Cowles Montessori Crier

“Human flourishing, as Maria Montessori put it, means becoming a person of one’s time and place with the means and wherewithal not only to function within but to shape society (NCMPS, 2019).”

“All humans (CHILDREN and ADULTS) flourish in society (ENVIRONMENT).” - Cowles Montessori Vision

CMPG Monthly Meeting

• Monday, November 9th at 6:00 p.m.
• Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5016626370 / Meeting ID 501 662 6370

• DMPS will file a waiver to the Iowa Department of Education to transition to entirely virtual learning due to the increasing COVID numbers exceeding health metrics in Polk County
• If the state approves the waiver, Cowles will go fully virtual beginning Monday, November 16th, for two weeks
  
• If the state does not approve the waiver, Cowles will maintain the current school schedule
• Stay tuned for more information from DMPS in the coming days regarding the waiver and if it was approved or not approved by the state
• To watch the school board special session go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht46zIAIdJQ

Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Conferences will be conducted virtually now until Thanksgiving Break.
• You will receive direct communication from your child's teacher regarding times.

Related Arts Virtal Parent-Teacher Conferences

If you wish to meet with a Related Arts (Art, Music, P.E.) teacher, they will be conducting open conference times as follows:

• Related Arts for Upper Elementary - November 9th from 4:00-5:00
  
• Related Arts for Middle School - November 12th from 4:00-5:00

Related Arts conferences will take place in the same location as the child's Live Lessons. At any time from 4:00-5:00, the Related Arts teachers can be accessible in subject "Team" on Microsoft Teams. There will be a blue button that says “join”. Click that button, and you will be at the conference. If they are currently speaking with another family, they will have you wait in the Microsoft Teams Lobby and admit you once they are finished.

Thanksgiving Break

• Wednesday, November 25th through Sunday, November 29th
• No School for students
• Cohort A students and Virtual students return on Monday, November 30th

• Wednesday, December 23rd through Sunday, January 3rd
• No School for students
• Cohort A and Virtual students Return on Monday, January 4th

Dear Cowles parents/guardians:

A healthy school environment requires the cooperation and effort of all of us working together. During this time of year, we see a higher incidence of illness, regardless of whether they think they have COVID-19 or not.

COVID-19 cases continue to rise in our community. Please help us slow down the spread of illness and COVID-19.

1. Staying home when ill is more important than ever this year. Please do not come to school, go to work, or go out in public if you are ill. You will prevent others from catching your illness.Please contact your healthcare provider if symptoms are not improving to determine your next steps.
2. Please wash your hands often. Handwashing is the number one way to help prevent the spread of germs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d914EnpU4Fo
3. Avoid touching your eyes, your nose and your mouth. Germs spread this way.
4. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
5. Cover coughs and sneezes. Use a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes, then dispose of the tissue and then wash your hands. When a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your elbow. If wearing your mask, do not take off your mask. Cough or sneeze into your mask. Change your mask if it becomes wet or dirty.
6. Please physical distance by staying 6 feet away from each other.
7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work, or school especially when someone is ill.
8. Avoid large gatherings and get-togethers.
9. Get a flu vaccine. https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/health-department/
10. Please wear your mask to school, to work, and out in public. Make sure it is changed if it gets wet or dirty and please make sure it fits properly. Wear a clean mask everyday.

OTHER REMINDERS:

Dental Screens: Courtney Wolterman, Smile Squad Program Director from Dental Connections will be here on November 5th and November 9th to conduct dental screens on our Kindergarteners. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. Results will be sent home with students who do not pass.

Free Meals: Remember free meals are available to all DMPS students, ages 1-18, now through May 31st, regardless of income. No ID required. More information found here.

Food Bank of Iowa: Also, I am attaching this great resource for our Cowles Montessori School families. Our pick-up location is Meredith Reformed Church, 5128 Meredith Dr., Wed: 11:30a.m.- 1:00 p.m. Please see attached document for the other 13 locations located throughout the city.

