Silent Safety Drill
On Monday, March 26th, staff and students will conduct a silent safety drill.   Unlike a fire or earthquake drill where we have students evacuate classrooms, a silent safety drill practices what we would do if we should not leave the classroom.  This brief, ten-minute drill will include discussions with students about procedures we would use in case of “stranger danger” being on or near campus.  Teachers will conduct those discussions using age appropriate concepts (obviously, the discussion is different for 6th graders than it would be for 1st graders)  It is unfortunate that we have to conduct such drills but a silent safety drill is part of our comprehensive school safety plan.

Volunteer Reminders
We love our volunteers!  What our volunteers provide to our students is invaluable.  Whether it’s helping out with math centers, guiding a Living Classroom lesson, or helping to stuff Friday folders, your help is a huge benefit.  

This time of year brings lots of volunteer opportunities so it’s a good idea to review some guidelines when working on campus:

1. Please check into the main office before coming to the classroom. The office needs to know who is on campus in case of an emergency.
2. It is important to work will all students, not just your own child. All the students love that you are there to help them and they all want a bit of your attention.
3. Be a good listener. Encourage students with positive words and comments.
4. It is not a volunteer’s job to discipline a student, however it is acceptable to stop unsafe or unkind behavior. If you are having difficulty with any students, please inform the teacher so  they can intervene and deal with the situation.
5. Don’t compare one student to another. Accept each child as he/she is.
6. Practicing patience and kindness.  Our students look up to what you model.
7. Accept each student and encourage the best from him or her.  There is a range of abilities each classroom and it is important to understand that each student will work at a different pace and may have different understandings.
8. When helping struggling students, try to refrain from telling them the correct answers. Instead, try to guide their thinking with questions or promptings.
9. Please respect confidentiality of our students by not sharing anything (factual or opinion) with anyone other than the teacher.
10. Have fun! Kids are so fun to work with and it is very impressive to see all they know and can do, especially as the year progresses.

Parking Lot Disruption on Tuesday and Wednesday next week
In order to finish the parking lot installation, the first two rows (closest to the office) of parking spots will be fenced off on Tuesday and Wednesday.   

Thanks for all your support!
 -Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

LAEF Survey
You should have received via email a link to the Los Altos Education Foundation survey.  The information gathered by the survey is important in the planning decisions for LAEF and the district as they begin planning for next school year.

LAEF’s contributions to the district fund amazing components of our students’ educational experience.  The library, STEM, music program for upper grade students and class size reduction are some of the aspects that our students at Covington enjoy thanks to your contributions.   Now we need your input! Please complete the survey by March 9th. If you did not receive the survey in your inbox, you may request one at survey@laefonline.org.   Thank you for time in answering the survey.

Good Stuff Ahead- below are some events I want to alert you to that are quickly approaching:

K-3rd grade music concert- March 23rd at 9:00am in the multi.  Parents are invited to watch our Kinders through 3rd graders show off their vocal talents.  This concert is the culminating event that showcases our Starting Arts program at Covington.  Thank you PTA for funding this important part of our primary students education!

Covington Auction- London Calling! March 24th at the Elk’s Lodge in Palo Alto.  This fun-filled night begins at 5:30pm. This adults-only event is a great social event, celebrating our community, and raising money to give our kids what they need.  I hope to see you there!

Stay dry out there!
-Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

Play!
Last week, I attended a 3 day educational  leadership summit around the ideas of Mindfulness, Positive Psychology and Emotional Intelligence (EQ).  The learning and “take aways” that I came away with would fill the entire Howler but there was one message that resonated with me in particular.

Stress, which is a concern for many of us, was a major topic.  Stress occurs in various forms and it reaches all of us. Stress is real.  As we move through life, we figure out ways to deal with stress. But an essential point is that stress without recovery is dangerous.   

So how do we recover from stress?  Play is a great way to recover- and I don’t just mean for kids.  When children and adults play, they express creativity and connect with their play partners.   Laughter is another way we recover. Given that we are about to enter our winter break, I think this message is timely.

Shout Outs!!
Kudos go out to our 3rd graders who are wrapping up their Famous Americans presentations this week.  

Teachers report to me that our 5th graders were absolutely giddy when newly ordered books arrived to supplement their Reader’s Workshop library.  Thank you to PTA for funding literacy at Covington!

Our parking lot is back open!  The Solar Panel project is complete and we are now back to normal.   Thank you to our whole community for their patience and flexibility during the construction.  

