End of Year Message

Dear Lowell Families,

I am very emotional so am keeping my normal end of year message brief. We have accomplished a lot together this year. Our students' achievement continues to improve, our teachers continue to collaborate in teams to best meet the needs of all of our students, and we have started some really amazing new traditions, programs, and events.

The Lowell is so incredibly special and if everyone (that includes, you, parents!) continues to work together with kindness and empathy, then this place will only get better.

Being principal the past five years has been one of the most challenging experiences I have ever had. I can say without hesitation that this was the best place I have ever worked and this has been the best group of people I have ever worked with. I have been treated unbelievably well by all of you and for that I am grateful. I look forward to still seeing your children a lot next year and will support whomever is in the principal's office.

Thank you for everything and have a wonderful summer.

Ms Kaplan

Report Cards

If you need your student's report card (because they were absent today) please email me to set up a time next week to pick it up!

Weekly Message 6/21/16

It is the last week of school! I am working on my end of year letter that I will send at the end of the week. I want to thank all of you for your kind and understanding words over the past few days after I shared my news of taking a new role.

Last Day
The last day of school for grades 1-5 is Friday. Early release is at 12:15, lunch will be served and there is NO LEDP.
The last day for preK and K students is Thursday and it is a full day.

Garden Volunteers
It is that time of year! We need families to adopt our garden for a week in the summer. PLEASE consider signing up! It is a great thing for our school and fun! You can sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4ba5aa2ba1fa7-summer. There will be two orientations that you can choose to attend on 6/22 at 2:30 and 6/29 at.
Please email Kathleen McGah with any questions! kmcgah@hotmail.com

Report Cards
If you're student is not in school on the last day (6/24), report cards can be picked up at the Lowell the week of 6/26. Please email Ms Kaplan to arrange a date and specific time.

ChopChop Survey
We have had the opportunity to provide ChopChop magazines to all families this year.  Pleae read the following message from ChopChop:

As we are trying to measure impact from our collaboration with the Watertown Elementary Schools, we are looking to get as many families to complete the online survey. And as an added incentive, any families that complete both the pre and post surveys will be entered to win kitchen gear worth $100. 

The survey is here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/watertownspring

Letter from Ms Kaplan and Dr Fitzgerald

Dear Lowell Community Members:

It is with mixed emotions that I write to let you know that I have recently accepted the position of Elementary Math/Science Coordinator in the district.  This new position will allow me to be an instructional leader and use my experience in science education and curriculum coordination to focus on elementary math and science curriculum in Watertown. Most importantly, I have based this decision on the need to obtain a better work-life balance and to focus more on my health and my family.

I am very grateful to Dr Fitzgerald for giving me the opportunity to become principal five years ago and I am incredibly thankful that I have been a part of the Lowell school community. We have accomplished so much by working together. I feel honored that I have had the opportunity to work in such a collaborative and warm school environment where all stakeholders have children’s best interest at heart. I have been allowed lead and take risks with the support of staff, students, and parents. The Lowell is truly a special place, where kindness and inclusiveness prevails.

I will ensure that the transition to the new principal is a smooth one that provides consistency and continuity for all students and staff.  I look forward to supporting all elementary school communities, including the Lowell, in my new role. Please contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Kaplan

Dear Lowell Community Members,

Mrs. Kaplan will be stepping down from her role as principal of the Lowell School to accept the position of Elementary Math/Science Coordinator in our District. I am pleased that Elizabeth is able to continue to work in Watertown in a position that will better address her family and healthneeds.

Today, Mr. Craig Hardimon, Director of Human Resources, began the search process for an interim principal for the 2016-2017 school year. We will keep you updated on the progress of the search.

I am grateful to Mrs. Kaplan for her willingness to ensure that this transition process will be a smooth one.

In her new role, Mrs. Kaplan will still have significant contact with the students and teachers at Lowell.

Sincerely,

Jean Fitzgerald, Ed.D.

Superintendent

More Updates

As the end of the year approaches, many families express gratitude to staff in different ways. I am pasting Massachusetts gift giving legislation for public employees below.

Gifts to Public School Teachers and Staff

In general, a public employee may not accept any gift worth $50 or more that is given because of the position he or she holds. Public employees may accept gifts that are worth less than $50, but they have to disclose in writing that they have done so if, based on the specific circumstances, a reasonable person would think that the public employee might unduly show favor to the giver or the giver's child, or be influenced by the giver.

