Important Dates:

May 6th
Teacher Appreciation Day

3rd grade music program
2:00 PM & 6:30 PM

May 11th
Mother's Day

May 13th
PAC Meeting @7:00 PM

May 23rd
Field Day

May 26th
Memorial Day
NO SCHOOL

May 27th
Talent Show
3rd/4th grades - 9:00AM
1st/2nd grades - 1:15PM

May 28th
Kindergarten Graduation

May 30th
PAWS reward
Last day of school

Important Dates:

March 5th
Class Pictures

March 9th
Daylight Savings - turn your clocks forward 1 hour

March 11-13
Writing CSAP - 3rd & 4th grades

March 17-21
Spring Break - No School

March 25-27
Reading/Writing CSAP - 4th grade

April 1-3
Math CSAP
3rd & 4th grades

Class Pictures will be on Wednesday, March 5th from about 8:00-10:00 am. Individual pictures are also available to purchase if you would like them.

CSAP - Our 3rd & 4th graders will be taking the wriing CSAP on March 11-13, the 4th graders will be taking the reading/writing CSAP on March 25-27. The math CSAP for 3rd & 4th grades will be on April 1-3.

PAWS goal update
The students reached their goal of 10,000 PAWS tickets and got an Ice Cream Social on Friday, February 29th. Way to go, Sunset!! Our 3rd trimester goal is to earn 15,000 PAWS tickets by the end of the school year. If the students reach that goal, there will be a reward that has something to do with water.

Choir Performances

No School - March 17 - 21 Enjoy your spring break

Important Dates:

PAC Meeting
Feb. 12 - 7:00 pm

Valentine's Day
Feb. 14

NO SCHOOL
Feb. 15
School Break

NO SCHOOL
Feb. 18
President's Day

NO SCHOOL
Feb. 22
Teacher Inservice/Workday
2nd Trimester Ends

Report cards go home
Feb 25

Parent/Teacher Conferences
Feb. 26 & 28
3:30 pm - 7:00 pm

NO SCHOOL
Kindergarten Only
Feb. 29th
for Parent/Teacher Conferences

MCSD Construction News
Proposed Calenar Changes for Next Year - The school district is considering modifying the school calendar for the next two years. In order to maximize construction time and complete construction on schedule, we want to extend the summer vacation time for students. The proposed calendar would consist of starting the school year after Labor Day, and adding 25 minutes to the school day to make up the time. The board concurred with the presented calendar at the January School Board meeting: adding time to the day vs. taking out vacation days. They will make a final decision at the February Board Meeting. Any input is welcome.

Nobody Moves Next Year - The decision has been made that we will leave all school configurations as they currently exist - no changes until the 2009-2010 school year. So, Sunset will be K-4th next year and pre-k - 5th the following year. Next year, CMS students will be housed on the CMS campus. Exactly how, has not yet been determined.

Physical Education - Student Teacher
Hello!!!
I would like to introduce myself to the parents of the students attending Sunset Elementary School! My name is Sara Schneider. I am currently student teaching with Mrs. Nicholson in Physcial Education. I will be at Sunset Elementary for 8 weeks before I move onto the Craig Middle School. I have spent the last 4 years at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. I majored in K-12 Physical Education, Health and Coaching. I also ran college track for 4 years! I am very excited to be living in Craig, Colorado. I grew up in Baggs, Wyoming and am excited to be back in the area. I enjoy working with kids of all ages, expecially when I get to involve aports, games, dance and other activities. I would like to thank all the parents for letting me spend 8 weeks with your children. The students have really been a joy to work with! Fee free to contact me if you have any other questions!
Sincerely,
Ms. Sara Schneider
saschn@csd.edu

Important Dates:

PAC Meeting
Jan. 8th - 6:30 pm

NO SCHOOL
Teacher Inservice
Jan. 21st

Jan. 22nd- Feb. 21st
After School Enrichment Programs.

Counselor Corner
Our school will soon be using Talking about Touching: A Personal Safety Curriculum for Kindergarten through 4th grades. This program teaches children skills that can help keep them safe in dangerous or abusive situations. Children will also learn to ask for help when they need it.

The program is divided into three units and is taught by the school counselor in weekly 25-minute sessions.

• Personal Safety.
• Touching Safety
• Assertiveness and Support

If you have any questions, please call me at 824-5762.
Thank you,
Anne Eakins
Sunset School Counselor

Mittens and Gloves Needed
Does your child have any mittens or gloves that they've outgrown? Please consider donating them to our school health office. We have many children that come in from recess asking to borrow some.

Winter Weather
Students will play outside during the winter months if the weather is 10 degrees or above, including wind chill.   Please have children dress for colder weather: coats, hats, mittens, boots, and snow pants as necessary.   Putting children's names on all clothing articles will help get lost items back to them.   If clothing is lost, it will be placed on the Lost and Found rack located in the main entry.   Please check this as you visit the school--we are accumulating quite a collection!   Also, with the colder weather it is important that your child not arrive at school earlier than 7:45 AM when supervision of the children is available.

