The elementary school lottery cycle has opened. Sunnyside has the following slots for the 2021-2022 school year:

• Kindergarten - 15
• 1st Grade - 10
• 2nd Grade - 10
• 3rd Grade - 6

We will have a virtual SES Kindergarten info night on March 9, 6:30 pm (link will be posted on our school site and calendar). In the meantime, see the following information below from PPS' Enrollment & Transfer about the lottery:

UPDATE: We are behind on communication with middle school lottery families. You can now expect an email in March. Virtual shadow days will be after spring break.

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PPS' Enrollment & Transfer department announced that the middle school lottery is complete and notification letters are being sent this week. Here's what's next:

• Please respond to Enrollment & Transfer either accepting or declining your spot WITHIN 10 DAYS
  • This timeframe is important- once we have a complete acceptance list we can start contacting families
  • Please CC our school secretary Sarah at sconley1@pps.net when you inform PPS Enrollment & Transfer of your decision
    • You can email her separately if that is more convenient
• If you are NEW TO PPS, then you will need to register for school
  
  • Registration requirements and the online application can be found HERE
• If you are a current PPS student you will not need to register, transfers are done automatically

In the fall we spoke about potential virtual shadow days. We are working to accomodate this important event, but are unable to schedule shadow days at this time. The Quarter 3 schedule is still not posted (virtual versus in-person versus hybrid) and we are awaiting this information.

Our school secretary Sarah should have a complete list of accepted students by February and with this list she will do outreach regarding next school year. You can expect to hear from her in early to mid February.

Dear Sunnyside Community,

Each fall & winter season, Sunnyside engages in a community-wide event called The Circle of Giving. Families are invited to participate as receivers or givers, creating a system of support through the seasons and holidays.

Like many communities across the nation during this pandemic, Sunnyside has an increased number of families in need. It’s heartbreaking to hear stories from our neighbors who just want to have some semblance of normalcy during this season.

Many of you have reached out, asking how to help. Here’s how:

This year, to practice safe social distancing, the Circle of Giving will operate as a gift card based donation/request system. Please consider supporting this tradition by donating what you can to @SESCOVIDFund-2020. Please make a note in the Venmo donation to read “Circle of Giving”.

If you’d like to receive, families can fill out this Circle of Giving Request Form to select which gift cards would be most helpful to their family. Requests can be made until Friday, December 4th.

As always, we handle giving and receiving with discretion and all names remain confidential.

Thank you so much for your generosity, kindness and support of one another.

With love and gratitude,
Alix

Thank you to those families that were able to join us for our first open house. Below is the link to the presentation:

Middle School Lottery Open House Slideshow

Dear PPS Families and Staff,

This week, Superintendent Guerrero and senior leaders presented a COVID-19 school reopening update to the Board of Education. The update largely focused on the district’s plan to offer hybrid instruction to middle and high school grades by mid-April. This follows a similar announcement two weeks ago regarding kindergarten through 5th grades.

Dear PPS Families,

We are excited to offer student-athletes in Portland Public Schools an opportunity to participate in the Portland Interscholastic League’s first athletic competitions in over a year starting next week.

Dear PPS Families,

For those who were not able to attend the Explore Your K-5 Options event on February 18, we are offering the event again on Monday, March 8, from 6-8 p.m.

Dear PPS Families,

As we shared last week, we are continuing to offer increased in-person learning opportunities for students, with a goal of launching hybrid instruction to kindergarten to fifth grade students in April. We have a few updates for you this week:

2/26/21 School Messenger

School News (NEW)
Upcoming Dates (NEW)
Websites to Know
Read-A-Thon: March 1-March 19 (NEW)
Successful Schools Survey (NEW)
Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals for 2021-22 (NEW)
Incoming Kindergartners 2021-2022 (NEW)
Volunteer Opportunity in the Sunnyside Neighborhood
Fliers from the District
Volunteers Wanted for Mid-March: Teach a Mini-Class
Anti-Racist Reading and Resources (NEW)

School News (NEW)
Dear SES families,

Please expect an email newsletter from us next week. In the meantime, check out all the news below.

