Math Night at Cowan

Inside this issue:

Inside Story 2

Inside Story 2

Inside Story 2

Inside Story 3

Inside Story 4

Inside Story 5

Inside Story 6

While some people love math classes, there are those who

would love to avoid them by any means. Learning new

math strategies can be daunting and adding to that fear is

the newly adopted Common Core Math Standards. Unlike

adding the old fashioned way i.e., 2+2=4 and that’s it,

Common Core requires several steps and a justification as

to how students arrive at their answers. To keep parents

from pulling their own hair out during homework time

while trying assist their Scholars, Cowan’s Resource

Teacher, Ms. Kaye Williams put together Math Night so

that parents can understand Common Core concepts to bet-

ter assist their child. Guest speaker, Marisol Castro

(LAUSD Parent Community Representative) hosted a lec-

ture detailing math requirements that students need to

get into top tier universities today as opposed to just ten

years ago. Cowan teachers demonstrated Common Core

strategies in classrooms for parents, and our Scholars

started off the night playing a variety of games. Thanks to

the many families who came out for Math Night. If you’ve

missed this truly valuable event, there will be another in

February. Attendance is highly encouraged.

December Newsletter

Cowan PTO

Board Members

President

Janeen Davis

Executive Vice President

Melissa Sandfield

Secretary

Jumoke Parkinson

Treasurer

Denise Washington

Financial Secretary

K.aye Williams

VP, Membership

Naila Iscandari

VP, Communications

Amani Walker-

Jackson

VP, Room Parent

Lisa Borrego

VP, Community Outreach

Naila Iscandari

Auditor

Damon Ross

Historian

Lisa Rodgers

C on n ec t in g

par en t s , s t u dent s

& t each er s

Volume 1, Issue 2

December, 2015

December Newsletter

Parents in the library listening to Marisol Castrol on Math Night.

Student Council Winners

December Newsletter Page 2

First Grade at Cowan

Mrs. Ponton, Room 8

Cowan Elementary has a Gifted /

High Ability Magnet division that

begins in first grade. The magnet

class is lead by Mrs. Ponton who

came to Cowan as a Kindergarten

teacher.

Mrs. Ponton’s Scholars are

currently learning non-

fiction writing and how to

use today’s technology to

gather information to write

research papers. Ms. Sam-

leson is also a first grade

teacher at Cowan. Her

Scholars are learning les-

sons in both science and

responsibility by planting

seeds and watching them

grow through their life cy-

cle. They took their plants

home during Thanksgiving

break to further nurture

and care for them.

Ms. Samelson , Room 5

It is never too early to mold tomorrow’s young leaders . Cowan recognizes leadership potential in all of our Scholars

and offers them the opportunity to develop their leadership skills in Student Council. Under the direction of 5th grade

magnet teacher and Student Council advisor Mr. Melbourne, Cowan Scholars collaborate on ideas for campus beautifi-

cation and school fundraisers. The criteria to join Student Council is “3s” and higher on report cards and good citi-

zenship. Students in the 4th-6th grade meeting this criteria are welcome to join and run for elected positions. This

year’s elections were held on Monday, December 14th. Congratulations to the following winners:

President - Darius Williams

Vice President - Jaden Hanspard

Secretary - Deyla Davis

Treasurer - Jordyn Rhaburn

Historian - Isabella Hurst

To the left: Student Council members, Jordyn Rhaburn and Dayla

Davis

work and are striving to perform their

best. Congratulations to all of the No-

vember and December Awardees!

Each Month Cowan Tigers are

awarded certificates for Academic

Achievement, Most Improved,

Character Award, and Perfect At-

tendance at the Star Student As-

sembly. Though the Star Student

Awards serve to acknowledge the

efforts of these Scholars, we know

that all of our Scholars are hard at

Star Student Awards

Dates To Remember

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 2

December 21-January 8 Winter Break - NO SCHOOL

January 11 School Resumes

January 18 - Martin Luther King Jr Day - NO SCHOOL

November Academic Achievement Awardees

Happy Holidays!

Hard copies of the November newsletter can be found

in the office. Cowan’s contribution to protect the envi-

ronment means all future newsletters will be paperless,

published monthly, and can be found on our website at

www.cowantigers.org

Principal’s Corner

Page 4

December Newsletter

Reading With Your Child

Cowan Avenue Elementary

7615 Cowan Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90045

310-645-1973

We’re on the web!

Www.cowantigers.org

You Can Support Your Child's First Efforts at Reading

Learning to read can be hard, but it's a lot easier for children to learn-when they have their parents' support.

As your child begins to read, you can help in these ways:

Make sure you have books on subjects that interest your child.

Choose books that rhyme, repeat phrases, or have a pre-dictable story.

Practice letter sound together. Write and read letters and words.

When your child comes to a word she doesn't know, don't just say it. Look together for clues in the book's

pictures that might reveal its meaning.

If your child has difficulty with a word, skip over it. Let your child read the rest of the sentence.

Then ask what word might make sense.

Be patient and don’t dwell on mistakes, focus on positives.

Encourage your child to keep trying and persevere even when he/she doesn’t get it right every time

Everyone loves to be encouraged …. Praise the effort not the result

The most important point is to keep reading with and to your child. Find books you can enjoy reading together.

Richard Da Sylveira