November 2016

The Howler

Fall Message from Our Principal

Parents,

Welcome to fall...finally.  I'm looking forward to some cooler weather and maybe even a jacket day in the near future. 

Thank you for the generous support with our annual Hope Fest donations.  If you haven't yet donated time on the Saturday to this city-wide event, please consider involving your family, co-workers, civic group or church members in this opportunity next time.  Any and all volunteers are welcome to help.

We were able to donate two large cars worth of items to help families we may never meet.

(See photo below) 

In the same spirit of community service, we turn our attention towards the holiday share program.  Starting today, we will collect canned or boxed food to build Thanksgiving and Christmas food boxes for those in need.  Donations can be sent to your student's classroom or the front office.  Because we want to treat others as we wish to be treated, we will collect food to help make Thanksgiving a time of celebration for others. 

Thank you for modeling and encouraging community service with our students.  It is a foundational skill that we want our students to learn along with the academic skills they are developing in their classrooms.

After Thanksgiving we will start collecting holiday share program items to help families in need provide for Christmas gift-giving.  Watch for more information later this month.  If you know of a family in need, please contact our front office.  Our school Counselor, Ms. Lopez, can help get families the details they need in order to take advantage of these helpful programs. 

Sincerely,
Dan Johnson
Principal   

This Month:

• The Veteran's Day Assembly was held the morning of November 4.
• Harkins Fundraiser Order Forms due, turn in forms ASAP.
• Orginal Artworks Money and Order Forms due NOW.
• Don't forget to vote November 8!
• Veteran's Day is November 11. No school. 
• Keep your ovens free and dine at Culver's on November 23.
• Enjoy a technology free Thanksgiving meal with your family. No School
• November 24-25

The 3rd graders sang a special Veteran's Day song.

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Veterans speak about their service and connection to Coyote Trail.

Upcoming Events

In the coming weeks, look for more information on theses events in emails, papers home and our Facebook pages.
December 6- Holiday Concerts
December 22- Chipotle Fundraiser Night
December 22- All School Sing-A-Long
December 22- End of First Semester
December 23- Winter Break, School Resumes January 9, 2017

Volunteer Extraordinaire

Laura Bourguet volunteers time in several classes on our campus. She also volunteers at two other elementary schools in the Marana Unified School District. She says, "volunteering is a rewarding experience as it helps make a difference in children's lives, as well as assisting teachers with the extra tasks." Mrs. Bourguet, has been married to her husband, Alfred, for 44 years. They have four adult children. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially going on adventures with her grandchildren. She also likes to

scrapbook, cook, and play the piano.  

ABC Staff Member

Beth McIntyre helps Kindergarten teachers with various projects because she likes children and wants to help with whatever she can. She has 2 grown sons and has been married to Dave, her best friend, for 26 years. Her hobbies include reading, walking her dog
and jewelry beading.

October Super Star Students

Each month, every teacher chooses one student,

who will attend lunch, catered by Texas Roadhouse, with

Mr. Johnson and the school counselor,  Ms. Lopez.

The subject in October was Math and the lunch was the 21st. The students also participate in an activity with Mr. Johnson. Last month, students played a game of tag, called Black - N- Blue, with a Math twist .

 The next Super Star lunch will be held Nov. 18.

The following students were selected in October:

Kindergarten

Cayden Hunt

Kyan Reidy

Savannah Gum

First Grade

Isaac Martinez

Trenton Hicks

Koen Reidy

Second Grade

Jacob Gum

Isaiah Weiler

Jesse Howell

Third Grade

Xander Ultsch

Fredde Hubbard

Landon Pederson

Fourth Grade

Aiden Gonzalez

Aleck Hernandez

Dallin Dixon

Fifth Grade

William Parry

Bill Howell

Jadon Dieu

Sixth Grade

Panelle Gills

Kyle Vance

Avneet Kaur

Bridge

Ashton Smith

New To Coyote Trail

Milo the Robot:

A humanoid robot is a new teaching tool in the special education Bridge program.  Milo, from Robots4Autism, delivers curriculum through engagement and repetition.  It collects data and documents growth.  After the introductory modules, Milo teaches five calm down methods.  Milo talks at a slower pace giving specific cues and directions. It has icons on its chest, videos are on a tablet in front of the child, questions are asked, the student can practice on a mirror, and generalization is reinforced throughout the campus.  There are three conversational modules, three emotional understanding modules, and five situational modules. 

Dr. Wilson, MUSD superintendent, contacted Sarah Clem, Director of Special Education, about the robot.  Mrs. Clem arranged for  Milo to be demonstrated last spring at Coyote Trail and students took an immediate interest.  After teachers were trained, Milo started work last week.  He is at Coyote Trail Monday through Wednesday, then a speech therapist takes him to Thornydale Elementary.  Students are eager to work with Milo, and teachers are excited to see results.

