Covington Howler- Special Edition

Posted Date: 07/31/26 (02:11 PM)

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The Howler

Special Edition- Welcome Back!

Principal's Message

Dear Covington Community,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! The Covington front office is excitedly gearing up for the 2026-27 school year.

I am looking forward to meeting you and your families. As I mentioned in my introduction email last spring, I began my career here at Covington in 2012 as a classroom teacher. Since then, I have had the privilege of serving students across our district through summer programs, as an Online Owl, and at Springer Elementary. Most recently, I served as the principal at Gardner Bullis Elementary for the past four years. The 2026–27 school year will mark my 15th year in the Los Altos School District, and I could not be prouder to call LASD home. It's going to be a wonderful year!

We’ll kick things off with our traditional Covington Back to School Event. Thank you to our PTA for making this event possible—we hope to see you there! Be sure to subscribe to Covington's school calendar to stay up to date on important dates and events. If you haven’t already, please complete your Annual Student Form in PowerSchool as soon as possible.

At Covington, we are committed to providing every student with an exceptional learning experience, a commitment that requires support beyond public funding. LAEF and our PTAs have long shared the work of raising those funds. This year, fundraising responsibility for instructional programs and materials is shifting from PTAs to LAEF.

As you consider your school donations this year, we encourage families to prioritize giving to LAEF to support instructional programs and materials, such as arts curriculum and technology devices. Then please join the Covington PTA and volunteer! Creating an exceptional school experience takes all of us.

LASD Back to School Steps:

Step 1: Donate to LAEF

Step 2: Join and support the PTA for each school your children attend

START HERE: lasdeducationpartners.org

Welcome to an amazing year! I look forward to seeing you on the blacktop!

Sincerely,

Kate Schermerhorn

Covington Elementary- Principal

(650) 947-1100

Your 2026-27 representatives:

PTA President: Yun Teng (yunteng.cs@gmail.com) and Exec VP: Yao Sun (sunyao859@gmail.com)
LAEF Representatives: Brandon Kam, Gaurav Jain, and Laurel McAndrews (CovingtonReps@laefonline.org)

Covington Back to School Summer Event

The annual Back-to-School summer event is at Covington on Monday, August 10th.
This is a FREE food truck picnic sponsored by the PTA as a way to welcome all our Coyotes to a new school year. We hope you’ll take advantage of this chance to connect with your new classmates, learn about upcoming community events, get some Covington gear, and sign up to volunteer. Please stop by the PTA tables and learn about all the fun community events coming up this year. We are looking for volunteers at every level, whether you are able to help One Hour, One Day, or One Week. Special thanks to our PTA for making this event possible—we hope to see you there!
We will also have a fingerprinting station for Level 2 and Level 3 Volunteers. (Read the link for updated volunteer guidelines.)
Class lists will be posted during this event. Individual class placements will be sent the previous Friday (August 7th).

LASD Welcome Back Social

You’re invited to join families from schools across the district to celebrate the kick-off of a new school year on Saturday, August 15th, 5:30-7:00 pm at Almond Elementary.

Reunite with friends from Covington and connect with families from all LASD schools. Purchase food from food trucks and Kona Ice or bring a picnic dinner. Kids can enjoy the playground and join field games.

Let’s bring some Coyote spirit!

Important Dates

August 7: Class placements emailed home
August 10: Covington Back-to-School Summer Event and Volunteer Fingerprinting
August 12: First Day of School!
August 14: Principal's Coffee and PTA Volunteer Sign-up
August 15: LASD Welcome Back Social and Volunteer Fingerprinting (hosted at Almond)
August 20: Back to School Night
August 31: First Day of Full-day Kindergarten
September 4: Minimum Day
September 7: Labor Day- No School
September 8: First Day of Full-day TK
September 15-18: 6th Grade at Science Camp
September 29: Picture Day

Other Odds and Ends:

Our community should have received the 26-27 Annual Student Information Update from the District Office. It is linked here as well. Please take a few moments to update this important information. Please be aware that only one parent can submit this form. After a parent begins the process, the other will no longer be able to access it.
The Covington School Website includes many important links, such as the New Family Handbook, Bell Schedule, Medication on Campus, Calendars, etc. Please take a few moments and check out the site resouces!
Attendance: If your child is going to be absent, please either call the attendance line at 650-947-1101, fill out this form on the website, or email Covington at covingtonattendance@lasdschools.org.
There will be one more special edition newsletter sent next week. Once the school year begins, you will receive a weekly "Covington Howler" each Friday!