Covington Howler

Sept. 20, 2016

Important Dates:

• Sept 22 - Coffee with the Principal, 8:45am @ multi

• Sept 23 - Staff Development Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

• Oct 3 - Picture Makeup Day

• Oct 12 - Vision Screening for Grades K,2,5 & SDC

• Oct 13 - Minimum Day

• Oct 15 - Walkathon

• Oct 31 - Halloween Parade 1:45pm @ Blacktop

Nov 11 - Veteran’s Day: No School

Nov 21-22 - Parent-Teacher Conferences: No School for Students

Nov 23-25 - Thanksgiving Holiday: No School

Nov 28 - Dec 2 - Book Fair

Dec 8 - Winter Concert 1pm, Grades 4-6

Dec 19 - Jan 2 December Recess

Jan 3 - School Resumes

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Being Mindful

A few weeks ago I wrote about the concept of gratitude as part of being happy.  The idea of being truly appreciative of the positive things in life, be they small or large, is vital to our personal satisfaction and overall outlook on life.

There is another concept that is getting much attention that also contributes to living a happy, healthy life.  It’s often referred to as mindfulness.  While definitions of being mindful can vary slightly, mindfulness is simply the act of being fully present in the moment.  Essentially, a person is being mindful when they are fully alert to their surroundings and thoughts right where they are, and whom they are with.  

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and walked away not fully sure what was just talked about?  You might not have been fully listening because you were still thinking about the car that cut you off in traffic.  Or, perhaps you weren’t fully present for the conversation because you were dwelling on that upcoming important meeting and all you need to get done in ordered to be prepared for it.  All of us have been there; we we’re focused on the past or worried about the future- hence we weren’t really fully aware of the present.

Mindfulness is being in the moment, aware of your surroundings and the people around us.  It’s the ability to push away all other cares that aren’t part of the moment and fully focus on what, or who, is currently in front of us.  Being mindful isn’t easy but it can be improved on with awareness and practice.  The benefits are enormous- especially for kids.  Practicing mindfulness improves relationships and helps regulate intense emotions.  Mindfulness is also an important component to a positive growth mindset.  

I’ve included a link that serves as a good introduction to this concept.  Please feel free to have a conversation with me about mindfulness- it’s one of my favorite topics.

Coffee with the Principal- A reminder that I will host my first Coffee with the Principal this Thursday at 8:45am in the multi.  Hope you can attend.

Regards,

Wade Spenader

Covington Principal

All Visitors Must Sign In at the office

We love our community!  They help us out in so many ways.   This is a reminder that if you are coming onto campus during the school day for whatever reason, your first stop must be to the office to sign-in and get a visitors pass. The reason for this is all about safety.  We need to know who is on our campus at all times. Wearing the visitors pass alerts us that you have signed in at the office.  Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to go back to the office to sign-in if you’re spotted without a visitors pass.

A couple of other reminders:

• Bringing your child a lunch?  Please let your child know that you will be dropping it off in the multi- where they can pick it up.  Lunches should not be delivered to backpacks outside the classroom.

• While we love our families, we need to leave our furry family members at home.  There are no dogs allowed on campus

Your adherence to these policies is greatly appreciated.

School Picture Make Up Day

School photo make up day is Oct. 3rd.

If you need to schedule a make up photo for your child, do so here:

https://iclicksmilesvincetarrystudios.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?calendarID=761596

Please also let your student’s teacher know, prior to Oct. 3rd.

Donations Needed

The office needs donations of spare clothing for those children who need a change of clothes during the day.  Gently used leggings, sweatpants, basketball shorts and t-shirts are great.  Undies too!  We need all sizes.  Also, if your child goes home with some loaner clothes, please wash and return to the office. Thank you so much!

Yard Duty Aides Needed

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

Field Trip Donations

Back to School Combined Payment for Donations: Classroom field trips are funded by parent donations.  PTA collects those donations online through the Back to School Purchases (except for 4th-Sacramento & 6th- Walden West); however, no child will be denied participation on field trips for failure to contribute. All donations will go to support the total costs of the field trip. If you cannot donate the requested amount, we would greatly appreciate any donation. Donations are necessary to make these trips possible. If sufficient funds are not donated, the field trips will be cancelled for all classes. We also appreciate if you are able to donate for a child unable to contribute. You can find the form online and pay by echeck: http://covingtonschool.org/covingtones/4770-Back-to-School-Purchases.html

Paper forms are also available in the school office.  Thank you from the Covington PTA.

