May 2013 Sunset Newsletter
Calendar of Events May 15th - Sunset 4th & 5th Grade Picnic @ Highland Manor Park May 17th – Last “TOWN” of the Year May 17th - 3rd Grade Swimming Party 9-11:30 am May 20th – 2nd Grade to Red Lodge Nature Center May 21st – 5th Grade Swimming Trip to Thermopolis May 21st – 1st Grade to Clark’s Fork Fish Hatchery May 22nd – 4th Grade to BBHC 8:15-3:15 pm May 22nd – Kindergarten to George Farm 8:30- 10:30 am May 23rd – Field Day May 23rd - 2nd Grade Picnic to Dacken Park May 24th – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (Trimester Celebration @ 8:30 am – gym)
Early Dismissal on May 24th – 11:45 AM
Sunset PTA would like to thank the students, parents, teachers and staff at Sunset Elementary for everything they have done to help with PTA events this year. We had a great year and it was made possible through everyone’s hard work. Way to Go Sunset Family!! Rebecca Merritt, President Lisa McDonald, Vice President Marcie Barton, Treasurer Chrystal Rippeto, Secretary
Sunset PTA Year in Review The following is a compilation of the purchases that were made possible this year by your hard work and fundraising. Thanks again for all that you do!! Art Department This year the art department was able to receive a grant of $3,000 from the Wyoming Arts Council. In addition to that Sunset's amazing PTA, and their donation of $1,500 paired along with a very successful art fundraiser this last December raised $2,200. All of those things combined came to a total of $6,700 raised for a state of the art ceramic kiln, equipment and supplies. The Maintenance Department donated all of their time and labor to install and wire the kiln! Wow! Sunset's PTA donation helped to make this all come to fruition. Their donation made it possible to buy not only the kiln, but fantastic time saving equipment such as a clay slab roller, which rolls out clay to whatever thickness you need, and a clay extruder for making long coils or handle shapes. Some of the more expensive things that were needed were both clay and glazes. PTA's donation ensured we could by 500+ pounds of clay and get a good deal of mid-range Potters choice glazes from AMACO and Coyote Glazes. Everything has been installed and is up and running! The kids and I have been working furiously here at the end of the year to fit in a clay project at every grade level. Since PTA's donation and turning the idea of having access to the materials needed for kids to work in clay into a reality, I have been able to fit working in clay into our curriculum at each grade level. Sunset students have a clear progression of experiences in clay that that will build up their skill and knowledge to take art even further once they leave elementary school. Kids eyes light up whenever I announce that today we are working with clay, they are always excited, always engaged and ready to participate. Up until now, we were working with one side of a coin, now we have access to both. I can't thank PTA and Sunset school, and everyone who helped in this process enough for their help in making all of this happen for the betterment of our kids and their education. Thanks! PE Department Thank you for the following donations made to the PE Department: 1 dozen fleece balls (yarn balls) - to be used during throwing and catching unit and for "popcorn" during parachute games Foam hoop holders- can be used to hold hula hoops for obstacle course tunnels or targets for throwing. Will also be used to teach good push-up depth. Parachute- Parachute games improve upper body strength, encourage cooperation, as well as work on following directions, social skills, and rhythms. Barrier Set- Separate floor for hockey games, targets for throwing, boundary markers, and obstacles to move around. Battery powered whistle- to be used by student referees and substitute teachers so people don’t have to share and clean whistles. Portable Score Keeper- for scorekeeping for various games during class. Folding Mat- to be used during tumbling, fitness testing, and boat races. Felt Puck- a softer hockey puck that still slides well on floor. High Jump Pit- Used as high jump pit and item in obstacle course.
Recycling Committee Sunset School Recycling Committee (alias-The Green Team) would like to express their appreciation to Sunset PTA for purchasing a wide selection of recycling containers for the purpose of collecting a variety of recyclable materials. Lunchable packaging (so far this year, Sunset students have recycled the waste from 1600 Lunchables. Students have collected 2,338 juice pouches. A huge 55-gallon garbage bag of 1-7 plastics is taken to the Cody Recycling Center every week. Aluminum cans were donated to Valley this year to help them raise money for their playground equipment, Sunset helped with this effort. Other non-aluminum cans were recycled, from the Sunset Cafeteria, and so far this year weigh in at over 600 lbs. Students have recycled all the paper bags that school breakfast comes in and also from cold lunch. This is just a few of the waste streams that are recycled by Sunset students and staff. Thanks again Sunset PTA for your support!
