Sunnyside Elementary School
Sunnyside Scoop
May/June 2016
Principal Points It is hard to believe we have almost reached the end of another school year and I’m writing the final principal points of the school year. What a great year it’s been! As our fifth graders begin their preparations to move on to Edgewood Middle School and close a chapter on their elementary school careers, the kindergarten teachers are soon meeting with our first grade staff to ensure a positive transition from the K center to “Big Sunnyside.” It is a cycle, which while repeated yearly, never loses its individual uniqueness. As our fifth grade students move on to middle school, I would like to share with them the wisdom of a poem written by Robert Fulghum entitled “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.” (Shortened version) All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school. • Share everything. • Play fair. • Don’t hit people. • Put things back where you found them. • Clean up your own mess. • Don’t take things that aren’t yours. • Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. • Wash your hands before you eat. • Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. • Take a nap every afternoon. • When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. • Be aware of wonder. • And then remember the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, equality and sane living. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together. Best wishes to our fifth graders who are moving up, and to those students who will be returning to Sunnyside again in the fall. We hope you are able to find time to enjoy a wonderful Minnesota summer while also continuing to find ways to explore and learn, as your education doesn’t end as you leave the schoolhouse doors. To the Sunnyside families, thank you for entrusting your children to us as we partner together to educate your student. I know I speak on behalf of the entire Sunnyside staff when I say we look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall, even though summer isn’t quite upon us yet. Thank you families for all your support in making this a wonderful year at Sunnyside! Nathan Flansburg Principal