Coweeman Middle School

Yearbooks are on sale now! 1/11- 1/25 Purchase online here: https://wa-kelso.intouchreceipting.com/signin.aspx Thank you for supporting Coweeman Middle School Yearbook. Every year, the yearbook is a window back into what we experienced as a school. It is a book of memories that will be cherished for years to come. This year’s yearbook will be different and one to look back on forever. It is truly a year to remember full of difficult experiences, heartwarming stories of love and support and photos to commemorate our experiences. We are Coweeman. We are Kelso. And we will remember that in 2020 we were resilient, we were strong and we were kind.

Kelso Sports Families, A lot of changes were released this week that pertain to our ability to begin sports. It is important to note that no final decisions have been made on what, when, and how sports will operate. We do know that we are not in a place to say with certainty that sports will begin on February 1st. We are continuing to gather information and to plan with appropriate district, area, and local decision makers. As we get more concrete and definite plans established, we will release that information. In the meantime, it is vitally important that you check the status of your students’ physical and make appropriate arrangements to get physicals current ASAP. It is advised that you take this step regardless of which season/sport your student will participate. PLAN AHEAD. Students without a current physical will not be allowed to participate until physicals are updated and getting an appointment with a health care provider may be difficult on short notice.

Picture retakes will be available at Huntington Middle School this Wednesday, January 13th from 3:00PM to 6:00PM. Please use the link below to to order photos online:  https://BellStudios.simplephoto.com/prepay/42471099?code=119fall

Need a tutor or homework help? Youth and Family Link in Partnership with Kelso School District. Grades 1st-12th all subjects. Monday thru Thursday 3:30-7:00pm, Friday 2:30-4:45pm. Limited space available must Click the link to register. http://www.linkprogram.org/kelso-tutoring-registration.html

Congratulations to our Coweeman Middle School Essay Contest Winners! "EPIC Congratulations to our 2020 Essay Contest Winners! Thank you to all the students who participated, our judges had a very tough job because of all the amazing essays submitted. EPIC decided to award top 3 prizes for each grade level! Winners will be contacted by email on January 4th! "

This weeks Tech Talk Tuesday: Back in the Spring, you may have seen the headline in the New York Times, "Coronavirus Ended the Screen-Time Debate. Screens won." When I read that, my heart started racing. I was so upset because that has never been the debate. The debate has always been how do we help our kids have healthier screen time as well as plenty of time off screens. Not only did that headline ignore the real debate, but it also implied that parents should just throw up their arms and accept complete screen time saturation. That is absolutely the wrong message we want to get to parents. Yes, with COVID, there has been a LOT of screen time — and that makes sense. Thank goodness our tech revolution has allowed some socializing to continue and school to still happen — (albeit significantly modified and suboptimal). Those are just some of the many positives that our tech revolution has made possible during this devastating pandemic. Yet, that said, there are still the many complexities of working to raise our kids to be tech-wise and screen balanced. I am jazzed today to share with you the top 10 blog posts of this past year. I've continued to love getting emails from so many of you telling me how these have helped you, sharing with me your experiences and insights, and at times hearing your opposing ideas. All of it makes writing this blog that much more of a rich and rewarding experience. https://screenagersmovie.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=836fba7e80cfddf96ec96c454&id=a1f3b1b48c&e=72dfc01048

Coweeman Families- Our hope is this message finds you and your family doing well. As we approach winter break and the end of 2020, we want to thank you for entrusting us with your children. This school year has proven to be vastly different than previous years and your patience and support through this remote/hybrid process is more than appreciated. With the holiday season upon us, please find time to relax and enjoy. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! Mr. Gardner and Ms. Green Friday's Schedule 12/18 7:50 – 8:30 – PAWS 8:40 – 9:40 – 2nd period 9:50 – 10:50 – 4th period 11:00 – 12:00 – Lunch 12:00 – 1:00 6th period Remote learning returns January 4th 2021

Today's Tech Talk Tuesday. Wow this one is on point! A psychologist who helps teens with problematic gaming. With COVID, time spent on video gaming has understandably risen markedly. There are indeed positives around video gaming like socializing, having fun, and so on. Yet, there are risks and challenges with today’s video games and gaming communities. Today, I will just focus on gaming environments to specifically discuss the hurtful, sexist, toxic communication that can happen in gaming spaces. For this TTT, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ed Spector, a psychologist who has spent more than a decade, helping teens struggling with problematic gaming. I also include insights from a leading researcher in this area, Douglas Gentile. https://screenagersmovie.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=836fba7e80cfddf96ec96c454&id=c4197fbf55&e=72dfc01048

Hi Coweeman Cougars! Just a reminder of this Friday's Schedule 12/18. Remote learning returns January 4th 2021. Enjoy your Winter Break and Happy Holiday's. 7:50 – 8:30 – PAWS 8:40 – 9:40 – 2nd period 9:50 – 10:50 – 4th period 11:00 – 12:00 – Lunch 12:00 – 1:00 6th period

CMS Picture Retake Day When: January 13th Time: 3:00pm - 6:00pm Where: Huntington Middle School (500 redpath St, Kelso, WA 98626) HMS and CMS will be having a combined picture retake day.

