Important: No Homework Club this Thursday December 19th.
Winter Break Starts Friday December 20th. See everyone back at school on Monday January 6th, 2014.
Homework Club-Last Day, Tuesday, December 17th!
Homework club will be open on Monday and Tuesday of this week only. We look forward to seeing your child back in Homework Club on January 6th.
Hour of Code
Last week, all of our students participated in the Hour of Code initiative as part of our STEM curriculum with Mrs. Farley. In addition, our 6th graders also have the unique opportunity to work with Mrs. Sheena V on a weekly basis. Mrs. V. brings her passion and love for mathematics and STEM to children at Covington. She is a wonderful role model for all of our students. Thanks to her, our students are inspired and motivated. I hope you enjoy the two articles written by Mrs. V:
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-12-09-opinion-we-need-coding-in-schools-but-where-are-the-teachers
California Distinguished School Application Submitted!
Late November, LASD was notified that Covington was eligible to apply to be recognized as a California Distinguished School. After sharing this news with our stakeholders, there was an overwhelming response to go for it! With the help of several awesome Covington parents, some brand new to Covington and some having a long history with our school, we were able to put together a dynamic team to write, research and collect data and information about our successful programs and unique characteristics. Our staff, teachers, and 5th and 6th grade students all provided input. I am happy to report we sent off our application last Friday. Our application will be reviewed in January and if we are successful, we should be notified in February as to the next steps. I am so proud to be a part of our collaborative community; it truly takes a village, and we had so many people rally together to get our application together. Special thanks to Sue Boennighausen, Jennifer Ebbitt, Jessica Speiser and Lara Sullivan. They spent countless hours planning, collaborating, providing feedback, and finally writing and editing. I am so proud of the collective effort of our community. Here's to good things to come in 2014!
On behalf of our staff and teachers at Covington Elementary School, happy holidays to you and your families! We look forward to seeing you all back at Covington on January 6, 2014!
Sincerely,
Erin S. Green
Covington Principal
Important Dates – Please Note:
12/20-1/3 – December Break, No School
1/25/14- Save the Date: Boys Night Out
1/6/14 –School Resumes Today
3/29/14 – Save the Date: Covington School Auction!
Lost & Found: Once again the Lost & Found is overflowing. Please pick up your jackets, coats and other items by Thursday Dec. 19th. Anything left over the break will be donated to charity.
From the Covington Student Council: Each year, the Covington student council shows a strong desire to support charities and organizations, and this year is no exception! The organization that we’ve chosen to support this year is Red Sweater Project. According to their mission statement, “Red Sweater Project collaborates with developing communities to create affordable, accessible and advanced educational opportunities for children in rural Tanzania.”
The student council feels very strongly about having equal educational opportunities for all students, in all locations. We will strive to raise awareness of the struggles of students in rural Tanzania; we also hope to raise funds locally to help support the mission of Red Sweater Project from afar. We will be having a few on-campus events to raise money, as well as reaching out into the community and requesting your support, as well.
Please consider supporting our cause by visiting www.redsweaterproject.org/donate . Thank you so much for your consideration and support. Together, we can help achieve our council mission of “equal educational opportunities for all students, in all locations.”
Run Club News: The Coyote Pack Run Club's shoe donation drive continues this week. Please consider sharing your gently traveled, used shoes to benefit those in need in the Silicon Valley. Our shoe donation drive will benefit a program called Gracie's Clothes Closet at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose. http://www.sacredheartcs.org A donation tub is located in front of the school, near the front office. Please rubber band pairs of shoes together or put them in a plastic bag. Any size. Any style. Your support can help make an impact in the lives of working poor families in the Silicon Valley. Contact Jen Roy McGuigan with questions: jenowenroy@gmail.com
Boys Night Out: Area 151 + Red Racer Hobby Shop.
Pizza/Soda/100 Tokens/Slot Car Track/Legos.
Saturday January 25th / 5:30 - 7:30PM / Pizza/Soda/100 Tokens/Slot Car Track/Legos. $25 per person/ $50 for Father and Son
Pizza at Area 151 at 5:30PM. To save your spot please email John Crawford at jbcrawfo@aol.com by January 10th. Make checks payable to: Covington PTA and return to Boy's Night Out box in Covington Office
After School Programs: Science Explorers is registering for Winter Programs. Check the Covington Website for new flyers and information: http://www.covingtonschool.org/covingtones/4757-After-School-Programs.html
AMAZON SHOPPERS :For Month of November, Covington has earned $332 from Amazon rebates and $351 from eScrip Rebates! That is almost $2500 for the school year so far. Don't forget to go through the Covington website when you shop on Amazon for all of your holiday shopping. Covington gets free money.
TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS TOO! Make Your Holiday Shopping Count for Covington! Earn referral fees for Covington on purchases of books, electronics, toys, and more. It’s EASY and DOESN’T COST YOU ANYTHING! Go to www.covingtonschool.org, click the Amazon logo on the lower right side to go to the Amazon website, then select and purchase your items as you normally would. Covington will automatically receive a referral fee of at least 6.5%! No sign-up required. Questions? Contact Dale Tritschler at daletritschler@gmail.com.
Auction Help Wanted: We need a videographer to help with the auction. Please contact Jenny Bennett for more info jenniferpbennett@hotmail.com
Pertussis Booster for Students in grade 6: Students currently in grade 6 must have proof of a Tdap or Dtap (Pertussis or Whooping Cough) booster given after their 7th birthday (after 10th birthday is recommended) in order to begin seventh grade in August of 2014. Please provide a copy of your child’s immunization record to your school office by March 14, 2014.
LAEF: We love educational enrichment programs! Parent donations to LAEF fund teachers and staff who provide a wide range of enrichment programs for your child: art, music, library, science, PE, cStem. In many school districts, such programs have been cut because of budget pressures. These programs would not exist at LASD without your donations! A well-rounded public school education is a priority for the Los Altos community, so we fund it ourselves through LAEF. Support your child’s well-rounded, enriched education at Covington.
Tiny Prints: Remember to order beautiful holiday cards from Tiny Prints using the LAEF storefront, and 25% of the proceeds go to LAEF! Start here: http://www.tinyprints.com/storefront/laef
LAEF Representatives at Covington are:
Matt Abrahams, matt.abrahams@gmail.com
Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney, anjananagarajan@yahoo.com
Jessica Speiser, jessica@speiser.net
Ritu Kapoor (member at-large), ritu.kapoor@gmail.com
Make Your Tax Deductible Donation Today! www.laefonline.org
EVERYTHING IS PERFECT: Los Altos World Records 2014
Want to be in the Los Altos World Record Book? Czech Republic artist, Katerina Seda creates collaborative actions that center on the daily lives of ordinary people. As part of Project Los Altos, SFMOMA on the Go, she is creating a book and exhibition of the people in Los Altos with an “ordinary talent”. Seda focuses not on feats of strength or skill, but on the everyday attributes that make a person unique – the bluest eyes, the largest collection of baseball cards, legos, or dolls, the biggest holiday light display, etc. Visit www.everythingisperfect.org for more information and to submit your record. Deadline for submission is January 31, 2014.
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.