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August 30, 2016
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Covington Howler|
Important Dates:
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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE |
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Dear Covington Families & Community Members, Back-to-School Night is Thursday (see schedule below). This evening event is a tremendous opportunity to begin the partnership between parents and their child’s teacher- which is so vital to your child’s educational experience. Simply by attending BTSN, you are sending a message to your child that you view their education as something with real value. Teachers will go over their protocols and procedures, policies and curriculum- and all that is important. What I think is most important (and I’ve expressed this to our teachers) is the opportunity to get to know the teachers as people. Education is a shared experience and we look forward to our partnership with you to ensure a successful school year for all of our students. Please remember that the next day, Friday September 2nd is a Minimum Day with a 12:15pm dismissal for all 1st-6th graders (dismissal for kinders is 12:00 noon, as usual). Reminder: Unless a student is participating in an after-school enrichment program or working with a teacher, all students need to leave campus by 2:50pm each day. We have added a 2:50pm bell to alert everyone when it’s time to leave campus. If a parent or caregiver is here supervising a student, they must be directly supervising. I define direct supervision as the caregiver having direct vision and proximity to the student. Your help with this is greatly appreciated. Regards, Wade Spenader Covington Principal |
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Back to School Night Schedule |
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Back to School Night at Covington is Thursday Sept. 1st. Schedule:
6:00pm-6:45pm Gr. 4-6 Presentations, 6:50pm: All School in Multi 7:15pm-8:00pm: Gr K-3 Presentations, Upper SDC Class (4-6) Classroom presentations last appx. 30 minutes. Teachers review curriculum and classroom protocols. There is not time to discuss individual students. Back to School Night is for Parents/Guardians only. Students do not attend and should not be playing out on the playground without supervision. Parking can be a challenge at Back to School night. If possible, it's a great time to walk, bike or carpool to Covington. Overflow parking in the back only of St. William’s church or the public lot by Rosita park. Please kindly do not park in the front parking lot at St. William’s Church. |
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Yard Duty Aides Needed |
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Are you looking for a way to get involved on campus, interact with students in a fun way, and become part of a team? Have you considered becoming a yard duty aide? Covington has availability on our yard duty team. And, these are PAID positions. If you are available during the week, from noon to 12:40pm, and being a yard duty aide sounds like something you’d be interested in, please contact Principal Wade Spenader, wspenader@lasdschools.org |
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Parking Lot Safety: Drive Like Your Kids Go to School Here, Because They Do |
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Last week a driver was observed speeding down Covington Road and then careening around the corner into the Covington parking lot. A Covington parent and their child were in the crosswalk, but thankfully, had not yet reached the other side of the street or they would have been struck. We would like to use this opportunity to kindly remind our Covington community to be more conscientious of safe and proper driving etiquette when approaching the school and in our parking lot. We do not want to have a tragedy strike in order to remind everyone that safety of the children is paramount. Reminder: the speed limit around Covington School is 15 MPH. With so many vehicles coming through each day, especially during pick-ups and drop-offs, it's imperative for all drivers to be safe and courteous behind the wheel. This is crucial for the safety of all drivers, children and pedestrian walkers. Please be mindful to drive at slower speed, be cordial, and not park outside of your allocated parking slot. AS A REFRESHER the Covington Rules Traffic document is here. Let's keep our community safe and traffic moving. |
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Walkathon is Coming to Covington! |
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Save The Date! The Covington Walkathon is on Saturday, October 15th! This year’s Walkathon takes place at Covington from 9:30am – 3:00pm. This is the largest (and most fun!) community event for the school -- over 90% of our students participate. Come out to the green field and support your child and your school. You can picnic on the lawn (there will be food trucks!), listen to music, and take part in fun entertainment. This event is a fundraiser allowing students to directly improve their technology, music, art, and library programs. Each and every student at Covington benefits from this event. Become a t-shirt sponsor. Put your family name on the Walkathon t-shirt! Just email Ingrid Choong (ichoong2@gmail.com) with your family name as you would like it to appear on the t-shirt and put a check for $35 in the Walkathon cubby in the office. Become a corporate sponsor. The logos of corporate sponsors are prominently featured on the back of the Walkathon t-shirt worn by every Covington student. If your company would like to sponsor the event, please contact Jessica Speiser (jessica@speiser.net) ASAP. |
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Back to School Purchases & Donations |
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Back to School Purchases & Donations: http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/Back-to-School-Essentials_c_11.html The BTS Order Form is a quick, easy, online tool that allows you to make donations, sign up for PTA memberships, join the Birthday Book club and other important back to school business. This is a convenient way to make a single payment for your donations and orders! For this school year, the Covington PTA has again purchased a complete set of school supplies for every student in every classroom. PTA is providing this service as a time (and money) saver for parents and to ensure that all our students have all the necessary supplies right from the beginning of the school year. PTA will only be able to continue this program in the future if we receive sufficient reimbursement for our expenses (over $30,000 in total). We are asking each family to please donate $65 per student to reimburse the PTA for your child’s/children's school supplies. |
