Cowles Montessori Crier
Week of January 27th
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
Important Dates to Remember
Upper Elementary YCamp Parent Meeting
- Thursday, January 30th at 6:00 p.m. - Cowles Music Room
Sweetheart Dance
- Friday, February 7th
- PrePrimary and Lower Dance at 6:00-6:50 p.m.
- Upper and Middle School Dance at 7:00-7:50 p.m.
CMPG Monthly Meeting
- Monday, February 10th from 6:00-7:00 p.m. - Cowles Music Room
Fine Arts Day
- Tuesday, February 18th
International Montessori Week
- Week of February 24th
- Montessori Education turns 113 years old!
Boosterthon Glow Run
- Friday, February 28th
Car Line Improvements
Thank you for being more diligent with our before and after school car lines. We have been able to keep College Avenue free of parked vehicles, which helps 63rd Street traffic flow as well. WHPD will patrol and issue parking tickets, so be mindful of the parking/no parking signage and the city snow removal ordinance.
One area of improvement we still require is dropping children off at the designated drop off spots, not in the street or other areas of the parking lot. There have been several cars stopping in the middle of the road and/or parking lot to drop off children. It is not safe to drop children off in the street or parking lot due to the icy conditions, and other drivers may not be anticipating sudden stops for vehicles or children getting out of vehicles suddenly. Please review the car line traffic flow posted below in this newsletter.
Boosterthon
Parents and Families—this year’s main fundraiser is the Cowles Glow Run! It’s a two-week program that kicks off with a Pep Rally on February 19th. Families will then gather pledges for every lap your student runs (30-35 laps) at the fun run on February 28th. This year our goal is to raise $20,000 to keep our Montessori school current along with staff professional development. We’ve asked the experts at Booster to power our fundraiser to make it easier, more profitable, and more fun.
Students will also experience an amazing character theme, MINDSPARK: WILD WEST! Booster’s most exciting theme yet combines S.T.E.A.M. skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) with character-building. While they're teaming up with the MindSpark Kids to save Dr. Shock, our students will learn five character traits that will help strengthen themselves and our world.
Please help our school by getting pledges from family and friends and entering them on FUNRUN.COM. Also, all families are invited to come out and cheer on our students at the Cowles Glow Run. Thanks so much for your support!
Hearing Screening Volunteers Needed
Nurse Ann is looking for volunteers February 6th and 7th to help with hearing screening. The screening will take place in the school library. Students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second and Fifth grade will be tested.
Please signup for a two hour shift using the link below. Thank you in advance for your help!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508044eaba72aab9-volunteer
SchoolCNXT
We are excited to be re-committing to SchoolCNXT in 2020 and will be using this platform to post important and helpful information regularly! If you have ever logged into SchoolCNXT (even if it was as long ago as 2018), you can still login using the same information!
Here's how:
1. Download the SchoolCNXT app from the app store on your phone or visit cloud.schoolcnxt.com on your computer.
2. Login using your email address or mobile number along with your password (if you forgot your password, you can click on the "forgot password" link).
3. If you experience any difficulties, email SchoolCNXT at support@schoolcnxt.com.
Cowles Montessori Parent Group
Ways to get involved:
- Attend a CMPG meeting and/or serve on the board
- Sweetheart Dance (February 7th)
- Join the committee. Signup link coming soon! Chaperones needed!
- Help Nurse Ann Administer hearing screening February 6th and 7th
- Boosterthon
- Collect sponsorships. Be available to support the team during the event
- Spring Adults Only Event (April 26th)
- Arts Festival
- Field Day
- Pre-primary Aid Assistance
- Teacher Appreciation Week
Adult Only Fundraiser:
- April 26th event at Ironside Axe Throwing is planned for 2-5 pm
- Ticket price is in the works
- Snack type food will be served
- Ramona and her band, “Ramona and the Sometimes” have graciously offered to perform from 4:00-4:30 p.m.
- Classroom art projects, a raffle, and other fundraising activities are being brainstormed
Take a few minutes to take this survey. It will provide us with important information about Parent Education:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRYZKRKDM3Er5V_-rU_Uq3UPeIuL4o2UJrre-QpnN2B_ZQCw/viewform
DMARC Food Drive
Cowles Community,
It is time for the DMARC Food Drive. During this time, we collect canned and packaged food items to donate to hungry families. We will be collecting items through February 6th (the 100th day of school).
Classrooms that collect at least 100 cans or monetary value (3 cans=$1.00) will be able to celebrate with a Pajama Party.
Please see the attached sheet below with a list of MOST NEEDED ITEMS. In addition to these items, there is always a need for diapers, toothpaste and tooth brushes. There will be bins available outside the classrooms for your donations.
