Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Newsletter 10-9-18

Lowell School Newsletter

Schedule for Friday’s

Walk-a-Thon

Welcome– 9 am

Pre-K, K & 1 go out at the same time – 9:05 am
Grade 1 cheers on K/pre-k while they walk and vice versa

Grade 2&3 go out – 9:35 am
Grade 3 cheers on grade 2 and vice versa

Grade 4&5 go out – 10:05 am
Grade 5 cheers on grade 4 and vice vers
Greetings Lowell Families,
Today we practiced ALICE drills and an offsite evacuation. The staff did a great job prepping our students for each ALICE scenario. Tomorrow, we will meet as a safety team debrief and evaluate the strengths and areas for improvement. We have asked staff to take an online survey and offer their critique of the planning and process.
The WPD was an instrumental partner in providing safety and support to our school throughout today’s drills.
We want to say thank you to you our families for all the cooperation and patience. We hope the experience gave you confidence moving forward.
Warmest regards,
Stacy

PTO Sponsored
Scholastic Book Fair
October 15th - 18th
Cookies & Milk with Mrs. Phelan
October 18, 2018
6:00 pm
Join us on the last evening of our Book Fair and enjoy a special treat


Fun-Run/Walk-a-Thon
October 12th
9 - 11 am
Student Registration is Online
School-wide prizes will be awarded
If we raise $10,000. Mrs. Phelan will dress up as a superhero!
Calendar & Events
Dates: Event: Time/Location:
October 9th
PTO Meeting
6:30-7:30
Lowell Library
October 10th
Early Release
Teacher Professional Development
12:15
Dismissal
October 15th-
October
18th
Scholastic Book Fair
Lowell Library
Classroom Visit During Day
October
18th
Bedtime stories read by Mrs. Phelan/Ms. Whitmore
Cookies and Milk
Please come in your PJ’s
6:00-7:00 pm

You can now subscribe to the James Russell Lowell Blog,  just type in your email address.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Lowell Newsletter 10-01-18

Lowell School Newsletter
Melissa and Elenor Folks!
Lowell is getting excited for Box Tops!

Dear Parents/Guardians,
We will be holding an emergency drill on Tuesday, October 9, 2018, using the principles outlined in the A.L.I.C.E. Program brought to us by Sgt. Demos Watertown Police Department.  A.L.I.C.E. stands for ALERT, LOCKDOWN, INFORM, COUNTER AND EVACUATE. This drill prepares staff and students for an incident involving an intruder at the Lowell school.
Students will be provided with the particulars of the drill.  Here is an outline of the information students are being given:
    • We will be practicing a drill to keep you safe in the event that an intruder enters the Lowell School.
    • This procedure, called ALICE, has been in place across Watertown School District.
    • This way of responding to threats gives our teachers choices about how best to keep our children safe based on how close they are to the threat.
    • Tuesday, teachers will have two choices: lockdown or evacuate.
    • If the teacher chooses to lockdown, he/she will turn off the lights and lock the door. They may also barricade the door as necessary. They will move students away from the door and out of sight, but the students and teacher will remain prepared to evacuate should the situation change.
    • If the teacher chooses to evacuate, students will follow their teacher swiftly and silently to the nearest exit. Teachers and other staff will be positioned around the outside of the building, and students will proceed directly to them and wait for the all clear to return to the building.
    • During this drill, students must follow the directions of their teacher throughout the drill.
All school personnel and students will participate in the A.L.I.C.E. Drill.  When the drill begins, classroom teachers will make a decision based on the proximity of the would-be intruder and students will be asked to follow that direction, whether the decision is to lockdown and barricade in the classroom, or evacuate the building if it is safe to do so.

After we practice the ALICE drill we will practice an Off-Site Evacuation. In the event of an emergency, we have may need to relocate to an alternative site. Our secondary site is the Watertown Department of Public Works facility.

There will be Watertown Police present on Tuesday to assess our performance and to provide helpful feedback to our staff.  Preparing students and staff by running drills of all types during the school year, including fire drills, medical drills, and bus evacuation drills, is a necessary part of our safety and security program at Lowell.  
Thank you in advance for your attention and cooperation, and communication with your child around this important drill. If you have any questions or concerns please me directly.
Sincerely,

Stacy A. Phelan
Principal

PTO Sponsored
Scholastic Book Fair
October 14th - 18th
Lowell Leopard Note and Lowell Paw Prints help to frame conversations around our core values.
Today as a staff we introduced the Lowell School Leopard Note. When sent home by the classroom teacher it serves as an opportunity for discussion between you and your child. This little note is meant to be a reminder for your child to exhibit the Lowell School Core Values of kindness, cooperation, integrity, and perseverance. The Leopard Notes are meant to be reminders and opportunities to make better choices, not to be seen as disciplinary action. I've attached a copy of the note here. We will also begin giving students Paw Prints to celebrate when they are living our core values. We’ll be moving around the building looking to “spot” your child exemplifying our core values.
Here is a copy of the Lowell Leopard Note:

Fun-Run/Walk-a-Thon
October 12th
9 - 11 am
Student Registration is Online
School-wide prizes will be awarded
If we raise $10,000. Mrs. Phelan will dress up as a superhero!
Calendar & Events
Dates: Event: Time/Location:
October
4th
School Council
TBD
October
8th
No School
Columbus Day Observed
All Day
October 9th
PTO Meeting
6:30-7:30
Lowell Library
October 10th
Early Release
Teacher Professional Development
12:15
Dismissal
October 15th-
October
18th
Scholastic Book Fair
Lowell Library
Classroom Visit During Day
October
18th
Bedtime stories read by Mrs. Phelan/Ms. Whitmore
Cookies and Milk
Please come in your PJ’s
6:00-7:00 pm

You can now subscribe to the James Russell Lowell Blog, just type in your email address.