Dear Covington Parents and Community Members,

Celebrate Amazing Teachers! This Tuesday our entire LASD organization will come together to celebrate amazing teaching at our first Teacher of the Year Reception!  At Covington, 8 teachers were initially nominated for this honor.  For her amazing talent and passion for teaching, Eileen Cuzzi was elected by her peers as Covington's Teacher of the Year!  

Covington Named Distinguished School: Last week, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced the California Distinguished Schools for 2014, named for their strong commitment and innovative approaches to improving student academic achievement.  Please see press release at end of this Howler.  Thank you to our entire school community for your efforts, collaboration and enthusiasm in making this award possible for our school!

LASD Film Fest this Friday 4pm! Come join us at the Los Altos Student Film Festival this Friday, May 9th! The festival will take place from 4-6pm at the Covington multi, and will celebrate a wide variety of student films. The gallery walk of student films will be from 4-5pm, and award presentations will take place from 5-6pm. Student teams willbe running a snack booth and helping guide guests to the different galleries. Students across the district have worked very hard on their films, so this a great opportunity to show support and visit with students from other schools. It’s going to be a wonderful event, so come join us for an afternoon of fun and films! The event promises to be extra special for Covington students as Miss Kingman's class has worked hard to coordinate, plan and execute the entire Film Festival as a project-based learning venture this year. Click here for the LASD Film Fest web site.

Parent Input Form: Next year’s classes will be formed soon. 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 due by May 25th.  Thank you ahead of time for not requesting a specific teacher by name.

Friday PTA Meeting and Parent Coffee
Please join us this coming Friday in our staff room immediately after the flag assembly!  Following our PTA business, Terry Pomposo, 3rd grade teacher, will share how the team uses technology in the classroom and there will be a special visit from our LASD School Board and Superintendent Baier Regarding: Preserving Our Small Schools:  A Potential Bond Measure

In the last decade, student enrollment in our local public schools has increased by more than 25%.  The current enrollment is as high as it was in the 1970s, when our school district had twelve sites instead of nine, as we do currently.  

To accommodate growing enrollment, preserve our small schools, complete basic repairs to keep our schools well-maintained and to provide updated learning technology, the Los Altos School District is considering placing a bond measure on the November 2014 ballot.  The potential $150 million bond would cost property owners no more than $30 per $100,000 of assessed valuation (not market) annually.  

To provide information and seek your input about the potential bond and the projects it could complete at our school, our Superintendent and a member of the Board will be at our parent coffee on Friday, May 9th at 9:10am.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Kind Regards,
Erin S. Green

Important Dates – Please Note:

PTA Budget News: We will be voting to approve the PTA Budget for the 2014/2015 school year this Friday at 8:30 am. As our agenda is jam packed, we thought it best to publish the budget for your review before the meeting.  The budget can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ov4zql6. Happy reading!

Computer Lab Change of Lunchtime Hours: Mondays will be 1st-3rd grade only and Wednesdays will be 3rd-6th only.

Thank you to all who contributed to the Birthday Book Club!

Donations to the Birthday Book Club make a significant contribution to our library pleasure reading collection.  With May birthdays soon to be recognized, our library will soon have over 270 new hardcover books added to our shelves for the enjoyment of all of our students.  These books include picture books, easy readers, popular series for our emerging readers, chapter books for older readers, and high interest narrative nonfiction.  Hats off to you and thank you! Maureen Drobot, Covington Librarian

The School Toolbox Store is Open!  To enhance the educational experience of all of our students, we are requesting sufficient donations of supplies and materials to provide for each child at Covington.  We do this through your online orders to School Toolbox.  Our online School Tool Box store is now open for the 2014-2015 school year!   The store will remain open until June 6, 2014.  Orders are online only. School toolboxes are $60 for First Grade, $75 for Fifth Grade, and $70 for all other grades.  Toolboxes include all the supplies your teachers have requested.  Toolboxes are offered as a convenience to families wishing to donate school supplies to their child's classroom and supplies are purchased in bulk, which saves costs.   School Toolbox also donates a meal through “Feed My Starving Children” for each toolbox sold.  So please go online to www.schooltoolbox.com and order today!!  Just register at the website and follow the easy instructions.  Thank you from Covington PTA!

