5:30pm – 7:30pm
School Cafeteria
Join Sunnyside families, students and staff for our International Potluck featuring delicious food and lots of fun. Wear an international outfit and bring something from another country to share.
Please bring an international salad or main dish to serve at least 8 adults, depending on your last name.
Last name starts:
A – L bring a salad or vegetable
M – Z bring a main dish – please label vegetarian dishes
Remember: label all your dishes with your child’s name and room.
Return the form to your teacher.
Work has started near the Kindergarten entrance. Eight shrubs and some stumps were removed to make the area compliant with SFUSD landscaping regulations.
This month a landscaping schematic will be prepared, including: Benches, ornamental drought tolerant plants, and a Sunnyside Elementary sign above the entrance. Potted plants will also be strategically placed on top of the brick walls lining the stairway, making the stairs safer – no more kids jumping off the wall!
Lori Chaplin procured a bike rack from the school district. The bike rack will be installed as part of this project. Another Community Challenge Grant build day will be scheduled soon – look for the flyer in your Wednesday envelopes. Cathy – (415) 794-2203 or mulkeymeyer@att.net
The Sunnyside Library will host a Barefoot Book Fair November 16-20. This will be our second annual Barefoot Fair! Barefoot Books is a very unique children’s publisher whose books encourage kids to “explore, create and connect” to the world around them with a wonderful mix of beautiful artwork and whimsical, thought-provoking text. Check out their website at: www.barefootbooks.com.
This Fair is a benefit for the Sunnyside Library, and volunteers are needed during preview times and sales times throughout the week and at the Family Night, which will be on Wednesday, November 17th, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Monday and Tuesday will be preview days where classes rotate through the Fair to get a first look at the books and merchandise (the Fair includes related puppets, puzzles and other educational toys.) Then the Fair will be open before and after school and during recess and lunch so that children can browse and purchase. Families are welcome any time during the Fair, but Family Night will provide a time for working parents and guardians to visit. There will also be a way to purchase online with all profits going to the Sunnyside Library.
Please support our beautiful library and volunteer to help at the fair! If you’d like to help out, email me at akalulu58@sbcglobal .net. Thank you for supporting
the Sunnyside Library! ~ Laura
There has been a lot of activity in the garden over the past month. Some students brought seeds and cuttings from home to plant in the containers. Others transplanted class projects and will be able to see the plants complete a life cycle for the first time.
Projects Completed in September & October
Thank you to David Bouche, Sheila Cahill, Riz Gauche, Miri Kim, Sean Lynch, Joe Meyer, and Sam Tonroy for coming on the September 25th Garden Build Day. They were able to finish the shed, amend soil in the existing containers, and build new ½ barrel containers to provide more space to accommodate the growing student population.
As this is only the second growing season for the garden, the goal for this semester is simple – to grow plants to maturity. Over the past two weeks, most of the classes have sowed seeds, transplanted flowers and root tops in their containers. Thank You to Wendy Chisholm, Karen Franklin, Julie Kessler, Katy Nelson, Dana Pluck, Julie Tonroy, and Suzanne Walsh for helping the students plant seeds!
Seeds have already germinated in Ms. Yee’s and Ms. Plack’s containers. If all goes well the students will harvest and eat their vegetables in December. The classes will also harvest seeds to be planted during the next growing season.
Fall Semester Projects
Compost Bin - The bin will be constructed during the October 24th CCG build day. Students will compost snack scraps to support the container gardens, which require more amendment than gardens grown directly in the ground. Composting will also give students a more complete picture of ecology as a whole system.
Vermiculture Bins – Worm bins are another way to expose students to the entire life cycle. Over time, the students will see the worms break down paper towels and food scraps – creating nutrient rich soil amendment. Worm offspring will be added to the garden containers and the worm castings will be used to “brew” compost tea.
Goals for 2010
- Grow plants to establish an annual SpringFest plant sale.
- Write grants to fund a part-time garden coordinator.
- Work with teachers to integrate the use of the garden as a classroom tool.
- Install drip irrigation to support the established ornamental garden surrounding the play structure.
- Experiment with plants that attract butterflies, native species, companion planting, and herbs.
The garden program welcomes any ideas you have. Some projects may take longer to implement, but like all gardens ours needs a little time and TLC to grow. Please contact Cathy Meyer at mulkeymeyer@ att.net if you would like to become more involved.
Planning Meeting
Monday, Sept 21
5pm – Time Changed from Newsletter
Room 107, Ms. Chen’s room
Octoberfest is a fun community event for the school. We set up a carnival in the cafeteria on Thursday. Friday, all the students take turns coming into the cafeteria to play games or do crafts. Just before lunch, there is a parade in the yard with dancing(!) and the older kids come to the cafeteria in the afternoon.
Please bring your ideas about other fun activities you think we can organize. If you can’t attend the planning meeting, please email or phone Kari with your ideas. Her contact information is in the bright yellow Involvement Guide you received at the beginning of the year.
We usually send a volunteer and donation form home in the Wednesday envelope and also online in an email. Then we make a list of things to do. If you are able to help coordinate the task lists or volunteers, please let Kari know.
