Dear Covington Parents and Community Members:
Conferences are upon us! November 25 and 26 are designated conference days. Like all good conversations, parent–teacher conferences are opportunities for both parties to talk and listen. The conference is a time for you to learn about your child’s progress and engagement in school. This should focus on the whole child including both academic progress, and how your child connects with his/her peers and participates in our school community. This is also a time for the teacher to learn about what your child is like at home. Be sure to bring a list of questions that you would like to ask the teacher. Follow up after the conference by writing down the things that you and the teacher will each do to support your child. We all look forward to seeing you during these two very important days.
The parent-teacher partnership is a critical component of your child's school experience. Thank you for making time to meet with your child's teacher. Parents and staff working together is a critical combination for our student's success!
Expect Respect Club-Project Cornerstone
Last week 25 of our 4th, 5th 6th graders along with advisors: Michele Kibble, Erin Prothro and Amber Stockstill, gathered together to attend an interactive workshop focused on improving school culture. A facilitator from Project Cornerstone led activities such as: filling buckets, demonstrating total support for students, getting into empathetic and upstander behaviors. They concluded with a variety of student inspired Action Plans to have a positive impact on Covington all year long. Students and adults both had an outstanding day. You can look forward to updates from our student leaders over the next several months. Thank you also to Casey Saltzman, our lead parent for Project Cornerstone. She also supported our students by attending all day.
Computer Lab Open at Lunchtime
Students at Covington have a great deal of options at lunchtime activities and we are excited to add one more activity. Starting this week our computer lab will be open Monday's and Wednesdays. Mrs. Adrienne Smith, our Technology Specialist will be in the lab with students on these days. The computer lab is:
- Open to all grades
- Opens 10 minutes after bell rings
- Closes 5 minutes before final bell rings
- A place for students to catch up on work missed during computer lab time.
- Available for students to use specific sites/ apps supervised by Mrs. Smith.
- All regular Computer Lab rules enforced – no food and drink, no deleting others’ work, no running around, quiet voices, etc
Festival of Lights Parade Sunday Dec. 1st – Please join our community in downtown Los Altos to watch the Festival of Lights parade. You can cheer on our Covington representatives, Mahita Bobba & Connor Altinger.
On behalf of our entire Covington staff, we wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and look forward to seeing you back on Monday December 2nd.
Sincerely,
Erin S. Green
Covington Principal
Important Dates – Please Note:
11/22 – Indoor Assembly
11/25-11/26 – Parent/Teacher Conferences, No School
11/27-11/29 – Thanksgiving Break, No School
12/2-12/6 – Book Fair
12/13 – Indoor Assembly
12/16 – 4-6th grade music concert, 1pm
12/20-1/3 – December Break, No School
1/6/14 –School Resumes Today
Photo Order Deadline: This is a reminder that the deadline for ordering Make-up Day photos is: Thursday, November 21st. To receive free shipping, please be sure to place your order before this date. After the deadline has passed the school will no longer accept paper proof order forms, and all orders placed online will ship direct to home. ID Cards: Please note the photo printed on your student’s ID card will be selected automatically by Shooting Stars. If you have not yet received your proof sheet, please check in with your student’s teacher, or contact Shooting Stars at info@shootingstarsphoto.com, or (800) 311-7784 x11.
From the School Nurse: Sometimes it is difficult, especially early in the morning, to know whether or not to send your child to school. With the flu season right around the corner, the following guidelines are indications that you should keep your child home. Thank you for your help, to control the spread of colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses.
LOS ALTOS SCHOOL DISTRICT HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
WHEN TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME FROM SCHOOL
Keep your child at home when he/she has any of the following symptoms:
Fever Chills
Vomiting or diarrhea Nausea
Sore throat or trouble swallowing Coughing, sneezing, and/or runny nose
Rash or unusual sores or spots Headache
Generalized muscle aches and pains Wheezing or trouble breathing
Unusually red, crusted or burning eyes
If you or your child develops a cold that includes a severe cough or a cough that lasts a long time, it may be pertussis (whooping cough). The best way to know is to contact your doctor.
You need to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom free without medication for 24 hours
COVINGTON BOOKFAIR COMING SOON!! Experience a celebration of reading! From December 2nd - 6th the Covington Multi will be transformed into an amazing bookstore filled with engaging, fun books. You’ll find exciting new titles, easy readers, fiction, non-fiction, historical novels, and much more!!
The Book Fair is one of the PTA’s primary fundraisers: 25% of all proceeds go directly to the PTA to fund library books, technology, music/art, and PE to name but a few.
Hours: 8:15am—3:30pm, December 2nd – 6th, 2013
Family Night: Wednesday, Dec. 4th 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Dads & Donuts: Thursday, Dec. 5th 7:30am – 8:30am
Our Reading Oasis needs volunteers as well as shoppers! Your participation will help make our Book Fair wildly successful! Sign up with a friend, spend some time with our students and faculty, get to know other great Covington parents, and, of course, check out all the awesome books. To sign up, please click click here!
Crafty Parent Wanted: Our Coyote Mascot costume needs some TLC. If you think you can help, please contact the Covington office staff.
Lost & Found: The lost and found is overflowing. Please stop by and claim your student’s items. Anything left behind will be donated to charity over Thanksgiving break.
It is not too late to turn in your Walkathon pledges! We are still below the total promised amount and would like to collect outstanding pledges ASAP. Checks and cash can be given to your teachers or placed in the Walkathon box in the front office. Thank you for helping out.
Girls On The Run (GOTR) Registration: We are excited to offer this great program to the 3rd-5thgrade girls at Covington this coming spring! GOTR will meet on Monday and Wednesday after school until 4PM, for 10 weeks beginning the week of March 3rd. The girls will train for a 5k run/walk event to be held on Saturday, May 17th in Vasona Park, Los Gatos. Registration will be ONLINE ONLY and will open on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th at 8:00am. Space is limited and girls will be registered on a first come/first serve basis. Check out www.gotrsv.org for more information or contact Covington head coach, Tawni Atherley (tatherley@post.harvard.edu)
Auction Help Wanted: “Looking for a videographer to help with the auction. Please contact Jenny Bennett for more info jenniferpbennett@hotmail.com"
Please Save The Date: 1/25/14 "Covington Boys Night Out" 5:30 - 7:30PM
More information to follow, stay tuned.
LAEF: Much to be thankful for! We are so fortunate to live in a strong community and have the ability to provide our children with an excellent education. Parents like you support our schools with their time, energy and money, including so many donors to LAEF so far this year. We are also thankful for the volunteer LAEF board members, who share a commitment to education, enrichment programs and innovation in the classrooms. Without all of your efforts, the Los Altos School District student experience would look very different.
Thank you also to all of our business supporters who help us make our fundraising goal and build a strong community. Local businesses give support through employee corporate matching programs, realtor donations, and special offers such as our current Tiny Prints promotion: order your holiday cards using this link, http://www.tinyprints.com/storefront/laef, and 25% go to LAEF.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, Brooke Schiller and Marilyn Stanley, 2013-14 LAEF Co-Presidents
District & Community News: http://www.lasdk8.org/PDF_Files/Current_School_News.pdf
Post an Announcement in the Howler? If you have an announcement to include in Howler, please send it to sevard@lasdschools.org. Announcements must be received by 12:00pm on Friday in order to be considered for the Howler scheduled for the following Tuesday.