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

Spring is coming... though Wednesday morning's forecast doesn't look terribly spring-like at the moment. Who knows... In any case, spring is a busy time at Sunnyside Elementary, and we will have several things going on over the next few months:

Spring Conferences: Conferences are coming up on Thursday, March 6th from 11:00 am - 7:00 pm. This is a non-student attendance day. If you have not already signed up for a conference slot. please visit https://ptcfast.com/schools/Sunnyside_Elementary_1 to do so.

Spring Break: Spring Break is coming up the week of March 17 - 21. Students also do not have school on Monday, March 24, as that is a professional development day for teachers.

Field Trips: March through May are definitely our "busy" months when it comes to field trips. In the coming months, we have several trips planned for kindergarten and first grade. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for information from your child's teacher as we move through the spring!

Spring Concerts: Our spring concerts will take place from April 14 - 17. Each day, a different group of classes performs at 1:00 pm. Our schedule for concerts is as follows:

• Monday, April 14 -- Kindergarten: Alton, Richardson, Prigge, Marklevits
  

• Tuesday, April 15 -- Kindergarten: Kelly, Plonsky, McDonnell, Johnson

• Wednesday, April 16 -- First Grade: Plein, Friedrich, Larsen

• Thursday, April 17 -- First Grade: Swanson, Teschendorf, Forstad, Pearson

Apex Fun Run: Our spring fundraiser, the Apex Fun Run, will take place on Thursday, April 24th. In the days preceding the actual event, students will enjoy a series of fun character lessons delivered by the Apex Team. Mor information will be sent out closer to the start of the fundraiser.

There are several other fun activities we have coming up this spring at Sunnyside as well, so stay tuned!

Mike Pagel

Principal

March:

6 -- Spring Conferences (No School)

13 -- Student Art Show Reception @ Red Wing Arts (4:00 - 4:45 pm)

14 -- Yearbook Cover Contest Submissions Due

17 - 21 -- Spring Break (NO SCHOOL)

24 -- NO SCHOOL

28 -- End of 3rd Quarter

April:

4 -- Yearbook Orders Due

10 -- Author Visit - Cori Doerrfeld

14 -- Kindergarten Music Concert - Alton, Marklevits, Prigge, Richardson (1:00 pm)

15 -- Kindergarten Music Concert - Johnson, Kelly, McDonnell, Plonsky (1:00 pm)

15 -- APEX Fundraiser Kicks off

16 -- 1st Grade Music Concert - Friedrich, Larsen, Plein (1:00 pm)

17 -- 1st Grade Music Concert - Forstad, Pearson, Swanson, Teschendorf

18 -- NO SCHOOL

23 -- 1st Grade Earth Day Activities @ RWHS

24 -- APEX Fun Run Event

Spread the word! Now’s the time to start thinking about registering your child for kindergarten! Registration for the 2025 - 2026 school year kicked off with an in-person kindergarten registration help session on Monday, Feb. 10th. If you missed the session, don't worry! Enrollment forms are now available in print at the District Office, Colvill Family Center, and Sunnyside School. Forms may be returned to any of the locations listed above. We encourage you to register early, as this helps us determine staffing needs and get class placement information out earlier!

Yearbooks are now available to pre-order for those who are interested. For those who may not be aware, Sunnyside and Burnside share a yearbook each year, and the cost is $21.50. If you'd like to order a yearbook, visit the order site HERE or scan the QR code in the flier below. Orders are due by Friday, April 4th, and yearbooks are generally delivered near the end of the school year.

Speaking of the yearbook, Sunnyside and Burnside are holding a yearbook cover design contest open to any student in grades K - 4. If you have a young artist who might be interested, check out the flier below for more details and cover requirements! Submissions are due back to school by Friday, March 14th (the flier says 3/17, but that's spring break!)

Recently, Mr. Johnson headed up a Kids’ Heart Challenge during PE classes (used to be Jump Rope for Heart) to raise money for the American Heart Association. Sunnyside raised over $5600 to benefit the American Heart Association through this fundraiser. That’s awesome! Thank you, families!

Every year, Red Wing Arts hosts a K-12 student art show. RWPS art teachers select student work that showcases students’ understanding of the objectives and standards presented in the lessons. We have some very talented young artists and this is a great way to help cultivate their love for the arts! This year, the elementary student showcase kicks off with a reception at the Red Wing Depot Gallery on Thursday, March 13 from 4:00 - 4:45 pm. More information can be found at the link HERE. Please consider joining us in celebrating students from Sunnyside that have artwork in the show, the RWPS art program, and other local youth artists!

Recently, Sunnyside planned to celebrate students' hard work through the month of February with a couple fun events.

On Friday, 2/28, Sunnyside intended to hold its February Student of the Month assembly. However, an unexpected power outage forced us to reschedule that assembly to this coming Friday, 3/7 instead. 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. I don't want to give away the surprise, so I'll include February's winners next month with March's winners!

On Friday, 2/28, we announced the winners of February's Winger Pride drawing on our morning announcements. 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! January's Winger Pride ticket drawing winners were:

• Lilly Fausch
• Abe Prange
• Parker O'Connor
• Reagan Peters
• Scarlett Higgins
• Londyn Sims
• Essiah Corbine
• Harrison O'Connor

Congratulations to everybody!

The third quarter of schools will officially come to a close on Friday, March 28th. As they did last year, most Sunnyside teachers have indicated they'd prefer to complete the informal progress reports a bit early so they can discuss with families at conferences next week. Official report cards are only completed at the end of Semester 1 and Semester 2, so a less formal progress report will be provided this quarter. Specials (Art, Music, & PE) are only graded at the semesters, since they only meet with students less frequently.

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

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.