Weekly Bulletin

School Begins Tuesday, August 25th

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:

Pledge Packet

What's Happened over the Summer

SBAC Assessment Results Arriving Soon

SB277 Information

Work Parties at Both Campuses

School Calendar and Calendar of Events

School Start and End Times and Pick up Windows

Cell Phone Reminder

Dress Code Policy

Community Events

Classified

Lost and Found Reminder

Calendar

Saturdays, August 15th & 22nd: Work Parties to prepare the campuses

August 15th & 22nd: Country Campus: 9am-12pm

August 22nd: Town Campus: 9am-2pm

Tuesday, August 25th: First Day of New School Year

*Kindergarten Orientation (Detailed information available through the teachers)

*All days during the first week (Tuesday-Friday) are early release days for the Grades

August 19th, 6pm-9pm:

Charter Council Meeting

Monday, September 7th:

School Closed for Labor Day Holiday

Pledge Packet

By now you may have received your pledge packet for the new school year. Please take some time to fill out the Pledge Commitment Form as well as the Parent Participation Form and mail them both back to us with the enclosed pre-stamped envelope by August 31st. Every family's contribution, no matter the amount, is crucial in maintaining SunRidge's quality Waldorf Education.

What's Happened over the Summer
We are pleased to report that a lot of improvements have been made to the town campus over the summer. For example:

A RESIG's playground safety check was completed and many improvements were made.
Classroom improvements, including HVAC upgrade and replacement of all fluorescent bulbs with LED lighting. With these changes, we expect to save $11,000 annually.
Dolly Oberti has built new wooden desks for the 6th grade, to accommodate our increased middle school student body.
Painting of classroom buildings' exterior window frames and green ventilation panels has been completed.
Repaving of asphalt and repainting of curbs, parking spaces and playground markings is in progress.
Creation of a retaining wall and hillside path along the culvert above the playground is in progress.

SBAC Assessment Results Arriving Soon

California recently adopted new standards, known as the Common Core, and has been creating new professional development for teachers, new instructional resources, and new state accountability measures. California updated its standards and built matching assessments to shift the focus of student learning towards the complex skills today's colleges and careers require. As a Waldorf Charter School, SunRidge faculty creatively incorporates these standards into Waldorf Education's child centered pedagogy.
Last Spring, students in grades 3-8 took part in California's new statewide assessments in English language arts and mathematics. Student scores are expected to be mailed to families and available to school staff members later this month. It is important to understand that our 2015 results cannot be compared to the previous STAR test results. The scores establish a new baseline reflecting performance on a new test measuring different standards. More information will be made available as faculty and staff analyze the results of last spring's assessment and plan for supporting student progress and achievement.

SB277 Information
The link below is a great resource regarding SB277 legislation requirements beginning January 1, 2016:
http://www.shotsforschool.org/laws/sb277faq/

Work Parties at Both Campuses
Please help! Many hands make lighter work! Bring gloves, shovels, wheelbarrows, pruners and other tools.

On two Saturdays, August 15th and 22nd the kindergarten will have work parties at the country campus from 9am-12pm. There are many things needing attention at the country campus in addition to the kindergartens, so if you can help there with weeding, pruning and general clean up, please do.

The town campus will have a work party on Saturday, August 22nd from 9am-2pm. At our town site there are a variety of tasks both in classrooms and outside. There will be a whiteboard near the office entrance with a list of jobs that can be done, or check with your child(ren)’s teacher for what s/he might need.

School Calendar and Calendar of Events
A link to our school calendar for this year is attached. Please print it and keep handy for reference, noting holidays and breaks so you can plan accordingly. You can find it here: http://www.sunridgeschool.org/quick-reference-information.html

School Start and End Times and Pick-up Location

Please remember how important it is to get your child to school before the bell rings at 8:25 for the grades, and by 8:40 for kindergarten. Getting back into a good rhythm of bedtimes and rising times helps support your child to more easily integrate back into his or her school schedule. Here is the schedule:

	School Starts	Pick-up Window*
Kindergarten everyday (after the first day)	8:40am	12:40-12:50

1st Grade Regular Day	8:25am	2:15 – 2:25pm

2nd Grade Regular Day	8:25am	2:30 – 2:40pm
3rd Grade Regular Day	8:25am	2:30 – 2:40pm

4th–8th Grade Regular Day	8:25am	3:05 – 3:15pm


1st – 3rd Early Release Day	8:25am	12:50 – 1:00pm
4th – 8th Early Release Day	8:25am	1:00 – 1:15pm

*Pick-up Window begins at dismissal time

At the town campus we will be starting school on the same day as REACH. Though REACH begins at 8:45am, please plan your arrival accordingly and follow these guidelines: Students may be dropped off in the morning at either the front drop-off area or the back drop-off area no earlier than 8am. All students on the town campus are picked up at the yellow loading zone at the rear entrance of the school. You may also park in the back parking lot if you wish to escort your child to or from your vehicle. Please leave the front parking lot spaces for K-1st REACH parents who must walk their young children to their classrooms at the front of the campus. Do not park in the yellow-marked loading zones in either the front or back!

Cell Phone Reminder

SunRidge has a no-cell-phones-with-students-during-the-school-day policy. Please have them leave cell phones at home unless they really need one for important after school communication. Students with cell phones need to drop them off in the school office in the morning and can pick them up after school is out. Our students have been very responsible in following this rule and it works smoothly. We also ask that parents refrain from using their cell phones in any school building or area when students are present. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Classified and Community Events

At the end of every week's bulletin, a section titled Community Events will appear containing happenings in the community that may be of interest to SunRidge families. The Classified section will follow containing not-for-profit ads regarding housing, items for sale and other community needs. Please email your requests for these sections to Erin in the SunRidge office egreen@twinhillsusd.org for review and possible placement in future bulletins. Requests should be submitted no later than the end of the day on Monday every week.

CLASSIFIED
(We can list rentals, parents selling used items, free items, lost and found, or trades. With the exception of private, after-school care available for SunRidge students, we do not list for-profit business ads)

We are looking for a creative, responsible, sensitive person to be with our daughters (ages 11 and 8) on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons. Responsibilities include picking the girls up from school, playing with them, taking the occasional trip to the library or park, helping with homework, and very minor dinner prep. The approx. hours are 2 PM-5 PM (Thursdays will sometimes be 1-5) with periodic increased hours on random school holidays or late work nights. Previous experience with references, a reliable (safe) car with a clean DMV record, and an excellent reading voice are musts. We are located in downtown Sebastopol. $15 an hour. Starting August 17th.

Please label your child's clothing with their last name and

check the Lost and Found frequently.