From Erin Green, Principal

Dear Covington Parents and Community Members,

I hope you were able to enjoy a restful and relaxing or adventurous spring break, however you spent the last week. Our staff is looking forward to the end of the year excitement beginning with events this week!  It is hard to believe we are just seven weeks away from summer vacation.

Homework Club-Last Day Tuesday, May 14th

We appreciate our homework club students and staff.  We will be able to fund homework club until Tuesday, May 14th.  So plan for it to be open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays until then.  There are a few things that would really ensure the last month of homework club is successful:

·      In order to keep a quiet, optimum-learning environment in the homework club, students need to be engaged in something meaningful.  Please send children with a book or something quiet to do. Some students complete their homework in a short time and others need quiet time and assistance to complete theirs.

·      Student safety is a top priority here; please make sure students are picked up by 3:45 each day.

Junior Olympics are Coming

Our fourth, fifth and sixthgrade students are working hard to prepare for the Junior Olympics on Saturday, April 27th.  Students will be able to participate in three events on the day, and everyone will march together at the Opening Ceremonies that morning. More details will be provided next week.  Many thanks to all of the parents who are working with our children to get them ready!

STAR Testing Week of April 29-May 3rd

During the week of April 29-May 3rd, our students in grades two through six will be participating in the State of California's STAR testing.  This battery of tests produces scores that the State uses to monitor the progress of its students.  Covington consistently performs extremely well on these tests.  While this is one very quantifiable measure of performance with regard to student success, I encourage you to look beyond the numbers.  These tests will give you asnapshot of your child's performance at a singular point in time on a particular day.  Keeping abreast of your child's daily, weekly and monthly progress is also an equally important indicator of success.

Please be sure your child is in school each and every day the week do testing. We ask that medical, dental and other appointments be scheduled outside of school during the week of testing or during another week.  Be sure he/ she is well rested and well fed to ensure the best possible focus.  I appreciate your staying involved inyour child's education—it is truly a critical factor that makes Covington School a very special place for children.

PTA Meeting/ Coffee-This Friday, April 19th 

I hope you will join our PTA in staff room after our morning assembly this coming Friday.  Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Erin S. Green

Principal

School News

Student Council News - Twin Day

Student Council will have aTwin Day this Friday, April 19. Please dress like a friend or several friends! 

Sixth Grade Bake Sale!

The Covington Class of '13 will be having its second Bake Sale after school this Friday, April 19, from 2:20 to 3:00!  Sixth graders will again be selling yummy baked goods outside the multi for $1 each.  All proceeds go towards purchasing the 6th grade gift so please stop by before heading home.  Thank you!

From the PTA

Volunteers Needed

Star Testing is a few weeks away and we need volunteers to help pass out snacks from 10:00-10:30am. Here is a link to sign up: https://docs.google.com/a/eat2perform.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmkaL8l9NiQPdHRyMlZsT25XeHY3NmlHN1h5ejVVS1E#gid=0  If you have any questions, please contact Alene Baronian at alenebaronian@gmail.com.

Dine Out for Covington

Hobee’s of Palo Alto will be donating 20pc of its sales to Covington School on April 23^rd from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Just mention Covington or present the attached flyer.  Plus, students wearing their Covington school colors or Covington shirt will receive a special prize.

Junior Olympic News

URGENT: need parent who can help run the JO computer room during Junior Olympics. Anyone who is comfortable withcode is welcome. Doesn't have to be 4, 5 or 6 grade parent. Contact Kathleen Vitakisvitakis@pacbell.netif interested. Saturday, April 27th, 7:30am - 1pm

EVENT DATE & Info

JO is on Saturday, April 27th, 8 am - 4 pm.

Students may participate in 3 events + relay.

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

EVENT SELECTIONS now through April 19.

During PE over the next week, 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

Urgent need for parent who can help run the JO computer room during Junior Olympics (April 27, 7:30am-1pm). Anyone who is comfortable with code is welcome. Doesn't have to be 4, 5 or 6 grade parent.

Please contact Kathleen Vitakis vitakis@pacbell.netif interested.

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, 

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, Julie Altinger  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

CUB SCOUT PICNIC – Join Cub Scouts

Meet Pack 76 (Los Altos / Los Altos Hills) Cub Scouts and their families to learn more about Cub Scouting at our annual Picnic. When: Thursday, May 16, 5-7pm Where: Shoup Park (400 University Ave, just south of Burke Rd), Los Altos What: Food and Beverages provided For more information:  Chi-Ray Chien, Cubmaster (chi-ray@thechiens.net<mailto:chi-ray@thechiens.net>)

_________________________________________________________________________________

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