Brain Freeze and Reading!

Please read this to your child/children :-)
Reminder from Mr. Karr:  Don't forget to work on your Brain Freeze packet and do some reading today!  I can't wait to see you in 2014!

Mitchell Music Program Featured In mlive.com Article About Ann Arbor Arts Programming

There are some nice videos embedded within the article showing Mitchell's music class in action!

Click the link to read/view it all!

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2013/12/arts_programming_in_ann_arbor.html#incart_river_default

PHOTO: 5th Grade Strings Class

Playing the Star-Spangled Banner. Beautiful!!!

Brain Freeze Packets Come Home Today

Brain Freeze packets will come home today :-)

Please look in your child's backpack today to find their Brain Freeze winter break work packet.  We are sending these home encourage kids to continue their learning during the upcoming winter break.  This is important because kids who continue to enjoy their reading and work on their math during break do better in school when they return!

Students who return their packets when we come back will receive something special from Mr. Karr. :-)

PHOTOS: December Book Giveaway

Thanks to the efforts of many (including Mrs. Rothman, Mrs. Reader, Mrs. Hatt, and Mrs. Binkow), Mitchell students will be taking home books to keep this week for their reading pleasure during the upcoming break!

Below are a few pictures showing the book giveaway set up as well as kids enjoying their new books!

Mr. Karr's December Letter To Families

Dear Mitchell Families,

As we move into the winter break, I want to share how much I enjoy being a part of the Mitchell-Scarlett community.  This is a very special place where lots of learning is taking place. There isn't another place I'd rather be a principal.  Thank you for your support and partnership!

Achievement Update
I am pleased by the work and learning that has occurred at Mitchell this fall.  Our students and teachers have worked hard . . . and I believe that work is showing in improved achievement.  One example of this is our current fifth grade class.  Over the years, this class has consistently been the highest achieving group at Mitchell.  We've seen this particularly in their reading scores.  This November, 82% of our fifth grade cohort was reading at or above grade level which is up from 62% from where that same group was at the end of fourth grade.  This is great news . . . everyone loves to see evidence of student learning. 

I also want to say that the current fourth graders are right on the heels of the fifth graders in terms of reading achievement.  Watch out fifth graders . . . you could be "unseated" as the current Mitchell School Reading Champions!

Another example of our growth is our current second graders.  These students left first grade with 65% of students reading "on target."  This fall, as second graders, this group is at 66% which doesn't seems like a great improvement.  However, the group isn't going backwards, and they are in a position to improve on 66% the next time we get to take a "snapshot" of their achievement - on the January NWEA test and after that on the March report cards.  I will certainly be looking for their continued growth!

To achieve growth in reading (or math or any subject area), students need to practice.  This is why we say students should read for 20 minutes each night at home.

BRAIN FREEZE! - Winter Break Homework Packets
Do you remember the summer Think Stretch workbooks the PTO gave to students during the last two summers?  Students who returned them received a Think Stretch medal!  Think Stretch is an important tool that helps our students continue their learning in the summer. 

It is also important to continue learning during the upcoming break, so students will receive a "BRAIN FREEZE" winter learning packet on December 19 to take home and do during break.  They should bring it back to school (completed) the week of January 6, 2014. When they return it, I will have something special for them - it isn't a medal this time, but it is something special that no in the school has!  They were made just for Mitchell students who complete BRAIN FREEZE!

Thank you to the Think Stretch Corporation for donating the Brain Freeze copies to Mitchell. 

Have A Wonderful Break!
I hope the break is a time of family, friendship and relaxation for all of our Mitchell community.  Please enjoy a book or two with your children during break, and practice some math facts!  We are already looking forward to seeing the kids when we return in January! 

Sincerely,
Kevin Karr

Book Give Away + “Brain Freeze” Next Week

GREAT NEWS!

By the end of next week each Mitchell child will:

1. Have chosen two “gently used” books that they can keep, read over break, and put in their personal library at home;
2. Receive a free “Brain Freeze” packet to work on over break.  This is similar to Think Stretch workbook that the Mitchell PTO purchases for each student to work on in the summer.

We are giving these tools to your kids because it is fun (and important) to read and practice a little over break!  It is good for parents to help kids with these things also – read with them, do some Brain Freeze wih them!

PHOTO: Sorting books for the used book giveaway next week!

 

Thanks to following for their help in sorting used books at Mitchell today:

• Chelsee Rowley
• Jamie Snyder
• Kate Sears
• Wendy Blackman
• Lajuanna Castle
• Bonnie Nolan
• Audra Keahl
• Carrie Nelson
• Wendy Rothman
• Anne Reader

We are looking forward to the Used Book Giveaway next week and the distribution of Brain Freeze packets for students to work on during break!

