Dear Covington Parents and Community Members,

This Thursday, March 27th 3:30pm - We Need YOU for Facilities Planning

As part of our district facilities master planning study, we will be having a meeting at Covington this Thursday, March 27th from 3:30 to 6:00. Some of our SSC representatives will serve on this committee, but I am looking for a few additional parents excited about thinking of the future of Covington School. What will learning look like over the next 30 years and what will our facility needs be?

Some provocative questions: If we looked at the total computer lab and library space, what would our space of the future need to be? What is needed in a future classroom space? What the configuration of our school changed, what would we want to look like? Bring your creative thinking caps! The meeting will take place in our Library.

Our architect, Lisa Gelfand, and her team will be at Covington on Thursday, March 27th to guide us through a process, show us some ideas, and listen to our feedback. If you are interested in attending the meeting this coming Thursday please email Susan Evard @ sevard@lasdschools.org

Covington's Auction "Carnaval" is Here! It is hard to believe after months of planning and anticipation, our Covington Auction "Carnaval" is here!

I know it promises to be an amazing evening. I want to take this opportunity to thank you ahead of time for your commitment and support to our school and our programs. We truly appreciate you all and know we could not do what we do without your partnership.

The catalog is rich with so many amazing items and opportunities for both students and adults. Thank you to all of you who have donated in some way, whether it be your time, ideas, or gifts. I also want to thank you ahead of time for all of your generous bidding this Saturday night, which will no doubt contribute to enhancing our programs, technology and resources. Thank you for making Covington the most amazing place for students; I feel lucky to work in a community that is so committed to kids!

Look forward to seeing you at "Carnaval" this weekend!

Erin S. Green
Principal, Covington School

Important Dates – Please Note:
Mar 29 –Covington School Auction
April 7-11 Spring Break
April 26 – LASD Junior Olympics
May 1 – LASD C-Stem Showcase
May 9 – LASD Film Festival
May 15 – Last Day of Homework Club
May 15 – Covington Open House
May 16 – Covington Minimum Day
May 19 – 4-6th Grade Music Concert
May 26 – Memorial Day Holiday– No School
May 30 – PTA Volunteer Breakfast
May 30 – Covington Multicultural Fair
June 4 – Primary (K-3) Music Concert
June 6 – Minimum Day
June 12 – Last Day of School

From the PTA President: A Big Shout Out and Thank You to the hardworking team that helped with Campus Beautification last week: Sandi Elefant, Gabriella Bradley, Katherine Lyons, Vanessa Werth & Tawni Atherly

What a great team we had working on all the school planters and gardens!!!! –Suzanne Kasso, PTA President.

LAEF: STEM Expo, More than a Science Fair. This year, the LAEF Innovation Grant includes funding for a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) lab and dedicated teacher at each elementary school. STEM teachers offer opportunities for special class projects, provide grade level support, and hold very popular lunch club activities for students. LASD parent input and financial support have made this exciting program possible. Next month, three schools will be hosting the pilot STEM Expo: Loyola, Gardner Bullis, and Santa Rita. Students in Kindergarten through sixth grade will participate and showcase their work; designing hands-on STEM projects and exploring just how fun STEM can be! Thank you for supporting the STEM program with your LAEF donations. LAEF Representatives at Covington are: Matt Abrahams, matt.abrahams@gmail.com Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney, anjana.nagarajan1@gmail.com Jessica Speiser, jessica@speiser.net Ritu Kapoor (member at-large), ritu.kapoor@gmail.com

Junior Olympic Update

Dear 4,5,6 parents,

Junior Olympics is getting closer — Sat. April 26, 8am - 4pm — and the kids are enjoying their PE trainings!

PERMISSION SLIP / ATTENDANCE CONFIRMATION.
Please print the Junior Olympic permission slip. Every 4, 5, 6 grade parent is asked to confirm their student's attendance (or absence) by filling in the form and returning to student's classroom no later than Friday, April 4.

TRAINING UPDATE:
The kids have completed 75 yard dash time trials and have begun learning & practicing more Junior Olympic Events.
For more information on events, please visit http://lasdjo.com/juniorolympicevents/
Please sign up to help with a training session or two. Mr Heeb could really use an hour of help. 6th grade parents are especially needed.

EVENT SELECTION
Students will begin selecting their three Junior Olympic events next week, March 31.
They will be asked during PE by our parent volunteers.
Students will be sent home with a print out confirming these events the week prior to Junior Olympics.

MORE DETAILS:
Many more details about Junior Olympics day will be communicated in the coming weeks including an information packet. 6th grade band students are invited to play in Opening Ceremonies. T-shirts will also be sent the week prior to Junior Olympics. For further information check lasdjo.com or contact the JO chairs, jochaircovington@gmail.com

25% off running shoes for LASD JO participants at On Your Mark in downtown Los Altos through April 25, 2014.

Please let us know if you have questions!

Thank you!

Covington's JO Committee: Kathleen Vitakis, Julie Altinger, Laura Torres, Mara Starkey, Louanne Gonzalez

JO Chair Covington
jochaircovington@gmail.com / lasdjo.com

AMAZON SHOPPERS – Make Your Shopping Count for Covington!Earn referral fees for Covington when you buy books, electronics, toys, and more. It's EASY and DOESN'T COST YOU ANYTHING! Go to www.covingtonschool.org, click theAmazon 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.

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.