Myths & Facts

Myths & Facts about Sunview PTA 

Myth:  I'll get roped into volunteering for something if I go to a PTA meeting.

Fact:  There will be opportunities to get involved, but no pressure.  Just pass along the signup sheet if you don't want to participate.  No guilt, and seriously, no pressure!

Myth:  Those PTA moms know each other really well and are just a big clique.

Fact:  The majority of the active PTA members (Moms & Dads & Grandparents & Guardians) do know each other as a result of working together on various PTA projects, but the executive board is dedicated to making sure our group is friendly and welcoming.  Again, no guilt or pressure, all are welcome!

Myth: The PTA is for stay-at-home-moms with nothing better to do.

Fact:  Your fellow PTA members are parents, grand-parents and community members who want to support the school.  Most members are juggling bills and household chores and kids and sports and homework – just like you!

Myth: My child's life will be the same whether I join the PTA or not.

Fact: Not only does membership put you in direct communication with other parents and teachers, but it shows your child that you are interested and invested in their educational experience. 

Myth: The PTA has all the help they need.  My participation will not make a difference.

Fact: This is probably the biggest myth of all.  We want and need your help and participation!  We have board and committee positions that need to be filled, and we need volunteers to help at all of our events.  If you choose to volunteer, you decide your time commitment.  And new ideas  are always welcome - it's an important way to keep our PTA fresh and exciting!  All levels of participation are welcome and needed!

News you need to know: Cellphone Privacy Risks

Do you take pictures of your phone and post them online?  Your phone probably is sending GPS location info when you post pictures to Facebook or Twitter.  Watch this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vARzvWxwY) and get the details on how to turn off this feature on your phone.

Day in the Life: The Sunview Promise

Every morning, the children recite the following promise:

Sunview Promise

Today and everyday,

I will give all adults and

children respect.

I will try my best to be a 

good person.

I will try to be friend to

anyone who needs one.

I will not hurt other

people's feeling.

If someone is being hurt or

bullied, I will tell an adult.

Everyday is a new day to

make good choices.

This is our Sunview Promise.

What a wonderful place the world would be if everyone lived by this!

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Congratulations to Megan Wittels!  She was randomly chosen from all of the folks who left a comment on the very first post of this blog and had a great name suggestion too!  Megan has won a handmade card set crafted by me (Christina Hidek).   Megan, I'll be in touch soon to make delivery arrangements.

We have several great name choices for the blog:

• The Sunview Star
• The Sunview Star Reader
• The Sunview Reader
• Our Sun View
• PTA Sun View
• The Sunview Stars News
• Connected to Our Stars
• Sunview PTA Connections
• The Helioscope
• Star Reader
• Follow the Sun
• Here Comes the Sun

I really can't pick one myself, so I'm going to start a poll to decide.  Majority will rule- check out the new poll on the right side of the screen to vote.

Rule of 5: A trick for reading

Sometimes it is difficult for your child to know if a book is going to be easy or hard to read just by looking at it.  The Rule of 5 is one test to check out a book before they spend too much time with it and get frustrated.

When reading a new book, your child should hold up one finger each time they come to a word they don't know.  If you have 5 fingers up within a few pages, the book is probably to hard and they should try it again in a few months. If they have no fingers up, the book is an easy read: perhaps a book where they have only a few fingers up is a better fit, and will help them grow as a reader.

Ever Wonder: Sunview Stars of the Week

Ever wonder why your child was chosen to be the Sunview Star of the Week?  Does your child answer you with an "I don't know" or "I can't remember" when you ask?  Wonder no more!  We have the inside scoop right here.

Throughout the week, teachers and staff members send in their nominations and each Star student is recognized during the morning announcements on Thursdays.  The Sunview Stars then head down to be awarded their certificate, Sunview Star sticker, and each Star received a handshake from Mrs. Taylor.  The students love being recognized in this way and just beam when they shake hands with Mrs. Taylor.
This week, the Stars are:

