The Cove Connection

Sunday, January 10th, 2021

Issue #18

For Previous Issues Click Here

UPCOMING DATES

January 10- Readathon Links sent out via 99pledges
January 13- LCMSD Board meeting, 6pm
January 14- Coffee with Supt Geithman, 8:30am via Zoom
January 14- Cove Virtual School Tours, 10am *see below for more
January 15- Readathon Kickoff Assembly
January 15- Readathon Minute Tracking begins
January 18- MLK Jr. Day, Observed, No School
January 20- PTO Board Meeting, 7pm via Zoom

All Fridays

All School Assembly 11:30-12pm via Zoom
Library Book Pick Up and Return 8:00am - 4:00pm
Classroom Materials Pickup 8:00am- 4:00pm (*as notified by your classroom teacher)

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Stay at Home Order - Traveling and Gathering

We greatly appreciate your commitment to our Winter Break Re-Entry Plan and the current Stay at Home Order. The Order has been extended until further notice. In planning for the weekend and day to day activities, below is LCMSD’s protocol while in the current Stay at Home Order status:

Gathering Is defined as more than one household gathering inside or outside at a residence

Permitted gatherings
Sports teams
Outdoor recreational activities (hiking, biking, surfing, etc.)

Traveling Is defined as more than 120 miles from your residence for non-essential purposes

It is important to note that any Marin County resident who engages in non-essential travel has violated a state order; this includes traveling to Tahoe for skiing and/or a vacation residence
Permitted travel
- Within the Bay Area (map)
- Here is the CDC frequently asked questions page regarding the Stay at Home Order

If you are wondering about your specific scenario, here is some background information I wanted to share because of the number of questions I am getting:

The allowed businesses and activities all have county-approved Site Protection Plans on file. This is what permits schools, sports practices, childcare organizations and specific businesses to be open.
Informal learning cohorts and childcare arrangements are not permitted right now under this order.
Gatherings (indoor or outdoor) at residences increase the likelihood of sharing bathrooms, eating or drinking. This is why shorter outdoor outings such as biking and hikes are permitted and playdates at a residence are not.

Please do not send your child if they or anyone in your household has symptoms of illness. Email Coveabsentee@lcmschools.org and your child’s teacher so we can set your child up to livestream. We will continue following the current Marin County decision tree. We have updated our COVID Daily Screening to include a travel/gather question. This will remain in place throughout the Stay at Home Order.

What if we traveled or gathered?

It is our expectation that children who traveled outside the Bay Area and/or gathered with members outside of their household will not attend in person school until they:

1) quarantine for 10-days following the gathering/ traveling OR

2) return after day 7 with a negative test performed on/after day 5 (diagnostic molecular rt-pcr tests only) and remain asymptomatic.

If we learn that a student has traveled/gathered within 10 days and arrives at in-person learning, they will be sent home until the above criteria is met.

Here’s how to proactively prepare your child for success:

Fill out this form if you traveled or gathered. This form notifies the school and allows us to prepare for your child to live stream. Live Stream is different from Distance Learning. During live streaming, a student is observing the classroom through a camera/speaker via Zoom. This requires independence on the student’s part or adult support.
Email Coveabsentee@lcmschools.org and your child’s teacher with updates on your child’s status (testing results, anticipated return to school date, etc).
Sign up for a test! Curative is offering testing in Marin seven days a week (book here). Check back often as more appointment time slots will be added.

Today marks the start of the 5th Annual Readathon! Help our kids, and our school, start the New Year strong by joining us in making our 5th Annual Cove School Readathon the best one yet! We know that things have been challenging this school year, to say the least, but thankfully reading is still just as comforting, reliable, and rewarding.

The Readathon is a 3-week reading and fundraising event that will take place from January 15 to February 9, 2021. Not only does it encourage our children to read, it raises money that the Cove School relies heavily on, as this pandemic has shown us firsthand. Reading to your child, having them read to you, reading on their own, and audiobooks all count toward minutes read! Let’s read, read, read!

We have awesome incentives and prizes for both students and teachers.

Visit 99pledges and our Readathon website for more information.

The Readathon is the only PTO fundraising event,

so please help us make it a success!

