Cowles Montessori Crier

"Together we celebrate diversity, respect, and the love for learning through the Montessori Method. Our environment nurtures and prepares the child for a global community."

Parent-Teacher Conferences - Week of October 2nd

Picture Day – Thursday, October 19th

Trunk or Treat - Thursday, October 26th

No School for Students - Friday, October 27th

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of Montessori Education in the Des Moines Public School District, we are calling on all parents to submit photos that will be displayed on a 25th Anniversary Montessori Pink Tower. The larger-than-life sized Pink Tower will hold 1,925 photos and will be revealed in February when we officially celebrate the 25th Anniversary.

You may upload your photos to the following Dropbox link or contact Kara Dare:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4fuqvqw0alx0rye/AAC08EwAN9xcO2m51TiLzQS1a?dl=0

Please save and send in plastic containers with students for Mrs. Dare's Art Class. The Lower Elementary students will be re-purposing them into Greek Vases starting this week!

For those of you still needing to purchase school supplies:

Parents are **Strongly encouraged** to pay for their classroom supplies, specials and field trip donations online. Here's what you need to know:

1) Go to www.myschoolbucks.com

2) Login or register. Be sure to add all of your children to the account

3) Click on "School Store" (upper right-hand corner) and then "Browse All Items"

4) Add the "Classroom Supply Fee" for each of your children to the 'basket' (works like a virtual shopping cart)

5) Add the (optional) "Field Trip Expense Donation" for each of your children to the 'basket'

6) Add the (optional) "Specials Donation" for the amount of children you have at Cowles

7) Click "View Cart / Checkout" in the upper right-hand corner and provide your payment

That's it! Questions can be directed to the "Contact Us" in the upper-right corner of the site or to Nate Reagen (nreagen@gmail.com)

Intrinsic Motivation- Intrinsic motivation is the innate desire that drives the child to engage in an activity for enjoyment and satisfaction.

Creativity and Originality of Thought- Students are confident using the knowledge and skills they acquired to express their own ideas and creativity. They recognize the value of their own ideas, respect the creative process of others and are willing to share regardless of risk. Students find joy and satisfaction in self-expression.

Social Responsibility- Social responsibility requires the awareness that one’s actions impact the welfare of the group and that one cannot attain complete independence and autonomy until one contributes constructively in a group process. Individuals are able to make a positive contribution to their community and groups within that community.

Autonomy- The autonomous child is self-directed, composed and morally independent.

Confidence and Competence- The confident and competent child perceives himself as being successful, has a realistic understanding of accomplishment and has the ability to learn from his/her mistakes. Competence is the capability for success through taking risks, reflection, and self-correction.

Spiritual Awareness- Montessori students are often exceptionally compassionate, empathetic, and sensitive to the natural world and human condition.

Academic Preparation- On an academic level, Montessori provides students with skills that allow them to become independently functioning adults and lifelong learners. As students master one level of academic skills they are able to go further and apply themselves to increasingly challenging materials across various academic disciplines. Students recognize that there is always room to grow in their abilities to read, write, speak, and think clearly and thoughtfully. Children learn how to learn by doing. Students are encouraged to explore materials, integrate new concepts, analyze data, and think critically. Academic skills are essential to learning and knowing, not the aim of learning and knowing.

A special thanks goes out to the Cowles Montessori Parent Group (CMPG) for their support approving meaningful purchases for our students. The Cowles Montessori School Music program was able to purchase African Drums for the Middle School students. The students have expressed interest in recent years and the new drums tie into the programming needs for Middle School. We want to especially thank the volunteers for fundraising for the Arts program at Cowles. The hard work and dedication of our volunteers undoubtedly impacts our students in positive ways!
Sincerely,
Mr. Johnson

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