SES Messenger

Hello Sunnyside Community,

Whew! What a week. It was amazing seeing all of you at the school play. Finally we got to find that Cat and it was awesome! Kudos to all the students who participated and all the parent volunteers that made it happen. And a huge shout out to Mo, who brought it all together and honored all the creative ideas of our students. It was truly a delight to watch them perform!

Our middle school dance was also a success. It was a glow in the dark theme and we all had so much fun and enjoyed some great treats that were compliments of our parent community. Thank you!

The Riparian Festival was a huge success. With all the starts and stops of this year, we were worried we wouldn't be able to pull it off, but thanks to our dedicated staff and students, it was amazing. The festival highlights the work that our 3-8 students have done to celebrate our thematics and illustrate how Sunnyside students work on project based assignments to showcase all that they have learned. I am so grateful for staff and students who have worked so hard to make this happen.

I wanted to announce that our very own Megan Brown will be leaving us to join the early childhood team. Her last day will be February 16th. We have truly been blessed by Megan as our speech and language pathologist. She is calm and collected and always has student interest at heart. I am so sad to see her go, but she has been wanting to join the early childhood team for a while and an opportunity came up that she just cannot miss. We will miss you Megan!

I also wanted to give a huge shout out to our counselors, Rebecca and Alison. Rebecca has been with us for four years and as the K-5 counselor, has worked with many students and families to support and nurture. Her sense of humor, her empathy, and her diligence has been valuable to all of us here at Sunnyside. Alison joined us at the beginning of the year last year and she has been such a gift to us here at Sunnyside. The district has only given us her half time and I don't know if everyone knows how hard she works and how committed she is to our students and community. We really wish we had her full time and we value her kindness, her relationships with students, and her follow through. This week has been school counseling appreciation week and I surely couldn't do what I do without these two amazing humans. Thank you Rebecca and Alison!

Lastly, Happy Lunar New Year to all those who celebrate.

In other news, Nutrition Services has expanded free meal service to include Sunnyside. A postcard will go out to our families. A copy of that postcard is attached. If you have questions, please contact Nutrition Services.

Dr. Berg

• Sat, Feb 10. SES restaurant fundraiser at Away Days Brewing

• Mon, Feb 12. Read-a-thon dress up day. BEDAZZLED DAY

• Mon, Feb 12. Grades 6-8 Author Visit - Anis Mojgani

• Tues, Feb 13. SES MS Spirit Day: Anything but a backpack

• Wed, Feb 14. SES MS Spirit Day: On Wednesdays We Wear Pink

• Thurs, Feb 15. SES MS Spirit Day: Throwback Thursday (decades day)

• Fri, Feb 16. SES MS Spirit Day: Freaky Friday (dress like a teacher)

• Mon, Feb 19. Make up day. School in session.

• Wed, Feb 21 8:45am. SES PTSA meeting: SES room 102

• Thur-Fri, Feb 22-23 - 8th Grade Retreat

• Mon, Feb 26. Last day for Read-A-Thon pledges / Read-A-Thon brochure is due

• Tues, Feb 27. K-5 Open House for new families. 6-7p

WOW! We saw so many creative and interesting Book Characters roaming the halls today! This week we also had visits from Cat Ferris, Breena Bard & Jonathan Hill (whose book was just selected as an OBOB book for next year). Read-A-Thon 2024 is in full swing - let’s keep it up. Monday will be our final day of events AND to track your reading. Fundraising still goes until 2/26, so it isn’t too late to share with your family and friends.

PLEASE register for online fundraising so you can text or email the link to family and friends anywhere in the world. 20% of SES students are registered online so far, let’s build on that! All money raised strengthens our beloved garden, music, and field study programs at SES, and makes up a substantial amount of our overall PTSA budget for the year. Check out the generosity so far from the people who love our students:

Monday, February 12

DRESS UP DAY: Bedazzled Day! Dress is sparkles & glitter, bedazzle yourself, shine.

AUTHOR VISIT (6-8): Oregon’s Poet Laureate, Anis Mojgani!!!

LOCKER LIBRARY ENTRIES DUE

FINAL DAY TO COUNT READING MINUTES

Monday, February 26

PLEDGES & READING FORMS DUE

Support our visiting authors by purchasing signed copies of their books. Gillian will be selling signed copies of author books at a table at Riparian Festival. If you want to peruse the books in person and buy them right then and there please check out her table! These make great gifts or keepsakes for your kids!

Contact Leslie Lothamer, Read-A-Thon Chair, with questions: leslielothamer@gmail.com.

Email notifications will be sent home by February 23rd for the Fall data-driven window and the Winter referral window for those students for whom we have all work samples and data.