School Counselor Dear PTA, Thank you so much for purchasing the “Auto B Good” DVDs and the “You Can Choose” DVDs for our students. Every day each of us has to make decisions. Some of those decisions are easy, but some of them can be really hard. Knowing what is right from wrong is a good start at making the right decision. The “Six Pillars of Character” are helpful guides for all of us to use whenever we have to make decisions. They help keep things clear as to how to act toward each other and how to behave and these DVDs share knowledge of how to problem solve different, real-life situations. The way to being really happy and getting along better with each other is by following the “Six Pillars of Character.” By working on getting better each day, all of us will have a better community in which we live. What decides the path of your life, and the quality of our communities, is what kind of person you are. It's your character that counts!" These DVDs illustrate this to our students through fun, active, colorful plays and cartoon skits. Thank you again for these updated materials that give the students real-life situations using problem-solving techniques; which support “The Six Pillars of Character”. Sincerely, Linda Baumstarck Sunset Elementary Counselor
Title 1 Thank you Sunset PTA! The PTA was very generous for ALL the students at Sunset School this year by buying blank hardbound books for Young Authors. These books helped students publish their books like real authors. The students were able to write or type their final draft of their stories and also do the illustrations. What an accomplishment our students felt this year as authors! For the second year in a row the PTA teamed up financially with Title 1 to give students educational activity books to do for the summer. These Summer Bridge Activities Books help students so they don’t experience any learning loss from the past school year. These books help students review skills they’ve learned this past year, and they also have some enriching activities. What a way to prepare our students for the upcoming year!
Kindergarten We have had such a great year! The kindergartners have grown so much and have had quite a bit of fun along the way. We have just hatched chicks and thanks to the PTA, we now have an incubator in each class. Thank you so much PTA. We are having a few field trips at the end of the year. We are going to the library on May 17 th and then we will go to the park afterwards. All kindergartners received a classroom t-shirt with their name and their drawing of themselves along with all of their classmates drawings and names. Another big huge THANK YOU to PTA for purchasing these for all our kinders. We were all hoping our students would wear them on the day of our field trip to the park and library. Please send your child to school with their new t-shirts on that day. Our last field trip is to the George’s farm on May 22nd. We have been studying animals and this will be a great opportunity for kindergartners to see some of the animals we have been talking about and studying in kindergarten. 1st Grade Thank you PTA! The PTA has purchased two sets of Buckaroo books for our school library. Each year the state of Wyoming has a Buckaroo Book contest. All over our state students in grades K-3 read fifteen Buckaroo Books. Every class votes on the books they like the best. The votes are all sent to the Wyoming State Reading Council where they are counted. Then in the spring Mrs. Baker, Cody’s children librarian, and the Cody Reading Council go to each elementary building and celebrate the winning books. It is SO WONDERFUL to have a set of Buckaroo Books in our building that is easy for teachers to access and read to our students. We all think it’s FANTASTIC to have another set of these books available in our library for the kids to checkout after hearing them read in the classroom! Thank you PTA for purchasing the Buckaroo Books and your help in making reading exciting! Sunset Staff
3rd Grade Third graders worked on responding to reading through journaling this school year. After a year of dedicated writing, students were eligible to go on a swimming adventure to at the rec center. Thanks so much to the PTA for covering the admission cost for this wonderful aquatic adventure our 3rd graders worked so for! 4th Grade Dear Families, The 4th Grade Team would like to extend a huge “Thank-you� to PTA for all of your support this year. In 4th Grade, we focus on Wyoming History, and our students are able to experience Wyoming History by visiting the BBHC (Buffalo Bill Historical Center). Without the support of Sunset PTA, we would not be able to provide this experience to our students free of cost. In addition to BBHC, we wanted to celebrate our 4th graders for their hard work and ambition. PTA was generous in their giving by providing all 4th graders the opportunity to mini-golf and to celebrate their success. Without Sunset School PTA, our students would not be able to have these rich experiences and celebrations. Thank you PTA for your support; words cannot express our gratitude. Sincerely, The 4th Grade Team 5th Grade Our Sunset PTA has been so gracious to the 5th grade team this year! The very first purchase for us was to get a new writing program so we as a grade level could get a jump on the new common core standards in writing. The WriteSteps has been very successful for our first year. It has helped our students tremendously with their writing. We could not have had this program if it was not for our wonderful support from PTA. In addition to the help we received from PTA on our writing program, we also received monies to take our 5th graders to Star Plunge in Thermopolis at the end of the year. This is something we do every year for our students that earn it by doing TOWN through reading. PTA, we sincerely appreciate all of your help and support this year! You make us better and we could not ask for a better group that helps represent the best in town! Sincerely, The 5th Grade Team
Dear Families, As we draw near to the end of this school year, students and staff alike can be proud of all of their accomplishments. While we look forward to a very busy month of May, with field trips, picnics and celebrations, let me take a moment to express my appreciation to Sunset families for all of your help and cooperation. Have a fabulous summer vacation and I look forward to seeing all of you in the fall. Mrs. Farmer
Reminder from the School Nurse: All medications need to be picked up from the Nurse by parents/guardians by the last day of the school year or they WILL be destroyed.
If you don't remember whether you have
medicine here for your child, please call Mrs. Smith. Thanks!! Windy Smith, RN School Nurse Sunset Elementary School
2013/2014 Sunset PTA Officers Rebecca Merritt, President ď‚— Becca Manchester, Vice President Marcie Barton, Treasurer ď‚— Chrystal Rippeto, Secretary
Enjoy your summer!! The 2013/2014 school year begins on Wednesday, August 28, 2013. See you then!!