SES Messenger

Dear Sunnyside Community,

Who would have imagined that we would spend the second week of school locked in a heat wave? The Sunnyside building is one hundred years old this year and as you all know, old Portland buildings do not have air conditioning. It makes our commitment to environmental awareness and solutions even more important.

We are in the swing of things here at school and looking forward to the Watermelon Social that has been rescheduled for Monday due to the early release. Please join us for a fun event!

Outdoor School is coming up for our 6th graders September 29th through October 4th. Please know that the Outdoor School program is run through the Multnomah Education Service District and we do not have a choice of dates. We are aware that they scheduled it during Rosh Hashanah and we are in communication with them regarding the scheduling during this religious holiday for many in our community. We did request that they NOT schedule it during these holidays and are hoping that in the future they can be more mindful in their scheduling. There is an Outdoor School Meeting on Wednesday September 11th from 6-7 which will be a presentation for families from Outdoor School about what to expect.

We are really looking forward to seeing you at the Watermelon Social. Please come! There will also be middle school fundraising-so bring some cash!

Thanks all!

Eryn & Chris

• Mon - Sept 9: PTSA Watermelon Social. 3pm-4pm
• Wed, Sept 11, 6p-7p: 6th grade outdoor school meeting
• Tue, Sept 17, 11am-9pm: Dine out for SES: HOTLIPS Pizza on Hawthorne
• Tue - Wed, Sept 17-18: School Picture Days.
• 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

Join us on MONDAY for SES PTSA’s version of an Involvement Fair, formerly known as “Popsicles on the Playground.” Come have a tasty watermelon treat (no plastic waste, no food dyes!), meet other parents, & learn more about the many events throughout the year and how to plug in. NEW DATE: Monday, September 9 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Watermelon for all, provided by PTSA in partnership with Rubinette Produce!

Is your child staying home? Sick or on vacation? You can call the office and report it on the attendance line OR use this online FORM. Please bookmark this form for ease.

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.

• Join PTSA! Our first General Meeting is Friday, Sept. 20 at 8:45 a.m. Come in person or join online at: bit.ly/SESPTSA-Meeting-Link. Meetings are open to all and we’d love to see you there. Write to us at board@sesptsa.org with questions or to request an agenda item.

• Music! Field Studies! Garden! Please support our Back To School Ask. We’re well on our way to our $28,000 fundraising goal. We cannot run these special SES programs without financial support from families - thanks to all who have already contributed!!

• Connect on Konstella! Use Konstella for parent directory, classroom announcements, event calendar, volunteer sign ups, parent interest groups like “carpool connections,” or “outdoors & hiking,” grade-specific meet ups and more.

• Participate! Our events calendar, meeting schedule & agenda, and much more lives on our website: sesptsa.org.

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!

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

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.

Classes with 0: Monica, Carrie, Robin

Classes with 1: Frances, Michelle, Heather T., Tiffany, Jeremy, Asa, Mary Lloyd

Hey all, I'm Maia Hixon, fellow SES parent and this year’s Class Family Representative Coordinator. Each year, we ask that two adults share the role of Classroom Family Representative (aka Class Reps or Room Parents). Typical duties of this shared role include: Sending a simple, weekly Konstella message communicating classroom goings-on, liaising with teachers to make sure they have enough family support for class activities, and showing the love during Staff Appreciation Week. It’s an easy way to get to know both your kiddo’s teacher and classroom community better. (And if you’re new, I can teach you all you need to know!) Please reach out to me on Konstella if you’re interested or if you have any questions. Email is ok too: maiapaia@gmail.com. And know that all the teachers and the community at large will super appreciate it. Thanks!

Calling all plant lovers!

We're excited to announce that our middle school students will be growing a variety of plants this school year in our emerging plant nursery located in room 201. To help us get started, we're reaching out to see if anyone has some plant clippings they'd be willing to donate!

Our Dream List Includes:

• Hardy banana trees/plants offshoots (pups)
• Monstera cuttings or a plant
• Philodendron plant cuttings
• Any other easy-to-grow plants that we can propagate!

If you have any of these or other plant cuttings you'd like to donate, please drop them off with Tara in or Nathan in the garden space. Alternatively, if you'd like us to come by and dig out the offshoots, just let us know!

Thank you so much for your support!

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

Farmer Nathan (our gardening teacher) will be bringing his dog, Little Gem to gardening every once in awhile. She's a 14 year old miniature Australian Sheppard. She is very sweet and loves the kids and helping in the garden. Please email Jenny in the office (jethomas@pps.net) with any concerns.

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.

We are thrilled to present this year’s partnership with Portland Drama Club! Students in this after school program will put on a fantastic musical, Alice in Wonderland.

If the cost is a barrier to your family, please apply for a full or partial scholarship. PDC offers up to 50% scholarships to those in need and the PTSA sells tickets and concessions each year to make full scholarships available for those who need them.

• To apply for up to a 50% scholarship fill out the PDC request form.

• To apply for a full scholarship apply for the 50% scholarship from PDC (above) AND also email fundraising@sesptsa.org.

Registration is now open and details about this wonderful 5th-8th grade experience can be found HERE! Spots are limited so grab yours while you still can!

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.

Sunnyside Community

Does anyone have an old boom box that we could gift to our health room? Or an electric tea kettle?

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!

Let’s bike to school! Active transportation keeps kids and families fit, reduces traffic and air pollution, and even helps kids learn.

Bike Bus Meetup Spots: Meet at 8:25, roll out at 8:30, from these meeting spots, or join along the way. Kids need a working bike, a helmet, and a lock to park the bike at school.

• SE 28th & Pine (led by Alyssa K.)

• SE 23rd & Salmon (led by Alida C. & Travis P.)

• SE 41st & Lincoln (led by Emily S.)

Dates for Fall 2024:

• Wednesday, September 11

• Wednesday, October 9 (Int’l Walk and Roll to School Day AND SES Run Walk Move Fundraiser Day!)

• THURSDAY, November 14 (Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day)

Can’t walk/roll the whole way to school? That’s ok! You can park and join a bike bus at any meetup point or along a route. Or consider parking 2-4 blocks from school and walking the rest of the way, which encourages active transportation and cuts down on air pollution from idling of vehicles near our school!

Interested in active transportation? Want to help? Need any gear (bike lock, helmet, etc)? Please join the Family Biking social group on Konstella or message 3rd grade parent Alida Cantor (alidacantor@gmail.com or on Konstella).

Registration for fall after school enrichment activities is now open! These on-site classes will start right after school, extending after-care for enrolled students. This year’s fall offerings include Adventures in Spanish, Chess Club, DJ Aspen’s Workshop, Electronic Music Club, Lego Robotics, Yoga Playgrounds and Portland Drama Club. Full details and links can be found on the SES PTSA website at www.sesptsa.org/after-school-activities.

• 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