PHOTO: Lots of books coming and going from the Mitchell library

PHOTO: December Mitchell Family Movie Night

Everyone is enjoying The Croods movie about cavemen!

Ann Arbor school finds a creative way to teach kids music | Michigan Radio

A very nice feature on the Mitchell School after school music class called El Sistema:

http://michiganradio.org/post/ann-arbor-school-finds-creative-way-teach-kids-music

AAPSEF gives out nearly 10K in Karen Thomas grants |

Congrats to Mrs. Atkins and Mrs. Reader who recently received grants from the Karen Thomas Funds which are given out through the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation.

More info by clicking the following link:
http://news.a2schools.org/aapsef-gives-out-nearly-10k-in-karen-thomas-grants/

No Michigan Makers Tomorrow (Monday)

Michigan Makers will NOT meet on Monday, November 25.
I apologize for the confusion.
Kevin

Physical Education News from Mrs. Lindemann

Dear Parents,

We are currently doing a sport stacking unit in PE. Sport stacking is an exciting sport where students stack and unstuck 12-specially designed cups (Speed Stacks) in predetermined sequences.  Students race against the clock for faster times and race against each other in relays.

Sport stacking promotes hand-eye coordination, ambidexterity, quickness, concentration and Fitness- plus students love it! Sport stacking uses both sides of the body and brain developing important skills needed to dribble and shoot a basketball, throw and catch a baseball, play a musical instrument, type on a computer and more. By activation both sides of the brain,students also benefit academically with greater focus and concentration levels. 

One of my goals, as a Physical Educator, is to promote activity at home through positive Alternatives to computer, television and video game screen time. I believe that sport stacking is a unique, fun and simple activity that motivates kids to get up and move. To help accomplish my goal of keeping kids active and healthy, I invite you and your student to participate in our school Group Order with Speed Stacks.

Group order participants:                       

·       Receive special school discounts on their favorite gear.

·       Take advantage of free shipping on all orders.

·       Help our school earn free equipment – the more you order, the more we earn for the program. 

Choose your items from the product brochure and order using these easy steps:

1.     Go to the Group Order Store online at www.speedstacks.com/go

2.     Find our school in the listing and place your order.

Sincerely, Mrs. Lindemann

      

Good News for the Mitchell English Language Learner (ELL) department!

This week a Karen Thomas Grant was awarded to Susan Atkins for her proposal for an ELL family literacy after-school project that will run this spring. Parent-student pairs will partake in activities to develop interactive reading and writing skills at home. The theme for this class centers around the Hispanic tradition of "Dia del Niño," or Day of the Child. Thanks to the grant, students and parents will receive bilingual books to take home, and bound writing journals in which to compose family stories.

Mitchell School Improvement Plan Update

Reading is important to me because it is one of our most important goals in the The Mitchell School Improvement Plan.  In case you didn't know, our focus school improvement goals are:

1. Mitchell students will become more proficient readers;
2. Mitchell students will become more proficient writers;
3. Mitchell students will show behaviors that support and lead to greater learning opportunities.

The first goal in the list is something every family can support just by encouraging your child to read each night - or read with them. 

Family Movie Night - December 6, 6 PM

Our PTO does a great job of hosting community events so that families come to school and enjoy being together. Thank you for this support! The next family night coming up at Mitchell is Family Movie Night on December 6. Hope to see you there!

Free Community Thanksgiving Meal - RSVP by 11/2 - Call 734-482-2055

Mitchell families are cordially invited to a  . . . 

Free Community Thanksgiving Meal

On 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 

From 

4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

RSVP by November 22 by calling 734-482-2055

Winter Wear Clothes Closet Available 

Invitation to Mitchell 4th and 5th Grade Concert

Dear Friends to Mitchell School, 

On Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 pm, the Mitchell 4th and 5th grade students will be demonstrating what they are enjoying in music class. 

We invite you to attend and enjoy!

This "informance" will take place in the multipurpose room at Mitchell School. In addition to the general music program (vocal and humanities), the El Sistema after school strings program participants will also be demonstrating. 

Special guests for the evening include Dr. Mark Clague and Dr. John Ellis, professors of musicology and music at the University of Michigan. Also joining us will be Horacio Contreras Espinosa, Zachary Ragent, and Chase Bernhardt from the University of Michigan, who have been with working with the students.

Light refreshments to follow.

Please RSVP by CLICKING HERE.

Sincerely,

Kevin Karr

Principal

Mitchell School

PHOTO: Title 1 Family Night

Title 1 Family Night is a time when families of children who participate in Title 1 programs are invited to school to meet the Title 1 teachers and learn about the reading and math programs we offered this fall. If you have questions, you can ask Mrs. Hudson, Mr. Hilton or Mr. Karr.

