The Cove Connection 

Sunday, December 11th, 2022

Issue #17

For Previous Issues Click Here

Principal's Message

The holiday season is in full swing! Our families celebrate this season in many different ways. As we navigate the next week which is full of excitement, energy, and a range of emotions, let's work as a team to set our children up for success. Please remember the importance of rest, nutrition and routine.

The spirit of celebration and philanthropy is alive at Cove. 

• SF Marin Food Bank- Please Donate Canned Goods by Friday! This year second graders Ashkan, Kira, Justin, and Matthew carry on the tradition of The Cove School collecting food for SF Marin Food Bank. Please bring canned and non-perishable foods such as pasta, rice, peanut butter, non-sugary cereal and canned foods to the large bins in the gallery by December 16. 

• PTO Board Members made 100 bagged lunches for Saint Vincent DePaul this week.

I look forward to a festive week ahead!

~Michelle Walker, Principal

School & PTO News

Our PTO Holiday Store was a rounding success! Prepare to be delighted with the treasure your children selected at this beloved Cove tradition.

Thank you to all who donated and to our parent volunteers. 

For more photos of the event, click here

Staff Secret Snowflake It has become a winter tradition to give each of our beloved staff a cozy winter spirit wear item. This year we will give all staff and district office a Cove School branded puffer vest! Secret Snowflakes may remain anonymous or may include a “from” note. Sign Up here by Thursday, December 15th as an individual or with a friend! Vests 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 9th Please note who you are purchasing for in the notes section. Thank you! ~PTO Board

The Cove School Variety Show kick off is coming! The show will take place March 17th this school year at the Neil Cummins Gym. This is an amazing annual show where students have an opportunity to show off their talents such as dancing, singing, musical instruments, & more. If your child plans to perform this year there is a mandatory Variety Show Parent Information Night that will take place this Tuesday December 13th at 7:30pm via ZOOM. All acts must have at least one parent present on the ZOOM call. The ZOOM meeting information will be sent out via Actionaly the morning of the meeting. Please also review The Cove Variety Show website for oodles of information on the Variety Show 

Contributions to The Cove PTO are Tax deductible. Did you contribute to the PTO in 2022? Your contribution is fully tax deductible. The Cove PTO Tax ID number is 35-2503277. Provide the tax ID with your proof of contribution to claim your deduction.  

Making Your End-of-Year Gift As we are coming up at the end of the year, we’ve compiled the information below to help you make a year-end gift that meets the IRS guidelines for a 2022 tax deduction. Be aware that Friday, December 30, 2022, is the last business day of the year. Most contributions must be received by SPARK before the close of business on December 30, 2022, in order to be eligible for a 2022 tax deduction.

• December 22nd: Initiate stock transfer - Transfer time may take 3-5 days. Shares must be received in the Foundation’s brokerage account on December 30.

• December 31st: Checks must have USPS postmark no later than this date 

• December 31st; Credit card gifts must be charged before 11:59 pm PST.

Corporate Match Can Increase Your Donation Taking advantage of your company’s corporate match program is a great way to increase – and in many cases double – your donation to SPARK. We encourage any parent who is employed by an organization that provides this invaluable program to contact your Human Resources department to learn how to set it up. You can also use our company search tool here. 

SPARKBiz Shopping Week Recap 'Tis the Season to shop locally and support our SPARK Biz Partners who support SPARK! Thank you to Amy’s Drive Thru, AndrewsCamps, Ashley Morgan Designs, Bare Skin Marin, California Daydreams Design CARAGENTS, Cast Jewelry, F45 Corte Madera, Farmhouse Lab, Hayes Valley Medical & Esthetics, Keatley Wines, Left Bank, Marin Backyards, Marin Ortho, Metta Yoga, Nicolette, Orangetheory Fitness Greenbrae-Marin and Pavers Express Group! Many of the deals and specials are being offered through the month of December, so check them out here. 

Spring Online Auction & Spring Gala Volunteers Needed As we gear up for our spring events, we are looking for parent volunteers to join the solicitations team, catalog editing team, and events team. The Spring Online Auction will be held March 15-20 and we need volunteers from mid-January to the end of February. The Spring Gala will be held Friday, May 5th and we have many volunteer positions large and small. These are our two biggest fundraising events of the year and we need all hands on deck. If interested, contact us. 

SPARK Biz Partner Sage Educators Winter Break Camps: Are you in need of some entertainment for your kids the first week of Winter Break? Sage’s Nature Navigators Day Camp provides all-day, outdoor fun so your kids can continue to learn and play in an active way even when school isn't in session. Hiking, exploring, nature art, group games, scientific inquiry, and more, are all brought to you by Sage's very own tutors and outdoor educators. M-F December 19-23, 9 am-3 pm. Pick ups and drop offs in Larkspur. $100/day. Register here!

SPARKBiz Partner Spotlight Lola of North Beach While celebrating the holiday season with friends or family at Pier 39, North Beach or Ghirardelli Square, make Lola of North Beach a stop for fun souvenirs and holiday gifts. If you do pop in, please mention SPARK during December and receive a free Lola canvas tote, ($16.95 value) with any purchase. Their gift to you this holiday season!

District News

Board Updates On December 14 the Board will celebrate outgoing Trustees Monica Cañas and Sarah Mueller. Their dedication and service to LCMSD was instrumental in the major successes of our schools. This includes LCMSD’s model response to the pandemic, implementation of CGI math and readers workshop, increasing English learner engagement and supports, adopting phonics and social studies curriculum, and passing LCMSD’s parcel tax with the highest level of support in district history. These accomplishments, along with many others will be celebrated at 6:00 in the Hall Library on December 14. 

We hope you can join and share your appreciation for their leadership. Following the celebration, County Superintendent Mary Jane Burke will swear in new Trustees, Beth Blair and Natalie Medved, and incumbents, Amir Movafaghi and Eric Schmautz. Congratulations and welcome new Trustees! For the December 14 meeting, a public hearing will be held to sunshine initial contract proposals for CSEA/LCMSD negotiations. Trustees will vote on the first interim budget. Additionally, Trustees will be provided with an update on CGI mathematics and standards-based grading survey results at Hall. 

On December 12 the Board has scheduled a special meeting to discuss the redistricting petition that was submitted by some East Corte Madera families. The Board Meetings will be held in person at 5:00 on 12/12 and 6:00 on 12/14 in the Hall Library; no RSVP required. The meetings will also be live streamed via Zoom (link; passcode - lcmsd). Please know, public comments will only be taken by in person attendees; public comments via Zoom will not be available. If you cannot attend the meeting, public comments are welcome via email (mokeeffe@lcmschools.org) and will be included in Board Meeting minutes. We hope to see you there!

CGI Math Parent Workshop Here is the video recap and here is the slide deck from the December 2nd CGI math coffee chat. The slide deck includes a quick reference for many strategies your child might be utilizing and the video explains some of these strategies. Additionally, we created this webpage that has all parent coffee chat slide decks, resources, and video recaps.

Community News

Please click link for Community News that includes updates from:

• Sausalito Farms - Supporting our school

• Corte Madera Rec Offerings & Holiday Happenings 

• Night Lights at Piper Park 

• Dance with E.N.A. Winter Break Camp

• Broadway Training Classes

• Town of Corte Madera Planning Position Vacancy

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.