Upcoming Events

Wednesday is our Multi- Cultural Dinner and Book Fair evening.

Please join us from 5:30 - 7:30 PM for food and festivities in the Great Room and then stroll down to the library for the book fair.

Schools of Choice

The window for Schools of Choice applications closes on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

Applications and the list of schools are available here

http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps/ins.child_accounting/schools_of_choice

K-8 STEAM at Northside – Information Night – March 24, 6:30pm – Added Date!

An additional K-8 STEAM information night has been scheduled for Monday, March 24 at Northside, starting at 6:30pm.

A “Meet the Principal” reception will be held the first week of April!

Applications for the K-8 STEAM for In-District AAPS students will be accepted March 6 – April 1.http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps/k-8_steam

Preschool Enrollment Now Being Accepted

The Ann Arbor Public Schools Preschool at Allen and Thurston are now accepting application for 4 year olds for Fall 2014 enrollments. Full and half day options are available. To learn more –www.annarborpreschool.com

Young 5’s in the Ann Arbor Public Schools

Are you looking for the “gift of time” for your soon to be 5 year old? AAPS now offers a Young 5’s Kindergarten program for students who are five by May 1 through October 1 or with a waiver through December 1. For more information http://www.a2schools.org/aaps/academics/early_childhood#young5s

AAPS Budget Forums Set

AAPS will be hosting a round of budget forums to discuss the 2014-15 AAPS budget. Please join us for one of the forums so we can hear from you!

All forums are scheduled from 6:30 – 8pm

Tuesday, March 25 at Slauson Middle School

Thursday, March 27 at Scarlett Middle School

Monday, March 31 at Clague Middle School

Tuesday, April 1 at Forsythe Middle School

Thursday, April 3 at Tappan Middle School

Allen Get's a New Look!

Dear Allen Families,

Allen is getting all new exterior doors in our school color RED!   We hope this brightens up the exterior appearance of our school as well as ensure all doors are secure.     We are hoping to paint other exterior fixtures this spring to match our new doors and continue our "face lift" of the school.  

Go Eagles!!

Dear Allen Families,

We have a wonderful opportunity to host the Chinese Acrobats from the Bureau of Lectures organization on November 19th, 2013 at 2:00 PM.   I hope that you can join us for this great opportunity.   Just another way that Allen Parent Council and the fundraisers support our school.   For more information go to the website below.  

http://www.assemblyline.com/chinese-acrobats.html#M254-chinese_acrobats2

Joan Fitzgibbon

Fun Nights and Movie Nights!!

Dear all,  We are so fortunate to have parents volunteer to plan and organize these fun community building activities.   It is a great opportunity to socialize at school with friends and other families.    I would ask that families accompany their child(ren) at these events so that supervision is abundant.   We had some behavior at the last Fun Night that was out of compliance with our PBIS expectations.   I am asking that you as parents help students follow school expectations both during the day and at these fun activities.     Your support is greatly appreciated.


Joan Fitzgibbon
Principal;

Fun Run Success!!   We raised a total dollar amount of  $15,992.25 and will realize a profit of         $12, 500.   We are very thankful to all of the families and their extended families and friends who supported this event.   The money raised goes directly to supporting our students and providing field trip, assemblies, teacher grants, etc.   A special thank you to Heidi Harris and Caitlin Rowe for their amazing efforts and organization of this event.    YAY Allen Eagles!!!

Ms. Fitz

Dear Allen Families,

Allen MEAP testing is completed today!!!  We are very proud of our students and their efforts the past two weeks.  Thank you for your support in getting your child to school on time and prepared.    We are happy that our testing for awhile is complete.    Nice Job students!!!
Ms. Fitz

Allen School Fun Run Gets started

Mad Max visited Allen Elementary yesterday to Kick off the "Fun Run".

October 24th students will participate in the all school Fun Run.   All proceeds earned from student's pledges go towards field trips, assemblies, fun nights, teacher grants and much much more.