Cough Drop Medications
With cold and cough season upon us, we would like to review the guidelines for cough medications.
We are unable to administer cough drops at the elementary level because they can pose a choking hazard for children at this age.
We can, however, allow children to use cough syrup or the new dissolvable strips when a parent signs a medication permission form from the health office. The over-the-counter cough syrup or strips would need to be provided with proper dosage information from the label. If you have any questions, please call Laurie in the Health Office.

Important Dates:

PAC Meeting
Dec. 11th @ 6:30 PM

4th Grade Music Program
Dec. 12th - 1:45 PM
Dec. 13th - 6:30 PM

NO SCHOOL
Christmas Break
Dec. 24th - Jan. 4th
School resume Jan. 7th

NO SCHOOL
Jan. 21st - Teacher
In-service.

Counselor Corner
In January, all Sunset classes will begin using the Talking About Touching: Personal Safety Curriculum.   This program teaches children skills that will help them keep safe from dangerous or abusive situations.   Children will also learn how to ask for help when they need it.    If you would like to view the curriculum or have questions please contact Anne Eakins at 824-5762.

Winter Weather
Students will play outside during the winter months if the weather is 10 degrees or above, including wind chill.   Please have children dress for colder weather: coats, hats, mittens, boots, and snow pants as necessary.   Putting children's names on all clothing articles will help get lost items back to them.   If clothing is lost, it will be placed on the Lost and Found rack located in the main entry.   Please check this as you visit the school--we are accumulating quite a collection!   Also, with the colder weather it is important that your child not arrive at school earlier than 7:45 AM when supervision of the children is available.

Holiday Shopping can actually help earn money for school
Do you shop online?   If so, you can help the school without spending any extra money!   Go to www.boxtops4education.com and click on the sign-up now button.   Follow the sign-up procedure and select Sunset Elementary School as the recipient of your purchase donations.   Once you have logged in, click on the Marketplace tab for a list of   online stores that participate in the Boxtops for Education program.   If you are shopping at one of the many participating stores, you need only to log-in and access them through the Boxtops for Education website to earn donations to the school for your purchases.   Your cost and transaction will be exactly the same as if you had gone directly to the merchant's website, but by accessing through the Boxtop site, you have authorized the company to make a donation to the school for your purchase.   If you have any questions, be sure to stop by the Sunset office for help.   Thank you!

News from Physical Education
The Sunset Swim Program is moving along very well. We are fortunate to have six volunteers teaching lessons this year; they are Kris Bye, Sylvia Griffiths, Anita Reynolds, Colleen Snow, Janice Stover, and Steve Tegtman. If you have a chance, please thank these volunteers.   We are fortunate to also have numerous parents working the locker room, walking the swim deck, and substituting for swim volunteers. This swim program is successful due to all of the volunteers helping out.   Thank you to all who have made this program a success this year.

Two students were inadvertently left off of the Fitness Awards list last month.   Ed Smercina received the Presidential Fitness Award and David Fox received the National Fitness Award.   Congratulations to these two Sunset students.

The MCHS Pool is open during the winter.

Pool hours:    Lap Swim - 5:30-6:30 pm Mon-Thurs, 12:00-1:00 pm on Saturday
                        Open Swim - 6:30-8:15 pm Mon-Thurs, 1:00-4:00 pm on Saturday

Important Dates:

2nd grade music program
Nov 5th - 1:30 PM & Nov 6th - 6:30 PM

Daylight Savings-Nov. 4th

Election Day
Nov. 6th - Don't forget to Vote!

Frog Day
Nov. 8th

NO SCHOOL
Nov. 9th
Teacher Workday

Book Fair
Nov. 12th - 16th

P/T Conferences
Nov. 13th & 15th
3:30-7:30 pm

NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten
Nov. 13th due to P/T conferences

PAC Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 13th @6:30 PM

NO SCHOOL
Thankskgiving Break
Nov. 21st - 23rd

Frog Day November 8th Sunset students met their PAWS goal of 3000 PAWS tickets, so we will be having a Frog Day with Frog activities. We will also watch Mr. Allen kiss a frog. Parents are welcome to come and watch @ 2:30 pm

EVERYONE'S INVITED: BOOK FAIR November 12th - 16th. Open late on Tuesday & Thursday during conferences.

Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for the evenings of Nov. 13th and Nov. 15th. Notifications will be going home by Nov. 9th.
NOTE: There will be NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten on Nov. 13th due to parent/teacher conferences.

BoxTops Kudos to Mrs. Jones' class for bringing in $25.40 in BoxTops for the month of October. Mrs. Arnett's class is still in the lead with $31.40 in BoxTops sor far this year. *When cutting out the coupons, please don't cut off the expiration date.

Swimming is November 26 - December 7
Parents can help by making sure their first grade student can get dressed and put their shoes on independently. Thank you to those who have signed up to help with the program. Mrs. Nicholson will be calling volunteers soon.

