LPS Connector
Summer 2022
I hope you all had a fun summer break and are excited to return to school for the 2022-23 school year!
In what has become an annual tradition, we will kick off the new school year with our Back-to-School Block Party at JFK Plaza next to City Hall on Friday August 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There will be food, music, entertainment, games, and free backpacks stuffed with school supplies while supplies last. Administrators, teachers, and staff from all Lowell Public Schools will be there; it is a great way to connect with a school that may be new to you and your children or to reconnect with a school to which you are returning. We cannot wait to see all of you there on Friday!
On Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. there will be an information session on Zoom to answer all of your school transportation questions for the upcoming year, as well as demonstrate how to use our new bus look-up tool. You can find more information about this session, including how to register, in this newsletter. If you cannot make it on Wednesday night, don’t worry; the session will be recorded and available the next day on our social media channels and website.
Learning never stops in Lowell, even over summer break. This year we held our biggest summer school program ever – with more than 4,000 students participating in 40 different programs throughout the district. We were able to provide transportation, meals, and offer field trips, enrichment, and academic programs in every Lowell Public school that both engaged students in fun activities and helped to bridge the achievement gaps and learning loss created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This summer we were also able to offer paid internships to 50 Lowell High School students to work as teaching assistants in our elementary summer school programs. The program, which you can read more about in this newsletter, provided exposure to careers in education to our high school students and gave the elementary students older kids to look up to and emulate.
I was able to stop by several of our programs over the course of the summer, including one day at the Lincoln School when our friends from Animal Adventures dropped by to introduce our PreK students to some new furry (and not so furry) friends. There was a hedgehog, a lion-headed bunny named Chewbacca and a curious little gecko named Spiderman. But, when it was my turn to interact with an animal, out came a 7-foot long Burmese Python named SpongeBob. It was quite a new experience for me.
I hope you enjoy the final weeks of summer and see you at the.Back to School Block Party this Friday!
Be well,
Joel D. Boyd
Superintendent of School
LHS Summer Interns Shine in Summer School
While other kids her age are scooping ice cream or bagging groceries this summer, Lorena Minikowski, 16, is threading pipe cleaners through holes in paper plates and tying little silver bells to them – helping Kindergarten students in the McAvinnue Elementary School summer program make their very own tambourines.
She is one of 50 Lowell High School students participating in a paid internship program this summer in the city’s elementary schools. The program, in its pilot year, is funded by a grant the district received from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as some federal Title 1 funding and COVID relief funds.
The program provides high school students with real life experience and exposes them to career opportunities in education, while also paying them $15 an hour.
“This program is in direct alignment with our district goals to diversify our staff, 85% of the students are BIPOC and majority also speak a home language in addition to English,” said LPS Coordinator of Special Programs Carolyn Rocheleau. “I am so excited to bring the students into our schools - I really feel like we are on to something in regarding to growing our own workforce from within.”
Minikowski said she was interested in the program because her little sister is an incoming Kindergarten student and she wanted to check out what the classes are like so she can help her transition into school in the fall.
“I have really loved working with the kids,” she said. “They trust me a lot and talk to me about things they wouldn’t with an adult; I feel I have been more like a friend than a teacher to them.”
A rising junior at Lowell High School, Minikowski is thinking of going into dentistry eventually, but her time interning at the McAvinnue this summer has opened her eyes to other possibilities.
“I think being a Kindergarten teacher would be so cool,” she said.
Rebecca Evans, the Summer School Coordinator at the McAvinnue said they have 105 students enrolled in summer school, with 85 attending consistently. In the short session they have done work to bolster academic performance and prepare for the upcoming school year, as well as focus on social emotional learning activities, and made time for a lot of fun like a field trip to the splash pad, a visit from the Kona Ice truck, and a field day run by partner organization SNL Sports Academy.
The addition of the five high school interns they received has been very helpful, she said.
“Especially for it being the first year of the program I have been very impressed,” said Evans.
“The interns have had near perfect attendance and they are all so engaged. I told them all I would definitely hire them back next summer if they are interested and would give them a good recommendation.”
Down the hall from the classroom where Minikowski is helping make music happen, intern Iteoluwakishi Olasedidun, 17, who graduated from LHS this year and will be studying at Middlesex Community College in the fall, is deep into dinosaur discussion.
It is free play time and he is engaging with a student telling him about all the different kinds of dinosaurs as they play with them on a rug in the corner of the classroom.
