**This Thursday is the Last Day of School.  Early Start: Flag Salute at 8:15am.  K-5th grade students all dismissed at 11:15am.

Yearbooks will be sold today at dismissal for $20.  Or you can still order from TreeRing, see below for instructions.

Covington School Howler – June 10, 2014

Dear Covington Parents & Community Members,

I cannot believe we are here at the end of school already. We say this each year, but this truly has been an incredible year at Covington.  We have accomplished a great deal together and one of our greatest highlights was our California Distinguished School Award!  We have a great deal to celebrate and much to look forward to next year.

Farewell to our 6th Graders

Each year our departing 6th grade class gives a gift to our school community.  This year our students have chosen to create stepping-stones that will be installed on our campus.  Thank you, 6th graders, for a gift that will both beautify our campus and leave a lasting memento of your days at Covington.

Schedule for the Last Day of School-Flag Assembly 8:15 am!

Thursday is our last day of school.  Please remember that on the last day school starts at 8:15am for everyone! Immediately after the 8:15 flag assembly, our 6th graders will have their promotion ceremony in the Multi purpose room.  Dismissal for K-5 is at 11:15.

Attention Second Grade Parents

Next year third grade students at all LASD elementary schools will be following the bell schedule of the fourth, fifth and sixth grade students.  This means their school day will last a bit longer each day, with dismissal at 2:40pm.  In addition, third grade students will also be participating in a second session of physical education each week with the PE specialist at the elementary schools.

Back to School Social/Save the Date Monday, August 18th 5pm.

In the interest of going green, we will be sending a welcome back email and post our class lists live on Monday, August 18th. Our PTA will be continuing the tradition of a fun evening to kick-off the 2014-2015 school year.  Please join our PTA and families from 5:00-7:00pm on Monday, August 18th for a Back-To-School Family Social.  More details will be emailed to you in early August.

Summer dates to note:

August 6th - Office re-opens
August 18th - Classes posted/ Back-To-School Picnic 5-7pm
August 20th  - First day of School/ Coffee Social
August 22nd - Volunteer Sign Ups / Parent Coffee

I certainly cannot let the year go by without expressing my sincere thanks to our Covington PTA and to LAEF for all of the tremendous support we receive. We are able to offer a rich program for our kids because of your financial and volunteer support! Covington is a terrific school, and I am so thankful to be your principal.

Wishing you all a wonderful last two days of school.  Happy Summer!

Kind regards,
Erin Green

Upcoming Important Dates:

It is Not Too Late to Order a Yearbook:  Parents, If you didn't get the chance to buy a yearbook and missed buying one during the last week of school - you can still order one directly through TreeRing (you will just have to pay for shipping costs). The website is:

http://www.treering.com/validate use the passcode: 1013595707721745

Should you have any questions, please contact, Christine Wedner, cwedner@mac.com. Thank you. The Yearbook Staff.

Let Summer Reading Begin! In the flurry of end-of-the-year activities, please look for information from your child’s classroom teacher about summer reading.  Via email will be a link to “Let Summer Reading Begin” with information about summer reading programs at our local public libraries and links to lists of awarding-winning books for readers of all ages.  An additional hard-copy handout “LASD Digital Library” will include important login information.  All students enrolled in the district will have access to these eBooks throughout the summer at no charge but must enter their library number and password to do so.  Keep your students reading all summer long!  If you set a goal for your child, why not set a goal for yourself?  Memories of seeing you reading may turn out to be among the most lasting gifts you can give your child. -Happy Reading!

Maureen Drobot, Covington Library mdrobot@lasdschools.org

MEDICATIONS AT SCHOOL – Please pick up your child’s medications from the office on June 12- the last day of school.

Medications cannot be stored over the summer. If your child is attending summer school, please pick up their medications and paperwork and take them to summer school on the first day. Thank you!

Last day of school celebration! Parents, just like last year, let's host an end of the year celebration for the kids as they walk up the hallways for dismissal. At the end of the two hallways there will be a "Welcome Summer" sign that the kids can walk through/under. We, parents, will line the corridors wearing our craziest hats, glasses, mardi-gras beads, boas, hawaiian shirts, blowing bubbles, noise makers, musical instruments, spray bottles, whatever you want to do/bring to be crazy. You get the picture? While the kids walk up the hall we'll cheer, blow bubbles, use spray bottles, basically make lots of noise and fools of ourselves. In 2013, this proved to be a fun, memorable last day of school send-off, not only for our wonderful kids but a great time for the parents. Once through the "corridor of crazy" the kids can grab a free Otter Pop before they head off to summer.

So if you're planning to be at 11:15am pick-up, arrive a few minutes early (with all your party-garb) and get ready to make some fun memories for our students.

If your child attends CCLC, you might tell your child (& his/her teacher) they can walk up, through the corridor on the last day and then head to CCLC from there. Miss Lori is aware of the celebration, so she knows their arrival might be delayed.

Hope you're in!  Questions... Jen Roy McGuigan 650.248.9532

Lost & Found is Overflowing – Claim your items before the last day of school. The items will be placed on tables in front of the office, starting tomorrow.  Everything left here will be donated on June 13th!

Thank you LAEF donors! This year LAEF made its largest grant in the history of the foundation: $3.2 million. Your donations supported programs that parents in our district value highly: art, PE, libraries, Living Classroom, music, reduced class sizes, literacy aides, junior high elective choices, and innovative new programs such as the STEM labs and instructional/curriculum coaches for teachers. For 32 years the parents of Los Altos School District have remained committed to excellent education and a strong community through support of the Los Altos Educational Foundation. From the 4,600+ students enrolled in our nine schools this year, THANK YOU!

Girl Scout Cadette Troop 60785: welcomes this year’s 5th and 6th grade girls to join our troop for the upcoming school year. We welcome girls new to scouting or seasoned scouts and their families who are interested in participating in scout-led badges and activities that are facilitated by a troop leader or parent volunteer. Our troop participates in many outings sponsored by the Northern California Council and the Los Altos Service Unit as well as our own activities that range from technical to crafty to community service oriented. We are a small troop and will cap out at 20-25 girls. We meet twice a month on Sundays at 4-6pm at the LAUMC. For more information about Troop 60785, contact Cheryl Quinn (cmiq@stanfordalumni.org) or Erica Lundmark (erica@lundmarks.org).

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.