The Coyote Howler

Dear CRES Families,

I shared in the last Howler that, based on last spring's CMAS test scores, CRES has been recognized as a Colorado Distinguished School -- one of three in TSD -- and I was proud to accept this recognition at a recent board of education meeting. Last week we received some updated information from the state and I learned that we also earned the John Irwin School of Excellence Award! This is a quite an honor, and it is a reflection of the hard work of our students, staff, and you -- our wonderful and supportive school community!

This will be a short week, due to parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon and evening. Students will not have school on Thursday or Friday. If you have not yet signed up for a conference, and you would like to, please contact your child's teacher on Monday.

Please check out the read-a-thon info, below. It starts on Monday!

Information about the next PTO meeting can be found below. We are still looking for a parent to lead the important School Accountability Committee (SAC). Please let me know if you would like some more information!

We are continuing to see an uptick in the number of students who are arriving late to school (not related to inclement weather). Thank you for ensuring students arrive between 7:45a and 7:57a so they can get to class on time. We serve free breakfast each morning. Breakfast is served from 7:40a - 7:55a. We are happy to have your students eat breakfast at school -- please just be sure to get them to school with enough time to eat breakfast before the 7:57a warning bell sounds. Thank you!

Shine on,

Deon Davis, Principal

The CRES PTO is organizing meals for the upcoming conferences and we would appreciate your support! Please consider donating one or more items to help ensure our staff is well-fed during this busy time. Sign-up to provide food items HERE. Sign-up to volunteer with set-up/clean-up HERE. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Tricia Vincent at cres.fc.pto@gmail.com.

Get ready to read! It is simple to participate. You just read, read, read and track your minutes from March 3rd-14th. All reading counts: read on your own, have someone read to you, read an ebook, or listen to an audiobook. Prizes will be awarded for the top readers in the school!

Families, please use this Google Form to track minutes for each of your students at the end of each week. You can also access the Google form by scanning the QR code, below:

Dear Families,

If you need to update/review your student contacts, please follow the directions located on the Thompson School District website at www.tsd.org/family/infinite-campus/help/updating-contacts. Please note that as a parent/guardian you will be able to completely review your student information, household details, emergency contacts and more by completing the Annual Family Check In which will open on March 3, 2025.

• Logs need to be entered by Wednesday, March 5

• If you would like a staff member to enter your child’s log online, please send in no later than Tuesday, March 4

• You do not need to send any logs that were entered online at home.

• Even if your child does not get a tshirt, please enter their log for our school to win cash prizes

• Link to submit Schools on the Move logs: https://redcap.link/noco5210challenge

This link is closes on Wednesday, March 5 at 9:00 pm

If you have any questions, please email or call me at deborah.luithly@tsd.org or (970)679-9409

An art exhibit at the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art (GAMA) at CSU is open through March 14th, with a family day event on March 1st. This exhibit features art that illustrates air quality and is designed to educate the public about particle pollution and its effects. This exhibition is presented in partnership with CSU’s Center for Environmental Justice and the Department of Atmospheric Science. Here is a flier with details about the family day event.

As I shared in the last Howler, our wonderful head custodian, Dawn Kringlie, has moved to another building. I am excited to introduce you to our new head custodian, Lyndsey Shaw. Lyndsey did some shadowing last week and will begin working here full time on Monday. We will miss Dawn, and we are so happy to have Lyndsey on-board. Welcome, Lyndsey!

The next PTO meeting will be Tuesday, March 11th @ 5:45p, in the library. We hope to see you in-person, but if you can't make it, please join us virtually by pasting the link into your browser: https://meet.google.com/qdx-bvsj-cqp

A HUGE thank you to Ms. Smeltzer and all of the volunteers who made the talent show so successful again this year! AND, we sure do have some talented kids! Who knew? Just kidding -- we've always known! As a reminder, the next talent show will be in the 2026-27 school year. There will not be a talent show next year. It will be an every other year proposition.

We had a great response to our Elementary Spin and Dance Camp last year so we are doing it again! This camp will be a short introduction to the unique activity that is colorguard/winterguard. Students will be introduced to dance and flag choreography. This is open to any TSD or local charter students. The camp will be taught by our amazing Director of Guards, Mrs. Katelyn Kellogg, her staff, and some select high school colorguard students.

