SES Messenger

Dear Sunnyside Community,

Now that we are past spring break and into the last quarter of the year which starts Monday, time will fly in fast motion to summer.

We will have a lot of trips and activities coming up, but most importantly we have the auction coming up next Friday. Please come and support Sunnyside. This year more than ever, we need your support so that we can continue to be Sunnyside and offer the unique and special program that we do. All the auction information is below.

Thank you!

Dr. Berg

• Thur, Apr 4: End of quarter

• Fri, Apr 5: NO SCHOOL (professional development day)
  

• Fri-Sun, Apr 5-7: SES Westwind Family Weekend

• Mon, Apr 8: School in session (makeup day)

• Fri, Apr 12: SES Foundation Auction

• Wed, Apr 17, 8:45am: SES PTSA meeting: SES room 102

• Fri, Apr 19, 5-8pm: SES Parents Night Out

• Sat, Apr 20, 11:30am: SES Earth Day Celebration

• Thu, Apr 25, 3:30-6:30pm: SES student-led conferences (information coming from teachers)

• Thu, Apr 25, 3pm: SES PTSA Plant Sale

• Fri, Apr 26: MS marine biology trip permission forms and family contributions due

• Fri, Apr 26: 6th grade shadow day (for new families)

• Fri, Apr 26, 3pm: SES PTSA Plant Sale
  

BID NOW ON ALL THE AMAZING AUCTION ITEMS! Previews of class art projects, party boards, and live items you can ~only~ bid on at the Gala have just been added, too! Spread the word and check it out: ourschool.auction/SESglow

Funds raised through the online Auction and Gala to benefit staffing needs at our beloved school. Celebrate with us next Friday - it’s going to be an electric night with queen Bolivia Carmichaels, music by the infamous DJ Anjali & The Kid, and SES Community to the max. Let’s Glow! Outfit inspiration & theme vibes HERE. Luminescent attire encouraged but not required - come as you are! Let’s Glow!

• Online Auction: Closes April 12 at Noon. PREVIEW ITEMS & BID HERE

• Glow Gala: Friday, April 12 (5:30 - 9:00 p.m.) at Revolution Hall’s Show Bar.

• Event Info & Tickets ($25-$100): ourschool.auction/SESglow

• Volunteer: Work a shift at the Gala (or help with item distribution April 25-26) in exchange for a ticket. Sign up HERE.

• Ticket Assistance: Please email fundraising@sesptsa.org if you need financial assistance obtaining tickets. ALL are welcome.

• Child Care: Firefly Valley Babysitting Camp (run by SES 8th graders) have spots available the night of the gala. Drop off and pick up anytime between 4:30 and 9:30 p.m. $12/hour + $6/hour for sibling. They can provide dinner for $5 additional, or bring your own dinner. SIGN UP HERE. Contact 503-896-0302 or aeonrick.pdx@gmail.com.

HELP SES GLOW: You can help us by sharing the auction link far and wide, inviting a friend to the gala & live auction next Friday, or filling volunteer slot.

THANK YOU, SPONSORS! Thank you to hundreds of auction item donors, and our gala sponsors including: Oregon Blue Print, Activity Connection, Revolution Hall, Crumbl Cookies, Great Wine Buys, Wahle Vineyards & Cellars, Scenic Valley Farms, Glasshaus Gardens, & Rodeo Queen PDX.

Our student led conferences are scheduled for Thursday April 25th from 3:30-6:30. These conferences are traditionally student-led and give families an opportunity to see the classroom through their students eyes.

Families can come any time during the allowed time. Information will be coming from your student(s) teachers shortly.

The SES seedling sale is back, and happening at the same time as both student-led conferences, and auction item pick up! Join us, 3pm–5pm Thursday and Friday, or while plant supplies last! BONUS: DAIRY HILL ICE CREAM will be there with treats for sale!

You can expect to see starts for lettuce, spinach, kale, chard, mustard greens, carrots, salad turnips, peppers, eggplant, a variety of delicious tomatoes, and, of course, the famous Sunnyside sunflowers 🌻🌻🌻 All proceeds support the SES garden program.

What? A chance for SES students to socialize and enjoy time together while their adults take a break!

When? Friday, April 19, 2024 from 5:00-8:00PM

Who? Open to all K-5 SES students. Supervision will be provided by Middle School Students (and a few parents).

Where? At SES

Why? To build community while raising money for 8th grade Catalina field study.

Find out more information HERE.

