Covington 2009/10: The Covington Howler - End of Year Edition! (June 3, 2010)

June 3, 2010

The Covington Howler - End of Year Edition! (June 3, 2010)

TOMORROW IS MINIMUM DAY!

12:15 pm dismissal for grades 1-6. All kindergarteners 8:15 - 11:35. No hot lunch!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: June 9, 2010.

Please note, Grades K-5 8:15-11:15, Grade 6 dismissed following sixth grade promotion!

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Interim Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Community,

PARENT SURVEY: On behalf of the School Site Council, we would like to thank the many Covington parents who took time to complete the 2010 Parent Survey. We had a great response, with more than two-thirds of our families taking part. Over the summer, a complete analysis of the responses will be made and all of your comments will be read. We appreciate your candid feedback and we look forward to using this information to create the best educational environment for our children.

COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: In conjunction with our "Living Classroom Project," several Los Altos School District schools also participate in the Mountain View/Los Altos Community Sustainable Agriculture program. Each week participants may purchase approximately one pound of fresh/seasonal and locally grown fruits and vegetables. If you are interested in learning more about this program that also supports the "Living Classroom Project," come by Covington School after school on Monday, June 7^th and meet Scott Manning, Director of CSA Mt View/Los Altos.

GOOD NEWS! Last week we received great news. Class size in primary grades next year will remain at the same class size levels, as they are this year. School libraries will also remain open the same hours as this year. The reinstatement of these programs ensures our students will experience the exemplary program to which we have all become accustomed. All laid off teachers in the elementary schools have had their jobs reinstated. The funding to make this happen became available due to the generosity of our entire school community:

LAEF - set its fundraising goal to $2.35 million for 2010-11, an increase of $540,000 compared with 2009-10

PTA - collectively agreed to contribute $435,000 next year to offset the costs of classroom supplies and instructional materials

LASD Employees - agreed to take three unpaid furlough days saving the District $430,000 in salary

COVINGTON STAFF FOR 2010-2011: We are pleased to announce the Covington Staff for the coming school year:

KINDERGARTEN: Melissa Chan, Tara Harte, Christy McCracken

FIRST GRADE: Kim Nero, Genie Sitler, Megan Scatena

SECOND GRADE: Cortney Mase, Eileen Cuzzi,

Jolene Welch/Angela Girod (Job Share)

THIRD GRADE: Dottie Cowell, Terry Pomposo,

Nancy Barrett/Katie Campodonico (Job Share)

FOURTH GRADE: Jill Croft, Linda Figone

FIFTH GRADE: Krysta Accola, Marie Pinder, TBA

SIXTH GRADE: Anne Adams, Sarah Wedel

SDC: Samantha Kephart

Mrs. Judy Jorgenson, Second Grade Teacher, is retiring at this end of this year with sixteen years in the profession. Mrs. Jorgenson taught 6^th grade at Bullis School prior to coming to Covington School. While at Covington, Mrs. Jorgenson has taught both first and second grades. Mrs. Jorgenson also taught for six years in the La Entrada District in Menlo Park. Judy and her husband look forward to long, leisurely mornings sipping coffee and reading the newspaper and enjoying time with grandchildren.

Ms. Lori Loftus, Sixth Grade Teacher, has accepted a position at Santa Rita School and she will be teaching second grade there next year.

Our thanks to both Mrs. Jorgenson and Ms. Loftus for the time and commitment they have given to our children, and we wish them well as they begin new chapters in their lives!

MS. GREEN: Please join me in welcoming back your principal, Ms. Erin Green. Erin plans to return to Covington School on Monday, June 7^th. I have thoroughly enjoyed "filling in" for Erin, and I appreciate the wonderful environment that Erin and the entire staff have developed at Covington School. It was a pleasure to spend time here!

HAVE AND SAFE AND RESTFUL SUMMER!

Linda Eckols,

Interim Principal

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Upcoming events - mark your calendars!

June 4, Fri - Field Day, Minimum Day

June 9, Wed - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.

Click the item for more details or see Covington website calendar

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From the School Nurse

If your child has medications at school, please remember to pick them up on the last day of school (if you'll be attending 6th grade graduation, then please stop by the day before). Medications cannot be saved and will be discarded if they are not picked up on the last day of school.

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From the PTA

Field Day is tomorrow June 4^th from 10 to 12pm on the playground

Covington's tradition in celebrating the end of the school year! Where all students join in the Fun with Games, Face Painting and Food! Contact Sherri Glein at gleinfamily@comcast.net or Pauline Goloubef at pauline_goloubef@hotmail.com

PTA Volunteer Awards

Last Friday, the Covington PTA acknowledged the army of volunteers that contribute over 24,000 hours to making Covington a great school. Elena Shea was acknowledged with the Golden Oak award, the most prestigious PTA award in California honoring a person who has demonstrated the highest level of service to children at school and in the greater community. Other honorees are featured on the Covington website.

