November 2025

Dec 16, Regular Board Meeting

Dec 17, Holiday Program

Dec 18, End of Semester 1 and Early Release

Dec 22, Christmas Break

Jan 05, School Resumes

Jan 19, MLK Jr Holiday

Jan 20, Regular Board Meeting

Feb 16, Presidents' Day

Feb 17, Regular Board Meeting

In the fall of 2018, parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and the School Board collaborated together to establish a strategic direction for the district that would provide an exceptional educational environment for students to become highly successful in whichever endeavor they choose to pursue.  In 2022 a similar group reviewed the plan to ensure priorities and activities of the District were still current with community goals and values.

Over the past few weeks we have continued this practice and have introduced Robert Waltenburg as the facilitator for the process.  I have known Robert since 2010 and he currently serves as the Superintendent of Grant ESD, a position he has held for more than 20 years.  Robert has a high level of experience along with an understanding of the unique challenges and benefits of a small, rural school district.  Assisting him is Wendy Burril, Director of Student Services at Grant ESD, and a candidate currently working towards district level licensure.

At this time, we have completed two sessions and are making excellent progress.  In continuing this pace, we should have a revised plan that will guide the district for the next few years in providing positive student outcomes and prepare our Leopards for post-secondary success.

Earl Pettit, 

Superintendent

Fall is such a fun time to be in kindergarten! We kicked off the season with two wonderful field trips: one to Catherine Creek, where we explored Living Things in their habitats, and another to The Pick’n Patch with the fifth graders. We were lucky to have beautiful fall weather for both adventures!

In the classroom, we’ve been learning about our five senses. To explore the sense of touch, we cut out, then symmetrically decorated giant spiders with collage materials of different textures.

Halloween brought even more excitement! We followed a recipe and practiced counting as we measured ingredients to make “Halloween Hash,” and of course, we got to join in a costume parade. Next up, we’re looking forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and—yes—snow!

Catherine Creek TeePee

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Kindergarteners in their Halloween costumes

First grade has had a busy fall! We just passed our 52nd day of school. In that time we have learned so many new skills and had so much fun! Some recent highlights include: reading all kinds of books independently and with our 6th grade book buddies, learning the value of coins, how fractions work and dividing shapes into equal pieces, watching our adopted class dairy calf "Honey" grow, and talking about traditions and gratitude. We are looking forward to a little over 100 more days together! I am grateful for this fantastic group of 1st graders! 

Second Graders have had a great fall! We visited Nella Mae's farm, where we learned about compost and had the opportunity to eat fresh veggies from the garden. We have also been learning about place value and using our understanding of place value to add double-digit numbers on an open number line. Additionally, we are becoming skilled at writing narrative stories and giving each other feedback to help us grow as writers. We look forward to spending time with friends and family during the holidays.

Looking for critters in the compost!!

2nd graders meeting Nella

Eating fresh chard

This summer while I was visiting Grande Ronde Retirement, I experienced an overwhelming feeling of wanting to help the residents there. Then it came to me, third graders could be Pen Pals with them. After contacting Grande Ronde Retirement’s activities coordinator, my idea came to life. We pass notebooks back and forth with our Pen Pals and collectively, we have sent 7 letters so far this year. The bond that my third graders and their Pen Pals have formed is so heartwarming. Our classroom is buzzing with excitement waiting for our notebooks to be returned. We have even started making them craft projects to hang in their rooms. Not only is this project an absolute joy for both 3rd graders and our Pen Pals, but I am seeing some of the best writing from 3rd graders that I have ever seen.

The holidays are right around the corner and 3rd graders wanted to do something special for our Pen Pals. The 3rd grade class has chosen to “adopt” all 20 of our Pen Pals, through Grande Ronde Retirement’s adopt a resident program. We have received monetary donations and they will be used by the 3rd graders to buy their Pen Pals Christmas gifts. We are set to shop with our Junior and Senior High ASB officers and deliver our gifts to our Pen Pals before we leave for Christmas break. 

Happy Holiday’s from Mrs. Langford and The Third Graders.

