Monday, June 22, 2009

Summer Office Hours

The school office will be closed for the summer beginning June 22. The office will reopen on Monday, August 17 at 10:30 AM.

Have a great summer!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Want to be a movie star this summer?

The movie "Flipped", being filmed here in Ann Arbor and in Saline and directed by Rob Reiner needs extras - boys (lots of them!) and girls ages 11-14. The specifics are below and how to sign up.
Thanks!


We are looking for kids, ages 11-14 to be extras in the movie "Flipped". Kids cannot be over 5'5". Filming is taking place in the Ann Arbor ares

Here are the details, if you are interested in being considered for this opportunity.

Send the following information to flipped@realstyleonline.com
PLEASE PUT "FLIPPED, CANDIDATE" in the subject line.
1. 2 pictures, full shot head to toe, and a shot of just their face, shoulders up
2. all sizes, height included
3. Parents name and contact information including an e-mail, phone numbers
4. Please let us know if you have braces

FITTINGS: Times will be predetermined. These times will be sent to you with your maps. The kids are paid for their fittings.
Girls Fitting: Wednesday, June 24 and Thursday, June 25 and Friday, June 26. We will e-mail your time by Monday along with maps.
Boys fittings/hair cuts: Tuesday, June 23. We will e-mail your time by Sunday along with maps.

DAYS ON SET:
Required days on set (Please note, there can always be changes in production; these dates, although currently scheduled, may change slightly)

July 1
July 2
July 6
July 7
July 8
July 9

We will contact you early next week if you have been chosen.
_____________________________

Two Boy Stand Ins Needed:

Here is a call out for our male stand in who we need on set everyday for FLIPPED.


We are looking 2 boys, ages 11-14 to be stand ins, in the movie "Flipped"
A stand in is someone who takes the place of an actor while they are preparing to shoot a scene. They will use a stand in to light a shot, work on sound and camera angles. Once they are ready to film, the stand in sands out and the actor stands in.

OUR STAND INS NEED TO HAVE BLOND HAIR AND BE 5"4". THEY MUST BE WILLING TO HAVE A HAIR CUT.
Filming is taking place in the Ann Arbor area. The stand in will need to be on set from June 30 through August 21.

Here are the details, if you are interested in being considered for this opportunity.

Send the following information to flipped@realstyleonline.com
PLEASE PUT "FLIPPED, CANDIDATE" in the subject line.
1. 2 pictures, full shot head to toe, and a shot of just their face, shoulders up
2. all sizes, height included
3. Parents name and contact information including an e-mail, phone numbers
4. Please let us know if you have braces

DAYS ON SET:
June 30 through August 21

We will contact you early next week if you have been chosen.

Kathy Remski
(248) 408-0049
kremski@realstyleonline.com
www.realstyleonline.com

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Third Grade Summer Reading List!

All the third graders reviewed the books they read this year and compiled this list of FAVORITES to share with each other. Hope this gives you some ideas for SUMMER READING! ~ Mrs. O’Keefe


FANTASTIC FANTASY
Harry Potter
Warrior series
Percy Jackson series by Riordan
The Wind in the Willows
Eldest
Friendship according to Humphrey and other Humphrey books
Star Wars Guide to Vehicles and Vessels; and Star Wars Dictionary
Mrs.Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Bunnicula
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George’s Marvelous Medicine and
all books by Roald Dahl
How To Train Your Dragon
Howl’s Moving Castle

SERIES THAT ARE FUNNY, COOL, OR JUST FUN
Super Emma, and other Emma books
Geronimo Stilton series such as Paws Off Chedderface and
Curse of the Cheese Pyramid
American Girl historical series
My Weird School like Mr. Hynde is Out of his Mind
Bailey School Kids series, such as Sea Monsters Don’t Ride Motorcycles
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Franny K. Stein: The Fran with Four Brains
Mallory series such as Back to School
Mercy Waston series
Artemis Fowl
The Penultimate Peril and The Wide Window and The Reptile Room
(Series of Unfortunate Events)
Disney fairies such as Lily’s Pesky Plant
Junie B. Jones
Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge? (Time Warp Trio)
Commander toad series
Ivy and Bean
Amazing Days of Abbey Hayes, such as Good Things Come in Small
Packages
Ivy + Bean
Stink (Judy Moody’s little brother)
Clarice Bean
Rainbow Magic series
Animorphs
Who’s afraid of Fourth Grade? (a Katie Kazoo)
Magic School Bus chapter books such as The Search for the Missing Bones

OUR FAVORITE MAGAZINES
Discovery Girls magazine
Dog Fancy magazine


HISTORICAL FICTION
Isabel: Jewel of Castilla
Little House in the Big Woods
Cleopatra, daughter of the Nile
Mickey and Me
Stone Fox
Cecile: Gates of Gold

