Dear Logan Families,

I am very pleased to introduce Mrs. Kholod Oudeif, Logan’s new Teacher Clerk. Mrs. Oudeif started this past Friday. You may be hearing from her on occasion as she will be taking over making many of our attendance calls. Welcome, Mrs. Oudeif!

In this Weekly Update, I’ve included information about:

• Logan Distribution Day
• Book Donations and Distributions
• Parent Support Groups
• Securly Parent Portal Opt-In Pilot Program
• Halloween Update from the City of Ann Arbor
• Tutoring Supports for Students
• Technology Support
• Helpful Links on the AAPS Website

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Will Wright

Logan Distribution Day – Part 2

We will have another distribution day on Thursday, November 5, 3:00pm – 6:00pm. The purpose of this one is to distribute art supplies, music supplies, and few other important curriculum materials. All Logan families should plan on attending. Here are the details:

• Who: All Logan Families including A2Virtual Families. If you can’t make it during our distribution time, please reach out to a friend or family member to see if they are available to pick up supplies for your child(ren). We will be keeping track of all families who pick up supplies and reaching out to any family who does not get supplies during the distribution so we can find a way to get these important materials to your family ASAP. We ask that you do everything you can to pick up these materials, and we thank you in advance for your support with this distribution. 

• What: For this Distribution Day, we are distributing a number of items including:
  • Materials necessary for art class (See list of supplies here)
  • Recorders for fourth graders
  • Musical instruments for fifth graders
  • Miscellaneous curriculum materials (Each grade level may have a select set of items to pick up)
  • Books! (see below)
• When: Thursday, November 5, 3:00pm – 6:00pm. You can come anytime during this window.
• Where: Logan Elementary
• How: Distribution will be done in a drive-through format (just like the previous distribution at Logan). Please enter the main Logan entrance. Use only the right-hand lane and stay in your car. We ask everyone to wear masks during the distribution. Please write your child’s name, teacher, and grade on a piece of paper in large, dark letters and place the paper on the dashboard on the passenger side of your vehicle so it is visible through the front window. If you are picking up supplies for multiple children, please write each of their names on the paper. If you are an A2Virtual student, please write A2V as well.  When you pull up to the front door, our volunteers will check you off our list, gather the appropriate materials for your child(ren) and place them in your car for you.

Book Donations and Distribution

In addition to distributing the above materials next week, we would like to have a collection of books available for Logan families as well. To make this happen, we are asking families to donate used children’s books this week. There will be a box near the front door at Logan to drop donations. Our team will use disinfecting wipes on each donated book. On our distribution day (weather permitting), we will have tables set up displaying all donated books in our parking lot. After picking up supplies, families can park and browse through the books to select some to bring home for their kids. Masks will be required and all families are expected to follow social distancing guidelines. Our hope is to make this book distribution a regular event at Logan. When you’re done with the books you select, you can re-donate them to let another student enjoy them. In this way, we’ll be able to give student’s access to print books along with the digital resources that are already available from AAPS. Of course, we encourage all families to make use of the public library as well.  

Parent Support Groups

Parent Support Groups started on October 13th, Connecting Together: An AAPS Parent/Guardian Support Group will provide an opportunity for parents to connect to find support and get ideas about how to face the challenges of 2020. Groups meet on the 2nd Tuesday (7:30 - 8:30 p.m) and 4th Thursday (1:00-2:00 p.m.) of the month. Register here.

Securly Parent Portal Opt-In Pilot Program - Now Open!!!

The AAPS Instructional Technology Department is launching a new program to help families manage their child’s online safety while using school-issued devices at home. The new tool is called Securly.   The Securly web filter provides FREE parental controls for school-issued devices through an “opt-in” parent portal. The portal gives parents the ability to:

• Check Online Activity - Allows parents to view their child(ren) recent searches, websites visited, and videos watched on their school-owned device(s).

