Sunnyland Elementary

"The Scoop"

A Note from the Principal

Greetings Sunnyland families,


As the days are getting longer and warmer, I am finding myself outside more and more, and feeling grateful for living in our part of the world. I hope you are able to enjoy this incredible spring as well.


I want to acknowledge the message that Dr. Baker posted on our school district website last week regarding diversity, and more specfically, the reading of diverse books in elementary classrooms. Reading diverse books is an important way that we are able to show our children a reflection of themselves as well as a window into cultures and experiences that are different from their own. By using children's books, we are able to introduce topics and engage in conversations in a way that is developmentally appropriate. Grace Lin talks about this using the analogy of 'windows and mirrors'. If you have some time, I encourage you to watch this 12 minute Ted Talk. Grace Lin does an incredible job of helping us to understand the importance of representation in our children's books.

Windows and Mirrors, Grace Lin


At Sunnyland, we continue to diversify the books in our library and engage in age-appropriate conversations in our classrooms, so that all children are loved, feel a strong sense of belonging, and because we believe that diversity enhances our Sunnyland community.


I appreciate each of you and your contributions to our community.


Warmly,

Amy

School Lunch Menu

Click here to find the school lunch menu for April, May and June. We will be bringing back many scratch-made entrees in the final 8 weeks of school as well as whole grain breads, vegetarian options, and a few local products.

Important Dates to Remember


  • May 13, Lockdown Drill
  • May 14, Individual Pictures
  • May 21, NO SCHOOL
  • May 31, NO SCHOOL

Reminder: Register now for fall 2021

Registration for fall 2021 is still open for kindergarten and all grades. Families can register students via this webpage. Registering now helps us hire staff, balance our classes, connect with families and ready our schools to welcome our students.


Registration is for students new to our district or who want to return after transferring to a school or program outside our district. You do not need to register current students; we automatically re-enroll them.


A special note about kindergarten: All children who will be 5 before Sept. 1, 2021 can be registered for kindergarten. We plan to start in-person learning at every school this fall with strong safety protocols in place.


To find out more about attendance areas, registration and childhood immunization schedules, please visit bellinghamschools.org/kindergarten or contact our elementary schools directly. Feel free to let a friend or neighbor with a future kindergartner know the registration window is open and ready for them!

2021-22 Kindergarten Virtual Tour

Greetings incoming kinder families,


Welcome to Sunnyland! We are so excited to have you as part of our Sunnyland Lions family and some of you are already here with older children. Unfortunately, we are not able to have an in-person open house this Spring so we created a Kindergarten Virtual Tour to share with your child.


https://bellingham.wistia.com/medias/k3m8fk0wu9 (may need to right click).

Message from the COVID Safety Team

Dear families,


This week, children 12 years of age and older became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. We encourage all families to consider immunizing their student against COVID-19 for not just for their individual health, but the health and safety of our schools and community.


Please note that immunizing your student against COVID also minimizes the impact of COVID protocols on their learning opportunities. For example, if your student is vaccinated, they would not need to quarantine for 10 days if they were identified as a close contact to a confirmed case of COVID-19 and they would be able to continue to attend in-person school and extracurriculars.


Vaccine clinics at high schools on May 20


We are pleased to announce on-site immunization clinics for Bellingham Public Schools students 12 years of age or older and their adult household members.


  • Clinics will be on site at Bellingham, Sehome and Squalicum: Thursday, May 20, 7:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
  • To receive the COVID-19 vaccine, students must provide a completed consent form signed by their parent or guardian. A link to the consent form is provided in the online registration form and printed copies will be available at the front office of each school.
  • Rite Aid pharmacy staff will administer immunizations at Sehome and Squalicum High Schools and Unity Care NW will administer immunizations at Bellingham High School. A second dose clinic at the same location will follow the last week of school.
  • Please review this fact sheet on the Pfizer vaccine.
  • Register online to reserve your spot.


Vaccine clinics in our community have appointments available


The only authorized vaccine for people 12-17 years of age is Pfizer. Parental consent is required by each provider. The following vaccine providers have Pfizer vaccines as of this week:


  • PeaceHealth is offering clinics Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. They recommend scheduling an appointment through their online system. Walk-ins are accepted but patients may experience a wait, depending on the volume. Spanish Medical Interpreters are onsite Thursday evenings from 4:45 – 7 p.m.
  • Unity Care is scheduling appointments for Pfizer first doses at their Bellingham clinic this week and have a number of appointments available. Families can schedule by calling the vaccine line (360-746-3098) or using the online scheduling link.
  • Western Washington University is holding a vaccine clinic on Tuesday, May 18. We will share more information once it is available.


Vaccine facts from the CDC


  • COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19.
  • All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States have been shown to be safe and effective at preventing COVID-19.
  • You may have side effects after vaccination, but these are normal.
  • Vaccines are available at no cost to you and health insurance is not required.
  • It typically takes two weeks after vaccination for the body to build protection (immunity) against the virus that causes COVID-19. You are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or two weeks after a one-dose vaccine.
  • If you have already had COVID-19, the CDC recommends that you still get vaccinated against COVID-19.


Learn more facts about COVID-19 vaccines at the CDC website.


If you have questions about onsite clinics or need to cancel your appointment, please contact Angie Ritchey.

PTA Meeting

Join us for the next PTA Family Information Meeting. We will discuss some PTA business and vote on the budget. We also hope to have an update about end-of-the-year activities for 5th graders. Amy Berreth, principal, Kari Miller, counselor, and Dustin Heaton, dean of students will be joining us. We would love to have you there!

When: Thursday, May 27 @ 6 pm via Zoom

Meeting link: https://bellinghamschools.zoom.us/j/3020451144?pwd=QXlvL0cyVXRrb0MwaTgzQjdRRDc3UT09

Meeting ID: 302 045 1144

Passcode: sunnyland

Big picture

Weekly Mealboxes

Meal box pick ups will be Wednesdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at 12 school locations and six community locations. See list of locations below for March 10 and beyond.

We encourage all families to pick up a free box of 14 meals and support our food services program and the Good Food Project in Bellingham Public Schools, as well as our local community. If your student is eating at school again in-person, they will be offered a modified box that will include the fresh produce, dairy and entree.


The school locations are as follows:


Alderwood Elementary School, 3400 Hollywood Avenue
Birchwood Elementary School, 3200 Pinewood Avenue
Happy Valley Elementary School, 1041 24th Street
Northern Heights Elementary School, 4000 Magrath Road
Roosevelt Elementary School, 2900 Yew Street
Wade King Elementary School, 2155 Yew Street Road
Fairhaven Middle School, 110 Park Ridge Road
Kulshan Middle School, 1250 Kenoyer Drive
Shuksan Middle School, 2717 Alderwood Avenue
Whatcom Middle School, 810 Halleck Street
Bellingham High School, 2020 Cornwall Avenue
Sehome High School, 2700 Bill McDonald Parkway

Sunnyland 2020-21 PTA Officers

ptasunnyland@gmail.com


Co-President-Nickie Rail 760-917-0468 nickierail@gmail.com


Secretary-Megan Porter 801-319-3366 megan.leigh.porter@gmail.com


Treasurer-Katina Briles-Honda 360-224-2171 katinabriles@gmail.com


Scrip-Pat Kelly 360-325-5296 patmara@mac.com


Enrichment-Abby Atkins 360-389-1805 sunnylandenrichment@gmail.com and

Cari Chan 360-201-9547 ficus.cari@gmail.com


Communications-Laura Wood 360-318-3835 laura.s.wood@gmail.com


Fundraising-Kami Westhoff 360-223-1817 kamiwesthoff@yahoo.com


Yearbook-Allison Lecky 360-527-3096 allisonbj@gmail.com

Contact us

Si desea esta información en español llame al 676-6456


Bellingham School District, 360-676-6400

OFFICE and SCHOOL HOURS

Main Office: 7:00-3:30, 360-676-6446

Attendance: 7:45-3:00 - Karla.Casanova@bellinghamschools.org

School starts: 8:00 am, Kindergarten-5th grades

School ends: 1:30 pm, Kindergarten-5th grades