Covington Community Committee
While Covington’s community is a strong one, what are some ways we can make it stronger?  How do we create a community that is more inclusive and even more in alignment with The Coyote Way?  How do we help our new families assimilate into the community? What are ways we can get our families to feel more connected to Covington?

These will be some of the essential questions the Covington Community Committee (CCC) will explore.  We are looking for parents to serve on this committee. The group will meet monthly to do this critical work.   If you are interested in serving on the CCC, please email me directly at wspenader@lasdschools.org

Have a restful and mindful break!
-Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

Help Wanted: Make Covington a STRONGER Community!

One of the critical aspects to a strong school is a strong school community.  We are very fortunate to have an already strong Covington community due to our great staff, wonderful students, supportive parents, and active PTA.  But, are there ways to make a community even stronger and more inclusive?

That question will be the guiding point to a new committee I’d like to form at Covington.  I am looking for parents who are willing to serve on a committee that explores ways to further strengthen our community.  We will delve in to questions like: How do we make our new families feel more welcomed and connected to Covington?  How can we support our staff and families beyond the classroom?  What are the best ways to communicate the great stuff that is happening on a daily basis at Covington?  What are the areas of our community that need bolstering in order to make ALL of our community members feel more of an attachment to Covington school.  

I’m looking for parents who are not necessarily on campus all the time.  The committee will meet monthly to do this critical work, with the idea of making recommendations to put into action.   If this sounds like something you’d like to be involved in, please email me directly at wspenader@lasdschools.org to express your interest in serving on Covington’s Community Committee.

-Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

We’re Close…
Latest word on the solar panel project in our parking lot is that it is highly likely that the fencing will be removed by the end of next week! I commend the Covington community and staff for their extreme patience during this project. We are just a few days away from re-opening our parking lot fully.

(Some of you may have discovered that the drop off at Rosita Park is easier for your family. If this is the case, you may still continue to use Rosita Park as a drop off and pick up location.)

Kudos!!
Congratulations to Devin A. of the 6th grade class who was crowned Covington’s National Geographic Geography Bee school winner! We await Devin’s test results to see if he qualified for the state level Bee in April.

Please sign in!!
Persons entering onto campus (as opposed to dropping off something in the office or dropping off a lunch in the multi) MUST sign in at the office. I know this is a bit of an inconvenience because it requires a quick trip to the office to sign in and get a visitor’s tag. However, it’s important that we know who is on campus at all times. This is a safety issue that we all need to help remedy.

A good rule of thumb is that if you are needing to visit campus beyond the front office, it’s best to come in to the office and sign in. Please don’t be offended if staff asks you to go back and sign in if we don’t see your visitor’s pass.

-Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

Parents & Community Members,

We will begin to use the SchoolMessenger system to deliver text messages, straight to your mobile phone with important information about events, school closings, safety alerts and more.  You must opt in to receive these messages.

This week Gardner Bullis experienced a water main break that necessitated students to be sent home for the day because there was no running water to support basic needs.  The school was able to notify parents of this situation in an efficient way because so many families having subscribed to text messaging school announcement.  Please consider opting in so that in the event of an emergency at Covington, we can notify you of the situation quickly.

You can participate in this free service just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587.
You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.
SchoolMessenger is compliant with the Student Privacy PledgeTM, so you can rest assured that your information is safe and will never be given or sold to anyone.

-Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

Meeting student needs

Last Monday night, four Covington teachers (Mrs. Sitler, Mrs. Goines, Mrs. Mase, and Ms. Tkalcevic) presented to the LASD School Board information about the recent implementation of how we are giving students the extra support they need.  The teachers described the process of planning (much of it done during our Thursday Early Release collaboration time) and using selected periods throughout the week in which each grade level is giving extra, targeted support to our students. 

While good first instruction should provide every student with the learning they need, we know that some students require extra practice.  We also know that some students need the time to go further in their learning they’ve already grasped.   For example, in teaching students the structure of writing a paragraph, we know that some students will need to review the concept again and need additional practice.  For students who already have the structure down, we can work with them in adding details to their supporting sentences.   The key to this is to provide the time- which our grade levels have already carved out in their master schedules.  This is sacred time, separate from instructional time in English/Language Arts, mathematics, writing, and the specials that students experience throughout the week.  

