Information For Parents

New and old families alike will likely find answers to their AAPS related questions at http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps.forparents/especially_for_parents.

Welcome Night for New Families - 8/27 @ 7 PM

Bring your new to King student(s) to school on August 27 to hear a welcome message from Mr. Karr and the PTO, take a tour the building, and find out details about daily routines and other valuable information--such as how to get a second slice of pizza at lunch time.

The fun starts at 7 PM! We hope to see you on August 27.

Spring Break April 5 - 13

As a reminder, Spring Break 2008 will be from April 5 - 13. During this time, the school and school office will be closed.

Citizen's Millage Committee - Can you help?

Dear Parents,

On the upcoming May 6 ballot, the Ann Arbor Public Schools will ask for a renewal of millages. These renewals are:
1. The non-homestead and homestead (hold harmless) millage and
2. The 1-mill sinking fund.
To be perfectly clear, these millages are renewals of what already exists in support of the AAPS.

I am seeking one or two parent representatives from the MLK School community to be a part of the Citizen's Millage Committee (CMC). These parents would act as leaders of the millage campaign in the MLK community. They would specifically be responsible for disseminating information to other MLK parents about the millage renewals and encourage parents to vote on May 6. The CMC will act as a resource to whoever decides to help in this endeavor.

Once parents are identified, the CMC would like to have a meeting with the parent leaders from each building and principals. I hope you'll consider helping.

If you are interested this or if you have questions, please email or call me at 994-1940. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Kevin

Monitoring Technology at Home

From time to time, parents approach me with technology related issues/questions that happen at home between students who attend MLK. Actually, this happened again this week. This was a reminder to me of the challenges that parents (including me) face at home around the appropriate use of technology by children. And there are lots of challenges. In my experience, here are some of the biggest potential challenges:

• xanga.com
• myspace.com
• facebook.com
• friendster.com
• twitter.com
• Click here for other social networking websites
• youtube.com
• instant messaging from a computer or cell phone
• text messaging from a cell phone or computer
  
• email
• cell phone usage in general
  
• websites where children will enter their personal information in order to set up an account

I'm sure there are many more. If you know of another site or activity with which you have had concern, click comments below to share your suggestion with the larger group.

As a part of the discussion that takes place following these questions, it is often apparent that parents have questions about how to appropriately monitor technology. Of course, as parents of children who are (or are becoming) more computer literate than their parents, we must be ever-cognizant of our children’s on-line experience. Suggestions for parents include the following, some of which are from the FBI:

• Communicate, and talk to your child about sexual victimization and potential on-line danger.
• Spend time with your children on-line. Have them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.
• Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child's bedroom.
• Utilize parental controls provided by your operating system, your service provider, and/or blocking software.
• Always maintain access to your child's on-line account and randomly check his/her e-mail.
• Be up front with your child about your access and reasons why.

More at: http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

Of course, at school technology is monitored, blocking software is utilized, and children/families all sign the district computer-use agreement. I share this as a reminder and for your awareness.

Free Lead Toy Testing

Please join us for this unique opportunity. Congressman Dingell and the Michigan Department of Community Health look forward to sharing more information about toy safety and providing a free lead testing opportunity for your children’s toys, jewelry and other items.
(For time’ sake, there will be a limit of 3 testable items per individual if there is a line.)

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
2:00pm – 7:00pm
Washtenaw Intermediate School District Building
1819 South Wagner Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
(Near Wagner Rd. and Scio Church Rd. in Ann Arbor)

Science Olympiad Parent Meeting & Registration

Submitted by Amy Cell

We are having a parent meeting to discuss Science Olympiad, answer questions and to distribute coach information this Thursday, February 21 at the school in the library at 7:30pm.

Registration is still open, too: Do you have a child in 2nd-5th grade? Do you want your child to participate in a fun and educational experience? If the answers to those questions are yes, be sure to sign up now for the Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad! Read all about the details of this fabulous event - the biggest in the country - athttp://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/wesowizards.home/events_2008

To register, you will need to complete a registration form for each child at the following link by February 20. Practices will start in March, and the practice dates and times during the week are listed below and on the registration form at the attached link. (Note that there are new practice times for Science Jeopardy and Wright Stuff. Practice times listed below are correct.) All students are welcome to join where they can attend multiple practices, order a t-shirt, receive a medal and participate in Science Night! (There will be 20 students per grade that will represent King on May 3rd at a competition with around 20 other schools. Additional parent meetings will be scheduled in March to explain more about WESO and the selection process. Children of volunteer coaches and committee members get priority to participate in the event on May 3rd - contact Amy Cell atAmyECell@yahoo.com to volunteer!)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=x8_2bvnqDpV8qcLYDgFd65Aw_3d_3d

