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January 3, 2017
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Covington Howler|
Important Dates:
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Principal’s Message |
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Ability Awareness is this week! Our Ability Awareness week kicks off tomorrow, with assemblies and experiential activities for our students. This week gives our students an opportunity to experience and learn about different abilities. The goal is to help all of our students to understand that we all have a variety of differences as well as similarities. It is our goal to help develop empathy in all of our students- which coincides with the Coyote Way. What kids want, more than anything else, is to belong, to be part of the group, to be asked to play at recess with other kids, to be asked to join others for lunch. Children who are differently abled are often excluded and can be seen at the edge of the playground or seated alone. The Ability Awareness program has the entire school population go through hands-on exercises that will help the children appreciate the frustrations of various disabilities. There is a discussion of how we are all on a rainbow of ability- better at some things and worse at others. It is emphasized that everyone has some quality or talent that is worth finding out about and enjoying through friendship, and that certainly every human being deserves respectful and kind treatment. There is a discussion of teasing and how that hurts people. The children are then directly instructed what to do when they come across someone who is differently abled. We will be asking parents to support our Ability Awareness week in various ways. We have a small army of parents volunteering to help run the experiential activities that all grade levels (except Kinder) will take part in. We encourage you to have discussions at home with your children about what they learned this week. Helping students to understand that we all are different, and gifted, and challenged in various ways. There is even a homework assignment where students try to remain silent for one hour, in order to help understand what it is like to not have the gift of speech. Thank you for your support of Ability Awareness Week and of Covington School. All of us, together, will continue to make Covington a wonderful, caring community.
Regards, Wade Spenader Principal |
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After School Enrichment for Winter/Spring:Start Dates Vary |
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The next sessions of PTA sponsored after school enrichment classes have varied start dates. Programs are restarting over the next several weeks. Please check the online schedule and make alternative pick up arrangements for your children, if necessary. http://covingtonschool.org/ |
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Open Enrollment For Kinder/TK In Progress Now |
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2016 Kinder Registration: Open Enrollment until 2/3/17. To qualify for kindergarten, your child must be 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2017. Children who turn 5 between Sept 2 and Dec. 2, 2017 qualify for Transitional Kindergarten. Please visit the Covington Office to pick up a registration packet. |
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Los Altos Educational Foundation |
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Happy New Year from LAEF! We hope you had a wonderful break and are looking forward to a great second half of the school year. The end of 2016 brought in many contributions! Special thanks to those families who made a tax-deductible gift or requested a match from their company. Stay tuned for an exciting update on our fundraising progress. In the meantime...for more information about LAEF or to donate, please go to www.LAEFonline.org. |
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STEM EXPO |
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The Covington STEM program is pleased to announce the 3rd annual STEM Expo! Last year, we had over 200 projects across six different categories! Let’s make this year even bigger! More information. |
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PTA News |
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First PTA meeting of 2017 is Friday January 13th at 8.45am. *********************** PASTA, PASTA, PASTA! Please mark your calendars for this fun PTA sponsored Covington Community Building Event! Spaghetti Dinner, Friday, January 20th 6:00-8:00pm, Covington Multi *********************** Covington Auction Information:
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LASD & COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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We Want You … Substitute Opportunities The Silicon Valley economy is doing well and unemployment is quite low. For LASD, this means fewer people interested in substitute teaching. We are looking for parents who would be interested in helping our schools by becoming a substitute teacher. This may initially sound a bit unnerving, but it is actually a wonderful way to learn more about the learning of our students. You can choose your schedule, working as often or as little as you would like as well as at the schools of your choosing. We could really use your help, so please consider the opportunity. If you would consider joining our substitute teaching pool, we are offering a free mini-training hosted by our Human Resource & Curriculum Departments. Mark your calendars for Thursday, January 19th from 9am-12:30pm. For more information click the link here and/or contact Erin Green, Director of Student and Staff Services at egreen@lasdschools.org *********************** "Science in January" weekly series at the Los Altos Library Presented by the Children’s Discovery Museum, “Science in January” will be held every Wednesday afternoon for four weeks. Children in kindergarten and up with their caregivers are invited to explore science in various activities. Wednesday, January 4 4 PM – Science Magic Wednesday, January 11 4 PM – Air We Go Wednesday, January 18 4 PM – Gadgets in Motion Wednesday, January 25 4 PM – Amusement Park Science ***********************
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. |