Newsletter Fall 2009

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FALL NEWSLETTER
COVINGTON
PTA
Welcome to Covington PTA. It’s going to be a great year!
M a r k Yo u r C a l e n d a r s
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Upcom
Fall Band Concert
October 22
7:00 pm in the Fine Arts Theatre
Homecoming Dance
GARDENS
U C AT I O N A L
FALL & WINTER ED
iative
t y  I n i t
Sustainabili
Ms. Nixon kicked off our school beautification
efforts this year with Covington’s
Fall & Winter Educational Gardens!
C
6:30 to 9:00 pm at Covington
Tickets to the dance are on sale in the
cafeteria during lunchtime. Mums are
also on sale for $8 to $15 until the 16th.
Homecoming Game
October 26
5:30 pm at Burger Stadium
Covington vs. Small
Ex citin g N ews !
ovington
science teacher, Nancy
Poage-Nixon,
invites parents and students to
make an impact on our school and
community by participating in an
interactive educational gardens
that will be a source of sustainable
food! This month parents and
students constructed and filled
eight 4x8 garden beds with great
soil from Natural Gardener and are
planting a lovely array of fall
veggies and herbs for the upcoming
holiday meals.
October 23
To find out more about this
teacher-student-driven
sustainability initiative and how
you can contribute to Covington's
Fall & Winter Educational Gardens
please contact Nancy Poage-Nixon
at npoageni@austinisd.org.
The Covington PTA will be writing
a grant proposal for other school
beautification projects. It’s very
competitive, so if anyone has
experience writing grants, please
email Nancy Poage-Nixon at
npoageni@austinisd.org.
Book Fair
October 26 - 30
Monday & Tuesday 8:00 - 4:00
Wednesday & Thursday 8:00 - 5:00
Friday 8:00 - 12:00 noon
The Book Fair offers quality books for
our young readers at affordable prices.
Shadowing Day
October 28 - 6th grade parents
October 29 - 7th grade parents
See the following page for more info.
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Ex ci tin g N e ws ! ( c o n t i n u e d )
Shadowing Day
You’re invited to Covington’s third
annual parent’s Shadowing Day.
Come celebrate the Month of the
Young Adolescent by spending the
day with your child at school.
Parents of 6th graders can attend
the day, half a day, a class, or lunch
on Wednesday, October the 28th.
Parents of 7th and 8th graders can
attend on Thursday, October the
29th.
Sorry, siblings will not be able to
attend so that instruction is not
interrupted.
"This is a fun and VERY
informative way to experience your
child’s world for a day. I attended
last year and it opened my eyes in
so many ways. School has surely
changed since I was in middle
school. Be prepared to actively
participate in all your child’s classes.
Yes, the teacher will call on you, but
you can proudly say, “I’m not
smarter than a 6th, 7th or
8th grader.” In my case, I made it
through. But I did see a few parents
leave early! I was excited to see our
middle school children learning
things that we were only exposed to
in the later years of high school. It’s
worth the time to go a full or half
day to attend this rewarding day on
campus with your child!"
~Charmaine Watson
Un Sabado Gigante in
Engineering
The University of Texas invites all
Covington students to the Sabado
Gigante Engineering Fair.
Hands-on workshops,
transportation, and lunch are
provided to all Covington students
who would like to attend! The event
will be Saturday, November 14 from
9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
continued from page 1
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Upcom
Orchestra Hauntcert
October 29
7:00 in the Fine Arts Theatre
Enjoy the haunting sights and sounds as
the Covington Orchestra plays in
costume.
Recognition Ceremony
& Choir Performance
November 3
Students who made the Honor Roll the
first 6-weeks will be recognized after a
brief PTA update and special Covington
Choir Performance.
Un Sabado Gigante
November 14
9:00 to 3:00 pm University of Texas
See the article on this page and the
Covington website for more info.
In Au g u s t t h e P TA w e l c o m e d Covington Faculty & Sta ff
b a c k fr om s u m me r b r e ak
Checkout the New and Improved
Covington Website!
T
hanks to Covington teacher,
Mr. Arizola, the Covington
website gives parents easy
access to GradeSpeed Parent
Connection, tutoring times, bus stop
information, bell schedules, map,
Principal’s Corner, calendar of events,
myLunchMoney.com, and other
valuable parent resources!
GradeSpeed Parent Connection
Would you like to know what your
child’s grades are in every subject right
now? Would you like to be notified
immediately if your child’s grades fall
within a certain range? Would you like
to know how many tardies and
absences your child has and if they are
excused or unexcused? Would you like
to know assignment due dates?
You can do all of these using
GradeSpeed Parent Connection. The
PTA will be sponsoring a workshop to
parents teach parents how to sign up
and use this valuable tool.
MyLunchMoney.com
Click on “Lunch” to connect to
myLunchMoney.com where you can
prepay your child’s lunch online.
myLunchMoney.com allows parents to
view what food their child buys for
lunch.
