LUNCH MENU

THIS WEEK'S LUNCH MENU (Oct 29-Nov2)

MONDAY - Chicken & Quinoa Soup w/ Biscuits & Peas
TUESDAY - Vegetarian Pizza, Carrots
WEDNESDAY - Chili, Corn & Tortilla Chips
THURSDAY - Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Salad
FRIDAY - Stuffed Cabbage, Homemade Bread & Peas.

Projects Update

Fellow parents:

I (Brooke) have been on vacation for the past week; sorry for the lapse in posting. Here are a few items of note - 

1) SCHOOL PHOTOS were a big success last week. Brooke Barnett, the photographer, is editing them now and will turn the files over to Katie to forward to parents. If your child was photographed, you can expect your digital file sometime this weekend, Monday latest. 

2) FAMILY DIRECTORY - We're still collecting family info, but have only heard from about 20% of families. If you want to be included, please let us know by sending us as much of the following info as you're comfortable contributing:

CHILD'S NAME & AGE:

CHILD'S BIRTHDAY:

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS: (Mom, Dad, Siblings)

ADDRESS:

PHONE NUMBER:

E-MAIL:

3) MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - Melodie is still looking for volunteers to write items for the newsletter. If yu're interested, e-mail Melodie.

Halloween Party Info

SUNFLOWER HALLOWEEN PARTY*

Wednesday, Oct 31st, 6:00p - 7:00p

Games! Prizes! Food!

Elementary building: 626 s 6th st W

* Please save your child's costume for the party, vs. dressing him/her in it for the school day; 

a class full of monster/princess/dragon/firemen/rockstars is (reportedly) mayhem. 

Winter Wear

Now that winter's setting in, the staff at Sunflower recommends providing the following cold weather gear for your kid(s):

Warm coat
Waterproof gloves (cotton/knit ones tend to get wet during snow play)
A scarf & hat
Winter boots
Extra socks (in case they get wet)
A pair of slippers to wear indoors
Snow pants (you can leave the same pair at school to be put on over normal pants).

As always, label everything!

Oct 15th Association Meeting - Minutes

Agenda:

*Introduction to Parents' Association Mission and Projects

*Request for specific help/volunteers for Newsletter

*Open Floor for questions, comments

*Minestrone Soup and Baguette!

Minutes

*Introduction to Parents' Association Mission and Projects

Melodie Stenger clarified that the role of the Parents' Association is twofold:

1) To create a sense of community amongst the parents of Sunflower children, and 

2) To support the school as it pursues its mission.

The biggest obstacle to accomplishing both things is a lack of communication between the school and the parents and between the parents themselves.  Therefore, the current tasks of the Parents' Association are completely focused on surmounting this obstacle.

The Parents' Association is working to: 

• make Facebook and up-to-date and consistent source of information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunflower-Montessori-School/104267582941472 
• create a reliable monthly newsletter full of news about the school
• compile a directory of all Sunflower families to better encourage parent-to-parent communication  (if you did not get an email about this, please write to sunflowerparents@gmail.com)
• see what it can do to support a more informative Sunflower website 
• maintain a Sunflower Parents blog and e-mail address 

*Request for help with Newsletter

Melodie is asking for parents to sign up to serve as writers for the Newsletter.  A volunteering parent would be responsible for one of the following topics, below, and would write up a 2 to 3 paragraph article on that topic each month according to the schedule which is also below.  As of October 17th, more volunteers are still needed.

The Newsletter would also benefit from having a volunteer serve as the Sunflower Photo Historian.  This person would be responsible for archiving photos of Sunflower's community at a secure location (probably not facebook) that could store them at a high resolution, and then helping to select photos to round out the newsletter each month.  Attention would have to be paid to any children in photos whose families do not want their children's photos used.  This could be done in joint effort with Katie or Correy.

Monthly Schedule:

1st: Topic Assignments go out

15th: Articles due to me

20th: Draft given to Katie for review and printing

1st: Newsletter published in hardcopy and on blog

Meet-A-Teacher: Create a simple "interview questionnaire" to give to a different teacher each month.  Write up the results in article form.  Part of this is to ask that teacher for their favorite Montessori activity for families to do at home.

