A couple of weeks ago Mrs. Morrison used PE time to teach our in-person students how to use and play with the many new games that families donated to help us diversify our options at recess this year! We wanted students to know the game rules and expectations for care of the equipment before launching their use. Mrs. Morrison said all games were big hits with the students. This week, students were able to make use of the games at recess time! It has been a fun way to break up some of the monotony that comes with recess this year - staying in one zone of the playground and playing only with classmates. Thanks, again, to our generous family donors for making this possible!

• STARTING Monday, Dec. 14! - Cold weather gear (new or used) collections begin for Ava's Angels
• ON Tuesday, Dec. 15! - Restaurant Night at Burg and Barrel
• ENDS Thursday, Dec. 17! - First Round of online Spelling Bee (must be taken at home, administered by parents) test must be completed. (3rd-5th grades only)
• DUE Friday, Dec. 18! - For those who volunteered to bring Winter Class Party supplies or treats, they must be delivered to the school by this day!
• DUE Friday, Dec. 18! - Appreciation Gifts for "SNOW Grateful for SPE Staff!"
• DUE Tuesday, Dec. 22! - For those who didn't get their child's yearbook photo taken, send a photo to Kati Bernard
• LAST DAY Tuesday, Dec. 22! - Lost and Found Items that are unclaimed will be donated elsewhere

Monday, Dec. 14

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Mon. Specials)
• In-Person - Specials Day 3
• Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collections BEGIN!

Tuesday, Dec. 15

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Tues. Specials)

• In-Person - Specials Day 4

• Restaurant Night at Burg and Barrel from 4:00-8:00 PM. Carryout included!

• Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collection Window

Wednesday, Dec. 16

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Wed. Specials)
  

• In-Person - Specials Day 1
  

• Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collection Window

Thursday, Dec. 17

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Thurs. Specials)
  

• In-Person - Specials Day 2

• LAST DAY! Online Testing Window Closes for First Round of SPE's Spelling Bee (3rd-5th graders only)

• Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collection Window
  

Friday, Dec. 18

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Fri. Specials)
  
• In-Person - Specials Day 3
  
• Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collection Window
  
• DUE TODAY! - For those who volunteered to bring Winter Class Party supplies or treats, they must be delivered to the school by this day!
• DUE TODAY! - Appreciation Gifts Delivered to School for "SNOW Grateful for SPE Staff!"

This year, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has developed an online testing platform that will allow Sunrise Point to host a school spelling bee program, whether your child is an In-Person or VirtualEd learner. In place of our traditional spelling bee program, we will hold the 2 level[s] of competition through online spelling tests - (1) classroom level and then (2) school level for the top 3 spellers from each 3rd-5th grade classroom at SPE.

The first step to spelling bee participation is to register for the Scripps National Spelling Bee's online testing platform by visiting https://online-test.spellingbee.com. Please register as soon as possible. If you have already registered in the online testing platform for another child, you can log in to your account and add an additional child to that same parent account. There is no need to register a different email address for each child in your household. We encourage you to watch this video tutorial that will walk you through the registration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ThKRsffiFc

Once you have registered, our spelling bee coordinator Mrs. Duggan will be able to assign the appropriate classroom test to your child. You must have your child complete the test during the given testing window - December 7th through December 17th. These tests can be taken on any device with a web browser, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones. The top 3 student[s] from each classroom with the highest score[s] will move on to compete at the school level.

For the top 3 spellers from each 3rd-5th grade classroom, our school-level competition will also be administered via an online test. Our SPE school champion speller will then move on to represent Sunrise Point in the Johnson County regional spelling bee program, which is currently planned as in-person but also may include online tests in lieu of in-person spelling bee events.

Please reach out to Mrs. Duggan at jduggan@bluevalleyk12.org if you have any questions about our school spelling bee program. We look forward to having your child compete to represent our school!

Do you recognize any of these goods? If so, please encourage your child to head to the Lost and Found to pick them up!

*** UPDATED ***

If your child didn't have your yearbook picture taken and you want to be in the yearbook, send Kati Bernard @ katilee@hotmail.com a picture (shoulders up) so they can be included. Try to have a plain, non-busy background. This must be done by holiday break - Tuesday, Dec 22.

------------------

We will need help from all our families this year to obtain pictures. We will have VirtualEd students included, so we will definitely have to rely on photos from home to ensure we have some great shots of all!

There are 3 ways you could share your photos:

• For the yearbook only…

• Download the Balfour app - Code: 128074

• Email to our Yearbook Chair Kati Bernard @ katilee@hotmail.com

• For any purpose, upload to this Google Folder

Please specify your child’s teacher’s name on the photo!

*** UPDATED ***

Material pick-ups will occur every other week on Wednesdays…

• (Monday) December 21 - Party supply pick-up day!

• January 6 - This could be a material return day, as the last day of the semester is Jan. 15.

Your teachers will be available to hand out supplies at these times unless otherwise noted....