Many improvements were made to our school’s website thanks to Covington
teacher, Mr. Arizola!
Kleenex Drive
Cold, allergy, and Flu seasons are here!
Parents and students can help by
donating Kleenex, hand sanitizers,
Clorox wipes, and Band-aids at the
upcoming Recognition Ceremony OR
drop them off in the West Office.
Donate Your Halloween Costumes
and Props to the Theatre
Department!
The Theatre Department is in need of
costumes and props. Cleaning out your
closets? Drop costumes and props off
in the West Office labeled, “Mr. Sharp
Theatre Department.”
PTA Membership Form
It’s not too late to sign up! Fill out this form and turn it in with $8.00 to the West Office, attention: Covington PTA. Thanks!
Member Name(s) __________________________________________________________________________________________
Address (City, State, Zip Code) ______________________________________________________________________________
Phone ____________________________
Email _____________________________________________________________
Student’s Name and Grade _________________________________________________________________________________
Check all that apply
_______ Parent
_______ Faculty/Staff
_______ Community Member
_______ I would like to be contacted about volunteering or donating items.
_______ Business
I t Ta k es a
Vil la g e
Thank you for volunteering
your time, energy, and helping
hands at Covington!
2009-2010
ers
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PTA M
Parent Volunteers
Charmaine Watson
Barbara Gotlieb
Felecha Reece
Lynn Styles
Michael Bejarano
Tammy Henderson
Kim Menzel
Isela Diharce
Moses & Kimberly Alcala
Beckey Arredondo
Elaine Diaz
Suzanna Kaatz
Dottie Callahan
Autumn Elias
David Telso
Teachers & Staff Volunteers
Jose Arizola
Cathy Humphrey
Shirley Hartmann
Candace Hughs
Amy Ishee
Don Iverson
Dawn Piper
Nancy Poage-Nixon
Connie Ramirez
Brent Scott
Community Volunteers
Carla Trautwein
Wendy Taylor
Gabby Watson
Jenna Gotlieb
Presly Bejarano
Leslie & St. Edward’s University
Local Business Donors
A Frame of Mind
EPI and Tammy Srubar
HEB at W.Cannon & Brodie
Home Depot
KC Donuts
Natural Gardener
Lowes
Randall’s on Brodie Ln
Salon Presly
Starbuck’s on Westgate
Sustainable Food Center
Taco Cabana on Mopac
Texenza
University of Texas at Austin
Thank you for becoming a Covington
PTA Member! By becoming a member,
you are providing valuable support
and materials to the children, parents,
and staff of Covington!
Parent
Members
Juan & Margie Aguilar
Alexandra Almodovar & Jonathan Mudge
Rebecca Arredondo
Anita Austin
Nancy Bassett
Michael Bejarano & Marg Smallwood
Renee Berig
Becky & Marc Briley
Elisco & Debbie Campos
Michelle Christiane
Carrie Cumming
Laurie DeLong
Ronanne Draker
Shelia Faulk
Merissa Garcia
Rick & Angela Garza
Darcy Gomez
Kenny & Tammy Henderson
Jeff & Laurie Hunter
Mary Jaurez
David & Fredrika Jesus
Pataricie Jones
Sommer Kaglor
Tessa Katula
Amanda Kuhl
Edwin Laoreno
Benigna Lozano
Laura Lumsden
Liz Lewis
Student Volunteers
Seth Bejarano
Aliesha Blakely
Bradie Ann Gottlieb
Caliste McPherson
Covington Band Students
Covington Garden Club Members
Samantha Hunter
Han Le
Tempra Reece
Fred & Sherri Maag
Celina Muniz
Shannon Murphy
Sarah Niarkos
Susan Nordstrom
David & Cindy Nottingham
Cathy Perrin
Yvonne Placke
Lupe Rocha
Gary & Felecha Reece
Sara Regalado
Norma Rivera
Donis Rhoden & Sally Baulch
Rhonda Sageser
Gary & Paula Saunders
Brett Schwab
Stephen Shackelford
Kevin & Donna Smith
Erin Snyder
Phil & Margaret Stark
David & Rebecca Stidolph
Wendy Stucker
Brandy Terrell
Bobby & Olive Torres
Kari Titus
Carla Trautwein
Servanda Varela
Jesus Vasquez
Richard Vigil
Cindy Walker
Katy Woodbury
Donise Wright
Brian & Charmaine Watson
Faculty & Staff
Members
Virginia Andrus
Annessa Baird
Mary Campbell
Shirley & Edward Collins
Cathy Franke
Isa Gould
Rita Hanson
Shirley Hartmann
LaMar Hudson
Candace Hughs
Cathy Humphrey
Dawn Piper
Nancy Poage-Nixon
Connie Ramirez
Cynthia Rodriquez
Maria Shaw
Zaidee Tucker
Shannan Vaughn
Carol Wallace
Kathy Wittig