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November 8, 2016
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Covington Howler|
Important Dates:
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Principal’s Message |
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Dear Covington Community, Ability Awareness Week is Coming! At last Friday’s “Coffee with the Principal” we were able to take parent input regarding our positive school campus initiative called the Coyote Way. I want to thank all the parents there who contributed some great ideas and values to our initiative. Part of Friday’s coffee also included a presentation by district parent Annie Morgan. With the help of Annie we will be leading a impactful experience for our students known as Ability Awareness Week. During the week of Jan. 3rd-6th, Covington students will be taken through a number of workshops that help them understand that everyone has challenges. These experiences help our students grow empathy for what it is like to face physical and learning challenges. Having seen an Ability Awareness week at Springer years ago, I can attest to the positive impact it makes on students. Children understand and appreciate the challenges that we are all faced with, be they minor or major. I expect to see students at Covington becoming even more supportive of each other after Ability Awareness week. Parents in last Friday’s coffee were so impressed with the program that they wanted to know if we could do a Parent Ed night around Ability Awareness. Great idea! So, please mark your calendars for Monday, December 5th at 7:00pm. Annie Morgan and I will present information about this important program and even take parents through some of the activities that students will be experiencing. We also will need volunteers to make this a success so there will be an opportunity on that evening to sign-up to help. On a closing note: thank you if you voted today (or earlier by mail)! I spoke to the children today at Flag Assembly about the importance of voting in a democracy. Regards, Wade Spenader Principal |
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Parent Ed Talk on Cyber Safety |
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Cyber-safety: What Parents Need to Know. Coming up next Tuesday, on November 15th, at 6:30pm in our multi, Los Altos Police and School Resource Officer, Ryan Langone will be presenting a parent talk about keeping kids safe in the cyber world. This is a great presentation to attend in order to catch up on the latest trends in social media as well. This presentation would also be an excellent follow-up to Oct. 25th’s showing of Screenagers. Officer Langone will also be working with our 5th and 6th graders this week on what they need to know about cyber-safety and etiquette. |
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PTA News |
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SAVE THE DATE - AUCTION 2017. The 2017 Covington Auction will be on March 25th in the Elks Club. We would love for some more parents to get involved with the auction organizing, particularly new families and families with kids in lower grades. If you have some time and skills you would like to put to good use, please let Shauna McIntyre shauna.mcintyre@gmail.com know. *********************** PTA MEETING THIS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10th at 8.45 am. All parents are encouraged to attend this month's PTA meeting. As well as regular agenda items such as approving income and expenditure, we will be getting an update on Report Cards and the Coyote Way from Principal Spenader. We will also be discussing options for our School Photographs. *********************** THE COYOTE LAIR REOPENS. The Coyote Lair is a parent-run lunchtime club for our Covington kids. It has not been operating for a couple of years, but thanks to 2nd Grade parent, Renuka Kolekar, is reopening this year. Renuka hopes to have the club open at lunch time 3-4 days per week from November 29th with possible offerings to include: Lego, Board Games, Art, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking. The Lair will provide structured alternatives for those kids who want options other than playing on the black-top and playground, or going to the library. The Lair needs volunteers, so if you are willing to be available one lunchtime per week, every two weeks, or even once per month, please let Renuka know (rkolekar@gmail.com). *********************** SCHOOL DIRECTORY Fourleaf is the online package we use for our school directory. It's fast and simple. You can access it from any device, anytime, anywhere, using the app or website. Fourleaf is, organized, and current and a great way to get contact details for school friends and other families. Unfortunately at the moment it is incomplete! Many people are worried about sharing their personal contact information online. There are privacy settings within the system which allow you to control how much information you would like to share and who has access to it. The information contained in Fourleaf is for use by families and staff of Covington Elementary for non-commercial purposes only. It is NOT available to the general public. Fourleaf does not connect to ad networks and does not sell personal information. We would love to have our school directory up to date and complete for all students across school. You may have already agreed to have your details in the directory through the Infosnap registration process that was done for every child in early August. If not, please go to the Covington website and choose the school directory tab from the list on the left-hand side, or click on the link below to bring you directly to the Covington page. https://fourleaf.net/app#/a/o/55d3b95b395afc3757629042 We are also considering printing a small number of paper directories for those who really like to have the information in hard-copy form. If you are interested in having a paper copy, please contact fionnualal@gmail.com putting 'School Directory' in the subject line. ***********************