The goal is for each student to earn $50.00 toward our school goal of $15,000.00    Thank you for your support.   Ms. Fitz

Block Out Bullying- University of Michigan

Our students in grades 3-5 had a wonderful time at Crisler Arena last Friday where they attended the "Block Out Bullying" field trip hosted by the University of Michigan's Volleyball team.
Students studied scenarios about bullying and identified the bystanders, bullies, and victims.    After the session, they enjoyed watching University of Michigan play Marshall in Volleyball.   We all had a great time!   Thank you to U of M for their invitation and support with transportation.  Ms. Fitz

Allen was thrilled to have Ade Williams visit our 4th and 5th grade students.   Adé Williams, 14, is the first William Warfield scholarship recipient and a member of the Music Institute of Chicago’s (MIC) Academy program where she studies violin with MIC artist faculty Almita and Roland Vamos.  For more information please go to her website:

http://sphinxmusic.org/bio-ade-williams.html

Thank you to Mrs. Mobley for bringing this wonderful performer to our school.   Joan

Front Showcase Features Multicultural Book Selection

Front show case

Some of you may have noticed the books in the front show case.  As a staff, our goal is to raise awareness of race and cultural differences within our community.  Using literature is one way to open conversations about these ideas.  Many of these books are library books and are able to be checked out by students.  The books in the showcase will change month by month to reflect the wealth of books written about diversity.

Allen Equity Team

Safety Protocols 2013

Dear Allen Families,  

The district has met with the Ann Arbor Police Chief regarding security protocols in the school district and in the aftermath of the tragic events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, there is a need for following these security measures across the district:

1.  All exterior doors will remain locked throughout the entire school day - except for the door(s) that has been designated as the main entrance for schools that do not have a buzzer system.

2. All Staff must wear their identification badge at all times during the school day.

1. All visitors must sign into the office and wear a visitor sticker.

4. All classroom doors must be locked at all times. 

1. Adhere to the outlined safety plan for Allen.

Allen Elementary School has already had the above protocols in place for the past few years.   We will remain diligent in our efforts to provide a safe and educational learning environment for our students.    Your help in following our safety plan for signing in, and pick up and drop off of students is essential.

All the best,

Joan Fitzgibbon

Principal

Awesome FUN RUN!

What a great time we had yesterday at the Fun Run!!
The students and staff had a wonderful time on a beautiful fall day!
We are thrilled to have met our goal and will be enjoying our Pajama Day celebration next Wednesday on Halloween.   We actually exceeded our goal and are still receiving pledges as the deadline is November 1st.   A huge thank you to everyone for their support and to the extended family and friends who supported Allen.   A huge thank you to Heidi Harris for her time, energy and efforts coordinating this wonderful healthy event.

Joan

MEAP Test

Today we began MEAP testing for students in grades 3,4, and 5.   Thank you very much for having your child at school on time, rested and ready.   During my visits to the classrooms, the students were ready to go this morning feeling prepared to take the test.

Thank you for your support as we take this State Assessment.  Our performance is used to determine AYP and our status as a focus school.

Joan Fitzgibbon
Principal

Basketball Jones visits Allen

Basketball Jones visited Allen yesterday and the students had loads of fun.  There were several great basketball tricks he did but most important was his message about being kind to others, respecting yourself and not being bully.   There was a lot of laughter and fun had by all and the students were excellent participants showing great respect, enthusiasm, and support for each other.   Students participated in a few team events and several individual students were called upon to help him demonstrate his basketball tricks.  Please ask your child what was their favorite part of the assembly and what was the overall message.   Thanks again to Parent Council for supporting these events for our students.  

Ms. Fitz

Tonight we had our first Parent Council meeting!  We also had the new parent welcome gathering from 6:00 - 6:30PM.  Parents and kids enjoyed conversation and some pizza and pop.   It was a good turn out and we saw several new faces tonight.    My bulleted report for the meeting is below:


Thank you to Parent Council (PC) for
The social gathering on opening day
The PC calendar for the year
Organizing the book fair


We are off to a great start this school year.
PBIS is in its second year and going smoothly
NWEA testing has started for grades 1-5
Basketball Jones assembly will be September 27th with a focus on anti-bullying

MEAP will take place in October for students in grades 3-5


Curriculum Night was fairly well attended but if you missed this evening please contact your child's teacher.


