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Parent Involvement

PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

The Parents’ Association is committed to developing and strengthening the family-school partnership to enhance the experience of all children and families at CHS and build a strong community. As the parent/guardian of a child attending CHS, you are automatically a member of the Parents’ Association and part of a dedicated parent body. Membership dues are collected from families with the first installment of school tuition.

The primary responsibilities of the Parents’ Association are to coordinate special events and programs for children and parents, facilitate parent involvement in various school projects, and provide important communication to members. The Parents’ Association sponsors several annual events for its members, such as Back-to-School and Year-end Picnics, Parent Socials and play dates that enhance the community and help to create an essential bond between home and school. The Parents’ Association is also responsible for many events with new and prospective parents, such as New Parent Orientation, Prospective Parent Tours, and Kindergarten Information Night. Partners of the Parents Association include: Amazon, Books Inc. and Sports Basement.

The Parents’ Association is a valuable resource for our teachers, as the work we do allows teachers to focus on critical responsibilities that impact our children. Additionally, the Parents’ Association is a valuable resource for all parents because they help coordinate activities that enrich the overall CHS environment and community.

Committees

C.I.V.I.C.
CITIZENSHIP, IDENTITIES, VALUES, INCLUSION, CULTURES

C.I.V.I.C. is a committee of teachers and parents at Cow Hollow School who celebrate Citizenship, Identities, Values, Inclusion, and Cultures. CIVIC facilitates conversations about children’s identity and sense of place in the school, the neighborhood, the city, and the world. We are interested in celebrating these themes in our school community, dialoguing with each other and with our children, advocating for social justice, and participating in community events.

This year, CIVIC is hosting 5 chats for our parents to enter into dialogue with each other and teachers on topics such as:

  • Helping Boys Stay in Touch with their Relational Capacities
  • Fostering Toddlers Understanding of  Empathy and Respect
  • Music Matters: the usefulness of music as a tool in exploring social justice for young children and discuss ideas for implementation
  • Supporting Children’s Understanding of Citizenship through Nature
  • Building Empathy Through Nature

In past years, CIVIC has hosted several roundtable conversations, with the aim of bringing teachers and parents together to support children in learning about their social worlds. Below are some of the themes:

  • Guiding Children’s Understanding of Racial Identities
  • Talking with Children about the Life Cycle
  • Talking with Children About Homelessness

C.I.V.I.C. Discourse Newsletter!

Articles and podcasts at the intersection of parenting and social justice

This quarterly resource is a gathering of articles, talks, and podcasts that Cow Hollow School families and teachers find inspiring, enlightening, or enlivening. We hope this can be a way to exchange ideas, help us connect, and broaden our habits of reading and listening. The idea is that these will be CIVIC-related in some way- concerned with how we talk with children (and ourselves) about social justice, identities, values, and human differences; and with how we move and help the world.

Click  HERE  for our Fall 2021  C.I.V.I.C Discourse Newsletter

Library and Books

The Library & Books Committee works closely with the school faculty to ensure content curriculum-related and books are available for classroom use while closely working with the C.I.V.I.C. committee to ensure books are aligned with Cow Hollow School’s Justice, Equity, and Diversity of Perspectives goals. The Library and Books committee also organizes an annual Mindful Readers event for parents to have an in-depth discussion on a chosen book as well as hosting our annual Books Inc. and Minted fundraisers. This year, the Library and Books and C.I.V.I.C committees will host the 1st Literacy Week tying our school together by focusing on social justice through literacy!

Photography and Documentation

The Photography and Documentation Committee is responsible for creating the Annual Cow Hollow School Family Book, organizing and distributing school photos taken by class and putting together the Year- End video Slideshow, celebrating our year together!

Hospitality and Events

Hospitality Committee enjoys the role of welcoming new and prospective families to the Cow Hollow School. It also celebrates momentous occasions within our school community- for families, teachers and administrators- with special events.

The Events committee is responsible for organizing several all-school events to help deepen the connection among our amazing community. Some of these events have been Family Fun Day, Back-to School Night, Fall Pizza Party, Year- End Picnic and many more

Healthy Garden and Sustainability

The Healthy Garden and Sustainability Committee maintains the planting and upkeep of our beautiful garden beds, planters and fruit trees. Our primary objectives are growing fruits and vegetables for healthy snacks in the classroom and to provide a venue for the children to learn about the lifecycle of a garden. The committee works with a teacher liaison to involve the children in watering and harvesting produce throughout the year while organizing families to care for the garden. 

At Cow Hollow School we are committed to improving the health of our children, staff, parents and the environment. Through our Healthy School Initiative, we recommend and implement strategies to promote cleaner air, water and food; reduce waste and promote sustainability; and encourage the use of environmentally responsible materials. Our goal is to further enhance our program by guiding the children to be stewards of the earth and its resources, helping them care and become responsible members of their community, and to heighten their awareness of how people affect and are affected by their environment.

As a school, we consider the following when implementing our Healthy School strategies:

  • Long-term and short-term costs
  • Impact on the health of the children, staff and parents
  • Impact on the environment
  • Consistency with our school philosophy and values

We have made a commitment to this initiative in collaboration with parents dedicated to helping with research and recommendations, establishing green guidelines, making real changes that impact our school, and integrating the message into our curriculum.

Count Me In

The Count Me In (CMI) Committee works with families and faculty to offer a wide variety of CMI events throughout the year. CMI events help to build our community while also raising funds to support the school. A CMI can be for the whole family, for adults only, or just for the kids! A CMI can be for the whole school, or can focus on a particular class.

Big Party

Under the guidance of the Directors and the Chairs for Design/Décor and Logistics, the Big Party Committee and its team of dedicated volunteers plans and executes our exciting annual Big Party. The Big Party is a themed evening event held each Spring for our parents, staff, and faculty; and celebrates our amazing school community!

Room Parents

Room Parents foster and build each class community as well as overall school community with summer playdates, Back-to-School class picnics, and Fall and  Spring parent socials. Room Parents partner with the Teachers, Administration, and the Parents’ Association to ensure information and communications are efficiently and easily disseminated.