CRE Weekly Newsletter August 18

Dear Coyote Ridge Community,

Fall Fundraiser

A HUGE thank you to our incredible Coyote Ridge community for making our fall fundraiser such a success! We are so grateful for the generosity, enthusiasm, and support you continue to show our school. Your support allows our PTO to provide so many incredible opportunities and experiences for our students and staff and helps make CRE such a special place to learn and grow. We are incredibly grateful for the partnership between our families, PTO, and school community. 

And the celebration isn’t over yet! We hope to see you tonight at our PTO sponsored Fall Fundraiser Finale BBQ at CRE from 5:00–7:00 PM! Come enjoy some food, connect with other families, and celebrate what we can accomplish together.

Thank you, CRE families, for always showing up for our school!

To celebrate reaching our goal, I will be SLIMED at the school assembly next week!

Fall Conferences/Book Fair

Families, keep an eye on your inbox today at 3:00 PM for a fall conference sign-up link from your child’s teacher. Fall conferences are a wonderful opportunity to connect with your child’s teacher, celebrate their learning and growth, and talk about ways we can support them throughout the school year. Our conferences will also coincide with our Fall Book Fair, so we hope you’ll take some time to stop by, connect with your child’s teacher, and find a few great books to take home!

Parent Principal Connect- thank you!

Thank you to all of the families who joined us for our Parent Principal Connect meeting this week! We had such a great turnout, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to connect with so many of you. These gatherings are a great way to share more about the important work happening at Coyote Ridge and, equally importantly, to highlight the incredible ways our PTO is supporting that work and creating opportunities for our students and staff. We are so grateful for your partnership, engagement, and continued support of CRE. Our school community is stronger because of you!

Band Position

We are excited to share that our Coyote Ridge 4th & 5th Grade Band position is officially posted! This is such an exciting opportunity as we bring a band to CRE and creating another incredible way for our students to explore their interests, build confidence, and grow their love of music. Please share the position with anyone you know who may be interested! We would love to connect with talented educators and musicians who are excited about working with elementary students and being part of the CRE community.

Thank you for helping us spread the word!

Mental Health Minute: The importance of play (from Ms. Young and Ms. P!)

Why is play important? It is more than just a break from academics. Play acts as the primary driver for neurological growth, emotional resilience, and social learning. Through play, we as humans wire our brains, test boundaries and process our world. In fact, play is an active state of learning that builds skills across developmental areas.There are two types of play- Structured play has clear goals and rules set by adults, while Unstructured play is free-form and led by the child.

Structured Play

Structured play involves specific tasks, directions, and set objectives. Adults usually organize or guide these activities.

• Key features: Clear rules, defined goals, and adult supervision or direction.

• Examples: Board games, puzzles, organized team sports, and guided art classes.

• Benefits: Teaches rule-following, pattern recognition, problem-solving, and social cooperation.

Unstructured Play

Unstructured play, or free play, is spontaneous and open-ended. Children decide what to do and how to do it without a fixed script. 

• Key features: Child-directed, no set goal, and driven by personal interest.

• Examples: Playing on a playground, drawing freely, dressing up, and building with blocks.

• Benefits: Boosts creativity, imagination, independence, and emotional self-regulation.

Click here to listen to the podcast

 

Have a great weekend!!

 

In partnership,

Carolyn Webb, Coyote Ridge Principal