SES Messenger
May 3, 2024
School News (NEW)
Dear Sunnyside Community,
While we wait for the rain to bring us our May flowers, we have still been busy with our field studies, teaching and learning here at Sunnyside.
Mary Gage's class went to the courthouse, Carrie's class on a walking trip, Becca's class to Reed Cooley Gallery, Michael and Robin to the Japanese Garden, and Mary Lloyd on a walking tour. Our second grades and Levia's third grade class went to Newmark Theater, and our 4th graders continued their African Drumming classes.
We are gearing up for Teacher Appreciation Week and I just have to say how grateful I am to work with this amazing staff. Every time I talk to other principals, I brag about our staff here at Sunnyside and all of the work they do to bring our place-based environmental curriculum to our students.
More news will be coming soon about a possible new playground for Sunnyside and the fundraising efforts that we are hoping to have our broader community take part in. We are hoping to spend some time getting student and staff voice and then we can take our next steps of bringing it out to the community.
We are headed to the last month of the school year. 8th grade promotion is Thursday June 13th at 6:00pm and 5th grade promotion is on the last day of school, June 14th at 9:00 AM. We are looking forward to celebrating a year full of unexpected events, but nevertheless, a year full of learning, joy and growth!
Dr. Berg
Upcoming Dates
- Mon-Fri, May 6-10: SES Staff Appreciation Week
Mon-Fri, May 13-17 - Middle School Marine Biology Trips
Tues, May 21, 5-10pm: Bagdad Pub (not including theater) SES restaurant fundraiser
Tues, May 21, 6-7pm: Connect to Kindergarten
Wed, May 22, 8:45am: SES PTSA meeting: SES room 102
Mon, May 27: Memorial Day. No School
Tue, Jun 4, 11am-11pm: SES restaurant fundraiser at Straight from NY (Belmont only)
Thu, Jun 13, 6-8pm: SES 8th grade promotion (at Franklin High School)
Fri, Jun 14, 8:45-10: SES 5th grade promotion (in the auditorium)
Fri, Jun 14: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
Fri, Jun 14, 6-8pm: Middle School end-of-year dance (note date correction)
PTSA News
We are putting all of our energy into STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK (next week!) and hope you will join us in making it abundantly special! You can bring a dish, bake a treat, help set up, and more - check out all the sign ups here: Staff Appreciation Week!
Please join us for the final PTSA meeting of the year on May 22 at 8:45 a.m. in Room 102, or join digitally on Google Meet: bit.ly/SESPTSA-Meeting-Link! (Guest State Rep. Rob Nosse & Board Elections)
Executive Board positions with renewing terms and up for election include:
Co-President
Treasurer
Board Member at Large x2
Many other volunteer positions: Winter Craft Fair, Dine Out for SES, Bottle Drop/Green Team Coordinator, and more.
Open roles & position descriptions for 2024-25 HERE. Interested? Reach out so we can chat and add your name to the ballot! Steph (stephbarnhart1@gmail.com) and Heather (tanky34@gmail.com).
Review April Meeting Minutes | View the May Agenda
See you there!
Class Photo Day (NEW)
Group photos will be taken for all classes on Tuesday, May 7th. Photos are $8/piece. We will be offering two poses for purchase - one formal and one goofy.
You can purchase photos and they'll be delivered to your class teacher before school is out.
Marine Bio Contributions & Forms DUE
We are still MANY tens of thousands of dollars behind on our marine biology budget for Middle School Trips. Here are the links to make payments (if you have not done so already).
6th Grade: Contributions Now
7th Grade: Contributions Now
8th Grade: Contributions Now
Parent's night out, TAKE TWO - TONIGHT!
Need a date night? Parent’s Night Out (TAKE TWO) is where SES 8th grade students (with adult support) will be offering babysitting Friday, May 3 from 5:00-8:00PM at Sunnyside! There will be a cheese pizza dinner and MANY activities provided. The cost is a sliding scale of $30-50 per student. Please sign up by texting Julianne (and SES parent and PPS teacher) at 503-939-5673 with your student/s name and grade/s. Thanks for supporting our students! See all the details here.