• Customize Rules - Lets parents customize web filtering rules when school devices are in the home.
• Pause Internet Access - Parents can use the Home app to turn Internet access on or off with a single tap when the device is away from school.
• Get Weekly Email Reports - Every week, parents receive a snapshot of their child’s online activity, directly to their inbox.
• To learn more about this pilot program, please check out the Securly Parent Portal Fall 2020 Pilot Google Doc.
• If parents are interested in signing up to participate, they must complete the AAPS Securly Parent Portal Opt-In Pilot Google Form.
• If parents have any questions once they sign-up for the pilot program, they can access the Securly Parent Portal FAQs.

Halloween Update from the City of Ann Arbor

In response to recommendations from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control, the City of Ann Arbor encourages parents to celebrate Halloween safely at home. If you choose to celebrate the holiday outside of your home, the city is asking all residents to follow these safety tips as well as Washtenaw County Health local orders on social gatherings and events in Ann Arbor. 

Tutoring Supports for Students

Are your children in need of extra support with their work?  Please see this list of tutoring supports for students.

Technology Support

Live technical support is available, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AAPS Parent Help Desk, 734-997-1222 (Ayuda en Español: 734-997-1246). You can also email family_techsupport@aaps.k12.mi.us. Families who need access to better Wifi can complete the Student Mobile Device Hotspot Form

Helpful Links on the AAPS Website

• The AAPS Community Resource page 
• Food Distribution Plan
• AAPS 2020-21 Calendar
• Return to School Metrics

Dear Logan Families.

Happy Friday! Before we head into the weekend, I wanted to send two quick updates.

Asynchronous Wednesday Clarification

On Monday, I sent an announcement about the district decision to eliminate Wednesday morning meetings. I want to clarify one point. This decision means our classroom teachers will not have any whole-group synchronous sessions on Wednesdays. However, this does NOT mean that there will not be synchronous small-group sessions on Wednesdays. Logan service provides as well classroom teachers may be scheduling small-group sessions with your children. If you had a previously scheduled Wednesday session with one of our staff members, please assume that that session will still occur unless you hear directly from your teacher or service provider.

State Mandated Testing Update

On Tuesday, all AAPS families received information from Dawn Linden, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, about state mandated assessments. We will be administering the Reading NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) for students in grades 3-5 and the Math NWEA MAP for students in grades 2-5. We will administer a locally identified math assessment for students in grades K-1 and we will use Lexia to assess reading for students in grades K-2.

I want to assure you that this should NOT be a stressful event for your child in any way.  These assessments are being administered over the next two weeks, and we will work to minimize the disruption caused by them. Most (if not all) of our classroom teachers have already communicated a testing schedule to families. We ask that you allow your children to complete these tests independently. While they are intended to be very low stakes, they do provide us with important information about your child’s learning needs. A test completed without any help gives us the most accurate picture of your child. Thank you in advance for accommodating this request.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Will Wright 

Dear Logan Families,

I had such a great time with our Fun Run last week. I especially loved seeing all the posts on the Fun Run Kudoboard. If you haven’t had a chance to see it, please take time to browse through the posts. The kids did such a great job! Thank you to all of our Logan families for supporting this effort and to our PTO for organizing such a fun event. I hope your kids had a great time with it.  

In this Weekly Update, I’ve included information about:

• New Attendance Email
• Brainstormers Assembly
• Book Day
• Tech Support
• Helpful Links and Resources

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Will Wright

Attendance Email

Logan has a new attendance email address. Anytime your child will be absent from school, please let us know by emailing:

log_attendance@aaps.k12.mi.us

Even though we’re doing online school, we are still taking daily attendance. If your child will be absent for any reason (they’re sick, have an appointment, etc), please alert the office so we can record the absence. Be sure to keep this email address in a safe place as we expect it to be an important communication tool moving forward.

Brainstormers Assembly

Brainstormers is a favorite assembly at Logan. This theatrical group comes every fall to perform and to teach students about writing. They return in the spring to act out pieces written by Logan students. As a result of the school closure last year, they were unable to do the spring performance. However, The Brainstormers recorded their spring performance and shared it with us this summer. For a bit of fun, we decided to bring our Logan community together for virtual assembly to watch the missed Brainstormers Skywriter’s show. Here are the details:

What: Brainstormers Skywriters Show

When: Friday, October 23, 2020 at 11:00am

Where: Zoom! Use this webinar link to access the show: https://a2schools.zoom.us/j/95947169217 

Teachers will help guide students to the assembly, but as always, we appreciate your support at home to help them navigate the various links. 