Boatmania	Monday after school (3:30-4:30)
Barge Building	Wednesday evening
Circuit Wizardry	Thursday 6:30-7:30
Estimania	requ
Map Reading	Wednesday evening
Mystery Architecture	Tuesday after school
No Bones About It	Tuesday evening
Pentathlon (spectators)	Monday evening
Puff Mobiles (spectators)	Monday after school
Rock Hunter	Wednesday 6:30-7:30
Science Jeopardy	Wednesday 5:30-6:30
Sink or Float	Monday 7:30-8
Straw Tower	Wednesday after school
Water Rockets (spectators)	Wednesday evening
What Went By?	Friday evening
Wright Stuff	Monday 6:30-7:30
Write It, Build It	Friday after school

If you have any questions, feel free to contact AnnMarie Sastry or Amy Cell.

The Book Fairs Are Almost Here!

From Susan Gechter & Diane Alson

We have a lot of information to share with you regarding King School's upcoming Scholastic Book Fair & Used Book Fair.

We will be collecting used booksMonday, March 3^rd through Wednesday, March 12^th. There are two ways you can drop off your donated books. You may send your donated books with your children to school to drop off in their classroom collection OR you may also drop off your used book donations in the boxes by the school office or the front entrance. This year we will be counting the total number of books donated by the entire school.

A reminder to students who are making "Take a Reading Road Trip" posters for the Book Fairs. Posters are due Monday, March 3^rd. Flyers were sent home last Friday about making posters. Those students who turn in a poster by March 3^rd will receive two coupons for two free used books from the King School Used Book Fair.

King School's Scholastic Book Fair & Used Book Fair will be located in the Multi-Purpose Room. King families and the community are welcome to shop on:

Thursday, March 13^th 3:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Friday, March 14^th 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

***Cash and checks will be accepted at both book fairs. Additionally, credit cards will be accepted but ONLY for Scholastic book purchases.***

Families should look for the Classroom Wish List Board when shopping at the King School Book Fairs. The Classroom Wish Lists will be located on the wall as you walk onto the stage for the Scholastic Book Fair. Look for the envelope with your teacher's name. In it will be a variety of books that he/she is wishing to be added to his/her classroom library.

We can't wait for you to join us on a Reading Road Trip!

Questions? Contact Susan Gechter (susbg@comcast.net) or Diane Alson (alsondia@yahoo.com).

FYI: Fatal Shooting in Ann Arbor

Dear MLK parents,

Please be aware of the following Ann Arbor news story. The Ann Arbor Police Department has assured the AAPS there is no danger to the public or to the schools. Our end of the school day procedures will take place as usual.

Kevin

from mlive.com: Ann Arbor Police investigate fatal shooting

The University of Michigan issued a security alert while Ann Arbor police search for a suspect in an off-campus shooting death Wednesday night.Authorities said a 29-year-old Ypsilanti man was killed inside a duplex near the university's north campus Wednesday night. Police withheld his name and aren't discussing a motive.They're hunting for a 28-year-old male resident for questioning. Police said he is considered armed and dangerous.

from the U-M Crime Alert

Ann Arbor Police Department are looking for a person of interest - Andrew Robert Myrick, white male, 28 years old, 6', 200 pounds, heavy build, black shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. He should be considered armed and dangerous.

Report from Parent Writing Workshop

Good evening! I am writing from the MLK media center on the evening of December 3, 2007 surrounded by parents from 22 families who have assembled for a Parent Writing Workshop for the purpose of understanding writing instruction and how it pertains to their children. This event has been planned and implemented by the MLK School Improvement Team both this school year and last. In fact, I am very happy to announce that with tonight's participation, over 150 families total have participated in the workshop. In the near future, I will announce a second parent opportunity for families to learn about writing, again sponsored by the MLK School Improvement Team. Watch for it!

Back to tonight's blog entry . . . Here are a few pieces of information that were shared at tonight's presentation that would be helpful for all of us to remember:

1. All children can and should write. From the time your children can hold a crayon, encourage them to draw, scribble and write. In order to be successful and fluent writers, students need to know they can write--even if it doesn't look perfect!
2. Teachers must help student find real purposes to write. Help your children communicate their hopes, dreams, fears, and concerns. When your children see writing as serving a real purpose, they will be more likely to try it.
3. Students need to take ownership and responsibility. Kid writing should sound like kid writing! When kids believe that their writing is their own, they will become more likely to invest themselves in it.
4. Effective writing programs involve the complete writing process. Our children like all writers, have different ways of approaching writing tasks. Tune in to your children's learning styles and needs as writers. Writing in different styles and genres will take time. Some genres will take just one draft while others will take multiple drafts.
   
