SES Messenger

This week was another busy and rainy week at Sunnyside. Our 4th graders got to jump into our African Drumming experience with Mr. Yingwana and Mike Sweeney. It's so nice to welcome them back again to Sunnyside. In addition, we had six classes on field study this week with Jeremy and Asa heading up Mt. Tabor, Aaron and Becca at Oxbow, and Michael and Robin at Beacon Rock. It's so great to see the exhausted and smiling faces of the students as they return to the building.

The rain finally let up today just in time for Run, Walk, Dance, and Move. There is nothing we like more than taking laps around the school with our students. Ask the students how many laps Iris ran, she's amazing and those who kept up with her deserve props. We have some very spectacular runners, dancers, and walkers. Thank you PTSA and all our parent volunteers for supporting this with all of your cheers, water stations, and cool moves on the dance floor.

Finally, as we head into October, please know that we will start communicating more with families about our next steps as a school with our instructional support through Wayne and more from John as our restorative justice coordinator. We have been grateful for the addition of these staff members and our increased support from Tara for our middle school field study curriculum and activities. We are a school that runs because of the dedication of our staff and our families and we are so appreciative of all everyone does to make Sunnyside the place that it is.

Thank you.

Eryn & Melodie

• View the full SES calendar here.

• Sun-Fri, Oct 1st - Oct 6th - 6th Grade Outdoor School
  

• Wed, Oct 4th - PPS LATE START (10:45 am)
  

• Wed, Oct 4th - International Walk and Roll to School Day

• Fri, Oct 13th - In Service day. NO SCHOOL

• Wed, Oct 18th, 8:45-10:00 am - SES PTSA meeting, room 102

• Fri, Oct 20th - SES Fall pie fundraiser begins

• Sat, Oct 21st - HARVEST FAIR

As a reminder, the district recently adopted some new advisory curriculum. Sunnyside has always centered our students’ social and emotional learning and will be continuing our model while also learning from the new advisory curriculum. In order to best prepare our staff for Advisory Programs, we have identified two dates for additional professional learning and would like to make you aware for your planning purposes.

Fall 2-hour Late Opening:

• The fall 2-hour Late opening will be on Wednesday October 4th.

Winter 2-hour Late Opening:

• The winter 2-hour late opening will be on Thursday January 25th.

As a K-8 school, our K-5 staff will be focusing on improving and adding to our social and emotional support curriculum and tools. Our 6-8 staff will be focused on the integration of the new curriculum with what we already use for advisory. All students in grades K-8 will have a two hour late start on October 4th and January 25th.

Thank you to our incredible community for showing up with delicious goodies for our teachers and staff this week! It was a wonderful act of kindness and solidarity during this very stressful time for our beloved teachers. Please continue to wear blue on Tuesdays and remember that small acts of generosity (a flower from your garden, a small note) go a long way to reminding our SES team that we believe in what they are fighting for and we are in it together!

We also want to express our thanks to everyone who contributed to the PTSA Back to School Ask! We set a goal of $23,500 and are pleased to report that parent donations have reached that goal! If you haven’t had a chance yet, the campaign is still open and you can donate here! ALL of your donations directly support the school’s Garden Program, the Go Fund, and the Art & Music Fund.

Show Solidarity with SES Teachers

If you are interested in staying informed about a possible strike and finding ways to support teachers and other PAT union staff, please join the new Konstella social group called “Standing in Solidarity w SES Teachers.” You can read the latest information, ask your questions, connect with other parents, and hear about actions the community can take to show support. To find the group, log into Konstella --> click on "Messages" --> click on "Join Social Groups" --> find the group called “Standing in Solidarity w SES Teachers” --> click the orange "join" button.

Our next PTSA meeting is October 18th and will be focused on HARVEST FAIR! We’ll need ALL hands on deck for this one and hope you will join us.

With gratitude,

Heather & Steph

PTSA, Co-Presidents

Today our students walked, ran, moved, and grooved around campus, and our community showed out! Thanks to EVERYONE who volunteered, our partner NW Dance Project, and P.E. Teacher Iris, who collected a solid 8 Move Points when she raced against the middle schoolers.

But: our work is not yet done! The students worked hard today, so let’s match that effort by closing out the fundraising strong - WE HAVE UNTIL MONDAY OCTOBER 9, 2023 TO COLLECT PLEDGES! If you haven’t yet registered on MyBooster.com, it’s not too late! You can also collect pledges offline.

Your student should have come home today with an envelope stating their official “Move Points.” Please send cash or checks back to school in a labeled envelope, attached to their pledge sheet by 10/9. Prizes will be announced soon!

Can you smell the warm granola wafting down the hall or the sizzling sausage on the grill? Hear the gleeful cheers and splashes from the infamous teacher plunge, or the music from the baked goodies boogie? Taste the delicious cookies from the Magical Cookie Palace? That’s right, ya’ll: Harvest Fair is coming! Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 21 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. for Sunnyside’s annual celebration of Autumn and community.

This event takes epic proportions of volunteer power - more than any other SES event. It is one of SES’s most cherished traditions. Please chip in however you can!

NEEDED NOW:

1. Small Toy Donations. Those tiny random toys & trinkets that your kids collect throughout the year? It’s time to recycle them as carnival prizes! Bring your bags of (small, clean, unbroken) doodads to the Office. We need lots. Do you have access to a Buy Nothing group you could ask?