The law prohibits gifts to public employees, not gifts to public agencies. You may give gifts to a public school, or a particular classroom, and the $50 limit does not apply. Your school district may have its own additional rules about gifts, which you should follow.

Example: A Parent-Teacher Organization wants to give $75 gift cards to teachers to buy classroom supplies. The teachers may accept the gift cards but must use them to buy classroom supplies, and should keep receipts to show that they did so. Supplies bought with the gift cards are the property of the school, not the teachers.

New Exemption

The Ethics Commission recently created an exemption to permit class gifts to teachers. A teacher may accept a gift, or several gifts during the school year, from public school students and/or their parents and guardians, with an aggregated value of up to $150, if the gift is identified only as being from the class, and the identity of the givers and the individual amounts given are not identified to the recipient. Gifts received pursuant to this exemption are not required to be disclosed. The donor is unknown, so a reasonable person would not conclude that the gift would influence the teacher's conduct with regard to any individual or would cause the teacher to favor any individual.

Example: A teacher has a class with 23 students. Parents of 20 of the students collect money and give the teacher a $150 gift certificate to a book store, indicating that it is a class gift. The teacher may accept the $150 class gift certificate and no disclosure is required. The teacher may not knowingly accept any additional gift from any of the parents who participated in the class gift.

A teacher may accept a class gift and also individual gifts from persons who did not contribute to the class gift. Unlike class gifts, which are not required to be disclosed, individual gifts must be disclosed  if, based on the specific circumstances, a reasonable person might think that the teacher's actions would be influenced by the gift.

Example: A child who did not participate in the class gift gives a plate of homemade cookies to the teacher. The teacher may accept the cookies, and no disclosure is required, because a reasonable person would not think that the teacher would be influenced by a gift that has no retail value. Similarly, a teacher would not be required to disclose acceptance of other homemade food items, hand-picked (not purchased) bouquets of flowers, and handmade gifts, candy, or other gift items worth less than $10, because a reasonable person would not think that the teacher might unduly show favor to the giver of such gifts or the giver's child, or be influenced by the giver.

Example: Parents of a child who did not contribute to a class gift and whose child is awaiting a college recommendation gives the teacher who is writing the recommendation a bottle of wine worth $40.  The teacher must disclose the gift in writing to her appointing authority, because a reasonable person might think that such a gift might influence the teacher to write a better recommendation for the student.

Weekly Message 6/14/16

It was great to see many families at the PTO end of year picnic on Friday. I (sort of) enjoyed my time in the dunk tank! We have some students with great aim. Here are some important updates. I will probably be sending another blog post this week, with all of the end of year updates.

Space Proposal
Last night, the school committee voted to accept a proposal put forward to the superintendent that would add a classroom teacher to the Lowell to deal with increased enrollment and to remedy high class sizes. The plan means that the Lowell will move it's computer lab into the library so that we can add an additional classroom. Next year the Lowell will have the following number of classrooms. I will put out more information about class sizes as summer approaches

Grade Level	# of Classrooms
PK	1
K	4
1	4
2	4
3	3
4	3
5	3

BoxTops Winners

Mr Fiandaca's class was the winner of the spring box tops and Jillian Lehoux (grade 2) was the overall winner!

Last Days of School

The last day of school for preK and K students is a full day on Thursday, June 23rd. The last day for grades 1-5 is an early release day is Friday, June 24th. Dismissal will be at 12:15.

Monday Message 6/6/16

I hope you had a great weekend! We are busy with end of year events here at the Lowell!

Field Day
Lowell field day is this week! On Thursday, June 9th from 9-1:30 the whole school will be at Victory field for a day of fun! Please remember to send your child with a bag lunch and remember sunscreen! If you need to dismiss your child that day during those hours, you may visit the main table (a familiar Lowell face will be at it) at Victory!

No School PreK/K Today and Tomorrow
A reminder that there is no school for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten today and tomorrow (Tuesday, June 7th)

All Elementary Concert
The all school elementary concert will be this Wednesday at Watertown High School at 7pm. Our chorus and instrument students will be performing!

