Information Especially For Parents

As I've been working on getting things organized and started at MLK, I've noticed several times how useful the parent page is on the AAPS website. New and old families alike will likely find answers to their questions. Check it out: http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps.forparents/especially_for_parents

Lunch at MLK

Lunch will be served the first day of school in the cafeteria. The prices are as follows:
Regular lunch: $2.50
Reduced lunch: $0.40
Students may also bring their lunch from home. Milk may be purchased for $.50. It is preferred that payment for hot lunch is made by the week or the month; however, lunch purchases can be made the same day. The Ann Arbor Schools DOES NOT ALLOW STUDENTS TO CHARGE LUNCHES. If a student forgets their lunch or lunch money, we provide an alternative lunch for them.

Note: reduced price lunches are available for qualified students. If you wish to apply, please complete the enclosed application. Please fill out the application completely. The District uses family applications so only one application per household is needed. A new application is required every school year. Students who received free or reduced meals in the 2006-07 school year are eligible to receive free or reduced meals on the first 10 days of the 2007-08 school year. Students who qualify for free/reduced lunch automatically qualify for free/reduced breakfast.

Fruits and Vegetable Snacks Only/Food Allergies

Snacks at school: Please send ONLY fruit and vegetable snacks to school until all food allergy plans can be evaluated and implemented at school. This is necessary to be responsive to the increasing number of medically sensitive situations with which we are faced.

Wellness policy: Beyond that, I also want to note the AAPS has adopted a new Wellness Policy that covers both nutrition education and nutrition standards. In particular, the policy states that foods of minimal nutritional value will not be served during the instructional day, including the meal service period. The effect of this policy will be seen in the food service program with new healthy food choices more prevalent than before. In addition, I strongly encourage families to consider healthy choices, such as non-food items, as part of birthday and classroom celebrations.

2007-08 Back To School Guide

The 2007-08 Back to School Guide has been posted to the district web site; you'll find a link to it on the Especially for Parents page. The Guide includes the bus schedule, registration schedules, and more. Hard copies of the guide are being sent to homes this week as well.

School Office Closed on August 27

The MLK School Office will be closed on Monday, August 27 and will reopen on Tuesday, August 28.

School Office Closed For Summer

The MLK School office is now closed for the summer. We will reopen during the afternoon of August 13, 2007. If you are seeking enrollment information, please look at the district website.

The Rules of 4 Square at MLK

When you have some time with your child(ren), please contribute to a collaborative piece of writing called "The Rules of 4 Square at MLK."

End of School Year Approaches

As a reminder, the school year will end on Friday, June 15 at 11:51 AM. Parents are welcome to pick up at that time. I anticipate the buses leaving MLK at around noon.

If you are an AM kindergarten parent and your kindergartener rides the bus, click below and read carefully.
http://karrskingblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/last-day-bussingam-kindergarten-parents.html

Of course, if you have any questions, please give us a call at school (994-1940).

AAPS Receives Perfect Bus Scores

For the past month, the Michigan State Police inspector has been on site, reviewing the Ann Arbor Public Schools entire bus fleet. The inspection concluded this morning. I am very proud to report that 125 buses were inspected, and every single bus passed on first examination. While we've always achieved very fine inspection results, this year's perfect record constitutes an extraordinary achievement, particularly for such a large fleet. In at least the past 27 years, this is the only absolutely perfect score in memory.

I'd like to commend Garage Crew Chief John Nikolich and our excellent crew of mechanics: Bill Burgess, George Clair, Mark Fazel, Dikran Khanian, Mark Millage, George Papadoulis, and Jim Sherzer. Their professionalism and dedication is the source of excellence, reliability, and safety that is reflected in this year's inspection.

Thanks also to our drivers and dispatchers, who showed patience and flexibility in meeting the daily challenges that accompany the annual inspection.

Bradford M. Mellor
Director of Transportation

AAPS Budget Discussion

Several King PTO members have discussed school budget issues with me this spring. I believe it is important for AAPS families and (MLK families in particular) to become increasingly familiar with the school budget crisis that exists in our state. You might consider attending the following presentation at Burns Park School.

Hard Choices: Plain talk about the AAPS budget
Tuesday, June 12th, 7:00-8:30 PM, Burns Park Auditorium (1414 Wells St.)

Ann Arbor Parents for Schools, in cooperation with the Burns Park PTO, has scheduled a community meeting to discuss the current school budget crisis. Superintendent Todd Roberts will be there along with representation from the School Board, Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation, teachers and principals from the district.

The purpose of the meeting is to answer questions, create a dialog about the current budget situation and to help strategize how we, as parents can be involved in helping to support AAPS as they work through the current situation and plan for the future. This will differ from the recent budget presentation as there will be greater representation from the school district, less lecture and more opportunity to ask questions and make comments.

Please come and lend your voice to the discussion. One of the goals of our organization is to reach out to other schools, so please invite your friends and teachers from other schools to attend. All are welcome! Questions? Jennifer Tanau (jtanau@hotmail.com) or visit our website www.aaparentsforschools.org .

