Covington Middle School

Covington Connection

Newsletter for the week of April 21st - April 25th, 2025

Maddox's Message

Mr. Maddox

Dear Covington Families,

I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable holiday weekend with your loved ones. As we return to campus this week, we are entering the final stretch of STAAR testing for the 2024–2025 school year.

This Thursday, April 24th, our students will take the Math and Algebra I STAAR assessments. We are incredibly proud of the effort our students and teachers have put into preparing, and we know they are ready to finish strong!

As we approach this final round of testing, here are a few ways you can support your child this week:

  • Ensure they get a good night’s sleep before testing

  • Provide a healthy breakfast to help them stay focused

  • Make sure they arrive to school on time with a fully charged Chromebook

  • Offer words of encouragement—confidence is key!

Here is a reminder of the remaining STAAR testing schedule and a glance at the student schedule for the week:

April 24 – STAAR Math & Algebra
April 25, 28–29 – STAAR Math & Algebra Make-Up Days

Remember, there are always ways to get involved. Click the links below to volunteer.

Front Office Support

Afternoon Pick Up Monitor

Drop Off Monitor

Lunch Room Monitor

Friday Lunch Room Monitor

Your proud principal,

Cedric Maddox

april 21st staar

Important Upcoming Dates!

  • Apr. 21st - 25th - Administrative Professionals Appreciation Week! (Front Office)

  • Apr. 21st - 25th - Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week! (Ms. Katie ACE)

  • Apr. 21st - 25th -School Volunteer Appreciation Week!

  • Apr. 22nd - Spirit Night for Colt Theatre @ P. Terry's on William Cannon From 4-10 pm

  • Apr. 21st - SOCIAL STUDIES STAAR Makeups

  • Apr. 22nd - SCIENCE STAAR Testing Makeups

  • Apr. 22nd - Mendez vs Covington vs Martin @ Mendez - 6 pm

  • Apr. 22nd - 24th - PTA Spirit Nights @ Satellite Restaurant on Slaughter Ln. See Flyer!

  • Apr. 24th - MATH STAAR Testing

  • Apr. 24th - Track and Field @ Burnet MS - 6 pm & 7:30 pm - Update!

  • Apr. 24th & 25th:"The Elements" - Covington's Dance Showcase @ 7pm

  • Apr. 25th - Colt Connection: Caretaker Circle from 2:30 - 3:30 pm - Door Prizes!

  • Apr. 25th - MATH / ALGEBRA STARR Test Makeups

Free physicals will be Wednesday, May 14 at the same location as the past couple of years, Community Care Health & Wellness Center 2901 Montopolis Dr.  If you are planning on going to the free physicals you need to turn in the completed pink physical form and the ACCESS sheet to Coach McPherson by May 2nd.  Transportation will be provided to the clinic, but parents will need to pick up their student at the clinic.  We will meet after school May 14.  The bus should be here by 4:45 and the physicals begin around 5:30.  If you are planning to go to your own doctor, you can do that starting now and return the completed form to Coach Mac.  He will turn it in to the appropriate people whether the student will be at Covington next year or moving on to high school.  $10 physicals are available at Next Level Urgent Care, but you must make an appointment.

   Contact Coach McPherson with any questions.

CC
CC Esp

Come out to support our wonderful PTA!

On Thursday 4/24, some of our Covington Strings students will perform at Satellite Restaurant as openers for the musical guest of the evening @ 5 pm.

We hope to see you there!

PTA Satellite Restaurant

Students and Staff of the Month for March 2025!

SOTM 6th -march

6th Grade: Pearl Johnson: Pearl always tries her best in all of her classes. She has a positive attitude and loves learning. She is friendly and helpful towards her peers and teachers.

SOTM 7th March

7th Grade: Sayri Vargas: She is so sigma and kool and very nice :D

SOTM 8th -March

8th Grade: Scarlett Guevara: No matter what, Scarlett is always doing the right thing: focused on her work, following expectations, and helping out her classmates when they need it.

SOTM March - Carter

Staff of the Month:

Mrs. Carter: She goes above and beyond, offering tutoring multiple days a week, collaborating with staff, and dedicating extra time to support students in their other classes. Her patience, kindness, and commitment make her an exceptional candidate for Teacher of the Month.

