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Covington Howler - 22 Sep 2015
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September 22, 2015
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Covington Howler|
In This Issue:
Quick Dates for your Calendar: |
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Message from the Principals |
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Dear Covington Families, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” -John F. Kennedy Here in the Los Altos School District, we are in the midst of change. As we move from our traditional grading model to a standards based grading model, we are faced with many challenges: new tools, new strategies, and a new language. Most of us are familiar with grades having gone through the educational system and experienced them for ourselves. We know how that system works, what’s expected, and how to communicate in that language. It’s comfortable. This new system that we’re striving for is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. We must all learn a new language to work within it. This will take some time and some hard work, however we are not alone. It’s great to learn from others who are making this change as well. Josh Work writes about making the change at his school in Three Peaks and Three Pits of Standards Based Grading. The three peaks that he shares, growth mindset, quality curriculum and assessments, and clear communication are all vitally important and support much of our own reasoning for making this change. The three pitfalls he mentions, teacher responsibility, time, and reinventing the wheel, are also three struggles that we face as we move forward. What we truly believe, is that this is good for students. John C. Maxwell says, “As we manage change, growth is optional.” As we progress, it is necessary for us to take the time to have those critical conversations to not always move us where we thought we were going, but forward. We can not remain in the past or present because that is what we know, but we must push forward into the future because that is what we need. More importantly, that is what our students need. Best Regards, Erin Green & Kami Thordarson Safety Reminders:
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School Site Council It is that time of year again when our leadership team is looking for two to three interested parents for our School Site Council. We will begin meeting on Oct. 8th. There are 5-7 meetings throughout the year which usually occur on the first Thursday afternoon of each month from 3:00-4:00 pm. Dates scheduled for 2015-2016: Oct. 8, Nov. 5, Feb. 4, March 3, April 21, and May 5
If you are interested in joining our team, take a look at the document below. Covington School Site Council. To express interest in the Covington School Site Council, please email Covingtonprincipal@ |
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Walk-A-Thon |
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Order Your Child's Walkathon T-Shirt! Please make sure you order your child's Walkathon t-shirt this week. Every child at Covington will get a free Walkathon t-shirt, even if he or she can't attend the event. An email went out this week with a link to an on-line order form for the t-shirt. If you did not get this email, please contact David Trescot (dtrescot@gmail.com). T-shirt orders need to be in this week! Thank You Family Sponsors! We have had 190 Covington families sponsor the t-shirt this year. That is fantastic participation and is greatly appreciated. The family sponsorship is what allows us to give our students a free shirt and adds to our overall fundraising goals. Sponsor Cards Due On October 2nd. Your child's Walkathon sponsor forms are due back on Friday, October 2nd. Please make sure you have signed the parental consent portion on the form. Children can only participate in the Walkathon with parental consent! If you lose a sponsor form, there are extras in the Walkathon box in the school office. We Need Volunteers. The success of the Walkathon depends upon over 100 volunteers helping out during the day of the event. Please consider donating two hours of your time during the day to assist us. Contact Dolly Eckinger (dollyeckinger@gmail.com) to volunteer! |
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Back-To-School Order Form |
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NOTES FROM THE PTA PRESIDENT: Welcome back to school!!! I hope your children are settling in well in their new classrooms and have reconnected with old friends and made new ones. I know I am happy to have my children back in school and was ready to put them in the hands of the wonderful teaching staff!
Now that you are settled in, please don't forget about your Back to School Purchases. Go to our Covington Website for instructions: http://www.covingtonschool. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me. Jessica Speiser |
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Visiting Author Program |
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Covington's Visiting Author Program Presents Ian Lender - September 30. On 9/30, our 2nd through 5th graders will meet Ian Lender! Mr. Lender has just released his second book in his series of graphic novel interpretations of Shakespeare called "The Stratford Zoo Midnight Review Presents Romeo and Juliet". Mr. Lender's first book in the series adapted Macbeth. Both of these charming books do a wonderful job of staying true to the original story but adapting them in a way that teaches great lessons to it's young readers. Here's the blurb for his new book: The Stratford Zoo looks like a normal zoo . . . until the gates shut at night. That's when the animals come out of their cages to stage elaborate performances of Shakespeare's greatest works. They might not be the most accomplished thespians, but they've got what counts: heart. Also fangs, feathers, scales, and tails. If you're interested in purchasing a signed copy of either or both books for your child, please complete the form sent home in your child's Thu or Fri folder (or pick up a new form in the office in the cubby labeled author visit) and return the form and your check made out to Kepler's Books, to the office by Monday, September 23. Questions? Contact Lara Sullivan at lara.sullivan06@gmail.com |
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LAEF FOCUS |
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LASD STEM Teacher is KBAY’s Teacher of the Month Congratulations to Grace Choi, Loyola’s STEM teacher, who was named KBAY teacher of the month. She received a Wells Fargo Teacher Innovation Classroom Grant from the Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) to purchase LEGO Simple Machine kits for her elementary students. Your LAEF donation helps fund LASD’s STEM Coach and our STEM teachers across the district, who bring invaluable science, technology, engineering and math education to our schools. Did you miss our LAEF FOCUS at Back to School? The LAEF FOCUS brochure gives you an overview of the LAEF-funded staff and programs your child benefits from in their classroom. If you missed grabbing a copy during back to school, please click here or go to LAEFonline.org to check it out. And special thanks to Prodigy Press for helping to underwrite our marketing materials this year! Learn More about LAEF & Make Your Tax-Deductible Donation Today at www.LAEFonline.org
Elementary LAEF Focus Link (embedded above): http://laefonline.net/files/ |
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PTA NEWS |
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Dine out for Covington tonight!: Y'all ready for our first dinner fundraiser of the school year? Come join other Covington families for dinner or get take out at Armadillo Willy's on Tuesday, September 22 from 5-9 PM. Find the flyer here: www.covingtonschool.org Up to 20% of all proceeds will be donated to our school. Armadillo Willy's is located at 1031 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos. (650) 941-2922. Please contact manjitabhaumik@yahoo.com with questions. Family Movie Night: Don't forget, Covington Family Movie Night is THIS Thursday, September 24th at 6:30pm. Join your fellow Coyotes for pizza, popcorn and the animated hit, Home. If you'd still like to go but have not paid, please email Yasmin.Braun@gmail.com by Tuesday night with the number of family members attending. Checks will be collected the night of the movie. Don't miss the great family event! |
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HOMEWORK CLUB |
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We are pleased to be opening Homework Club on October 5th of this year! Homework Club is designed for students who need support after school to do their homework. If your student does not have enough work to fill an hour each day, it may not be the appropriate setting. Homework Club is held every Monday, Tuesday & Thursday (except minimum days).
You must have a signed permission slip to begin attending Homework Club. One permission slip will allow your child to enter the sessions all year long. Please stop by the Covington Office for a permission slip. Space is limited.
Please be aware of the following student expectations while attending Covington School Homework Club.
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LASD & Community Announcements |
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Los Altos School District is looking for volunteer interpreters to assist us during parent/teacher conferences, student meetings and district events. We are seeking assistance with all languages and it is very helpful if you are able to translate at a different school. Please contact Ann Haigh at 650-947-1180 or at ahaigh@lasdschools.org or complete this form if you are interested.
School & Community News now found via Peachjar: https://www.peachjar.com/ |
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How to Submit an Article to the Covington Howler |
| 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. |
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