Weekly Wildcat

Hello Sundance Families!

This week our Wildcats enjoyed participating in our Start with Hello activities. They enjoyed our spirit days, friendship bracelet making, friendship bingo, and more! A huge thank you to Ms. Park, our School Counselor, for organizing this week's events. We have some very exciting events planned. Our Wildcats LOVED their first round of art classes. They learned about expectations during art class and used a piece of yarn to design an image. Check out the photos below.

Throughout the month of October, our Wildcats will participate in a Creature Catcher STEAM activity where they will put their problem-solving skills to the test! Mrs. Orlando will also visit classes to read The Legend of Spookly the Pumpkin, which is connected to our theme of belonging, and complete an art activity.

Please note we have two minimum days scheduled for staff professional growth. K-5 will be released at 12pm on Monday, October 2nd.

Action Items (New Section!!):

• Chess Club: Chess Club is coming soon! Start brushing up on your chess skills and stay tuned for more information. We hope to begin by the first of November.
• Dot Day Photos: Thanks for stopping by our Dot Day photo booth! Photos are ready for you to download by clicking here.
• Weekly Wildcat: Check out next week's Mindful Monday

Helpful Information (NEW):

• Impact Letters: 2nd-5th grade families may have received an impact letter if their child qualified for impact during our first 6-week session. Impact begins on Tuesday, October 3rd.
• Halloween Event Info: Our parade will take place on 10/31 at 8am in front of our school. Please email jgilbert@powayusd.com if your child is not participating in the parade.
• Birthday Celebrations: We are encouraging all families to donate a book to their child's classroom in lieu of cupcakes, candy, donuts, etc. Book stickers will be available in the front office in a few weeks.
• Community Support: Fall is the time of year that we gather our resources to support families in our community. You may place your donations of shelf stable food and snack items in the box outside the office at drop off or pick up. Any gift card donations may be left with the office staff. If your family would benefit from support during the holiday season, please email jgilbert@powayusd.com

• SDCOE Computer2Kids Event: The San Diego County Office of Education and Computers2Kids are hosting an event for families to purchase affordable computers on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at San Marcos Elementary School - 1 Tiger Way, San Marcos CA 92069 (Drive Thru Event). Click this link for details.

• District SPED Informational Meeting: For all families of students receiving special education services, please plan to join us on Thursday, October 5th from 6-7:30 p.m. for our first parent education class. The class will be led by Moira and Joe from Exceptional Family Resource Center and held at the District Office in the Community Room.
  

• Food and Nutrition Updates and Reminders:

  • School breakfast and school lunch are FREE for all enrolled students, every school day. Meals must still be entered into the cafeteria computer by individual student account.

  • Even though meals are free, families are still highly encouraged to complete the application for free and reduced-price meal eligibility. School site funding depends in part on the number of students eligible for free/reduced-price meals. Families that qualify for free/reduced-price meals may qualify for other benefits, as well. The meal application is available online at MySchoolApps.com.

  • Printer-friendly PDF menus are available on the PUSD Food and Nutrition webpage. At the top of the page, click or hover over School Menus + and then Printable PDF Menus.

  Interactive, web-based menus containing nutrient and allergen details are available at MySchoolMenus.com, as well as via links from the F&N webpage.
  

Go Wildcats!

Raquel Katz

Principal

Sundance Elementary

Thank you so much for participating in our Start With Hello spirit week! It was exciting seeing students teach others how to say hello in a different language, write kind messages on our Smile Wall, learn new facts about each other, make thank-you cards and notes for healthcare heroes or trusted adults, and make bead bracelets for their friends! Special thank you to our amazing Character Ambassadors, Mrs. Woodworth, and Mrs. Orlando for helping our recess activities run smoothly.

I will be starting TK/K small groups soon, so please email me (Ms. Park) at empark@powayusd.com if you are interested in having your child build more skills in one of these topics:

• Social Skills & Friendship

• Self-Control

• Managing Big Emotions & Coping Skills

Next Week:

• 10/2: Minimum Day - Release time is 12pm for K-5th for teachers professional growth day
• 10/4: After School Choir Begins
• 10/6: Friday Flag at 7:50am (parents welcome to attend!) / Coffee & Connections outside gate after Friday Flag

• 10/9: October Foundation Monthly Meeting at 7 pm in the Sundance Library & Zoom
  
• 10/9-10/13: Book Fair!
• 10/27: Save the Date: Sundance Halloween Carnival
  
• 10/31: Halloween Parade, 8am (front of the school)

• Music Schedule
• Library Schedule
• PE Schedule
• 2023/2024 Bell Schedule
• Counseling Referral Form linked here. Our counselor will hold group sessions on the following topics: Coping With Anxiety, Friendships, Social Skills, and Self-Control.
  
• Twitter: Sundance is now on Twitter - handle @SundancePUSD
• Instagram: Find us at SundanceElementary

Join the Sundance Carnival Planning Committee

The Halloween Carnival is our biggest event of the year and we need many parents to help us plan and run the upcoming Carnival. Check out and sign up for Carnival planning positions here. Our goal is to include more parents in the initial planning stages this year so the carnival can continue for many years to come!

Math Olympiad Program for 4th & 5th Graders!

Come join the Sundance Math Olympiad team! The program is open to students in grades 4 and 5. To learn more and register, please click here. The registration is due by Oct 10th.

Book Fair

The Book Fair is coming October 9-13! Do you have what it takes to Crack the Case? Come get clued in to the best new books. Every purchase benefits our school. Students will visit the library with their class on their scheduled library day. Make in-person checkout easier for your student, or send them as teacher gifts. Buy digital gift cards at efairs.literati.com

Families can also shop In-person together! We will be open before school (Tues-Fri), after school (Mon-Thur), and Wednesday evening (6 pm-730 pm).

What was your favorite book growing up? Help students find the stories they’ll love forever by volunteering at our book fair! Sign Up to volunteer through the link!

Books & Cookies Event: Wednesday 10/11 @ 6:00pm

Join us for an evening with books, cookies and bookfair shopping. Local author Samantha Childs will be here to read her award-winning children’s book Henri and the Magnificent Snort!

Red Envelope Campaign Launches MONDAY!

Our biggest fundraiser of the year launches on Monday! Be on the lookout for the full details and the red envelope packets coming home with your Wildcats next week. Thank you in advance for your support as we provide physical education, additional staffing, extracurricular programs and more to our students!

Early Bird Special - Get your Yearbook at its Lowest Price Ever!

Woo-hoo!! Over 100 books sold already. Thank you! From now until September 30th, you can save an additional 10% off your total purchase. Each yearbook comes with 2 free pages that you can customize, any way you want, and are printed ONLY in your child’s book. See the flyer below for more details on how to purchase your very own Sundance yearbook!