The Sunnyside Scoop

Sunnyside Office: (651) 385 - 4570

Kids Junction: (651) 385 - 4587

First Student (General busing questions): (651) 388 - 8244

Transportation (Bus routing): (651) 385 - 4795

Email: mjpagel@rwps.org
Website: http://redwing.k12.mn.us/sunnyside/
Location: 1669 Southwood Avenue, Red Wing, MN, United States
Phone: (651) 385-4570

Happy November! This month is a great time to stop and spend a little time thinking about the things we are thankful for in our lives. I, for one, am thankful for all of our Sunnyside community, and I'm thankful for the positive energy that exists in a Kindergarten - 1st grade building. I couldn't imagine doing anything else!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend conferences on Monday, November 4th. If you were not able to attend conferences, please feel free to contact your child's teacher to schedule another time that works for you.

I also wanted to say a quick THANK YOU to everyone who was able to participate in our fall Clubs' Choice fundraiser. Thanks to everyone's generosity, we were able to raise over $9000 for Sunnyside's Innovative Learning Fund, which is amazing! This fund is used to pay for a number of things that directly benefit students, such as field trips, special events, and classroom grants, so your support means a lot to us here at Sunnyside.

Mike Pagel

Principal

November:

8 -- Quarter 1 School-wide Celebration

15 -- Dental Clinic @ Sunnyside

19 -- Picture Retake Day

25 -- Kindergarten Grandparents' Days (Alton, Johnson, Kelly, Marklevits)

26 -- Kindergarten Grandparents' Day (McDonnell, Plonsky, Prigge, Richardson)

27 - 29 -- NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

December:

6 -- Kindergarten Candy Houses

23 - 1/1 -- NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

Picture Make-Up Day is coming up at Sunnyside School. Our make-up day will take place on Tuesday, November 19th, and is an opportunity for those students who missed Picture Day on 10/15, as well as those families who would like their child's photo redone, to get their school picture taken care of.

Ordering information can be found in the fliers below. If you have specific questions about your student's picture make-up day, need help with ordering photos, or have other concerns, please contact info@k-photography.com or call (952)473-2142.

We've been lucky enough to have had a pretty mild fall so far in Red Wing, but the recent snowflakes are a good reminder that we can't dodge winter forever. Given that, it's worth taking this opportunity to remind families of a few winter-related items:

Indoor/Outdoor Recess: If the windchill is zero degrees or above, Sunnyside students will be outside at recess. If the windchill (or temp) falls below zero, students will be inside. Technically, our policy has a stipulation that students may be out for a "shortened time" if the windchill falls between -1 to -10. However, with our primary grade students especially, we find that it takes too long for students to get snow gear on/off to make that a feasible plan.

Winter Gear: As the weather cools, please be sure your child has appropriate winter gear for outdoor recess. A few specific things I've learned during my time at Sunnyside:

• Snow pants aren't just for snow! Even if there is no snow on the ground, they keep kids warm.
• Knit stretch gloves may be considered cool among the K-1 crowd, but they are not a great choice for recess. Kids love them, but those stretchy knit gloves offer little warmth, and act like a sponge once they get wet. Thick gloves or mittens are a better choice.
• If you need assistance providing winter clothing, please contact our school social worker, Analise Anderson, at ajdressen@rwps.org or 651-385-4716.

Cancellations:School may be canceled or delayed when the safety of students is threatened by severe weather or other circumstances. When possible, the Superintendent makes decisions before 5 a.m. and no later than 5:30 a.m. and notifies parents via phone calls, emails, www.rwps.org, and the district’s Facebook page. A brief text message alerting people to the email also may be sent; message frequency varies and standard message and data rates may apply. (Reply STOP to cancel text notifications.) The district also will post closures, delays, or early releases on WCCO Channel 4, KSTP Channel 5, KMSP Channel 9, and KARE Channel 11.

Late Starts: Generally, if school starts late due to poor weather or other emergency, the School District announces a two-hour late start. In that case, estimated bus pick-up times, entrance bells, and starting times for school will be two hours later than usual.

Early Releases: If there is a potentially dangerous storm arriving during the school day, school may be released early. It is important for all students to know what to do if school closes early. Please review procedures with your child and update your child’s emergency contact card with contact information.