Kindness Challenge: This month the Kindness Elves would like to challenge you to donate to a homeless shelter https://www.shelterlist.com/city/ia-des_moines or donate to the Food Bank of Iowa.

Have you ever heard of a Blessing Bag? These hygiene kits are handy to keep in your car, for those that live on the street, or can be given as gift bags for your local homeless shelter. Here are a couple examples of how to make a Blessing Bag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-jrPy46L1w or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lm7yZfW5Ns&feature=emb_logo If you would like, please join me and the Kindness Elves and make a few Blessing Bags for the homeless. Get your children involved by shopping and picking out the items for the Blessing Bags. They can help you pack, as well as assemble them. I have early memories of both my mom and grandma stopping to be kind to people in need. They both taught me a lot just by being generous people. It was an invaluable lesson of kindness and helping others.

Friday, November 13th is World Kindness Day. Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Let’s all be mindful and go out of our way more than normal that day to be kind to each other and especially to people we do not know. “People coming together as a community can make things happen.” ~ Jacob Rees-Mogg

Have a wonderful week and if you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. I am always happy to help.

Be well! Stay safe!

Nurse Ann 😊

If parents want to book an appointment time to speak with Nurse Ann, click on the link below:

Nurse Ann's Office Hours

Car Line Traffic Flow: Important Things to Remember

To ensure student safety and the efficiency of our traffic flow system, please note the following:

• If you are new to Cowles or new to parent pick-up, notify the office if you need a sign with your child’s name for your car for parent pick-up
• Drop-off and pick-up locations are marked on the map
• Right-hand turn only when exiting the parking lot
• "NO PARKING" zones are designated by city signs that are posted (also indicated on the map)
• When picking up your child, post their name sign in your window and our teachers will support students crossing and loading into your vehicle
• Watch for signals from teachers supporting students at designated crossings
• Follow the traffic laws that pertain to cell phone use and seat belts while driving

Washington Avenue Car Line

• This is an ideal drop off option for anyone, especially Preschool and Kindergarten before school
  

• Due to traffic flow, Washington Avenue Car Line is reserved for the following classes of older students and their siblings for pick up after school:
• Mr. Egherman's students and their siblings
• Ms. Allie''s students and their siblings
• Middle School students and their siblings
• Students walk in from Washington Street on the designated sidewalk with teaching monitoring
• "NO PARKING" zones are designated by city signs that are posted
• Avoid turning around in residential driveways
• Follow the traffic laws that pertain to cell phone use and seat belts while driving

Early Childhood Department/School Readiness Goals & Learning Targets – 2020-2021

• 85% of 4 year-olds will meet or exceed kindergarten readiness in the Literacy Domain of GOLD including concepts of print, alliteration, letter names and letter sounds.
• 80% of 4 year-olds will meet or exceed kindergarten readiness in the Math Domain of GOLD including counts, quantifies and connects numerals with quantities.
• 90% of 4 year-olds will meet or exceed kindergarten readiness in the Social/Emotional Domain of GOLD, follows limits and expectations.

District Board Goals

LITERACY

• Goal 1: The percent of all third grade students on track in reading will increase from 52% to 72% by June 2023, as measured by FAST.
• Goal 2: The percent of black male third grade students on track in reading will increase from 35% to 72% by June 2023, as measured by FAST.

ALGEBRA

• Goal 3: The percent of black male students earning a ‘B’ or higher in Algebra 1 by the end of 9th grade will increase from 17% to 35% by August 2023.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

• Goal 4: A goal will be developed once a baseline measure for social emotional learning is determined.

Cowles Montessori School Improvement Goal

Goal 1: The percent of all third through eighth grade students proficient and/or on track for college and carerr readiness in math will increase from 81% to 85% by Spring of 2023 as measured by state assessments:

• By 2020 - 82%
• By 2021 - 83%
• By 2022 - 84%
• By 2023 - 85%

Email: todd.johnson@dmschools.org
Website: cowles.dmschools.org
Location: 6401 College Avenue, Windsor Heights, IA, USA
Phone: 515-242-7818
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowlesMontessori/
Twitter: @CowlesDMPS