The Coyote Howler
November 1st, 2026
Principal's Message
Bonjour aux familles de CRES (French)
Happy November! Our Coyotes continue to learn and grow every single day. It is such a joy to see their bright smiles on the playground, hear their enthusiasm in class, and see them working hard!
Thank you so much for your generous support of the Coyote Campaign! Thanks to your contributions, we were able to raise over $6000 for our school. We also want to thank everyone who took the time to meet with us during parent-teacher conferences. Your ongoing partnership with our staff is key, and we deeply appreciate your support, involvement, and open communication at home.
Our IB focus this month centers on Thinking Skills for our Approaches to Learning (ATL) and being an Inquirer for our Learner Profile attribute. We look forward to another amazing month of learning and fun!
Luke Jones
Principal, Coyote Ridge Elementary: An IB World School
MISSION STATEMENT
We provide our students with a challenging inquiry-based education to:
- Pursue academic excellence
- Embrace differences
- Encourage lifelong learning
- Become responsible world citizens
- Foster personal growth and reflection
Coffee Talks
Mr. Jones will be hosting coffee talks throughout the year. See the schedule below.
Kinder and 1st Families (Second Semester TBD)
2nd and 3rd Families (Second Semester TBD)
November 9th at 8:05am 4th and 5th Families
November at a Glance
Tuesday, Nov 3: Teacher Plan Day - No Students
Thursday, Nov 5: Lucile Erwin Info Night at Coyote Ridge 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Monday, Nov 9: Coffee Talk w/ Mr. Jones for 4th and 5th Grade Parents
Tuesday, Nov 10: CRES PTO Meeting 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Lucile Erwin Middle School Open House 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Thursday, Nov 12: Kindergarten Open House at TVHS 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Friday, Nov 13: Individual Retake Photo Day
Tuesday, Nov 17: Family Lunch 11:15am - 12:15 pm
Friday, Nov 20:
Turkey Round Up 7:40am - 8:00amTurkey Trot 2:20pm - 3:00pm
Monday, Nov 23 – Friday, Nov 27: Thanksgiving Break - Schools Closed
Looking Ahead
Thursday, December 10 CRES All School Music Concert @ Thompson Valley High School
Friday, December 18 Winter Parties: 2:15pm - 3:00pm
Monday, December 21 – Monday, December 28 Winter Break – District Closed
The CRES Spelling Bee will take place during the school day on Thursday, December 10th. This will be a written spelling test.
The top 25 spellers in the district will move on to the District Spelling Bee in January.
Questions? Contact Mrs. Opfer at kim.opfer@tsd.org
We will be doing our annual Turkey Trot on Friday, November 20th. Each grade will be racing one at a time, starting at 2:20. Kindergarten will go first, with 5th grade finishing. If you would like to come to watch the Turkey Trot, please stand behind the soccer goal in the field. Parents are welcome to take part in the race once all grades are finished.
4th grade has the exciting job of running the Turkey Round Up! This is a great tradition at CRES where we collect frozen turkeys as a school and donate them to the local food bank. We are looking for student volunteers to come to school early during the week before Thanksgiving break (dates would be Nov. 16-20th) to hold posters outside to remind the school to bring their frozen turkeys on Friday, November 20th.
4th Grade Families,
Please let Ms. Gebhart know which day(s) next week you could bring your student at 7:40 M/T/Th/F and 8:40 on Weds. to help us promote the Turkey Round Up by signing up using this document.
We are hopeful that ALL 4th grade students can come to school early on Friday, November 20th for the tradition of collecting the frozen turkeys in the kiss-n-go lane. Students should arrive at school on Friday November 20th by 7:40 to help with this. Turkey attire is highly encouraged! Winter gloves are encouraged to make handling the frozen turkeys easier. Please let Ms. Gebhart know if you have any questions!
ENJOY 10% OFF YOUR ORDER
CODE: F2610OFF
EXPIRES JULY 31, 2027
Individual RETAKE Picture Day is Friday, November 13th
If your student was not at school on our first picture day or needs a retake for any reason, this is your opportunity.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACTION AWARDS!
Learn more about action and the Coyote Ridge Action Awards by watching this one minute video!