Students of Color Teach in (NEW)
This Wednesday our middle students of color affinity group joined forces with our 5th grade SOC group to spend the morning learning with guest speaker Ebonee Bell exploring why our ancient human ancestors first evolved dark skin in Africa, and then became lighter (and sometimes darker again!) as they moved to other corners of the globe. We pondered the questions- What led to these skin color changes? Are these forces still in play? Students tied the science of skin to the idea of race as a social construction. We also enjoyed community building games, art time, and lunch together. It was a fantastic day!
SES x Ridwell Plastic Films Drive (NEW)
SES is keeping Plastic Film from landfills with Ridwell this spring! As part of this limited-time drive, you can bring these types of Plastic Film to school on May 10, and Ridwell will make sure they stay out of landfills and are turned into new decking materials instead! Start collecting these items at home & around school now.
You can also help SES recycle our school’s Plastic Film for the entire 2024-25 school year! Be sure to use get.ridwell.com/Sunnyside to join Ridwell with an at-home membership by May 31st, 2024. If we sign up 10 or more new members by this date, we will be awarded monthly Plastic Film pickups for our school next year!
YES: Shipping envelopes, bubble wrap, grocery bags, produce bags, cereal bags, bread bags, zip-top (Ziplock) bags, dry cleaning bags.
NO: Hard plastic, chip bags, snack wrappers, squeezable food containers, metallic bubble wrap, silver interior bags, latex, woven sacks, totes, bottle caps, pull caps, produce netting, plastic food wrap, six pack rings, potting soil bags.
Hello from the Art Room (NEW)
Hello from the Art Room,
Middle school classes have been doing collage with fabric this week and will be drawing shoes as still life next week. Elementary classes have spent two weeks drawing Day in the Life of Comics and next week we will use yarn to make puffball creatures. Thanks for all the love appreciation and support, Indigo
Art supply wish list with links, but if you have any of these items at home previously loved we would love them also.
Post-it notes for flipbooks- link
Blank notecards also for flipbooks- link
Tacky glue- link
Pencil sharpeners- link
Micron Pens- link
Aluminum wire- link
Looms- link
Loom warp thread- link
Crochet needles- link
May 8 is National Bike and Roll to School Day!
May is Bike Month! Join your classmates and walk, run, scooter, or bike to school as much as you can all month! Studies show that active transportation to school keeps kids and families fit, reduces traffic and air pollution, and even helps kids learn.
On Wednesday, May 8, to celebrate Bike and Roll to School Day, we’ll have prizes in the morning for ALL students! Instead of bike bus, we invite everyone to bike/scoot/roll/walk with your family, friends, or neighbors, and meet at the sunflower street mural at Yamhill & 33rd at 8:30 (no matter what direction you are coming from). We’ll bike/roll the last blocks to school as a big group, and give out prizes when we get to school!
Can’t walk or roll the whole way to school? That’s ok! The benefits of walking or biking to school apply even if you drive part of the way. By parking a few blocks from school and walking the rest of the way, you can participate in active transportation and cut down on air pollution from idling of vehicles near our school!
8th grade speeches have begun
Each year as our SES 8th graders prepare to leave for high school, they must complete a portfolio of assignments designed to help them think both retrospectively, prospectively and introspectively. One of those assignments is a speech that talks about something they believe.
On Tuesdays and Fridays during middle school morning meeting, 8th graders are delivering these speeches, starting at 8:45am.
You can find the schedule of speeches here. The schedule does change, so please be sure to check for updates regularly if there's someone you really want to see. (Note: No one is allowed to exit or enter the auditorium when a speech is in progress; please show up on time.)
Dine Out for SES: McMenamins Bagdad Pub - Tuesday, May 21st
Save the Date! Our wonderful neighbors, McMenamins Bagdad Pub (restaurant only, not including theater), will donate 50% of ALL SALES TO SUNNYSIDE on May 21st, 5pm-10pm!! This is huge - spread the word! Dine in or take out. Check out the menu HERE!
Fliers and Community Links
- Franklin Youth Football: Registration here.
- Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education: Free First Sunday, 5 May 2024 (NEW)
- Multnomah Early Childhood Program Peer Preschool Classes: Spanish | Vietnamese | Chinese | Russian | Somali | Korean | Arabic | Persian (NEW)
- CampOUT is a Queer Youth Empowerment camp located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood serving LGBTQIA+ middle school youth. More details HERE
Websites to Know
Apply for Free/Reduced Meals - NEW Oregon expanded income guidelines
Konstella - One stop shop for parent information (PTSA)
Communicable disease protocol - aka when should I keep my child home from school?