Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A Message from the Principal

Dear Sunrise Drive Families,

Our third through fifth grade students will participate in standardized testing in April. Second grade students will not participate in standardized testing as in the past. Our testing schedule has been defined and is listed below:

Third Grade:
Az MERIT Writing: Wednesday, April 15
Az MERIT Reading & Math Part 1: Wednesday, April 22
Az MERIT Reading & Math Part 2: Friday, April 24

Fourth Grade:
AIMS Science: Wednesday, April 8
Az MERIT Writing: Tuesday, April 14
Az MERIT Reading & Math Part 1: Monday, April 20
Az MERIT Reading & Math Part 2: Tuesday, April 21

Fifth Grade:
Az MERIT Writing: Monday, April 13
Az MERIT Reading & Math Part 1: Monday, April 20
Az MERIT Reading & Math Part 2: Tuesday, April 21

Students have worked all year learning the CFSD curriculum and prepared for the assessment. Our teachers have kept abreast about the administration of the Az MERIT Computer Based Assessment. We thank you in advance for ensuring your child is well rested in preparation for the tests. Please ensure that your child is at school on his/her testing dates and schedule appointments on different days. Please contact me if you have questions about the new assessment.

We would like to thank the current residents who have submitted registration for the 2015-2016 school year. The completed and returned registration forms will determine staffing decisions for the next school year. If you have not returned your child’s registration, please submit the registration by early next week. The number of students enrolled determines the number of teachers assigned to teach at Sunrise Drive. Please contact our office at 209-7901 to help you with the registration process if needed.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 18 from 6:00-7:00 in the MPR for Math Night. Our Student Council members and CFHS volunteers will offer a variety of fun math games for your family to participate in. This is a wonderful culminating event for the FFO Mathathon as students work to develop their fluency skills in math!

I wish you a wonderful Rodeo Vacation!

Warm regards,

Andrea Davidson
Principal
Sunrise Drive Elementary School

Sunrise Drive Science Day and Fair: A Big Success!


CFSD Installs New Point of Service Cash Registers in Cafeterias

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday, February 25th, after lunch, the district will be installing new point of service cash registers in all of the school cafeterias.  The new point of service software is called Meal Magic. Meal Magic will interface with the InTouch student receipting software.  When funds are deposited through InTouch, they will be electronically fed to Meal Magic every day before the lunch periods begin.  There will also be an electronic feed from Meal Magic so families can view their student's lunch account balance through InTouch. 

On Tuesday morning, the interface with MyLunchMoney.com was stopped, as this system is linked to our old point of service system.  Please utilize InTouch from this point forward to deposit funds into your student's lunch account.  The link for the InTouch portal is located on the school website 
under the tab “For Parents.”

Data files were brought into Meal Magic that will accurately reflect a student's National School Lunch Program status (i.e., free, reduced or paid) and also the current account balance for each student's lunch account.  The final update will be completed today after the lunch period is over.

If you have questions now or after we go live with Meal Magic on Monday, March 2nd, please contact me and I will address any questions or issues. 

Sandra N. Thompson
Director of Finance
Catalina Foothills School District No. 16
2101 E. River Road
Tucson, AZ 85718
Phone:  520-209-7528
Fax:  520-209-7570

Friday, February 13, 2015

A Message from the Principal

Dear Sunrise Drive Families,

Student Voice is a critical part of nurturing a positive student mindset.  When students’ voices are heard, the students feel they are valuable members of the learning community.  Student Voice can be shared and heard in a variety of ways.  Student Council members value the perspectives of their peers and have created a survey to collect their peers’ voices so that they can make good decisions as they represent their peers.  The survey is being administered during lunch periods using a Google Survey format loaded on iPads.  The members circulate during the lunch period and ask their classmates to complete the survey.  The topics include recess, after school activities, lunch items, and the campus.  Student Council will share the information collected and analyzed in the upcoming months with the Sunrise Drive community.  Please attend the February 24th FFO meeting to hear the first report. 

We would like to invite you to attend our Sunrise Drive Rodeo Lunch.  Family members may join us for lunch on Wednesday, February 25 during the regularly scheduled grade level lunches. 

