The Big Guy In The Red Suit

Yesterday, Santa came to visit all of the children at Sunflower - every child in every building. 

We learned a few things from this experience, including: If you are a baby, Santa is your nemesis. 

We did our best to take a picture of each child with Santa, but if a child was old enough to say "No," we didn't push it. If a child got on Santa's lap and started crying, Katie helped them down ASAP. If your child was at school that day and isn't pictured, it's because he or she chose to opt out and we're not in the business of traumatizing kiddos. 

I had expected some crying here and there, but I also saw some impressive evasive maneuvers, like Hagen fighting his way out (Santa: "We have a runner!") or Charlie pretending to be asleep (brilliant!)

Some of the older kids didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but were willing to let him photobomb their picture:

It was an entertaining day, for sure. 

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN 

SEE THE PICTURES AND GET 

YOUR FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD(S)

1) Visit the Sunflower photo gallery site.

2) Browse the photo galleries - organized by age of student - and choose the picture(s) you'd like to download.

3) Click on the photo so it enlarges. 

4) In the bottom right corner of the screen under your chosen photo, you'll see a toolbar that looks like this:

5) Click on that down arrow almost all the way to the right, and your photo will start to auto download.

You could drag and drop the photo onto your desktop (or right click / Save As for you PC folks), BUT the image won't be full-res, and if you ever go to print a photo larger than 3x5, it won't be very good quality. By going the download route, you'll get the full-resolution 8MB file.

Let me know if you have any questions! Happy holidays from the Sunflower family!

-Brooke

School Pictures - FAQ

1. Where are the pictures?

Here: http://sunflowermontessori.smugmug.com/

They're organized by age group, hopefully making it easier for you to find your child(ren). The files are large and there are over a hundred in each gallery, so the pages may take a minute to load. 

2. How do I purchase prints or downloads?

Browse around 'til you find a photo (or photos) you like. When you've clicked on one you're interested in purchasing, you'll see a green button in the top right corner of your screen called BUY PHOTOS. Click on it.

3) A drop-down menu will appear, where you should choose "THIS PHOTO"

4) From there, a menu will pop up with all kinds of sizes of prints you can purchase. SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: On the top toolbar, you'll see a few options, including Prints and Downloads.

                            

If you click on DOWNLOADS, you can purchase a full-resolution copy of your photo file. It comes with a copyright release, so you can print and distribute your photo however you'd like forever and ever, amen. 

3. What are you doing with the money raised by photo sales?

100% of proceeds (minus the small Smugmug hosting fees) go to Sunflower; the money has been earmarked for the purchase of new playground equipment. 

4. Why is my child holding a dinosaur/blanket/book/block in his/her picture?

I imagine being a small child walking into a room filled with bright alien lights can be a little frightening. Sometimes, a kid will walk into the room and I know that the little plastic dinosaur she's clutching in her fist is the thing that can separate a decent picture from a complete meltdown. So, rock that dinosaur, sister. Same goes for seating choices: some kids wanted to sit on the chair, some on the floor, some on the stool. I let them tell me what made them the most comfortable. 

5. Why do some kids have four pictures in the gallery and my kid only has one?

I encouraged each child to stay as long as s/he felt comfortable. If there's only one photo of your child, it's probably of the split-second window before s/he decided to blow that popsicle stand. I'm not a fan of making kids hang around until they cry. Which brings us to:

6. I don't like my kid's picture, or we missed School Picture day. What are my options?

Hey - no hard feelings. 4 days, 147 kids and 1200+ exposures - something's bound to go wonky. That's why, to make sure everyone gets a picture they like, we're having a...

RE-TAKE DAY

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH

SUNFLOWER MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING

(aka "The Brown House" on the corner of 6th & Hickory, next to Sunflower South)

Why Wednesday? Because more kids attend school that day than any other day of the week. Why at the Brown House? because we can set up our studio there without disrupting any learning spaces. If you'd like your child's photo re-taken, let me know. No questions asked. Maybe you didn't mean for your kid to be in that outfit, or there's something about his expression that makes you bonkers, or you think if you come along, you can help make her smile. Totally cool. You don't need to explain. Let me know what time works for you on that Wednesday if you'd like to attend - otherwise, we'll get it done during the school day.

7. I have two kids at Sunflower, and I'd really like it if they could be photographed together, or (and I got this question, verbatim, last year) - My child has an older sibling at another school and the school picture she took there made her look like a crazy person. Can I bring her to Sunflower instead?

The answer to both is yes. Come to re-take day on Oct 8th. Let me know what time works for you and we'll get it done. 

8. Let's talk about Photoshop.

Yes, let's! I used it to get rid of tons of dried yogurt, tears, scratches, boo-boos, lint, pimples and (Lord help me) boogers. (Note to Adobe: Please develop a de-booger function in the next Photoshop upgrade). If I somehow missed something you'd like zapped, let me know. If I accidentally zapped something that you'd like to have back (like you want to remember that boo-boo for all eternity, for example), let me know and I'll put it back. 

9. I bought a digital photo, but I don't want to order prints from the Sunflower site because I need to make a bajillion copies for Grandma. Any thoughts on where I should get them printed in town?

Yes. If you simply must print hard copies here in town, Costco has the most reliable color system. Walmart probably has the worst (some days they skew blue, some days yellow - it's a real crap shoot). I hate to send you to a competitor, but if you're going to get them printed from an online vendor, I highly recommend Mpix.com. They're higher quality than Shutterfly for about the same price.