Book Day

For our Fun Friday this week, we’re having “Book Day.” Celebrate your favorite book any way you’d like. You can bring a copy to share with your classmates or simply bring a picture of the cover if you don't have a copy in the house. You can draw a picture from the book to share too. You can even dress as your favorite character from a book! Have fun with whatever you do! Just connect it to a favorite book! 

Technology Support

Live technical support is available, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AAPS Parent Help Desk, 734-997-1222 (Ayuda en Español: 734-997-1246). You can also email family_techsupport@aaps.k12.mi.us. Families who need access to better Wifi can complete the Student Mobile Device Hotspot Form

Helpful Links on the AAPS Website

• The AAPS Community Resource page 
• Food Distribution Plan
• AAPS 2020-21 Calendar
• Return to School Metrics

Dear Logan Families,

Thanks to everyone for joining us for Curriculum Night last week. We hope that the evening was informative for all. If you were unable to attend or missed one of our teacher presentations, please contact the teacher, and they will share a recording of their presentation. Additionally, I presented to our entire school community as well. If you missed that presentation, you can view it here.

This week, we launch our first ever Virtual Fun Run, and I am so excited! It will last all week long. Kids can run, jog, ride bikes, scoot, jump rope, play their favorite sports, or do whatever makes them happy as long as they’re out and moving. Teachers are encouraging participation all week long. Since we can’t be together in person, we can cheer each other on using the Logan Fun Run “Kudoboard.” You can post pictures and videos of your kids’ activities throughout the week. Feel free to post words of encouragement too! Below is the link to the Kudoboard. Let’s fill this space up with active kids! Please refer to the emails from Logan PTO to learn more about the Fun Run. 

Logan Fun Run Kudoboard

I have included a few additional announcements and updates below including information on the following:

• AAPS Parent Support Group
• Resources for Supporting Your Child
• Technology Support
• Helpful Links and Resources

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Will Wright

AAPS Parent Support Group

We KNOW these are challenging times for parents. You are not alone!  Don’t forget about this AAPS opportunity:  Connecting Together: An AAPS Parent/Guardian Support Group

Twice-a-month Drop in support groups for parents and guardians of student's in AAPS. Groups meet on the 2nd Tuesday (7:30-8:30PM) and 4th Thursday (1-2PM) of the month. Connect with other parents to find support and get ideas about how to face the challenges of 2020. Please register here. Last year, parents who participated in an AAPS parent support group consistently reported that they found it helpful, and appreciated hearing from and connecting with other parents going through similar struggles. Join us starting October 13th! 

Resources for Supporting Your Child

Please see this SISS Resources Site.  This site provides families with access to evidence-based and AAPS-approved materials, resources, and tools.

Technology Support

Live technical support is available, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AAPS Parent Help Desk, 734-997-1222 (Ayuda en Español: 734-997-1246). You can also email family_techsupport@aaps.k12.mi.us. Families who need access to better Wifi can complete the Student Mobile Device Hotspot Form

Helpful Links on the AAPS Website

• The AAPS Community Resource page 
• Food Distribution Plan
• AAPS 2020-21 Calendar
• Return to School Metrics

Dear Logan Families,

I’m sending my weekly update a little early this week. Thank you to the entire Logan community for coming out to pick up supplies for your kids last week. We delivered kits to all but twelve students on Thursday (and three of those students are currently out of the country!). If you didn’t get your kit, please contact Mrs. Landefeld. Thank you again!

I also want to remind families that our specials team is preparing two lessons per week for your kids. One of the lessons is taught synchronously. Additionally, there is a second asynchronous lesson for kids to complete as well. At Logan, we value learning across the content areas, and we strive to educate well-rounded students. Please help your student access the asynchronous lessons as well.

This week, there are a few important announcements below. In particular, please be sure to read through the following:

• Accessing School Tomorrow
• Curriculum Night
• Count Day

Finally, in keeping with our new tradition of having a special event every Friday, I am very pleased to share that this Friday will be Pet Day. Tell your kids that they can bring their pet to school with them. Don’t have a pet? Don’t worry! Kids bring a picture of the pet they’d like to have. Have fun with it! 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Will Wright

Upcoming Dates

• Tuesday, October 6 – Logan Virtual Curriculum Night, 6:00pm-7:30pm
• Wednesday, October 7 – Count Day
• Monday, October 12 – Saturday, October 17 – Logan Virtual Fun Run

Accessing School Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, classroom Zoom links will only be available through Schoology. The links we’ve been using up until now are no longer available. Teachers practiced accessing the classroom link through Schoology all week last week. This change will add a layer of privacy and security to each of our classrooms.

Curriculum Night

Our curriculum night will be held via Zoom this year. I’ve included a schedule for the evening below. Links to each of the meetings can be found here. We know some families might have multiple sessions to attend, so we will be recording all sessions. If you miss anything, you’ll be able to re-watch any of the sessions.

	6:00-6:30	6:30-7:00	7:00-7:30
Upper Elementary Families (3, 4, and 5)	Families visit with classroom teachers. Presentations will take place via zoom.	Join Mr. Wright for a school-wide webinar.	Join the special area team via zoom to learn about Art, Music, PE, PLTW, and Media Center.
Lower Elementary Families (Young 5s, K, 1, and 2)	Join the special area team via zoom to learn about Art, Music, PE, PLTW, and Media Center.		Families visit with classroom teachers. Presentations will take place via zoom.

Links to each classroom presentation and the school-wide webinar can be found here.

Count Day

Wednesday, October 7^th is Student Count Day. That means it’s one of two days during the school year in which the attendance taken will help determine how much state funding schools receive. 

We realize that other than Morning Meetings, Wednesday is largely an asynchronous learning day. However, we are asking our Logan families to do everything they possibly can to ensure students are present during Wednesday’s Morning Meeting. Attendance will be taken and Mrs. Landefeld will begin the process of submitting our enrollment numbers to the state. Your presence in school on Wednesday will help tremendously! 

Please contact Christy Landefeld at landefeldc@aaps.k12.mi.us with any questions. 

Fall FREE Youth Programming from Rec & Ed

Ann Arbor Rec & Ed staff are excited to announce a new line-up of FREE online and in-person classes for AAPS preschool - 8th graders. Our goal is to provide a variety of fun, physically active experiences with opportunities to see classmates safely in person. From yoga to soccer, and martial arts to dance, we have something every child will enjoy. A complete listing of programs will be available at www.aarecedonline.com on Friday, September 18. 

Locations, Days, and Times

Classes will be in different locations each week to cover as many schools as possible throughout the district. Programming will run from Wednesday, September 23rd through Saturday, November 7th. Wednesday classes will be scheduled between 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm and Saturdays will have classes within two sessions: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm and 1:30pm - 5:00pm. 

More information on in-person Rec & Ed activities:

• In-person programs will be held outdoors, weather permitting. Due to time constraints, programs canceled due to weather conditions may not be rescheduled. 
• The Rec & Ed COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocol will be available to read prior to registration. This protocol contains important information, including that masks are required for everyone in attendance at a Rec & Ed activity, including youth participants, coaches, parents, and Rec & Ed staff. 
• Parents are urged to sign up for the classes assigned to their child’s school. This will allow your child to see classmates and ensure that programs are available to all children across the school district. 

Rec & Ed is still offering a range of affordable fee-based classes for youth and adults as well. Visit aarecedonline.com for more information. 

If you have any questions regarding specific programs, please contact Seth Dodson, Rec & Ed Team Sports manager, at dodsons@aaps.k12.mi.us.

