Monday, July 28, 2014

Goodbye for Now!

Hello, Lowell families!
I am writing to let you know that today is my last day as I must take a medical leave for the remainder of my pregnancy. I am officially handing the reins over to Ms Allison Donovan who will be acting principal while I am on leave.  I have spent the summer working hard getting the school ready for what will be an amazing year. Allison has also spent a lot of time with me to ensure a smooth transition.  I will miss the Lowell community so much but I will see you in January.
Allison will be in and out of the Lowell this summer and can be reached via email at allison.donovan@watertown.k12.ma.us.  If you need anything from me or just want to reach out I am also still on email for the time being!

Placement Letters
Placement letters with opening of school information will be mailed out during the first week of August. This letter contains your students class assignment for the upcoming school year. This assignment was made as a result of a very long, thorough, and thoughtful process.

Lowell Facilities Issues
As you know, the Lowell experienced a sprinkler malfunction that caused damage to the boiler room. Repair, inspection, and clean up has been underway. More detailed information will continue to be shared with all of you over the coming weeks but we are on track for having a clean and safe building for the opening of school.


Saturday, July 12, 2014

Summer Updates!

Hello! I hope you are all enjoying summer so far. I am writing with just a few summer updates.

Lowell Facilities Issue
Over fourth of July weekend, the sprinkler system at the Lowell malfunctioned. This caused some flooding and damage to our boiler room.  While I feel so relieved that the damage was so localized and was to an area of the building that is not used by any students or staff, it did cause some significant problems.  I am currently receiving daily updates about the assessment of the damage and about the plans for repair.  Currently the Lowell is closed so that repairs may be made. Our custodians are still working hard as they normally do to get the building ready for opening of school and our director of facilities is working with a number of our contractors and service providers to remedy the boiler room damage.

As the Lowell is temporarily closed, I am working from home and from central office while repairs are being made. There was no electricity and no fire protection for a brief period of time and there is no air conditioning currently (I am very pregnant and consequently very hot).  I have had intermittent access to my voicemail but I am here for you! Please email me if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a time pick up your student's report card.

Placement Letters
Every year we send placement letters out at the beginning of August. We will do this again this year so you should expect your student's letter with their class assignment for next year towards the end of the first week of August.

First Day of School
I am sure your student does not want to think about this yet...but the first day of school is Thursday, September 4th! Prekindergarten and kindergarten students follow a somewhat different schedule for starting school and those details will be outlined in the placement letter.