“I was looking for something to do this summer and I wanted to work with kids,” said Olasedidun. “I have really enjoyed it.”
In the same classroom, Kayla Wagena, 17, a rising senior at Lowell High, said she wasn’t sure what to expect going into the program, but she has really enjoyed connecting with the younger kids.
"It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be," she said. "It has been fun."
Across the city at the Morey Elementary School, Serena Men, 16, who will be a junior at Lowell High in the fall, is busy cleaning shelves and reorganizing a classroom before she heads to her next assignment.
“I want to work with kids in the future,” she said. “Maybe in psychology or something like that.”
Men, a Morey School alumnus, said she likes being back in her old school and enjoys the variety of things she has been able to do as an intern, from cleaning and organizing, to helpings kids with projects one-on-one, and even working with them to remember their user names and passwords.
She especially likes working in the classroom of technology teacher Mrs. Crowley, who was her second grade teacher.
Today, Lizette Crowley’s class is designing and creating their own coffee mugs using an art/crafting technique called sublimation. Special ink is used to print a design created by each student - some have dogs, others pandas and video games, and one even has a variety of fancy sports cars. The design is then placed around a plain ceramic mug and put into a 400-degree mug press where the ink is transferred onto the mug.
Men works the hot press for the students, creating beautiful keepsakes for them to bring home.
“If you are going to make an impression in life this is a great place to start,” Crowley said about the internship program. “It really is a great way to open students’ eyes about what career opportunities are out there and what is possible.”
Crowley explained that until last year she was the only person of color working in her school. She is hopeful the internship program will draw more young people from diverse backgrounds into the teaching profession, especially in a city like Lowell where the student body is so diverse.
Interns have been critical in helping with all of the activities this summer, as well as helping prepare for the upcoming school year.
Men, who is an exceptionally gifted artist, has been creating illustrations for Crowley to use for a unit she teaches called “small moments” where they create art based on little funny, interesting, or sad stories that happen in everyday life.
“It is important for the high school students to see education from both sides and the impact it can have on kids,” Crowley said. “The most important thing is the connection with the kids and letting them know this is a place where they are safe and where they are loved.”
We are the Champions!
Home Depot Making a Difference at the Shaughnessy
“That is a GREAT teal!” exclaims Shaughnessy School Principal Katrina Esparza, as she sees the bold new color bring the hallway just past the school’s main office to life.
When the Shaughnessy Sharks and their teachers return from summer break they are going to walk into a building that has received a pretty impressive makeover – courtesy of Home Depot.
This fall Home Depot is opening a 715,000 sq. foot distribution center just up the street in Tewksbury where the Tewksbury, Lowell, and Billerica borders converge. In a effort to be a good neighbor, they wanted to partner with local schools and organizations on projects that could have a big impact.
“It is really important for Home Depot to give back to the community and important to me that we put it in our DNA to be in the community,” said General Manager Ty Munson.
Munson said the Shaughnessy is the closest high-need school in the area and once his team met with Dr. Esparza and saw the possibilities they were sold.
“We just loved her spirit and enthusiasm,” he said.
In just one week, a crew of 60+ volunteers from Home Depot, as well as teachers, social workers, and other staff from the Shaughnessy have painted and spruced-up more than 40 classrooms and completely remodeled two additional rooms to be used by classes that serve students on the Autism spectrum.
The school is 30 years old. That’s 30 years of wear and tear. Thirty years of thumbtacks, nails, tape, fingerpaint, pencil and marker swipes and much more; those walls have seen a lot.
Prior to painting, the Home Depot crew prepped all of the rooms by filling the holes and making sure that once the final coat of paint was rolled on, the walls would look brand new.
“These are things that would have taken us months to get done,” said Esparza. “There has been a whole new mindset since COVID and this will help us give the building a whole new personality and start the new year off right.”
Esparza said the school has invested significantly in 3M products to let teachers hang things on walls without damaging the new paint job in an effort to keep things looking fresh and new for as long as possible.
“This whole year one of our biggest focuses has been on creating community partnerships and community engagement,” said Shaughnessy social worker Maggie Carter. “When Home Depot reached out we knew it was exactly what we had been looking for.”
Carter added that the project not only benefits the students by creating a more welcoming learning environment, but it also shows the teachers that they are valued and appreciated by giving them a fresh new space in which to work.
