From Erin Green, Principal

Dear Covington Parents and Community Members:

Film Festival Celebrations!

It was so wonderful to see so many students, parents and staff attending our LASD Film Festival last Friday. Covington had an outstanding presence with many of our students and classesbeing recognized at the event! 

Congratulations to the following students and classes:

Music Video Category

1st place 3rd-5th Graders:       Brook Allison & Kate McGuigan

1st place 6th-8th Graders:       Kyle Marino & Ishaan Parmar

Educational Category

1st place K-2nd Graders:       Taylor Ewan 

2nd place 3rd-5th Graders:     Lara Babu, Katherine Chui, Olivia Gonzales & Divya Jakatdar

3rd place 3rd-5th Graders:      Parisa Homayoun & Parisa Larson 

2nd place 6th-8th Graders:     Angie Wang & Emma Kwan

3rd place 6th-8th Graders:      Jamsheed Mistri

Story Category

2nd place 3rd-5th Graders:      Lillian Angus & Anisha Menath

1st place 6th-8th Graders:       Jamsheed Mistri

Comedy Category

2nd place 3rd-5th Graders:      Allie Murdock

1st place 6th-8th Graders:       Dom Tolomeo

2nd place 6th-8th Graders:      Jamsheed Mistri

Class Collaboration Category

1st place K-2nd Graders:        Ms. Mase's 2nd Grade Class

3rd place K-2nd Graders:        Mrs. Scatena's 1st Grade Class

1st place 3rd-5th Graders:       Mrs. Portillo’s and Mrs. Sitler's Classes

2nd place 3rd-5th Graders:      Mrs. Croft's 4th Grade Class

1st place 6th-8th Graders:       Ms. Ping's and Mrs. Saddler's Class

Congratulations to all of the award winners and to all students who submitted a film!

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Code Red Safety Practice

Yesterday our staff practiced a school-wide lock-down drill.  The School Resource Officer, along with three other officers from the Los Altos Police Department,  helped us to carry out and evaluate the drill.  After the drill, which lasted roughly 15 minutes, we were able to debrief and talk about next steps in our emergency planning.

I am happy to report that our students and staff performed the drill very efficiently, safely and professionally. I was proud of everyone participating.  All rooms were secured with barricades and students were very quiet.  Our Covington Coyotes rise to any and every challenge!  

Music Concerts

We had a fantastic primary music concert this week featuring our students from kindergarten to 3^rd grade.  Thank you PTA for providing the opportunity for our students to work with Starting Arts.  We look forward to more vocal music next year.  Our next musical event is the upper grade concert on May 21^st, which will highlight our 4-6^th grade students.  For those of you who have been at Covington for many years, both of these concerts replace our former tradition of the spring sing.

I wish all of you a wonderful and relaxing spring break and look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday, April 15th.  

Sincerely,

Erin S. Green

Principal

School News

New Howler Publication Date

Please note, for your reading pleasure, after Spring Break, the Howler will be sent out on Tuesday mornings to inform you of all the upcoming news and events of the week.

Lost & Found

Our Lost & Found is overflowing.  We will donate any unclaimed items during Spring Break. So please stop by and collect your students’ jackets & sweaters before you leave on Friday.

After-school Programs

Spring Sessions are starting for some of our After School programs.  You can check the Covington Website for more information http://www.covingtonschool.org/covingtones/4757-After-School-Programs.html

School Council News

Almost to our goal!

We are very excited because we are more than 3/4 of the way to our Student Council goal of raising $1,200 for families at Silver Bay Elementary School, who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Thank you to all of our Student Council Officers and Representatives who have helped raise money for this special cause! 

On Friday, April 19, we will have Twin Day! Dress up like a buddy, or several buddies. It is not limited to only two people! Get a group together and dress alike!  Thanks, Coyotes!

From the PTA

Coyote Pack News

Run with The Pack on Friday at lunch!

Cumulatively, The Pack has run a total of 1917 miles. That's the distance from Covington to the middle of Iowa. Amazing! Only 934 miles to Washington DC. 

Reminder: Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk, Sat, May 11. Info at: http://lahpathwaysrun.org Covington Group Discount Code "owlhouse".