PTO Picnic This Week
The PTO Picnic is this Friday, June 10th from 4:30-6:30pm. There will be a dunk tank, food for purchase, and games. There will be some surprise guests to dunk!

Monday Message 5/31/16

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend. We had a lovely Memorial Day assembly here on Friday morning.

Parent Workshop Tonight
Watertown Public Schools presents:
Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents:
Strategies to Interrupt the Worry Cycle at Home and School
A workshop for parents, guardians, and teachers by Lynn Lyons
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
6:30 to 8:30 PM
Hosmer Elementary School
(Auditorium)
One Concord Road
Watertown, MA 02472

No School for PreK/K June 6th/7th
There will be no school for current pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students on Monday and Tuesday next week for kindergarten screening.

End of Year Dates
Field Day-Thursday June 9th-8:30am-1pm
PTO Picnic-Friday, June 10th -4:30pm-6:30pm
PreK/K Last Day-Thursday, June 23rd-Full Day
Fifth Graduation-Thursday, June 23rd-1pm
Grades 1-5 Last Day-Friday, June 24th-Dismissal at 12:15pm

Monday Message 5/23/16

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Early Release Day Wednesday, May 25th
There will be an early release day this Wednesday, May 25th for teacher professional development. Dismissal will be at 12:15, lunch will be served and there will be LEDP for those enrolled.

PTO Updates
The current box tops contest ends this Friday, May 27th!

Please take a moment to give our PTO some feedback. This survey will help plan for next year.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TS9M7FK

Sign up for fruit or water for field day, June 9th: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4cada62aa4f85-field

Parent Presentation
Please join us for an upcoming free workshop for parents, guardians, educators, and other members of the Watertown community.  

Watertown Public Schools presents:
Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents:
Strategies to Interrupt the Worry
Cycle at Home and School

A workshop for parents, guardians,
and teachers by Lynn Lyons

Tuesday, May 31, 2016
6:30 to 8:30 PM
Hosmer Elementary School
(Auditorium)
One Concord Road
Watertown, MA 02472

Monday Message 5/16/17

It was an incredibly fun weekend this weekend, with Lowell Science Night and The Show Must Go On! Thank you to everyone who attended, performed, participated, and volunteered for these events!

Spirit Day This Week!
Our PTO auction winner of Principal for the Day, Matt Tuccinardi has selected this Friday's spirit day to be sports spirit day. Wear your favorite team jersey, hat, gear and bring in spare change to benefit The Jimmy Fund!

Fifth Grade Continental Math League
The Lowell fifth grade students who participate in Continental Math League placed first place in the nation amongst those schools that participate in the CML!  

Grade 5 Graduation Date
Our fifth grade graduation will be on Thursday, June 23rd at 1:00pm.

PTO Updates
The end of year picnic is on Friday, June 3rd from 4:30-6:30 pm.

Box Tops current contest ends May 27th/

Field Day is June 9th, if you want to volunteer for the event, please fill out this form. If you'd like to donate fruit or water please click here.

Please take a moment and fill out the PTO survey to help for next years planning. Click here to take it. 

School Site Council 
The Lowell Site Council will meet this Thursday at 7pm in the Lowell library. It will be our last meeting to review our goals for next year!

Monday Message 5/9/16

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a nice Mother's Day. Thank you, again, for the amazing and delicious teacher appreciation lunch on Friday!

Lowell Science Night THIS Friday!
Please come to Lowell family science night this Friday, May 13th from 6-8pm. It is a free event for Lowell families and is sure to be fun and educational. Here are some details about the event:

6:00-6:20 Inventor Mentor Rocket Launch      Lowell Avenue Field
6:20          Doors Open
6:30-7:15  Mad Science (geared towards gr 3-5)    Lowell Library
6:30-7:15 Drumlin Farm (geared towards grPK-2)  Room 110

6:20-8pm  Hands-on Science Fair  Lowell gym and cafeteria

***You may either choose one of the programs (Mad Science or Drumlin Farm) or spend time in the Science Fair! If you choose one of the programs, please try to not wander in and out-as there will be an opportunity to visit the ScienceFair after the programs!***

PTO Meeting
The PTO will meet this Tuesday at 7pm in the Lowell library.