T A H Eng
T A H Esp

Tutoring Schedule for Students:

Click Here for Tutoring Schedule

https://covington.austinschools.org/sites/covington.austinschools.org/files/inline-files/Covington-MS-Tutoring_2024-25.pdf

Attention families! ACE is currently NOT accepting anymore students for this 24-25 school year. Thank you - Ms. Katie

¡Atención familias! Actualmente ACE NO está aceptando más estudiantes para este año escolar 24-25. Gracias - Sra. Katie

The Elements

🌟 Experience the Magic of Dance! 🌟

Get ready to be swept away as our Covington MS dancers bring the elements to life through movement, lights, and music! 💧🌎💨🔥

✨ "Empower" – A Dance Showcase Like No Other! ✨

📅 Show Dates: Thursday, April 24th & Friday, April 25th
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Covington MS Theater

🎟 Tickets:
🔹 Early Bird (April 8 - 23): $5 students | $10 adults
🔹 At the Door: $7 students | $12 adults
🎭 Reserve your seats NOW! 👉 cmsdance.ludus.com

💐 Extras!
Make the night even more special with pre-bundled flowers, T-shirts, and snacks—available for purchase!

Don’t miss this electrifying evening of dance, storytelling, and passion. See you there! 🎶✨

Important Emails:

Principal: Cedric Maddox

cedric.maddox@austinisd.org

Assistant Principal: Rachel Gregory & Jason Summerville

rachel.gregory@austinisd.org

jason.summerville@austinisd.org

Counselors: Debra Austrum & Rabecca Mc Donald

debra.austrum@austinisd.org

rabecca.mcdonald@austinisd.org

Parent Support Specialist: Esther Garcia

esther.garcia@austinisd.org

FORWARD

Click HERE to learn about our F.O.R.W.A.R.D. - Restorative Practices here at Covington

Haga clic AQUÍ para aprender sobre nuestro F.O.R.W.A.R.D. - Prácticas Restaurativas Aquí en Covington

PTerry's Spirit Night Theatre

Students! Nominate a student of the month and staff member of the month!

Student of the Month

Click Here to Vote for Student of the Month!

staff of the Month

Click Here to Vote for Staff of the Month!

We will post the results here on the newsletter!

Thank you for participating.

Attendance Matters

R.E.A.L

  • Routines: Daily attendance routines can reduce stress, increase your child’s self-confidence and lay a foundation for good attendance in later grades. 

  • Engagement:  Participation in school helps your child connect with other children and adults and get excited about learning. 

  • Access to Resources:  Schools can give you access to meals, physical and mental health care and other supports, and fun enrichment activities (sports, clubs, music, afterschool and summer programs, etc.). 

  • Learning:  Children learn best from hand-on activities and through meaningful interactions with their teacher and other students.   

Chromebook Info

Hello Covington Colts! We have outlined campus consequences for student devices / Chromebooks. Here is a one-page document that describes the process of device replacement for parents.

Please email jenigh.burrus@austinisd.org if you have any questions.

Covington Políticas de dispositivos

Covington Middle School Device Policies

CTL
S Y T Y C D
CMS Logo

Covington Counselors Corner for the

Week of April 21st, 2025

Autism Awareness

Autism Acceptance Month

Opt-Out Deadline for High School Credit Courses - April 25th

The deadline for middle school students to drop any NON EOC courses is April 25, 2025. (The opt-out deadline for Algebra I, an EOC course, was in January 2025.) This process is meant to give students who are not doing well in high school credit courses the opportunity to drop the course without negative implications on their GPA. The process at this point includes courses such as LOTE (Languages Other Than English - Spanish 1 and 2) and CTE (Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century, Keyboarding, Health, Principles of Architecture, and Principles of Engineering). 

OPT OUT Forms (please see page 2 and 3)

Autism Acceptance Month

April is International and National Autism Acceptance Month. Autism refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and communication. Campuses can review the Autism Acceptance Guide English, Autism Acceptance Guide_Spanish to support inclusive practices and celebration of persons with neurodiversity. For more information on training or resources for staff, please visit https://www.txautism.net/target. 