The camp will be happening March 10th-11th at Lincoln Elementary (thank you Principal Stotter) and March 12th at Loveland HS where the camp students will get to perform as part of our Winter Ensembles showcase. After they perform, they'll get to see the "big kids" doing the same activity which I'm sure will be a highlight for them and their families. This performance will be free of charge, donations to the LHS Bands program accepted but not expected.

Here is a link to the Spin and Dance Camp flyer.

Supersonic Phonics and Decodables collections in Sora are leveled collections containing early readers for students that help them practice their early literacy skills! All of the books are available in simultaneous use so students don’t have to worry about placing holds.

Check it out! https://soraapp.com/welcome - Students sign in with their TSD username and password. Need help logging in at home? Contact Mrs. Opfer at kim.opfer@tsd.org

Dear Families,

As we continue in the winter season, it’s important that your contact information in the Parent Portal is updated to receive any communications regarding school closures or school delays. Please add emergency contacts to your child’s profile also in case you are unable to pick up your child if school is closed early.

Information to assist families in updating their children’s contact information in the Parent Portal.

Please be sure to pack a snack with your student each day.

The front office is running low on snacks for students who didn't bring snacks. Please consider picking up an extra box of (individual bags) of: goldfish crackers, pretzels, granola bars, etc.

We appreciate your donations -- so do the hungry kids!

Partners is a non-profit organization with the mission to empower youth and community members to achieve their full potential through mentoring, prevention education, and strategic partnership. This January, for National Mentoring Month, Partners challenges you to Resolve to Make an Impact. Partners offers a variety of ways for you to make tangible positive impacts on local youth through mentoring. Our school works with and our students truly benefit from the mentors from the Partners program -- please consider joining or suggesting it to others in your life.

• Become a Mentor-- Partners is currently seeking Community-Based Mentors to get matched with one of the youth currently on our waitlist. We have a great track record of making compatible matches based on interests, goals, location and schedules, plus we offer helpful training and one-on-one support to help volunteers be successful!

• Become an Activity Volunteer– Partners hosts monthly activities for youth on our waitlist and we currently need more volunteers to help us reach more youth. You’ll sign up when an activity works with your schedule, transport a kid or two, and engage with the youth at the activity. It’s a lower commitment way to get involved!

• Become a Monthly Donor– Partners can only offer our top-quality mentoring programming with financial support from our community. Donations pay for case management and support, regular group activities, mentor trainings, insurance, evaluation–all best practices of mentoring. When you give monthly, you help us build a consistent base of support we can depend on as we add new youth to our services.

Want to learn more from our Staff? Join us for one of the following Mentor Drive Events:

• January 23, 2025 – 4:00-6:00pm – Sky Bear Brewing, 272 E 5th St, Loveland–New Mentor Drive

• January 24, 2025 – 12:00-1:00pm – Zoom Volunteer Info Session - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83352117567?pwd=dg7r6zTgRyaTXHud1WSkPN6vUJtLdI.1

• January 30, 2025 – 4:00pm-6:00pm – Odell Brewing, 800 E Lincoln Ave, Fort Collins—New Mentor Drive

Learn more about Partners here: https://poweredbypartners.org/

Thank you for your continued partnership regarding student attendance! We just received news that our latest chronic absenteeism rate is down to 8%. This is the lowest rate in the school district! Let's keep working together and get it even lower. When you miss school, you miss out!

We all know that weather will fluctuate as we work towards spring. Thank you for keeping an eye on the forecast each morning and sending your child with appropriate outerwear for the conditions.

Students can expect to be outside for recess unless it is less than 15*F, or raining steadily. Students have a nice long lunch recess, and they will not have an option to be inside unless we cancel recess for all, due to the weather just described, so please send them with gear.

Also, please, please, please don't make us throw out your student's nice winter gear! If you label every item, we will return lost gear to your child, but if it's not labeled, we can't help it. Trust us, all black bib overall snow pants look the same! Thank you for helping us to help you by labeling your child's jacket, caps, GLOVES, and snow pants.

The CRES Health Office is in need of gently used girls' and boys' pants, sizes youth XS-L. If your family has some to donate, please drop them off in the front office. Thank you!

Did you know that Coyote Ridge is part of a larger IB continuum within Thompson School District? Coyote Ridge houses the Primary Years Programme but there is also a Middle Years Programme (6th-8th grades at Lucile Erwin Middle School and 9th-10th grades at Loveland High School) and a Diploma Programme (11th-12th grades at Loveland High School). Take a look at this month’s DP Newsletter to learn more about what is happening at the other end of our continuum in the Diploma Programme! If you have any questions about what any of the IB programmes look like in TSD, please reach out to CRES IB Coordinator, Emily Rau at emily.rau@tsd.org.