Parent Presentation

Watertown Public Schools presents:

Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 

Strategies to Interrupt the Worry Cycle at Home and School

A workshop for parents, guardians, and teachers by Lynn Lyons

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

6:30 to 8:30 PM

Hosmer Elementary School

(Auditorium)

One Concord Road

Watertown, MA 02472

When children and their parents are in the grips of anxiety and worry, it feels overwhelming and mysterious. Anxiety is a very persistent master; when it moves into families, it takes over daily routines, schoolwork, bedtime and recreation. To make matters worse, the things that we do intuitively as adults to help and console our anxious children actually make the anxiety stronger. This workshop will discuss concrete strategies parents and educators can use with children and teens for families to handle current anxiety and also to prevent the development of anxiety and depression later in life.
What past attendees say:​  ​“Fantastic presentation. I cannot say enough good things about Lynn's workshop.​ ​She is engaging, energetic, funny, and inspiring.”
Lynn Lyons, LICSW, a Concord, NH psychotherapist, specializes in the treatment of children and parents experiencing anxiety. She is the co-author with Reid Wilson of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle.​  ​Ms. Lyons presents internationally and is regularly featured on television and public radio, including Katie Couric and Morning Edition.

The flyer for the event can be found here

This workshop was made possible by a grant from​ ​the US Department of Justice and​ ​the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA)

Lowell Learning Garden Work Day-We Need Volunteers!
There will be a volunteer opportunity in the Lowell Learning Garden on SUNDAY, MAY 15th, from 1:30 - 4:30pm.

We will be working under the guidance of Judy Fallows, the WPS Garden Coordinator, who is leading this amazing program at the Lowell and the other Watertown elementary schools.  While it is particularly helpful to have volunteers with gardening experience, we also welcome those of you - like myself! - who just want to help out and support the cause, and learn some skills along the way!

Some examples of projects to be tackled at this time are: making some repairs to the one of the garden beds, lots of weeding in various areas, and putting up a "bunny fence".

If you happen to have your own garden gloves and/or a spading shovel, please bring those along.  Also, please bring your own water bottle.  There will be some light snacks around to keep folks fueled up!

Please RSVP to Kathleen McGah kmcgah@hotmail.com if you think you can help out.   Feel free to bring your children; they can help, or if they are old enough to play over in the Kindergarten playground while you help out, that is fine too.  

Box Tops
A reminder to label all Box Tops with teacher name and student name! The current contest is running until 5/27.

Parent Nutrition Workshop Tomorrow
There will be a parent nutrition workshop tomorrow at Watertown Middle School from 5:30-7pm. Children are welcome and refreshments will be served!

Monday Message 5/2

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. This week kicks off Teacher Appreciation Week. Our amazing PTO has raffles and lunch planned for our teachers. Please join me in thanking our dedicated and hard working educators for all that they do!

Last Days of School
The last day of school for students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten is Thursday, June 23rd. The last day of school for students in grades 1-5 is a early release day on Friday, June 24th.

Lowell Science Night
Our first Lowell Science Night is Friday, May 13th from 6-8pm. There are SO many hands on events and activities planned. Some of the groups at science night: Empow Studios, Drumlin Farm, Habitat, Mad Science, Tufts Graduate School of Engineering, Inventor Mentor, and more!
Please join us for this free family event that was funded by the Watertown Cultural Council.

Dancing With The Stars
The Watertown Education Foundation is hosting it's annual Watertown Dancing With The Stars event this Friday! There are still some tickets available. It is a very fun and entertaining event that supports our schools and students. For more information visit http://watertowned.org/

Lowell Fifth Grade Info Night at WMS
Mr Carter is inviting all current fifth grade parents to Watertown Middle School on Wednesday, May 25th at 7pm in the WMS auditorium. This evening is a chance to learn about the middle school!

Monday Message 4/25

It was so great to see students back to school today. As you know, we are dealing with the loss of Bob Galante, LEDP coordinator.  I want to remind families that our guidance team is offering the following parent workshops on how to talk with children about death.  Each session will have the same content and will be very useful for any parent.  The dates and times are:

Monday April 25th 1:30PM
Monday April 25th 5:30PM
Thursday April 28th 4:00PM
Friday April 29th 8:30AM

Lowell Site Council This Week
The Lowell School Site Council will meet this Thursday at 7pm in the Lowell library. We will be crafting goals for our School Improvement Plan. All are welcome.