Hours: 8:15 am – 3:15 pm (November 28th – December 2nd) Family Food Truck Night: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm Wednesday, November 30th Coins for Classroom Libraries We will be hosting an All for Books Coin Drive to update all classroom libraries. Donate coins and get a raffle ticket to win one of 2 book baskets! Seeking Volunteers and Shoppers! We need YOUR help! We will train you on the spot - No experience necessary! Volunteer for 2 shifts and get 2 raffle tickets for the book baskets. Sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f044dacad2faa8-20151 Questions? Ask Mara (marastarkey@gmail.com) or Elise (elise55@gmail.com) ***********************
PTA Play: Peter Pan Jr. Registration. Registration forms went home in Thurs/Fri envelopes for all 4th, 5th and 6th graders. Additional forms are available in the office Peter Pan box. Please drop off registration forms and cash/check payments in the Peter Pan box in the office. For Credit card payments use online registration- link below. Deadline for registration is December 9th, 2016. Cost is $250 which includes T-shirt. Scholarships are available. Contact Arezou Bahman (arezoua@yahoo.com) with any questions. Online registration: http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/Peter-Pan-Jr-Registration_p_ *********************** Auction Fundraiser Party - Bootlegs & Bottles Dance Party. Date - Saturday December 3, 2016. Time - 7 pm - 11 pm. Location - Sumaira Khan & Nabeel Mian Residence. Price - $75 per person. Hosts - Khan/Mian, Sellers, Ghosheh/Issa, Leong, Townhill, Colpitts and Cairns. Calling all party people! Is your name on the list for the most exclusive nightclub in Los Altos? For one night only, Covington's hottest promoters invite you to leave the paparazzi at the door and enter! A live DJ will take you from Miami to Ibiza so make sure you like your nights hardcore! Burn up the dance floor or chill in the Lounge. There is something for everyone at this hot spot, including delicious tapas and rumors of a secret Whiskey Room. Put on your dancing shoes and be ready for the weekend, cuz the cocktails don't stop so let the beat drop! If you would like to purchase tickets please click on the below link. Once purchased you will receive an Evite with all the party details: http://covingtonpta.3dcartstores.com/Bootlegs-and-Bottles-Dance-Party_p_36.html Lost & Found is overflowing! There about 80 jackets and many water bottles, etc... These will be donated at the Thanksgiving break, if not claimed before!! |
Bookaneer Book Fair. 
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Los Altos Educational Foundation |
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What’s an IST? Meet LASD’s new Instructional Support Teacher for Math. Ms. Noirin Foy is the district’s first IST, supporting 6-8th grade math by providing our 27 math teachers with professional learning, coaching, and modeling. Teaching math in LASD since 2011, she is also strengthening LASD’s collaboration with the math ISTs from Mountain View and Los Altos High Schools. Check out Ms. Foy’s new LASD Math website with resources for students when they need extra support or practice and learn more at LAEFOnline.org! LAEF’s meets $100K Challenge...raising $2.5M so far LAEF’s Board of Directors is pleased to report that we have just reached $2.5M in donations on our way to meeting our $3.7M goal for the current school year. A special thank you to the families who made first time gifts or increased their annual donation to help us meet our $100,000 Matching Challenge from LAEF’s Board of Directors and the Honor Roll of Realtors Leadership Circle. For those of you that have not yet participated, please join our community’s 1,700 donors by making a contribution that is meaningful for your family. LAEFOnline.org |
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Pajama Bonanza! |
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Daisy Troop #62883 is participating in a pajama drive with Scholastic Reading Club and Pajama Program. Please send a pair of new pajamas, in any size, to school. The pajamas and a new book donated by Scholastic will be given to a child living in a homeless shelter for a reassuring bedtime. Thank you for your generosity! There will be a big collection box in front of the school office from Tuesday Nov 8 to Friday Nov 18. |
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LASD & Community Announcements |
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SELPA Parent ED:Let's Talk. A chance to ask questions and share ideas, resources, and support with other parents of students with IEPs, 504s, learning differences, mental health challenges, etc. All are welcome, participants must respect confidentiality. Monday November 14, 2016, 7 PM - 9 PM - in the Orchard Community Room, Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road
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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. |