Please join us for a used book sale, and collectible book auction, to benefit a fund established in the memory of Burns Park parent Karen Thomas.

The Burns Park PTO and the AAPS Educational Foundation are working together to organize this used book sale and online auction of collectible books from the collection of Karen and Andy Thomas. The sale itself will take place at the Burns Park school Auditorium this Saturday, October 18, from 9 am to 1 pm.

In addition to the used books, thirty lots of first editions and other rare and collectible books will be on display during the book sale. These books are being auctioned on our PTO’s auction site (http://www.burnsparkpto.org/auction), and the auctions will remain open at least until midnight, October 31st.

All proceeds from the rare book auction will benefit the Karen Thomas Memorial Fund at the AAPSEF, which is dedicated to help fund literacy programs for at-risk children in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Proceeds from the used book sale will be shared between the Karen Thomas Fund and the Burns Park media center (library).

Please note that contributions to the Karen Thomas Memorial Fund made by the end of this year will be matched up to a total of $25,000. Here is how the Educational Foundation describes the fund:

The Karen Thomas Memorial Fund of the AAPSEF was established by her husband, Andy, in early 2008. The Fund honors Karen’s profound love of reading, and her belief that literacy is essential to a successful and fulfilling life. The Fund will sponsor literacy and academic retention programs for children at the elementary level with an emphasis on academically at risk students. Karen loved to read, and especially loved reading aloud to children. On just about any school morning, you could find her sitting on the bench outside the office at Burns Park Elementary, reading to her son Jonathan. She never missed an opportunity to volunteer as a reader during “March is Reading Month” — even while undergoing chemotherapy.

It’s audition time for the Burns Park Players! Initial auditions will be held on Monday, October 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Tappan auditorium with callbacks held on Tuesday, October 16th. If you would like to audition but are unable to make the audition day, please notify Susan Hurwitz, susanh22@aol.com or call 994-3508.

It’s that time of year again!

The Burns Park Press is the monthly newsletter of the PTO, distributed to all families, faculty and staff in electronic and paper format. The Press is our regular way of communicating as a community, and carries news, an events calendar, and regular contributions from PTO officers and our principal. All families receive the electronic version of the press, and can get a paper copy sent home upon request.

Please select from our available issues below:

2008-09

Scheduled annually on the first Sunday in May, the Burns Park Run, a 5K and 10K race through the streets around the school, is a community wide event and a major fundraiser for the PTO each year. The run committee needs over one hundred volunteers for a variety of tasks before, during and after the race.

Visit the BP Run site: http://www.burnsparkrun.org/

The PTO’s mission is to support and enhance the intellectual, physical and social experience of the students in our school. As educational funding at the federal, state and local level decreases each year the PTO’s financial support becomes even more crucial in maintaining a rich academic tradition at our school. PTO fundraising benefits your children and our school in many ways. Each year the PTO uses the money from fundraisers and PTO dues to help pay for field trips, to give each teacher a classroom allowance, to fund Golden Apple grants, to fund programs such as math/science night, Walk & Talk, lunchtime choices, Thursday thing and service learning projects, to support school wide gatherings such as fall festival and the ice cream social and to purchase items from a faculty created wish list.

Do you have a GREAT idea for an enrichment assembly, a cool project, a fantastic speaker or something else, but don’t know how you would fund it?

Please join us for the Special Interest Fair!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hey parents – it’s time again for the Special Interest Fair! The fair is a Burns Park tradition, and we hope you’ll encourage your student(s) to participate. Last year approximately 80 students shared special interest projects with their classmates, teachers, and families.

All students from kindergarten through 5th grade are encouraged to submit a project! The purpose of the fair is to encourage students to pursue a topic of their interest and provide a showcase for their efforts. The fair is non-competitive, and children may work alone or in a group.

Dear AAPS Parents and Guardians,

This past weekend the USDA issued a recall on meat products that were distributed as a commodity item through the United States Department of Education’s school lunch program.

The Ann Arbor Public Schools does have some of this meat product (beef patties and taco meat) in our possession but it has never been served to any student in this district.

To all Burns Park families: We are excited to announce the addition of Earth Shine Farm to our Burn$ Park Buck$ fundraiser – each week you will have the opportunity to order locally raised organic chicken from them. Over the years many families have asked if we could add organizations like this to our scrip program and we are really looking forward to this partnership. The chicken orders and payments will be separate from the rest of the Burn$ Park Buck$ orders. Please read on for more information about the chicken and the ordering process.

Helen Starman