Assembly This Week
We reached our reading goal during our month long reading challenge (actually we went above our goal)! We will have the amazing storyteller, Len Cabral, come and put on a show for our students this Wednesday.

Building Lasting Connections With Our Children

Each year, our guidance counseling intern from the Harvard School of Graduation is charged with creating something useful for our school community.  This year, Ms. Lauren McDermott surveyed our families and staff about potential topics and "Building Lasting Connections with Our Children" was an overwhelming top topic choice.  Below please find the link to her rich and resourceful presentation: Building Lasting Connections with Our Children

Please kindly provide some feedback via her Parent Survey so she can graduate with all necessary credits in a few weeks!  

Loss In Our Community

April 20^th, 2016

Dear Parents,

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that Bob Galante, Lowell Extended Day Program coordinator, has passed away. Bob was a loved and valued member of the Lowell school community as well as the Watertown community.  Children may be aware of this through hearing about it from their own families or community members.  If your child is enrolled in LEDP, there will be a separate letter coming to you shortly from Beth Sahakian, community education director.

Sudden death is extremely difficult for all. It is important for us to recognize this and offer assistance to children, families, and staff. Our guidance counselors, Veronica Knight and Hope Notaro, will be providing parent meetings on how to talk and work with your children around death. These meetings will be offered at the following dates and times:

• Monday April 25th 1:30PM
• Monday April 25th 5:30PM
• Thursday April 28th 4:00PM
• Friday April 29th 8:30AM

The Lowell will also be open this Friday, April 22nd from 9-11 for children and families to come and work with Lowell student support staff and staff from The Academy of Physical and Social Development. Parents and children can come by anytime between 9 and 11 am.

There are some resources to help children and families deal with the sudden death. These can be found on the Lowell guidance blog: http://lowellguidance.blogspot.com/2014/02/resources-for-addressing-grief-and-loss.html

This is a tremendous loss for the Watertown and Lowell community. I know our strength will prevail as we support each other through this difficult time.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Kaplan

Principal

Monday Message 4/11

It is spring conference week! Here are some reminders for conferences:

•  Please stop by the lost and found items that have been placed in the main lobby to claim items you may have thought were missing! 
• Be on time to your conference as all teachers are scheduled back to back.
• Early release is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. Dismissal at 12:15 each day. Lunch will be served.

April Vacation Next Week

School will be closed for April vacation next week and will re-open on April 25th!

Family Bingo Night Thursday!

Family Bingo night is this Thursday at 6pm in the Lowell cafeteria. It is a fun, free evening with prizes and snacks served!

Drop and Go-PLEASE READ

We have had increasing issues as well as some dangerous situations during drop and go in the morning.  

• Pull up to the second crosswalk to drop off.
• Stay to the left of the three plastic "children".
• Do NOT pass any cars on the left, please wait in the drop and go line. This has resulted in dangerous situations.
• Do NOT get out of your car if you are in the drop and go line.
• Please do not park on the left side of Lowell Ave during drop and go. We have had concerns from crossing guards and Watertown Police about this practice. 
• Thank you for doing your part to create a safe environment around our school in the mornings. 

PTO Updates

The link to PTO updates is here!

Reading Challenge!
We reached our goal of 4,000 hours and more!!! The Lowell read 4,947 hours in four short weeks! More information on our reward and winning homerooms to follow.

Monday Message 4/4

Normal Dismissal Today
We will return to our normal dismissal routines today. Thank you for your patience last week!

Early Release Next Week
A reminder that Tuesday through Friday next week will be early release days for parent-teacher conferences. Dismissal is at 12:15 and there will be lunch served and LEDP for those enrolled.

WPS Art Show
The district wide art show is up at the Watertown Mall now. The opening reception is tonight from 5-7pm. Stop by and see the amazing work!