GREAT NONFICTION
Top Ten Fish for Kids
The Labrador Retriever
The Revolutionary War
Gold
World Was II
You Wouldn’t Want to be a Viking Explorer
Dog Crafts
Draw!
M1ch1gan:The wolverines championhip season
Babe Ruth
The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Truth About Poop
NBA Basketball
Arms and Armor
Airplanes and Flying Machines
History of Flight
ER Vets
Guinness World Record books
Write on!
Cheetahs
Mammals
Snakes
Guinea Pigs
Puppy Care and Training
Draw Your Own Cartoons
Rabbits

REALITSTIC FICTION THAT’S REALLY GOOD
A Week in the Woods
Swindle
Each Little Bird that Sings
Holes
Soccer Sam
Ruby Holler
Willow King: Race the Wind

PICTURE BOOKS, FAIRY TALES AND FOLKTALES
Too Many Toys
Henry’s First-Moon Brithday
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Rumpelstiltskin
Dragon’s Fat Cat
The Magic Nesting Doll
Fly Guy
Scaredy Squirrel books
Yoko
Tilly Witch
Jumanji
Two Bad Ants
Dusty Locks and the Three Bears


AWESOME GRAPHIC NOVELS AND HISTORIES
Babymouse
Calvin and Hobbes
Akiko Series
Miyazaki’s spirited away
The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb, The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Attack on Pearl Harbor (all Graphic Histories)
Bone

MYSTERIOUS MYSTERIES
Hardy Boys series
A-Z Mysteries such as The Kidnapped King and the Goose’s Gold
Boxcar Children mysteries


SCARY STUFF
Welcome to the Dead House
Washington Wax Museum
Michigan Chillers
Goosebumps such as Deep Trouble and Ghost Camp
More American Chillers such as Michigan Mega-Monsters

Fourth Grade Summer Reading List!

All the fourth graders reviewed the books they read this year and compiled this list of FAVORITES to share with each other. Hope this gives you some ideas for SUMMER READING! ~ Mrs. O’Keefe

FANTASY
The City Of Ember
The Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events)
Deltora Quest (such as Cavern of Fear)
Catwings
Harry Potter
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson series)
Dealing with Dragons series
Silverwing
books by Eva Ibbotson
Wizard of Oz
Stuart Little
Poppy and Rye and other Poppy books by Avi
Warriors (series, for example Firestar’s Quest)
Juliet Dove Queen of Love
Artemis Fowl (series)
The Tale of Despereaux
Star Wars chapter books (like The Fight to Survive)
Eragon (Inheritance series)
Pendragon series like The Merchant of Death
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Mirror, Mirror: a Twisted Tale
Punished!
Golden Compass, His Dark Materials
I.Q.
The Chocolate Touch
Coraline
Artemis Fowl series
A Dog’s Life

SCARY
The Chilliers:Virtual Vampires of Vermont, South Carolina Sea Creatures,
Haunting in New Hampshire, Mayhem on Mackinac Island
Goosebumps such as Chicken Chicken and The Haunted School
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

AWESOME REALISTIC FICTION
Books by Marguerite Henry
Emma
The Great Quarterback Switch
Mandy
Landry News, Lunch Money, and all books by Clements
Ten Ways to Make My Sister Disappear
The Cat Who Got Carried Away
Snowed In With Granmother Silk
P.S. Longer Letter Later
Deep Down Popular
The Secret Life of the Underwear Champ
Holes
Hatchet
Fudge-a-Mania
Travel Team and other sport books by Lupica
The Penderwicks

MYSTERY
Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen, ...and the Skeleton Man
The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls
The Secret Seven and the Secret Five mysteries

FUN SERIES
Junie B. jones 1st grader at last
Now You See Me-- Now You Don’t
Abby Hayes such The best is yet to come and Home is Where the Heart Is
Zack Files
Lunch walks among us, Attack of the 50” Cupid (Franny K. Stein series)
David Mortimore Baxter
Dragon Slayer’s Academy
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
My Weird School
Choose Your Own Adventure (like Search For The Mountain Gorilla
and Race Forever)
Mallory
Little House on the Prairie books
Ready Freddy, such as Talent Show Scaredy Pants
Geronimo Stilton
Friendship According to Humphrey and other Humphrey books


AMAZING BOOKS, SOME WITH SERIOUS THEMES
The Giver
Shiloh
The Phantom Tollbooth
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Diary of Anne Frank
The Secret Garden
The Cay
My Secret War
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Rules