• 10:00-11:00 AM - Mr. Bartel's 3rd grade class

• 11:00 AM-12:00 PM - Ms. George's 5th grade class + Mrs. Samuelson's 1st grade class

• 1:00-2:00 PM - Mrs. Palmer's 4th grade class + Mrs. Kurimsky's 2nd grade class

• For families who cannot make it during their assigned time, you are welcome to a complete a contactless pick-up of your supplies during any of the following time windows, though your teacher will not be available during these times:

• 7:30-8:00 AM

• 9:00 AM-2:45 PM

• 4:00-4:30 PM

We would love to have our VirtualEd students better represented on the daily announcements! In order to do so, we are asking all interested VirtualEd families to video themselves reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and upload the video here so we can include it in the announcements.

** Several staff members are still available to be "adopted" for these gifts of appreciation! **

'Tis the season for grateful hearts and giving gifts to the ones we want to know that we care about them. So in the spirit of giving, our PTO Staff Appreciation Committee has created a "Snow Grateful" magnet board in our SPE lobby filled with SPE staff names that we would like to show some love and kindness to for all they do to make our school so incredible! The staff member names on our "Snow Grateful" board are those that do not already have room parents or individual classes to organize gifts for them and we would like your help in making sure they get to feel our appreciation this holiday season.

If you would like to select an SPE staff member from our "Snow Grateful" board, simply have your child pull a magnet off the board that has a staff member's name on it. VirtualEd families will have the opportunity to choose a staff member from the board at this week's materials pick up TODAY! When your child brings their magnet home, you may email April Sifford at april.j.sifford@gmail.com for a list of your selected staff member's favorite things!

Please bring your gift for your staff member to the SPE office no later than Friday, Dec. 18th. SPE is such a wonderful school and we have such generous families that are part of our SPE community and we truly appreciate your willingness to show love and support for our incredible staff and faculty this holiday season!

Thanks so much!

- SPE PTO

Attention all Readers!

Chat n Chew is an optional reading program sponsored by PTO! This is a book club offered

to all SPE students in first through fifth grades once a month in February, March, and April. Due to visitor limitations, our student responses may look different from previous years.

Three titles have been selected for each grade level to read at home. Through generous funding of the PTO and Mrs. Norton's involvement, approximately 10 copies of each book will be available for check out from the school library on a first-come, first-serve basis, or they may be borrowed from the Johnson County public libraries. Electronic copies and paper/hardback copies can be purchased at various stores or at Amazon; most are below $6.99. Participation is free!

In order to gauge the interest in Chat n Chew this year, please complete this brief survey so that our committee can plan accordingly!

If you have any questions, please feel to contact Erika Showalter at erika.showalter@gmail.com!

Children’s Mercy Hospital is introducing a new volunteer program! Whether starting a toy drive or selling lemonade on the corner, kids and families have been rallying together to help other kids since the hospital’s earliest days. CMH is continually amazed by the generosity of our community and individuals like you who want to make a difference in the lives of CMH patients and families.

How does the program work:
When you donate to the hospital, you have the opportunity to participate in the Junior Champions charm program. The program recognizes your generosity and act of kindness, by rewarding you with a charm that is similar to your donation. You will receive a Children’s Mercy Junior Champions keychain with your first donation so you can collect and display your charms and show them to your friends and family. There are lots of fun and creative ways to give back to the hospital. You can find a more detailed list of charm opportunities and information about the program by going to our webpage: https://www.childrensmercy.org/ways-to-give/donate-goods/junior-champions/

Give the gift of spirit this holiday season and get all of your shopping done with 1st Place Spiritwear! Now, throughout the month of December use the code HOLIDAY2020 for 10, 20 and even 30% off!!! The more you buy, the more you save! Shop all of the awesome designs featuring our school's name, the Patriot mascot and colors! Order before December 15th to ensure delivery by winter break!

Shop for your SPE gear here:

https://1stplacespiritwear.com/schools/KS/Overland+Park/Sunrise+Point+Elementary+School

Instead of having a day off of school for inclement weather conditions this school year, school will continue in a virtual format on inclement weather days for all students. This model is intended to reduce the chances of having to extend the calendar for the 2020-2021 school year.

In-Person --> Teachers are preparing for a snow day schedule of learning with at least two live check-ins via Zoom and asynchronous work that can be done from home.

VirtualEd --> The schedule for VirtualEd classes will match those of in-person classes on these days when in-person learning is canceled, and, thus, the day will NOT match classes' regular daily schedules. All specials classes will be asynchronous.

BVEF’s Surprise Squad found a way to make this event happen… with a twist!

Instead of visiting each school in person to hand out teacher and building grants, on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, the Blue Valley Educational Foundation invited representatives from each school to celebrate at Hilltop Conference Center and SPE received a check for $2,000!

This year, BVEF is funding $178,000 on building and program grants, suicide prevention programs for middle and high schools and supporting a Career Tech Ed partnership for our students with JCCC. They have funded more than $6.2 million over the last 30 years.

Our building grant will be used to fund outdoor learning equipment for our students and community to enjoy for years to come. In addition to our grant funding, each school also received a beautiful, matted print of a painting by BV alum, and world-renowned artist, Jeff Hanson, which we will proudly display for everyone in the building to enjoy!

