Monday, October 2, 2017

Lowell School Newsletter

This Week’s Featured Event

School Council Meeting

Thursday, October 5th, 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Lowell School Library
On Thursday, October 5th the Lowell School will hold its first School Council Meeting of the year. At that time I’m hoping to encourage parents to join our School Council as well as explain what it is to be a member, as this committee supports the school and principal. In short, the School Council advises the principal in creating the School’s Improvement Plan and budgetary spending for the next school year. It is of great value. We will review our school’s current School Improvement Plan and discuss ways we can achieve our current annual goals.
If interested,please fill out nomination papers and enter a brief bio. I will then post the bio’s in the school’s newsletter on Monday, October 9th. We will hold an election at our October 10th PTO meeting.

Currently I know of three faculty members interested in running for School Council. Therefore, we need  four parent members. All are welcome to join. Council members must commit to attending the scheduled meetings as listed below throughout this school year:

10/5  11/2  12/5  1/ 4  2/1 3/1 4/5 5/3
Literacy Resources for Parents
Dear Parents,
Many parents have asked for resources to help pick “Just Right Books” for their child. I’ve included resources to help support you. I’ve included a link to Jim Trelease, the  read-aloud guru, website, links for book series by reading level, tips for parents to support reading, and the Fountas and Pinnell Reading Level Chart by grade level expectations. I look forward to your feedback. Happy reading!
Mrs. Phelan
         Jim Trelease advises to keep reading to your child all the way through high school. He claims, that’s what got his kids into Harvard.
Since writing his million-copy bestseller, The Read-Aloud Handbook, in 1982, Jim Trelease has traveled to all 50 states and abroad, advocating the benefits of reading aloud to children.
IN doing so, he's won the applause of both teachers and parents for his pleas in behalf of literacy efforts that contain less "pain" and more focus on turning books into friends, not enemies.
WHILE more than 60 colleges use his Handbook as a text for education students, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, and Spanish editions now reach parents and teachers worldwide, even inspiring the successful "All of Poland Reads to Kids" campaign in Europe.
Additional Resources
Many Parents have asked for books at their child’s Just Right Level. Here are two links where you can find book series to support literacy at home. Children who get hooked onto a book series are more likely to practice reading.
Series books leveled by Fountas & Pinnell
Series books
10 Ways for Parents to Encourage Their Child to Read
Encouraging children to read has been a challenge as long as there have been kids and books. Reading is essential in education, but in the modern business world where so much communication takes place digitally, over email and text-based messaging systems. Because of this, the ability to read for comprehension and to communicate effectively is vital, and needs to be taught at a young age. Beyond that, reading for pleasure provides a wealth of benefits for kids as they go through school and into adulthood. A study of more than 17,000 people, recording their reading habits and academic success as children, found that those students who read for pleasure not only did better with their vocabulary and spelling, but also in math. The connection was four times as strong as that of students whose parents had graduate level degrees.
Here are some tips for parents to encourage their kids to read and turn a young reader’s reluctance into enthusiasm.
1.    Develop children’s oral language
Depending on the child’s language skill level, give him a story to read or have a story read to them. When the story is finished, ask your child to pinpoint favorite parts of the story. This can enable children to have fun picking out words and develop an interest to move to the next page.
2.    Read several stories every day
The more children are exposed to literature, the more reading will become part of their daily life. A child is introduced to new information, concepts, and phonemic awareness with every story.
3.    Surround your children with reading material
Children with a large collection of reading resources in their homes score higher and perform better on standardized tests. Provoke a reading habit in your child by having a large array of interesting books and magazines at her reading level.
4.    Encourage a wide variety of reading activities
Make reading an essential part of your children’s lives. Let them read menus, movie name, roadside signs, game guides, weather reports, and other practical everyday information. Always try to make sure your children have something to read in their spare time.
5.    Use technology to increase self-esteem
Technology is changing the way we all learn, and it can have a positive impact on kids and their reading. By adding technology like tablet e-readers to the classroom, students’ self-esteem and confidence rise. Technology also gives students who have grown up in an age of smartphones and ubiquitous computers another outlet with which they are familiar to grow and learn. Building self-esteem through applied technology and increased reading skills can have a positive ripple-effect on every other area of a student’s life.
6.    Let them use e-readers
E-readers can be adapted to each person’s specific needs. If you have a kid who needs larger font or less lines per page in order to improve their reading ability, e-readers are perfectly suited to this kind of tailoring. E-readers are adaptive for students with learning disabilities as well, and can help level the playing field for children who learn differently.
7.    Let them choose what they read
Reading for pleasure is one of the best ways for a child to improve his performance at school, but teaching a child to love reading involves a lot more than simply handing him a book. Letting children have choices in their reading material goes a long way in raising lifelong readers. Kids who choose what they read, regardless of whether it’s a novel, a comic book, or a magazine, are more engaged with what they are reading and more likely to retain the information.
8.    Help them choose age-appropriate books
Help your kids choose age-appropriate books on topics that interest them to spark a passion for reading. Take them to the library or even show them e-readers that provide entire libraries of options at the touch of the screen. Access to a wide-variety of options helps make it easier for parents to help their children find the stories that give them that toehold into the world of reading.
9.    Make use of gadgets and creative apps
Your smartphone or tablets can be used to install useful reading apps where kids can have safe spaces for reading without parents worrying about what they might come across online. Parents are able to choose what their children can access, as well as how long they can do different activities with timer features.
10. Show interest in your child’s reading
Your response or feedback has a strong effect on how hard they will try to become good readers. Always remember to give them genuine praise for their efforts.
Reading for pleasure seems to give kids an advantage in school because they are used to be introduced to new ideas and can process them more quickly and effectively than their non-reading peers. E-readers have opened the doors to getting the next generation back into reading. Easy access to an array of topics and stories is sure to spark an interest in even a reluctant reader, and increasing technology provides better tailored learning opportunities while increasing self-esteem and confidence in the classroom.
Enjoy your week ahead!
Stacy
THIS WEEK’S
TOP STORIES
This week the neighbors of York Road called the school to report parents driving too quickly up the hill.  Many of our students walk up the street on their way to school. They often cross the street between parked cars. Please drive slowly up the street. We all know the phrase…”Drive like your child lives here!”
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No Slime Allowed
Recently we’ve been seeing homemade slime in school. Slime in not allowed in school. We have some students who are allergic to the ingredients in slime. It’s better to be safe rather than sorry! Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe.