PTA Minimum Day Events: May 16th is a minimum day and we have a few spots open for minimum day parties held on this day!  You can sign up for these parties through our auction link or by sending an e- mail to kavithaherle@gmail.com.

The minimum day parties with spots open are as follows-

- Red Star Soccer at Covington Field:- 12:30-2:30 ( spots open)

- Steve and Kate Animation and More at Covington Multi:- 12:30-2:30 (spots open)

There is also a Piano Party, Sunday May 18th 1-2:30 in the Covington Multi (spots open) - use the auction link and/or email Sharon Clay at sharonroseclay@yahoo.com.   More Info.

Auction bid/sign-up link:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGJhN1B5MUdSMFNzelg5MlYtRGVTbUE6MA#gid=0

Did you Know?...LAEF is Music to our Ears: The upper grade vocal and instrumental music programs are taught by lifelong musicians who also have their teaching credentials. Students in 4th grade enjoy vocal music, learn to read music and play the recorder.  The 5th grade program includes additional work on vocal skills, and weekly instrumental lessons in band or orchestra.  Instruments available include the flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola and cello.  6th graders participate in instrumental lessons in band or orchestra once a week.  Additionally, 6th graders have the opportunity to participate in a joint concert with the junior highs, play at the Junior Olympics and try out for the after school Jazz Band. Make plans to enjoy their spring concerts this May, and please continue to support these upper grade music opportunities with your donations to LAEF! 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

CUB SCOUT PICNIC – Join Cub Scouts. Meet Pack 76 (Los Altos / Los Altos Hills) Cub Scouts and their families to learn more about Cub Scouting at our annual Informational Picnic. When: Friday, May 16, 5-7pm Where: Shoup Park (400 University Ave, just south of Burke Rd), Los Altos What: Food, Beverages, and Fun provided.  For more information:  Chi-Ray Chien, Cubmaster (chi-ray@thechiens.net<mailto:chi-ray@thechiens.net>)

REL#14-45
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 30, 2014

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces

California Distinguished Schools for 2014

            SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today named 424 public elementary schools California Distinguished Schools for their strong commitment and innovative approaches to improving student academic achievement.

            “I applaud these strong, thriving schools that are making such impressive strides in preparing their students for continued success,” Torlakson said. “This award is well-deserved by these school communities for their enduring dedication to high standards, hard work, and unwavering support.”

            The 2014 California Distinguished Schools Program focuses on California’s students’ right to an equitable and rigorous education, and recognizes those schools that have made progress in narrowing the academic achievement gap.

            To apply for Distinguished School honors, schools must meet a variety of eligibility criteria, including accountability measures. Once schools are deemed eligible, the California Department of Education (CDE) invites them to apply to be recognized as a California Distinguished School.   The process consists of a written application, which includes a comprehensive description of two of the school's signature practices, and a county-led site validation review process focused on the implementation of those signature practices.

            Schools earning the Distinguished School title agree to share their signature practices with other schools and become a mentor to those seeking to replicate their work. An updated searchable database of these Signature Practices will be available later this spring from the CDE. To view the current Signature Practices Web portal, please visit the Distinguished Schools Signature Practices Web page.

            Elementary and secondary schools are recognized in alternate years. For more information, please go to the California Distinguished Schools Program Web page. Schools selected as California Distinguished Schools will be honored in early June during regional award ceremonies.

            Also being honored during the ceremonies are the Title I Academic Achievement Awardees, which will be announced next week; Green Ribbon Schools; Civic Learning Award schools; and schools recognized last fall by the federal National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.

            In addition to being chosen as Distinguished Schools, 30 schools were given an additional honor of being selected as having an Exemplary Program in either Arts Education or Physical Activity and Nutrition after undergoing a separate application process. These schools will be denoted on the attached list by asterisks—one asterisk for an Exemplary Arts Education Program and two asterisks for an Exemplary Physical Activity and Nutrition Program. The awards, introduced in 2013, reflect Torlakson’s goals outlined in his A Blueprint for Great Schools report, which provides vision and direction for California’s education system. 

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The California Department of Education (CDE) is a state agency led by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. For more information, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov or by mobile device at http://m.cde.ca.gov/. You may also follow Superintendent Torlakson on Twitter athttp://www.twitter.com/TorlaksonSSPI and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CAEducation.

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.