THANK YOU HOT LUNCH VOLUNTEERS!

You have served Hot Lunch to our Covington Coyotes 161 days this year!

Our Crew Leads:

Mondays: Caroline Small, Valerie Nichols, Suzy Allison

Tuesdays: Kenna Fenton, Pauline Goloubef, Rachel Botsford,

Wednesdays: Rachel Botsford, Ann Wolff, Emma Rossi

Thursdays: Darcy Ratner, Julie Maeyama, Chantal Kellogg,

Fridays: Cheryl House, Elena Shea, Kathleen Vitakis

Our Crew Members:

Julie Altinger, Sunitha Bobba, Lisa Kim, Emi Ishida, Kazuko Eames, Emma Rossi, Amy Baugh, Anu Shetty, Sudnya Shroff, Margaret Chang, Jenny Williams, Elizabeth Dumanian, Signa Atherton, Kris Maloney, SoYoung Ahn, June-Nicole Gur, Jessica Clarke, Sherri Glein, Alene Baronian, Suzanne Bray, Kris Sheridan, Jana Schlansker, Efrat Tal, Amrita Ghumman, Phyllis Pann, Patti Persons, Maria Ruyack, Mili Talledo, Marlena Leong, Ula Ghosheh, Peggy McGrath, Corinne Landphere, Marijke Kuper, Sandy Furuichi, Qin Chen, Christy Wu, Jennie Little, Annette Jenab, Kasey Nemelka Fran Callan, Tracey Leong, Anna Lee, Valerie Taglio, Marianne Mahoney, Lisa Maneatis, Meher Mistri, Jeong Hwang, Janice Ahn, MeriBeth Bird, Margaret Yen, Nathalie Colodny and Kathy Tomkins

Thank you! We appreciate you giving your time to our Covington Coyotes!

LOST AND FOUND

Please check the Lost and Found for clothing belonging to your student. All unclaimed items will be donated to charity after the final day of school.

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LAEF

We Saved Class Sizes and Programs. Please Donate Today.

We believe the greatest gift we can give our children is a world class education, and we believe it's attainable in our Los Altos School District. LAEF just announced its $2.35 million fundraising goal for 2010-11 and we're accepting donations to reach it.

LAEF heard you loud and clear: parents across the district didn't want larger classes and program cuts, so LAEF increased its pledge to the district for next year by $540,000 to avoid staff reductions.

Now we need your donations. Start early and spread your donation throughout the year.

For the first time in four years our suggested donation has gone up: $100/month/child or an annual donation of $1,000. Please donate today, don't wait until Back to School. Some families donate more than the suggested amount, some donate less, but we strive for 100% participation from all families in the district because every child in the district benefits from LAEF's grant. Please give generously in whatever amount is right for your budget. www.laefonline.org

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Community Information

Join Memory Keepers: Covington's Relay for Life Team

Saturday, June 12, 10am to Sunday, June 13, 10am at Egan Jr. High

Relay for Life is a community-wide event for children, teens, and adults to gather for 24 hours demonstrating our collective support in the fight against cancer. As part of this greater community which has been so supportive of our children and schools, it's important that we support and give back to our larger community in common causes.

Click here to join Covington's Relay for Life team, The Memory Keepers. There are no fund raising requirements - we are just asking for participation on the day of the event.

For more information on the Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org/losaltosca If you have questions contact: Amy Gaffney gaffneyhouse@yahoo.com or Darcy Ratner darcy@theratners.org

CUB SCOUT PICNIC - JOIN CUB SCOUTS

Meet Pack 76 (Los Altos / Los Altos Hills) Cub Scouts and their families to learn more about scouting at the annual Recruitment Picnic. Thursday, June 3, 5-7pm at Shoup Park (400 University Ave, just south of Burke Rd), Los Altos. Food and Beverages provided

Cub Scouts is for 1st - 5th grade boys. Pack 76 serves the neighborhoods for the Covington school district, as well as a number of local private elementary schools.

Speak with cub scouts, their parents, and leaders about the rewards of scouting. In addition to food and fun, model rockets and Pinewood Derby cars will be on display.

We are planning a number of events for the summer (Scout Night at the San Jose Giants in June, a great summer Hike in July, and Los Altos Movie Night in August) and for near the start of the school year (Camping at Big Basin in September). Please attend the picnic to join now so that you won't miss any of these exciting events.

For more information: Andrew Gray - Cubmaster - 650-843-7575 - AndrewGray@gray.net

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