To further the work, it’s important that our grade level teams have time to articulate with each other.   For example, what do first grade teachers feel are the most essential skills in reading that incoming first graders should come in with?  By giving teachers time to discuss (again, here’s where Thursday afternoons come in handy), we can better align our learning continuum Kindergarten through 6th grade.  

As a staff, we have been utilizing the collaboration time on Thursday afternoons with great effectiveness.  In a very real sense, Thursday afternoons have become our sacred time to help us meet all the needs of ALL of our students.

-Wade Spenader, Covington Principal

Happy New Year Reminders

The turning of a new calendar year is an opportune time for some reminders.  And, please see further below for some excellent opportunities around Mindfulness education.

The Flu.  As you may have heard via the local news, this year’s flu season is a BAD one. At school, we do our best to prevent illness by having students wash their hands frequently.  Once a student gets the flu, it is imperative that the child stay home and not return to school until they are symptom free for 24 hours.  Please  see the notification from our district nurses in the Howler - with a list of symptoms that really require the student to stay home.

Visitors on Campus.  All visitors/volunteers on campus must first stop in the office to sign in and get a Visitor/Volunteer Badge.  This includes dropping lunches off.  Lunches should be dropped in the the multi, not delivered to classrooms and/or the lunch tables.

Signing Students Out: If you are taking your child to an appointment in the middle of the day, or picking up a sick child, you must follow these procedures:

1. Stop in the office and sign your child out.
2. The office staff will call the classroom to have your child sent to the office, or the office will give your other instructions if necessary.
3. When your child returns to school, stop in the office and sign him/her back in.

Parents should not go directly to the classrooms to remove students to avoid instructional disruptions. For student safety it is essential that the office monitor all students leaving and returning to campus, as well as, any adult visitors entering the campus.

Dismissal Time Protocols: As is the policy, parents/caregivers should not wait for students before dismissal in front of the classrooms. We ask parents/caregivers to wait for their students near the flagpole, at the front of the school or along the walkway facing the blacktop.  Kinder families are the exception to this.

Fondly,  
Wade Spenader, Principal

New Year and New Faces

First off, let me wish you the happiest of New Years. It has been great to see the kids this week. They came in a bit groggy on Tuesday but still filled with enthusiasm and wonder. We’re off to a great start.

I also want to introduce you to Ms. Claire Griffin, Covington’s new School Psychologist. Dr. Ciriani, who began the year as our psychologist, needed to resign her position to attend to family matters in Southern California. We are pleased to have Ms. Griffin join us, who was previously at Oak School. I could rave about her but I’ll let Ms. Griffin’s blurb below do the talking:

I’m thrilled to be joining the Covington Community as your School Psychologist. I have heard wonderful things about Covington School so I’m excited to have the opportunity to join the team. I come from only 2.7 miles away where I’ve spent the past two and a half years as the Oak School Psychologist. Prior to working in Los Altos, I spent time in Palo Alto Unified and Beverly Hills Unified. I am passionate about working with parents, teachers and staff members to best support the needs of all students. I enjoy counseling and have a particular interest in the social/emotional well being of students. On a personal level, I enjoy weekend trips to Tahoe, the San Francisco Giants, and spending time at the beach.

The Covington staff is equally thrilled to have Ms. Griffin join our team. And, her interest in supporting the emotional well being of our students is a perfect fit for our mission here at Covington.

Finally, please join me in welcoming 14 new students and their families, who joined us beginning this week. We are excited to add to our great community of learners.

Fondly,
Wade Spenader, Principal

Happy Holidays,

The sense of excitement and fun is palpable on campus as we head into the last day before our two week winter break. As the calendar year comes to a close, I look back with pride at the great work everyone- students, staff, and parents- have accomplished since our start date way back in August.

From an awesome solar eclipse viewing, a successful (yet postponed) Walk-a-thon, the implementation of Reader’s Workshop in our classrooms, music concerts, and the enormous generosity of our community to help out families in both the North Bay and in Texas, Covington has done some great work that we all can be proud of!

We have a lot to feel good about so far! I want to thank our amazing staff for their hard work and dedication. We are very grateful for the generosity of our PTA and LAEF- for without them, we cannot offer the exceptional education we give our students. Lastly, a huge thank you to our parent community for their patience during our solar panel construction project is also an order. Unfortunately, I am going to ask for your continued patience as the fencing around our parking lot will not be down when we return on Jan. 2nd. Rest assured, the project will be done soon.

Wishing you a restful and relaxing break.

Wade Spenader, Principal