Welcome to November Sunnyland Families!
It has been a pleasure to see and talk to so many families during parent – teacher conferences. These important meetings will continue for the next couple of weeks. Please do not hesitate to ask your student’s teacher any questions you may have about their progress academically or socially.
November is Native American Heritage Month. The acknowledgment of Native American peoples began with a week in 1976 and a month in 1990. Growing up in small towns in Missouri and Iowa I was not aware of anything, but the popular Eurocentric history taught in that time. Only when I began working in a school with a significant Indigenous population did I learn a fuller truth of a history that includes genocide and settler colonialism. It is with care and honesty that we hope to teach our students to have a more complete understanding of Native American peoples and their ways of knowing and being that leads to appreciation and valuing of cultures different than our own.
In October we hosted Dr. Keiran O’Mahoney from Neural Education for a parent night and a day of staff learning. Dr. O’Mahoney was clear that three factors have significant influence on a student’s ability to learn:
1. Sleep – Children need 10 – 12 hours of sleep a night. They should have the same bedtime and wake up time regardless of the day of the week. Yes, that means staying up late and sleeping late on weekends should be limited.
2. Exercise – Children need to move their bodies – before school and after school as well as during school.
3. Diet – Children need high quality nutritious foods.
Please join us for Coffee and Conversations on Wednesday, November 20th at 8:15 when I will share more information from Neural Education.
Lastly, holiday time is fast approaching. For some families the holiday season brings pressure that results in stress and worry. As a Sunnyland community we’d like to ask for your help. You received a message recently asking you to consider donating gift cards if you can contribute to others. This link will take you to sign up genius to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c44a8aa2ca3fa7-sunnyland
If your family is in need, please fill out the form at this link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=wCFn_eR3jUS0OOIfXCvWdeCwsx4PDERPo4kHVUfVwxxUOVlHSFowVDVNMFVBOE1VSElTOEJTNlNIRi4u
We will do our best to meet as much need as possible.
Speaking for all the staff at Sunnyland, it is a privilege to work with your children daily. We are grateful for the trust and faith you put in us.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at 360-676-6446 or at lynn.heimsoth@bellinghamschools.org with any comments, questions, or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Principal Lynn