“We really could not be more excited about this,” she said.
Esparza said this is not the last the Shaughnessy community will see of their new friends from Home Depot. The partnership will continue for several years, with plans in the works to build a new garden, as well as for Home Depot employees to volunteer at Shaughnessy events.
Summer Pickles
LHS Alumni Kickin' It Around the World
It started with a suitcase of inflatable solar lanterns.
Six years and many adventures later, Olf Mouyaka (LHS ’13) was leading a two-day soccer clinic in El Chorillo, one of the neediest areas of Panama, for 150 kids ages 4-19 with Lowell friend Tahina Montoya (LHS ‘04).
So, how did that story unfold?
Mouyaka, who came to Lowell as a 16-year-old Congolese refugee, and has worked as a Park Ranger in Lowell and New Bedford, as well as teaching English to immigrants and coaching soccer, was planning a trip back to Africa in 2016 to visit his grandmother. He was visiting one of his favorite teachers at Lowell High School – Kendra Bauer, when she told him about these great inflatable solar lanterns, she uses to light up her deck at night. She thought he might want to bring some to his grandmother because she does not have electricity in her home.
He ordered a few from Amazon and was impressed. He wanted to bring a whole bunch to Africa to distribute to those who needed them. Bauer enlisted her students to make some posters to start a little fundraiser – they raised $1,100. Mouyaka was able to head to Africa with a suitcase packed with 100 lanterns. He immediately saw the impact.
“My grandmother was no longer afraid to go outside at night,” he said. “These lights literally light up people’s lives.”
He connected with the lantern company, which offered to match whatever he could raise. On his next trip, he was able to bring 300 lanterns.
That experience ignited Mouyaka’s passion for making connections and using them to help people in ways that may sound simple, but leave a lasting impact.
That was when he heard from LHS soccer teammate, Theo Booras (LHS ’11). Booras had some cleats and other equipment and was looking for a way to donate them to kids in need. He and Mouyaka teamed up and created United Through Football – a non-profit that provides football (soccer) equipment and clinics to underserved groups of kids around the globe, while at the same time bringing together partner organizations to boost other social initiatives and build community and opportunity in these regions. From 2017 – 2020, they touched young lives in Brazil, Greece, Mexico, and the Republic of the Congo.
Enter Tahina Montoya.
Montoya, a U.S. Air Force Veteran and Political/Military Analyst in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, is living in Panama in a diplomatic role; her husband, Eduardo Vargas, is the Naval Attaché to Panama.
Her brother, Marcelo, a friend of Mouyaka, suggested that the two collaborate to bring United Through Football to Panama. Montoya was able to get the U.S. Embassy involved, Mouyaka & Booras had all the equipment and coaching abilities; a natural fit. They partnered with Victor Peretz, who runs the Panamanian non-profit Local INPTY, an organization that provides tutoring, art classes, and other educational opportunities to children in need. Peretz, in turn, connected them with the Panamanian National Police, who work often with his organization and provide space for programming.
They also had support from St. Michael Bolts Futebol Club, Abbey Villa Soccer Club, Hampshire United Soccer Club, and Sterilite Corporation.
From April 29-30, they were able to run a soccer clinic for 150 kids of all ages, boys and girls, outfitting them with cleats and jerseys and handing out soccer balls. An additional 75 children in need received backpacks stuffed full of school supplies.
“It was an amazing experience of getting a group of people together all to work on making sure kids had a great fun experience,” said Montoya. “And it all stemmed from a couple of kids who grew up in Lowell and went to Lowell High School coming together and saying this is a great idea.”
The Panama trip, because of Montoya’s ability to involve the U.S. Embassy, really elevated the profile of the program, Mouyaka said.
“It has turned into a way of life,” he said. “I quite honestly do not want to do anything else.”
When he saw the children being fitted for cleats and being handed jerseys, he flashed back to his childhood.
“I was born in the Congo and played in the streets,” he said. “All I could think about was that I am no different from them and this is exactly what I would have wanted - for someone to roll a ball and play with me. There is no other feeling like it; I can’t quite express it. It has changed my life forever.”
Montoya said she thought she was going to have to fight to make sure girls were included, but was pleasantly surprised when Peretz told her that a large percentage of the participants were girls.
“We were able to outfit an entire girls’ soccer team from El Chorillo,” she said. “They made me their godmother and want me to go to all of their games. They were so thankful because these are things that don’t come so easily there.”