Spirit wear is still available! Click here for spirit wear.

Here's the link to the article about crocs.

Debbie Luithly

deborah.luithly@tsd.org or 970-679-9409

An important goal of an IB education is to see students taking action as they take their learning deeper.

Check out this Action and Learner Profile Award video to see how you can share the action your child is taking at home. Remember, no action is too big or too small!

If you have any questions regarding Action or Learner Profile Awards, please contact your child’s teacher or Emily Rau, our IB coordinator (emily.rau@tsd.org).

Kindergarten Lunch Help Needed!

If you ever wonder what the kindergarten lunchroom experience is like, check out this funny video--it pretty much nails it. Our newest students need lots of help--some of them can't even see over the salad bar! They're awfully cute, and awfully slow, so please come help if you can. You are welcome to stay through all the lunches, but the biggest need is from 10:45 - 11:30a. If you are able to help, even just once, on any day of the week, please call or email our faculty assistant, Myriah Groover ("Mrs. G.") at: myriah.groover@tsd.org. Many thanks to the awesome parents who have been helping out already this year!

Crosswalk Help Needed

Can you help keep our students safe? We have had wonderful community volunteers join our staff members in ensuring crosswalk safety for our students. All it takes is 20 minutes per week, unless you would like to do more.Please view the options in this Crosswalk Monitor Interest Form.

Please review the revised family student handbook!

1. October 8th: SAC from 5:00 - 5:45; PTO @ 5:45pm

2. November 12th: SAC from 5:00 - 5:45; PTO @ 5:45pm

3. January 14th: SAC from 5:00 - 5:45; PTO @ 5:45pm

4. February 11th: PTO @ 5:45pm

5. March 11th: PTO @ 5:45pm

6. April 8th: PTO @ 5:45pm

7. May 6th: PTO @ 5:45pm

Did you know that we have a new Chromebook insurance option! Details can be found on our Tech 4 All website. Let us know if you needmore information.

Here is the updated Year at a Glance document. It will be revised as events are added and dates are confirmed. Thank you for taking a look!

We will be continuing this year to partner with and ask for your support in ensuring that your child is in school each day. You did a great job last year and our chronic absenteeism rate fell, but I know we can still improve on it.

The unfortunate reality is that, although we try, there is no way to actually "make up" the learning that is missed when a student is absent, whether that is due to illness, appointments, or other reasons.

Students that miss just two days per month are considered to be chronically absent and at risk for academic and social difficulties.

Students are in school for 170 days per year. This means that there are 195 days each year that they are not in school. Students are literally out of school more than they are in school. Thank you for reviewing the district calendar and planning trips and outings during non-school times. Thank you!

The short version:

Students and families should only use the crosswalk(s) south of the school parking lot. The crosswalk north of the parking lot will not be supervised, and should not be used.

The backstory:

Parents, we made this important change to our safety procedures last year, for students who walk to and from school. There are three crosswalks near the school on Avondale. One is north of the school parking lot and two (perpendicular to each other) are south of the parking lot.

As our neighborhood has aged and we have been able to accept more choice students, we have fewer walkers than in previous years who use these crosswalks. Student safety is a vital concern and we want to ensure that there is always an adult crossing guard, but we have had an increasingly difficult time finding enough staff and volunteers to serve as crossing guards at the north and south crosswalks each morning and afternoon.

Our solution is simple. We are asking our students and parents to use only the south crosswalks when walking to/from CRES and to NOT use the north crosswalk, which will not be supervised. This presents no real inconvenience to walkers since students and families need to enter and exit the playground area from the south end of the school, near the garden, anyway. This change will also reduce the number of students crossing the driveways into the parking lot -- another hazard to pedestrians.

If you live on the east side of the school and your children will be walking, please instruct them to use the south crosswalks. We will have staff out there at the start of the year to redirect crossers to the south crosswalk. Thank you for helping us to keep all students and families safe!

The City of Fort Collins is getting started on a project to improve the College and Trilby Intersection, Thank you for planning accordingly.

Please be aware that we will be asking all visitors to show ID to the camera and state the reason for the visit before being admitted to the building. While this is not an entirely new practice, the biggest difference is that we will require it for all parents, even those that we recognize, so thank you for understanding the necessity of this practice and bringing your ID with you to the door. We continue to welcome our volunteers and awesome parent community in the building, we just need to do everything we reasonably can to ensure controlled access to our school.

