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SUNNYSIDE SCOOP
NOVEMBER, 2017
Principal Points
November 2017
Creating a Culture of Collaboration and Innovation
I can hardly believe we have already reached the beginning of
November. It seems the older I become,
the faster time seems to go. Make sure you are taking the time
in your lives to enjoy the little things, in-
cluding what has been one of the most beautiful falls in recent
memory.
Recently the Sunnyside staff participated in a professional
development activity where we talked about the
difference between Individualism and Collectivism as it pertains
to how students learn. The United States
is a very individualistic society where we celebrate the
accomplishments of the individual. For instance, in
sports we track each player's’ individual stats and hand out a
Most Valuable Player award at the end of
each season. Often lost during these ceremonies is the more
important team goal of winning the champi-
onship. While the US is very Individualistic, about 80% of the
world is collectivist, or more focused on a
team based approach to collaboration.
Awhile back the Harvard Business Review had an article titled
“Collaboration is the New Competition”. The
author Ben Hecht wrote, “Leaders and organizations are
acknowledging that even their best individual ef-
forts can’t stack up against today’s complex and interconnected
problems. They are putting aside self-
interests and collaborating to build a new civic infrastructure
to advance their shared objectives.”
While the idea of collaboration isn’t new, it has taken a larger
foothold in how educators teach on a daily
basis in recent years. Gone are the days of students sitting
quietly in rows working independently on work-
sheet after worksheet, instead replaced with team based
activities where students are asked to
“collaborate and create”. This is also part of the focus of
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts,
& Math) instruction taking place in our classrooms. Students
are programming together, designing to-
gether, and solving problems together to help better prepare
them for the collaborative workforce they will
one day enter into. The best part of this change is we see more
engaged and excited students participat-
ing in their daily work. I’ll leave you with a quote from one of
my favorite innovative educators George
Couros, “When we create a culture of
‘Competitive-collaboration’, we are not limited to ‘Our ideas’, but
the
focus is shifted to finding the ‘Best ideas.’”
Dr. Nathan Flansburg
Principal
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Important NOVEMBER Dates: Thursday, November 2
Last Day of Quarter
Picture Re-Take Day
Friday, November 3
No School!
Monday, November 6
PTA Meeting, 6:00pm in LMC
Tuesday, November 7
November Birthday Lunches with Principal
Thursday, November 9
Communication Night, 3rd Grade Open House and Program,
4-7:30pm
Saturday, November 11
Rock the School House, Vadnais Heights
Tuesday, November 14
Jump Rope for Heart
Wednesday, November 15
Vision and Hearing Screening
Thursday, November 16
Latino Night at Pike Lake, 6:00—8:00pm
Friday, November 17
Gibbs Farm will be visiting First Graders
PTA Turkey Bingo and Dance, 6:00-8:00pm
Monday, November 20 through Friday, November 24
Thanksgiving Break, No School
Tuesday, November 28
Orchestra Tour Date
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PTA News: PTA activities are off and running at Sunnyside. We
can always use new people to
join our great group! The next PTA Meeting will be Monday,
November 6.
Meetings start at 6:00pm in the Sunnyside Library. Everyone is
welcome!
PTA Meeting dates: Monday, November 6
Tuesday, December 5
Tuesday, January 9
Monday, February 5
Tuesday, March 6
Tuesday, April 3
Tuesday, May 8
Tuesday, June 5
Hearing and Vision Screening Volunteers for the Wednesday,
November 15th vision
and hearing screening are still needed. Please call the health
office at 651-621-7604. Training will be pro-
vided, no prior experience necessary. We need your
help to make this event successful!
Jump Rope for Heart We are looking for a few volunteers for our
Jump
Rope For Heart event. The event will be Tuesday,
November 14th in the Sunnyside Gym. It is a
good event for a great cause! Follow this link to
sign up: http://bit.ly/2zdpOmj
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November Specialist Update!
Science: 1st Grade: Weather - we are working on a understanding
clouds, precipitation, storms, and climate.
2nd Grade: Balance and Motion- we will experiment with ways to
balance and using simple machines
(lever)
3rd Grade: Sound- we will explore how sound is made, how it
travels, and how it is received in our ears
4th Grade: Electricity- we will build circuits (parallel and
series) and learn about volts/amps/watts.
5th Grade: Chemistry– we will study the periodic table of
elements and learn how elements and com-
pounds combine or separate. Students will work on data gathering
and recording as well as scientific
method steps to isolate variables.
Phy. Ed.: Looking ahead to November in Phy Ed we will be working
on an early start with the short jump ropes. The
1st and 2nd graders will also be working on locomotor movements
and tag games. While the 3rd, 4th,
and 5th graders will have the monthly fitness stations. Jump
Rope for Heart is November 14th.
Art: 1st Grade: Primary Color mixing to make the Secondary
Colors with Paint. Geometric vs. Organic
Shapes Miro Moody Monsters. Abstract portraits inspired by Paul
Klee, called “Head of Boy/Girl”.