In addition to helping the hungry with these donations, there are a wealth of learning opportunities that this project provides to our students: counting, sorting, addition, money knowledge, and the value of nutrition.
Thank you, in advance, for your generous giving.
Cowles Montessori Service Committee
Iowa Department of Education Legislative Update
Legislative Update for 01/24/2020
There were subcommittees held on the following bills:
SSB 3053 – Guardianship Verification – Requires a guardian to provide verification of guardianship within 10 days of enrolling a child in a school district. The bill passed in subcommittee to keep it moving as additional information is collected.
SF 116 – Guns and School Transports - Allows individuals with a valid nonprofessional permit to carry a firearm on school grounds if they are on school grounds to transport a person to or from, or delivering an item to the school; and if they remain in a parking area or driveway. The bill is resurrected from the last legislative session. It is eligible for a vote in the Judiciary Committee.
SF 2009 – School License Driving - Allows a special, minor driver's licensee, who attends public school, to travel to certain extracurricular activities provided that the distance between the origin and destination does not exceed 50 miles. The bill passed in the Senate Transportation Committee, making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor.
SF 2081 – Suicide Prevention Number – Requires public schools to include on either side of identification cards issued to students in grades 7-12, the Your Life Iowa crisis telephone and text number. The bill passed in the Senate Education Committee with amendments and is eligible for debate on the Senate floor.
SF 2082 – Department of Education Omnibus Technical Corrections/Clarifications – Designed to clean up sections of Iowa Code. The bill passed in the Senate Education Committee with an amendment making it eligible for debate on the Senate floor.
There are several bills that are scheduled for a subcommittee next week.
HF 2019 - New School Vehicle Inspections - Exempts a new vehicle sold as a school bus from pre-use inspections if the seller provides the school or district an affidavit certifying the vehicle complies with minimum safety standards and requirements.
HF 2088 – Professional Development Spending - Requires that funding provided to school districts for professional development cannot be used at an amusement park. Requires the BoEE to adopt rules requiring that time spent for professional development at an amusement park cannot be used to meet license renewal requirements unless held in a conference facility or meeting room.
SF 115 – Carrying on School Grounds – Allows a peace officer to carry a gun on school grounds, even when not on duty. This bill has been resurrected from last year, and is scheduled for a subcommittee in the Judiciary Committee.
SF 2065 - Extra Bonding Capacity, School Resource Officers – Authorizes school districts to raise property tax or income surtax for school resource officers and allows school districts to use funding from the Instructional Support Program for school resource officers beginning with the 2020-21 school year.
SF 2056 – Seizure Safe Schools - Requires school districts and accredited nonpublic schools with a student enrolled who has a seizure disorder to have an individual health plan; to have a registered nurse employed full-time to administer seizure medications; oversight of a vagus nerve stimulation; to provide biennial training relating to seizures to all employees; and to have one employee trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of seizures commencing July 1, 2020. The bill also requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules and the Department of Education (Department) to implement a seizure education program statewide using the Epilepsy Foundation of America training.
SSB 3067 – School Health Screenings - Prohibits school districts from administering or conducting health screenings not required by state or federal law unless parental consent has been acquired. This bill was scheduled for a subcommittee for next week, but was cancelled. More to come on this bill.
On a different note, Governor Reynolds, the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Department announced the formation of the Iowa Governor’s School Safety Bureau. It will focus on providing resources and expertise to assist school districts and law enforcement partners to keep students and staff safe. The Governor proposed $2 million to create the bureau and estimated that it would cost $1.5 million to operate per year.
The bureau will be under the Department of Public Safety and will include a full-time core set of instructors dedicated to providing school safety training throughout the state. The bureau also proposes the implementation of a statewide anonymous tip line that makes sharing concerns about troubling behavior easy. The tip line would be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Shan Seivert
Policy Advisor/Legislative Liaison
Iowa Department of Education
Cell: 515-326-5595
Office: 515-281-3399
shanlyn.seivert@iowa.gov
WARMING HEARTS AND THEN HOMES
Warm Your Heart is about more than just giving away free furnaces; it’s about protecting those in need of heat in central Iowa. Sadly, hundreds of families are unable to provide safe and quality heat for their family during the frigid months. Our goal is to close that gap.
If you know a family that deserves a free furnace, please fill out the form. Families are selected based upon need, their story and the resources available. The deadline for this year’s nomination is February 14, 2020. Nominations received outside of the promotion period will be considered once the promotion begins next year. The nominee must own their home and live within 40 miles from downtown Des Moines.
Car Line Traffic Flow Reminders
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
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