The TSD VITAL program encourages parents and community members to share their time and knowledge with Thompson students by becoming authorized volunteers. We welcome and appreciate your involvement. If you are new to volunteering in the Thompson School District, please register at https://www.thompsonschools.org/volunteer.

We will be sharing more information about volunteering at CRES soon.

Please note: Even if your only volunteer activity is to attend a spring field trip, you must complete this process. Toward the end of the year, they close this window and we'd hate for you to miss the trip because you hadn't signed up in time.

Have you ever had concerns that your child lacks patience, seems easily distractable, or has difficulty getting along with others? Perhaps s/he struggles with multi-step directions or tends to have very "black and white thinking?" Would you believe that you can help your child develop and grow these important skills in a way that is actually fun for all involved? Well, believe it!

The traits described above may indicate that your child would benefit from practice in developing her/his executive function skills.

"Executive function and self-regulation skills are like an air traffic control system in the brain—they help us manage information, make decisions, and plan ahead. We need these skills at every stage of life, and while no one is born with them, we are all born with the potential to develop them."

A really great way you can help your child build these important skills is by simply playing board games! It could be a family game night or just the two of you, but board games teach important skills, including: taking turns, perseverance, dealing with setbacks and frustration, fair play, communication, and so much more. Importantly, it is much better with actual games rather than computer-based games.

Talk about a win-win situation -- your child develops skills while all of you have a fun time playing games!

If you would like to learn more about executive functioning and how you can help your child develop these important skills that will have a life-long impact on her/him, see this link to Harvard University's website about it.

Annual Family Check-In (AFC)

Once again it is time for families to review their Annual Family Check-In (AFC) information. It is important to complete this step as we start gearing up for the next school year.

The Annual Family Check-In is required for ALL current students in Thompson School District. Families are required to have a parent or guardian in the student’s current primary household review and sign permission forms and update (if needed) the student’s household information, emergency contacts, and health information.

Annual Family Check-In is located in the Parent Portal Account. For assistance, please contact Portal@TSD.org.

Parents, a few reminders:

The Attendance Line is 970-679-9490. Please leave details in your message concerning why your student is out that day, including illness symptoms.

Cutoff time to order Hot (#1) Lunch is 9:30 am. If your student will be late due to an appointment, call the office by 9:25 to notify the cafeteria.

Those new to CRES may not realize that one of our students was tragically struck and killed by a distracted driver several years ago. Please do your part by staying off your phone, keeping your eyes up, driving slowly and responsibly in the kiss and go lane and on Avondale -- even after you drop off your own child -- and by not parking in or blocking the crosswalks. Thank you!

A few years back one of our 5th-grade Exhibition groups selected Safety/Distracted Driving as their topic, and they created this video as part of it. It's only three minutes long. It may save a life. Even if you read nothing else in this update, please watch this.

Erica’s Law

We the students of Coyote Ridge Elementary School

hereby proclaim that any person riding anything with

wheels (besides a car, bus, plane, or train)

must wear a helmet and follow the safety guidelines

of the road

AT ALL TIMES!

This rule will be called Erica’s Law,

in memory of a dear friend we lost.

Please help us keep our students safe by driving slowly around the school and please do not text and drive. If dropping students on Avondale, please be sure that they use the crosswalks.

We had a few close calls last year, and I know we can do better. Please help us to keep all students and staff safe by observing these safety protocols.

If you are parking in the lot and walking your student around, please use the kiss-and-go crosswalk which is near the office.

Please note that the kiss-and-go crosswalk is not monitored. Therefore adults must walk their child across, in either direction. Please do not drop your child off in the parking lot and send them on their own to cross. There are two lanes of traffic in the kiss-and-go lane and it is very difficult to see children crossing.

Also, please instruct your children to use the crosswalks in Avondale and not run across the street elsewhere.

The TSD Early Childhood program is currently accepting applications for 2024-25. Here is the website for information about the program: https://www.thompsonschools.org/preschool. You are also welcome to call the office at 970-613-5052.

Link to EC flyer.

We partner with the YMCA of northern Colorado to provide on-site afterschool care.

YMCA REGISTRATION LINK

If you find yourself wondering, "...where did I see that?" check out the archive! This archive contains newsletters from last year and this year.

Email: deon.davis@tsd.org
Website: https://www.thompsonschools.org/coyoteridge
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoyoteRidgeIBWorld