The Cove Connection 

Sunday, November 7th, 2021

Issue #13

For Previous Issues Click Here

Principal's Message

Going to school is a natural chance to foster independence that leads to academic progress, a sense of pride and social emotional growth and in our children.

This article from Edutopia shares the insights of one early childhood educator: What Have I Been Doing for My Students That They Could Do for Themselves? The author, Katerina Watson says, “One of the most essential yet difficult strategies for promoting independence is to let failure happen... Allowing them opportunities to fail catalyzes reflection and critical thinking.”

As parents, you can help with this important process as well.

Cove Cart: At Cove, we have noticed a lot of forgotten lunches, snacks, water bottles, jackets, homework assignments, projects, etc. We now have a cart that is right outside the office where students can pick up essential forgotten items. We know there will be times when you need to bring something to school for your child. However, before you bring something to leave on the cart, consider this:

• We always offer food to students if they don’t have food. They don’t always like it, but they do get something healthy in their stomachs. We don’t let them go hungry,

• There are natural (usually small) consequences to forgetting an assignment or homework folder. Consider letting these play out to help your child learn to remember it next time.

• When you drop something off on the cart, the office emails the teacher. The teacher may or may not see the email before the end of the school day. The best plan (other than sending everything your child needs at the beginning of the day) is to let your child know in the morning if there is a plan to bring something to them during the school day. Then you can tell them to check the cart at lunch time, for example.

• Every time we email a teacher or interrupt them, that’s time away from their teaching and direct work with students. Teachers’ priority during the school day is to give their students- including your child- their full attention.

• While letting our kids be independent often takes more time and often means more mess, more forgotten items, and sometimes even tears... in the long run it pays off. Thank you for your teamwork on this!

Sincerely,

Michelle Walker, Principal

Clockwise from top left: Kindergarteners counting collections in math, 1st graders during a Readers Workshop mini lesson, 2nd grader using the number line strategy for a word problem involving subtraction, 3rd graders during a Readers Workshop mini lesson.

Why Giving Day Matters The Participation Challenge is the biggest fundraising campaign for SPARK every year and we’re counting on you to help us reach our 65% participation target by SPARK Giving Day November 16th! To reach our overall goal of $1.5M we need your financial support; Annual Giving makes up nearly 80% of total SPARK revenue. We've sweetened the pot with some exciting incentives! When we reach 65% participation, every student receives a bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes and your donation gives you a chance to win a $1,000 Cavallo Point gift card. More Giving Day details can be found here. Make your donation or pledge before 1:1 outreach starts next week!

Participation Challenge Update Thanks to more than 40 families, we’re moving the needle. Check out our updated overall percentage and grade level percentages here. The grade level with the highest participation wins an Ice Cream party courtesy of our Biz Partner Re:Think Ice Cream and the first class to reach 100% participation will get special sweatshirts courtesy of an anonymous donor! 

Thank you Biz Partner Sage Educators Owned by District parents, Sage Educators will be offering school break day camps this year! Designed after their highly successful outdoor summer camp, Nature Navigators, their Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Mid Winter Break, and Spring Break camps give elementary school students a chance to engage with nature academically, while moving and playing with their peers. With an emphasis on experiential learning, students will learn how to make and record observations, collect and interpret scientific data, use art as a means of interpreting nature, and practice team building and leadership skills. If you are looking to take outdoor exploration, imagination, and fun to the next level, this is the option for you. Learn more here.

Amy’s Drive Thru Promotion During the month of November, Amy’s Drive Thru will donate 20% of all purchases back to SPARK with our coupon code SPARKNOVEMBER. Here’s how it works:

1. Get the Amy’s Drive Thru app and sign up

2. Use the app to place orders and be sure to enter coupon code SPARKNOVEMBER at check out 

3. Promotion good for pickup, curbside, or delivery through the month of November

Left Bank x SPARK Monday Night Dinners Every Monday, Left Bank creates a delicious SPARK Family Meal for 4 for $50 and donates 20% back to our schools! This week’s menu: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, butter lettuce salad and Brussel sprouts. Order online today for pick up tomorrow. Select “SPARK Family Meal” when you order.

Cove staff members and second grader, Kethan, shared their Diwali traditions with our school in Friday's assembly. Thank you to Suman V, Kate C, Amita P and Praveena R for sharing this with our students!

School & PTO News

Cove Holiday Store Returns! We are happy to announce a return to our beloved tradition this year on December 3rd. In order to have a strong store we are asking for no longer loved items such as: books, scarfs, jewlery, mens items, kitchen items and the like. We are also in need of tape, wrapping paper, tissue paper and bags. Please bring in items to the table in the gallery starting now! More information to come.

5th Grade Yearbook Cover Contest Entries! Please take a peek at all of our beautiful entries for our 2021-2022 yearbook cover contest! Student voting will take place this week during lunch and the winning cover will be announced next year when the yearbook is distributed.

Pick Up and Drop Off Simple Reminders to keep our children safe!

• Do not park in the loop driveway (gate to blacktop)

• Do not leave your car 

• Do not block cross walk 

• Do not make two lines in loop 

• Do not park in staff spots

You may be ticketed! Please share with caregivers.

Community News

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

• Corte Madera Park and Rec Enrichment Classes

• Twin Cities Softball 

• Friday Cove Parent Hikes on Ring Mountain

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.