To see all the special moments captured on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, visit #BVEFGrants and the BVEF website at www.Fundbv.org

Monday, Dec. 21

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Mon. Specials)
• In-Person - Specials Day 4
• Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collection Window

Tuesday, Dec. 22

• VirtualEd 1st-5th (Tues. Specials)

• In-Person - Specials Day 1

• DUE TODAY- For those who didn't get their child's yearbook photo taken, send a photo to Kati Bernard

• LAST DAY! Lost and Found Items that are unclaimed will be donated elsewhere.

• LAST DAY! Ava's Angels Cold Weather Gear Collections

• Winter Class Parties

Wednesday, Dec. 23 - Friday, Jan. 1

• No School - WINTER BREAK

Monday, Jan. 4

• School Resumes

As you know, the number of COVID-19 cases in Johnson County has been rising over the last several weeks. We continue to believe and to demonstrate that the protocols we have in place are effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 at Sunrise Point. We also know that should cases of COVID-19 rise, even if those cases originate in our community and not at SPE, that additional stress would be put on our system.

While we intend to continue to provide face-to-face instruction for our elementary students and continue to utilize the protocols we have in place, we also realize we need to plan for the possibility of a shift in learning modes.

• Be prepared: Sunrise Point staff are prepared to educate all of our students regardless of learning mode. Please be prepared for the possibility that the district may need to move to remote learning, and that this may occur without substantial warning. This means that your children will begin bringing home their district-provided device and charger each day. (For SPE, this started on Friday, Dec. 4th. Please return the device to school each day with your child!)

• Develop a contingency plan: We realize when elementary students are in remote learning that creates childcare challenges for working families. Please begin thinking about your childcare plans if the district were to move to remote learning for elementary students.

Please know this email is not intended to cause alarm. Rather, it simply is an acknowledgment that the potential for learning mode changes exist and we want to be ready to continue learning with as little disruption as possible.

As we head into the holiday season, I implore you to continue to be vigilant and follow best practices to keep our community safe. Remember that actions outside of the school impact our ability to provide in-person learning. Think carefully about socializing with people other than those you live with. Take care of yourself and others, as we each play a role in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Our families and teachers have done a great job getting kids in the routines of wearing their masks at school! Most all kids are consistent in those routines - they are so resilient!

Our current focus is to improve student mask-wearing in terms of...

• Fit (if the mask does not stay above the nose or needs frequent readjustments across the school day, it doesn't fit properly)
• Cleanliness (is wet or soiled)
• Ability to withstand physical activity, such as running during recess (often gaiters don't meet this criteria)

You may see your child come home with a different mask from the one they went to school in. If so, it is most likely that we have issued one at school because one of the 3 above factors were true. If you are wondering whether your child is struggling with the fit, cleanliness or recess withstandability of his or her mask, please contact your teacher to ask.

This current layer of attention to student masking is being made to help reduce the likelihood that students create unnecessary high-risk exposures for one another. This will help us keep both the spread and the quarantines away from school as low as possible, especially considering the climbing local case numbers.

With cold and flu season arriving and local COVID cases climbing, it is extra important for families to call Nurse Ayres at 913-239-7500 BEFORE sending your child to school if they are experiencing ANY of the symptoms shown in the image below.

A single symptom does NOT necessarily mean your child will need to miss school; however, double-checking before sending them may save others from being exposed and/or having to quarantine. This can make a BIG difference for ALL, including keeping teachers and students in school!

In an effort to keep our school community informed when we have a positive case, families can expect the following:

• Families will be contacted directly if through the contact tracing process conducted by the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) and the district's health professionals' team:

1. your child was identified as a low-risk exposure of a student or staff member who tested positive for COVID-19.
2. your child was identified as a high-risk exposure/close contact of a student or staff member who tested positive for COVID-19.

• If your child’s proximity to or nature of the interaction with the positive individual did not indicate a low or high-risk exposure, then you will not be contacted.

If your child has to quarantine, you can expect the following...

• (If the exposure happened at school) to NOT know the exact details as to why or who else was involved

• This can be really frustrating, but the privacy is essential. It will require a high level of trust that the contact tracing process would have only resulted in a quarantine for your child if he/she were determined to be a close contact of the positive individual.

• For some school work and materials (including students’ school-issued device) to be made available

• Each grade-level team of teachers has made plans for how they will provide learning activities to your child in these circumstances.

• Please note that there are some limitations to what can be provided. We want to be transparent about that, so please be aware that we are unable to:

• Recreate all in-class learning experiences

• Live stream class sessions

• Contactless Material Pick-up:

• We will have a blue storage bin outside the front circle drive– labeled “Contactless Pick Up” where staff will place items (bagged and labeled: student name/teacher name/grade) for family pick up. Pick up times are below (only on days when school days are in session). We will not leave the bin outside while the school is closed.

• 7:30 - 8:00 AM

• 9:00 AM – 2:45 PM