Although Mouyaka and Montoya have both left Lowell, both take great pride in their hometown and appreciate the city that molded then into the people they are today.
“One of the things I never realized was a benefit of growing up in Lowell, because we are completely immersed in it, is the diversity and what a microcosm of our world Lowell is,” Montoya said. “Having friends from different walks of life on all spectrums gave me such an upper hand when I left Lowell. Lowell will always have a deep, deep place in my heart because of the many great things it has taught me, most of which I didn’t even realize until I left.”
“I feel like I’ve never left Lowell and I take pride that Lowell is my home,” said Mouyaka. “I still go back to visit Lowell High and run clinics. I’ll always go back.”
For more information about United Through Football: https://unitedthroughfootball.org/
Animal Adventures at the Lincoln
Under the Ocean
It is a hot late-July day at the Bartlett Community Partnership School. Physically, the students in Sarah Lynch’s summer school class are sitting at their desks in a classroom. But, in their imaginations they have all been transported to the beach. You can almost smell the salt air and hear the waves!
It is ocean week for the kids in the LEAP Program’s summer session!
LEAP (Lifeskills, Education, and Planning) provides students with cognitive disabilities the supports and instruction they need to build skills, grow academically, and attain levels of independence throughout their school careers and into adult life.
Seated on the floor, the students review the four layers of the ocean they learned earlier in the week: Sunlight, Twilight, Midnight and Abyssal. They recall that seaweed grows in the sunlight layer because it needs the light to grow. What else can we find there? Fish, sharks, seashells, and swimmers!
As the water gets progressively deeper, less life is found. You may find a submarine in the Midnight layer, but not much at all in the Abyssal layer because there is no food – no light means no life.
The eager students work on completing a giant paper mural of the ocean layers, adding octopodes and seaweed in the correct spots.
Lynch said summer programming is especially beneficial for special education students because it helps keep their skill development sharp and prevents learning gaps during summer break.
The theme of the week previous was “camping.” The students had burgers, made s’mores and learned all about the great outdoors.
“I have been impressed by their vocabulary and knowledge,” Lynch said. “Their parents take them to a lot of places and expose them to a lot of different things. I was surprised by how many of them have gone camping.”
But, back to the beach!
Each student helps count out 15 Cheerios. These are then glued on to the paper starfish they made – becoming the suction cups on their tentacles that help the creatures cling to rocks. Or at least that’s the plan. Some of the “suction cups” don’t make it to the starfish – they become snacks.
Now it is time for a stretch break. Lynch instructs the kids to reach high and pretend to be starfish. Stella, one of her most creative students, has another idea. She reaches her arms down low and swings them back and forth – she’s an octopus.
Lynch likes the idea and incorporates it into the routine. They morph from being starfish to octopodes, to SCUBA divers.
They learn about how turtles camouflage themselves to avoid predators and discuss all of the things they may see, hear, smell, and taste on a trip to the beach.
Once the brainstorming is over they open their journals, pull out their crayons and markers and draw pictures of the perfect day at the beach.
The morning is capped off by watching a Magic School Bus video where Ms. Frizzle takes the class on an underwater adventure to see everything that is under the ocean’s surface.
Not a bad way to spend a summer morning at school when you can’t really get to the beach.
The Pyne Garlic Harvest
The program is run by 6th grade Math & Science teacher Erin Hebert, who previously worked at Camp Massapoag and jumped at the chance to run a summer camp at the Pyne when Principal Wendy Crocker-Roberge approached her about the possibility.
One week's theme was "Magical and Marvelous: Fairy Tales and Superheroes." Students read fairy tales, built fairy houses, and spent time in the garden with Pyne Garden Coordinator Amanda Mujica - harvesting garlic! Each student got to take home a head of garlic and Amanda showed them how to braid stalks together so they can be hung and dried.
Once the harvesting was over, the students pitched in to add new soil to the garden beds and water the garden, which is growing a variety of wonderful things like sunflowers and pumpkins!
Back to School Block Party!
Do You Need Help with Internet or Phone Service?
LPS Launches Website Re-Design
Lowell Public Schools is excited to announce the launch of our new district website.
The site has been redesigned to serve you, your children, and our entire K-12 community better.
In addition to the district site, all of our individual school websites are getting a makeover. Their new looks will be unveiled in the next few months.