5. Teachers can help students get started. Talk with your children about their ideas and encourage them to draw, freewrite, and make lists of verbs in order to get started.
6. Teachers can help students draft and revise. Listen to our children's drafts and ask real questions about content. Heartfelt questions are the best way to encourage kids to keep on writing.
7. Grammar and mechanics are best learned in the context of actual writing. If you notice errors in conventions in your children's writing, pick just one area at a time to work on (such as punctuation, dialogue, or capitalization). You might also refer to real texts (books, newspapers, letters, magazines) to see how published authors tackle issues of punctuation, spelling and more.
8. Students need real audiences and a classroom context of shared learning. Help your children find real audiences (famliy, friends, neighbors) to communicate with.
9. Writing should extend throughout the curriculum. You can write just about anything at home: letters to family and friends, songs and plays to perform for the family, lists for grocery shopping . . . The list is endless!
10. Effective teachers use evaluation constructively and efficiently. Your job as a parent is to encourage and support any effort your children make in writing. Be lavish in praise and specific and limited in your suggestions for improvement.

I hope that everyone will find the above information useful and helpful, even if you couldn't attend one the parent nights.

Please also join me in thanking the Eastern Michigan Writing Project, Susan Lake, Diane Massell and the MLK School Improvement Team for their work around tonight's workshop and achievement at MLK.

Parent Opportunity: Presentation on how to help your child with writing

Dear King Parents:

This year the School Improvement Team (SIT) will provide a series of presentations and workshops for parents on writing. The first is led by the Eastern Michigan Writing Project and is called “How to Help your Child with Writing.” This 90-minute presentation is for parents and caregivers who want to learn more about how to encourage their student writers at home. Dr. Cathy Fleischer and Kimberly Pavlock of EMU will explore family activities that promote writing as well as effective ways to respond to children about their writing. If you have not attended this event before, we strongly encourage you to attend. In the future, SIT will offer this year other presentations about the Ann Arbor writing curriculum, culminating with a writing workshop for the whole family.

For your convenience, the EMU presentations will be repeated three times. Please sign up for one of the following evenings:

• Monday, November 19 7 – 8:30 pm.
• Tuesday, November 27 7 – 8:30 pm
• Monday, December 3 7 – 8:30 pm

KingCare will offer childcare compliments of the MLK PTO.

Please return the form sent home previously by Friday, November 16 or call Secretary Mary Greene at 994-1940. Also, don't forget to indicate whether you will need childcare and the names and ages of your children (school aged children only).

Over $500 raised from Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

On behalf of the PTO, thank you to everyone who participated in this year's work around Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF which raised over $500! Nice job MLK community!

Nominate MLK teachers and staff for the Celebration of Excellence!

I recently received the piece below from the Board of Education secretary and thought it would be a good time to remind MLK families that you can recommend MLK teachers and staff for the Celebration of Excellence Award. Thank you for your consideration.

Forwarded message:

We have made some exciting changes to the Celebration of Excellence awards! As you know, awards are given to staff who perform above and beyond what is expected in their jobs, and staff may only receive the award once. We will now award a "Gold Star" to recognize those staff whose nominations are received for a job well done, and will also include repeat nominations up to 1 per year. These "Gold Star" awardees will receive a gold star lapel pin and a $25 Borders gift card. Names of our Gold Star recipients will also be read by the PTOC chair at a Board Meeting.

Information about this change in our selection process will be on our website:

http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/boe.home/celebration_of_excellence

We are happy to continue to offer our employee recognition program. Keep those nominations coming!

Incident at MLK - 10/30/2007

Dear MLK Parents and Guardians,

Today our school had to address a very serious incident where one student did not make it into school in the morning.

The incident immediately initiated a response procedure, which formally included MLK staff, district staff, and the Ann Arbor Police Department. In addition, many MLK parents helped in the search effort.

I am very pleased to report that the missing student was found unharmed and very close to school.

Your child may have seen police cars and/or a fire truck around MLK that were deployed during the search effort. Please reassure them, as we will, that they were in no danger and that we were only attempting to find a student who did not make it into school.

My observation: the response of the entire community was amazing! Immediately everyone rallied together to find the missing student. Thank you to everyone who helped in the search effort.

Please understand that because of privacy issues I cannot elaborate more on the incident but do know that our response process was praised by the police department, and the result was very positive.

Most of all, we are happy and very relieved that the child was found and is now doing well with the parents.

Sincerely,

Kevin Karr

Update on Measles in AAPS - 10/11/07

Dear MLK Families,
On Thursday, October 11 we were informed by the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control new information on the cases of measles in Ann Arbor district.