Thank you, and have a great weekend
Amy and Alix

Upcoming Dates (NEW)

Websites to Know
District COVID Resources & Info
PPS Family Resources Page
Sunnyside School Page
SES PTSA website
SES COVID Fund on Venmo

Read-A-Thon: March 1-March 19 (NEW)
From Read-A-Thon Coordinator Leslie Lothamer and Librarian Gillian Grimm:

Read-a-Thon starts MONDAY and we are so excited! Official reading dates are March 1st – March 19th and fundraising dates are NOW – April 1st. EVERYTHING you need to know is below or go to https://www.sesptsa.org/read/.

READING TRACKER AVAILABILITY:
A printed READ-A-THON Reading Roadmap/ Reading Tracker will be available at the library doors Tuesday, 03/02 from 12:30 - 1:30 and THIS Friday 02/26 at Book Bag pickup or go to https://www.sesptsa.org/read/ to download one to print at home!!! Kids should be keeping track of each day they met their grade level’s reading goal (chart below).

READING GOALS PER GRADE:

• K-2: 30 MINS per day

• 3rd-5th: 45 mins per day

• 6th-8th: ONE hour per day

RAISE FUNDS FOR THE SCHOOL: 
The READ-A-THON helps fund Sunnyside’s enriching programs such as Gardening and Outdoor Classroom, Virtual Art and Music Enrichment, Teacher Grants and Virtual Field Studies, so start your fundraising engines!  Fundraising will be online only from TODAY – April 1st. Donating is officially open on our online pledge program (Boosterthon)! Please support our school today; here’s how to sign up for our online pledging program:

1. REGISTER your student(s) on https://funrun.boosterthon.com/ today. It only takes 30 seconds, and if you upload a photo of your student it will automatically make a cool video with their face in it to share.

2. SHARE your student’s donation page with 5 family members, friends, coworkers, or others using the share tools on funrun.com. You can share directly via Facebook or email, or copy the link to share via another route. There’s also this very cool video called the Student Star Video that you can create for your student on the funrun.com website. You’ll have to see for yourself, but you upload a photo of your child and they become part of the video—your friends and family will think it’s pretty cool, too! The READ-A-THON helps fund Sunnyside’s enriching programs such as Gardening and Outdoor Classroom, Virtual Art and Music Enrichment, Teacher Grants and Virtual Field Studies, so start your fundraising engines! Fundraising will be online only, from TODAY through April 1st.

3. DONATE if you are able to give. Every share and donation makes a difference!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Our first Read-A-Thon event is coming up on Tuesday, March 2: A virtual author visit with Aron Nels Steinke, the author/illustrator of the Mr. Wolf's Class series of graphic novels. Please support our author visits by going to https://greenbeanbookspdx.indielite.org/mr-wolfs-class-aron-nels-steinke to buy a SIGNED copy of any (or all) of his books! When you check out, select Sunnyside Elementary under Calculate Shipping Cost, and we will pick up your books and distribute them for free! On March 2nd:

• Grades K-3 visit will be at 10:00am

• Grades 4-8 visit will be at 10:45am
  (Teachers will send the Zoom link closer to the day of the event.)

SEE THE FULL SCHEDULE BELOW:

• February 22nd: Fundraising platform open. Go to funrun.com to sign up your kid.

• March 1st: Reading days begin. Get a Reading Tracker/Roadmap here.

• March 2nd: Virtual Author Visit–Aron Nels Steinke, author and illustrator of the Mr. Wolf’s Class series of graphic novels, presents to our students.10am for K-3rd, 10:45am for 4th-8th. Go here to buy a signed copy of one (or more) of his books* to help support author visits at Sunnyside.

  • When you go to checkout to select “Sunnyside Elementary” under “Calculate Shipping Cost” and books will be delivered to the school for pickup.

• March 5th: Cozy pajama read-in day

• March 12th: Dress like a book character day

• March 17th: Virtual Author Visit–Elizabeth Haidle, author and illustrator of Before They Were Authors (this year’s OBOB book), presents to our students.10am for K-3rd; 10:45am for 4th-8th. Go here to buy a signed copy of one (or more) of her books* (even a few pre-sales) to help support author visits at Sunnyside.

