Covington School Howler - August 26, 2014

From the Principal

Happy New Year!   Everyone knows principals and teachers take the summer "off" and by doing so we are able to recharge, rest, travel, and  spend time with our families. One of the things I most appreciate about being in the education field is that each fall presents a brand new opportunity -a fresh start, a new year in which everyone gets to restart, redo and reset. We take the best of what worked in previous years, leave behind what didn't work and set new goals, learn new routines, build new relationships, and engage in new learning experiences. Each fall, anything is possible! Here's hoping your new year is full of possibilities and excitement.

Back to School Night is tonight!*  For those new to Covington, here is how it works:

5:30         Only Miss Kephart's and Miss Schwartzman's parents come at this time
6:00-6:45pm   If you have a child in 4th, 5th or 6th grade, you attend a presentation in your child's classroom at this time.  
6:50-7:10pm   All teachers and parents convene in the Multipurpose Room for staff introductions and a short welcome message
7:15-8:00pm    If you have a child in K, 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade, you attend a presentation in your child's classroom at this time.

Parents with children in Ms. Green's  4-6 SDC Class also attend at this time.

*Back to School Night is a Parents/Adults only Event.

Kindergarten Aide Substitutes Needed!

This year our kindergarten classes run two hours longer and are dismissed at 2:15.  We currently have a 4-hour kindergarten aide in each of our kindergarten classrooms. Because this position is critical to the education and supervision of our students, we are looking for about 10 parents who are interested in signing up to be a substitute for the kindergarten classes.  If you would be interested in substituting when our aides cannot be here, please email Erin Green at egreen@lasdschools.org for more information. Mrs. Chan, Ms. Foster and Miss Gibo, would welcome you as guests in their classrooms. Thank you for your support!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone tonight at Back to School Night.  Thank you for your ongoing support.

Best Regards,

Erin S. Green

Room Parent Communication: This year the PTA has chosen to utilize the covington-pta.org domain and Google Groups to streamline the management of the Room Parents’ email lists.  This will be the primary method used by Room Parents for communicating important information to the other parents in the class.  Please let Susan Evard know if you choose to opt-out of your child’s class email distribution list sevard@lasdschools.org

Important Dates:

August 26 - Back to School Night, for Parents Only (see schedule above)
August 29th - Minimum Day. Kinders dismiss at 12noon, 1-6th dismiss at 12:15pm.

Back to School Purchases: Families can now order BTS purchases (PTA membership, Class fund, Class Field Trips, Birthday Book Club, directories, Covington Wear, Walkathon Family Sponsorship).  BTS items can be ordered through link on Covington website (http://www.covingtonschool.org —>  Covington Purchases —> Back to School Purchases) OR using the paper order form (pdf on website).  Payments can be made through electronic checks, paper check or cash (to be put in PTA box in office).  Questions:  Please email Trish Carballar (ntrishwish@yahoo.com).

Celebrate your child's birthday by helping build the Covington School Library Collection!

Included in the “Back to School” page on the Covington School website is an invitation to families to join the Birthday Book Club program with a $20 donation for each of your children. When entering the data, please remember to list each child’s name as used at school, enter his/her birthdate (mm/dd), and select the grade & teacher on the drop down menu.    Participating students will have a personalized bookplate placed in the book they choose from a selection of grade level books and will be invited to be the first to check it out. All birthdays are celebrated during the last library class of each month.  August birthdays will be recognized at the end of September, June birthdays in December, and July birthdays in January. This program significantly contributes to our library’s pleasure reading collection enjoyed by all of our students.  Your donation is greatly appreciated. -Maureen Drobot, Covington Library

Yard Supervisors Needed Monday-Friday 12:00-12:40pm every day:  If you are able to help one day a week or all five days each week, we need you!  We have openings for parents, grandparents, or college students.  If you are interested (this is a paid position) yourself or know of someone else who may be interested, please give me a call at 650.947.1100.  This is a fun and great opportunity to get to know our awesome students and see some of the great things that go on at school during the year!

PTA NEWS:

PTA Events for Kids: The August Minimum day is on 29th and we have a few parties that still have availability. The parties are held at Covington from 12:30-2:30 on Friday the 29th, after school dismissal at 12:15. These parties are PTA sponsored, and checks are payable to Covington PTA. If interested please contact - kavithaherle@gmail.com or nadiah@dishdash.net Here is what is available: Tie Dye Party    $35 / Basketball    $30  

eScrip is one of our most important shopping fundraisers. Register your Safeway card to earn extra money for Covington every time you shop at Safeway -- at no extra cost to yourself. Safeway is no longer contributing for groceries paid by credit card, so please use debit, cash, check, or gift card whenever possible. Contact kathrynhan@gmail.com with any questions.  http://www.escrip.com/signup

