Lowell's Parent Newsletter
Lowell Elementary School 10/4/2020
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Principal Corner
Greetings from Mrs. Phelan
October is here and the leaves are beginning to turn those spectacular autumn colors. The first full week of school is now behind us and everyone is settling in nicely. This week, I had the pleasure of filling in for Mr. Spano. I was so impressed by our students they showed up on time and ready to work every day. I was able to see first hand how well our students are adapting to the schedule and school year.
Wednesday evening I held a parent forum and received lots of useful feedback. One of the most notable comments concerned the extension day schedule. Parents commented on the absence of a recess/snack break on the extension days. They said children were adjusting well, however, they thought it would be a good idea to add in a break between 8:15-12:15 similar to the one we have on the core days. We are planning to address this concern and make the necessary adjustments.
Teachers in grades k-2 have begun to set up their See Saw classrooms and receive additional training. The earlier news is very positive. The kindergarten team said the platform is well suited for their student's developmental age and abilities. We are planning on introducing the platform during an open house on October 13th. Speaking of the open house we are holding our annual open house for parents via zoom. The details are included in this newsletter.
We have decided to schedule our i-Ready assessments for the week of October 27th. That happens to be the week students return to in-person learning. We want to focus on instruction and curriculum for a few more weeks before we begin our assessment window. Students are just starting to adjust to their routines and schedule. We think a little more time focusing on these critical elements is time well spent. Plus giving an assessment in person is best for reliability purposes too.
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Stacy
A few 5th graders in Ms. Erwin's class share their favorite books.
Upcoming Events
Join us for Morning Announcements!
Announcement Schedule:
- Greeting
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Lowell School Pledge
- Thought for the Day
- Updates or Highlights.
Please see the zoom invite below.
Topic: Morning Announcement Zoom Meeting
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime
Join Zoom Meeting
Book Distribution for First and Second Grade
Starting next week, your first and second grade student can get a bag of books from school for at-home reading! Students will be able to come to school and pick up a bag of five books that will be checked out to your child for two weeks. At the end of these two weeks we ask that you refill the bag with your 5 take home books and bring them back to school. We will then let you know when the next round of books are ready to be picked up.
Book and material distribution for our 1st and 2nd grade students on Friday, October 9th. You may come to school between 8:30am and 2:30pm. At this time students will be able to pick up more learning materials and can also check out a bag of books.
Lowell Open House
When: October 13, 2020
Where: Virtual
Time:
- 4:30-5:30pm Fifth grade
- 5:00-6:00pm Third grade
- 5:30-6:30pm First grade
- 6:00-7:00pm Kindergarten
- 6:30-7:30pm Fourth Grade
- 7:00-8:00pm Second Grade
Why: To welcome all new and returning families to the Lowell School.
How will this work: Each grade level will have a one hour block.The first, thirty- minutes will be grade level presentations. The second, thirty- minutes will be a homeroom based meeting for specific information. Zoom links will be released closer to the event!*Kinder teachers will host a SeeSaw parent workshop.
Curriculum Corner
Ist grade Weekly Objectives
Kinder Weekly Objectives
2nd Grade Weekly Objectives
3rd Grade Weekly Objectives
4th grade Weekly Objectives
5th grade Weekly Objectives
i-Ready Updates
Our annual universal assessments in math and literacy will begin shortly. Students in grades 1-9 will take the i-Ready fall diagnostic in October. This will provide us with important data on how students are performing in both math and literacy. In grades 1 - 8, the fall diagnostic data will help teachers to create individualized lesson paths for students to work through in online instruction. In grade 9, it is used for beginning of year data and end of year growth. As in past years, Kindergarten will take their first diagnostic in December. i-Ready conducted studies of the reliability of the data when giving the diagnostic remotely in the spring across various districts. Their findings revealed that there was less score inflation in districts that were communicating directly with families and when families watched i-Ready family videos about the diagnostic. To that end, we encourage parents/families to view this video to refresh or learn about i-Ready to best support their children.
Introducing i-Ready Assessment at Home to Families Videos (English | Spanish)
Family Guidance for Administering the diagnostic At Home videos (English | Spanish)
We will be administering the diagnostic during live Zoom meetings. The diagnostic window for elementary (grades 1-5) is scheduled 10/8 - 10/16 and for secondary (grades 6-9) between 10/19 - 10/30. Classroom teachers will provide more information in the Weekly Learning Plans. The i-Ready experience better helps teachers:
Use insights from i-Ready to plan instruction
Set goals and help students take ownership of their learning
Monitor students’ progress on the i-Ready Diagnostic (Grades K-8)
Intervene using differentiated resources when students need support (Grades K-8)
See student growth and celebrate gains w/students and parents (Grades K-8)
Technology Corner
Technology LIVE Help Sessions:
The Digital Learning Team members
are now offering
Educational Technology LIVE HELP SESSIONS via Zoom.
Both staff and families are welcome to click into any of the sessions to receive immediate assistance with their technology needs.
Tues-Fri 1:30-2:30PM - Link to Elementary Library Media Specialists' Zoom
After School Hours - Link to Full Schedule of Educational Technology Support Sessions.
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PTO Corner
Parent Representatives
Each grade level has Parent Representatives to the PTO. The goal of this position is to facilitate open communication and broaden family involvement.
Parent Resources
Drop in Zoom TIme
Tuesday-Friday
1 - 1:45pm Drop In Time...optional time to spend time with
Ms. Matthews. Ms. Cavaretta, or Ms. Breen
1:45 - 2:25PM Drop Everything And Read...Includes read alouds with Ms. Matthews, Ms.Cavaretta, or Ms.Breen,(Both live stories and pre-recorded stories)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81154152472?pwd=S1lSamd5UmE5ZFdlZW9aYTBWM3g5QT09 - Ms. Mathews Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88504183541?pwd=Yzk4RTVqYTRVU1VrVXFsalpmdkQ5Zz09- Ms. Breen's Zoom Link
Contact Us at
Email: Stacy.Phelan@watertown.k12.ma.us
Website: https://lowell.watertown.k12.ma.us/
Location: 175 Orchard Street
Phone: (617) 926-7770