Cowles Montessori Crier
Week of October 26th
Cowles Montessori Vision
“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
Say Farewell To Marian
Please join us for a special CMPG Zoom meeting Monday, October 26th, at 6:00 p.m. to say farewell to Marian. Families can jump on the meeting to share any pictures, letters, or send her well wishes. Thank you for helping us show her what she means to our community.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5016626370
Meeting ID 501 662 6370
Important Dates To Remember
The week of October 26th:
- Cohort A PrePrimary, Lower, Upper, and Middle School students will attend school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
- Cohort B PrePrimary, Lower, Upper, and Middle School students will attend school on Thursday. Friday is reserved for Fall Break, no school for students.
- Related Arts will meet with in-person (hybrid) students live twice per week.
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 Kindergarten - October 26th from 4:00-5:00
- Related Arts for Lower Elementary - October 29th from 4:00-5:00
- 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.
Fall Break for All Virtual and In-Person (Hybrid) Students
- Friday, October 30th through Tuesday, November 3rd
- No School for students
- Cohort B and Virtual students return on Wednesday, November 4th
- 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
Promoting Local Businesses
CMPG will launch a November 20 - December 31, 2020 campaign promoting local Cowles-family owned/operated businesses. Whether you sell products or services, wouldn’t you be willing to offer some small portion of purchases back to the Cowles community to go towards school needs?
WHAT YOU GET!
CMPG will bring more awareness to Cowles families' businesses with the hope that we will support local Cowles industries year-round.
We will do this by:
• Posting your business logo and services on our Facebook page
• Adding your business logo to our SupportCowles.com website page
• Linking out to your business website
• Adding a bio about your business
• Ask people to share what they purchased from you.
Follow this link for more information as well as a form to complete with your interest and offer. To be included, please submit your information by Tuesday, November 3.
Follow this link for more information as well as a form to complete with your interest and offer. To be included, please submit your information by Tuesday, November 3.
Heart Of The Matter: A Message From Nurse Ann
Hello everyone!
I have to say it’s been a busy and successful first two weeks of school! Our middle school students will join us this week, and I am looking forward to seeing them. It’s been a joy to see (masked) faces and hear students learning between the walls of Cowles once again.
Please continue to monitor your child’s symptoms daily and keep your child home when he/she is ill. We continue to implement all the mitigation measures we have in place at school like mask-wearing, proper handwashing, physical distancing, and daily sanitizing in classrooms. This will be our best effort to slow the spread of this virus at school.
REMINDERS:
Cold and flu season is upon us.
Here are some tips to prevent the cold and flu:
1. Wash your hands! This is the number one thing you can do to stop the spread of germs.
2. Cough and sneeze in your elbow. *Please leave your mask on when you cough or sneeze and change it if gets wet or dirty, hence why students need extra masks at school to change into.
3. Keep your immune system strong by eating a nutritious diet with plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables, get plenty of sleep. https://youtu.be/aRulmpzjd88 and exercise daily.
4. While the flu vaccine will not protect against COVID-19, it will minimize your risk of getting sick or being hospitalized from the flu. You can get a flu vaccine from your doctor, at the Polk County Health Department, or there are many local pharmacies that are giving flu vaccines. (HyVee, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Medicap, etc.)
Extra clothes: There are occasional “accidents” at school i.e. bloody noses, wet pants, ripped pants, etc. If your child is known to have an occasional accident, please send extra supplies with your child in their backpack. If you would like to donate, please send new, Cowles accepts all size packages of new underwear boys and/or girls, leggings, sweatpants or tops, t-shirts and socks. These items, if needed, go home, and do not come back this year.
Also, please pack extra masks daily in your child’s backpack. If you would like to donate masks, especially children’s masks, please contact Nurse Ann.
It’s getting cold out there so let’s bundle up! Please make sure your child dresses for the weather and preferably dressed in layers. Please don’t forget a warm coat, hats, mittens or gloves, boots, etc. as needed. We want your child safe and warm outside, especially now that the snow has already started flying.
Kindness Challenge: Can you imagine what could happen if all children were encouraged to spread kindness with the hope of making our world a more compassionate and loving place? Well, I’d like to introduce you to the Kindness Elves. My hope is that the students at Cowles will sprinkle kindness on each other, their families, people in our community and those in need. This month we are honoring all of our community helpers. We all know or have one in our lives. Let them know you appreciate them by sending them a thank you card. Kindness matters.
Vision screens: Currently, vision screens for all our preschoolers, Kindergarteners, and 3rd graders are being conducted by me. If you do not hear anything from me, that means your child passed. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
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.
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.
With Halloween and other holidays just around the corner, many people are wondering what is safe this year. The CDC has put together some guidelines for both holiday celebrations and travel.