2nd Grade: Artists Autumn Owls with Texture, Visual Texture
Hunt, Falling Leaves with Organic Shapes
and Movement- Bending Bodies and Keith Haring inspired
Figures
3rd Grade: Color Wheel Paintings, Tertiary Color Mixing and
Vincent Van Gogh Inspired Trees
4th Grade: Value Leaf Paintings- Mixing tints and shades to
create contrast
5th Grade: Sugar Skull Calaveras and Charcoal Still Life focused
on Tonal Value
*Please visit my teacher webpage at
http://sunnysideartroom.weebly.com/ for more of what’s going on
in
the Art Room and don’t forget to register your chlid on
Artsonia.
Technology: 1st Grade: We are creating some computer art
projects using programs like Tux Paint and Kid Pix. Ac-
cess our web-based activities at
https://sites.google.com/a/moundsviewschools.org/firstgradelablinks/
2nd Grade: We are continuing to practice formatting Word
documents and improve our typing skills. Ac-
cess our web-based activities at
https://sites.google.com/a/moundsviewschools.org/secondgradelablinks/
Music: 1st Grade: We will use Thanksgiving words such as pumpkin
pie, and turkey to compose rhythmic pat-
terns with one and two syllables on a beat. We will also
practice identifying beat vs. rhythm
2nd Grade: Students will learn about the quarter rest and review
beat vs. rhythm concepts.
3rd Grade: Students will learn the rhythm values of half note,
and whole note. They will work on playing a
bourdun on orff instruments while singing. Students will also
work on singing with others in a round.
4th & 5th Grade: Students will compose short melodies on the
xylophones using both treble clef notes
and notes of different rhythmic values.
*All students will work on steady beat as they are introduced to
basic jump rope chants to be used during
Jump Rope for heart week.
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Sunnyside Art Update!
YOUR CHILD’S ARTWORK IS WAITING FOR YOU….ON ARTSONIA!
Did you know that Sunnyside artists have most of their artworks
photographed and published on the largest
online student art gallery called Artsonia?
Did you know that Artsonia will send you an email every time
your child has a new artwork posted? You
can also form fan clubs and share your child’s artwork with
family and loved ones.
Through Artsonia, you can order your child’s artwork on hundreds
of merchandise items with an earning of
20% back as a fundraiser for the Sunnyside Art department?
If you have an account already, don’t forget to check out the
newest artwork from this year. All students
have a new artwork published on Artsonia this year.
If you HAVE NOT registered your artist on Artsonia, an orange
paper recently came home with your child
including the directions to create an account. If you have any
questions at all, please call or email me and
I’m happy to help out.
https://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=92692
(Sunnyside Home Page on Artsonia)
Thanks so much,
Jodi Vanderbilt
Art Specialist
651-621-7676
[email protected]
Orchestra NewsOrchestra NewsOrchestra NewsOrchestra News The 4th
and 5th grade orchestras are gearing up for their first
concert on November 28th. They will be playing a variety of
fun, seasonal music and can't wait to share their talents
with
the Sunnyside community. The 5th grade orchestra will be
touring between Pinewood and Sunnyside for both school
concerts, and the 4th grade Sunnyside students will perform
at Sunnyside in the afternoon. All 4th and 5th grade
students
will gather once more at Edgewood Middle School for a final
performance at 6:30pm. Orchestra students should arrive at 6pm
for tuning and warming-up.
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Stay on the Sunny Side!Stay on the Sunny Side!
Title One at Sunnyside Elementary School
Sunnyside Elementary is a Title One School. Title
One funds are used to support additional literacy
needs. Sunnyside Elementary wants to ensure that
all children are making growth and are meeting
their academic goals. Teachers work together as a
team and make decisions on how best to meet the
literacy needs of each and every student. One way
we help to ensure that children are making the
needed growth, is by providing an additional small
group in reading for those students who would
benefit. In this small group, students meet with a
reading intervention teacher for literacy instruc-
tion at his/her instructional reading level, in addi-
tion to meeting with their classroom teacher.
News from the Health Office
As we enter cold and flu season please keep in mind the school
illness policy.
Please keep your child home from school in the event of:
• Fever of 100 degrees or more: Until 24 hours after the
tempera-
ture returns to normal and remains normal without fever reducing
medication (Tylenol or Advil, for example)
• Vomiting or diarrhea: Until 24 hours after the last
episode
• New, undiagnosed rash, skin sores or blisters: Until
diagnosed
by the health care provider and no longer infectious to
others
• Purulent (green or yellow) eye drainage or crusting: Until
diag-
nosed by the health care provider and no longer infectious to
others
• Untreated head lice: Until treated at home and checked by
school
health staff
Hot News! Starting Monday, November 6th ALL
LUNCH MONEY (cash or checks) will be collected
in our NEW DROP BOX located in the front en-
trance area of the school. If your money is not
already in an envelope with your name and pin
number, please use one of the envelopes lo-
cated above the DROP BOX. Check it out!
Did you know that Sunnyside has a
lost and found? It is located across
from the entrance to the gym and
items are beginning to pile up.
Please stop by and see if any items
belong to your child.
