher was hired during the summer to be a part of the MLK faculty.
Please join me in welcoming these fine teachers to the excellence that represents our collective work in the MLK community.

PTO meets this Tueday at 7 PM

The first meeting of the 2007-08 School PTO will be this on Tuesday, September 18 at 7 PM in the MLK media center. I hope to see you there!

Welcome Back Dessert Night--9/6 at 7 PM

Join us tonight for the PTO's annual Welcome Back Dessert Night!

Thursday, September 6, 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM on the back playground.

For everyone's safety, please do not bringing nuts and/or nut products to this event.

Curriculum Night, September 11

Curriculum Night 2007 will be on September 11 beginning at 6 PM. This is a perfect opportunity for parents to become better acquainted with the world-class curriculum their child will be learning this year as well as with their child's teacher. It is also a time to sign up for the fall parent-teacher conferences.

The schedule for Curriculum Night is as follows
6:00 Classroom session #1
6:45 State of School address in MP Room, everyone please attend
7:10 Classroom session #2
7:50 Curriculum Night ends, thanks for coming!

CHILD CARE: The PTO will sponsor child care for Curriculum night Tuesday Sept. 11th, 2007.

Advanced reservations are REQUIRED to help insure there are enough adults to care for children (children 4 years and older, not in diapers please). Please contact KingCare/Heather Brescol kingcare@sbcglobal.net or 734-994-4485.

Fridays are Spirit Days at MLK

Fridays are special days at MLK because we show our spirit! Everyone is invited to wear their:

• Maize and Blue
• Blue and white (King School colors)
• The colors of their favorite team
• Favorite colors

We hope this will be fun!