SUNRISE ELEMENTARY OCTOBER 2022 OTTER KNOW NEWSLETTER

School Mission Statement

Our mission at Sunrise Elementary School will be to develop each student into a successful learner. Children entrusted to our care will receive a strong sense of self-worth, citizenship, social awareness, and social skills as well as a sound challenging, and positive academic experience.

A message from the Sunrise Administrative Team

Thank you to our Sunrise community for a great start to this school year. We look forward to an even better rest of the year. Parent-Teacher Conferences are on October 27^th and 28^th. We look forward to talking to all our families during this time to discuss how your child/children are doing in school. Thank you for your continued support of Sunrise Elementary School.

Together we can make a difference!

Respectfully,

Stacy Blair – Principal

Mary Baumgardner-Assistant Principal

Attendance

When your student is out due to an illness, tardy, or an appointment, please call our attendance line at

719-391-3416 or text us at 719-600-7503.

 

Greetings from your mental health team!

We are a month into the school year and that can bring a lot of different emotions.

Whether it is feeling stress, anxiety, frustration or other big emotions, here are some coping strategies to try:

-Take deep breaths

-Do a positive activity

-Take a walk or exercise

-Get enough sleep

-Have a healthy snack

-Talk to someone you trust

Ms. Bailey and Mrs. Anders are always available if students need to talk about anything going on in their lives. We are also able to connect families with different resources in the community.

Thank you,

-Bailey Cline - Social Worker (clinebailey@wsd3.org)

-Megan Anders - School Counselor (andersmegan@wsd3.org)

Drop Off and Pick Up Reminders

• The bus lane is reserved for buses only from 8:30-8:50 am and 3:20-3:40 pm. Please do not park or drop students off during arrival or pick-up.
• Utilize the Kiss-n-Go lane (the lower parking lot) to drop students off and pick students up during arrival/dismissal. This is a one-way zone. Pull all the way up as directed by duty members. Drop your student off/pick him or her up, and exit the Kiss-n-Go lane promptly. This is not a lane for parking or leaving your vehicle.
• For student safety, please ensure to drive slow and look both ways before pulling forward in the Kiss-n-Go lane.
• You may park along the street if you wish to walk your child to class or pick him/her up.
• While we love them, no pets (only service animals) are allowed on campus.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Be sure your child knows what to do after school. If your child’s routine changes before the end of school, please call the office at 719-391-3415 as soon as possible so your child can be notified. 

Before and After School Care

Junior Academy is a daycare program offers convenient before/after school supervision with a variety of activities.  For more information, please call 719-659-6818.

Physical Education

Sunrise families,

Caring for your physical health supports your mental health. In PE we have been focusing on social emotional learning activities that help us learn how to work on a team with peers, navigate successes and failures, and resolve conflicts with one another. Developing and strengthening the mind-body connection creates more self-aware learners.

Link to Full PE Newsletter

A Note from Music

Hello Sunrise families,

We have kicked off Fall with 4th and 5th grade honor choir auditions. The 4th and 5th grade honor choir will be meeting every Thursday in the music room to prepare for a performance coming up on December 10th.

This past month, our music special classes did a great job counting in various meters. The older students learned about fractions in music. All students learned about syllables and the naturally occurring rhythms within language. 5th graders will have their recital on 10/25 @ 5:30. As a reminder, each grade will also be having their own separate musical performances on various days throughout the year. All performances will be held in the Sunrise Gymnasium/Multipurpose Room at 5:30 pm on the following dates:

• 5th Grade: 10/25
• 3rd Grade: 12/15
• 2nd Grade: 2/7
• 1st Grade: 3/16
• Kinder: 4/27

Link to full Music Newsletter

Sunrise PTO

Our next meeting is on October 11th at 4:00pm.  We will be meeting in the library and also offer a virtual link for those who need it.  

Thank you,

Sunrise PTO

PBIS Information

Hello Otter families,

PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports.  Our PBIS systems revolves around the acronym RISE.