PTO Update: Science Olympiad!

Dear Mitchell Families,

The 12th Annual Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO) will be held on May 10th, 2014 at Pioneer High School. Students in grades 2-5 at Mitchell are invited to participate again this year!

Mitchell's 2^nd Grade Mystery Architecture Team won a medal in 2013!  We had 22 children and a dozen parents participate. Our goal is to double the number of students to at least 50. We will need more parents to pitch in this year.

Registration forms and event information are being sent home this week. Please complete the form, noting which event(s) your child would like to participate in and return it to school by Friday, December 6.

If you have any questions about the Science Olympiad please contact Sarah McCallum, Mitchell's Head Coach at 734-945-8076 or mccallumsarah@yahoo.com.

Links to other forms volunteer and participant release forms can be found on Mitchell's web site at http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/mitchell.home/science_olympiad.

Thank you for your support!

Mitchell Literacy Fund Grows

You might remember that earlier this year we shared that an endowment had been started to help fun literacy initiatives at Mitchell School.  This was began as an outgrowth of discussions that began at with the Mitchell School Improvement Team! 

Our goal for the fund is to accumulate $50,000.  I'm happy to announce that as of 10/21/2013 the fund balance is just over $15,000! 

If you, your family, your friends, your business or anyone else you know would like to donate to the fund, please direct them to: 

http://tinyurl.com/mit-lit-fund

All donations go directly to the purchase of books and the funding of literacy initiatives at Mitchell School.

If you have questions, please contact Mr. Karr at 997-1216.

Millage Passes

Good morning,
Early this morning I read that the Ann Arbor voters passed the school millage yesterday.  This is great news!  Thank you to Mitchell families who made time to vote yesterday.
In particular, this millage will be used to maintain the schools (including Mitchell).  Most recently this millage has funded the following items at Mitchell:  stage curtains, bathroom remodeling, new exterior doors, lighting upgrades inside and outside the building . . . and more that I'm not thinking of at this moment.
If you have questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Kevin

PTO Notes - 11/5/13

Tuesday, November 5 – No School – Leo's Coney Island – Dining to Donate – 4-8PM

            No flyer needed, Just vote and then head out to dinner with the family.

Please be sure to Vote. The Sinking Fund Millage Renewal will be on all ballots in the Ann Arbor school district. These funds are for building and property construction and remodeling. No increase is proposed - your taxes would remain the same, while preserving regular funding for classrooms.

 

Fun Run pledges- Please be sure to turn in all outstanding pledges by Friday. Any pledges submitted today(Monday) will be counted and entered into the raffle for some great prizes. The raffle drawing will take place on Friday afternoon.

Next Tuesday, Nov 12, we will have our monthly PTO meeting - Childcare available! Please join us!

Mitchell Music Program Awarded Grant

Mr. Tolly is happy to share the news that his grant request for the Sweet Music in Harlem project has been awarded. The Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation has awarded $1,000 for this project at Mitchell. The project will begin in late spring, and will include bringing a children's author, a composer, and musicians to Mitchell as part of the project. More to come as this unfolds!

Lining Up in the Morning - Rain / Very Cold Temperatures

Sometimes parents wonder, does my child line up outside every day in the morning?  Even when it is raining?  What happens when it is very cold?

The answer is students do not line up outside every day.  We have indoor line up procedures for days when it is raining or if it is below the district cut-off for being outside (≤ 0 °F actual temperature or windchill).  Of course if it is questionable, I'll ask kids to line up inside.  :-)

I hope this helps to know so that when it is raining outside, parents know your kids won't be getting wet in the morning.  And when the snow starts flying, kids won't be outside when it is dangerously cold.

As a reminder, students can begin to line up at 8:35 AM - but please, not sooner than that.  

Science Olympiad Starting for Grades 2-5

The 12th Annual Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO)

will be held on May 10th, 2014 at Pioneer High School.

Mitchell School will be participating again this year!

Forms and information about the Science Olympiad will be available in November.  If you have any questions, please contact  Sarah McCallum, Mitchell Head Coach at 734-945-8076 or mccallumsarah@yahoo.com.

PHOTO: El Sistema After School Music Class

Warm up exercises today for kids learning to play stringed instruments.

PHOTO: Abby @ Michigan Makers After School Club

Making squishy circuits!

PTO Notes - 10/28/13

We hope you enjoyed Fall Fest last Friday! It looked like there was a lot of fun going on.  Please let us know if you have suggestions for anything else you might like to see at our Fall Fest party. Thank you to all of you parent and teacher volunteers!

Attached, you will find our October newsletter. Enjoy!

Please note the following dates:

Friday, November 1 – Fun Run Pledges and Donations Due! Thank you for your support!