Great Things are Happening at Coyote Trail

Thanks to the generosity of our school community, we were able to fill two large vehicles, on October 21, with donations of clothing, food, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for HopeFest.

Mr. Johnson and some Hopefest Donations

October 25- The Second Graders participated in Mini Musters- a morning full of fun activities emphasizing fire safety.

November 3 - Twelve students, in Bridge, participated in a bowling

tournament for Special Olympics. The students have been practicing weekly and celebrated at their last practice with pizza.  

                      The bowlers won several awards.

Mellodie Stratman, one of the Bridge teachers, was nominated as a LIFECHANGER OF THE YEAR for her vision and dedication to our students and spearheading the mission of a therapeutic playground on our campus. The KOLD story about the playground was picked up by the Upworthy website, it has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and YOU can watch it by clicking here.

Field Trips

October 17 - Bridge

• The students in the Bridge program went to the Marana Pumpkin Patch where they jumped on the bouncy pillows, petted farm animals, explored the farm, sat on tractors and took a hayride to the pumpkin patch, where each student picked a pumpkin.

October 21 - All 4th Grade

• The 4th grades went to Bisbee, toured The Queens mine and a museum, and participated in a walking tour. In Tombstone, they watched a historama and the shoot-out at the OK Corral and rode a stage coach for a guided tour of the Town.

October 24 - Mrs. Hepler, 1st Grade
Toured Fry's grocery store. This is a great field trip for the 1st graders because they can walk to the store and it's educational.

UPCOMING:

November 7 - 1^st grade, Buckler, Fry’s

November 15 - 4^th grade, GEM, Flandrau Science Center

November 15 - 4^th grade, Pettigrew and Nicolarsen, Saguaro National Park

November 21 - 4^th grade, Water Festival at Crossroads Park

November 23 - 4^th grade, Calderon, Saguaro National Park

Teacher Gifts

Do you ever wonder what your child's teacher really likes? If so, the front office has a new "like" book. The binder is full of teacher profiles including the things they LIKE the most.

This book is available for anyone to peruse at their convenience, but is not required reading.

Ways to Raise Money For Coyote Trail

• Fry's Card - Click Here to link your Fry's card to Coyote Trail. *Remember, even if you did this last year, you need to renew it again this year. Encourage neighbors, friends and relatives to do the same with their Fry's card. After you sign up, you don't need to do anything else but shop! This is easy money for Coyote Trail.
• Raytheon Employees: Raytheon's "Matching Gifts for Education Program" is designed to encourage Raytheon employees to support education with their personal contributions. Coyote Trail is eligible for matching gifts under this program, which means that if you do a tax credit donation to Coyote Trail, Raytheon will match your gift, doubling the amount of your donation up to $10,000! The Matching Gifts for Education program can be found here on the Raytheon network.


Box Tops - collect box tops on many common pantry-type foods, Kleenex and frozen foods. *Remember to ask family and friends to collect Box Tops, too, and turn them into the front office or your child's teacher.
Labels for Education - program no longer in effect.

October PTF Meeting News

• The board voted to approve money for snacks to use in the nurse's office, rewards/prizes/supplies for counseling and Ben's Bell Kind Campus kits.
• Student Leadership reported they will be selling lollipops in November. They also approved money for Special Olympic T-Shirts, snacks for Bridge (bowling days), and Math and Beyond bracelets
• Chairpersons for the All School Dance and the School Carnival were selected and approved.

Parent Teacher Friends (PTF) Board Members

Nicole Glasner - President

Kathryn Mikronis - Vice President

Keri D'Aiuto - Secretary

Barbara Lewis-Partch - Treasurer

Nikki Grubbs - Newsletter Editor

Celinda Garcia - Special Events

Courtney Cameron - Volunteer Coordinator

Tim Weiler - Community Relations

Carrie and Darrell Blanchard - Hospitality

Mellodie Stratman - Staff Liason

Lori Valentine - Staff Liason

Please e-mail any member of the board with any 

questions, comments, concerns at coyotetrailptf@gmail.com


PTF Board meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month at 3 pm. 
Everyone is welcome! 
Next Meeting: November 9
Next month's meeting will be Dec. 14.

*You may have noticed this issue of The Howler included advertisements. If you are interested in advertising in our newsletter, please contact me (Nikki Grubbs) at coyotetrailptf@gmail.com Thank you!

Prices are as follows:

Small- $5/month
Medium - $10/month
Large- $20/month
Extra Large - $40/month