The Cove Connection 

Sunday, November 28th, 2021

Issue #15

For Previous Issues Click Here

Principal's Message

As we end our Thanksgiving break, I want to express my sincere gratitude for our inspirational staff and teachers and the passion they bring when working with our students every day. I also feel tremendous gratitude for all of our engaged parents who step up to help our school community through their time and resources. What a special community we have! We couldn’t do it without each of you!

COVE HOLIDAY STORE- THIS FRIDAY!

A spirit of giving is in the air! Cove Holiday Store returns this Friday, December 3rd.  Prepare to be delighted by the gifts chosen by your children from the new and gently-used “inventory” donated by the Cove community as we transform the Gallery into a “Holiday Store”. Students love shopping for important people in their lives at this special annual event.  This opportunity instills a spirit of giving in our children. Students bring in $2 and get to shop for 2 gifts.  Our awesome volunteers wrap the gifts and the students bring them home to you!

We need your help to make this happen!

• DONATE by Thursday December 2nd- Bring items to Gallery!  Treasures in high demand include: costume jewelry and women’s accessories, hobby supplies, holiday-themed decor, housewares, cookbooks, DVDs, and anything for men! We cannot take used clothing without tags, dirty or broken items, toys, or stuffed animals.

• VOLUNTEER- for store set-up on Thursday 12/2 and for shopping assistance and gift wrapping on Friday, December 3rd. Please sign up here.

• Send $2.00 with your child on the day of event. (Any proceeds support PTO programs at Cove!)

Students and families may continue to shop the Holiday Store for more gifts after school in the Gallery from 3-3:30pm. Vaccination proof will be required for adults to enter. 

Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate! 

With Gratitude,

Michelle Walker, Principal

Cove Guiding Principles In Action: 3rd Graders visit Ring Mountain for an Outdoor Classroom field trip #Experiential Learning; Mrs. Derby’s Ukulele group gave a lunchtime performance #Creativity 

School News

The return of our Turkey Trot tradition was a huge success! Thank you, Coach Arroyo! The energy was palpable as students, teachers and parents cheered on the runners. Students afterward shared how uplifting and energizing it was to run through the cheering crowd. I loved seeing all of the effort that each and every participant invested. I am also grateful for all of the 5th grade leaders who helped run the event.  Their kindness and willingness to help in whatever capacity was needed was heartwarming. All of the coyotes made me proud with their effort, support for each other and their spirit! Check out pictures here: Turkey Trot 2021 Google Photo Album

Policy and Planning Director for Marin County Bicycle Coalition There is an opportunity for parents to weigh in on a plan to make walking and biking safer on Paradise Drive near the Montessori School. The first meeting is next Tues., November 30th at 7:30 PM. Please email Julie Griffiths if you would like to voice your interest in creating a safe bicycle route along Paradise!

English Learners Community Connection (ELCC)- Monday, December 6 at 6:00pm via zoom. All parents of Cove students who are English Language Learners are invited to join our next English Learning Community Connection (ELCC) meeting. The ELCC is an opportunity to build relationships with school leaders and other families within our school community.  It is a safe place to ask questions and get solutions! At the ELCC you will learn more about what is happening at the Cove School, services and programs available to your family, and how you can become involved. Our goal is to help you learn the information and skills needed to become the advocate you want to be for your child.  We hope to see you there!

Binax Covid-19 Test Kits Due to limited supply of Binax test kits, we will only be able to provide replenishment kits for students with symptoms. We encourage you to purchase test kits to have on hand if that is something your family is able to do!

5th Grade Parents- Outdoor Ed Survey Due Please remember to complete the short survey that was sent to you via Actionaly to help the district determine if the outdoor education program is feasible for families this year (both with regard to cost and vaccination status). Please complete it no later than Sunday, November 28. If we do not have enough information by the time the down payment is due on November 29, we will have to cancel the trip for this year.

Canned Food Drive for SF Marin Food Bank Two 5th grade leaders, Keyan and Miles, are leading a food drive at Cove this year from Nov 30- Dec 13. Please drop canned goods and other non-perishable items in the two bins near the entrance of the gallery. Thank you!

Turkey Trot 2021 (More Photos Here)

PTO News

Staff Sweatshirt Secret Snowflake It has become a winter tradition to give each of our beloved staff a cozy spirit wear hoodie. Secret Snowflakes may remain anonymous or may include a “from” note. Sign up here by Friday, December 10th as a class, a group, or an individual to purchase a hoodie for someone special to Cove! Sweatshirts are $40 each. Payment may be submitted by check (payable to Cove PTO, delivered to the Cove office) or  via venmo (@the_cove_pto) by Dec 10. Please note who you are purchasing for in the notes section. Thank you!

Giving Day Gratitude: Thanks to over 600 families, we not only hit our 65% Giving Day Participation Challenge goal - but surpassed it with a record-breaking 74%! Every student will receive a free Bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes. We will provide details later this week. In the meantime, check out our final Participation Challenge numbers here. On behalf of SPARK, we are overwhelmed with your generosity, support and commitment!  We are grateful for you all!

SPARKler Holiday Shopping is December 2-6: Shop local this holiday season and support our SPARK Biz Partners while supporting SPARK! Featuring specials from Nicolette, Farmhouse Lab, F45 Corte Madera, Swell Education Group, ReThink Ice Cream, AndrewsCamps and Orangetheory, they’ll be offering a percentage of sales to support our schools. More details here.

Amy’s Drive Thru Promotion: Three more days left of Amy’s Drive Thru with 20% of all purchases going back to SPARK. Must use 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: Coq Au Vin, mixed green salad, linguine & Brussel sprouts. Order online today for pick up tomorrow. Select “SPARK Family Meal” when you order.  

District News

Board Updates On November 17 the Board met and celebrated Cove’s work towards the Guiding Principles. Additionally, Trustees approved an updated dress code policy, as well as resolutions to support fiscal needs (special education, facilities maintenance, retirement liabilities). The Board was presented with a COVID-19 update, draft of the Educator Effectiveness Block Grant, and an MCOE Efficiency and Effectiveness update. The next Board Meeting is scheduled for December 13 at 6:00. Agendas can be found here.

Gender Spectrum Coffee Chats LCMSD is committed to inclusionary practices across all schools. We have partnered with the Spahr Center for staff training and have scheduled these coffee chats for parents to engage in these important conversations with our expert partners. We hope to see you there!

• December 1st from 4:30-5:30 via Zoom (link)

• December 2nd from 8:30-9:30 AM at Hall Middle in Room 401

Time to Order Lunches for December! The December menu is now available - Please order lunch today! We are always scrambling to feed kids the 1st of the month because families neglect to order on time.  Please Please Please order now if your student is interested in receiving lunch in December. LunchMaster Website click here

Community News

Please click here to see this week's Community News including:

• Derby Den Musical and Ukulele Ensemble

• Corte Madera Parks and Rec New Classes

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.