SES Messenger

Dear Sunnyside Community,

First of all, thank you to all of you who were able to show up today for our first PTSA meeting. We had about 30 strong, plus online participation. It's so encouraging to see so many families engaged and involved in our community and we need you!

I was sharing with the PTSA today that Sunnyside is such a unique school with very unique needs. We have a program that requires energy and creativity from all of its members and we need families to be involved and supportive. We appreciate the help that you can give either on campus or off and we appreciate you!

Just a reminder that Back to School Night is coming up. See flier for more details.

This week our classes went on several different field studies:

Carrie's class headed off to Oxbow early Thursday morning, Becca and Mary Lloyd visited Hoyt Arboretum, Mary Gage and Sarah's class explored Cathedral Park, and both 4th grade Asa and Jeremy and Michael and Robin spent the day at Mt. Tabor. Remember, we always need chaperones, so please sign up and help!

Remember that next Wednesday is our first early release. These are district adopted afternoons for us to work together as a staff to support our professional development. Thank you for supporting this important work.

Have a wonderful fall weekend!

Eryn & Chris

*10 childcare spots are left for BTSN.

• 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!
• Fri, Oct 11: NO SCHOOL (Statewide inservice)
• Tues, Oct 15: All classes dismissed at 3:15 for staff meeting
• Fri, Oct 18, 8:45-10am in the cafeteria: SES PTSA meeting
• Wed, Oct 23: PPS early release day. School dismiss at 12:45
• Fri, Oct 25, 6pm-8pm: First Middle School Dance
• Saturday, Oct 26: HARVEST FAIR!!! Stay tuned.

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 to 11:30 a.m.

There are still 75 volunteer slots to fill - please sign up: bit.ly/VOLUNTEER-RWM-24. We need chalk artists, laps counters, water fillers, dance area helpers, corner safety people, snack managers and more.

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.

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.

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!

• Multnomah County Common Application
  
• Renew DACA status with free legal help English | Español
  

• 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