Action is integral to the Primary Years Program (PYP)! Through action, students learn to understand their responsibilities as internationally-minded citizens and to appreciate working with others to achieve a common goal. Action is a response to learning that your student initiates on their own. Action can be big, like toy drives or volunteering. However, most of the time, action is small. Researching more about a topic of interest at home, becoming more aware of healthy habits, or even sharing their learning at the dinner table are all examples of action.
This is where we need help from you at home! Teachers are not at home with students to hear and see all the great things they do that connect with their learning at school and help their family, local, and global community. If you see action at home, please let your teacher know by filling out a Coyote Ridge Action Award.
We have two types of Action Awards. The Learner Profile Action Award is used to recognize students who take action related to the attributes of the Learner Profile. This is a great way to recognize your student for doing something helpful, caring, or thoughtful for someone else. Simply write down what the student did, and circle the Learner Profile attribute the student exemplified (hint: there is no wrong answer!). Examples may include raking leaves for the family or a neighbor without being asked (caring), helping clean up a mess at home that he or she did not make (principled), or trying new food (open-minded).
The Unit of Inquiry Award is a way to recognize your student for doing something directly related to a Unit of Inquiry at school. Your child's teacher will be sending home a copy of the Unit of Inquiry Award at the start of their new unit (approx. every ~6 weeks or so). If you don't have a copy, ask your child’s teacher for a copy of the Unit of Inquiry Action Award for your specific grade level.
To use this award, just write down what the student did to take action, and then circle which unit/central idea inspired the student. If you’re unsure which unit to circle, ask your student! For example, in 4th grade, students study the central idea: Innovations and discoveries impact daily life. If your student comes home and shares information with you about an innovation or invention, recognize him with an action award! She may also use materials around the house to create or invent new things!
If you have any questions about CRES Action Awards, please reach out to Katy Wynn, IB programme coordinator, at katy.wynn@tsd.org.
Music Class needs your help!
Do you have beanie babies at home that no one loves or plays with anymore? Ms. Smeltzer would love to add to her collection of beanie babies in the music room. We use them for beat buddies. Please send your beanie babies with your child to school and they can give them to Ms. Smeltzer. Thank you!
The Attendance Team at CRES has been working on improving our processes for recording student attendance to align with new district protocols and procedures. We want to let you know about some of the changes you can expect in the upcoming days and weeks. The biggest change is that we will be moving from a paper sign-in/sign-out process to a digital one.
Starting in late September, we will begin testing out using a QR code that will link to a Google Form for guardians to sign their student into or out of school. Guardians will be asked to bring in their phones in order to complete this process. We will continue to have a paper sign-in as a backup through October as everyone adjusts to this new system. Starting November 1st, we will complete the roll-over process to be fully digital.
Note: Parents and guardians are required to come into the school to sign students in when they arrive late or sign them out when leaving early. Please bring your phone with you, as it will be needed to complete the sign-in or sign-out process.
Join us for PTO & SAC
All parents are encouraged to attend PTO and SAC meetings. Join us on Google Meets if you cannot make it in person. Links are in the FAMILY CALENDAR.
November 10th - PTO 5:00-6:30PM
January 12th - PTO / SAC 5:00-6:30PM
February 9th - PTO 5:00-6:30PM
March 23rd - PTO / SAC 5:00-6:30PM
April 13th - PTO / SAC 5:00-6:30PM
May 11th - PTO 5:00-6:30PM
Please join Thompson School District for our annual Kindergarten Open House. This is an opportunity to connect with your elementary school & discover the opportunities TSD can provide your child.
When: November 12th, 2026 ️ 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Where: Thompson Valley High School, 1669 Eagle Drive, Loveland
For more information: http://tsd.org/kindergarten
Are you interested in having your student attend a Thompson School District school outside of your assigned neighborhood boundary? The School of Choice application window for the 2027–2028 school year opens soon!
Application Window: November 3, 2026 – January 29, 2027
Who Should Apply: Current TSD students wishing to transfer, as well as out-of-district families currently attending TSD (out-of-district families must reapply each year).
For more details or to submit an application, visit tsd.org/choice.
If you have questions, please contact Central Registration at centralregistration@tsd.org or 970-613-6877.