Watertown Music Fest
Come celebrate music with the Friends of Watertown Music at their 5th Annual MusicFest, Friday, April 8th 5:30-9:30 at the Watertown Middle School. Come and perform or listen throughout the evening to musicians of all ages and abilities on four different 'stages'  - from classical to pop music and everything in between. Try an instrument at the petting zoo. Enjoy pizza, baked goods, fun and friends.  For more information or to sign-up to perform or volunteer, go to https://watertownmusic.org/musicfest/

PTO Updates
There is a PTO meeting tomorrow, Paint Night this Thursday, Family Bingo Night coming up and much more. Click here for PTO events and updates

School Start Time Survey
Please see below for a message from the superintendent

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

If you have not yet had the opportunity to take the School Start Time Survey, please take a moment to do so on or before April 7th. The survey will be closed to responses beginning on April 8th. 

http://goo.gl/forms/23wsFQhzYg

Thank you for your cooperation.

Monday Message 3/28

I hope you had a great long weekend.  Progress reports were sent home on Friday for grades 1-5 and preK and K families should have access to their student's online progress report.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent teacher conferences will be held the week of April 11th. Teachers will be in touch very soon to schedule a conference to discuss your student's progress.  Also, due to conferences that week, Tuesday 4/12, Wednesday 4/13, Thursday 4/14, and Friday 4/15 will be early release days for students. Dismissal will be at 12:15pm and there will be LEDP for families enrolled.

April Vacation
School will be closed for April vacation 4/18-4/22.

PTO Meeting
The next PTO meeting is Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm in the Lowell library. Please join us!

School Site Council Meeting This Week
Site Council will meet this Thursday at 7pm in the Lowell library. We will start writing our school improvement plan for the upcoming school year. It is an open meeting-all are welcome!

Reading Challenge 2016
Our reading challenge is in full swing! Logs are being counted today...follow the JR Lowell Elementary School on Facebook for reading challenge and other updates!

Weekly Message 3/22/16

Hello everyone. Here are some announcements for what has shaped up to be a very short week.

Construction at the Lowell
The work that commenced at the Lowell on Friday afternoon, to repair ceilings in the "old wing" of the school, was completed on Sunday.  A large crew of workers worked all weekend and a cleaning crew followed them. Teachers and staff could not believe that when they came in it looked as if no work was done at all! I am grateful to our custodial staff, our facilities department, and the school department and tow for the support in getting the job done.

Site Council This Week
School Site Council will meet on Thursday, March 31st at 7pm. The meeting was originally scheduled for this Thursday-due to the holiday weekend it needed to be rescheduled.

No School Friday, March 25th.
A reminder that there will be no school this Friday in observance of the Good Friday holiday.

Report Cards 
Term 2 report cards will be going home for students in grades 1-5 on Thursday of this week. You will have the opportunity to talk about your student's progress at parent-teacher conferences in April. PreK and kindergarten families will receive notification to access the online early childhood progress report this week.

Monday Message 3/15

Amazing news for the Lowell school! The PTO auction raised almost 14,000 dollars for our school! The Zumbathon and raffle baskets raised 2100 dollars. Thank you to all who worked on both of these events and to all who participated.

Kindergarten Coffee Last Week
Thank you to all who came to the K coffee. Here is the link to the presentation for those who missed it!  Ms Kaplan's Kindergarten Parent Coffee 2016

Site Council Meeting-Time Change
Our site council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 24th. The time will be different and will be at 5:30 in the Lowell library

No School 3/25
There will be no school on Friday, March 25th in observance of Good Friday.

Reading Challenge 2016
The annual Lowell school reading challenge has kicked off! The theme for this year is "Reading Around the World".  We are trying to reach a goal of 4,000 hours read by the beginning of April.  Reading logs will be coming home and different challenges and prizes will be given out. We will have an assembly this Friday to get everyone excited!

Monday Message 3/7

Hello! Lots happening this week!

Kindergarten Parent Coffee This Week
There will be a parent coffee for all kindergarten parents this Friday at 8:20 in the Lowell cafeteria. We will talk about curriculum, assessment, instruction, and all things kindergarten!

District Wide  Nutrition Workshop This Week




Meetings This Month
PTO-Tuesday, 3/7 at 7pm
Site Council-Thursday, 3/24 at 7pm

PTO Updates
PTO meeting tomorrow night, 3/7, at 7pm in the Lowell libary.
Online auction ends this Saturday at 2pm!
Zumbathon and silent auction is this Sunday, 3/13, from 2-4pm in the Lowell gym and cafeteria.
More information on all things PTO click here

Monday Message

I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed the nice weather! Although there is the primary election tomorrow, we DO have a regular school day tomorrow.