Thank you to our amazing Coweeman community and Honor Society members for helping us have such a successful warm clothing and toy drive! All of those bags are filled with new toys for Kelso kids and all of those boxes are filled to the brim with warm clothing and blankets for Kelso families ❄️❤️❄️

I know our kids see a ton of media that I frankly hate the messaging (don’t get me started), but good documentaries are a part of the work I have done to steep my kids in values around broadening their world views and sparking curiosity. One mom effort I am proud of is making sure my kids watched lots of empathy-building and mind-expanding documentaries growing up. And when I get to pick the movie night, I still mostly pick documentaries. I pick ones that have a high likelihood they will like it. Today I have picked some docs that are sure to expand your youth’s knowledge of the environment, society, politics, and most of all, human nature and the human condition. Also, I include discussion questions for some of the films. https://screenagersmovie.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=836fba7e80cfddf96ec96c454&id=2ddb018f9f&e=72dfc01048

Coweeman Families, Below is the link to order school pictures online. https://bellstudios.simplephoto.com/prepay/42342254?code=1119fall On Wednesday, December 9th Bell Studios will be at Coweeman to take student photos from 1:00PM-6:00PM. To keep students as socially distanced as possible, we’ve decided to do scheduled time slots by last name to help minimize crowding. Please try to follow the designated time slot for your student.  Students can enter the building through our main doors, the photographer will be set up in the cafeteria, and then students should exit through the side cafeteria doors near the tennis courts. Please maintain social distancing guidelines and wear a face covering at all times while waiting to be photographed. If possible, we would like to only have the students that are being photographed in the building.  At this time there will not be a picture retake day, please try to make it on December 9th to have your student photographed so they have the opportunity to be featured in our end of year yearbook.  Wednesday, December 9th  Last Names A-E 1:00PM-2:30PM                      F-K 2:30PM-3:30PM                      L-Ri 3:30PM-5:00PM                      Ro-Z 5:00PM-6:00PM Picture packets are being mailed home and online ordering will be an option provided by Bell Studios. Photo pickup availability will be announced once we receive the photos from Bell Studios.  Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions, 360-501-1750. 

Snack Distribution Coweeman Middle School’s office is open Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 2:00PM for families to come in and pick up snack bags.  Come by our office if you would like to bring home a snack bag to your family! 

Christmas wreaths and greenery are in at Coweeman! If you ordered one, you may come pick it up from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. daily in our main office. If you would rather wait, you can pick it up on Dec. 9th while school photos are being taken. Happy Holidays!

We are developing Lexington's vision, mission, culture and school identity, and we'd love your input! Please take this 5-minute survey (bit.ly/lex-survey) and share your thoughts. Thank you!

35 Fun Things to Do at Home as a Family Making memories as a family doesn’t have to be expensive or require a bunch of planning. Here are 35 fun things you can do at home as a family to bond, laugh, work together and create memories your kids will talk about for years. Come back to this list whenever you’re spending the day at home and need fresh ideas. https://www.signupgenius.com/home/fun-things-to-do-family.cfm?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Participant

This weeks Tech Talk Tuesday: Part of what we do as parents that is so special and important is that we bring up conversation topics with our kids that may not have been discussed elsewhere. I have just such a topic that I want to offer — a topic that pertains to Thanksgiving, and it has to do with the challenges of giving thanks. I am talking about meaningful thanks. I find that people rarely talk about how nervous and self-conscious we humans can feel when we thank someone for something they did or said. Even just contemplating expressing our thanks can make us feel anywhere from a little uncomfortable to super vulnerable. And yet, so often, these uncomfortable expressions of gratitude are the truly meaningful ones. There are plenty of times we all say thank you, and it comes without any emotional hurdle like saying thank you to the cashier as we smile through our mask and push our cart away. Or thank you to someone who steps aside to maintain a COVID-safe distance, and so on. But I am talking about the thank-yous that make us feel a bit vulnerable. For instance, telling a teacher (in person or via a letter) why you so appreciated being in their class and that you liked that thing they did when they shared a story about their days in school, or how they listened to you that time you came in having problems with a friend. When we give specific examples to people of why we appreciate them or what they did that we are grateful for, we can be self-conscious. And yet, the real gold may lie precisely in those times we find we want to give thanks but hold back. The times we are aware of a little unease most likely means the thank you will be really meaningful.

If you bought shirts or sweaters from our PTO sale and haven’t gotten yours yet, the orders are in the CMS office ready for you to pick up.

Reminder of CMS schedule this week: Monday: A-E in person learning F-Z Remote (Google Classroom) Tuesday: F-K in person learning A-E and L-Z Remote (Google Classroom) Wednesday: A-Z Remote open Zoom meetings with teachers 10:00 am till 12:30pm We will resume Full remote learning Tuesday December 1st.