Dear Covington Parents and Community Members,

This Friday is Teacher/Principal for the Day
Friday, the Auction Winners for Teacher & Principal for the Day will be hard at “work” in their various assignments.  They will also share a special lunch with their teachers and the staff.  Congratulations to all the winners! 

2014-2015
Staffing plans are currently being made for the 2014-2015 school year.  Each year there are a few staff adjustments in teaching assignments due to postings within LASD, and other various reasons.  As soon as plans are finalized, I will share our 2014-2015 staffing list with you.

As we look forward to next year, our staff will continue our commitment to building balanced classes.  Research indicates that achievement is higher in classrooms that have healthy dynamics.  We seek to develop the best possible dynamics in EVERY classroom.  This includes balancing classes by gender, personality types, social needs, cognitive skills, and English language needs so that all students have an equal opportunity to learn, be challenged and develop into their full potential. Teachers, administrators and specialists follow a systematic process to ensure each child is placed in the best possible learning environment for his/ her success.

If you feel your child has specific needs that we may not be aware of, please stop by the office and complete a parent input form.  Forms are available in the office from May 5th-May 25th.  Thank you ahead of time for not requesting a specific teacher by name.  I appreciate your support and look forward to sharing our staffing assignments with you in the near future.

PTA Meeting/Parent Coffee
Please join us this Friday morning for our monthly PTA meeting/parent coffee. We have members of our fabulous 4th grade team sharing how they are engaging students and using technology in the classroom.   We meet in the staff room after the morning flag salute!

Erin S. Green
Principal, Covington School

Important Dates – Please Note:

April 18 – PTA Meeting/Parent Coffee
April 25 – Indoor Assembly
April 25 – Jr. Olympic Rally Assembly
April 26 – LASD Junior Olympics
May 1 – LASD C-Stem Showcase
May 2 – 6th Grade Boys & Girls Basketball Tournament
May 9 – PTA Meeting/Parent Coffee
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 22 – Jr. Olympic Slide Show
May 23 – Last Indoor Assembly
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 – Field Day/Minimum Day
June 12 – Last Day of School, 6th Grade Promotion, Minimum Day

JO is getting close- less than 2 weeks away.

Saturday April 26, 8am - 4pm

Please read the following information...

EVENT SELECTIONS
Children are finalizing their event selections in PE. Parents will receive a print out with their children’s events this week as well as other important details about Junior Olympics.

T-SHIRTS
Shirts will arrive to classrooms next week - all 4,5,6 graders will get a complimentary JO shirt this year.

Children should wear them on April 25th to Covington’s Morning assembly pep rally as well as to Junior Olympics (a shirt is required to participate)

VOLUNTEERS
Many volunteers are needed for Junior Olympics day: Baked goods, food sales, set up, clean up, basketball counting, info booth, and Covington booth. Please sign up for a shift here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqjTYn1OjU9odDZCMjhoQ0JMRzVTOW9RVm5QNFcxNlE&usp=sharing

EVENT DAY MAP AND SCHEDULE
The JO Schedule and Map are online at http://lasdjo.com/eventmap/

** PLEASE NOTE - there have been changes to the JO schedule & map this year **

1320 New Course: start (on the grass) and end (on the track) at different locations this year.

1320 begins at 8am (not 8:15am) - participants should arrive no later than 7:45

Dash Finals & Hurdles Finals are immediately after Mascot Mania (Dash Finals begins at 1:45pm)

Blue Relay is after finals and immediately before White and Red

RELAYS
Coaches please remember to observe the practice guidelines - more details can be found at

http://lasdjo.com/relays/

NOT TOO LATE
25% off running shoes at On Your Mark on Main Street in Los Altos through April 25th. Let them know you are a JO participant!

QUESTIONS
Info is available at lasdjo.com

Contact Covington JO Chairs at jochaircovington@gmail.com

Thanks, Kathleen / Julie / Laura / Mara / Louanne

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 as soon as possible!

STEM Expo: More than a Science Fair This year, the LAEF Innovation Grant includes funding for a new 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. The pilot STEM Expo at Loyola was April 3, and at Gardner Bullis and Santa Rita this week. Students in Kindergarten through sixth grade 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. If you haven’t yet, you can donate now at www.laefonline.org. LAEF Representatives at Covington are: Matt Abrahams,  matt.abrahams@gmail.comAnjana Nagarajan-Butaney, anjana.nagarajan1@gmail.com Jessica Speiser, jessica@speiser.net Ritu Kapoor (member at-large), ritu.kapoor@gmail.com

Children’s Health Council is putting on a talk called "Bullying: What Parents Need to Know" on Wed, 4/16 from 6:30-8:  http://www.eventbrite.com/e/bullying-what-parents-need-to-know-tickets-7851611381?aff=eorg

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.