FAVORITE GRAPHIC NOVELS AND GRAPHIC HISTORIES
Akiko Books
Bumper boy
Garfield Treasuries
Miyazacki’s spirited away
Imoto no nyuin
The Curse Of King Tut’s Tomb
Babymouse
Invention of Hugo Cabret
Garfield Treasuries


GREAT NONFICTION
Spy
The Knowhow Book of Spycraft
J.K. Rowling: the Wizard behind Harry Potter
The Visual Dictionary of Baseball
Sports
Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections


DO SOMETHING!
Draw Your Own Cartoons
Art of Making Comic Books


PICTURE BOOKS, POETRY AND FOLKTALES WE LOVE
The Dot
My Teacher Likes to Say
Tuesday
The Princess Who Lost Her Hair

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Young 5's Openings

Abbot Elementary School has several openings in its Young 5's program. Please contact barnesp@aaps.k12.mi.us for more information or to ask questions.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Did you know that Simba the Library Lion loves getting mail?

Going anywhere this summer? Or staying right here, close to home? Either way, here’s a fun, optional idea for families: send Simba a postcard!

Simba is our new, nearly life-sized stuffed lion, a library addition beloved by all the kids. It’d be really fun if you would send him a postcard (or two, or more!) during our summer vacation. All of his mail will be put into a display next fall so that we can all talk about and share our summer adventures.

So whether you send us a card from other continents or from good ol’ Ann Arbor, please address it to:

Simba Lion
King School
3800 Waldenwood
Ann Arbor, MI 48105

Happy summer! Mrs. O’Keefe, Media Specialist

Monday, June 08, 2009

Joyce Griffiths Is Retiring!

I am happy to announce the retirement of Joyce Griffiths. Joyce is currently a wonderful Kindergarten teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School.

Joyce has had a long and illustrious career as an educator that includes all of the following:

· Taught all grades K-6;

· Twelve years working in the North Dearborn Heights School District with nine years as a teacher and three years as the Curriculum Director;

· Twenty-five years teaching in the Ann Arbor Public Schools at Burns Park, Thurston, and MLK;

· Gifted and Talented teacher at Thurston;

· Nineteen years of teaching just at MLK School;

· All told, Joyce has formally shared her love of teaching for 37 years.

It should also be noted that Joyce is a graduate of THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY . It really is her only fault. Joyce also continued her studies at Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University.

June 12 will mark Joyce’s last day teaching in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. While her day to day friendship, expertise, and wisdom will surely be missed, we’re hoping to see her from time to time in the hallways and office at school.

In retirement Joyce will enjoy the luxury of time. Time to reflect, time to explore areas of interest (particularly alternative energy sources), time to read, time for friendship, and time with family.

Please join the MLK Staff in congratulating Joyce Griffiths as she moves into her retirement years!

King Community Party Tickets Still Available

Celebrate the end of the school year, a successful Silent Auction, or take some time and get to know other King parents in a relaxed, festive atmosphere. The King Community Party is Saturday, June 13, 2009 ; 7pm until ???? Featuring a culinary delight of fabulous tastes with plenty of beverages for imbibing. Hosted by Eric Johns, Melanie Snook, Amy Cell and Terri & Jason Brodkey. $40 per person. Contact Silent Auction Chair, if interested.

Sumitted by,
Lisa Kohn
lkohn@umich.edu

Have A Wonderful Summer! -- From Your PTO

We would like to thank the entire King community for everything that you have done to help make the 2008-2009 school year so amazing.  From the Newcomers Welcome Night to the Ice Cream Social...and every single event in between, the King community helped make every King PTO event successful.  
 
A special thank you to those families that will be leaving King School at the end of the week.  Whether your youngest child is graduating from King or you are moving away, please know that you will always be a part of our extended King family.  Your help and guidance through the year(s) has been wonderful.  We will miss you.
 
We would also like to thank the amazing King School staff for everything you have done for our children this year.  We truly appreciate it!
 
To those families that we'll see in September, please take a picture of your family wherever you might be this summer...whether it's Top of the Park or travels abroad.  
 
Have a wonderful summer!  We look forward to seeing you in September! 
 
-King School PTO :)

Ice Cream Social Success!

A combination of organization, cooperativity, and great weather made Friday's Ice Cream Social extra-special. There were smiling faces covered with ice cream and face paint everywhere. The King Community sends a huge Thank You to the Ice Cream Social Chair, Lisa Joseph, and all of the many, many volunteers who made this event so much fun! 

Friday, June 05, 2009

We will miss our 5th graders but know they will make us proud next year

Limo Lunch Live Blog

Thank you to every parent who has supported the King PTO this year. Each year I also support the PTO by co-sponsoring the Limo Lunch -- along with SelectRide of Ann Arbor.

