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.