If you plan to take your children trick-or-treating this weekend:
1. Limit the number of houses you visit and ask your children to maintain at least six feet distance from treat-givers. For small children, consider holding the bag for them.
2. Only accept factory-wrapped treats. Avoid homemade treats made by strangers
3. Wipe off candy wrappers with sanitizing wipes when you arrive home.
4. Stay local. Avoid the urge to attend events in another town – it can lead to greater spread of the virus.
5. Think before you go. Use the CDC’s guidance on deciding to go out to assess what’s best for you and your family when it comes to celebrating this year.
If your community is hosting trick-or-treating this year, do it more safely by:
1. Refrain from having children select their own treats from using a bowl or common container.
2. Leave out individual grab bags or paper cups filled with goodies outside your door for children to take.
3. Watch and wave to trick-or treaters through a window.
4. Leave Halloween treats outside the door where friends and loved ones live for a contact-free way of celebrating.
Remember, we can get through this together, it just looks a little different this year!
If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at ann.humphrey@dmschools.org or call me at 242-7818 ext.2757. I am always happy to help.
Be well! Stay safe!
Nurse Ann
Nurse Ann's Office Hours
If parents want to book an appointment time to speak with Nurse Ann, click on the link below:
In-Person (Hybrid) Information
School Hours
- Doors open at 8:15 a.m. for students to enter the building. (Please no parents or family members in the building at this time.)
- School begins at 8:30 a.m.
- Morning pre-school half-day students dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
- School dismisses at 3:25 p.m. See car line information below.
Items to bring to school:
- Masks. Students may wear a shield in addition to a mask. (Please no gaitors or bandanas.)
- Water bottle labeled with student name. Bottles will be sent home weekly for cleaning.
- District-issued laptop and charger. Students will practice accessing online materials and engage with the virtual Montessori manipulatives that we purchased from Montessori Services due to the cleaning requirements for physical manipulatives in the classroom.
- Weather-appropriate outdoor clothing.
Meals & Snacks
- Each child can bring their own snacks. Students are not able to bring snacks to share at this time.
- Breakfast and lunch will be consumed in the classroom.
- All students will receive to-go meals that will be sent home each day with enough meals for the week and weekend. (If you wish to opt-out, please call Central Nutrition Center at 515-242-7636 and let your teacher know.)
CMPG Parent Education
"When we speak of peace, we do not mean a partial truce between separate nations, but a permanent way of life for all [mankind]." —Maria Montessori
Members of the Des Moines Public School District and Cowles Montessori School, our teachers, staff and administrators have made a commitment to collectively think, learn, and grow as an organization in the area of equity. In partnership with them, CMPG hopes to see Cowles Montessori parents make that same commitment.
Real challenges exist when it comes to raising white children in a society that is full of racial injustice. As a school with predominantly white families, the Cowles Montessori Parent Group feels a responsibility to support care-givers to engage in race-conscious, anti racist-committed parenting. Where to start? Cowles parent, Drake University professor and author Dr. Jennifer Harvey has graciously donated free access to her "Raising Antiracist White Kids" on-line course for a Cowles parent education series. This step-by-step guide will be broken down into 6 week sessions. Each weekly session will be an hour long group virtual discussion that follows "homework" consisting of a 10-20 minute video by Dr. Harvey and reflection work. To learn more about the course, visit Dr. Harvey's website here. Starting on October 26, we will cover the six sessions weekly as a group and will culminate the learning with an interactive Q&A session with Dr. Harvey on December 7th. You can view a special message from Dr. Harvey here to kick things off.
Sign up now for a Monday evening or Tuesday morning session by following the link here. If your session is full, please sign up for a waiting list spot. If there are enough people on the waiting list, we will add more time options to accommodate demand. We also plan on hosting this series again in early 2021 when it MAY be less hectic for all. Once you are signed up, more information will be forthcoming regarding links to the virtual meeting, access to the curriculum and other instructions.
The Cowles Montessori Parent Group is also committed to efforts to create a more supportive environment for students of color at Cowles. In exchange for free access to Dr. Harvey's course, which would normally cost $130/person, we are asking participants to donate to a dedicated CMPG fund for anti-racism efforts at Cowles. Staff leading anti-racism efforts in consultation with parents of students of color will direct those funds to training and other materials. Donations can be made to Venmo @CMPG6401 or Paypal @ CMPGDM@gmail.com or by check made out to CMPG.
We are also looking for additional moderators for the discussion sessions should we need to add sessions. If you are interested in volunteering or if you have any questions about this program please contact Allison Petersen at allisonepetersen@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Allison Petersen
Car Line
Car Line Reminders
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 Street Car Line
Washington Street Car Line Reminders
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
Contact Cowles Montessori
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