3rd Grade Reading their Pen Pal Letters

Fourth grade has been very busy getting ready for the upcoming Holiday season. In October we took a trip to the Pick ‘N Patch here in Cove with our friends in 1st grade and each got to pick our perfect pumpkin. We then were able to spend an afternoon painting pumpkins and enjoyed seeing what our classmates were able to create. While learning about Thanksgiving and preparing for the annual Christmas program we have been hard at work mastering our multiplication skills and groups have been finishing Novels left and right. This is a great time to reflect on what we are thankful for, and boy am I so thankful for this group of turkeys. Happy Holidays everyone!

4th graders showing off their pumpkin decorating masterpieces

Fifth grade has been working hard this year! We are wrapping up a unit on long division in math, researching European explorers in social studies, finishing up a novel study for the book Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick, and writing informational reports in writing. We are very excited for the annual Christmas program! Fifth-grade students have speaking and acting roles in the play and have been hard at work learning their lines. We hope to see you there!

5th graders in their Halloween costumes

Students are working hard in 6th grade. They are handling the workload, and although little homework is assigned directly, students can still find ways to improve.  Parents, check in via ParentVue and ask your student specific questions about assignments and grades.  There are many ways kids can practice at home.  Many 6th graders need support as life in the classroom, athletics, and extracurricular activities begin to demand more time.  

I am impressed with how hard this class works and with how well they get along with each other.  In Math, we are grinding away at multiplying and dividing with decimals.  In Language Arts, students are responding thoughtfully in their journals about the book they are reading.   Ask to see your 6th grader’s reading journal to understand what I’m talking about. 

We had a wonderful October trip to Wallowa Valley Senior Living to interview residents.  Check out the Cove Leopards website and find the students' recordings about the day.  The trip gave us an experience to write about, but more importantly, it gave the kids a connection to the past and a thoughtful look into their future.

6th graders interviewing residents at the Wallowa Valley Senior Living Center

Cove 4th Grade PE class got to get some real life training and skills from a local Professional Disc Golf Player - Zoe AnDyke. Zoe also complemented each student with a Frisbee/Disc of their own. Since the training the students have been outside learning how to throw a frisbee correctly and competing in a game of Ultimate Frisbee. During the game they are learning the flight of the frisbee changes depending on release location and of course the wind. It has been a great way to build a team atmosphere.

What a great start to the 2025-2026 academic year!!  In our 2nd year of operation with our 7-12 Jr/Sr High School model, we have seen continued improvements and efforts towards positive school outcomes for our students.  What I most appreciate is the connections I see between students and staff.  Whether it is high fives in the hallways, checking in on assignments, games, events & activities, it is this proactive approach by the school community that contributes to a supportive school climate.  

Thank you,

Mr. Clark

Principal, Cove Jr/Sr High School

We’re quickly approaching the end of Semester 1 — December 18, 2025!
This year is flying by, and we’re already nearly halfway through. Please work with your students to ensure all coursework is completed on time, as the semester grade will be the official, final grade recorded on their transcripts.

If a student is interested in switching classes, schedule changes can be made during the first week of Semester 2, after we return from Christmas break. Class changes must follow our Course Change Request Form process.

Visit our school website or click on the link below to explore the newly updated Graduation Hub , which includes:

If you have any questions regarding transcripts, graduation requirements or course selection, please do not hesitate to reach out to Tawny Savage at tawny.savage@covesd.org

We’re proud to celebrate our students’ hard work and dedication during the Quarter 1 grading period! A total of 63 students in grades 7–12 earned a place on the Honor Roll for achieving a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Additionally, 27 students received an Honorable Mention for maintaining a GPA between 3.25 and 3.49. Congratulations to all our high-achieving students!

Click on the button below or navigate to https://www.cove.k12.or.us/article/2503968 to view the list of students.

Homecoming Week was packed with school spirit and community pride! Students and staff had a blast participating in themed dress-up days and came together for a fun-filled community pep rally and bonfire. The excitement continued with volleyball and football. Everyone enjoyed a delicious tri-tip meal provided by our FFA. The week wrapped up in style with a colorful Rio-themed dance that brought everyone together for one last celebration. It was a fantastic week full of energy, teamwork, and unforgettable memories!

This year has been the year of the trailers. We have done a major rebuild on 2 utility trailers, gutted the EOU STEM trailer (to remodel it), and now we are going to oil up another one to help preserve the wood.

The auto shop has been busy too. Among other things, we have already replaced 3 power windows, weird. We are also working on 2 racing lawnmowers! One of them looks like a T-bucket hot-rod!

From the Shop, Happy Holidays!

Our FBLA chapter is gearing up for several exciting events. Students are preparing for the Alzheimer’s Association fundraiser, where our chapter was recognized last year as the second-largest fundraising organization in the entire state of Oregon. We’re also partnering with the Life Skills class for a Friendsgiving celebration to build community and connection. Looking ahead, FBLA members are also organizing the Alumni Basketball Tournament and the always-popular Donkey Basketball event coming in January.

This has been such a busy quarter for our Cove Musicians!

Our high school ensembles had the opportunity to travel to Nixyaawii to learn about musical traditions and history of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. Our High School Band helped to honor our veterans at the annual Veterans' Day assembly by continuing the tradition of performing the armed forces themes. In addition, HS choir attended a small schools festival at EOU where they sang alongside 7 other schools. They had the opportunity to spend the day learning from Dr. Peter Wordleman, and came home with some new techniques. Wrapping up our whirlwind 2 weeks of performances, HS choir will be performing in their first Choir Showcase of the year on Nov 20th in the small gym at 6:30pm.

This year's Christmas program will take place on December 17th at 6:30pm. There isn't a specific color requirement for attire this year. Instead, please have your student wear something nice and something they are comfortable in. If you have specific questions, please feel free to reach out to me!

Looking forward to another great quarter of Cove Music!

Our HOSA chapter has had an exciting and eventful Fall season filled with hands-on learning and new opportunities. Students have been hard at work completing a suturing module, including a special lesson led by Cove graduate Jayden Moore, a fourth-year medical student at OHSU, who came in to discuss MD pathways and teach suturing techniques. His guidance gave students an invaluable real-world experience.

In addition, several students participated in medical skills competitions at the first annual HOSA Regional Competition. Their dedication and preparation were truly impressive, and we expect to receive the official competition results early next week.

Through the winter months the students will be working on Nursing Assistant and Phlebotomy modules as well as setting up a Community RedCross Blood Drive with the FFA for the spring and preparing for the HOSA State Competition. 

I look forward to celebrating our students’ achievements with you and continuing our engaging learning experiences throughout the year!

This time of year is always big for Cove Robotics.  We have sixteen students involved this year in the First Tech Challenge (FTC).  Eight of those students are new to the program.  Since September, they have been learning to draw and create assemblies in a 3-D CAD program, designing, building, and programming a robot to complete this year's challenges.  The theme for this year is “Into the Deep” and can be seen at this link https://youtu.be/LCqWA6gSCXA?si=Dwz86WWsq3MtWS4J.  We have three scrimmages over the next few months before we do a district championship in February. 

Go Leopards!

The fall play was a rollicking success with The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon by Don Zolidis. We even had the opportunity to have Zoom meeting with the playwright which helped all of us to understand why he writes the way he does! If you missed it, never fear, because there will be a production in the spring on April 17, 18, & 19. This production may be open for the community to audition, so please see the school website for more information in early January. Finally, we are also
selling theatre t-shirts and have a few sizes in both yellow and blue. Shirts are available ($18 each) from Dr. Farrell at the school and during our performances.

Soils:

The Cove FFA Chapter had the opportunity to compete in our District Soils contest held in Joseph. Our team placed first in the Eastern Oregon District FFA District! When students “judge” soil they evaluate the soil profile, textures within the soil, fragments within the soil, and more. Based on their initial judgements, they can accurately determine available water holding capacity, effective root depth, slope, and many other important factors that determine the suitability of the land. Our top 3 members were Gideon Topliff, Baylen Johnson, and Kyler Hall.

