Durango School District 9-R
Durango School District 9-R
Families/Community Schools Faculty/Staff Curriculum Employment Administration Board of Education

Sunnyside Elementary
75 County Road 218
Durango, CO 81303
(970) 259-5249 phone
(970) 382-2953 fax

Located 11 miles south of Durango on Highway 550

Enrollment: 132 students

Feeder school for Escalante Middle School

Lauri Kloepfer, Principal
lkloepfer@durango.k12.co.us

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Home of the Bulldogs

Home of the Bulldogs!

Parents:
Access Sunnyside's December newsletter
Principal's Newsletter

Sunnyside's School Improvement Plan  
Sunnyside's SIP Plan

 

Sunnyside Events:

The Sunnyside Branch of the Public Library is open
Monday - Thursday, 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Get Creative! @ Sunnyside Branch
Summer Reading Program, 2009
Events are FREE and held on Wednesdays 

June 10  2:00 p.m.
San Juan String Band - Live bluegrass music with environmental themes.  Craft: Making Father's Day card
June 17  6:30 p.m.
Seeds and S'mores Gardening - In the cool of the evening we'll beautify the school's outdoor gradent and classroom area.  Bring your garden gloves and a shovel.  Then we'll roast marshmallows outside and make s'mores.  Bring the whole family!
June 24  2:00 p.m.
Hunk-ta Bunk-ta Musical Storytime - Original music for young kids written and performed by Denver artist, Katherine Dines.
July 1  2:00 p.m.
Patriotic Scavenger Hunt with Anne Brennan - Know your US history and figure out the clues!  Followed by flag cupcakes and making a group flag collage.

July 8  2:00 p.m.
Matt the Magician - come see a magic show presented by the young magician, Matt Simonsen.  Make some magic yourself by creaging a "Small People's House" out of natural materials
July 15  2:00 p.m.
Creative Dance and Movement for Kids - Michelle Rothberg, a local dancer, will lead us in fun dances and movement, including yoga, that young children love
August 10 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
REGISTRATION - If your child will be attending Sunnyside during the 2009-2010 school year, you are required to register your child at this time.
August 24  7:45 a.m.
First Day of School - please notice that school will begin at 7:45 a.m.


Mission Statement:
Sunnyside students will meet the challenges of the 21st century with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to succeed in an ethnically diverse, global environment.

Vision Statement:

We, the learning community envision an educational environment, where all participants strive for excellence through continuous learning, self-development, collaboration, and perseverance.  It is our job as teacher and parents to create those "connections" that develop a sense of community, character and life-long learning.  Sunnyside will be a model school with a caring and accepting climate where students excel academically, socially and culturally.

Educational Program:
Sunnyside offers a developmentally appropriate curriculum, based on the Colorado State Standards, to all students in preschool through fifth grade. Sunnyside is a small rural school with all of the services offered in the larger schools while providing a "family" environment. There are seven classrooms, one section per grade Preschool-5. Preschool is a full-day program Monday - Thursday. Kindergarten is a full-day program, Monday - Friday.
The reading program consists of a balanced approach to literacy. The components are: Core Reading (small flexible achievement groups, which teach skills and strategies), Guided Reading (small instructional groups which apply reading skills and strategies to the content areas), Shared Reading (small group or whole classroom group with the teacher interacting and reading aloud with students while teaching skills or strategies), Teacher Read Aloud, SSR (daily independent student practice), Open Court (K-3 small and whole group phonics instruction), and other resources. (Read Naturally, Buddy Reading, and Orten Gillingham techniques are used when appropriate)
Writing instruction uses the strategies and skill of Step Up To Writing and 6-Traits Writing. Sunnyside uses small Core Writing groups in grades 4 and 5. The Rebecca Sitton spelling philosophy is used.
Math concepts and standards are taught and reinforced using Math Trailblazers. Students also practice "facts" on a daily basis using flash cards, mad minutes, and a variety of other activities.
Science is a hands-on curriculum and is tied to the nonfiction reading program.

Special Services:
Sunnyside has many special programs; T.R.A.C.K., choir, orchestra, Study Connection, an after-school Bulldog Club for child care, and an active student council. Sunnyside employs a Partners In Education (P.I.E. coordinator) to welcome parents and to encourage parent participation. There is an active Parent/Teacher Association. The Sunnyside library is a County Public Library and has reading materials for all ages as well as evening computer classes open to the whole community. 

Sunnyside Staff:
There are seven classroom teachers and eight special teachers. Sunnyside employs an administrative assistant, P.I.E. (Partners In Education) coordinator, two instructional aides, health aide, cafeteria manager, media aide and two custodians.

Special Programs or Activities:
In addition to the regular classroom curricula, Sunnyside has the following class possibilities: physical education, music, orchestra, choir, GT, resource for students with special needs, counseling, art, and a Title I Reading program.

 Accomplishments/Highlights:
Colorado Title I Distinguished School Award for Academic Excellence
Sunnyside students have performed well on the CSAP tests. Sunnyside continues to exceed the state and district results.
Percent of students performing in the proficient to the advanced range:

  • READING Grade 3 95% Grade 4 95% Grade 5 77%
  • WRITING Grade 3 79% Grade 4 74% Grade 5 77%
  • MATH Grade 3 94% Grade 4 84% Grade 5 69% 
  • SCIENCE Grade 5  69%
Sunnyside scored an "Excellent", on our building accreditation
A total of 71 volunteers volunteered 457.5 hours
Sunnyside and United Blood Services teamed up to sponsor a blood drive
Received a grant from the Durango Foundation of Educational Excellence to enable
Sunnyside to become the office Durango weather station site for Weatherbug.com
Continued the Bulldog Team Leaders Program
Completely filled the preshcool (15 students)
The Public Library Branch hold monthly opportunities for public participation