Lowell Public School’s new district website will bring you news and information in a more concise, consistent manner. You’ll have access to all the vital information important to you and your children — including school and activity calendars, lunch menus, district news and more.
We are confident you will find the new website easier to use, bringing vital information to your fingertips quickly. Visit www.lowell.k12.ma.us to see the enhancements yourself and make sure to come back and visit your child’s school website soon!
LHS Construction Update
When the Red Raiders come back from summer break their brand-new state-of-the-art gymnasium, track, locker rooms, and strength & conditioning room will be ready for use.
The School Building Committee recently received an updated presentation regarding the status of the Lowell High School construction project from the construction experts, designers, and project managers who have been overseeing the massive project that will transform the campus and the experience of LHS students for decades to come.
Construction of the new gym along Arcand Drive began in October 2020. Rex Radloff of Suffolk Construction said they expect to receive a temporary certificate of occupancy this month, allowing for furniture to be brought into the building. Next month some final exterior work, including installing metal panels, as well as landscaping and installing bike racks and trash cans will be completed. The bleachers have been delayed due to supply chain issues, but Radloff said he is confident they will be installed by early September at the latest.
Radloff explained that the school will look different to students when they return than it did when they left for break a few weeks ago. Interior demolition has begun on the Little Theater and the existing Riddick Field House, which along with a portion of the 1980 building will be demolished this fall.
Radloff said that while the 1980 building will be reduced in size during construction, they have reconfigured existing spaces to provide a new space for the main office, school store, business classroom, and teacher dining room so the building can still be used in the same way without disruption. The building will also retain the same number of egresses for safety.
“Demolition will take place throughout the school day, but we will create a separation between where the students will be and where the building is being taken down so we are not within the existing space,” he said.
Work on the rest of the 1980 building and the North 1922 building will take place from April 2024-August 2025, followed by work on the South 1922 and the 1890 buildings.
The project will reach completion in August 2026.
As far the as the workforce on the project, current statistics show that 21.3 percent of workers on the job (173 individuals) are minorities and have logged 25,113 hours of work; female workers account for 3.2 percent of the workforce (27 workers) logging 3,723 hours; and 9.5 percent of all workers are Lowell residents (46 workers) logging 11,129 hours.
Jim Dowd, from Skanska, the Project Manager, said the total budget of the project is $381,967,231. To date, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has reimbursed the city $45.5 million of the $81 million that has been spent. He advised those in attendance that more reimbursement is coming, but it is typically two months behind the invoicing.
The budget includes a contingency of $21,202,474 for any change orders that arise. Thus far the contingency has not been used.
City Councilor Erik Gitschier asked if the contingency could be used to install solar panels on the roof.
Joe Drown from designer Perkins Eastman said the gym roof and new freshman academy building roofs are designed to hold solar panels and are designed to make it easy for the infrastructure required to be put into place. However, it was decided by city officials during the original design phase to hold off on the actual installation of solar panels.
Maryann Williams, of Skanska, explained that the MSBA does not reimburse for solar panels or geothermal, but the buildings will be solar ready if the city decides to pursue that course. Additionally, MassSaves will be conducting an energy audit that is expected to save more than $200,000.
City Manager Tom Golden said the city’s Energy Manager, Katherine Moses, is looking at solar panel use citywide and the high school project is definitely on her radar and part of ongoing discussions.
As work continues at Lowell High, the construction project team said they will continue communicating with school staff and families on the latest updates.
The Lowell High School project website can be found here: http://www.lowellhsproject.com
Time to Play!
The playground at the Cardinal O'Connell (pictured above) is complete. The others will be done soon. The photo below is the new playground at the STEM Academy under construction.
Zoom Transportation Info Session
2022-2023 School Calendar
LPS Blog
As we reopen for the new school year, Lowell Public Schools Food and Nutrition we are Powering Potential for students and faculty with innovations in our menus and enhancements to our overall dining operations. When your child dines with us, rest assured that we will be serving delicious, nutritious meals prepared with the utmost attention to safety. We encourage every student to fuel up with breakfast and lunch meals each day so they can be energized and prepared to succeed throughout the day, in and out of the classroom.
Check out our daily menus on Nutrislice | Lowell Public Schools
Please keep up to date on our program, nutrition education, monthly menus and back to school letters on the LPS Food and Nutrition website.
Any concerns please feel free to email foodservice@lowell.k12.ma.us