Winter Gear/Snow Gear
As it gets colder, please remember to send coats, hats, and gloves with your child to school. The weather in Colorado can change drastically in a short period of time, so please send your children to school prepared.

Wanted: Used children's books
The Sagebrush Reading Council is collecting used children's books for their Books in Offices project. If you have any that you no longer use, please bring them in to our Book Fair. There will be a box located in the library the week of our Book Fair .

A Note about Cough Drops
Cough drops cannot be administered at school because they can pose a choking hazard.
If cough medication is needed while at school, there are dissolvable strips and cough syrups that can be given with a medication permission form that has been signed by a parent. For prescription medication, we need the parent's signature as well as the prescribing physician's signature on the medication permission form.

The President's Challenge Awards Program
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the President's Challenge Awards Program this year in Physical Education. Sunset had two students who received the President's Challenge Award and they are: Emma Samuelson and Katia Voloshin. We had 26 students receive the National Fitness Award and they are: Makaylah Hampton, Dajia Lewis, Miguel-Ricardo Castro, Dylan Kincade, Kayanna Klimper, Josie Timmer, Savannah Ahlmer, Reilley Gumber, Marisa Hulstine, Austin Magnuson, Tyler Pickering, Angela Quezada, Tatam Hickman, Keenan Hildebrandt, Taylor Johnson, Edward Smercina III, Jeb Gowdy, John-T Peroulis, Holly Wille, Cole Hoth, Morgan Lawton, Brittany White, Allie Dilldine, Eduardo Guevara, Issik Herod, and Andrea Maneotis.

Stay Fit and Enjoy LIfe. Seven days without exercise makes one week.

Important Dates:

Fall Break - No School
Oct 4th & 5th

No School
Teacher Inservice
Oct. 8th

PAC Meeting
Tues., Oct 9th @ 6:30 pm

2nd grade music program
Nov 5th & 6th

Book Fair
Nov. 12th - 16th

P/T Conferences
Nov. 13th & 15th
3:30-7:30 pm

No School for Kindergarten
Nov. 13th due to P/T conferences

Safeway Club Card Holders Please respond!! 10% back to school donation Super easy way to help out our Elementary School, NO money from your pocket. On the bottom of your Safeway receipt is a redemption code, just email or send that to me and I will do the rest -   OR if you can't find that code, please send or call your Safeway card number in. We need to enter all codes by October 13, after that the codes are worthless. Thank you for your support

Bus Zone Please stay out of the bus zone from 7:30 - 8:00 AM  and 2:45 - 3:15 PM. For student safety, we cannot allow any vehicles in this area during these times.

Box Tops Our Classroom Competition is moving right along.   This month we've collected $87.40 from BoxTop Coupons that were collected in the classrooms.   Mrs. Arnett's class is in the lead with $19.50.   Whichever classroom collects the most                                  BoxTops at the end of the year will win a Pizza Party.   Keep up the great work! *When cutting out the coupons, please don't cut off the  expiration code.

SAPP Pancake Breakfast Tickets
3rd and 4th grade students will have the opportunity to sell Substance Abuse Prevention Program (SAPP) pancake breakfast tickets. Ticket sales will run from October 17th through November 1st. Prizes fro the top sellers will be a laptop, bicycles, and I-Pods. Tickets can be used either November 3rd or November 10th from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, and either orange juice or coffee.

Red Ribbon Week
October 21st - 27th
Red Ribbon Activities: Students will be taugh about safety and the dangers of school resource officers and Grand Futures staff will be here to present drug abuse prevention materials. They will meet with 2nd and 3rd grade classes for 25 minutes for four weeks. Mrs. Eakins will be presenting to 1st and 4th grade students. If you would like to review the materials or get more information regarding this learning experience contact Anne Eakins at 824-5762.

Halloween Activities Wednesday, October 31st . Students wishing to dress-up for Halloween may change into their costumes after lunch.   Please no makeup.   Kindergartners will come to school dressed for their party.   Morning kindergartners will parade through classes during the morning session.   Afternoon kindergartners and students in grades 1 st - 4 th will be in an "all school" costume parade, beginning at 1:35pm.   Children will pass through the cafeteria, which will be an excellent place for visitors to view the students in costume.   Classroom parties will follow.  •  No Weapons •  No blood or gore •  Emphasis on Fun not fright!

Parent/Teacher Conferences
Conference are scheduled for the evening of Nov. 13th and Nov. 15th. Sign ub sheets will be going home soon.
Note: There will be NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten on Nov. 13th due to parent/teacher conferences.

Book Fair
The Book Fair will run from Nov. 12th - 16th. The fair will be open during confences.

4th Grade Choir
Fourth grade choir has started to meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. Fourth grade students are welcome to join anytime.

2nd grade Music Program
The 2nd graders will be performing "Follow the North Star Home", on Nov. 5th at 1:00 pm and again on Nov. 6th at 6:30 pm. In this delightful musical, snow people go south for the winter but are rescued by the children who love them.