March 1 March PTO Meeting, 8:15am, Room E2
March 1 Hawks' Garden Work Day
March 2 Hawks' Garden Planting Day
March 10 Staff Development Day - No School

Principal Message

Neil Cummins honored as 2023 California Distinguished School on February 16th in Southern California! 

State Superintendent Thurmond said, “California Distinguished Schools represent examples of not just excellent teaching, learning, and collaboration, but also highly successful, data-driven school efforts ranging from professional development for educators to mental health and social-emotional wellness strategies to address the needs of students and families.”

While the state has just recognized us as a Distinguished School, this is the result of years of hard work and investment from our whole Neil Cummins community. Who makes Neil Cummins a Distinguished school? Our teachers, staff members, parents, PTO, Spark, leadership and most of all our incredible students!

Neil Cummins was selected for this honor based on data reported through the 2022 Dashboard, including CAASPP assessment results, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates, and socioeconomic data. The Cove School, the other elementary school in our district, also received this honor. Neil Cummins and Cove represent two of the eight schools in Marin receiving this honor. State-wide, 6% (356 out of 5,872) of elementary schools were recognized. 

Board Updates

At the March 8 Board Meeting Hall Middle will be celebrated as a redesignated School to Watch. Trustees will vote on the tentative agreement with LCMEA (teachers association), second interim budget, and staffing reductions that will be explained at the March 3 coffee chat. This meeting is scheduled for March 8 at 6:00 in the Hall Library; no RSVP required. The meeting will also be live streamed via Zoom (link; passcode - lcmsd). Please know, public comments will only be taken by in person attendees; public comments via Zoom will not be available. If you cannot attend the meeting, public comments are welcome via email (mokeeffe@lcmschools.org) and will be included in Board Meeting minutes. We hope to see you there.

Coffee Chat – March 3 at Hall Middle School 

We have rescheduled our March 2 coffee chat to March 3 in Room 405 at Hall Middle at 8:30am. Dr. Brown and Dr. Geithman will be discussing potential changes for the 2023-24 Hall program. More details to come during the week of February 27.

Sincerely,

Kyle Shaw, Principal

The Neil Cummins Ecology and Beautification Team News:

The first Garden work day of the year will be held after school on Wednesday, March 1st from 1:45-3:45 pm. No experience is needed, just show up and we'll put you to work! We are also looking for volunteers who would like to help during our student seed planting day on Thursday, March 2nd. 

News from the Neil Cummins Gardens: 

The wet winter has been great for our plants, especially the California native seedlings recently planted along the pathway at the back of campus. In the school garden and the Monarch Way Station, we left the flower heads and cut stems. The dead flowers act like natural bird feeders and sustain many birds through the winter months. Beneficial insects and their larvae overwinter in the hollows of the stems and come out in early spring. Two nesting boxes were also installed early this month and bluebirds have already been seen checking them out.  These are just a few ways that Neil Cummins is helping create habitat for our local wildlife!

The Hawks Garden was featured in a garden page sponsored by Sloats in FastForward, a magazine created by students. We received a $250 gift card from Sloats as a thank you. Also, the California Native Plant Society just granted us $1,000 to create more butterfly habitat with native plants.

  Green Team News

Neil Cummins has been on a journey toward Zero Waste for nearly a decade. We work hard to instill good sorting habits in our students, empower students to care for their environment, reduce our waste, and to rethink and reuse whenever possible! Thank you for reinforcing these habits at home, and for helping us increase the number of Zero Waste snacks and lunches at school! We have seen a substantial decrease in our landfill waste due to these efforts! 

One of our NC Green Team programs is glue bottle/glue stick recycling through Terracycle.com. Click here to learn how we do this!

Parent Education Workshops See here for the full calendar of wonderful learning and sharing events, both in person and on Zoom!

Hall Middle School

Are you hoping to learn more about the transition for your rising Cougar? Come to our tour!! Hall is offering tours to prospective families to see our campus and take a peek inside middle school. This is a great opportunity for guardians to learn more about Hall culture and practices. Use this link to sign up for future dates. Hope to see you soon!

Spring Online Auction Items Needed We are looking for some unique items to feature in the SPARK Spring Online Auction. Do you have an item or a unique experience to donate such as a vacation home, gift certificate or sports tickets? We would love to include them in our auction! You can specify available dates and any other restrictions. 

SPARK Party Hosts Wanted We are working hard at pulling together some fabulous parties to feature in the SPARK Spring Online Auction, March 15-20. Parents host parties that are then made available for bidders to sign up for. Money raised from attendees is donated to SPARK! Last year, SPARK raised more than $12,000 from sign-up parties! These include gatherings for kids, families and adults. Many are tried and true parties that we’ve carried on for years and are looking for a couple of additional co-hosts. You can also come up with your own theme. Here are some ideas to get you inspired: Golf, Cornhole, Hikes, Ping Pong, Gardening, Amazing Race, Crab Feed, Beach Bonfire, Karaoke, Comedy Night, and Cooking! If any of these sound like something you're interested in being a part of, please contact Allison Bricker at alisonbricker@gmail.com or fill out our party donation form here.

SPARK Biz Partner Prime Residential Luxury and Comfort at Skylark Apartment Homes, owned and Managed by Prime Residential. Skylark Apartments has been a proud member of the neighborhood since 1972 and offers a close-knit community nestled at the base of Mount Tamalpais. Tour the beautiful property of Skylark Apartments and your new home! Contact  (415) 226-4092 or visit skylarkapartments.com for more details

SPARK Biz Partner The Village at Corte Madera has partnered with Redwood leadership students to host a “Prom Boutique” Please consider donating your gently worn gowns, shoes, jewelry and accessories. These items will be styled and available to all Redwood High School students free of charge here in our “Prom Boutique”! Help them make this special event accessible and affordable for everyone. For donations please contact: Christine.miller@macerich.com or call 415.924.8588. 

Follow SPARK on Social Media Follow us on instagram or like us on Facebook.

• Tidalwaves Swim Registration Now Open 
• Parent Education Workshop Series
• Marin Girls Chorus 
• Twin Cities Community Preschool Open House Sign Up
• Corte Madera Parks and Rec                                                            

58 Mohawk, Corte Madera, CA 94925 | Phone 415-927-6965

The Neil Cummins Weekly is a digital bulletin published by the NC PTO and distributed to the school community each Sunday via email. To submit an article, email the Editor at nchawksweekly@gmail.com. Articles must be received by Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. in order to be included in the next Sunday's issue.To receive a subscription to The Neil Cummins Weekly or to change your email address, send a note to emailupdates@lcmschools.org.  Need more information? Contact The Weekly Editor at nchawksweekly@gmail.com or visit one of the following websites: Neil Cummins, Larkspur- Corte Madera School District, Neil Cummins PTO or SPARK.

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