After School Programs: Classes start in September. Register early to ensure a spot. Monday classes include MiT-Mathletes In-Training (gr 3), Mathletes (gr 4-6), Young Rembrandts Drawing (gr 1-6), Coach Ken Soccer (gr K-2). Tuesday classes include Codebreakers Chess (gr 1-6), Mad Science (gr. 3-6), Yoga (gr 1-5). Wednesday classes include Lego Pre-engineering (gr K-2), CSMA Art (gr K-3) and Skyhawks multi-sport (gr K-2). Thursday classes include Programming/Technology (gr 2-6) and Public Speaking/Debate (gr 3-6). Friday classes include Spanish (gr K-6) and 1:1 Basketball (gr K-6). Contact kathrynhan@gmail.com with any questions. Check the Covington website for flyers and registration information: http://covingtonschool.org/covingtones/4757-After-School-Programs.html

Covington Elementary School PTA Presents: Alice in Wonderland

5th and 6th Grade Play by Starting Arts. This year the 5th and 6th graders will have the exciting opportunity to be in a after-school play production of Alice in Wonderland. Starting Arts will be directing a fabulous show, starting in September through December, with two performances on Friday and Saturday December 12th and 13th. Must be available to participate in both performances. Practices will be held in the multi after school on Wednesdays and Fridays. Cost: $285 per student* *partial scholarships may be possible- please call for info. To Register online: www.startingarts.com/enrollment

Or complete registration form (sent home or in office) make checks payable to "Covington PTA"   ((NO CASH PLEASE)) drop off registration and checks to box in school office. All 5th and 6th graders are encouraged to register!

And register early before space fills up!! Cannot register after class starts on sept 17th. For more information contact Arezou Bahman arezoua@yahoo.com

Mathletes-in-Training (“MiT”) Program for 3rd graders. Good news! The MiT Program is coming to Covington. Practices will be held on Mondays from 2:45-3:15pm in the computer lab. Our first practice will be on Monday 9/8. The program is designed so that students can hit the ground running when they become 4th grade Mathletes tackling the Math Olympiads. If you like puzzles, patterns, and problem solving, you should come on out and try! Target class size: 12 students (max 16). Please note: many families have inquired about this program. Enrollment will be done on a first-come,  first-served basis. To register, please go to Covingtonʼs after-school website.  For more information about Coach K’ s program at Covington, please email: sandy@kandel.ca

Mathletes Wanted! Math Olympiad team is being formed for 4th-6th graders. Covington is building a team of students that will participate in the Math Olympiad (Division E: Grades 4-6). Practices will be held on Mondays from 3:15-4:30 in the computer lab. Our first practice will be on Monday 9/8. This is a great opportunity to work on creative problem solving skills. The team will be coached by Sandy Kandel (aka Coach K), whose teams at Loyola, Gardner Bullis, Oak, Santa Rita, and Almond have won multiple individual and team awards over the years. The problems are hard but within reach. Come on out and try! To register, please go to Covingtonʼs after-school website. For more information about Math Olympiad, please visit their website: http://www.moems.org/  For more information about Coach K’ s program at Covington, please email: sandy@kandel.ca

Soccer! Please join us for a soccer game with San Jose Earthquakes. Each tickets you buy gives $5 back to our PTA. The game is on  Saturday, October 18, at 7:30PM, at the Buck Shaw stadium @  Santa Clara University: 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara 95050.

To buy tickets please follow the link: https://covingtonquakes2014.eventbrite.com

Hope to see you there!

AMAZON SHOPPERS – Make Your Back-to-School Shopping Count for Covington!

Earn referral fees for Covington on purchases of books, electronics, toys, and more. It’s EASY and DOESN’T COST YOU ANYTHING! Go to www.covingtonschool.org, click the Amazon 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 Jennie Ebbitt at jtebbitt@gmail.com.

Covington Stem Teacher Links:

tinyurl.com/covingtonstem

https://sites.google.com/a/lasdk8.org/covington-stem/class-newsletters

JOIN CUB SCOUTS

Cub Scouts is for 1st - 5th grade boys. Pack 76 serves the neighborhoods for the Covington school district, as well as a number of local elementary schools.

Our 1st Pack Round Up Meeting will be held on Thursday, August 28, 2014 from 7-8pm in the Covington Multi Room. This is for both parents and boys to attend, to hear about our upcoming year, ask questions, as well as purchase scout uniforms from our Mobile Scouting shop.For more information please contact Lauren Hasenhuttl –  Pack 76 Committee Chair – 408-218-7287  lhasenhu@gmail.com (Covington parent of 4th grader (Webelos 1 Scout) and 1st grader (Tiger Cub scout).

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.