Dear Covington Parents and Community Members:

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and break from school.   The holidays bring about one of my favorite times of the year, the start of the New Year!  I love how after the holidays end, we go back to our normal lives, yet things seem different.  A new year represents a new beginning, a chance to redo, restart and reflect.  I love starting the year with a fresh perspective and hope that the future will bring amazing possibilities and greatness.  We have accomplished a great deal this fall and I know 2014 will be an even greater year.

Math Enrichment Opportunity-Wednesday, January 22nd 3-4:30pm
Is your child passionate about math?  On Jan 22, 2014 we will be conducting an experimental math circle for children who are interested in math enrichment. The circle is modeled after similar math circles around the Bay Area and the US and will be led by Alon Amit, a Covington parent and math Ph.D. who has been involved with math circles at Berkeley, Stanford, AIM and more. This is an optional activity but we encourage children to come and try it out!  If you are interested, please RSVP to Susan Evard, our school secretary, sevard@lasdschools.org

Project Cornerstone on the Move
We had a great turnout at our first Project Cornerstone Club meeting and heard some very innovative and creative ideas from our new members.  We are looking forward to more great planning and helping students put their ideas into action!  Our next Cornerstone Club meeting will be at lunch on Thursday, January 9th.  All students are welcome.

ASSEMBLY (4th-6th grade) Thursday, Feb. 6, 11:00am:  Free the Children (http://www.freethechildren.com/about-us/), an international charity organization, has partnered with the Cornerstone Club this year and will be speaking to all 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at our assembly on Thursday, February 6th in the multi.  The speaker, Alysha Sekhon, will discuss how Free the Children was started, how students can get involved and contribute, and opportunities like We Day (http://www.weday.com/we-day-events/we-day-cities/california/).  The Cornerstone Club will get to work directly with Alysha immediately after the assembly at its regular lunchtime meeting.  Covington has previously partnered with Free the Children to build a school in Sierra Leone, and to provide Clean Water for Ecuador.

If you are on campus tomorrow after lunch, you won't want to miss the Geography Bee competition in our Multi at 12:45!

Have a wonderful week and I wish you the best in 2014!

Sincerely,
Erin S. Green, Covington Principal

Important Dates – Please Note:
1/20/14 – NO SCHOOL: MLK Holiday
1/21/14 – NO SCHOOL: Staff Development Day
1/25/14- Save the Date: Boys Night Out
2/17/14-2/21/14 – NO SCHOOL:  President’s Day plus Winter Recess
3/29/14 – Save the Date: Covington School Auction!

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

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.

Run Club News: The Coyote Pack Run Club and Sacred Heart Community Services would like to thank our wonderful Covington community for donating 172 pairs of shoes to our shoe donation drive. The shoes were delivered to Sacred Heart over the holiday break. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this successful effort to aid the less fortunate in the Silicon Valley. Way to go Covington! 

LAEF: Happy New Year! Did you notice the progress bar on the LAEF sign in front of Covington? We have made great progress toward our goal for the 2013-14 school year, thanks to all of the families who donated in 2013. If you are not among them, please go to www.laefonline.org and donate now. We still have $1 million to raise, and we strive for 100% participation.

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.