Mon, February 27th - Coffee With Friends, 8:20-8:45am (meet fellow parents!)
Tue, February 28th - CSCS Board Meeting, 4:30 - 6pm (email Amy to RSVP)
Wed, March 1st - Perspective Families Open House for K-8 students, 6:30pm
Import the full school calendar to your own Google calendar by clicking here
We had a total of 0 reported COVID-19 cases at Cottonwood, week ending February 17th.
Sign up for Charter School Legislative Advocacy Day!
Our school is part of the Oregon Coalition of Community Charter Schools (ORC3S), a group which advocates on our behalf in the legislature to make sure our schools get the support and funding we need. The legislature is in session now, and we need parents, students, and teachers to get involved and help advocate to make sure charter schools like ours get enough funding.
You may know that the current state funding formula results in charter schools receiving less money than neighborhood schools - we will be advocating to change that, and especially to prevent any further cuts to charter school funding. This is crucial to our school's future!
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
** SIGN UP NOW - Tuesday, March 7th - Advocacy Day **
(hybrid in person in Salem and virtual, you can participate either way)
We will be advocating for charter school funding with legislators. Please plan to attend in person or virtually if at all possible! There will be a 9 am meeting to prepare and then you'll attend one or more legislator meetings that day (virtually or in person). Sign up here!
If you're interested in attending but aren't sure if you can make it work, please sign up and also get in touch with me and I'll help figure out a way for you to participate!
You can also sign up here to stay in the loop with ORC3S advocacy efforts whether you're able to attend the advocacy day or not, and you can find more info about the advocacy efforts on their website.
Please reach out if you have any questions about this or want to touch base about how you can be involved!
THANK YOU!
- Kate Sharaf, parent of Esther (4th grade/Laine's class) and Henry (K)
What: Classroom teachers and students from the kindergarten, 3rd grade and Sara's 1st/2nd grade will lead stations about our three winter plant teachers... plus a sing-along! Plant teachers this season are alder, willow and dandelion.
We have been asked by our neighbors at the Oregon Ballet Theater to remind our families that there is no parking allowed in their lot for school pick-up or drop-off.
A Note from Katt, our Reading Intervention Specialist
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of their deep and continuing needs, is good for them. –Maya Angelou
Hello Cottonwood families! I am Katt, the Reading Intervention Specialist for K-3rd grades. I have been busy working to build up classroom libraries and a school ‘mobile’ library. (More to come on that soon!)
There are many ways this is happening, one such way is through book orders from Scholastic. At this time, brochures are sent home for 1st-5th grades. However, I can make it available for any child at any grade level. Please check in if you have financial barriers to bringing more books into your home, and we can talk about what we might be able to do to help.
Next week, I will be handing out brochures to students in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades. If your child is not in one of those grades, but you would like to know more, please email me at kattbeckley@thecottonwoodschool.org.
Register for Adventure Play Summer Camp
Registration is OPEN for Adventure Play Summer Camp! Sign up HERE.
Check out our offerings for this summer's camps, run by our amazing and beloved Cottonwood aides: Joe, Yuri, Paola and Gabby! Sign up for one week, or multiple. Each week will be full of fun, imagination, learning and cooperation.
We are offering a sliding scale fee, and can help arrange payment plans if needed. Reach out to Jillian to discuss your options.
Community Clothing Closet
Clothing closet open next Friday, February 24! 9am - 12pm
Please reach out to Kristin if that day doesn't work and you need clothes. I can pick some clothes up for you!
Clothing Closet shopping dates:
Friday, February 24, 9am-12pm
Friday, March 17, 9am-12pm
Friday, April 21, 9am-12pm
Friday, May 19, 9am-12pm
Location:
Ainsworth Elementary
2425 SW Vista Ave
Portland, OR 97201
Save the Date
When: March 15th at 2:00pm What: Join Friends of Cottonwood/PTO for a mixer before school pick up! Where: Elephants on Corbett
Smith & Yarn Live!
Date
February 25th, 2023
11:00am
Pricing
$10 – $15
Smith & Yarn are all about families. Let’s move our hearts together while we’re moving to the sound of this inspiring and joyful show! This show is fun for audiences of all ages. Get tickets here!
Aaron Nigel Smith was a Cottonwood parent, taught music at CSCS several times over the past 14 years, and the 2022 recipient of the Cottonwood Black Excellence Award. Learn more.
Black Lives Matter Signs For Our Fence
All month long, we invite families to create Black Lives Matter signs for our fenceline. We are excited to bring back our Black Lives Matter fenceline to celebrate with and educate our whole community. Bring homemade signs in all month and we will try to weatherize them if possible and get them onto our fence!
If signs are on 8.5 x 11 paper, we can laminate them at the office - otherwise, consider how to create signs that can withstand the rain. If you want to create a sign, but don't have access to materials, check at the office - we can help.
This is a time to show our Black students and neighbors that they matter and that they are loved. Black Lives Matter at School's mission is to spark a movement of critical reflection, honest discussion, and impactful action in school communities in order to raise awareness of racial justice issues among people of all ages.
Black History Month Events
More ways to get involved with Black History Month events and initiatives around the city!
Cottonwood School Open House for Perspective Students
Do you know a family who might be interested in joining the Cottonwood community for the 2023-2024 school year? Let them know about our Open House on March 1st! Families of students entering all grades K-8 are welcome. Feel free to share this flyer and this link for more information.
Share Your Photos
Have you taken photos of the Arts Park Run, when you volunteered for Adventure Play or Field Work? Did you volunteer and get photos in the classroom or at an "all hands" or animal family meetings? How about the play? Any photos of your child(ren) at school with friends/classmates or staff?
The BIPOC affinity club will meet after school (on the school patio) for a light snack followed by greetings, games and activities from 3:00-4:00 on the following dates:
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Friday, March 24, 2023 (12:30pm-1:30pm)
Thursday, April 6, 2023
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Our team is looking for a few parent volunteers of color, especially men of color to join the affinity group leaders. Please let us know if you are interested. We invite all students of color to participate in the affinity space and encourage parents to talk with their children about participating.
Please RSVP and send any questions to affinitygroups@thecottonwoodschool.org. If your student(s) have any food allergies and sensitivities please add that when you RSVP. We want to make sure we accommodate and honor any food allergies or preferences.
More information on Affinity spaces can be found below:
Did you know you can import the school calendar to your own Google calendar by clicking here? No more wondering if there is school, or when something is due!