Following the district event we competed at the state level in Prineville finishing 11th out of 33 teams.

Leadership Camp:

The Cove FFA officer teams attended the District Leadership Camp at Camp Elkanah in early October. The Eastern Oregon FFA District hosts the camp which is comprised of all of the high schools in Union, Baker and Wallowa Counties. We had two officer teams: the Chapter, and the Greenhand Officers. Each officer was paired with a district and state officer that put on leadership workshops and helped them learn their roles and responsibilities as chapter officers as well as participate in leadership and personal growth activities.  Both teams competed in the FFA Rituals contest, where they went through opening and closing ceremonies and placed 4th in both.

National Convention:

This year, nine of our chapter members had the opportunity to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the convention our former member Kailee Mansveld received her American Degree. To earn this degree the member must have been an active member for at least three years, received the State FFA Degree, graduated from high school at least 12 months prior to the national convention, and maintained records for an outstanding supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program. While at the convention our members attended workshops, sessions put on by national officers and keynote speakers, and our students got to tour different farms and facilities in surrounding areas including:

A good time was had by all participants, and we look forward to returning in the future.

Ag Sales/Job Interview:

On November 12th, many of our members competed at the District Ag Sales Competition in various competitions. Kendra Mansveld and Esther Elmer made it into the top 6 students in Job Interview in the Eastern Oregon District (the district encompasses all schools in Union, Baker, and Wallowa Counties) and will be moving onto the second round of interviews in February. Brooklyn Murphy earned 3rd place in Sales Presentation, and Titus Topliff earned 2nd in Ad Design. Our Greenhand team consisting of Finley O’Rourke, Hosanna Topliff, Titus Topliff, Baylen Johnson, Gauge McMurdo, and Briley Beverage, earned fourth place overall. 

Community Service Events :

The Cove FFA chapter recently attended the Farmer Merchant Banquet and Friends of the Fair Banquet as community service. The Farmer Merchant Banquet is an annual event that aims to celebrate the contributions of farmers, ranchers, and the entire agricultural community in Union County. Cove FFA Chapter helped to serve and buss tables at this Banquet and show our appreciation towards the multitude of farmers and ranchers who continuously support us.

The Friends of The Fair Banquet was a groundbreaking celebration for a new sewer system at the Union County Fair Grounds with a ticketed dinner, and dessert auction. Our chapter helped to serve at this event by tending and bussing the tables and making sure everything went smoothly. Many of our members attend the fair so supporting this event was very important to us. We deeply appreciate everyone who was involved in this groundbreaking project to better our beautiful fair grounds. Special thanks to State Senator Todd Nash, Commissioners, Scarfo and Seavert and Anderes, as well as State Representative Bobby Levy! We appreciate you making this possible.

Science 7 - is exploring biodiversity and how it is essential for the health of an ecosystem. In particular, they are learning about the importance of bees! After we try to solve the problem of the disappearing bees, we will move on to the rock cycle and our active earth.

Geometry - is wrapping up our exploration of congruent triangles with a bridge-building contest to see whose design will hold the most weight! May the best student win! After that we will construct angle and segment bisectors (and perpendicular bisectors!) in triangles to explore their properties, with a last look at triangle relationships before starting on quadrilaterals.

Math 8 - We're all about lines in math 8! Slope, intercept, equations, tables and graphs...we're doing it all. Next up? Word problems!

Precalculus - After an intense look at polynomials and the rational functions that use them, we are moving forward to finding inverses, with an emphasis on the inverse of exponentials: the logarithm! We will culminate with a CSI problem that will allow us to find out the estimated time of death of a victim found in a park overnight. 

Algebra 2 - is discovering that all the rules of multiplication and (long) division still work, even with polynomials. We'll continue in this thread to simplify, add, subtract, multiply and divide rational functions (a fancy way of saying fractions made up of polynomials). Throw in some graphing and we'll be having a great time.

Calculus - We have slogged through the arduous task of proving how to find derivatives of functions, but now we get to find all the fun shortcuts!

Geometry students testing their bridges

Nixon Howell showing his winning bridge about to break!