PTA NEWS

OUTDOOR FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT - 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

**Deadline for ticket purchase is SEPT 20th (We will not be selling tickets day of event due to pre-order of food)

PTA After School Play: This year's school play will be Peter Pan Jr.; rehearsals starting January 3rd. Registration will begin in November. Stay tuned for details.

AMAZON SHOPPERS – Make 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.

Walkathon News!

Walkathon Fundraising! We are less than 30 days from the Walkathon! Remember that you can now sponsor online at

https://99pledges.com/fund/covingtonwalkathon. This is an easy way to include family and friends in our fundraising. Ms. Pomposa’s class in in the lead, but Ms. Anderson’s class is catching up! If you are using online donations, please still sign and return the sponsor form so that your child has permission to do the Walkathon. Sponsor forms need to be returned to the office no later than Friday, October 7th.

Great Sponsorships! We have had over 190 families sign up to sponsor the t-shirts! We have also had some wonderful local businesses step in to help sponsor the Walkathon, including: Hiep Nguyen @ Intero Real Estate, Los Altos Orthodontics, Terri Couture @ Coldwell Banker, California, Lemon Lawyer, Peninsula Center of Cosmetic Dentistry, Redwood Produce, Beth Tomkins @ Sereno Real Estate, Lee & Woo Orthodontics, and David Troyer @ Intero Real Estate. We are grateful for the wonderful support we have received from our community!

LAEF

Elementary and Junior High: Looking for a cheap date night? Join us on October 4-5.

It’s free! Join us for the Annual LAEF Phonathon on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 4-5 and we’ll treat you to a delicious spread, flowing wine and enjoyable banter with parents and teachers from your school and across LASD.  It’s all complimentary, AND we’ll thank parents, build community spirit and educate families about the essential enrichment programs LAEF funds. Sign up today at LAEFonline.org.

If you haven’t had a chance to give, donate or pledge today at LAEFonline.org and save us a call. Volunteers will be calling families who have not yet given to help us reach our goal of $3.7M. The best news is that all NEW gifts and any dollar you give OVER your contribution amount last year will be matched by LAEF’s Board of Directors and the Honor Roll of Realtors Leadership Circle, up to $100,000.  Thank you!

LASD & Community Announcements

Synopsys Silicon Valley Science & Technology Championship

Sponsored by Synopsys, the Championship is a regional science and engineering fair competition for students in Santa Clara County held on March 23, 2017.  LASD 6th, 7th and 8th graders are invited to enter!! Our students compete in the middle school (grades 6-8) division for awards and prizes in multiple areas of study.  LASD students have won prizes in prior years, and gained valuable experience with science, engineering and project management.  Winners of the Synopsys Championship compete in the California State Science Fair and may advance to the prestigious Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, which presents nearly $4 million in prizes and scholarships each year.  Students and parents are invited to attend the Synopsys Championship Information Session to learn more about this opportunity and how to enter: Sunday, October 16,3:30 - 4:00 pm,Covington Elementary Multipurpose Room 201 Covington Road, Los Altos. For more information, see the 2017 Synopsys Championship website at http://www.science-fair.org  Questions?  Contact LASD STEM Coordinator Karen Wilson at kwilson@lasdschools.org

Tech Challenge

Come to the informational meeting for all LASD 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and their parents interested in participating in The Tech Challenge, hosted by the Tech Museum.  You'll form a team to compete to solve a real-world problem in this annual design challenge.  This year's challenge is “Rock the Ravine:” Your team will design and build a device to help explorers cross an ice field with multiple ravines. Tech Challenge projects build skills in problem solving, time management, creativity, and teamwork, while working through the engineering design cycle as you build and test your design.  Most importantly--it's great fun!!! Students and parents are invited to attend the Tech Challenge Information Session to learn more about this opportunity and how to enter:

Sunday, October 16, 4:30 - 5:00 pm, Covington Elementary Multipurpose Room

201 Covington Road, Los Altos The event day will be April 29, 2016 for grades 4 to 6, and April 30 for grades 7 and 8.  For more information on the Tech Challenge, visit the website at http://thetechchallenge.thetech.org/ Questions?  Contact LASD STEM Coordinator Karen Wilson at kwilson@lasdschools.org

School & Community News now found via Peachjar: https://www.peachjar.com/index.php?a=28&b=138&region=54001

How to Submit an Article to the Covington Howler

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