Today is actually the day of the Limo Lunch and if you'd like to follow the fun, watch http://limolunch.blogspot.com/ where I'll be live blogging the event.

Third graders researching for their Biome reports

Ice Cream Social Procedures

Dear MLK Families,

The PTO's Annual Ice Cream Social will begin at 6:00 PM tonight! This is a wonderfully fun social event for the whole family! I hope you'll make time to be there. Because this event is typically attended by nearly 1000 people, it is important to review the following information:


1. Evening activities at King are family events. Parents and guardians are responsible for the close supervision of their children. Children cannot attend without a supervising adult.
2. Be aware of the evening safety procedures at MLK--including NO PARKING IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING.


Parking
Due to the limited availability of parking at King, parents should plan to park in the neighborhood during all evening events at King.
There is NO PARKING in front of the school, by the fire hydrant, or on the left-hand side of the front circular drive.

Reason: The front drive is a fire lane and must be kept accessible for emergency vehicles. The fire hydrant area must also be kept clear.

Drop Off/Pick Up
The front entrance will be available for drop off and pick up ONLY. AT NO TIME SHOULD PARKING OCCUR IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL.

Severe Weather
In case of severe weather and a need for shelter, families will be able to access a variety of shelter areas within the school. Each classroom space in the building has a severe weather map showing areas that are safer if severe weather is in our area.

Sincerely,
Kevin Karr
Principal
MLK School

Congrats to Ms. KC for winning the 2009 Golden Spatula

The excellence of King School never stops! We found out this morning that Ms. KC won the 2009 Golden Spatula for her great work in the kitchen. This award comes from the district's food service company, Chartwells.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

BOOK NEWS from the Media Center

King Kids checked out 21,710 books this year! What great readers and supportive families we have!

I send out a heartfelt THANK YOU to our Media Center Parent and Grandparent volunteers who helped check out all those books and then kept up with all that re-shelving. I truly couldn’t have such a nice literacy and technology program without you.

Remember, all library books are due back to the Media Center, ASAP! We’re getting ready for new carpet in here over the summer and a great library program next year.

As always, email me with questions and concerns: okeefea@aaps.k12.mi.us. Thank you to all families, Mrs. O’Keefe

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Monday, June 01, 2009

Newsletter Update

This appeared in the King Chronicle Newsletter recently . . .

Dear King Families,

We are all working as hard as we can to reach our end of the year outcomes and goals. Thank you for helping to keep your children motivated to complete homework and other school related assignments. We know that kids who finish the year focused on school and engaged in their typical routines have the greatest amount of success each school year.

Thank You!
The staff and I would like to thank you for the teacher appreciation activities. In particular the lunch and the flowers were very nice. We appreciate your continued support throughout the year. In the words of an unknown author, “No one who achieves success does it without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” Your willingness to help in multiple ways makes a huge difference!

Volunteer Appreciation Tea
We are lucky at King for all of the wonderful support we get each year from our parent volunteers. In recognition of our volunteers, the staff and I are hosting a tea on June 2 from 4 – 5 PM. Hopefully you’ve already received your invitation. If not, we hope to see you on June 2.

Lunch Accounts
Again, thank you to all who checked frequently over the course of the year to ensure your child’s account balance was up-to-date. Account balances have remained fairly low most of the year thanks to you. All accounts must be paid in full before the end of the school year. If you have questions about the account, please call Ms. KC at 997-1934.

Lost and Found
The lost and found will be emptied again at the end of the day on June 12. Please be sure to check it prior to that date if you are missing something.

End-of-Year Field Trips
Please check with your child to see if he/she has upcoming field trips. If so, please make sure to sign the permission slip. Students are not permitted to go on trips unless we have signed permission slips. Most trips leave the building shortly after the bell rings so your child could miss the trip if you are unable to get the permission slip signed and to the school before the buses leave.

Last Day of School
The last day of school this year is June 12; it is a half-day. Students are dismissed at 11:51 a.m. All bus riders will be dropped off at their regular after school neighborhood locations. The last day for afternoon kindergarten students is Thursday, June 11.

Report Cards
Students will bring home a copy of their report letter on the last day of school. It represents their level of achievement at the end of the school year.

Front Drive
Thank you to everyone for following the King School pick-up and drop-off policy. We’ve made great strides in this area, but I do see this as a continued focus next school year. If you are able to help me in either the morning of afternoon next school year, please let me know.

Parting Words . . .
If I don't see you before the last day of school, thank you for a wonderful year. The students have progressed so much, the teachers have worked so hard, and I know parents have done everything they can to support it all. I'm already looking forward to next year . . .

Sincerely,
Kevin