Kindergarten Parent Coffee
There will be a principal's coffee for parents of current kindergarten students next Friday, March 11th from 8:20-9am in the school cafeteria. Topics will include curriculum, instruction, assessment, transition to first grade, and much more!

Meetings This Month
PTO-Tuesday, March 8th at 7pm in the Lowell library
Site Council-Thursday, March 24th at 7pm in the Lowell library

PTO Auction
The annual PTO online auction goes live TOMORROW.  There are over 250 auction items to bid on and this event makes a significant impact on our school with the money it makes.  It is a lot of fun to bid! The link is here:  https://www.32auctions.com/2016-lowell-auction

BoxTops Contest Winner
Mrs Walsh's class has won the BoxTops contest!

Food Drive Spirit Day
Thank you to all who sent in items for the food drive on Friday. There was so much donated to the St Patrick's food drive!

Monday Message 2/22/16

Welcome back! I hope your students' had a great vacation.

Early Release Day THIS Wednesday
There will be an early release day this Wednesday, February 24th for teacher professional development. Dismissal will be at 12:15, lunch will be served, and there will be LEDP for those enrolled.

Site Council This Week
The Lowell School Site Council will meet this Thursday, February 25th at 7pm in the Lowell library. All are invited to attend. We will begin brainstorming school improvements as we start to plan to write our improvement plan.

Cooperation!
We are still focusing on our core value of cooperation this month at the Lowell. Students have been recognized with cooperation coupons!

Lost and Found
Our lost and found has an overwhelming number of items in it. Winter coats, hats, water bottles, clothing...Please stop by and check it out as items not claimed will be donated. The lost and found is located in the cafeteria.

Box Tops Contest
A reminder that today is the last day to turn in any Box Tops for Education. Please have all Box Tops labeled with your student and teacher name!

Tuesday Message

It was great to see everyone today after four days out of school! Some updates for this, now, short week.

February Vacation
There will be no school next week for February vacation. School will reopen on Monday, February 22nd.

PTO Meeting
There is a PTO meeting tonight in the Lowell library at 7pm.  There are many great things coming up that the PTO puts together for our school.   Click here to see what is coming up at Lowell!

Grade 2 Parent Coffee
There will be a parent coffee for grade 2 students this week on Thursday at 8:20 am in the Lowell cafeteria. All grade 2 parents are welcome to come and learn more about curriculum, assessment, and all things grade 2!

Lowell Facebook page
A reminder to follow the Lowell on Facebook! Pictures of International Night were posted last week!

Site Council
Lowell Site Council, which is a group of parents and teachers that talks about school improvement, will be on Thursday, February 25th at 7pm in the Lowell library. All are welcome!

PARCC and MCAS Testing Dates

Hello families! We have secured our PARCC and MCAS testing dates for spring of 2016. Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 take PARCC in both English Language Arts and Math.

The testing dates were determined by the testing window the state dictates, the number of students and classes we have to test, and the number of proctors and small groups we have for testing.

Mon, May 2	Tue, May 3 PARCC ELA Unit 1 Grades 3, 4, and 5	Wed, May 4 PARCC ELA  Unit 2 Grades 3, 4, and 5	Thu, May 5 PARCC ELA Unit 3 Grades 3, 4, and 5	Fri, May 6 PARCC ELA Make Up
Mon, May 9 PARCC ELA Make Up	Tue, May 10 PARCC Math Unit 1 Grades 3, 4, and 5	Wed, May 11 PARCC Math  Unit 2 Grades 3, 4, and 5	Thu, May 12 PARCC Math Unit 3 Grades 3, 4, and 5	Fri, May 13 PARCC Math U4 Grades 3, 4, and 5
Mon, May 16 PARCC Math Make Up	Tue, May 17 MCAS Grade 5 Science, Technology, Engineering Session 1	Wed, May 18 MCAS Grade 5 Science, Technology, Engineering Session 1 Make Up/ PARCC Math Make Up	Thu, May 19 MCAS Grade 5 Science, Technology, Engineering Session 2	Fri, May 20 MCAS Grade 5 Science, Technology, Engineering Session 2 Make Up/ PARCC Math Make Up