Meet-A-Family: Similar to the above.

Wish List: Work with Katie and Correy to consolidate a wish list and keep it up to date each month, perhaps including thank-you's to the folks who have provided requested items from the previous month's list.

Feature Topic (changes monthly)

Special Topic (changes monthly)

This Month At School (Curriculum Update): Work with Correy to create an article highlighting the themes and topics in the classrooms that month, complete with sample questions parents might ask their kids upon being picked up.

Hygiene (Correy has requested we focus on a specific practical life hygiene issue each month)

Parents' Association Update: Brief blurb

Reminders: Bulletted List of reminders

Calendar: um, a calendar of special events in the next two months

Montessori Holidays (ways to celebrate the holidays, Montessori style)

The Home Environment (ways to make your home a Montessori home)

Please write to sunflowerparents@gmail.com if you are interested in helping- specify which topics you are most interested in if you wish to write, and whether you would mind doing more than one article each month.

*Open Floor for Comments

Concerns were raised about the following:

• What a scrip account is at the GFS and how to begin using one.  Simply go to the custormer service desk at the GFS and ask to set up an account benefiting Sunflower.  It works much like a debit account.  You put a chunk of money in (any amount) and then use your account number when you go through the check-out.  A portion of the funds you spent on your purchase goes to the school.  When your account runs out, you add more.  It's helpful to the school, and a good way to keep your GFS spending in a set budget!
• Whether the menu could be made more accessible.  There are currently copies of the month's menu at the front door of Sunflower School.  We also hope to keep the weekly schedule on the blog, and the daily menu on Facebook each morning.  We had a parent volunteer to take the monthly schedule and turn it into a PDF so it can be put online. Stay tuned.

The next meeting has not been set yet.

LUNCH MENU

THIS WEEK'S LUNCH MENU (Oct 15-19)

MONDAY - Shepherd's Pie & Corn Bread
TUESDAY - Chicken Enchiladas w/ Chips & Cheese
WEDNESDAY - Chicken Fajita Casserole w/ Quinoa

OCTOBER: Upcoming Events & Important Dates

Oct 15th, 5:30p - Parents' Association Meeting at Sunflower. 

Children are welcome to attend, and a small dinner will be provided. 

Oct 18 & 19 - SCHOOL CLOSED for Teacher Training

Oct 22 - Open House - Come see the new basement!

Oct 23 & 24th, 10:30a - 12:30p  - School Photo Days.

Flyer posted below with further info.

Oct 31, 6:00p - Halloween Party 

Sunflower Family Directory

We attempted to e-mail every parent about our plan to put together a new directory of Sunflower families, but in case you didn't receive it, we'll re-post that e-mail here:

Hello, Sunflower Parents!

The newly-formed Sunflower Parents' Association is excited about the new school year, and looking forward to some fun projects. At our first meeting, we discussed the need for a Student & Family Directory, which could help parents compile birthday invitation lists, schedule play dates, etc. We would love to include every family, and want to assure you that the information you choose to provide will ONLY be used for this directory, which will then be made available ONLY to fellow Sunflower families.

If you'd like your family to be included, please respond to this e-mail with the following information (or as much of it as you feel comfortable sharing), and attach a family photo.

CHILD'S NAME & AGE:

CHILD'S BIRTHDAY:

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS: (Mom, Dad, Siblings)

ADDRESS:

PHONE NUMBER:

E-MAIL:

If you'd prefer not to participate, feel free to let us know that as well. We'll be sure not to e-mail you further about this project. 

Our goal as an association is to support the school and keep all families informed and involved; please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. 

Thanks!

-Sunflower Parents' Association-

School Photos!

Welcome!

The school's dry erase board is taking to the internet!

Hello, Sunflower Parents - 

We're hoping this blog will be a great resource for parents, combining the information found on Sunflower's website with the more day-to-day announcements currently posted on the school's facebook page. 

We'll be figuring this out as we go, and we look forward to input from our fellow parents. Feel free to e-mail us!

Here's to a happy and successful school year!

-Sunflower Parents' Association.