Eudaimonia - a truly joyful event

I want to give an enormous shout-out of thanks to all who helped with or attended our wonderful book launch party and fundraising event. It was a genuinely warm, fun, beautiful party, with great food and wine, lovely company, and gorgeous art. Thank you for celebrating with us. This is a small, unique, and very special little school, and I truly appreciate your supportive energy.

Our celebration was also a fundraiser, and it was hugely successful! We raised over $12,000 for school programs and scholarship funds. I'll let you know the exact figure when we have finished processing receipts etc. Thank you for your generosity: I hope you all enjoy the artwork, vacations, spa experiences, children's activities, wonderful food, and other fabulous offerings from the silent auction. I hope you also enjoy sharing our book with your children.

Special thanks for organizational help and amazing hard work go to David Alber, Micky Arvoy, Jan Biliti, Kristen Boudia, Marco Bruzzano, Melissa Bruzzano, Susan Carpenter, Steve Chapel, Sunny Chapel, Julie Cohen, Shan Cook, Kathleen Dergis, Johanna Eriksson, Mark Fancher, Nick Giardino, Imogen Giles, Kim Guziel, Ingrid Kock, Fran Loosen, James Marks, Ruth Marks, Robert Meyer, Christine Moellering, Elaine Neelands, Anthony Nitsos, Miina Ohman, Lisa Ortiz, Will Purves, Paul Resnick, Jeff Rhodes, and Heidi Robb.

Huge thanks and appreciation to the Ann Arbor Art Center, who donated the space for the event.

I also want to thank our wonderful sponsors for their gifts and support. Please support them in return! They are all great businesses, and do fabulous work. Visit their web sites by clicking on the list below:

Ten Thousand Villages
The Affordable Vet (Dr. William MacArthur)
Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase
Ann Arbor Hands On Museum
The Ark
Cafe Luwak
Crazy Wisdom Bookstore (who is also hosting a Moon Wolf Reading and Book Signing on May 31)
DaVinci's Salon and Gallery
Divers Inc
Findings
Georgetown Country Club
Gym America
Paul Hickman
Huron Valley Tennis Club
Integrative Pediatrics
John J. Boudia, J.D.
Keith Hafner's Karate
Kerrytown Concert House
Rebecca Kurtz
Liberty Spa
Logan
Maplewood Lanes
Marnee Thai Restaurant
Ruth Marks
Morgan & York
Motawi Tileworks
Olga's
Palio's Restaurant
The Peaceable Kingdom
PRP Wine International
Roosroast Coffee
Seva Restaurant
Leslie Sobel
Teahaus
VGKids
Wild Swan Theater
Woman Safe Health Self Care Room

And a final thanks for special donations to our auction to:

Nancy McClain
Police Chief Barnett Jones
Fire Chief Samuel Hopkins
Micky Arvoy
Cesar Bayoneto

Ann Arbor Book Festival

This coming Saturday, May 16th, is the annual Ann Arbor Book Festival. Summers-Knoll will have a booth, of course - we always do. It's a fun and active way to reach out to the community and show people a little bit of what we do. This year we will have the Moon Wolf book to share, as well as the school information and summer camp brochures that we typically have on hand. It's perfect timing for our little hot-off-the-press publication. We will also have a make-your-own-book activity for children to enjoy. Come by and say hello! Or better yet, volunteer to man the booth for a little while - the more the merrier! We will be outside the Michigan League on N. University, booth # 51 & 52.

Another good reason to come to the book festival is the headliner speaker. The Festival is hosting Dr. Perri Klass as the headliner at 6:30 pm in the Chemistry Auditorium #1800 on N. University. Admission is $5. Information from the book festival director is below.

Perri Klass, M.D., F.A.A.P. is the Reach Out and Read National Center Medical Director. She is a professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University, where she works in the clinic at Bellevue Hospital. Klass participated in the Early Childhood Cognitive Summits and the Global Literacy Summit at the invitation of First Lady Laura Bush and is currently a member of the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council at the National Institutes of Health, and a member of the Health Literacy Project Advisory Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Klass received her M.D. from Harvard University and completed her training in pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital, and in pediatric infectious diseases at Boston City Hospital. She writes the "18 and Under" column for the New York Times.

She is the author of Quirky Kids, Treatment Kind and Fair, and novels and short stories.

Here is a link to the Book Festival website with all of the details:

http://aabookfestival.org/HTML/event_2009_perri_klass.htm

Thanks very much,

Kathy Robenalt

Exec. Director, AABF