R- Respect

I- Integrity

S-Safety

E-Effort

Classroom teachers use a variety of means to celebrate and support kids in their journey to RISE up at Sunrise.  You may hear that your child received a Golden Ticket or a Shout Out celebrating their great choices.  We believe in helping to teach expectations and support students as they learn.  So, they may receive a classroom referral helping you and your student know what they may need some support in. 

Compulsory School Attendance

In order to reduce the incidents of truancy, parents/guardians are hereby notified that every child who has attained the age of six (6) on or before August 1 of each school year and is under the age of seventeen (17) shall attend public school for at least the following number of hours.

• One thousand fifty –six (1056) if secondary school pupil;
• Nine hundred sixty-eight (968) if an elementary school pupil in a grade other than kindergarten;
• Nine hundred hours (900) if a full-day kindergarten pupil;
• Four hundred fifty hours (450) if a half day kindergarten pupil;

(Except as otherwise provided in CRS 22-33-104)

Cafeteria News

Dear WSD3 Families,

This is an important message regarding free and reduced meal benefits. Please read carefully to make sure your family does not lose out on benefits. 

Every school year there is a 30 school day grace period that extends the previous school year’s free and reduced meal benefits.  This grace period ends on September 28, 2022 for this school year.  If you have not taken the time to update your free and reduced meal application now is the time.

There will be a notification from Titan School Solutions sent out in a few days notifying all families that have expiring eligibility.  Some notifications that have been previously sent may have been incorrect as data was imported into the nutrition software.  You will still need to apply for this year's benefits if you receive an expiring eligibility notification.

You can find information and apply online at www.wsd3ns.com or get a paper application at the Nutrition Services office.

Please reach out to the Nutrition Services office if you have any questions at (719) 391-3560

Thank you,

John Roche, SNS

Operations Manager

Nutrition Services

Lunch menu is subject to change. Visit the Nutrition Services website for menus and Free/Reduced meal applications. Link: https://wsd3ns.com/?page=main

Two-hour Late Start 

Widefield District 3 may use a two-hour late start as an option between closing schools or starting at the normal times.  A two-hour late start may be used when a storm is passing or when additional time may be needed to prepare for students and staff arriving at their schools.  Two-hour late starts will be announced by 6:00 a.m. through the same channels as a school closure. These channels include television, radio, and the district website.  When district officials announce a two-hour late start, all start times and bus pickup times will be moved back by two hours.  Sunrise Elementary will start school at 10:50 a.m.  Please do not have children arrive before 10:35 a.m.  No breakfast will be served on these days.

Inclement Weather Procedure

Widefield District 3 will:

make inclement weather decision(s) based on students’ safety

collect data at the earliest appropriate time

make the decision as to whether schools will be open and announce no later than 5:30 am by calling radio stations and TV stations

not penalize students if parents keep them home or pick them up from school early on questionable snow days.

• In the event the decision made earlier is to open schools and the storm worsens unexpectedly, Widefield District 3 will:
  • inform the same media as stated above that schools will dismiss students early
  • keep buildings open as long as necessary to evacuate all students safely
  • announce that if an early dismissal occurs, afternoon kindergarten, afternoon activities, and evening events will be cancelled
• Parents are expected to:
  • be responsible for custody of children
  • listen to the news broadcasts on stormy days
  • decide whether or not to send children to school on threatening, stormy days
• In the event the decision is made earlier to open schools and the storm worsens, parents are expected to:
  • know that students may be dismissed earlier than normal
  • listen for an early dismissal announcement
  • make sure children know what to do and where to go if dismissed early
  • not rely on telephones to make last minute arrangements for their children. (Lines tend to malfunction during storms.)

Red Flag Days   

When the RED FLAG is flying students are to come into the building at 8:35 a.m. instead of playing on the playground.

