What CGS Families Need to Know ✅
📅 Upcoming Dates/Events
Tuesday, October 20th: Picture Retake Day
Wednesday, October 21st: K-5 Literacy Night, 5:30-7 (For more information)
Saturday, October 24th: Sensory Garden Family Build Day #1, 8AM-12PM (more information below)
October 26th - 30th: Schoolwide (Staff & Student) Spirit Week (For the theme of each day!)
November 4th, 5th, & 6th: Fall Conferences – Early dismissal (11:40am) all three days
Wednesday, November 25th: Early Dismissal (11:40AM)
November 26th & 27th: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
Coventry Public Schools 26/27 District Calendar
✅ To Dos
Consider joining us for our very first K-5 Literacy Night next Wednesday, 10/21! RSVP so we can ensure we have enough pizza, prizes, and take-home resources!
Schedule a November conference with your child’s classroom teacher, interventionist (if applicable), special education teacher (if applicable), or related service provider (if applicable).
Be sure to review the Acadience (K-2), Universal Number Screener (K), and iReady Math (1-2) parent reports that were sent home early this week. For more information about these assessments and how the data is utilized.
Visit The Learning Corner section of this update to learn two family fun ways to support learning at home; 1 literacy strategy and 1 math. These strategies are shared by our intervention team!
🙋 Volunteer Opportunities
CGS Sensory Garden Family Build Day
We’re looking for family members willing to help us build Phase #1 of our CGS Sensory Garden/outdoor learning & regulation space. Consider joining us on Saturday 10/24 from 8AM-12PM. You can find more information and the RSVP link below!
OCTOBER Cafeteria/Lunch Duty Volunteering - Sign-up NOW OPEN!
Be Flippy the Mascot
Parent/family volunteers are an important part of what makes Coventry Grammar School such a special place. Whether you're helping in a classroom or lunch room, supporting a special event, joining us on a field trip, or lending a hand behind the scenes, we are grateful for your partnership!
Annually, all volunteers must review our Volunteer Guidelines and Procedures and complete the electronic acknowledgment form. This only takes a few minutes and helps ensure a safe, positive, and consistent experience for everyone.
In future newsletters, this will be a place where volunteer opportunities are highlighted!
A Note from Mrs. Hammer
🌟 Parent-Teacher Conferences: Partnering for Student Success🌟
We’re so excited for our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences (November 4th - 6th)! This is one of our favorite times of year…a chance to connect with each and every family to celebrate your child’s successes and talk together about their growth over these first two months of school.
Our goal is 100% participation, because your partnership makes such a difference in your child’s learning journey.
📅 Haven’t scheduled your conference yet?
Here are a few tips to make the most of your conference time:
💬 Arrive on time so we can make the most of your meeting. Conferences are allotted for 20-minutes and are scheduled back-to-back.
📝 Bring any questions or observations about your child’s learning, routines, or experiences.
🌈 Celebrate progress! Conferences are a great opportunity to share what’s going well and recognize your child’s effort.
🤝 Collaborate on next steps. Teachers will share ways we can work together to support continued growth.
We are so proud of all that our students have accomplished already this year and can’t wait to continue this partnership with you. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us and for all you do to support your child’s success at CGS!
When sending an email communication to me, please also include Mrs. Morrison (kmorrison@coventryct.org).
The Learning Corner
Ask Me About…
From the MATH Room: COUNTING
When students practice counting, they are keeping track of items, holding amounts in their heads, and getting comfortable with the order of numbers. Soon, they will even be able to use their number sense to tell ‘one more’ and ‘one less’ than a number without recounting. Check out Counting Activities Board provided by Heart Math Tutoring or this game from Kathy Richardson and Math Perspectives: “Grab A Handful”.
From the READING Room: HEARING THE SOUNDS IN WORDS
Here are a couple games you could play at the kitchen table or in the car. These games focus on the sound in words, because letters represent sounds.
Guess my Breakfast or Guess my Lunch Ex. for Guess my Breakfast…I had yummy /s/ with lots of /m/. (cereal with milk)
“I Hear with my Little Ear” Instead of “I Spy”, you could play “I hear with my little ear something that begins with /w/.”
Here is a fun read aloud that plays with sounds in words. Don't Be Silly Mrs Millie | Kids Books
CGS PTO News & Events
𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗻
Parent teacher conferences are coming up, and the CGS PTO is excited to provide lunches during conference week. While the PTO will be providing the main meals, we’d love some help from our CGS families with drinks, desserts, snacks, and other extras to make the luncheon extra special! If you’re able to contribute, please sign up for an item. Every donation, big or small, is greatly appreciated! 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙂𝙎 𝙗𝙮 𝙊𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝟑𝟎𝙩𝙝. Thank you for your continued support!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4CA4AB2EA4F8C16-66746707-november
Reach out to the PTO at cgsptoct@gmail.com for any PTO related questions, concerns, or ideas to strengthen our school community!
A Peek Inside Our Week
Check out the photo gallery to step right into the excitement, learning, and connections made this week. The energy in our building is so high, you’ll feel like you were right there with us!
Some highlights include: afterschool clubs, pumpkin patch crafting, and visits to the nature trail.
Please also join us in celebrating this week’s High Tide Heroes. These students went ABOVE and BEYOND in exemplifying our expectations of being safe, responsible, and respectful!
We encourage you to take a look together with your child to spark some great conversations about their week.
Meet Our Coventry Grammar School Staff
This week, we’re putting a “spotlight” on:
Ms. Seethaler (Grade 1 teacher & Slime Specialist)
Ms. Massucci (Reading/MLL teacher & Morning Bus Loop Greeter)
Mrs. Bolger (Special Education/FINS teacher & New to CGS)
Learn more about each staff member personally and professionally, as well as put a face to some of the adults your child(ren) may come home talking about!
Resource for Talking About Lockdown Drills
At our recent Safety & Security Committee meeting, our team agreed on a shared 'social story' that we will begin using in school to explain the reasons behind lockdown drills in a clear, age-appropriate way.
We are sharing this resource with families so you can review it at home and help us maintain consistent, reassuring language with your child. Please save this resource to revisit periodically throughout the school year.
WhyAreWeHavingaLockdownDrill.pdf
From the Nurse's Office
Here’s a fantastic visual from Nurse Morse regarding when illness should keep students home from school and when they’re welcome to return. Might be a helpful resource to hang on the refrigerator!