10. Who took these pictures?

Me. Brooke Burbach, fellow Sunflower parent. I didn't roll in with a crew and a grip truck. I sat on the floor in my sweatpants and balanced blocks on my head, talked through a giraffe puppet and bawked like a chicken to try and make your kiddos smile. I love the school and I love your kids, and no part of the profit from the sale of these photos is going to me, although Correy definitely owes me a beer after she served yogurt to toddlers on school picture day. Above all, I want you to have a picture you're happy with, so if there's anything at all you need, (all together now), let me know.

-Brooke

School Directory Posted

Hello, all!

The first draft of the Sunflower Montessori 2014-2015 Student Directory has just been posted to the Current Parents page at sunflowermontessori.com.  On that page, you'll be able to click on the big orange circle at the top of the page, and be directed to the latest version of the directory pdf.

The Current Parents site is password protected - we've shared the password in the newsletter and in posters hung at each sign-in station, but if you don't have it, no worries: just e-mail us at sunflowerparents@gmail.com with the name of your currently-enrolled student, and I'll reply with the password asap.

To the best of my knowledge, I've included all of the information that's been sent my way via the website, individual e-mails, and the info cards that were available at last week's open house events. That said, with this much data entry, there's no way I didn't make a mistake somewhere, so if you see anything wrong at all with your entry, please let me know and I'll be happy to fix it.

I have only included the information that was personally given to me by other parents. While I could use school enrollment paperwork to generate a directory, I want to be sensitive to the concerns of those parents who would rather not share any information, even on a password-protected site.

We would love it if as many families as possible would participate, so if you haven't provided any info for the directory and would like to, there's still time - this will be an ever-changing document, and you can always add or update info by using that form on the Current Parents page, or just by e-mailing us, if that's easier.

Thanks, and here's hoping everyone finds this helpful!

-Brooke

Picture Days

Illness Exclusion Policy

Let's work together to keep everyone healthy!

Sunflower Montessori Illness Exclusion Policy

Children may not return to school less than 24 hours after all symptoms have subsided and, if sent home during the school day, may not return the following day.  

The decision to exclude or dismiss a child from child care will be based on the child’s signs and symptoms and/or the diagnosis of a health care professional as outlined below:

1. A child may not be dropped off within six hours of taking a fever reducing medicine such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen
2. The illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in the routine activities of the school
3. The illness results in greater care need than the childcare staff can provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children
4. Signs or symptoms of possible severe illness such as lethargy, uncontrolled coughing, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, wheezing complaints of severe pain. 
5. The child has any of the following signs or symptoms of contagious illness:
1. Fever accompanied by behavior changes, oral temperature of 101 degrees or axillary temperature of over 100 degrees or greater.
2. Vomiting: 2 or more episodes in the previous 24 hour period.
3. Diarrhea: increased number of stool, watery stools, stools with mucous or blood and/or stools that cannot be contained by a diaper or clothing and are different or more frequent than the child’s regular pattern.
4. Bacterial infections listed until treated for 24 hours with antibiotics and the child feels well enough to participate.
1. Conjunctivitis
2. Strep throat
3. Impetigo
4. Skin infections or draining burns
5. Lice or scabies until after treatment and no nits present
6. Generalized rash with fever or behavior changes or jaundiced skin color until medical evaluation determine that symptoms do not indicate communicable disease
7. Chicken pox until 6 days after onset of rash or until all sores have dried.

Readmission to child care: After an absence, the family needs to share pertinent information with the child care staff regarding the illness.  A release from the health care provider is required after a serious illness or diagnosis of a communicable disease.

Open Houses

Coming up next week: Open House events at each of our buildings. Come visit your child's classroom, meet his/her teachers, weigh in on some fun upcoming projects, and enjoy some refreshments with fellow parents. Kids are - of course - welcome. Hope to see you there!

Scenes From Splash Bash '14

What a fabulous evening. What a fantastic party.

What adorable children:

Head, shoulders, knees and keg

The lovely Miss Freya

Love it when everyone's in a different place in the same song 

Oh, good gravy.

Alexi practices her hitchhiking skills

Letting the little guy sit in

He's either REALLY feeling the music, or it's nap time. 

Maya, Amya, Laney

Go, ducks, go!

Our Trip To The Fair

Well, Miss Julia's done it again - another field trip for the record books. Today, the Sunflower South kids rode the number 7 bus to the Western Montana Fair! Ms. Jordan's brother and sister introduced the kids to their pig and sheep, and everyone got a chance to pet the animals. We took a tour through all the livestock barns, then watched some sheep judging (a real nail-biter) while we ate our picnic lunches. We watched a dog diving competition (which became WAY more fun when the kids figured out they could get splashed by a dog if they stood close enough to the tank.) The kids watched - and many participated in - a little Wild West Stage Show, where Mr. Will played the role of the dastardly Railroad Roland (boo, hiss). Then we had popsicles!

Thanks to moms Crystal, Megan, Kate and Madison for joining us on the trip. With so many teachers and volunteers, we had a 1:3 adult-to-kid ratio, which made the whole trip as pleasant as could be. And thanks to Miss Julia for dreaming the whole thing up and for counting up all 32 heads every thirty seconds. You're awesome.

Here are some highlights from the day: