SES Messenger

Dear Sunnyside Families,

We are back in the swing of things with field study. Carrie went to Seaside and Mary Gage and Sarah Conley went to the Esplanade. We are really in need of parent support as chaperones and cannot do it without you!

As you all know, we have required drills that we have to do because we are a school. We do monthly fire drills, earthquake drills, and lockdown drills. There are two types of lockdown drills: one in which we lockout which means no one can come and go but the building inside goes about business as usual, and the other type which means lights out, classroom doors locked, and students quiet. I wish with all my being that we didn't have to practice these drills, but because we do, we do so with intentionality and trauma informed practice. We never call these anything other than lockdown and we explain that we do these in order to practice safety. Grade K-2 has a new curriculum called Sammy and Friends, that is age appropriate and geared towards helping our youngest students feel safe and supported. The PPS drills and resources for families are here.

This week and next week during our weekly Counseling lessons, Kindergarten through 2nd Grade students at our school will learn about Sammy the Sasquatch, Crittertopia, and the many ways Sammy practices safety. Crittertopia is kept safe by the Critter Elder’s magic. While it’s very unlikely a curious human will accidentally wander into Crittertopia, Sammy & Friends practice keeping Crittertopia safe by doing a Lockdown, “Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.” For more information on Sammy & Friends and resources to help empower your kids at home, please see that attached document.

Our first lockdown drill will be the 24th of September. Thank you for all your support and guidance for our students.

Coming up soon is our first early release. Our early release will be September 25th and students will all be released at 12:45. That evening will also be Sunnyside Back to School Night.

Wednesday September 25th SES Back to School Night

Back to School Night Schedule

Tag Meeting 5:30pm-6:00pm Auditorium

K - 5

• 6:00 - 6:45 K5 Overview in Auditorium with Families

• 6:50 - 7:45 K5 Families join teachers in classrooms

Middle School

• 6:00 - 6:30: Families in Core classes

• 6:35 - 7:00: 6th Grade Families to Room 212 (Sarah Conley’s room)

• 6:35 - 7:00: 7th Grade Families to Room 213 (Mary Lloyd’s Room)

• 6:35 - 7:00: 8th Grade Families to Room 206 (Sarah Wagner’s room)

• 7:05 - 7:45: ALL MS Families to Auditorium

Hope to see you then!

• Tue, Sept 17, 11am-9pm: Dine out for SES: HOTLIPS Pizza on Hawthorne

• Tue - Wed, Sept 17-18: School Picture Days (Teachers will let you know your day/time)
  
• Fri, Sept 20: PTSA meeting: 8:45 - 10am.
  
• Wed, Sept 25: PPS early release day. School dismiss at 12:45
• Wed, Sept 25: SES Back to school night. 6pm-8pm
• Sun-Fri. Sept 29-Oct 4: SES 6th grade Outdoor School
• Mon, Oct 7, 5:30pm-6:30pm: Parenting tips for promoting health & Safe Online Experiences
• Wed, Oct 9: Run, Walk, Move!
• Tues, Oct 15: All classes dismissed at 3:15 for staff meeting

Mark your calendars now for our first big peer-to-peer fundraiser of the year, the one where we celebrate healthy movement for all and cheer our students on as they Run, Walk, Dance, or Move around our school! Save the date: Wednesday, October 9 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. We need LOTS of volunteers - please sign up to help: bit.ly/VOLUNTEER-RWM-24. Fundraising begins Sept. 27 and ends Oct. 16. Do you own a business that could donate a cool prize kids would love? Contact Sara (sara@skywolfmamawellness.com) and Pia (piajod@gmail.com). Much more information is coming soon - stay tuned!

Do you have any spare water bottles laying around? We have students that need water bottles every week for field study. We are hoping to keep a stash here in the office to help keep our kids hydrated. Please drop any donations you have to Jenny in the office.

We are SO excited to have author Megan Woodward visiting us in October for our K-3rd grade students! Author visits are hugly impactful for students and we all love to see how excited they get about reading, writing and art when an author or illustrator comes to see us at Sunnyside! Megan's book This Book is Definitly Not Cursed is a perfect (fun) book heading into spooky season and we can't wait for this visit (there will be puppets!

In order to help support author visits at SES, please consider purchasing a copy (or two!) of Megan's book! Books will be signed by our author and delivered the day of the visit so kids can come home and share the fun with you!

Please use the below link and select "I would like to pick up this order" under pick up options and then select Sunnyside for pick up. This allows us to know what book orders are for your school. Add your child's teacher's name in the comment box so that the books can be distributed easily.

The deadline for submitting their orders will be Thursday, October 10th.

Thank you for supporting the Sunnyside Library!!!

Megan Woodward Author Book Buying Link

Do you worry about your child's screen time? Does technology cause tension in your home? You are not alone! Join us for a parent & caregivers educational session with Dr. Jen Doty, who shares tips for parents to help their children navigate technology safely and become good digital citizens. You'll learn the TECH parenting model, strategies for choosing age-appropriate media, and ways to set up healthy online boundaries to prevent cyberbullying and other problematic internet behaviors. Expect a 30 minute presentation with Q&A to follow. ATTEND In Real Life (I.R.L.): Monday, October 7 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the SES Auditorium. Free. Open to all SES Parents & Caregivers.

Calling all readers from grades 3 - 8! Oregon Battle of the Books is a fun, extracurricular, statewide program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries. Students form teams of up to 5 kids, read from the book lists provided, and meet regularly with their teammates (outside school hours) to talk about what they've read.

Starting in January, during lunch periods at school, teams compete in friendly battles to answer trivia questions about the books. Battles build confidence and public speaking skills, and are a great way to bond with friends over books. One team from 3rd-5th grade and one team from 6th-8th grade will represent SES at the regional OBOB tournament. All readers are celebrated for participating.

Your students have heard about OBOB from Gillian during their library sessions, but if they want to participate, they might need help finding or forming a team... and maybe YOU could be their volunteer coach! If your student is interested, check out the reading lists for the 3rd-5th grade division and the 6th-8th grade division. Books on the lists are available at Multnomah Public Library and at Powell's. Limited copies are also available at the SES library; we are trying to raise funds to buy more.

More OBOB info: Gillian created an info page within the SES Library site. You can find FAQs on the statewide OBOB site here and a complete guide for coaches here. Email coordinators Alida Cantor (for 3rd - 5th grade: alidacantor@gmail.com) or Abby Ranger (for middle school: abbyranger@gmail.com) if you need help getting started. Finally, one coach or family member from each team should be sure to fill out this OBOB sign-up.

Hotlips Pizza on Hawthorne will donate 15% of all sales to Sunnyside Environmental School on Tuesday, September 17th! Dinner plans, CHECK! All you have to do is order takeout or dine-in, at the Hawthorne location, to benefit our school. Grab a table with your school pals! 2211 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 11am-9pm.

Indigo needs some support with Kindergarten classes in the Art Room. Ideally, two volunteers would help on Monday each week, from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m., and would NOT be a parent of a Kindergarten student in that class. To sign up for this role, please contact Indigo: ccorwin@pps.net

Hello families,

Hopefully your back to school packets have made their way home. Links to packets can be found here -

Elementary School

Middle School

Please donate to your student's classroom supplies via school pay.

Homework for caregivers - Please fill out and return the student medical form, walking field trip form and cell phone contract (for grades 5-8) as soon as possible.

Want to send easy money flowing into our school AND help Earth?! Pick up a blue bag and sticker tag in the SES Office, put your empty cans and bottles from home inside, and drop full bags off at any Oregon Bottle Drop return location in the metro area. Ten cents ($.10) for each can directly support Sunnyside’s Field Study Program. Bags are available anytime at the SES Office, and will also be available for pick up at Back To School Night and other PTSA events throughout the year.

PPS is hosting a series of events that focus on Belonging, Equity & Inclusive Practices where powerful, award-winning documentaries will be screened that will stir, provoke, and challenge each of us about what is possible in the systems we create for our children with disabilities.

The first screening will be Forget Me Not on Wednesday, September 25 at 6:00 PM at McDaniel High School.

Forget Me Not is a moving story about 3-year-old Emilio whose family finds itself embroiled in a challenge all too common for children with disabilities: that of securing the right to an inclusive education. Filmmaker Olivier and his wife, Hilda, turn the camera on themselves and their child as they navigate an often frustrating system on their way toward ensuring that their son gets the education he needs and deserves.

There are so many amazing Eco initiatives involving SES students, staff, and parents - this new Volunteer role is perfect for folks who can wrangle, coordinate, and help execute. The primary need is to work with our students and teachers to promote waste reduction and sustainability efforts school-wide. May also help with: Bottle Recycling for SES, No Idling Campaigns, Tiny Forest projects, SES Sustainability Fair, School-wide Recycling Efforts, various garden projects, deeping partnerships with community entities like Ridwell, Repair PDX, etc…..sky’s the limit, but we need someone passionate about the Earth to take this by the reins! We’d love for a SES Team to attend Eco Schools Network fall trainings in October. Contact stephbarnhart1@gmail.com for more info or to join the committee.

You can find gorgeous SES merch and support our programming by shopping here!

Our amazing Nutrition Services staff, Christina, needs help at lunch. Sign up to volunteer a lot or a little HERE: bit.ly/SES-LUNCH-24-25. IMPORTANT: SES Volunteers must follow all PPS guidelines including check in procedures, safety, and background checks. Learn more and get verified: www.pps.net/volunteer.

Do you have a Ridwell membership at your home? SES needs periodic help removing plastic film and multi-layers from the school because our bin routinely overflows. So, we’ve started a new Konstella Group (“Ridwell Members for SES” under Social Groups.) Please join the group for announcements about specific help needed and pick ups, and share other ideas about how SES can continue our waste-reduction efforts and maximize our partnership with Ridwell!

• Maplewood Tennis After School Zone (Oct. 8 - Nov. 19) (NEW)
• Multnomah County Common Application (NEW)
• Renew DACA status with free legal help English | Español (NEW)
  

• SES PTSA Back-to-School Ask

• 2024-2025 Attendance Form

• Sign up to support Christina at lunch
  

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

• Sunnyside School Page

• SES PTSA website | After school activities at SES

• SchoolPay | Remind

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

• MESD head lice resources and information