Sunnyside’s biggest annual community event and fundraiser is Saturday, May 30 from 11am – 2pm. The festivities include a plant sale, games, prizes, entertainment, food and raffle.
The wonderful student art sale and auction will also return to the festival this year. Student artwork from our art programs will be available to buy and class aprons will be auctioned off.
Please plan to attend and invite your friends, family and neighbors to our fun event.
Next Planning Meeting and Volunteer Sign up: Monday, May 11, Library
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Thanks to Sunnyside students for their enthusiasm for the garden!
Thanks to Sunnyside teachers for participating in the seed-germination activities last week and for their interest in the garden. Thanks especially to Kindergarten teacher Leah Plack, a strong supporter of the garden from day 1.
Thanks to Principal Nancy Schlenke for her support of and advocacy for the garden effort.
Thanks to the Green Schoolyard Alliance of SFUSD for its support of our garden effort and donation of 3 planter beds. Thanks to San Francisco ReBuilding Together for the donation of 3 planter beds.
Thanks to Lowe’s of South San Francisco for its generous Toolbox grant to launch our garden.
Thanks to Reva Bhatia for using her grant-writing mojo in the garden effort.
Thanks to Sloat Garden Center for organic seed donations (and to Cathy Meyer for making it happen).
Thanks to Sam Tonroy for designing a planter bench that will serve Sunnyside kids for years to come.
Thanks to Kim Kreis for creating the beautiful wall poster in the school’s entryway and thanks to Greg Chisolm for hanging it so securely.
Thanks to Sanjay of Bayview Green Waste Management for donations of truckloads of warm, sweet-smelling compost/soil that filled our planter boxes (and Sam Tonroy for making it happen).
Thanks to Sam Tonroy, Joe Meyer, and Sean Lynch for building a beautiful, redwood planter-bench prototype, soon to be replicated at our next garden work day, Saturday, March 21.
Thanks to Cathy Meyer for planning, organizing, and executing the seed germination activities in the classrooms.
Thanks to folks who helped assemble the seed-germination kits during the Feb. 21st garden work day: Troy (Wes’ dad), Mike Tzortzes, PTA Prez Kari Gray and her lovely son, and Ellen Cox.
Thanks to parents who volunteered in the classrooms for the seed-germination activities: Cathy Meyer, Eric Westby, Kristie, Julie Tonroy, Kelly Kocella, Karen Franklin, Ellen Cox, Kari Gray, and Wendy Chisholm.
Thanks to teachers Leah Plack and Kit Bell for opening the school up early on Saturday mornings for perhaps overly-enthusiastic parents.
Thanks to Mr. Yee for locking up the school after the Feb. 21st work day.
Thanks to Jenny Isenberg and Amy Nelson for making a cash donation to the garden effort.
Thanks to Jenny Isenberg, Lynda (Wesley’s mom), and Karen Franklin for taking photographs to document the garden effort.
Thanks to Sunnyside PTA for its support and resources.
An enormous thanks to Cathy Meyer, who has given so much of her time, enthusiasm, and ideas to the garden effort with no indication of slowing down anytime soon!
I hope I didn’t forget anyone!
What’s coming next:
Saturday, March 21: Garden Work Day
We will need many hands to build planter benches, create planting kits for students to transplant seedlings into garden plots, do container gardening, and more. Principal Schlenke will be hosting a SFUSD information session for incoming K parents who did not get any of their lottery choices from Round 1, so please come and let Sunnyside shine! More details to come.
Week of March 23: Transplanting Seedlings into Planter Boxes
Volunteers are needed to help teachers and students transplant their seedlings into the garden plots.
9am – 12noon
Meet in School Cafeteria
Sponsored by the PTA
Join Sunnyside families, students and staff to sweep, dust and clean our classrooms. Teachers will prepare a list of cleaning and organizing tasks for their rooms. You can either help your own teacher or any other classroom.
We provide some cleaning supplies, but you may want to bring your own supplies, rags or rubber gloves. Refreshments will be provided afterwards.
Please help if you can. You can
- rent a steam carpet cleaning machine and bring it to the school on Saturday morning.
- donate cleaning supplies and old rags
- purchase bolts and screws to repair desks (will be reimbursed)
- help greet and assign volunteers to tasks and hand out cleaning supplies
- drive a load of trash to the dump afterwards
- take donations to Goodwill or another thrift store.
- help supervise the children in the yard.
- donate $$ for supplies. (Cash or Check to Sunnyside PTA)
Thanks for helping make our school shine like the top of the Chrysler Building!
Friday, Oct. 31 is October-fest, Sunnyside School’s annual fall festival. We’ve had terrific response to our sign-up sheets, however we still need help running games booths in the afternoon on the day of the event. If you have an hour to spare on Friday, come and play a game with the kids at school. Feel free to just show up or contact Kelly Kocella and tell her you want to help.
It’s not glamorous work, but easy and very necessary since we only have a librarian two days a week.
Can anyone help shelve books, straighten up, etc.? Meet with Ms. Yarrow on Thursday or Friday during lunchtime, when the library is not full of students, then you can come in whenever it is convenient for you. Grandparents, friends and relatives can all help. See Ms. Yarrow in the library on Thursdays and Fridays for more information.
