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Sunnyside Environmental
3421 SE SalmonPortland, OR 97214
View a map of the surrounding area
Phone: 503-916-6226
Fax: 503-916-2676
E-mail: shtaylor@pps.k12.or.us
School-created web pages: http://www.sesptsa.com
Grade levels: K-8
Enrollment: by application/neighborhood boundaries.
Principal: Sarah Taylor
Before and after school programs
- Before and after school daycare is through Camp Fire.
- Students may sign up for multiple classes, including MUSE, violin, Spanish, Mad Science, drama, guitar.
- Students have multiple opportunities to participate in service learning activities.
- Once a year there is a K-8th musical production.
Community partnerships
- Community partnerships focus on service learning, outdoor
education and place-based education. They include the
following:
1. Laurelhurst Park for a site monitoring curriculum for
grades 3-4.
2. The fifth grade has a partnership with the Portland zoo.
3. Students learn about hunger issues through service at
Oregon Food Bank, Blanchet House, Dignity Village and
Sunnyside Methodist Church.
4. Middle school students meet three mornings a week to sing and listen to community members speak about curriculum-related issues.
Student learning environment
- Primary students learn in team-led environments grouped K-2nd and 3rd-5th. They benefit from PE, music, art, science, naturalist and homeroom instruction.
- Middle school students learn in mixed-age classes and spend most of their time with a core teacher. This teacher is with them for writer\'s workshop, reading, social studies and environmental core.
- \"Morning Meeting\" is utilized as developmentally appropriate. During this time, students and staff gather for a variety of activities that may include singing, sign language, weather and news reports, guest speakers and announcements.
- Each class adopts a local place such as a local chestnut tree, Forest Park or the Oaks Bottom Refuge, which they monitor and care for during the school year during monthly visits.
- A unique school where students, staff and parents really get to know each other. This environment allows the teachers to understand individual differences in their students, as well as nurture students\' personal and academic growth.
- Most classrooms have computers and are connected to the Internet. Students learn illustration, word processing skills, computer graphics, production techniques and use of video and digital cameras.
Curriculum components
- Strong literature program exposes students to a wide variety of genres.
- Project-based curriculum with opportunities for students to work at their own level and rate of learning.
- Sunnyside has a very hands-on curriculum utilizing Storyline throughout the different grades.
- Social studies curriculum integrates art, literature, research and writing to answer the key question: "How does history influence the environment and how does the environment influence history?"
- The middle school has a three-year rotation of the environmental core curriculum, which includes rivers, mountains and forests. All students study the same curriculum in any given year.
- Middle school Spanish and math classes are leveled to meet the needs of individual students.
Staff
- Sunnyside staff is committed to the education of students in an integrated, hands-on approach to broad-based environmental issues.
Parent and family support
- Parents work with students in many of the community projects.
- Active Site Council works to develop and implement a yearly school improvement plan.
- The skills and talents of parents allow for Sunnyside students to experience many varied art opportunities.
Special programs and features
- Sunnyside Environmental School is a special focus school that accepts neighborhood children, as well as those who wish to enter the school through the transfer process. The curriculum focuses on place-based education including service learning, horticulture, cultural geography and outdoor education.
- Arts are infused in all subject areas throughout the day. Morning singing, Wednesday morning "Start Your Day with Art" and Friday afternoon art classes are only a few of the ways students experience art.
- Service is an integral part of the curriculum at Sunnyside. Middle school students are required to fulfill a certain number of community service hours each year, as well as create a service learning portfolio.
- All classes plan, care for and maintain the school gardens, which will include native plant, wetland, historical and cultural gardens. These gardens are integrated into student studies. In addition, many classrooms have their own theme garden.
Statistics and test scores
- Report cards and AYP Scores
Oregon Department of Education school report cards - School Enrollment and Program Data
- Standardized test scores
Course syllabus
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