Tuesday, November 5 – No School – Leo's Coney Island – Dining to Donate – 4-8PM

            No flyer needed, Just vote and then head out to dinner with the family.

Please be sure to Vote on Tuesday, November 5. The Sinking Fund Millage Renewal will be on all ballots in the Ann Arbor school district. These funds are for building and property construction and remodeling. No increase is proposed - your taxes would remain the same, while preserving regular funding for classrooms.

Thank you,

Mitchell PTO

PHOTO: Kindergartens In Music Class

Students worked with mallets today keeping the best and playing along as their classmates sang!

PHOTO: Fall Fest at Mitchell - Friday, 10/25 @ 6 PM

Announcement: Mitchell School Literacy Fund

Dear Mitchell School Community, 

I am excited to announce the creation of the Mitchell School Literacy Fund in support of achievement at Mitchell and the literacy goals in the Mitchell School Improvement Plan.  While I realize that we have shared bits and pieces of this initiative over the past weeks and months (with many of you), today is our official launch date!  Please read the information below about this initiative ... and check out our video! 

Of course if you have questions, please let me know.  

Sincerely,

Kevin

Help Narrow the Achievement Gap 

by contributing to an Endowment Fund

at

The Ann Arbor Area  Community Foundation

to support

Mitchell School Summer Reading

See our video at: 

http://bit.ly/1h0WFGL

To donate online to the Mitchell School Literacy Fund, CLICK BELOW: 

http://tinyurl.com/mit-lit-fund

"Summer reading loss is one of the important factors contributing to the reading achievement gap . . . "

Allington, Richard. Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/Poor Reading Achievement Gap. New York: Teachers College Press, 2013. Print. 

At Mitchell Elementary School in Ann Arbor, a significant number of students come from families who are disadvantaged.  Some families have few or no books in their homes and have limited access to local libraries.

In the spring of 2013, Mitchell educators, with the help of Children's Literacy Network and a grant from Galens Medical Society, selected 1300 new books to give to all kindergarten, first, and second grade students.  Teachers and volunteers helped 130 students choose 10 books each for their very own - at no cost to families.  With your help, we would like to continue and expand this vital program to include all students at Mitchell School.

OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $50,000 TO CREATE A PERMANENT ENDOWMENT TO PROVIDE FREE BOOKS & FAMILY LITERACY EVENTS

We begin with a $10,000 matching grant

To donate online to the Mitchell School Literacy Fund, CLICK BELOW: 

http://tinyurl.com/mit-lit-fund

OR

Send your donation to:

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation

301 N. Main Street #300

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

memo line: Mitchell Literacy Fund

PHOTO: Fun Run!

The Fun Run today was a major success! Thank you to everyone who donated and volunteered.  If your family (or extended family members) still want to donate, please do!  We need the money at school :-)!  There is a donation form in your child’s backpack.  Check it out!

Fun Run This Friday! - 10/15

Please turn in any pledge forms you have. You will get these forms back once the kids have completed the run, so you can collect the money pledged. Thank you for your support of this fundraiser! By the way, you can still collect pledges; just add them to the form once you get it back on Friday afternoon. If you need a form, it is available in the school lobby, or on the website -http://www.a2schools.org/mitchell.home/home

NOTE: If you volunteered and provided an email address, we sent your scheduled volunteer slots yesterday. If you left a phone number, we will call you today or tomorrow. Email us with any questions.

Chess Club - next meeting on 10/17

Dear Mitchell Chess Club Families,
I hope your child enjoyed the first session of chess last evening.  The next session of chess club will be on October 17 from 3:45 - 5:15.
Please let me know if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Kevin

Sinking Fund Renewal - November 5th

AAPS is asking the community to vote November 5 on the continuation of the district's Sinking Fund. A Sinking Fund allows the district to fund repairs, construction and remodeling for the schools, and free up shrinking operating funds for direct use for the main mission of the district – educating our students.

A second community meeting is planned to learn more about the current Sinking Fund, and priorities for future facilities repair and capital projects.

- October 25, 12-1:30pm at the Downtown District Library, 4^th floor – Brown Bag Forum

Follow the AAPS News series Sinking Fund Millage 2013 for much more information.

GREAT START!

I want to thank student, parents, and teachers for a great start to our school year.   We all know Mitchell is the best school anywhere.  The reason for this is simple:  Mitchell kids, Mitchell parents, and Mitchell teachers. 

And in case you didn't know . . . I am proud to work and help at Mitchell School.

Sincerely,

Mr. Karr

MEAP Testing

We've just finished the first week of MEAP testing.  The kids did a great job, and their learning over the past few years will certainly show in the results we get sometime in early 2014. 

Please take a moment to share with your child that Mr. Karr was happy with how hard students worked on their MEAP tests this year.