Thanks for your patience, the Sunnyside TAG team

Indigo- ccorwin@pps.net and Melodie- madams1@pps.net

• Monday: Bedazzled Day (Dress fancy)
• Tuesday: Anything but a backpack (items in place of backpack must still be able to fit in locker)
• Wednesday: On Wednesdays we wear pink (Wear pink)
• Thursday: Throwback Thursday (Dress like a different Decade)
• Friday: Freaky Friday (Students dress like teachers)

Is your child interested in registering for a youth baseball or softball team this Spring? Now is the time to get your child registered for Spring ball! This handout was created by Friends of Baseball/Girls Lead Softball to help families:

Hey Sunnyside families! Join us for Westwind Family Camp, Friday April 5 - Sunday April 7! Nestled between the Salmon River and the Pacific Ocean, Westwind offers a delightful blend of beach, forest, and riverscapes, where one can enjoy hiking, beachcombing, tidepooling, or more laid back pursuits like reading a good book, playing board games or doing puzzles. A great place to bond with other families and kids, the SES Westwind weekend is a 20+ year tradition. $135 / person covers heated, lit lodging in the camp's cabins and 5 meals. Sign up here: 2024 SES Westwind Family Camp

Celebrate LGBTQ2SIA+ youth and allies at the Portland Art Museum! Experience Africa Fashion and Black Artists of Oregon. Manifest your superhero within with comic artist Rupert Kinnard. Join a drag workshop with performance artist Carla Rossi. Speak your truth at the open mic with MC TW. Make art, make friends, and have fun! All ages welcome—grade school through college—plus GSA/QSA advisors and other supportive adults. Admission is FREE! Info and registration at portlandartmuseum.org/event/power-up.

Our annual Auction opens April 2 & the Gala is Friday, April 12! Current needs:

• Prize Donations: Submit auction donations HERE.

• Party Board Hosts: Learn more & submit ideas HERE.

Join the party planning or solicitation committee: come to our next meeting on Thursday, February 15 at 4:00 p.m. at Revolution Hall’s Show Bar! Please contact Justine Reimnitz (justinereimnitz@gmail.com) and Jessica Maeder (jessicamaeder@gmail.com) with questions.

• If your child is missing vaccines, it's time to catch up! (Exclusion day is Feb. 21st)
  Vaccines keep your child healthy and protected from serious diseases. They are required by law for all children in schools, preschools and child care facilities. Parents will be sent a letter if their child’s vaccination records are incomplete. To avoid missing school or child care, get your child up to date on their vaccinations as soon as possible. Make a vaccine appointment now, as there may be a long wait.
  

• Si a su hijo le faltan vacunas, ¡es el momento de ponerse al día!
  Las vacunas mantienen a su hijo saludable y protegido de las enfermedades graves. La ley exige que los niños que asistan a la escuela, al preescolar y a la guardería tengan las vacunas al día. Los padres recibirán una carta si los registros de vacunas de sus hijos están incompletos. Para evitar perder días de escuela o guardería, póngase al día con las vacunas de su hijo lo antes posible. Programe una cita para las vacunas ahora, puede haber una espera larga.

Join your classmates and walk, run, scooter, or bike to school every Wednesday! Studies show that active transportation to school keeps kids and families fit, reduces traffic and air pollution, and even helps kids learn.

Bike Bus: Meet at 8:20, roll out at 8:25, every Wednesday morning from these meeting spots.

• SE 26th and Pine- join in anywhere along Pine from 26th to 33rd!

• SE 23rd and Salmon- join in anywhere along Salmon!

• SE 41st & Lincoln, continuing to 41st & Taylor- join in anywhere along the way!

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! You’re welcome to park and join a bike bus at any meetup point, or along a route. Or consider parking 2-4 blocks from school and walking the rest of the way, which encourages active transportation and cuts down on air pollution from idling of vehicles near our school!

If you need any gear (bike lock, helmet, etc) please be in touch! Parents interested in active transportation, please join the Family Biking social group on Konstella or message 2nd grade parent Alida Cantor (alidacantor@gmail.com or on Konstella).

• VIBE of Portland Spring Break Camp (Mar 25-29) (NEW)
• VIBE of Portland East Winds Band Camp (July 22-26) | Spanish | Russian (NEW)
  
• City of Portland / Rose City Self-Defense Workshop Series (NEW):
  Foster / Powell neighborhood, April 10 & 17
  Lower Albina neighborhood, Saturdays, March 16, 23, & 30
• Portland Parks Preschool 2024-25
  Portland Parks & Recreation is holding a registration lottery for its Educational Preschool program for the 2024-25 school year. Interested families can apply now through February 21 to be included in the lottery.
  
• Multnomah County Free Community Vaccination Clinic (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays)
  
• English | Spanish | Vietnamese | Chinese | Russian | Somali

• 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