  • when you go to checkout to select “Sunnyside Elementary” under “Calculate Shipping Cost” and books will be delivered to the school for pickup

• March 19th: Dress up day #3 (TBD)

• March 19th: FINAL READING DAY

• March 20th – April 1st: Submit number of “Reading Challenges” completed from Reading Tracker (submission link coming soon)

• April 1st: FINAL FUNDRAISING DAY

MORE INFO:
For more information links to our fundraising platform, fun downloads, Read-A-Thon materials (including the reading tracker to print at home) , an updated schedule of events and more please go to: https://www.sesptsa.org/read/

I cannot wait for all the fun! Please email me with any questions and thanks a million for your support during this weird time! Leslie Lothamer - leslielothamer@gmail.com

Successful Schools Survey (NEW)
PPS is currently conducting its annual Successful Schools Survey, which allows them to gather data and make informed decisions about school climate and culture. The survey window will run to March 19 for families.
The Successful Schools Survey should take you 15-30 minutes to complete online; if you need a paper copy, please email sconley1@pps.net.
Access the survey here: English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

Confidential Family Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals for 2021-22 (NEW)
Eligible families with upcoming 1st-12th grade students can submit a new meal application to see if their student(s) qualify for free and reduced-price meals for the 2021-22 school year on or after July 1, 2021. The updated federal income guidelines will be announced and listed on the meal application form in July. Families do not need to submit a meal application if their student attends an approved 2021-22 Community Eligibility Provision school or receives a 2021-22 PPS Direct Certification Approval letter that will be sent out to those who qualify in August 2021. https://www.pps.net/Page/2088 

Incoming Kindergartners 2021-2022 (NEW)
Online registration has opened for next school year. You can begin the online process at https://www.pps.net/Page/14787. You will need the following registration documents:

1. Online Registration form

2. Birth Certificate or Passport (used for birthday verification)

3. Proof of Address, Two Documents - Examples include utility bill, cell phone bill, rental agreement, bank statement insurance statement, or mortgage closing papers. All must be recent and have the parent/ guardian’s name listed.

4. Oregon Certification of Immunization

5. Vision/Dental Screening form

REMINDER: If your family has moved out of the Sunnyside boundary, then you will need to apply to the PPS Lottery, even if a sibling currently attends Sunnyside. For more information on registration or the lottery, contact school secretary Sarah at sconley1@pps.net 

Volunteer Opportunity in the Sunnyside Neighborhood
I just received the following email from Hannah Wallace, member of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association's (SNA) Community Safety and Livability Committee and step-parent of a former SES student:

Dear neighbors, 

A bunch of us on the Community Safety and Livability Committee are doing active outreach to the houseless, particularly those that live at Sunnyside Park and Laurelhurst Park, but also the people who are in various spots in between the two. We've established a regular trash pick-up crew, and we had a very successful clothing drive two weekends ago. We've also been running a shower program at the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays since early January. The shower program is looking for a few more regular volunteers during the following times:

• Tuesdays from 1-3; or from 3-5:30

• Thursdays from 1-3; or from 3-5:30

The job is simple and rewarding: Checking people in or cleaning the shower area. The church has very strict COVID protocols, and all guests so far have been happy to comply.

Please email me at hannahmwallace@gmail.com if you're interested, and feel free to forward this request to anyone who you think would be keen to do this sort of direct work.

Fliers from the District

• Portland Parks & Recreation Preschool Registration Flier

• Catch up on vaccinations at a Multnomah County Student Health Center

• Saturday Academy's Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) Program

Volunteers Wanted for Mid-March: Teach a Mini-Class 
Mini-classes were a big hit in January, and so we’re going to do it again in March. Once again, the SES middle school invites parents, guardians and community members to teach mini-classes to our 6th, 7th and 8th graders. This is a time when we draw on the expertise and interests of our school community to teach an enrichment course to our middle school students who are excited and passionate about the topic. We've had parents from all grade levels offer to teach courses. Some examples from January include: sewing, Scratch programming, Dungeons & Dragons, history of the Olympics, crocheting, drawing and kitchen science.

Our March mini-classes will again be virtual, and will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, March 17 and 18, from 10-11am (with optional extension to 12pm) on each day. This time, we can also help wrangling and delivering needed materials.

If you are available, but undecided on what class to teach, we can help. If you have a class in mind, we look forward to learning what your class will be. We are happy to welcome you in whatever capacity your busy life allows.

If you will be joining us during our mini-classes, please complete this form or email Kieran Cannistra at kcannistra@pps.net.

Anti-Racist Reading and Resources (NEW)
Oregon’s Black Pioneers: Watch OPB’s half-hour documentary on the Black Americans who lived and worked in Oregon in the 1800s, in spite of Oregon laws designed to exclude them from setting in the region.