Junior Olympic News

DEADLINES: PERMISSIONS SLIPS DUE TOMORROW

Permission slips are due back tomorrow April 5. EVERYONE MUST RETURN even if not participating.

Here is the slip if you cannot locate yours: http://lasdschools.org/files/user/1/file/Junior%20Olympic%20Permission_2013%20Final.pdf.

EVENT DATE & INFO

JO is on Saturday, April 27th, 8 am - 4 pm.  Students may participate in 3 events + relay.

The JO committee will begin to ask students their desired events starting next week.

For more information please see the Covington JO page http://www.covingtonschool.org/covingtones/5541-Junior-Olympics.html or the district JO Page: http://lasdschools.org/District/Portal/Junior-Olympics

RELAY TEAMS

Congratulations to the students participating on a relay team. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to coach. This is a great experience for both students AND coaches! No one is required to practice over Spring Break.

EVENT SELECTIONS now through April 19.

During PE over the next several weeks, the JO chairs will be asking your student which three events that they would like to participate in. Now is a good time to check out the events and discuss with your child.

http://www.covingtonschool.org/covingtones/5541-Junior-Olympics.html

VOLUNTEERS

Many volunteers are needed to help the day of JO: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqjTYn1OjU9odEMxeExfTGIzRTU3bWpjTUpXV3BRUlE#gid=0: count basketball free throws, help out in the computer room, bring baked goods, help sell food, and/or take photos!

We need more help during PE!!!!

Please help us during the PE Training sessions - we need adults to help time, start, and assist the kidsduring PE training throughout the next month. Please consider coming out for an hour of fresh air and fun with the students:

http://tinyurl.com/b9hao2z

THANKS

Please send any questions to your JO Chairs: Kathleen Vitakis  vitakis@pacbell.net, JulieAltinger  jaltinger@yahoo.com, Laura Torres  Laura_a_torres@yahoo.com

From Los Altos School District

CSTEM showcase and competition for all sixth graders on Friday, April 26th.

All sixth graders are encouraged to enter an individual and/or team entry to the competition.  They can enter a class project or something that they have worked on at home.  All students who enter the competition will get participation certificates and awards, as well as a chance to win some fun prizes.  Details on the contest are at http://tinyurl.com/cstem2013competition.  Students can enter the competition via the link posted to their Edmodo page. They can enter the form today but still keep working on their project till the submission deadline on April 16.  In addition to the competition, the CSTEM event is a chance to see work done in class by students from all 7 schools. It is an opportunity to encourage and celebrate computer science education.  The event flyer is at http://tinyurl.com/lasdcstem2013

Announcing Student Ed-Con 2013: Learning Rocked and Redesigned!

LASD is excited to announce that we are offering a new opportunity for current sixth, seventh, and eighth gradestudents to share their ideas for reimagining and redesigning their educational experience, using the design thinking model. We know students are full of ideas about how learning can be improved—and this is the time for us to learn from them with the introduction of our new program, the Student EducationalConference (SEC2013). 

SEC2013 is an innovative program designed to teach children a range of important critical thinking skills. It promises to encourage them to express their creativity and learn important lessons regarding teamwork and collaboration, systems design, performance outcomes and influencing others. 70 students from across the Los Altos School District will get the unique chance to work with facilitators to create and prototype new ways of learning.

The conference will take place June 13 and 14 from 8:30-4:00 p.m., and conclude on Saturday, June 15, from 8:30-12:00 p.m. All conference activities will happen at the Covington campus. For more information, please visit our website: http://lasd.studentedcon.org  Student applications are available through the website and will be accepted through May 11th.

We are currently looking for sponsors and donations to help with this event. If you are interested, please fill out the sponsorship form and we will contact you with more information.  

While the students participating in the conference will benefit from this unique learning experience, all parents and students in the district will know that we care deeply about students' feedback regarding what makes an ideal educational environment. We're counting on your support and participation!

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY NEWS:  http://www.lasdk8.org/PDF_Files/Current_School_News.pdf

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For Howler submissions, please email sevard@lasdschools.org by Friday for the next week’s Howler.