THE FIRST BUZZ 2026 2027

Dear Sunshine Families,

We can’t wait to get this year started. Please let this news serve as an information hub as we prepare for our time back at school.

#beethedifference

What time does school start?

Students can be dropped off at 7:50. Please be aware we will not open the doors until 7:50 due to supervision needs.

School officially starts at 8:10. Please be sure your child arrives on time to be inside his/her classroom by 8:10.

School dismisses at 3:10.

What about arrival and dismissal?

Arrival:

Students coming on buses will be dropped off at the front of our building and will walk to class after picking up a breakfast.

Students who are being dropped off by car will be dropped off on the east side of our building. They walk through the gym, get a breakfast from the cafeteria and then go to their classroom. Please follow the traffic arrows and loop all the way around the playground. It is best if your child departs the driver side of the car for safety. Children will enter the gym door. (See picture below.)

You may not park and walk your student to any door of the building. It is required to drive through the car line if your students is a car rider.

Dismissal:

• Students will be dismissed to the car line from the east gymnasium door. If you are walking to pick up your student/s, you may only use the sidewalk and display your family tag from that spot. Please do not walk up to the building.
• Parents must display their student car tag at dismissal EACH day ALL year. These will be provided to you at our Meet the Teacher event.

• You may NOT park and walk up to the building. If you are driving to the school, you must use the pick-up loop and follow the pick-up procedures. This is a safety procedure. If your family has extenuating circumstances, schedule a meeting with Dr. Daniels and request a potential personalized plan.
• If an older sibling is responsible for a younger student, the older student will meet the younger child at the exit doors.
• Staff members will not allow any students to cross the street at any location other than the designated crosswalk at the intersection.
• Students are not allowed to go home/call home to get permission to go home with another student without prior knowledge and a note or phone call from parents.
• Students are not allowed to call home to request a different method of transportation at the end of the day.

• If your child has a change in pick-up procedures, please send a note to his/her classroom teacher AND call the office. This will reduce end-of-day confusion. The office is very busy at the end of the day and at times last-minute messages are very difficult to forward. Please alert the office no later than 2:30 PM.
• Students that do not ride the bus are not allowed to go home on the bus with another student. Students are not allowed to trade back and forth between buses. They must get on and off the bus at their designated pick-up and drop-off spot. Please call the Transportation Office if you have any questions at 523-0514.
• With parent permission, students in grades 3-5 are allowed to walk or ride their bikes to school. Please wear helmets. Bike riders must walk bikes on/off school grounds and have a way to lock their bikes to the racks near the parking lot during the school day. Scooters, skates, or skateboards are not allowed on school property. Due to safety concerns, students in grades K-2 are not allowed to walk/ride their bikes to school.

• Students attending YMCA will be dismissed to the YMCA Director/Staff Member at the end of the day.

What supplies do I need to purchase?

Four of our amazing community partners are providing a backpack with ALL needed classroom supplies! We are very thankful to:

Jefferson Ave. Baptist

South Campbell Baptist

Trinity Lutheran

Emmaus

When is Meet the Teacher?

Meet the teacher will be held on August 20th from 5:00-6:30PM!

You will meet your teacher and pick up a few items. BE SURE you get a car tag if your child will be picked up. We will NOT release children to cars without our tags. If you need extra , you can get them from Ms. Keely in the office. BE SURE you are ready to let your teacher know what your child will do after school.

We also have important information and paperwork for you. DO NOT MISS OUT!

Meeting our families is a BIG DEAL and we can’t wait!

How can I get involved?

Join PTA! PTA will have a table at Meet the Teacher Night. ALL are welcome to join. You can sign up as a member that night. As a member you are NOT required to attend meetings, so please don't let that stop you! You can also follow the PTA Group page on Facebook: Sunshine Elementary PTA

How can I follow you on social media?

Sunshine Elementary Bees on Facebook

NOTE:

Update your information in eSchool. We NEED your current numbers and email. I will use eSchool to push out email and texts. This is also the platform the district uses to push out information. To update please call or email Ms. Keely 417-523-5200 or kascott@spsmail.org

It takes a TEAM to help students be as successful as possible. Here are some items that might help you as you navigate getting back into the school routine:

1. The Student Handbook

2. Our Matrix of Behavior

3. An Attendance Goal

4. The District Calendar

The student handbook will actually be given to you as a hard copy. Please take the time to read and become familiar. It is a nice resource to understand expectations. Here is a link:

CLICK: ENGLISH

CLICK: SPANISH

The Behavior Matrix is below and shows all our school expectations. The Matrix breaks down Safety, Success and Service for each setting at school. We will explicitly teach, model and reinforce each section. Please feel free to use this Matrix for home conversation or even extend the Matrix to your own home and come up with expectations for your family.

The attendance chart below is a great reminder of how quickly time adds up over the year. We know things happen and students get sick, but it is our goal to have everyone (even our staff) at school 95% of the time. Attendance MATTERS. Please let us know how we can help you if you have attendance barriers.

You can miss 9 days over the year and have 95% attendance. When you think of 9 days over 9 months, it seems totally attainable.

Please use our school calendar to plan, it has also been pictured below.

Let's embrace our theme this year and BEE THE DIFFERENCE! It only takes one person to make a positive impact. We all hold tremendous power. What difference will you make?

SPECIAL NOTE to Kindergarten-

Soft placement is an opportunity to get to know your child and an opportunity for your child to get to know others. During the first days of school we will work to allow your child to experience school with others and then specifically pick the best match for everyone. We know how important placement is and we want to take the time to get it right. Thank you for your support. Please call for any questions or email Dr. D. tldaniels@spsmail.org

Families! We need YOU to use our car tags for safety and for speed! Please write in LARGE black letters the name of your child- First Name in the top space and Last Name in the bottom space.The bigger the letters- the better!

Aug 20th: Meet the Teacher: 5:00-6:30 PM

Aug 25th: First day of school.

School starts at 8:10. Parents do not come inside the school on day one. Be sure to attend Meet the Teacher to get great pictures.

Sept 4th: Heads up, today we will practice drills at school. We like to tell our families when we do this for the first time each year so you can help your child prepare.

Sept 7th: No School

Sept 10th: Night at the Ballfield- Cardinals Game for Sunshine

Sept 14th: Storytime with PAT: 9:30 AM

Sept 14th: PTA meeting 5:30

Sept 17th: Sunshine SPS U - Open House 5:00-6:30

Sept 30th: Picture Day

Oct 23rd: No Students- Professional Day

Oct 26th-Oct 30th: Parent/Teacher Conferences