The Sunnyside Scoop

Sunnyside Office: (651) 385 - 4570

Kids Junction: (651) 385 - 4587

First Student (General busing questions): (651) 388 - 8244

Transportation (Bus routing): (651) 385 - 4795

Email: mjpagel@rwps.org
Website: http://redwing.k12.mn.us/sunnyside/
Location: 1669 Southwood Avenue, Red Wing, MN, United States
Phone: (651) 385-4570

Happy May! It's hard to believe we're closing in on the end of the school year as quickly as we are! This month's newsletter is chock full of end of the year items, so read carefully.

I just want to take a moment in this final Sunnyside Scoop of the school year to thank you all for another amazing year as Principal here at Sunnyside. There is something truly awesome about this place. I'm blessed with a staff who works tirelessly and cares deeply, families who pitch in to help and support their learners, and students who come to school excited to learn and grow. I couldn't ask for more than that, and I thank you all for another wonderful year here at Sunnyside!

Mike Pagel

Principal

May:

4 -- 1st Grade Field Trip to Carpenter Nature Center (Plein & Teschendorf)

5 -- 1st Grade Field Trip to Carpenter Nature Center (Friedrich & Larsen)

6 -- Kindergarten Town Tour Field Trip (Johnson, Marklevits, Plonsky)

7 -- Kindergarten Town Tour Field Trip (Kelly, McDonnell, Prigge, Richardson)

8 -- 1st Grade Tours Burnside

11 -- 1st Grade Field Trip to Carpenter Nature Center (Pearson & Swanson)

12 -- Adaptive Field Day

14 -- Field Day

18 -- RWHS Senior Walkthrough

18 -- Sunnyside Spring Dental Clinic

19 -- 1s Grade Downtown Tour Field Trip

22 -- NO SCHOOL

25 -- NO SCHOOL

26 -- Kindergarten Farm Field Trip (Kelly & Prigge)

27 -- Kindergarten Farm Field Trip (Johnson, McDonnell, Plonsky)

28 -- Kindergarten Farm Field Trip (Marklevits & Richardson)

June:

1 -- Kindergarten Hok-Si-La Trip (Johnson, Marklevits, Plonsky)

2 -- Kindergarten Hok-Si-La Trip (Kelly, McDonnell, Prigge, Richardson)

4 -- All-School Picnic (during regular lunch blocks)

4 -- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Families, please join us on the last day of school, Thursday, June 4th, for our all-school picnic! Families are welcome to have lunch with their children during their regular classroom lunch time. You may bring a lunch or purchase one from school beforehand for $5.00. If you plan to eat school lunch, please purchase your lunch ticket from the Sunnyside office with exact change or a check payable to ISD #256 by no later than May 15th so the kitchen can plan accordingly. If you plan to pick up fast food for you and/or your child, please plan for potentially long lines in local drive-thrus.

Assuming the weather is nice, the picnic will take place on the back playground area, and there will be signs posted to help you find your child's classroom spot. In the case of inclement weather, we will move the picnic inside to classrooms and hallways. It's a little tighter that way, but we can make it work!

Sunnyside's PE teacher, Mr. Johnson, will hold field day at Sunnyside on Thursday, May 14th, with a rain makeup date of Friday, May 15th, if needed. Students will participate in a variety of fun events outside, with first grade's field day taking place from 8:10 - 10:40 and 1kindergarten's from 12:00 - 2:00. Please be sure your child is dressed to be outside for a good chunk of the day, and be sure to send a water bottle if your child doesn't already have one at school. Please connect with your child's teacher if you have questions about the schedule. Parents are welcome to come watch, but just be aware that students will be rotating to different locations and you will likely need to move several times.

As we move closer to the end of the 2025 - 2026 school year, there are several things families need to know:

• Report Cards -- Report cards will be mailed home to families by the end of the week following the end of the school year.
  
  
• Supply Lists -- A list of supplies needed for the 2026 - 2027 school year will be posted on the Sunnyside & Burnside webpages in June. Local retailers will also make lists available closer to the middle of summer.
  
  
• Medications -- If you expect that your child will have medicine remaining at school, we ask that a parent pick them up at the Nurse’s Office on or before the last day of school. (We cannot send meds home with the student, and ask your cooperation in this matter.) Meds will be discarded if not picked up. This includes prescription and over-the-counter meds, as well as Epi-pens. If you expect your child to return to school on a prescribed medication in the fall, please remember to request a medication permission form signed by your doctor giving the school authorization to administer the medication. Also, an updated medical statement is required at the beginning of every school year regarding students with food allergies. Please have this signed medical statement along with updated emergency medications to your school nurse before school begins next fall.

• Lost & Found -- Please stop by Sunnyside and check out our lost and found table. We have lots of clothing items that will be donated after the last day of school!

I know, I know... summer's not even here yet, and I'm posting about next school year already?! Each year, there are a few questions we inevitably get calls about during the summer, so I figured I'd answer some of them here:

When will I find out my child's teacher?

Classroom placement letters will be mailed out for all elementary grades by mid-August. We tend to continue receiving numerous registrations throughout the summer, so we wait until the bulk of registrations and transfers have happened before finalizing class lists.

When will I hear about busing?