Next PC meeting is Thursday, October 18th at 6:30 PM

Curriculum Night

Thank you for attending Allen's curriculum Night last evening.   It was a wonderful opportunity for parents/guardians to hear about the academic and social education that will take place this year.   Please know that we need you and value your input and support.   Come to lunch, help in the classroom or volunteer for a Parent Council event.  This is a partnership and we want you to be as involved as you can.

Thanks again for your support.   I am very excited about the school year.

Upcoming activities for school:

NWEA testing begins next week
School Pictures are September 20th
Parent Council is September 20th with NEW FAMILY Orientations starting at 6:00 - 6:30
Parent Council Monthly Meeting is September 20th from 6:30 - 8:00 PM and Child Care is provided for school age children
Basketball Jones will host and assembly for all students on September 27th and focus on character building and bullying
PBIS is in full swing stay tuned for your child's classroom celebrations and thank you for reviewing the Matrix with your child at home

See you soon!
Ms. Fitz

Welcome Back!!

I hope had a wonderful summer.  The school year is around the corner and the staff and I are excited to begin the 2012-2103 school year.   I hope that you will come to the Meet and Greet next Wednesday August 29th from 4:00 - 5:00 PM on the playground.   In preparation for the school year I have posted the staff assigned to Allen for this school year.   See you soon.  Ms. Fitz

STAFFING: 

Our 2012-2013 Allen Staff:
Kindergarten                  Leslie Binder, Pam Dabbs, Marie Lemmer
Grade 1                          Nancy Cocco, Roberta Cole, Jennifer Harris
Grade 2                          Dawn Dennis, Kim Gardiner, Jennifer York    
Grade 3                          Andrew Sargent, Karen Slotten, Laura Wolf       
Grade 4                          Sue Bates, Ryan Bruder, Jessica Orr
Grade 5                          Cindy Johengen, Alice King
Art                                          Deb Campbell
Library/Computer                          Amy Rodriguez, Peggy Armstrong
Physical Education                         Katie Lewit
Vocal & Instrumental Music          Kim Mobley
Instrumental Music                        Deborah Katz, Kim Mobley
Resource Room                             Tim Hulett
Teacher Consultants                       Pamela Lowe
Social Worker                   Johanna Phillips Carpenter
Reading Intervention                     Sandy Sheremet     
Title One Teacher                          Carol Clyde
ESL                       Sandy Sheremet
Psychologist                   Tracy Loveland
Custodians                   Madeline Allen, Anthony Anderson
Food Services                                 Julie Drake
Noon Hour Coordinator                 Pauline Samida
Office Staff                                    Anne Meade and Kayley Meade

Climate Survey- We Need Your Feedback!!

Dear Allen Families,

Elementary Climate Survey - As the school year comes to a close we’d like to ask your help in

providing us with feedback about your experiences at our school. We take the education and safety of our

children very seriously and your input will help us identify areas of strength as well as areas for

improvement. The survey can be found at:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22FPTV62SC7/

Thank you very much for your participation.   Joan Fitzgibbon, Principal

Disability Awareness Day

I would like to thank Karen Meints and the many people who helped organize and volunteer the day of the workshop.  This workshop is a unique day for our fourth grade students during which they learn about different  disabilities through the use of adaptive equipment and presentations from guest speakers.  Using the adaptive equipment gives students an opportunity to experience and appreciate what it might be like to live with a particular disability.  We thank all of our staff and students for their participation and support!    

Allen in the Ann Arbor News for March is Reading Month

http://annarbor.com/news/pioneer-high-school-teacher-helps-allen-elementary-kids-celebrate-reading-month/