In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, families, community members, and staff are invited to attend a three-part, virtual learning series focused on Autism hosted by VELA. Please announce and share opportunities Autism Learning Series (Eng), Autism Learning Series (Spn) with your families and staff. Also, if your campus has a parent support specialist, please consider hosting an in-person viewing/participation session.  

April 21, 2025 (English)

April 23, 2025 (Spanish)

12:00-1:30pm

School Supports: Goals, Services and Resources Apoyos en la Escuela: Metas, Servicios y Recursos

RSVP Link

AISD Summer Opportunities

AVID Summer Bridge - Incoming 7th Grade Students

AISD AVID Summer Bridge is designed as an opportunity for students who are enrolled in AISD during the Spring 2025 semester to deepen their mathematics skills in preparation to take 7th Grade Accelerated Math in the 2025-2026 school year. (For students currently enrolled in Math 6 or Accelerated Math 6.) Please contact Hunter Willey for more information.

AISD Summer School - Eligible Emergent Bilingual Students

One-on-One Mini Meetings and Academic Advising

Counselors are working diligently to meet with each individual student this semester during one-on-one Mini Meetings to discuss grades, attendance, course selections for the 2025-26 school year, and how things are going at school and at home. These meetings are designed to create a relationship with the student and his/her counselor, as well as to see if there are any needs/supports counselors can provide or help facilitate to help students be more successful in their school and home lives.

Opt-Out Deadline for High School Credit Courses - April 25th

The deadline for middle school students to drop any NON EOC courses is April 25, 2025. (The opt-out deadline for Algebra I, an EOC course, was in January, 2025.) This process is meant to give students who are not doing well in high school credit courses the opportunity to drop the course without negative implications on their GPA. The process at this point includes courses such as LOTE and CTE. 

OPT OUT Forms (please see page 2 and 3)


Important Dates

April 22 - Earth Day

April 25 - Opt-Out Deadline for LOTE and CTE courses (Spanish 1 and 2, 

Principles of Architecture, Principles of Applied Engineering, Keyboarding, Health)

Mrs. Debra Austrum

7th Grade & 7th Grade A-L

debra.austrum@austinisd.org

Ms. Rabecca McDonald

7th Grade M-Z & 8th

rabecca.mcdonald@austinisd.org

Avid Summer Bridge Camp
AVID Summer Camp - Esp
ps
Esther

Find resources you may need:

Your Parent Support Specialist can help find assistance when needed. Learn new things about school and how to help your child succeed. Look for parent workshops throughout the year!

Esther Garcia, Parent Support Specialist 512-414-3276 ext:54748

esther.garcia@austinisd.org

Submit your request here: https://forms.gle/H3WXDRyYz7rCckYw5

Heart Hands

Become leaders in our school!

Your input and participation in the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA)

joinpta.org and other school committees such as Campus Advisory Council (CAC)

We Need You

Become a Parent Volunteer!

Volunteers are welcomed and needed! We could use parent volunteers in our West office, Mon-Tues-Thurs-Friday's.

Everyone who volunteers will need to attend a volunteer orientation:

https://austinisd.voly.org/

Click the link below to find great resources for Special Education and 504!

Special Education & 504 Information for Parents

bat city summer camp

Want to take part in FREE CLASSES? Open to Parents and Staff through Integral Care. See Flyer below for more information.

Parent Interest Form - English

Parent Interest Form - Spanish

Staff Interest Form

YMHFA

"Hello Covington Families, 

 My name is Fatima Lozano and I am a Program Coordinator for Con Mi MADRE. Con Mi MADRE is a non-profit organization serving both AISD and DVISD campuses where we work to deliver a social-emotional learning and college readiness curriculum to female identifying and nonbinary students from 6th grade through their undergraduate college years. We implement a dual-generational program that includes the parents; meaning out-of-school events like college trips, conferences, and fairs. We currently have open enrollment for our cohorts at Covington Middle School for our 6th-8th grade students. We have attached our link for our application. 

Please feel free to contact me at fatima@conmimadre.org

or (512) 222-6645

CMM Eng
CMM Esp
Help Starts Here - Eng
Help Starts Here - Esp
pta
pta
covington

Covington Middle School

#Colts Strong!

3700 Convict Hill Road, Austin, TX 78749

512-414-3276

https://covington.austinschools.org/