Individual Circumstances: It is difficult to anticipate weather conditions in advance, and weather conditions may be different in different parts of the School District. Do not send your child to school if it is unsafe. Call your school’s attendance line to indicate your child is unable to attend due to severe weather or poor road conditions.

Speaking of winter weather... In the event that school needs to be closed for inclement weather, the school district may call either a traditional "Snow Day," or what's known as an "E-Learning Day." The district may use up to five E-Learning Days each school year, and the email and phone notifications families receive will identify what type of inclement weather day is being called.

E-Learning Days can’t fully replace the face-to-face time students have with their teachers but will provide better continuity -- unlike traditional snow days -- when school is interrupted. There will be a maximum of five E-Learning days during the school year.

In the case of inclement weather, parents and guardians will receive a phone call and/or text via the School Messenger service based on information provided by each family indicating school will be closed. That email and/or text will make it clear whether the day is considered an E-Learning Day. Students should not report to school, but should engage in learning activities as assigned if it is an E-Learning Day:

• Students in Grades E-5 have had Learning Tasks sent home which can be completed with or without technology. These are also linked on the District webpage HERE.

• Teachers in Grades 6-12 will post work in Google Classroom by 9 a.m. for the students they would have seen that day. Students in grades 6-12 will utilize their district-provided devices to complete learning.

Staff will be available to students on flexible learning days:

• For Grades K-5, teachers, administrators, and other licensed professionals will be available for virtual office hours via Google Meets and by email from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 12:00-2:00 p.m.

• Students in Grades 6 - 12, work will be posted by 9 a.m. in Google Classroom. Teachers and other licensed professionals for grades 6-12 will be available for virtual office hours via Google Meet and by email from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Student work must be submitted within a week of an E-Learning Day. The District will track attendance on E-Learning Days through this work completion. The timeframe will allow students ample opportunity to complete the work. Please be aware that E-Learning Day work not being turned in within a week of the inclement weather day will result in an unexcused absence.

Last week, Sunnyside celebrated students' hard work through the month of October with a couple fun events.

On Friday, 10/25, Sunnyside held its first Student of the Month assembly of the year. During that assembly, we announced the names of our first Students of the Month. Students of the Month are referred by any Sunnyside staff, and are students that regularly show Winger Pride by working hard, helping others, showing exceptional growth, or any number of other great things. October's Students of the Month were:

• Norbert Young
• Wolfgang Shoemaker
• Parker Munson
• Bryce Wentlandt
• Hunter Edquist
• Calvin Urzua
• Takoda Erickson
• Parker O'Connor
• Asher Raebel

In our morning announcements on Thursday, 10/31, we announced the winners of this month's Winger Pride drawing. Winners are pulled from the buckets full of Winger Pride tickets in the front lobby display case. Every time a student receives a Winger Pride ticket, part of that ticket is torn off and entered into the monthly drawing. Winners then have the opportunity to select from a menu of fun prize options! October's Winger Pride ticket drawing winners were:

• Meredith Taylor

• Kobi Pacini

• Penny Edison

• Sophia Wolff

• Jose Perez Vasconcelos

• Asia Martin

• Owen Watson

• Emelia Smith

Congratulations to everybody!

On November 15th, CARE Clinic will be offering free dental care to qualified uninsured or publicly

insured students at Sunnyside! They accept uninsured patients and Minnesota

Health Care Program enrollees (Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, incl. South Country Health Alliance). Please see the flier linked below for more information. If you have question or would still like to sign your child up, please reach out to Sally Simanski, Sunnyside's school nurse, at 651-385-4577.

Please click the links below to view Sunnyside's breakfast and lunch menus for the month of November.

Sunnyside needs volunteers for various school-level events throughout the year. CLICK HERE to complete our volunteer interest form if you are interested in volunteering at Sunnyside this year. Families and community members are welcome! If you are interested in helping out specifically in your child's classroom, please contact your child's teacher directly first and then complete the form after connecting. Please note that all volunteers will need to complete a district-paid background check before working with students.

Sunnyside has it’s own Facebook and Instagram pages! You can link directly to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sunnysideredwing/, and our Instagram handle is @sunnysideredwing. Check out some of the fun things going on at Sunnyside!

Be sure to click the links below for important information about Sunnyside Elementary and Red Wing Public Schools. Please pay special attention to the District Handbook and the Sunnyside Expectations & Procedures. Both documents contain important information and are a great reference for many frequently asked questions.