Lowell Family Newsletter
December 19th, 2021
WELCOME! TO TRANSLATE THIS NEWSLETTER, CLICK ON IT THEN USE THE LINK TO THE RIGHT.
To translate this newsletter, click on it then use the link to the right.
If you are on a computer, open this in a new page. Then to translate this newsletter, click on the link to the right. If you are on a phone, touch the person in the black circle to get the translate button.
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Se você estiver em um computador, abra uma nova página. Em seguida, para traduzir esta newsletter, clique no link à direita. Se você estiver em um telefone, toque na pessoa no círculo preto para obter o botão de tradução.
(Portuguese)
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Si está en una computadora, abra esto en una nueva página. Luego, para traducir este boletín, haga clic en el enlace a la derecha. Si está en un teléfono, toque a la persona en el círculo negro para obtener el botón de traducción.
(Spanish)
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إذا كنت تستخدم جهاز كمبيوتر ، فافتح هذا في صفحة جديدة. بعد ذلك ، لترجمة هذه النشرة الإخبارية ، انقر فوق الارتباط الموجود على اليمين.
إذا كنت تستخدم الهاتف ، فالمس الشخص الموجود في الدائرة السوداء للحصول على زر الترجمة. (Arabic)
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Եթե համակարգիչ եք, բացեք սա նոր էջում: Ապա, այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք աջ հղմանը: Եթե հեռախոսով եք, դիպչեք սև շրջանի անձին ՝ թարգմանության կոճակը ստանալու համար: (Armenian)
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Bilgisayar kullanıyorsanız, bunu yeni bir sayfada açın. Ardından, bu bülteni çevirmek için sağdaki bağlantıya tıklayın. Telefonda iseniz, çevir düğmesini almak için siyah daire içindeki kişiye dokunun. (Turkish)
Table of Contents
Pajama Day Thursday
Message from Mrs. Phelan
Pool Testing Monday!
SEPAC
Message from Dr. Galdston
Parent and Caregiver Climate and Culture Survey
Join Attendance Zone Committee
Message from Dr. Henry ABC
FTO Meeting Tuesday
Relocation Newsletters
This week's menu
Scenes from Lowell
Student DIB Meeting Thursday Student Poems
UpComing Events
Pajama Day Thursday, December 23rd!
Message from Principal Phelan
Happy last school week of 2021!
After a crazy bumpy year with many twists and turns, it seems only fitting to end this school year in our PJs with crazy hair! Let's wrap this year up with a bow! Wear a bow to show your school spirit!
Our Staff is sending best wishes your way as we head to winter break! Thank you for your fantastic support throughout this year! Bye, Bye 2021! Hello, 2022!
Happy Holidays!
Stacy
Pool Testing will take place on Monday, December 20th
SEPAC
Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC).
A SEPAC is a district-level, parent-driven group that provides input to the school district on current challenges in special education and related services.
Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is a pro-active group that serves as a resource for children and young adults with special needs and their families in our school system.
Watertown SEPAC is run by parent volunteers and includes all stakeholders in our community. Our meetings are all free and open to the public, including people from other cities and towns. Feel free to invite family members, friends, or others from outside our community who you think may be interested in our meetings!
We provide families and other community members with the following:
* information about basic rights for families pertaining to special education
* contact information for our school special education administrators and school committee members in Watertown
* a space to discuss special education concerns and ask questions
* access to local and state-level resources that can help answer more involved questions
* community and support
Our Mission:
The mission of the Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is to encourage honest and effective communication, understanding, and mutual respect in a supportive partnership inclusive of all students, caregivers, educators, and the community at large in an effort to ensure the delivery of appropriate services and supports to students with disabilities and special health care needs. We work directly with district administrators to address system-level challenges, facilitate family-district communication, and provide families with training and resources.
A Message from Dr. Galdston
Good afternoon, WPS Parents and Caregivers,
This is a reminder that we are asking parents and caregivers to complete a culture and climate survey based on their experiences in the Watertown Public Schools. The purpose of this focused dive into our current reality is to provide the District with accurate information about what we have accomplished and where we need to go next as we begin the process of our next round of improvement strategy planning. Your participation in this survey is greatly appreciated, especially during these challenging times. Here you will find the link to the survey. The survey window is open now until December 23.