7th grade science class exploring with Carrie Castleton

Our students have been hard at work across several classes and activities this month!

Spanish: Students are strengthening their conversational Spanish skills through daily activities, peer conversations, and class presentations. The focus has been on building confidence and fluency in real-world communication.

Marketing: Our marketing students continue to operate the school concessions, gaining hands-on experience in inventory management, purchasing, advertising, pricing strategy, and basic accounting. This real-world project teaches responsibility and helps students understand how a small business runs day-to-day.

Personal Finance: In personal finance, students are actively participating in our classroom economy. They are practicing budgeting, paying bills, managing risk, and making financial decisions. We are currently diving into investing—specifically learning how the stock market works and how to make informed investment choices.

English Class Highlights: ENG I/II is just finishing a study on utopian societies which involved reading multiple novels as well as watching a film. ELA 8 is just finishing a creative writing unit where they are coming up with their idea for their first novel. WRI 121Z will be wrapping up the year with a literary unit on The Crucible. American Lit. is studying The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Lit to Film is completing the semester with films revolving around Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As we approach the last few days before break, we will be carrying on the tradition of the Progressive Christmas Activity with all of my students involved!
Drama Class & the Holiday Dinner Theatre: On Dec. 15, the drama class along with the choir and Essential Life Skills students will be hosting a holiday dinner theatre at Calvary Baptist Church. The evening is a fundraiser for the theatre department and choir and will begin at 6:00 pm. The choir will perform some traditional carols followed by the drama class offering a family-friendly version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Donations for the theatre department and choir will be collected by passing the hat, while the ticket price will cover dinner. See the school website for more information and reserve your meal early!

Most of my classes have just wrapped up one unit and are starting a new one.  Here are some discussion questions for home about their learning experiences:

7th Grade English: How are they liking Swiss Family Robinson?  It is a classic!  We are practicing reading new words aloud and comparing the book to the Disney film production.

7th Grade Social Studies: Where in the world is Mesopotamia?  How do they feel about Cornell Notes?  How did they do on our “Spelling Bee” style map review?

9th Grade History: What has been the most interesting part of ancient history so far? What are their study strategies for the map tests?

9/10th Grade English: What prompt have they chosen for their Utopia/Dystopia paper?  Which text did they enjoy the most?  Which storyline was the most frustrating? Next week, these students will need a peer edit of their rough draft.  This is something that can be done at home with a parent as well!  

Essential Living Skills: We finished a science of cookies unit and jumped right into catering pumpkin desserts and a “Friendsgiving” meal for the FBLA next week.  They are working hard!  What is their favorite recipe so far?

Middle School PE: Flag Football, anyone?  We have strong teams for both the girls and the boys.  It has been fun to see some of our more reserved PE students become the stars of the show!  What is their biggest strength on the field?  As the weather cools down, it is more important than ever to have our students prepared with proper shoes and layers to keep warm and dry.  We will be inside after basketball season, but until then, we will be outside every day.

Our ASB put on a fabulous assembly honoring our Veterans! 

The Spirit of '76

I’m very excited to teach about the origins of our nation as we celebrate the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the American War for Independence. The first battles of the American Revolution began on April 19, 1775 in Massachusetts. British regular soldiers marched west from Boston looking for a rebel weapons cache. Paul Revere and William Dawes began their famous ‘Midnight Ride’ to warn the patriots in Lexington and Concord that the regulars were coming their way. British forces stung the Lexington militia, killing eight. Later that same day, the Concord militia, which included ace soldiers called Minutemen, confronted the British at the Old North Bridge, where they fought and chased the British all the way back to Boston town.

On the tenth of May Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, accompanied by Benedict Arnold, captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Henry Knox, a Boston bookseller with an affinity for artillery, organized the Noble Train of Artillery, and hauled the captured cannon back to Boston. They would eventually be used to force the British out of the area on March 17, 1776 (Evacuation Day).