Burns Park
The "index" or first case from Burns Park originally tested positive but the CDC confirmed there was a reporting error on their end and determined this case was a negative. Because of this reporting error this case is being retested by the CDC and we expect results in the next 24 hours. The Health Department and CDC have ruled out two other cases at Burns Park, but there are still two additional cases suspected pending test results. Students without proper MMR immunizations will continue to be out of school at Burns Park until October 29 or if they receive the MMR vaccination.

Bach
The suspected case has proved negative and all students who have been excluded from school are allowed to return on Friday, October 12.

Wines
The suspected case at Wines is still being investigated. Students excluded from class because of lack of immunizations are still not to return until October 29 or until they receive the immunization.

Angell
The case at Angell has been confirmed as positive by blood tests conducted at the U of M. The test is now being conducted by the CDC for further confirmation. Students who have been excluded at Angell will continue to be out of school until October 25 or until they receive the immunization.

We know that the information coming out through the media is complex but we continue to work directly with the Public Health Department and the CDC to ensure that all families have the most recent information available.

We will continue to send out reminders to AAPS families as we receive information from the CDC on any of the outstanding suspected cases.

If you have questions about your child's immunization status please contact your family doctor or you may contact the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health at 544-6700.

Sincerely,
Kevin Karr

Update on Measles in AAPS - 10/8/07

We were informed on Monday, October 8 of another suspected case of measles at Angell Elementary directly related to the confirmed case at Burns Park.

Right now in the district we have one confirmed case of measles and three suspected cases (2 at Burns Park and 1 at Angell). All of these students were immunized and did have some type of direct contact with the confirmed case.

The Public Health Department is instructing all students at Angell who are not up to date on their MMR immunizations not be allowed back to school until they receive their immunizations or until October 29th.

At this time Public Health is not concerned with any outbreaks beyond these two schools. The Public Health Department continues to request that families who have not completed the two series MMR vaccinations for their children to do so and for those who are not immunized to seriously consider getting the MMR vaccinations. If adults are unsure of their immunizations status please take the time to contact your doctor. A booster shot for adults is available by contacting the Public Health Department or your doctor.

We will keep you updated on any further developments. We expect some sort of confirmation by the CDC later in the week.

AAPS Measles Update

Dear MLK Families,

As you may know from media reports there is one confirmed case of measles at Burns Park Elementary with potentially two other unconfirmed but probable cases. The school district is working very closely with the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health and is following their established protocols. At this time there are no other cases reported at any other Ann Arbor Public School.

Measles is considered an eradicated disease. There are less then 100 cases across the U.S. each year this is why even one case is considered an epidemic and medical personnel act quickly when it is confirmed. You should know that the confirmed case and the probable cases occurred in children who had the complete MMR vaccinations. Public Health informs us that the vaccinations offers 99% protection. Because they were immunized the children who have the symptoms experienced very light cases of the disease.

The Department of Public Health has required that all students at Burns Park who do not have up-to-date immunizations or have signed immunization waivers to be out of school for 21 days based on the onset of the disease or until they receive the MMR immunization. This is to protect their health. The Department of Public Health is urging every child to be immunized with the MMR vaccinations.

Adults who work in schools and are unsure of their own immunization records may want to consider a booster shot. More information about this can be found HERE or by calling the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health.

The district will continue to keep us informed of any further developments which I will pass on to you.

Sincerely,
Kevin Karr

Safety—Drop Offs and Pick Ups

The piece below is a re-post from last March. The concerns expressed around pick up and drop off times are still an issue for us today.

To address this, I know that some of you have seen my increased presence during drop-off and pick-up. I'll continue to use this strategy, but I know that parents safely monitoring their own drop off and pick up behavior is what is ultimately needed.

Reading below, please note the issues/concerns and what we can do to act in safer, more responsible ways during drop off and pick up.

My disappointment (from 3/4/07): several parents approached me recently to express dissatisfaction and disappointment with safety during drop-off and pick-up times. After watching in the front drive of the school on several occasions, I couldn’t agree more. Our problems during these times are serious and are on-going issues. We need to come together to address this NOW!

What’s wrong:
• Parents dropping off and picking up students from the left hand lane of the circle drive in the front of the school. This means students cross in front of other cars to get to and from the school.
• Driving too fast in the front drive of the school.
• Parking in front of the school during pick up and drop off. This is not allowed.

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.

Class Placement Information

Class placement information will be mailed to families on Wednesday, August 29. The letters families receive will also contain other important beginning of the year information. Please look for the letter in your mailbox.

As a reminder, the first day of school is a full-day on September 4.