We are learning and growing at Sunflower each day and this week was no exception. In math our 3rd grade scholars are learning more about the connection between multiplication and division while our 5th graders are adding and subtracting fractions. All of our classrooms are listening, reading and responding to grade level text through our Benchmark Advance reading curriculum and it is SO fun to watch our primary classrooms use their knowledge of sounds and words to practice their phonemic awareness skills. So much learning!

I hope everyone received a paper copy of the Monthly Mindset for September all about Respect and the connections that Respect has to everything our Sunflower scholars do at school. These Monthly Mindsets are created to provide a connection between academics, behavioral learning and expectations and our social emotional curriculum. On the Monthly Mindset you will find how our word of the month connects to AVID strategies as well as Ci3T and so much more! If you did not receive a paper copy, please feel free to explore digitally, HERE!

I would like to thank our lunchroom parent volunteers. It is so nice to have parents/families in our building and your support is so appreciated. If you are interested in volunteering, we would love to have you! See below for more information about an upcoming Parent Volunteer training that will occur on Wednesday, September 20th and Monday, September 25th.

Thank you for taking a few moments to look over our Weekly Update!

Mrs. Green

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer in your student's classroom or around the school? Please consider joining us to learn more about what it means to be a volunteer at Sunflower and all of the different ways you can volunteer your time and talents. We will be offering two sessions for this event to hopefully meet with as many potential volunteers as possible. Feel free to join us on:

• Wednesday, September 20th at 8:45am (after arrival)

OR

• Monday, September 25th at 6:00pm

Please note that the same information will be discussed on both dates.

Kindergarten English Spanish First Grade English Spanish

Second Grade English Spanish Third Grade English Spanish

Fourth Grade English Spanish Fifth GradeEnglish Spanish

Sunflower plans to offer a school-wide directory for use by our parents and students. Many families find a school directory helpful as they plan activities such as play dates, birthday parties, carpools and events outside of school hours. The directory will include student names, household phone number, household address, and one parent email.

If you DO NOT want to be included in the directory, please let Mrs Walthall know by Monday Sept 25. Email mwalthal@usd497.org or 785-832-5870.

USD 497 designates some information as Directory Information, which can be shared. When you enroll or complete Annual Registration, you acknowledge that you have read the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA allows parents and legal guardians to withdraw consent to share directory information. This includes use for school yearbooks, team rosters, school directories, music programs, among other school publications.

Note: The school district is legally obligated not to disclose foster, or group home student’s directory information.

Anyone wishing to opt-out of disclosing all Directory Information must complete a Nondisclosure of Student Directory Information Form, and office staff will input the form into PowerSchool with the guardian’s answers. Please reach out to Mrs Walthall by phone or email to ask questions or to complete a form.

For people who want to keep information out of the directory, please clarify if you want to opt out of "this directory only" or if you want to complete the Nondisclosure of Directory Information Form. Mrs Walthall can help you with either option.

Do you like to play in the dirt? Are you looking for extra activities? Do you enjoy working with and growing plants? Are you looking for leadership skills? Are you responsible? Do you respect Mother Earth? Do you want to learn how to garden? Then we have the club for you!

Seeking interested 3rd-5th grade scholars interested in Garden Club. We meet every other Wednesday (every Wednesday during peak times) morning from 7:45 - 8:30. If this sounds like something for you please fill out the SF Garden Club form (linked). First Garden Gnomie meeting is Sept 6th.

If any adults are available and want to help with the Garden Club we have room for you too. Please email danita.long@usd497.org

Don’t forget to enroll your child for the school-based dental program, including Dental Exams, X-rays, Dental cleanings, Dental sealants, Fluoride and simple Fillings! This program is optional for anyone without a primary dentist or anyone who has not been seen by a dentist in the last six months for regular routine dental care. Healthy Futures accepts Medicaid, Commercial Insurance, and the uninsured. There is NO COST to you even if your child is uninsured or not fully covered through commercial insurance. We accept enrollment forms all year, but to ensure they receive services at the upcoming school clinics, enroll your kiddo today.

Forms are available in the counselor's office or through the online secure forms at the following links:

(English) https://app.formdr.com/practice/Nzk1MQ==/form/b0eJ6CwAFz01N33LKxYJX6ZPa0JSgghO

(Spanish)

https://app.formdr.com/practice/Nzk1MQ==/form/v-I_SD5bKN-MCAvSsXj8yBefF-qoYT20

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Healthy Futures Team at 785-841-7297, ext. 5601 or healthyfutures@heartlandhealth.org or Julie Heatwole (Sunflower's school counselor) at #785-330-4860 or jheatwol@usd497.org

September PTO meeting minutes

A big thank you to everyone who attended this month's PTO meeting! We had a great turnout and it was exciting to hear about all the great things the committees are working on! Find meeting minutes here.

Volunteer Interest Form

We would love your help to make this a fantastic school year and there are tons of ways to participate! Fill out this Google form to volunteer for various committees and we will be in touch!

Lunchroom Help

October dates are up! Please check the signup to see if you can help out! Slots are an hour each (11-12 and 12-1) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Any and all help is appreciated! Sign up here

Chess Club

Chess club starting 10/5 after school, dismissal is at 4:45pm. Fall meeting dates: 10/5, 10/26, 11/2, 11/16, 11/30, 12/14. Please complete this form to sign up! Questions? Email sunflowerchessclub@gmail.com

Watch Dogs

Calling all male figures! Interested in learning about the Watch Dogs program? Join us on September 19 @ 7pm on Zoom for an informational meeting!

(Meeting ID: 864 7704 7482 Passcode: 223105)

Already know you want to sign up? Watch Dogs is looking for cafeteria help on Tuesdays & Thursdays! Please see cafeteria volunteer info before your first shift--training can be found here. Sign up here! Questions? Email tcraig460@gmail.com

Box Tops

Did you know you can help support the school just by scanning your grocery receipts? Check out this info sheet on how to download the app and get started! Don't want to scan yourself? Place your receipts in the marked wooden box in the school lobby and we will scan them for you!

Eat & Earns coming up!

9/19--Pickleman's to benefit the Educational Support Fund (helps teachers with large projects/classroom purchases & field trips!). See flier below for more info.

Follow us! Facebook (Sunflower Elementary PTO) and Instagram (sunflower_elementary_pto)

We are excited to kick off Sunflower Marathon Club and our first day will be, Wednesday, September 27th

The goal of Marathon Club is to provide a sustainable fitness opportunity for Sunflower students and their families. The kids will be challenged to achieve a full marathon distance of 26.2 miles by walking or running twice a week throughout the school year. All mileage is tracked when students attend. As soon as a student has completed a full marathon, they earn a t-shirt, have their name read in the morning community, and get their picture posted on the gym wall. We will celebrate finishers on Wednesday’s only with a 3:00pm finish line. We strongly encourage all club members to stay and help celebrate the week's finishers.

In addition to these tangible awards Marathon Club hopes to:

• Promote lifelong wellness

• Provide students a sense of accomplishment

• Create a fun, non competitive atmosphere for all participants

• Improve concentration in the classroom

We will be running on Monday mornings and Wednesdays after school. Start time on Monday morning is at 8:00 am, and on Wednesday immediately after school with a pick up time of 3:10 pm. Volunteers will not be in place earlier than 8:00 am. For safety reasons, please do not drop off kids earlier than 7:50 am. All students need to be checked in and running by 8:10 am. We will not allow kids to start later than 8:10 am as they need to be finished by 8:30 am. If your child will be eating breakfast at school, please remind them to leave the track by 8:20 am. Likewise, volunteers will not be present at the school later than 3:15 pm on Wednesdays. Please pick up promptly at 3:10 pm.

All Sunflower students K-5 are encouraged to participate. If you are a parent of a Kindergarten student, for safety reasons, we would ask that you participate with your child. All other parents are invited and encouraged to participate as well.

We will cancel if there is rain, lightning, snow, ice, temperature or wind chill of 32 degrees or less. Cancellations will come via Remind by 7:00 am Mondays and 1:30 pm Wednesdays. We will also put out an in school announcement on Wednesday so they will know in advance of dismissal.

We will be using Remind for communication. Remind is a secure way to communicate between club and parents without exchanging actual phone numbers or emails. This is how you will receive cancellation messages for the club! The Remind link for Sunflower Marathon Club 2023-2024:

https://www.remind.com/join/edk382?utm_medium=ios

You can earn extra miles for Marathon Club - we are challenging the students and their families to participate in any race. Bring in your race number or submit a photo, we will credit you for that mileage. We especially encourage runners to participate in runLAWRENCE events as they have been a generous supporter of Sunflower Marathon Club.

www.runlawrence.org

Safety is the biggest concern. This year the club will meet on the west playground behind Sunflower near the swings & Sunflower garden. Runners will be running on the Southwest Middle School track or the field adjacent to the playground. The route will be staffed by parent volunteers who will be spaced so that walkers/runners can be seen the entire length of the run. Parents, we really need you! If you would like to be a Marathon Club volunteer we would love to have you join us. Use the attached consent/sign up form to let us know you are available. Please communicate with your child(ren) that the adult volunteers are there to keep everyone safe and runners need to follow the directions and rules that the volunteers are enforcing to ensure a fun and safe experience for all.

Remember, you can reach us for questions at our email address: sunflowermarathonclub@gmail.com

To participate - please fill out the google form prior to your child’s first day of marathon club. Please understand if they do not have this filled out they will NOT be allowed to run until we receive the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeAAREG9_lLGchcWecXxKNbt3QdXOQfD8iGIhzzP93Lawf2A/viewform?usp=pp_url