On June 17, 1775 Patriots atop Breed’s and Bunker Hill just outside Boston withstood two waves of a frontal assault from the British. Colonel William Prescott reminded his men of their current condition, shouting “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” They lost the hill only when they ran out of ammunition and had to retreat.

General George Washington arrived in Boston on the second of July to take control of the Newly formed Continental Army, which he saw as enthusiastic, but very undisciplined. Their willingness to fight was so obvious that they often fought among themselves. Washington himself had to break up a fight between his soldiers. He sternly reminded them who the real enemy was.

American forces struggled through the early years of the war, but persevered to accomplish something the world had yet to see; the creation of a republic, the union of a very diverse people all with a common cause to be in charge of their own lives. Our founders set a path for us to follow and improve upon, and it is our duty to honor that effort every day. It is an incredible story that educates us and inspires us.

8th Science - I have been enjoying very much the several different projects that students have chosen to work on - they have used gummy bears to explore wave lengths, water rockets and tablecloths to demonstrate Newton's Laws of Motion, M&Ms to study the theory of evolution, water bottle dams to illustrate Energy Conservation, and fruit to diagram DNA.  It's fun to see them be creative and make connections. 

Algebra 2 - I was pleased with how well my Algebra 2 students focused and learned the difficult concepts of Polynomial Identities and how they relate to Pascal's Triangle and the Binomial Theorem. We're currently working on dividing polynomials using polynomial and synthetic division, and using those methods to find the zeros of polynomial equations.  So far so good!

Geometry - We had fun going to the Pick'n Patch in October to choose pumpkins for our volume/displacement experiments.  The students were challenged to calculate the actual volume of the pumpkin using water displacement and compare it to the volume they found using traditional formulas.  We completed our unit on determining congruence within triangles, and are currently looking at the various centers that exist in triangles, and the properties of each. 

Geometry 2 - We've been studying how violating and manipulating various principles of Geometry can result in optical illusions.  We took a short break to sample and calculate the volume of various ice cream cones to find the best deal, and then returned to creating and analyzing our own 2D illusions.

Spanish - We celebrated El Dia de los Muertos by making homemade tortillas and quesadillas, and completed posters about monsters and the weather.  I'm including more reading and writing in Spanish, and I've been very pleased with how eager the students are to listen to and try to understand stories in Spanish.  In the next weeks, we will be practicing the differences between Ser and Estar in more detail. 

Career Exploration - It has been so fun to get to know my new 7th grade students - they've been taking various personality tests to determine what kind of jobs they might enjoy.  We're currently looking at their individual strengths and interests, and we'll move on to budgets in the coming weeks.

Caleb Hall and Ryan Mentgen making a model of the Solar System using balls

Madeline Ibarra and Josie McNeil presenting their fruit DNA diagram

Spanish class making homemade tortillas and quesadillas to celebrate El Dia de los Muertos

The students in the science department are actively exploring some fascinating topics, applying scientific principles through engaging labs and deep study.

Freshmen & Sophomores: Physical/Earth Science

Upper-Level Courses

We appreciate your support as our students engage with these vital subjects, preparing them for future success in science and beyond.

Cove’s Kenzy Spence picked up a personal best time in the 100-meter backstroke on Jan. 20, 2024 

December 6 – Baker High School meet
December 13 – Ridgeview Ravens Classic - Redmond
December 20 – Cove High School Meet - Hosting in La Grande
January 3 – Sweet Home meet
January 10 – Mollala Invitational
January 17 – La Grande High School meet
January 24 – Baker High School meet
January 31 – Madras White Buffalo Invitational
February 13-14 – Districts – La Grande
February 20-21 – State - Tualatin

The Junior High Girls Basketball team worked on a community service project raking leaves for community members!

High School Basketball:

December 4,5,6,18

January 2,6,15,20,29

February 5,13

Junior High Basketball:

December 2,9,12,13,15,18

Living Water Irrigation High School Basketball Tournament December 4-6 @ Cove

High Valley Hoops Jr. High Basketball Tournament December 12-13 @ Cove

Cove School District 15

PO Box 68 

Cove, OR 97824

541-568-4424

Copyright © 2025 Cove School District. All rights reserved.