Yardsticks, A Book Recommendation For Parents

Every once in a while I run across a book that would be really helpful to parents of elementary age students. Yardsticks by Chip Wood is one such book. This book looks at children by age and gives lists of information explaining what typically developing children know and are able to do at school.

I received a copy of Yardsticks quite some time ago--and have found myself reading it, referring to it, and recommending it in meetings with parents and teachers ever since. On Tuesday of this week, a parent came to me and said, "Kevin, I bought that book you recommended. It has really helped me not worry that my child is ______ (fill in the blank with something about your child) because now I realize that is typical for her age." It was a really satisfying moment to hear the book helped the parent.

A little more information about Yardsticks from author Chip Wood (from amazon.com):
Practical info to help parents/teachers understand children. This book is about children in school. It is designed for both parents and teachers and provides easy reference to expectations about children's growth and development in the classroom. I have tried in this small volume to consolidate a good deal of theory with years of professional experience in schools. My goal is to present important information in a readable format without compromising the key ideas passed down from the worlds of anthropology, child development, pediatrics and education. I hope you will find the information about a particular age immediately useful, and will also be captured by the obvious patterns of development. Enjoy the book. I hope you find it useful in your work with children.

You might also be interested to know I recently ordered copies of this book for MLK teachers to use as a reference.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Yardsticks from amazon.com, feel free to use the link below. A small portion of sales is donated back to school and will be used to purchase books for school.

Last Day Bussing—A.M. KINDERGARTEN PARENTS READ THIS!

There has been a question regarding elementary transportation procedures on the last day of school. Being a half-day, the protocol is to drop off at the group stops at noon (regular PM dismissal stops), not running the kindergarten noon routes. Parents need to be aware of this. Child care stops, address stops, or alternate transportation that is made on the regular noon routes will not be made on that 1/2 day dismissal. If you have any questions, please call the school office before the last day of school.

Saying Farewell--and Thank You!

At the end of this school year, we’ll be saying farewell to a few of our finest teachers, representing 113 years of teaching experience! As you can imagine, this doesn't happen very often. Please consider saying your goodbye to these fine teachers at the annual MLK Ice Cream Social on June 1 from 6 - 8 PM.

In addition, if you'd like to make a contribution towards farewell gifts, please contact Mylinda Balint (jrb-myn at comcast.net) or Laurie Barnett (lcbarn at comcast.net).

Teachers leaving MLK at the end of the year:
• Our extraordinary media specialist, Marge Rutila. Mrs. Rutila is retiring and has been a dedicated teacher in Ann Arbor Public Schools for 37 years. She worked at Newport, Bader, Scarlett, Clague and Martin Luther King, spending 33 years at MLK—and the school has only been open for 37 years. In other words, Mrs. Rutila IS the MLK school media center. She has developed a space that is the hub of school activity and a model for other schools.

• One-half of the fantastic 5th grade team, Judy Pietila. Ms. Pietila is retiring and has been teaching for 32 years, spending 27 years in the Ann Arbor Public Schools with 22 of those years at MLK. She also spent two years at Bryant, one year at Eberwhite, and two years as a Language Arts Consultant at Lawton and Abbot. Ms. Pietila’s teaching in language arts and social studies in fifth grade have been fantastic.

• One of our dynamo 3rd grade teachers, Briita Hall. Mrs. Hall is retiring and has been a dedicated teacher in the Ann Arbor Public Schools since 1970 as a teacher with two years at Northside, one year at Clinton II (before it was named Bryant), 21 years at Pittsfield, and 12 years at MLK. Mrs. Hall’s thoughtful approach to teaching won’t soon be forgotten.

• Another dedicated and talented 5th grade teacher, Michelle Oliphant. Ms. Oliphant is taking a one-year leave of absence from the Ann Arbor Public Schools and will be teaching in London, England. She has spent 7 years at MLK after student teaching with Joyce Griffiths. We’ll hope to see her again somewhere down the road.

Please join me in saying farewell to these teachers at the MLK Ice Cream Social on Friday, June 1. I sincerely wish that we had more time with each of these dedicated, intelligent, caring teachers because of the excellence they represent. I’ll hope to see you Friday!

Food For Thought--Research On Teaching Of Writing

Research Basis for Best Teaching Practices Around Writing

1. All children can and should write;
2. Teachers must help students find real purposes to write;
3. Students need to take ownership and responsibility;
4. Effective writing programs involve the complete writing process;
5. Teachers can help students get started;
6. Teachers help students draft and revise;
7. Grammar and mechanics are best learned in the context of actual writing;
8. Students need real audiences and a classroom context of shared learning;
9. Writing should extend throughout the curriculum;
10. Effective teachers use evaluation constructively and efficiently.

This list and the ideas behind them form the basis for an informed discussion about the teaching of writing. I hope you’ll take a ten minutes right now to think about them.

End Of School Year Behavior

As we wind down the school year, it is always important to note that children can feel quite a bit of anxiety. Maybe it is the warmer weather or uneasiness about the changes looming ahead. At school, this can manifest in behavior that is out of the ordinary—not following basic rules, moodiness, quiet, frequent disagreements with peers (or even the teachers or principal). Teachers and I are watchful and we intervene if something comes up, often through discussion with an individual who needs extra support but sometimes with a larger group if that is needed or is most appropriate.