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PTA NEWS |
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Want to keep abreast of what is going on at Covington and the greater LASD community? Want to join a venue that allows you to ask other Covington parents for recommendations from everything from babysitters and tutors to electricians and vacation spots? Please ask to join the Covington Voices Facebook group here: www.facebook.com/groups/CovingtonVoices BACK TO SCHOOL AMAZON SHOPPERS – Make Your Back to School Shopping Count for Covington! Earn referral fees for Covington on purchases of books, electronics, school supplies, and more. It’s EASY and DOESN’T COST YOU ANYTHING! Please use this link (bookmark it!) or go to www.covingtonschool.org, click the Amazon logo on the lower right side, then select and purchase your items as you normally would. Covington will automatically receive a referral fee from Amazon. No sign-up required. Questions? Contact Jennie Ebbitt at jtebbitt@gmail.com. SEPTEMBER 2 MINIMUM DAY PARTIES Don’t miss the fun! There are still spots left for the PTA sponsored minimum day parties on September 2nd. Please sign-up using the links below. Game Truck, Grades 3-6, Blacktop, 12:30-2:15pm - The Games 2 U game truck party provides kids with a chance to experience a state of the art mobile game theater. Kids play the latest video games on screens inside and outside the mobile truck. Envision surround sound, laser lights and a fog machine and you'll realize this is an experience your kids will never forget! http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/GameTruck-Min-Day-AugSept_p_59.html Booger Wars, Grades 2-6, Field, 12:30-2:15pm - Booger Wars is an exciting (and completely clean) game where players compete with bean bags thrown from giant noses to get each other out. Imagine dodgeball meets capture the flag but with giant noses instead of balls and flags. This is serious fun - don't miss it! http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/Booger-Ways-Min-Day-AugSept_p_60.html Coach Ken Soccer, Grades K-3, Field, 12:30-2:00pm - Stay after the minimum day dismissal and play soccer with Coach Ken Mburu. Coach Ken brings his endearing personality and experience as a father and professional player in his native Kenya to help kids develop soccer skills in a fun and practical way. Bring your lunch, water, shin guards, and a ball. http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/Coach-Ken-Soccer-Min-Day-Party-AugSept_p_58.html Students will meet at the 2nd grade lunch tables after school, at 12:15pm. They will eat their lunch, be checked in for their event and then escorted to the event location at 12:30. Questions? Please contact Kristi Snapp, ksnapp2@gmail.com OUTDOOR FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT - Thursday Sept 22 (next day is a school holiday) 6 - 9 pm. There are still spaces available for this family fun party on the evening of Thurs 9/22. There is no school the next day so come out and enjoy a movie night with your family and friends! We will meet on the Covington Lawn for a private viewing of the movie "Angry Birds" on a giant 16 foot movie screen. Pizza, popcorn and refreshments will be provided. If you would like to attend please click on the link below to purchase this great PTA fundraiser event! http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/Outdoor-Family-Movie-Night_p_48.html |
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PTA SPONSORED AFTER-SCHOOL ENRICHMENT CLASSES |
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After-school programs start after Labor Day. Search for after--school programs here: http://covingtonschool.org/covingtones/4757-After-School-Programs.html Register soon before classes fill up! Contact kathrynhan@gmail.com if any questions. |
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LAEF |
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What’s new with LAEF this year? Check out Eric’s Video! Check out this new student-created video "LAEF 2016-17: Are You IN?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhs5w7deE0I to learn what’s new at LAEF this year and how the programs we fund enrich every school day for your child. Donate now to help LAEF pay for teachers and program staff for STEM, PE, libraries, art, music, and computer science, in addition to smaller class sizes in grades K-3 and 7-8, more junior high electives and a new Instructional Support Teacher (IST) focusing on 6th-8th grade math. Our goal is $3.7 million and 100% participation from all of our LASD families. The suggested annual donation is $1,200 per student or $120/student per month. Every gift in any amount is appreciated. To donate now, make your pledge or to learn more, please go to LAEFOnline.org. Thank you! Follow #laefonline on Facebook and Twitter |
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LASD & Community Announcements |
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Become a LIVING CLASSROOM docent... share your love of nature with kids! LIving Classroom is looking for docents to help deliver hands-on garden-based lessons to the students of the Los Altos School District. No experience necessary as we provide all the training needed! Our Fall Docent Training will take place Monday mornings from 9 - Noon from Sept. 12th – Oct. 17th. Want to learn more about our program? Please consider attending one of our upcoming Informational Meetings from 10-11am on Monday 8/22 or Monday 8/29 at the LASD iLearn Studio located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos. Please click HERE to view our Fall training flyer. Questions? Email us at livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or call (650) 947-1103. For more information about Living Classroom, please visit our website at www.living-classroom.org.
School & Community News now found via Peachjar: https://www.peachjar.com/index.php?a=28&b=138®ion=54001 |
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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. |