2. Volunteer Shifts & Baked Goods Sign Ups HERE. Claim your favorite job while you can!
   
   

Also, look forward to some new things this year, including:

• Cultural sharing & performance from Indigenous dance group Hueca Omeyocan

• Expanded Face Painting booth, led by SES QSA

• A Totally Leveled-Up Mega-Magical Cookie Palace in a new location (by popular demand!)

• …and more.

Many more details to come. Questions: Steph Barnhart (stephbarnhart1@gmail.com) or message me on Konstella.

Wednesday, October 4 is International Walk & Roll to School Day! It’s ALSO a late start day (2 hour delay- school starts at 10:45 am) so you’ll have plenty of time to pump up those bike tires, lace up those sneakers, and get yourself to school! There will be stickers and prizes on the blacktop/playground area for everyone who walks, runs, scoots, or bikes.

Join a Bike Bus on October 4! With the late start, we will meet at 10:20 and roll out at 10:25. (Normally Bike Buses meet Wednesdays at 8:20, roll at 8:25). Meet at the following spots or join in anywhere along the way.

SE 26th and Pine

SE 23rd and Salmon

SE 41st & Lincoln, continuing to 41st & Taylor

If the Oct 4 late start makes it too challenging, you’re in luck, because EVERY Wednesday is Walk and Roll Wednesday! Join your classmates and walk, run, scooter, or bike to school on your own, with your friends and neighbors, or by joining a Bike Bus.

If you'd like to get involved or get updates on biking and active transportation, join the Family Biking social group on Konstella or message 2nd grade parent Alida Cantor (alidacantor@gmail.com or on Konstella).

Did you know that children breathe in twice as much air for their body weight than adults? Idling your car during school drop-off and pick-up is a toxic health hazard that harms our children. Idling also gets zero miles to the gallon.

Vehicle exhaust is the leading source of toxic air pollution in Oregon. It seems counter intuitive, but we actually pollute our own immediate air quality — inside the vehicle — when we idle. And, vehicle exhaust is associated with worsening symptoms for children with asthma.

What you can do:

• Turn the car off if idling for more than 10 seconds (except in traffic of course!). You’ll save money, the environment, and our student’s lungs.

• Idle Free Schools

• What you can do for cleaner air

Heather's 5th grade class Is having a fundraiser to obtain up for yoga balls so people can use them for chairs. If you have any yoga balls between 22” x 26" that you don't use , we would welcome your donation. We are trying to obtain 16 yoga balls. Here is the link to the yoga balls in the best size for our desks. WE DO NOT NEED THE PUMP.

If you can donate a yoga ball (either through purchase or sending one in), please write your child’s name and your name in the table on this page. We appreciate any and all donations. Thank you!!

Wow! Thank you SO MUCH for funding our Donor's Choose! This community is AWESOME!!

The deadline for preordering books for our TWO fall author visits is approaching fast! To get Jorge Cham's book Oliver's Great Big Universe order here by October 5th.

To get Charise Mericle Harper's I Cannot Draw a Horse. order here by October 10th.

Thank you for the donations I received last week! So much love and appreciation!

• I am doing a fabric collage project and am still in need of scissors that can cut fabric. I am happy for pre-loved or new scissors. If you have any fabric scraps or ribbon you want to get rid of please send them our way.
• For this project tacky glue would work better than the Elmer's we already have.
• The middle schooler students love letter beads during Friday's open studio time. We are running low.

Also if you are interested in volunteering in the Art Room please send me an email ccorwin@pps.net.

Sending positivity,

Please do not pick from the Sunnyside School gardens during the school year, as everything that is growing is part of the students' curriculum. Thank you very much!

We Can Listen Presents:

On the Road to New Conversations - Anti Racism on a Harley Davidson

Tuesday, Oct 17 - doors open at 6pm / event starts at 7pm

Attention SES Volunteers! Please ensure you have followed all required steps for PPS Volunteers, including a training video, safety protocols and background check (good for 3 years) before your volunteer service begins. Info at: www.pps.net/volunteer

Looking for help with carpooling to and from Sunnyside? We’ve got the place for you! Join the Carpool Connection social group on Konstella, or contact Kindergarten parent Cara Zeisloft at carazeisloft@gmail.com.

Our school feeds into Franklin High School and one of the many programs available to students at Franklin is the chance to write on their award-winning newspaper, the Franklin Post! The Post is a 20-page paper put out 7 times a year and is written and edited by Franklin students. If you’d be interested in subscribing, please click on the link below, which will take you to a School Pay checkout!

Subscribe HERE!

• VIBE of Portland Art Camps & Classes
  

• Maplewood Tennis After School Zone, Sep. 19 - Nov. 14
  

• Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment begins Nov. 1

• STEM workshop at Taborspace - 3rd-5th grade girls. October 22nd. 2p-5p.

• Sign up to chaperone Middle School field study

• Apply for Free/Reduced Meals - NEW Oregon expanded income guidelines

• Sign up to support Christina at lunch

• SES current volunteer needs

• Konstella - One stop shop for parent information (PTSA)

• 2023-2024 Back to School Ask

• SES attendance form: English | Español

• Sunnyside School Page

• SES PTSA website | After school activities at SES

• SchoolPay | SchoolCafé

• Communicable disease protocol - aka when should I keep my child home from school?

• MESD head lice resources and information