I am sharing this information now after noticing an increase in the number of students who are showing behaviors that shout, “I’m needing a little help here,” or “I think it is time we sat down and talked for a few minutes.” I know the behavior/anxiety is somewhat typical as it is a pattern I’ve seen over the years. I’ve also noticed it helps if, when something is noticed, we talk about it with our children. I hope this helps over the next few weeks of school and as we get summer vacation started.

MLK Soccer Goals

You might have noticed the soccer goals are no longer on the back playground. Here is what happened:

After reviewing guidelines from the Consumer Products Safety Commission around metal soccer goals and the fact that they have caused the death of many children, the Ann Arbor Public Schools has removed all metal soccer goals on its playgrounds. You might also remember that a number of years ago, covered slides were removed due to safety concerns.

Soccer can be practiced and played using other types of goals, including cones, flags, or PVC goals, which are movable. At this point, I am investigating the best soccer goal alternatives for MLK. If you have input to share, please email or call me.

The ancillary problem at MLK is that practicing soccer on our fields causes deterioration of our playing fields. The fields at MLK became too rough and muddy and could not be used--even for recess.

Fifth Grade Returns From Space Camp

On Friday, May 26 our fifth graders returned from Space Camp. As I watched students get off the buses, they all had smiling faces but also looked very tired. There were lots of stories being shared with parents about astronaut training, robotics, astronaut missions, the multi-axis trainer, the 1/6 gravity chair, Rocket Park (and the authentic Saturn V rocket), the 5-degrees of freedom chair, and I heard a lot about the MMU (Manned Manuvering Unit). I also heard kids talk quite often about their Habitat experiences which is the name Space Camp gives its dormitory facilities. I think quite a few of our almost middle school students were really enjoying the independence of being in a dorm for a few nights (knowing they'd be back at the safety and security of home in a few nights).

I also want to note the extraordinary initiative, organization, leadership, and dedication of the fifth grade team at MLK. Organizing and taking a group of students on any field trip, let alone a trip 1000 miles from home, requires many extra hours for teachers. By far, Space Camp is no exception. I hope you'll joining me in thanking our teachers.

Summer Activities for Kids

Rec & Ed offers many safe and fun summer camps and classes for kids.

Go to www.aareced.com for the online catalog of all our fun summer activities.

Space Camp Update--Tuesday

It is getting busier in Alabama! Enjoy today's update.

The student’s enthusiasm is increasing with each day at Space Camp. Today was the first day of Mission training. Some of the students’ roles include: Flight Director, Commander, Pilot, Capcom, Inco, Prop, Cato, Station Commander, Mission Scientist, EVA and ACO. Be sure to ask your students about their role. Tomorrow is the first mission and they have been told to expect the unexpected.

Our students were interested to find out that the parent chaperones have started our own mini-camp. They said, “I’m the Mission Commander, what are you?” They are really into the roles. One group actually did their main mission this morning. I’m sure they’ll be ready to tell you all about it.

The students also twirled around on the Multi-axis trainer and the 1/6th gravity chair (more spring than even Michael Jordan.) They continue to be enthusiastic and inquisitive.

They also learned how astronauts live in space, how they eat, sleep, work, and exercise. You can ask them now how the waste management system works on the space station. They were exercising their creativity and seriously worked on space robots. By the time they graduate on Thursday, they would have spent more than nine hours on robotics.

Many of the students went on a tour of “Rocket Park” today. They were able to see the real rockets used to launch American satellites and astronauts into space and the Pathfinder space shuttle, which is at the entrance to the park. If you get a chance someday, ask students to describe the Pathfinder shuttle; they learned all about the different components today.

At dinner, some of the kids mentioned that they are very busy (they are!) and that they haven’t had much free time (that’s by design – they’re immersed in ‘space’). However, this evening they had an hour or so to run around, play sand volleyball, kickball, and run around. The staff has created a great balance.

More tomorrow,
Chaperones

Space Camp Update--Monday

From MLK School in Huntsville:

Another great day in Alabama, 80+ degrees, sunny, and lots of fun things going on…
After the warm up of last evening, the kids seemed really eager to get rolling today.

Our students were involved with mission training in the shuttle simulators today. We were able to watch some of them on television monitors. They actually practiced a takeoff and initial stages of a mission. They will have more time later this week to hone their skills.

At meals, the students were happy and interacting with their groups. They seemed to be always eager to move on to the next activity. We also heard students saying that their counselors are really cool. Some of the kids are making friends with children from other parts of the country who are at Space Camp this week. The ‘habitats’ or dorms where they stay are working out well.

Today, the way to brighten a face was to ask about Space Shot or G-Force. Several groups had the opportunity to try out these exhilarating rides. They gave the kids the feel of the increased g-forces of a launch and the thrill of a space shot.
The children were very excited about Spaceshot and G-Force. One group said the girls were able to go on three times and the boys only got to have two turns. The girls learned to get off quickly and get back into the line. One girl told us on the Space Shot her heart was left way up high, but it was back now. They are having fun. We wish we were kids again and had had such a fine opportunity.