SCHOOL NEWS

Safety Drills- With safety as our #1 priority, we are required to hold monthly safety drills to prepare our school community for emergencies. During COVID, we hold these drills over the PA system. This gives Principal Walker a chance to train students and staff on protocols while eliminating the COVID risk associated with gathering on the blacktop. On Wednesday this week, we will have a practice fire and lockdown drill with each cohort.

New Cove Family Tours Families wishing to join The Cove School next year (August 2021) are invited to participate in a virtual tour. Principal Walker will share Cove philosophy and approach as well as other important information. You will see pictures of campus and classrooms to get a sense of our community!

Tour Dates:

Jan 14, 10am
Jan 29, 1pm
Feb 10, 10am

Tours will last approximately one hour and will provide time for Q & A. Register here to receive the zoom link to participate. Thank you! (Tours will be recorded in Zoom and recordings will be shared upon request to those who were unable to attend one of the scheduled dates.)

Cove in Motion Lisa Shields will be live on Wednesdays only with “reruns” found in the drive the rest of the week. Wednesday Live CIM (Zoom Link, password: Cove)

SPARK UPDATES

A Letter from our Executive Director As we lean into 2021, what’s on tap for SPARK this spring? Click here to learn more.

Corporate Match Have you taken advantage of your company's Corporate Match program with your Annual Giving donation? Last year we raised nearly $155K alone through Corporate Match Programs. Not sure if your company participates? Find out here if you can double your donation!

DISTRICT NEWS

Board Updates The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 6:00 PM. Community partners will be celebrated, a COVID Update will be presented, and a recommendation to refinance school bonds will be discussed. The School Accountability Report Cards and the budget adoption cycle will be voted on. The Board Meeting will be held in-person (RSVP with mokeeffe@lcmschools.org; spaces are limited) and here is the Zoom link.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Please click link to view Community News that includes updates from:

Broadway Training Programs
Marin Girls Chorus
Science of Happiness
CM Park and Rec Offerings
Twin Cities Community Preschool

Cove in Motion Schedule Change- Live on Wednesdays Only- Beginning in the new year Lisa Shields will be live on Wednesdays only with “reruns” found in the drive the rest of the week. We are deeply grateful for her commitment, movement, and leadership!

Cove in Motion, Looking for Talent Have a background in fitness, dance, or pilates, and are willing and able to lead our Coyotes in a weekly recurring time slot? If interested and able, please email president@covepto.org

Read-a-thon Save-The-Date!

The 5th annual Read-a-thon is scheduled to launch on Friday, January 14th! Get your books ready!

Be on the lookout for an email from 99Pledges on Sunday, January 10th. All funds raised go directly back to our school and your child will be able to start collecting one week from today. More details to follow…

Public Health Conversation January 4 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Updates from Dr. Willis and Dr. Santora, with community Q&A session. Click this link to join the webinar ID: 831-8443-8863 Passcode: 289369

Dedication to Special Education Fundraiser Raffle The parent volunteers of Dedication to Special Education announce the 16th Annual Benefit Car Raffle. This year Toyota Marin has fully donated a 2021 Hybrid RAV4! The raffle raises money for teacher grants, giving teachers the tools they need to improve access and learning opportunities for students receiving special education services. Please go here to reserve your tickets. The winning ticket will be pulled on February 6 at 3:00 p.m. Every dollar helps Marin County’s special educators and their students.

SPARK UPDATES

A Letter from our Executive Director As we lean into 2021, what’s on tap for SPARK this spring? Click here to learn more.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Please click link to view Community News that includes updates from:

Broadway Training Programs
Marin Girls Chorus
Ms. Gallagher’s Homeschool Curriculum for Children Ages 3-5
Twin Cities Community Preschool

Follow Us! #CoveSchool #WeAreLCMSD

ABOUT THE COVE CONNECTION The Cove Connection is a digital bulletin published by the CovePTO and distributed to The Cove School community each Sunday via email. To submit content to the Cove Connection, please email info@covepto.org. To receive a subscription to The Cove Connection, or to change your email address, send a note to covesecretaries@lcmschools.org.

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