• The Red Flag Temperature will be 25 degrees including wind chill.  This is for all schools prior to the start of the school day.
• We will use The Weather Channel to make the determination.
• Each school has the flexibility to determine when children go out for their daily recesses - this may be when the temperature is between 10 to 25 degrees including wind chill.
  

Opt-Out- Personal Identifiable Directory Information

In WSD3, the practice regarding release of appropriate information about students has been to publish the names in various school publications or on a list posted in the school regarding the following: Student’s name, date, place of birth, participation in activities and sports, awards, honor roll, scholarships, photographs, etc. A parent/guardian may elect to disallow directory information of this type listed above. The parent/guardian may notify the principal to that effect by means of appropriate communication and/or by using a form that may be picked up in the office.

Notice Concerning Directory Information:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, requires that Widefield School District 3 (“the District”), with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child's education records. However, the District may disclose appropriately designated "directory information" without written consent, unless you have advised the District to the contrary in accordance with District procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the District to include this type of information from your child's education records in certain school publications. Examples include:

• A playbill, showing your student's role in a drama production;
• The annual yearbook;
• Honor roll or other recognition lists;
• Graduation programs; and
• Sports activity sheets, such as for wrestling, showing weight and height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent's prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks. In addition, two federal laws require local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide military recruiters, upon request, with three directory information categories - names, addresses and telephone listings - unless parents have advised the LEA that they do not want their student's information disclosed without their prior written consent.^[1]

If you do not want the District to disclose directory information from your child's education records without your prior written consent, you must notify the District in writing by September 20^th each year. The District has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student's name
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Address
• Telephone listing
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams
• Electronic mail address
• Photograph
• Degrees, honors, and awards received
• Date and place of birth
• Major field of study
• Dates of attendance
• Grade level
• The most recent educational agency or institution attended

Medicaid

As a Medicaid provider, Widefield School District 3 will access Medicaid eligibility information for students enrolled in Widefield School District 3 from Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). HCPF is the designated Medicaid agency in the state. Directory information of name and date of birth will be released to HCPF to verify Medicaid Eligibility of students in the District. The description of health and health-related services delivered to Medicaid eligible students will be released to Medicaid and/or the District claiming agent for proper administration of the program.

Half Day Release Times & Dates

Dates-May 24^th and May 25^th, 2023

Time of Release for Sunrise Elementary School-12:00pm

Kindergarten Roundup

May 12^th, 2023

**Dates, times & locations are subject to change. Visit the Sunrise website-Calendar section for the most up-to-date information**

Calendar of Events

• Oct. 3^rd-Buck A Hat Day by Renaissance
• Oct. 3^rd to 6^th-Spirit Week
• Oct. 5^th- Quarter 1 Title Night 4:30pm to 5:30pm
• Oct. 7^th- No School-Fall Day
• Oct. 10^th- No School-Fall Day
• Oct. 11^th- PTO Meeting 4:00pm
• Oct. 12^th- Picture Re-take Day
• Oct. 20^th- Renaissance Assembly (moved to Nov 3^rd)
• Oct. 21^st- No School
• Oct. 24^th to 26^th- Red Ribbon Week
• Oct. 25^th- 5^th grade Performance 5:30pm
• Oct. 27^th & 28^th-No School-Parent Teacher Conferences
• Oct 31^st-Fall Celebrations
  • 10:00am Costume Parade
  • 2:50pm Fall Classroom Party
• Nov. 1^st- Buck a Hat Day
• Nov. 3^rd- Renaissance Assembly (moved from Oct 20^th)
• Nov. 7^th- Start Fall Food Drive
• Nov. 10^th- 4^th grade Musical Performance 5:30pm
• Nov. 11^th- No Students-Teacher Professional Development Day
• Nov. 14^th- Mid-Terms Go Home
• Nov. 15^th- PTO & BAAC Meeting AND Otter Night Out 4:00pm
• Nov. 17^th- Title I Night 4:30pm
• Nov. 21^st to 25^th- No School Thanksgiving Break