Covington School Howler - Jan. 13, 2015

Dear Covington Families,

This week I want to highlight two upcoming events that affect Covington students and also LASD students as a whole. The first happens next Tuesday, January 20th, when school will be closed for students but open for LASD staff. The adults in our district will be engaging in professional learning around the new Common Core Math standards. The day-long event will require educators to delve deep into the standards by collaborating with other teachers across the district at their grade level and communicating with each other on how students progress from one school year to the next. They will be asked to critically think about what it means to "meet the individual learning needs of all students," one of our district goals, and to work together to come up with creative solutions to do so. This great work will have a direct impact on your child's learning!

The other event I wanted to bring attention to is the Los Altos School District's STEM Expo, which invites students in grades K-6 to participate! While engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects, students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be!

Students will be guided through a myriad of activities: STEM lunch clubs, opportunities for special class projects, and/or providing grade level support. This event lends itself to a variety of learning experiences either within the class or at home, working individually or collaboratively with their peers or with adults amongst a wide range of STEM categories. Ultimately, students get the chance to showcase their science work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family.

Check out the 2015 STEM Expo Trailer here. For information on signing your child up to participate, please see Covington STEM teacher Katie Farley's write up further below in the Howler.

Thank you LAEF for supporting our STEM program!

Enjoy the week!

Raquel Matteroli
Interim Principal, Covington School

Important Dates:

Jan. 13 & 16 - New Parent Tours @ Blach School
Jan. 16 - PTA Meeting & Principal Coffee, 8:30am
Jan. 19 & 20 - No School For Students, MLK Holiday & Staff Development Day
Jan. 22 & 23 - New Parent Tours @ Egan School
Jan. 24 - Boy's Night Out
Jan. 28 - Dine Out for Covington @ Chevys
Feb. 3 - PTA Science Night 6pm-8pm
Feb. 16-20th - No School for Students, Winter Recess
Mar. 23-25 - Covington STEM Expo

From the School Nurse: Flu Season is Here! The following guidelines are indications that you should keep your child home. Thank you for your help, to control the spread of colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses.

LOS ALTOS SCHOOL DISTRICT HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT: WHEN TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME FROM SCHOOL

Keep your child at home when he/she has any of the following symptoms:
Fever, Chills, Vomiting or diarrhea, Nausea, Sore throat or trouble swallowing, Coughing, sneezing, and/or runny nose, Rash or unusual sores or spots, Headache, Generalized muscle aches and pains ,Wheezing or trouble breathing , Unusually red, crusted or burning eyes.

If you or your child develops a cold that includes a severe cough or a cough that lasts a long time, it may be pertussis (whooping cough). The best way to know is to contact your doctor.

You need to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom free without medication for 24 hours.

Remember also you must call the Attendance Line Every Day that your child is absent: 650-947-1101.

Covington Stem Expo Information:
The STEM Expo is coming soon! If your child would like to participate in this engaging adaptation of a science fair, he or she will need to complete an Intent to Participate form by February 24, 2015. This form merely states your child's intent to participate in the STEM Expo this year. Before completing the form, your child must be prepared to enter the following information:

Independent/Partner/Group/Class Participation
Name(s)
Email address(es)
Grade level/Teacher
Category of project (invention, robotics, etc.)
Title for project
A brief description of project

A few things to note:

1. If your child plans to participate as an individual, and is in 3rd grade or below, please complete this form along side your child.
2. If your child is participating as part of a class project, his or her teacher will take care of the form.
3. If your child plans to participate as part of a partnership or team of three, all participants should be present for the completion of the form.
4. A parent or guardian's email address may be used in place of a student email address.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Looking forward to the STEM Expo from March 23 - March 25!
tinyurl.com/covingtonstem
https://sites.google.com/a/lasdk8.org/covington-stem/class-newsletters

PTA News:

PLEASE NOTE: The Allergist scheduled to speak at the PTA General Meeting has had a family emergency and is unable to speak at this week's meeting. Currently we are working with her to reschedule for our March PTA meeting. However, we will still be conducting regular business including: discussing a bike and pedestrian safety resolution, this year's STEM Expo, financials year to date and updates on happenings around Covington.

Covington Auction tickets now on sale! Early Bird pricing available until Friday, February 13th! Act today to secure your discounted tickets - $150 per couple, $75 per individual. For more information and ticket purchase, https://covington.schoolauction.net/auction2015/tickets/ticket_sales

Donate to Covington Auction! In addition to the continued support of local businesses, we are counting on the generosity and creativity of our Covington families to make this year's event a success. Now is the time to share your favorite vacation getaways, your VIP access, your talents, and all of the unique experiences, goods and services you treasure! Donations are due no later than Friday, February 6th. Please direct any questions to our Donations Chair, Lara Sullivan, at lara.sullivan06@gmail.com. Online donations may be submitted here: https://covington.schoolauction.net/auction2015/donate_items/new

Computer skills needed! Do you know your way around Adobe InDesign? Do you, perhaps, possess a particular talent with Pages for Mac? Could you even be, or know someone who is, a graphic designer? Are you, or your friend, willing to volunteer your time, or donate a bit of it, to the Auction Committee in the next few weeks? If so, the gratitude of literally the entire school, especially all the programs funded by the PTA, is yours. As well as a tax write-off, if applicable. Please email Sumaira Nabeel (sumaira.nabeel@gmail.com) with any leads. Thank you!

Adult Auction Parties: We are looking for hosts for Adult Auction Parties - these parties are hosted by Covington parents for Covington Parents. The host decides the theme, location, date, and number of participants. These fun and creative parties raised $35,000+ for Covington last year. Any idea that shares your enthusiasm for something is a great one! Think about what you and your friends would enjoy, or perhaps special skills you may have to offer.he list is limited only by your imagination and the parties do not need to be expensive or lavish to be a great time! Please email or call Christine Sellers at cyberchristine@hotmail.com / 650-867-7187 if you have questions or are willing to host.

Covington Boy's Night Out at Area 151. Pizza/Soda/100Tokens
Saturday January 24th / 5:30 - 7:30PM / $25 per person/ $50 for Father and Son
Pizza and Soda at Area 151 at 6PM. To save your spot please email John Crawford atjbcrawfo@aol.com by January 10th. Make checks payable to: Covington PTA Boy's Night Out box in Office

Girls on the Run Program Registration Closes Soon! Girls on the Run is a fun, life-changing, after-school program for (3rd-5th) grade girls. The 10-week program teaches girls life skills such as confidence, how to be a good friend and how to stand up for themselves and others while inspiring them to be joyful, healthy and confident by using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running.

Girls on the Run begins the week of March 2, 2015, and concludes the week of May 18, 2015. The Covington team will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:40-4:30pm. There will be no lessons the week of spring break. The culminating event of the season is the Girls on the Run 5K, on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at Vasona Park in Los Gatos, where program participants and community members come together for this celebratory fun run/walk.

Program registration is online only at www.gotrsv.org and will close on Thursday, January 22. Space is limited and girls are registered on a first-come, first-served basis.

School & Community News now found via Peachjar: https://www.peachjar.com/index.php?a=28&b=138&region=54001

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.