Sunflower Elementary School
616 E. Douglas, Andover, KS 67002 Mrs. Rita Decker, Principal (316) 218-4730 August 12, 2010 Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s): Welcome to Sunflower Elementary! Being in school is an exciting time for children as they embark upon new adventures in the world of learning. So much happens in school. Your child will learn how to read, write stories, add, subtract, and so much more. We at Sunflower Elementary hope to make your child’s time in school a daily learning experience filled with fun and excitement, while instilling a love of learning that will last throughout your child’s life. It is important for parents to set high standards for their children at home and in school. Students whose parents expect them to do well in school have a better chance of learning success. Encourage your youngster to give their best effort in everything they do. Let them know that some things may be harder for them than others, but there is no excuse for not trying. A new fee approved by the district board of education is the Technology Fee. The district has worked hard to determine ways to make budget cuts and not lose the integrity of our district. This fee will pay for instructional software used by students K-‐12. Some of the software the district is looking at currently is United Streaming, Accelerated Reader, NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) Testing software and DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). Without this technology fee we would have to find the equivalent money somewhere else within our budget. We are looking to the future when the financial woes of our state have improved and we don’t have to make these difficult decisions. Sunflower’s academic achievements continue to show high levels of academic success with the ongoing effort provided by all stake holders. “Effort” has been our theme for the past few years and with the dedicated efforts of the talented educators working to meet your child’s educational needs, everyone gained success at Sunflower. We are looking forward to reaching our 2010-‐2011 goals again in all areas. As students arrive at school around 8:25 a.m., please instruct them to report to their classroom on the first day of school, Thursday, August 19th, and to the gym for Jump Start on Friday, August 20th. Kindergarten students will go to their classrooms on the first day of class, Monday, August 23th when they arrive at school. In the past few years we have had extra supervision with our aides. Those positions have been cut by 4 positions district wide impacting Sunflower with the loss of two instructional aides and reduced hours for those remaining. Our building will be locked until 8:00 a.m. and only those “Where Students Blossom”
students that are paying for the YMCA Latchkey service will be entering through the cafeteria. We ask that you provide daycare for your child before 8:25 a.m. and not send them to school unsupervised. We will have staff on duty at 8:15 a.m. for those students eating breakfast. Please call me if you have questions or concerns about this. The Sunflower Newsletter and website will provide you with information to help keep you up-‐ to-‐date on the school happenings. We have scrolling photos of our students on the initial webpage so make sure to check it out! The newsletter will come out at the end of the month for the upcoming month. You will receive a form at “Meet Your Teacher Night” asking if you would like an electronic copy or a hard copy. Please return that form to your child’s teacher. We have only a couple of changes this year with staff. Liz Kitterman will be joining us in the office as a new Administrative Assistant. Liz Kitterman and her husband, Doug, have lived in Andover for 18 years off and on. She has one daughter, Alex, that just graduated from ACHS and a son, Cole, that is a sophomore at ACHS. She joined us on August 2nd. Please introduce yourself to her, helping her get acquainted. The library will share two librarians as we welcome back Mrs. Kathy Reichenberger two days a week and Ms. Suzanne Eastman two days a week. The other day, Mrs. Pyles, our Library Clerk, will be working in the library. Sunflower will share a librarian with PCES and MES. The only other changes will be the same staff teaching in different classrooms. They are noted below. 1st Grade: Lisa Stonehocker 2nd Grade: Karen Perkins Please welcome our new Administrative Assistant and renew acquaintances with continuing staff by joining us at Sunflower Elementary on August 17th from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Meet Your Teacher Night. This is a “come and go” evening for you to visit your child’s teachers in their classrooms. We will have greeters at the doors to help guide your family to the classrooms. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to an exciting new year. Sincerely, Mrs. Rita Decker Sunflower Elementary Principal Enclosures Your teacher assignments are enclosed with this letter!