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May 3, 2016
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Covington Howler|
In This Issue
Quick Dates for your Calendar:
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Principal’s Message |
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Dear Covington Families & Community Members, “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” Peter Drucker is often quoted as saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” One of the most important elements of our school campus is the unspoken culture that resides here. It reveals itself in the way our students treat each other on the playground, in the interactions between teachers and parents, and in the simple day to day routines that we employ. And while we recognize that Covington is a great place overall, there is always room for improvement and growth. We need a little strategy in order to build culture. Looking to next year, there are several new programs that our staff are working on that will benefit and grow our culture. You may hear teachers talking about Responsive Classroom (RC). RC offers an approach to teaching that focuses on academic, social, and emotional growth within a strong school community. It emphasizes that how children learn is as important as what they learn, and that academic success is closely tied to students’ social-emotional well being. Many of the Covington staff will be attending training this summer to learn more about RC and you will see and hear new classroom routines and strategies that reflect this program. Also, some of our teachers are attending or have attended workshops around Mindfulness. With the continual build up of stress in our students lives, learning to manage anxiety and emotion is becoming a much needed addition to our curriculum. See how one school has embraced this idea by reading, “What Changes When a School Embraces Mindfulness?” by Katrina Schwartz. And finally, we are introducing a new problem solving component for students through a program called No Bully. Students are more and more comfortable calling each other bullies without truly understanding the term. The No Bully System will give our community a process and tools that will help students problem solve all conflicts, including those instances of true bullying. We are looking forward to building our Solution Team and empowering students to be part of the answer. Peter Drucker also said, “The best way to predict the future, is to create it.” I predict that the Covington culture will continue to not only be great, but will grow into a community that increases its value for emotional well-being along with strong academics. Warm Regards, Kami Thordarson Covington Principal |
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C-STEM Showcase |
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Come support computer science in LASD Schools and visit the CSTEM Showcase at Almond School, Thursday May 19, 2016 from 3:15pm-5:00pm. You check out the flyer here: http://tinyurl.com/ |
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PTA NEWS |
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Ladies Sip 'n Swap: an evening of fun and fashion! Price: $40 per person (limit 30 people), please email jtebbitt@gmail.com to sign up and drop off checks in the office made out to "Covington PTA". Date/Time: May 19th, 2016, 6:00pm Location: University Club of Palo Alto Hosts: Jennie Ebbitt, Hillary Frank, Kate Lee and Lara Sullivan. Looking for some fine new fashion items and a chance to clean out your closet? Join us for a ladies only get together to sip on wine and swap your new or pre-loved clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry and accessories that you no longer need (but are in good condition) and swap them for other great items. Bring your fashionable items to swap and leave your inhibitions behind! We’ll supply yummy eats and wine to sip! Spots still available for the Caddyshack Party - May 14th Calling all Bushwood Country Club members and caddies - Join us fore a night of golf themed activities, food and adult beverages. Don't miss out, be part of this Cinderella story, It's sure to be a Hole In One! Come dressed as your favorite character or dress to Tee-off! The Snapps, Schuders and Townhills, May 14th , 4:00pm Brushwood Country Club aka The Snapp Residence 180 Marvin Avenue, Los Altos, Price - $100 per couple. Please RSVP to Jennifer Townhill - jennifer@townhillfamily.com. Please make your check out to “Covington PTA” and drop it in the PTA box in the office or bring it to the event” PET PARADE: Save the Date Saturday May 14th. Bring your pet (or not) and walk with Covington in the Pet Parade. More information will be coming next week. |
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LASD Junior Olympics |
Junior Olympics: Dear 4,5,6 grade parents, Junior Olympics was a fantastic day! Over 1,600 students, their families and friends came out to enjoy some friendly competition at Mountain View High School! We look forward to our awards ceremony and slideshow on Friday, May 20 at 1:45 pm. Parents are welcome to join! You can find 2016 results and records at lasdjo.com.
Pictures Needed! Please post pictures here here for inclusion in our slideshow. Lost something at JO? Lost & Found items are in a box at Santa Rita near the Electronic Sign.
Suggestions and feedback? We always appreciate hearing from you on ways to improve this event. Please send e-mail to jochaircovington@gmail.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you! So many people are needed every year the make this event happen: PE specialists, LASD personnel, MVLA personnel, parents, high school students, middle school students, as well as our very own 4-6 participants.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the following people in our community who went over and above to make the 55th Junior Olympics a spectacular event! We could not do it without YOU!: Sarah Andersen, Alene Baronian, Olga Biberman, Yumie Britt, David Brunner, Owen Brunner, Sonia Brunner, Jim Cairns, Olivia Cairns, Grace Chin, David Chou, Yvonne Chou, Sara Colpitts, John Crawford, Michael Croft, Srinivas Dharmasanam, Parth Dhanotra, Diana Ekstrand, Chunbei Feng, Himanshu Gupta, Kathryn Han, Lauren Hasenhuttl, Marjorie Hondl, Cheryl House, Surbhi Jain, Moonhee Jang, Suzanne Jensen, Judith Kau, Scott Kaufman, Suzanne Kasso, Laura Kerestezachi, Laurie Kurgas, Ben Lai, Mary Lai, Carolyn LeBaron, Tim LeBaron, Matt Leong, Tracey Leong, Fionnuala Loughran, Ian Loughran, Jarend Maeyama, Julie McGrath, Kate McGuigan, Jen McGuigan, Peter Meyn, Allie Murdock, James Murdock, Wendy Murdock, Saori O'Reilly, James Reilly, Lisa Schuder, Claudia Sgro, Rita Grover-Sidhu, Kathleen Smiley, Stuart Sweet, Chester Te, Miles Townhill, Richard Townhill, Elsa Villalobos, Sophie Wang, Christie Wilson, Takako Yanase, Kristy Yang Himanshu Gupta Special thanks to Ms. Marquis, our amazing PE teacher and to our 4-6th grade teachers and principal. Want to help plan the fun in 2017? E-mail jochaircovington@gmail.com to join a very fun crew! Your JO Covington Committee, Valerie Cairns Louanne Gonzalez Kristi Snapp Jen Springer Mara Starkey |
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LAEF |
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LAEF: $150,000 short of reaching $3.5M goal LAEF presented its first installment of our annual grant to LASD at Junior Olympics, but we are still $150,000 short to pay for all of your child’s favorite enrichment teachers and programs including STEM, PE, library, art, music and computer science. April was a banner month with 112 families contributing $121,450, including 28 new donors who helped LAEF meet our $15,000 matching grant challenge. Thank you! If just 18 more families from each campus donate and we receive the same number of corporate matches again this year, we will reach our goal! We strive for 100% participation from our families and any amount in greatly appreciated. If you haven't already donated or submitted your employer match, please do so today by going to LAEFonline.org or drop a check in our school’s office this week. |
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LASD & Community Announcements |
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District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC) meeting is May 5th, 8:45 AM in the LASD Board Room There will be a District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC) meeting, a meeting about the English Learner program in the Los Altos School District (LASD). This is a public meeting and all who are interested are invited to attend. Please contact Ann Haigh at (650) 947-1180 if you have questions. The district-wide meeting is in the LASD Board Room, 201 Covington Road, Los Altos.
School & Community News now found via Peachjar:https://www.peachjar.com/ |
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How to Submit an Article to the Covington Howler |
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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. |