Technology Support

Live technical support is available, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AAPS Parent Help Desk, 734-997-1222 (Ayuda en Español: 734-997-1246). You can also email family_techsupport@aaps.k12.mi.us. Families who need access to better Wifi can complete the Student Mobile Device Hotspot Form

Food Distribution and Free/Reduced Lunch Application

• Food Distribution: For a detailed list of food distribution sites and times, click here.
• Complete Free & Reduced Lunch Applications: Free and Reduced Lunch Applications are available now! You can apply online or request a hard copy of the application to be mailed to you. Applications will also be distributed with technology pick-up and are available in six languages. If your student(s) was approved for Free or Reduced Lunch last year (2019-2020), that application is only good for 30 days after the first day of school. Parents with any questions or who need a Free and Reduced Lunch application mailed to them, please email foodservice@aaps.k12.mi.us or call food service at 734-994-2265.

Helpful Links on the AAPS Website

• The AAPS Community Resource page 
• Food Distribution Plan
• AAPS 2020-21 Calendar

Dear Logan Families,

I hope you had a great weekend. In my weekly update this week, you’ll find information about Curriculum Night, a message from Mrs. Rodriguez about accessing books, a reminder about free opportunities that are available through Rec and Ed, and a reminder about our supply distribution. Please take some time to read through the details.

I am continuing my efforts to make school online school as fun as possible for the kids by checking items off their list of suggestions. This Friday, we will have a school-wide Stuffed Animal Day! The kids can spend their whole day side-by-side with their favorite stuffed animal. They’ll have a chance to introduce them to each other as well. Snap some photos of your kids with their stuffed animals and share them on social media. Be sure to tag us and use the hashtags #A2Logan and #LoganStuffedAnimalDay

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Will Wright

Upcoming Dates

• Thursday, October 1 – Materials Distribution Day, 3:00pm-6:00pm, **All families need to pick up materials
• Friday, October 2 – School-wide Stuffed Animal Day
• Tuesday, October 6 – Logan Virtual Curriculum Night, 6:00pm-7:30pm
• Monday, October 12 – Saturday, October 17 – Logan Virtual Fun Run

School Supplies, Books, Textbooks and Materials

Don’t forget our supply distribution this week. ALL families need to attend. The event will be on Thursday, October 1, 3:00pm-6:00pm. Detailed plans were shared with Logan families via email last week. Please refer back to that email for details of the distribution plans.

Curriculum Night

Our curriculum night will be held via Zoom this year. I’ve included a schedule for the evening below. Links to each of the meetings will be shared closer to the date. We know some families might have multiple sessions to attend, so we will be recording all sessions. If you miss anything, you’ll be able to re-watch any of the session.

	6:00-6:30	6:30-7:00	7:00-7:30
Upper Elementary Families (3, 4, and 5)	Families visit with classroom teachers. Presentations will take place via zoom.	Join Mr. Wright for a school-wide webinar.	Join the special area team via zoom to learn about Art, Music, PE, PLTW, and Media Center.
Lower Elementary Families (Young 5s, K, 1, and 2)	Join the special area team via zoom to learn about Art, Music, PE, PLTW, and Media Center.		Families visit with classroom teachers. Presentations will take place via zoom.

Need books? A message from Mrs. Rodriguez, Logan Librarian

I am excited to share with you that AAPS librarians have been teaming up with fellow educators to help select and prepare for the rollout of two great eBook platforms.  They are called myON and Sora.  Students and teachers will be able to access online books, including audiobooks!  Stay tuned for more information on how to access these when they are all set up and ready to go!

Until those are available, consider giving Libby a try through the public library!  Here is a link to information, including a short overview video:

https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/

We are so fortunate in Ann Arbor to have such a robust public library system.  The AADL librarians are enthusiastically fulfilling book requests and placing the books onto shelves in their lobbies for contactless pickup.  All AAPS students can get a library card for the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL), even if they don't reside in Ann Arbor.  For more information about this:

https://aadl.org/node/569959

Here is an online fillable library card application:

https://aadl.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/AADL%20Library%20Card%20Application-181101-Fillable.pdf

I have been enjoying my weekly Library classes with our wonderful Logan students!