Student	Nominated as Sunview Star of the Week for	Nominated by
Tyler M	Helping Miss Johnson pick up dismissal slips that had fallen in the hallway	Ms. Johnson
Kailey S	Helping Miss Johnson pick up dismissal slips that had fallen in the hallway	Ms. Johnson
Elizabeth P	Helping Miss Johnson pick up dismissal slips that had fallen in the hallway	Ms. Johnson
Rachel P	Helping Miss Johnson pick up dismissal slips that had fallen in the hallway	Ms. Johnson
Lincoln H	Helping Miss Johnson pick up dismissal slips that had fallen in the hallway	Ms. Johnson
Michala J	Working so hard during the Math Apprentice Club	Ms. Johnson
Gabrielle K	Working so hard during the Math Apprentice Club	Ms. Johnson
Arianna G	Working so hard during the Math Apprentice Club	Ms. Johnson
Marneice J	Working so hard during the Math Apprentice Club	Ms. Johnson
Donielle B	Working so hard during the Math Apprentice Club	Ms. Johnson
Giovanni T	Great bus line behavior	Mrs. Zawacki
PJ T	Great bus line behavior	Mrs. Zawacki
Christine M	Great bus line behavior	Mrs. Zawacki
Tyler G	Leaders- Role Models	Ms. Jordan
Brady D	Leaders- Role Models	Ms. Jordan
Emma Burkey	Leaders- Role Models	Ms. Jordan
Ferray G	Leaders- Role Models	Ms. Jordan
Alfredia M	Leaders- Role Models	Ms. Jordan
Heather L	Leaders- Role Models	Ms. Jordan
Reynaldo G.	Bus Leader	Ms. Jordan
Nick D.	Bus Leader & Role Model	Ms. Jordan
Mike D.	Bus Leader & Role Model	Ms. Jordan
Kaley J.	Great dog toy maker	Mrs. Argo
Antonya S.	Finishing make-up work	Mrs. Argo
Dominic O.	Kind to a friend	Mrs. Argo
Lillie A.	Keeping talking under control	Mrs. Argo
John D.	Watching over a fellow student	Mrs. Tierney
Angela H.	Class participation	Mrs. Tierney
Anthony M.	Class participation	Mrs. Tierney
Seth M.	Being out Technology Coordinator	Mrs. Tierney
Dylan W.	Two days in a row with great self control	Mrs. Zawacki
Brenna S.	Getting her work done	Mrs. Zawacki
Mason J.	Great bus line behavior	Mrs. Zawacki
Matt. K.	Great job working cooperatively	Mrs. Burkholder
Sean P.	Great job working cooperatively	Mrs. Burkholder
Megan M.	Excellent effort in reading	Mrs. Burkholder
Kara S.	Excellent handwriting	Mrs. Burkholder
Juston B.	Turingin in homework all week on time	Mrs. Burkholder
Robert K.	Trying harder with homework	Mrs. Burkholder
Harper S.	Excellent effort in class	Mrs. Burkholder
Natalie S.	Being our star student	Ms. Treer
Anthony H.	Trying his best to stay on green	Ms. Treer
Marissa B.	Getting her work done on time	Ms. Treer
Van	Picking up fallen coats in the hallway	Mrs. Groudle
Summer	Picking up fallen coats in the hallway	Mrs. Groudle
Alex	Picking up fallen coats in the hallway	Mrs. Groudle
Justin C.	Picking up fallen coats in the hallway	Mrs. Groudle
Gianna D.	Sharing with a classmate	Ms. Ambrose
Tsira C.	100% on spelling test	Ms. Ambrose
Brandon M	Working independently to solve a problem in math	Ms. Ambrose
Julia O.	Completing assignments on time on Tuesday	Ms. Ambrose
Leroy M.	Math Investigator- showed everyone a different answer that fit the rule by proving it to the teachers	Ms. Johnson
Cory L.	Great reading and effort	Mrs. Grist
AJ W.	Super spelling and reading tests	Mrs. Grist
Anthony A.	Great reading	Mrs. Young
Porter H.	Caring for others	Mrs. Young
Blake G.	Using time wisely	Mrs. Young
Kennedy H.	Earning a great spelling score	Ms. Steiner
Jaheim T.	Being an expressive reader	Ms. Steiner
Parker L.	Putting 100% effort into every task	Ms. Steiner
Nicole C.	Being a math whiz	Ms. Steiner
Nicholas A.	Always raising his hand to read out loud	Ms. Steiner
John D.	Beng responsible and telling Mrs. Nord aout a problem	Mrs. Nord
Alijah L.	Setting a good example on the carpet	Ms. Meyer
Kylie G.	Keeping the classroom clean	Ms. Meyer
Torrean R.	Working hard during centers with Mrs. Mohre	Ms. Meyer
Alex D.	Passing out papers neatly	Ms. Meyer
Brittni B.	Fabulous penmanship	Mr. Stahl
Makhiha G.	Improved math test	Mr. Stahl
Miranda N.	Always having a positive attitude	Mr. Stahl
Ailey G.	Always having a cheery disposition	Mr. Stahl
Maddie R.	Helping others during reading groups	Mr. Stahl

Congratulations!