Transportation information is not mailed out by First Student until a week or two before school starts. These go out this late primarily to avoid the need to change routes due to summer enrollments.

When is Open House?

Sunnyside and Burnside will hold back-to-school open houses the week before school begins from 11:00 - 7:00 on Wednesday, August 26th. More specific details will be sent with your child's class placement letter in August. This time will be a chance to meet your child's teacher, drop off supplies, chat about your child's needs, and tour the building. You will also have the ability to make a lunch account payment, pick up a copy of the Sunnyside school handbook, and ask any other questions you may have.

When does school actually start?

For all 1st - 12th grade students, the 2026 - 2027 school year will begin on Tuesday, September 1. Kindergarten will once again have two transition days to begin the year. Half of our incoming kindergarten students will have their transition day on Tuesday, 9/1 (with no school on 9/2), and the other half will start on 9/2 (with no school on 9/1). This is done to ease student anxiety and allow the teacher to provide more individualized attention on that important first day of school. All kindergarten students will then begin attending together beginning on Thursday, September 3. Each child's transition day will be communicated via the placement letter mailed out in August.

Red Wing's CARE Clinic is offering dental care to qualified uninsured or publicly insured students at Sunnyside on May 18th! CARE Clinic serves uninsured patients and Minnesota Health Care Program enrollees (Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, incl., South Country Health Alliance, and Blue Plus). Please see the flier below for more information (in English & Spanish), and click HERE to complete the online student consent form if you are interested.

Each year, we take steps to thoughtfully place elementary students into classrooms for the following fall. The goal is to create balanced classes with all types of learners. This strategic placing of students creates the best opportunity for a positive learning experience.

Parent input is one of the many important components to effective class placement. The parent input process is not intended to offer the opportunity to request a specific teacher, but rather an opportunity to express perspective on unique needs of individual children. Any request to be placed with a specific teacher will be disregarded, and consideration will focus instead on the student need identified.

If you would like to provide information about the type of teacher who might be a good fit for your child, special considerations to be aware of, or other general input, please stop by the Sunnyside office between the hours of 7:00 am - 3:15 pm to complete a Parent Input Form. I have also linked the form HERE if you would like to print and complete it at home before turning it in. We ask that you complete this form rather than emailing or telling your child's teacher or Mr. Pagel, as this way we can ensure all input is collected in one place and less likely to get forgotten or overlooked when it is time to place students. All parent input forms need to be completed by May 21, 2026.

Recently, Sunnyside celebrated students' hard work through the month of April with a couple fun events.

On Friday, May 1, Sunnyside held its April Winger Pride assembly. During that assembly, we announced the names of our Students of the Month. Students of the Month are referred by any Sunnyside staff, and are students that regularly show Winger Pride by working hard, helping others, showing exceptional growth, or any number of other great things. April's Students of the Month were:

• Ashley Parra Dominguez
• Addison Prall
• Beckham Johnson
• Charlotte Mamy
• Evelynn DeWolf
• Oliver Probst
• Reena Hartfiel
• Trinity Davis
• Jonah Einberger-Fields
• Matthew Korsten
• Tyreese Ewing
• James Hughes
• Khalia White
• Regan Peters
• Etta Glover
• Rylee Wright
• Juliette Safe
• Phoenix Childs-Einberger
• Bristol Warwick

In our morning announcements on Monday, May 4, we announced the winners of April's Winger Pride drawing. Winners are pulled from the buckets full of Winger Pride tickets in the front lobby display case. Every time a student receives a Winger Pride ticket, part of that ticket is torn off and entered into the monthly drawing. Winners then have the opportunity to select from a menu of fun prize options! April's Winger Pride ticket drawing winners were:

• Forrest Alle-Northey
• Penelope Faulk
• Willow Foster
• Harrison Stallard
• Nizhoo Bailey
• Eleanor Good
• Iyla Solis
• Bryce Wentlandt

Congratulations to everybody!

Spread the word! Now’s the time to start thinking about registering your child for kindergarten! Registration for the 2026 - 2027 school year kicked off with a fun-filled Kindergarten Registration Night on February 12th. If you missed the session, don't worry! Enrollment forms are now available in print at the District Office, Colvill Family Center, and Sunnyside School. Forms may be returned to any of the locations listed above. We encourage you to register early, as this helps us determine staffing needs and get class placement information out earlier!

Please click the links below to view Sunnyside's breakfast and lunch menus for the month of April.

Sunnyside needs volunteers for various school-level events throughout the year. CLICK HERE to complete our volunteer interest form if you are interested in volunteering at Sunnyside this year. Families and community members are welcome! If you are interested in helping out specifically in your child's classroom, please contact your child's teacher directly as there is a different form teachers submit for those. Please note that all volunteers will need to complete a district-paid background check before working with students.

Sunnyside has it’s own Facebook and Instagram pages! You can link directly to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sunnysideredwing/, and our Instagram handle is @sunnysideredwing. Check out some of the fun things going on at Sunnyside!

Be sure to click the links below for important information about Sunnyside Elementary and Red Wing Public Schools. Please pay special attention to the District Handbook and the Sunnyside Expectations & Procedures. Both documents contain important information and are a great reference for many frequently asked questions.