Happy reading, Logan families!  :)

Fall FREE Youth Programming from Rec & Ed

Ann Arbor Rec & Ed staff are excited to announce a new line-up of FREE online and in-person classes for AAPS preschool - 8th graders. Our goal is to provide a variety of fun, physically active experiences with opportunities to see classmates safely in person. From yoga to soccer, and martial arts to dance, we have something every child will enjoy. A complete listing of programs will be available at www.aarecedonline.com on Friday, September 18. 

Locations, Days, and Times

Classes will be in different locations each week to cover as many schools as possible throughout the district. Programming will run from Wednesday, September 23rd through Saturday, November 7th. Wednesday classes will be scheduled between 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm and Saturdays will have classes within two sessions: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm and 1:30pm - 5:00pm. 

More information on in-person Rec & Ed activities:

• In-person programs will be held outdoors, weather permitting. Due to time constraints, programs canceled due to weather conditions may not be rescheduled. 
• The Rec & Ed COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocol will be available to read prior to registration. This protocol contains important information, including that masks are required for everyone in attendance at a Rec & Ed activity, including youth participants, coaches, parents, and Rec & Ed staff. 
• Parents are urged to sign up for the classes assigned to their child’s school. This will allow your child to see classmates and ensure that programs are available to all children across the school district. 

Rec & Ed is still offering a range of affordable fee-based classes for youth and adults as well. Visit aarecedonline.com for more information. 

If you have any questions regarding specific programs, please contact Seth Dodson, Rec & Ed Team Sports manager, at dodsons@aaps.k12.mi.us.

Technology Support

Live technical support is available, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the AAPS Parent Help Desk, 734-997-1222 (Ayuda en Español: 734-997-1246). You can also email family_techsupport@aaps.k12.mi.us. Families who need access to better Wifi can complete the Student Mobile Device Hotspot Form

Food Distribution and Free/Reduced Lunch Application

• Food Distribution: For a detailed list of food distribution sites and times, click here.
• Complete Free & Reduced Lunch Applications: Free and Reduced Lunch Applications are available now! You can apply online or request a hard copy of the application to be mailed to you. Applications will also be distributed with technology pick-up and are available in six languages. If your student(s) was approved for Free or Reduced Lunch last year (2019-2020), that application is only good for 30 days after the first day of school. Parents with any questions or who need a Free and Reduced Lunch application mailed to them, please email foodservice@aaps.k12.mi.us or call food service at 734-994-2265.

Helpful Links on the AAPS Website

• The AAPS Community Resource page 
• Food Distribution Plan
• AAPS 2020-21 Calendar

Dear Logan Families, 

Before we head into the weekend, I just wanted to share two brief announcements.

Zoom Authentication

Thank you to everyone for your efforts to get your child’s Zoom account authenticated. We know that this was a challenging process for some of you. However, our team has been working over the past few days to help get all accounts authenticated. I am very pleased to share that we have successfully authenticated all student accounts. We’re going to proceed slowly with our transition to accessing Zoom links through Schoology. On Monday, families will be able to access their children’s classes using the same Zoom links we’ve been using all year. Those same links will also be posted directly on each student’s Schoology page as well. Teachers have placed them at the top of the page so they’re easy to find. We encourage you to start getting in the habit of going directly to Schoology to access the Zoom links (as well as all other materials and content posted by teachers). As we progress further into the year, we will begin using new links and these links will only be available through Schoology. This will add another layer of online safety and security for our students. When we transition to using new Zoom links, we will be sure to alert all families. On Monday, we will also begin having students access specials through links on specials teachers’ Schoology course pages. Classroom teachers will guide students in accessing these links. Our commitment is to support children and families as we make this transition and to make it as easy as possible for everyone.

Fun Run

You should have received an email from the Logan PTO about our upcoming Virtual Fun Run. It promises to be a great community event, and I’m so excited for it. All students should participate. The Fun Run is primarily a community building event, but it is also an important fundraiser for our PTO. Money raised during the Fun Run supports many programs and activities at Logan. Please take some time to read through the email from the PTO and get ready to get moving!

I hope your kids had fun in their PJs today, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out. ​​​​​​​

Best,

Will Wright