Giving Tree: Support Sunview Families who need some extra help!

Opportunity to help Sunview Families who need a little brightness added to their lives

The holiday season will soon be in full swing. In the coming weeks, as you are preparing for your holiday meals, shopping for that special someone, and hanging those stockings - give some thought to those that may not be as fortunate.  This year, we will be sponsoring some South Euclid-Lyndhurst families that are in need of some help from others.  The Giving Tree is always a wonderful way to spread some love from your family to another.  Starting this week, you can pick your star and make them shine with just a little generosity on your behalf.  Here are the families that we are supporting this year and a few details about what would brighten their lives:

Family of four- Family “A”- Boy 10 wears size 12-14  just got a used DS, so any used ds games for boys would be appreciated.  Girl 14 wears size 16 woman  likes jewelry.  

Family of Three  Family “B”- girl 9 wears 8-10 likes art projects.

Family of Four Family “C”- twins, boy and girl age 5, Both wear size 7.  Boy likes trains.  Girls like dolls and Justin Bieber.

Family of four  Family “D”- Girl 10 years old wears size 16-18 and loves to read (historical fiction, fantasy, and goosebumps). She's a big fan of calico critters, Hello Kitty, and Disney, specifically "Tangled" anything, and likes to make her own doll clothes. She has a game cube and likes Mario Brothers, Legend of Zelda, and Sonic most. Both kids love art in all its forms, and go through art supplies like crazy.  Boy 8 years old wears size 8-10  likes slot cars, matchbox cars (especially trucks and service vehicles!), robots, horses, swords,  The Backyardigans, and picture books, particularly ones about trains, trucks, and funny creatures.

Family of four Family "E" - Boy 8 size 10, Boy 9 size 9, Boy 14 size 16.  All would appreciate clothes and toys. 

Food, clothing (new or gently used), gift cards would be appreciated by all of the families.  

Important details:  All gifts should be returned to the Sunview Lobby no later than December 20th.  If you pick a star ornament, please write your contact info on the sheet to the left of the tree in the lobby and also securely tape the ornament to your wrapped package.  If you choose to give a gift to the families without picking a star, please label your gift with Family A, B, C, D, or E and make sure to clearly mark on the gift who the gift is for (Boy or Girl).  We are also accepting donations of clothing, food and gift cards for these families.  If you have any questions, please contact April Vince.

Ever wonder?

(Part one in a continuing series to give you tidbits and insights into the Day in the Life of a Sunview Student)

Ever wonder how the Sunview Staff keeps nearly 200 students quiet (in the gymnasium!) as they wait to load onto busses at the end of the day?

They have a designated clapper of the day!  Each day, a different student is chosen to lead the group (yes, all 200 of them) with different clap beats.  Its basically an echo game where the leader claps out a rhythm and the rest of the group claps the same rhythm back.  Its very cool to experience this in person because all of the kids participate and are engaged.

Welcome to the brand new Sunview PTA blog!

What's the deal with this blog?  I want to keep all families in touch with what is going on with not only the Sunview PTA, but what's happening at Sunview as well.  My first attempt was the boardhost forum.  Great idea, but it didn't work very well since families have to actively go to the site and look for updated information.  So take two.

I'm hoping that this blog will enable families to stay in the know- in less time.  Instead of having to go to the forum to check out the latest, parents, grandparents & friends of Sunview can subscribe here and the posts will be delivered to your email inbox or sent to your phone- where ever you'd like.  And the bonus is that Google has such great features that you'll have instant online access to the Star Reader Calendar or T-Shirt Order form, and all of the other forms and fliers you might need.

And so for the first order of "business" this blog needs a new name! "Sunview PTA News & Notes" was the best I could come up with this afternoon, and I know it couldn't be more boring.  So now its up to you...  and there's a prize involved!

So here are the rules:

1.  Subscribe to this blog via email, RSS feed, whatever method you prefer and
2.  Leave a comment with your suggestion for the name of this blog and/or a question you have for me or the PTA more generally.

Those meeting the above criteria by December 15th will be entered to win a prize, and a winner will be randomly chosen!  Remember to leave your name or email address in your comment or you won't win!

Christina Hidek,
Sunview PTA President