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Friday, October 6th Mrs. Phelan is hosting a Coffee for parents of Third Grade.

8:30-9:30 in the Cafeteria




Friday Night is Movie Night at Lowell School Friday, October 6th Sponsored by the PTO
All are welcome to join the fun. Ice cream will be served at 6:00. The movie begins at dusk. The featured movie is Boss Baby! Please come join us.



Math in Focus Parent University
The event is for all elementary school parents (k5) to learn more about our math curriculum from professional development providers from Math in Focus. It is the first of this kind of event and we hoping for a great turnout! It will be held on Monday, November 6th in the WMS Auditorium from 6:30-8:00 pm. This is a parent only event. Please email Elizabeth Kaplan, Elementary Math/Science Coordinator, with any questions.
elizabeth.kaplan@watertown.k12.ma.us
We will be holding a Destination Imagination Instant Challenge Event
Thursday, October 3rd 6:00 pm
It will be a time for parents and children to do some fun instant challenges and learn more about the Destination Imagination program.  This program will be an outside of school, parent led initiative.
Dates: Event: Time/Location:
October 3rd
Destination Imagination Instant Challenges
6:oo pm
October 5th
School Council
7:00-8:00
Library
October 6th
Third Grade Parents Coffee with Mrs. Phelan
8:30-9:30
Cafeteria
October 6th
Movie Night Sponsored by
Lowell’s PTO
Boss Baby
Front Lawn
Lowell School
6:00 PM
October 8th
No School
Columbus Day Observed
All
Day
October
10th
PTO Meeting

School Council Vote
6:30-7:30 PM
Library
October 13th
Fourth Grade Parent’s Coffee with Mrs. Phelan
8:30-9:30
Cafeteria
October 18th
Early Release for Students & PD for Teachers
12:15
Dismissal Time
October 20th
Fifth Grade Parent’s
Coffee with Mrs. Phelan
8:30-9:30
Cafeteria
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