Come celebrate Earth Day! Gather at SES at 11:30 with your animal or plant costume (we'll also have some materials for making animal masks there for anyone who didn't have time to make a costume) for the Procession of the Species PARADE!!!!! Singing, a native plant sale, free marigolds, painting of QSA mural, and more!!!

Belmont Library is growing to support the community. Through listening sessions and meetings, community members have provided so many great ideas for the interior of the library. Now we want to hear from you again.

Vote for your favorite interior design palette for Belmont Library until Monday, April 15!
You can vote online or in person at Belmont Library (1038 SE César E. Chávez Boulevard).

Open House: April 11

You can also vote and chat with the Belmont Library building project team at this open house:

Thursday, April 11, 2024

5-7pm

Belmont Library (1038 SE César E. Chávez Boulevard)

On-demand language interpretation will be available, along with free books and snacks.

Please spread the word and let me know if you have any questions!

Yoga on Mondays (K-3rd), and electronic music club on Fridays (2nd-5th), need just a few more students to register in order to run this spring! Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity. Additional information and registration details can be found on the PTSA website at https://www.sesptsa.org/after-school-activities/.

Help us support our students as the warmer weather approaches. We have a wish list for hygiene products HERE. These are a suggestion of what we could use. Please bring items that are not directly shipped to Jenny in the office. Thank you for help.

If you are interested in getting more involved in advocacy to increase school funding, a district-wide group is being resurrected to help organize efforts - it's called Community + Parents for Public Schools and you can sign up here: https://cppsportland.org/join-us. They send comprehensive email updates, including info like lobby day efforts, potential topics of focus for 2025, policy updates, and background reading. The SES parent community continues to organize and share information on Konstella, via the Social Group called “Standing in Solidarity” and welcomes new members anytime.

This week students were working on their shading with pencil skills. Middle Schoolers in Aaron/Mary and Robin's classes drew shoes. Tiffany and Levia's third-grade classes made 3D collage identity boxes. Some of them will go the Portland Art Museum to be on display for the HeART of Portland celebration. See some images in this Google Drive folder

Have a beautiful week, Indigo & student teachers Alexander & Zack

Would you like to work in the cafeteria at Sunnyside? A position for 2.5 hours a day will be posted shortly. You can apply through PPS staffing. If you have any questions please reach out to Christina at cwolfe@pps.net.

We are excited to let you know that your school is being recognized during our annual celebration as a 2023 Riffle Award recipient. The educational programs that a few of your teachers, Mary Gage Davis and Sarah Conley, participated in with their classes during the 2023 was highly appreciated for their stewardship and environmental education engagement.

Educational Institution: Sunnyside Environmental School.

Sunnyside Environmental School’s Middle School Year of the River classes joined Johnson Creek Watershed Council and Portland Parks & Recreation staff for multiple field trips at Wahoo Natural Area and Johnson Creek Park for stewardship and environmental education during 2023. The students prepped the site, planted, and mulched at Wahoo, a natural park upstream from Leach Botanical Garden, to increase natural habitats while slowing and filtering rainwater that enters the Johnson Creek. At Johnson Creek Park they tested water quality in both Johnson Creek and Crystal Springs to compare how more extensive riparian and creek restoration can increase habitat conditions for salmon. The students were respectful of wildlife and their habitats and worked hard in the natural areas to increase native vegetation and clear trash.

Thanks,

Sara Volk, Community Outreach Coordinator

The SEPLL is looking for a few more softball players for their majors teams. The majors teams generally consist of 5th and 6th graders. All information located HERE.

• PPS & Oaks Park Queer Family Night, Monday April 22 (NEW)
• Portland Art Intensive at Buckman (Jun. 17 - Jul. 12) (NEW)
  
• Building Culture and Community Through Safe Routes to School webinar, April 17 (NEW)
  
• Youth Personal Safety & Self-Defense 2-Part Series (ages 11-14) (NEW)
  
• New to Portland Ride: East Neighborhoods, April 30 (NEW)
  
• East Portland Neighborhood Bike Fair, April 26 (NEW)
  
• East Portland Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop, April 17 (NEW)
  
• 360 Arts Camp - World Forestry Center. HERE
  
• US Congressional Art Competition (entries due 5:30pm, Mon. Apr. 29)
  (Rules) (Student Release Form)
• AFS-USA Student Exchange Programs
• Grant HS Youth Track Meet - April 11, 18 and 25th

• 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