The survey requires no more than 10 minutes for parents to complete. The parent/caregiver survey is shorter in length and is a supplement to the 5Es survey that educators and students take. Please fill out one survey for each of your children. The survey is available in English and Spanish. If you need the survey translated, please reach out to the ESL department for translations.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to fill out this very important and informative survey.
Dede Galdston, Superintendent of Schools
Invitation to Join School Attendance Zone Committee
As we open our new elementary schools, with all three being completed by the fall of 2023, it is the ideal time to consider any changes to our existing attendance zones, maximizing the new spaces in order to more efficiently zone students and families into schools that are as close as possible to their homes. Attendance Zones are the lines that are applied to determine where a child attends elementary school.
All three of our elementary schools will provide excellent learning environments for our students, and over the past several years, our curriculum teams have created consistency in the educational programs at all schools, ensuring that all of our students will receive the same high-quality education no matter their location. Please note that this discussion does not impact our specialized programs that are located in specific schools, including special education and ESL programs.
For the purpose of studying Attendance Zones, the School Committee has established an Ad Hoc School Attendance Zone Committee, with two parents from each of the three elementary schools, the three elementary principals, two School Committee members, the Director of Finance and Operations, the registrar, and a representative from the City Planning Department. The dates for the meetings are as follows: January 12, January 26, February 9, February 17 from 6:30-8:30 at the Cunniff Elementary School.
If you are interested in serving on this committee and are able to attend all four of the meetings, please send an email describing your interest to Susan Clark at susan.clark@watertown.k12.ma.us by Thursday, December 23.
Thank you for considering serving on this important committee,
Dede Galdston, Superintendent of Schools
Message from Dr. Kimberlee Henry, Director of Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
We will have our monthly ABC meeting on Monday, December 20th at 5:30 pm evening; the meeting will be HYBRID. The in-person location is the Cafeteria (Bump Out) at Watertown High School. For virtual participation, the recurring zoom link is listed at the very bottom of this email, along with the remaining dates, for your convenience.
The remaining dates are the following Mondays from 5:30-7 pm:
December 20th
January 31st
February 28th
March 28th
April 25th
May 16th
June 13th
Topic: Anti-Bias Coalition Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
https://watertown-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/82142739210?pwd=MjZZL3JURU5RdUtYc3ZNVHlockVCQT09
Meeting ID: 821 4273 9210
Passcode: 474931
Best,
Kimberlee Henry, EdD
Message from Nurse Taverna
Could you please send me your child's completed COVID- 2 doses information via email or hard copy? Your child's personal medical information will not be shared with anyone but the school nurse.
Thank you!
Student Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Council
FTO Meeting Date Change
The FTO meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday, December 14th, has been moved to Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 6:30pm. Please use the link below to join the Zoom meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82924422571?pwd=Zy9pRklObDBxMW9LMzdFWG1RSTh4Zz09
Relocation and Renovation Newsletter
Lunch Menu December 20th - 23th
Scenes from Around Lowell
Book Fair Success!
Jennine Tambio and Katie Abo- FTO volunteers working the Book Fair.
Where was Lenny This Week?
Lenny and 5th grade are learning about what matter is. They did a chromatography experiment to start our unit.
Photo
Students are working on learning how complex nonfiction can get more challenging and strategies to help them. Here students are sorting cards to match challenges with strategies to lift their level of reading.
Buddies at Lowell and Pajama Day!
Cookies with Mrs. Phelan & Mr. Chen
Student Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Council - Acrostic Poems
Up-Coming Events
Mark Your Calendar
Anti-Bias Coalition Meeting
Monday, December 20th, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting https://watertown-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/82142739210?pwd=MjZZL3JURU5RdUtYc3ZNVHlockVCQT09
FTO Meeting (Rescheduled - New Date Below)
Tuesday, December 21st, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82924422571?pwd=Zy9pRklObDBxMW9LMzdFWG1RSTh4Zz09
Save the Date - MCAS
ELA
April 12th & 14th Grades 3, 4, & 5
Math
May 16th & 17th Grades 3, 4, & 5
Science
May 24th & 25 Grade 5 Only
James Russell Lowell Elementary School
Main Office ext. 33001
Email: stacy.phelan@watertown.k12.ma.us
Website: https://lowell.watertown.k12.ma.us/
Location: 175 Orchard Street, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: (617) 926-7770
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JRLowellElementary