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, ADOLESCENTS, and ADULTS) flourish in society (ALL ENVIRONMENTS).” - Cowles Montessori Vision

CMPG Monthly Meeting

• Monday, April 12th at 6:00 p.m.
• Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5016626370

Retiree Recognition

• Monday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m.
• Retiree Recognition Event Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5016626370?fbclid=IwAR2S_4uHhs2kNOZ9-7joGI8wA5gDuSVQDI6lZ_wsR2es2DCr2wCXNEpGxck#success

• The retiring teachers joining the meeting will be Lori Myers, Carol Mattes, Adam Egherman, and Mona Thompson.

Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP)

• 3rd-8th Grade Students
• Format for both In-person and Virtual
• Testing window beings mid-May
• Stay tuned for specific testing dates, times, and details

Last Day of School for Preschool Students

• Friday, May 28th

Memorial Day

• Monday, May 31st
• No school for students, faculty, and staff

Last Day of School for Kindergarten through 8th Grade

• Thursday, June 3rd - early dismissal (time TBA)

Summer Break

• Begins Friday, June 4th

Hello! My name is Amber Graeber and I work with the student council at Roosevelt High School.

Families are welcome to attend our Outdoor Movie at Roosevelt High School on Friday, April 16.

Details:

• Location: Softball field at Roosevelt High School (4419 Center Street)
• Movie: Black Panther
• Start Time: 8:15pm
• COVID Precautions: Masks and social distancing required.
• Cost: Donations accepted at the door. Concessions for sale ($1 each item).
• We encourage families to attend. Bring blankets or lawn chairs and enjoy a movie under the stars!
• Students must attend with a parent or caregiver. No students may attend without direct supervision.

Des Moines Public Schools is pleased to announce that we will be offering more online learning options next school year for students in grades 6-12. The DMPS Virtual Campus is expanding to include the middle school grade levels in addition to being open to more high school students. The expansion of Virtual Campus is being made at this time due to growing interest as a result of the continued pandemic. We will not offer a fully virtual option for elementary students.

The middle school courses at Virtual Campus will include English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, Music Appreciation, and an exploratory core wheel of courses that includes Business/Technology, Health, Art, and Spanish. In addition, ELL, special education and gifted & talented programs will be available as needed. Students in grade 6-8 may participate in extracurricular activities and athletics through their home middle school.

For more information on the student experience at Virtual Campus, please visit virtualcampus.dmschools.org. You may also view the information attached as a PDF document below this message.

Middle School: Enrollment will be limited to 500 students. If you are interested in this option for your student, please submit an application at this link. At this time, we cannot guarantee enrollment and you will receive communication in May regarding your application. The deadline for submitting your application is April 30.

High School: Applications to request a within-district transfer to Virtual Campus will be accepted between now and April 30. Enrollment in the high school is not capped and most requests will be honored. If you are interested in this option for your student, please submit an application at this link

Hello Parents and Guardians,

The lifelong health of our students in very important to us here at Cowles Montessori School and this year we’re proud to partner with the American Heart Association through the Kid’s Heart Challenge.

The American Heart Association is working hard on the front lines to engage young people early and often as they form lifelong habits, while also working around the clock to ensure every community, including ours, has the latest science and research to be able to respond when we need it most. Beyond heart attacks, cardiac arrest, congenital heart defects and stroke – AHA has a frontline role in the COVID response, addressing the cardiovascular complications we’re seeing and getting our care providers what they need to help.

This service-learning program teaches students how to care for their hearts both physically and emotionally and teaches the importance of giving back by raising lifesaving donations to fight the nation’s #1 killer, heart disease!

• To register your student(s) and fundraise for AHA please go to our personal school page here: http://www2.heart.org/goto/cowles
• Fundraising to support AHA will end Friday May 7th
• We encourage online donations this year, but please have any cash/check donations turned in to the main office with your student’s envelope

We’re challenging every student to register online and choose one of three things they will commit to doing better: BE KIND, MOVE MORE or CHOOSE WATER.

Thank you for supporting us and the lifesaving mission of the American Heart Association!

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

Nurse Ann's Office Hours

Staying connected is a top priority for all of our children at Cowles Montessori. Each week, Principal Johnson reads from a list of students, faculty, and staff to say hello and share a page from the book "Incredible You" by Dr. Wayne Dyer.

• Your child can access these videos by clicking on the links and logging into their DMPS accounts.
• The links to the videos are posted below if your child wishes to view them at home.
• Principal Johnson will update this list each week until he says hello to everyone and finishes the book:

#1 Share The Good

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/31f2c631-d45f-4acd-8545-50f73e78a7ca

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/3d8d9ddb-456c-4fb5-8638-39f8112e930e
  

#3 You Are Filled With Love

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/3348bce5-5d28-4785-a54c-53749bf02429
  

#4 Find A Quiet Place Inside

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/ae8326ca-4aba-4b13-8add-cf21dc01e6b3

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/4ca74329-0093-4245-bb36-0084e41e9809
  

#6 Change Your Thoughts To Good

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/2d8c739c-7b52-4d00-8f2a-219f7abf3dcb

#7 Take Care of Yourself

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/8697016a-c1d4-4485-9769-7417d579df1b
  

#8 Picture What You Want

• https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/153a7add-7e16-49c0-90bb-a837d361adc4
  

The Education Bill Tracking webpage provides regular updates during the Iowa legislative session on bills related to education in Iowa. Information about new bills, including names, numbers, and sponsors are provided.

As the session continues to move forward, there are certain session milestones that bills need to clear to stay alive. These milestones are listed within the session timetable

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 career 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: shannon.hines@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