Saturday, December 7, 2019

All Hands on Deck

Hi folks, Jon Wennstrom here! For the past several years, I have been very active in the Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA). After serving four years on the board of directors, I decided to run for the president of the organization. This year, I am serving as the president-elect and will begin my term as president on July 1. It's an honor to serve at the state level and connect with administrators from across Michigan. However, I could not serve in this role without the support of the district and our amazing Buchanan team. Each year, when I attend the annual conference, the staff pulls together and keeps things running smoothly while I am gone. It's such a blessing to have a team that demonstrates such leadership and initiative. Thank you to the Buchanan team and thank you to the Buchanan community for all your support!


UPCOMING EVENTS AT BUCHANAN

Monday, December 9: Santa Shop Opens
                                     iReady Reading & Math Testing begins
Thursday, December 12: 3rd/4th Grade Winter Concert 6:00-8:00 (Santa Shop Open)
Friday, December 13: Santa Shop Closes
                                    Report Cards go home
Friday, December 20: iReady Reading & Math Testing ends
                                    Winter Break starts after school!

The 3rd/4th Grade Winter Concert will be this Thursday, December 12. The 3rd grade concert will be at 6:00 PM and the 4th grade concert will be at 7:00 PM. Each concert will last about 40 minutes and students should be in their classrooms 15 minutes prior to the performance.  After the first performance, the gym will be cleared and families can pick up their child at the classroom and then the 4th grade families will enter the gym for the second performance. The Santa Shop will be open from 6:00-8:00 PM, so families can shop while their child is not performing. 

PTA POINTS
  • The Buchanan Holiday Shop will be open this week (from December 9th through 13th). Packets including classroom shopping dates and times, as well as envelopes for sending in money, were sent home last week. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to run the Holiday Shop!!! Please visit the following link to sign up for a time slot: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054aa8af23a7f94-holiday1
  • The Holiday Shop will also be open on Thursday, December 12 from 6:00 to 8:00pm during and in between the 3rd and 4th grade concerts. All are welcome to attend this opportunity to visit our Holiday Shop after school hours! 
  • Our next Riverside Skating Night is Friday, December 13 from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Admission is $6.50 and includes a regular skate rental (premium rental or inline skate rental is an additional $3.00). We hope to see you there!
  • We surveyed our amazing staff about some of their favorite things in an effort to make your lives a little easier this holiday season. Please see the Staff Favorites document attached to Mr. Wennstrom's email for their responses. Our staff work hard to enrich our children's lives and deserve to be treated to some of their favorite things!
  • Did you know you can support the Buchanan PTA when you shop on Amazon? Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice through the AmazonSmile program. To make sure we get credit for your Amazon purchases, follow these steps:
1. Visit smile.amazon.com
2. Search for James Buchanan Elementary PTA.
3. Select James Buchanan Elementary PTA as your charitable organization.
4. Start shopping!
5. For your future Amazon shopping trips, start at smile.amazon.com (it is the SAME as shopping on amazon.com, aside from the charitable contribution!)
  • The Livonia PTSA Council is holding its 6th Annual PTA Dads Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at Franklin High School. This cook-off is open to dads, grandpas, uncles, etc. who are PTA members. The winning chili-maker will take home a "dad-centric" prize package as well as a $500 grant for the school they are representing. We would love to have some dads (or grandpas, uncles, older brothers, etc.) representing Buchanan this year! Please see the flyer attached to Mr. Wennstrom's email for more information and an entry form.


#BuchananBears #MEMSPA19


Did you know that MEMSPA has over 1200 members across the state and nearly half of them attend the annual conference each December? It's an opportunity for educational leaders to share ideas, solve problems, and help one another grow to help schools and students throughout Michigan. Many of us attend a summer learning institute as well. Great things are happening at Buchanan and across Michigan!