Kindergarten 11:30
2nd Grade 11:20
1st Grade 11:40
3rd Grade at 12:00
5th Grade at 12:10
4th Grade at 12:20

Families may purchase the lunch for $3.25.  Students enrolled at Sunrise Drive will purchase lunch for the standard daily price of $3.00.   The menu includes the following: Veggie Dog or Hot Dog, carrots, watermelon, chips and milk.  Pre-order sheets are included in this edition of the Friday Flash. Look for your student and Ms. Dover having fun as they square or line dance.  We look forward to enjoying our Rodeo Lunch with you!

We are also celebrating the Year of the Sheep!  Please join us on Friday, February 20 from 6:00-7:30 for Spring Chinese Festival.  We will have a formal presentation from 6:00-6:30.  Then, families may enjoy activities and dinner.  The activities include lantern painting, paper cutting, and Chinese name writing. If you would like to have dinner, please pre-pay in the office or using the online Parent Payment Portal on the SD website.  The cost of dinner is $6.40 with a choice of Tofu Lo Mein or Sesame Chicken and Asian Salad, Fried Rice and 2 Egg Rolls. You will need your student identification number when placing your order.  Please contact Marie Wickhorst if you need help with this information.  Once the order is placed, print the receipt and bring it to the event when picking up your order.  We look forward to a wonderful evening.  Many Sunrise Drive parents and staff have worked together to organize this event.  A special thank you is extended to our student leaders in the Chinese World Language classes at Catalina Foothills High School.  We will have 20 student volunteers supporting our event! 

The Family and Faculty Organization (FFO) supports the wonderful endeavors around campus. Our students’ field trips and artists in residency programs are completely supported by the FFO. Additional funds are provided to each classroom for special supplies. This year the following grants have been awarded: garden supplies and education, Time for Kids (2nd and 4th grades), and books for Chinese Immersion classes. On February 19, our FFO will kick off the Math-a-Thon fundraiser.  We are very excited to have our students and families thinking about math together.  Please look for information about this FFO fundraiser, which supports the rich experiences that your child benefits from at Sunrise Drive.

Our Steppers have been moving on Thursdays!  On Thursday, March 5th (11:00 to 1:00) we will have a Sunrise Steppers Celebration! This will be a running event filled with fun and surprises to recognize the students’ amazing accomplishment of running over 3,000 miles this school year.  The grade levels will participate during the lunch recess period. Please contact Valorie Colson (vcolson@yahoo.com) if you’d like to volunteer. 

Registration for residents is due on February 13th.  Registration for Kindergarten Plus is being accepted. Please complete the registration materials and return the documents to the Sunrise Drive office today. Marie Wickhorst is available to answer questions at 209-7900.  Accurate registration will result in proper staffing at Sunrise Drive.  Please submit the registration packets today!

Finally, the lost and found on campus has grown significantly! If you are on campus for one of our events, feel free to stop by the lost and found to identify and claim items that may belong to your child. Please encourage your child to visit the lost and found to pick up their personal items soon. On March 2nd, any remaining items in the lost and found will be donated to a local organization.

I wish you a wonderful weekend!  I look forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming events on campus!

Sincerely,
Andrea Davidson

Principal

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Volunteer Needs at Sunrise!


Our very committed teachers and staff spend so much time tending to the needs of our children in the classroom.  Much of what happens at Sunrise outside of the classroom is the result of the families who donate their time.  The FFO is searching for volunteers willing to lead the below activities at Sunrise for next year.  These are positions that contribute greatly to the community spirit and the classrooms at our school. Please consider donating your time and efforts to make sure we continue these traditions at our school.  Some of these activities will not happen next year if we don’t get new coordinators. 

Community Garden
Used by the classrooms as part of their science curriculum

Spiders and Ciders Co-Chair
Our biggest community event– it would be so sad to see it disappear

Book Fair Co-Chair
Major fundraiser and source of books for the classrooms

Yearbook
Your kids love it, don’t they?

School Pictures
The volunteers keep things running to minimize classroom disruption for the teachers.
They also help the students look their best.



Please contact Kirstin Girdner (kkgirdner@gmail.com) for more info or to volunteer.

Keep Sunrise Drive's Parking Lot a Safe Place


Sunrise Students Shine at Arizona Chinese New Year Festival



Sunrise Steppers Celebration- Thursday, March 5, 2015


CFSD Teacher of the Year


CFSD Golf