It’s almost back-to-school time, Lowell dragons! Here are some announcements from our principal:

• We will continue to be a late-start school. Here are our bell times:
  • M, Tu, Th, F – Doors open at 8:40, school starts 8:55, and school releases at 3:25.
  • Wed – Doors open at 8:40, school starts 8:55, and school releases at 2:10.
• Bus route information will be sent directly to families closer to the end of the month. If you have specific questions, please utilize the “Let’s Talk” option on the SPS-Transportation website: https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/transportation/contact-us
• Breakfast and lunch will continue to be free to all students at no-cost this year.
• The First Day of School for 1st – 5th graders will be Wednesday, Sept 4. School doors open at 8:40 and school releases at 2:10. Preschool and Kindergarten’s first day is Monday, Sept 9.
• Enrollment continues and class lists are in process. Your child’s teacher will reach out to you with a personal introduction via phone or e-mail the week of August 26.
• If your children will no longer be attending Lowell, please email Tammy Watson at tawatson@seattleschools.org to let us know about the enrollment change.
• Welcome to Kindergarten:
  • When kindergarten teachers call to introduce themselves the week of August 26, they will also schedule a Family Connection Conference. These 1-1 family-teacher conferences will be held between Sept 4-6, either in-person or over Microsoft Teams, depending on your preference. 
  • Please check out this welcome video from our Kindergarten team, sharing ideas that can support readiness.
  • Due to budget limitations, there will not be a Kindergarten Jump Start event this year at Lowell.
• Monday Food Hub: This August, the Lowell Food Hub is excited to offer meal kits for pick-up every Monday from 12pm-4pm! Meal kits will include recipes for two lunch/dinner meals and one breakfast. Expect tasty options like cereal, pancakes, stir-fries, and casseroles! To reserve a food bag, sign up here: https://calendly.com/crademacher/recipe-food-bag-pickup
• Childcare: The Boys and Girls Club operates an after-school program on-site at Lowell. If you would like more information about registration, please email Erika Kerr at EKerr@positiveplace.org
• School Supplies: Lowell does not have a school supply list – and please do not feel like you need to purchase anything. Students may bring their own backpack and/or pencil case if they would like. Our supplies are shared collectively. If you would like to contribute, please work directly with your child’s teacher to see what specific needs they have for their classroom.
• All families are invited to our annual kick-off engagement event, Popsicles on the Playground. This will be on Tuesday, Sept 3 from 2:30-3:30. This will be a chance to meet your new teacher, connect with friends, enjoy music, do some chalk art, play outside, and high-five our Dragon mascot. Our Community Partners, including the school-based Health Center, will be on-site to support with questions. Backpacks will also be available for pick-up.
   
• Here are some ways to stay connected to Lowell staff and families:
• Download the Talking Points app. It is through this app that the district, school, and your child(ren)s teacher(s) may communicate with you. Be sure to regularly do app updates to ensure you continue receiving these messages throughout the year.
• Set up your Source account. The Source is Seattle Public Schools’ tool that allows parents to view attendance, grades, test scores, and schedules.
• Visit the Lowell PTA website where you can learn about how to get involved in supporting the school and join the email listserv to get regular updates. Direct questions to PTA President Courtney Zier at president@lowellelementary.org
• Visit the Lowell Website. This will provide information about upcoming events and our current newsletter, along with photos of the school and staff rosters/contact information.
• Sign up to volunteer in the school: https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/volunteer/
• We will send out family email updates at least monthly, beginning in late August. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to e-mail cldziedzic@seattleschools.org

Thanks to Blick Art Materials for donating a gift card to our drive (http://www.dickblick.com/)! We are grateful to our community partners!

On behalf of the PTA, welcome back to Lowell. See below for some upcoming events:

CANSSPA Fall Potluck – Saturday, September 23rd at 12:00 PM

Lowell is a part of the Central and North Seattle Schools PTA Alliance, an organization formed to help advocate for adequate and equitable education in the Seattle schools through network building, resource sharing, and collective advocacy. Join us for a fall potluck in Volunteer Park to kick off our year. Bring yourselves and a dish to share.

General PTA meeting – Tuesday, September 26th at 5:30 PM

Please join us in the Lowell Elementary School library for our first PTA meeting of the year to discuss our goals and activities for the year. Children welcome, and dinner will be provided.

Want to join the PTA but can’t make the meeting? Have questions about what membership involves? Email PTA president Courtney Zier at president@lowellelementary.org.

CANSSPA Field Day

The Lowell Elementary PTA is thrilled to have joined CANSSPA (The Central and North Seattle Schools PTA Alliance), a newly-formed organization who mission is “to advocate for all children to receive adequate and equitable education through a model of network building, resource sharing, and collective advocacy.” CANSSPA is holding a kick-off Field Day event on Saturday, June 10th from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM at Carkeek Park. All are welcome to join for fun, games, refreshments, conversation, and community building. Learn more about CANSSPA at: https://www.cansspa.org/.

Lowell Spring Beautification

Join members of the PTA and the Lowell community on Sunday, June 11th to spruce up our school grounds before summer! We’ll be planting bushes and flowers, weeding, picking up trash, playing games in the field, and enjoying snacks together. If you have gardening gloves and/or tools, feel free to bring them, otherwise we’ll have some on hand.

Note: We are going to try to engage our members with more frequent, more casual communications so that everyone knows what the PTA is up to. In the past we’ve gotten bogged down by feeling our communications had to be overly polished and detailed, then never getting around to it. 

Here is what your PTA has been up to lately:

At the general meeting, we elected next year’s board and officers.
President: Sara Ross-Viles
Vice-President: Jen Anderson
Treasurer: Ali McKay
Secretary: Kate Alesandrini
Events Chair: Lacie Charles
Volunteer coordinator: Charlie Ellis
Communications Chair: Cedar McKay
Communications/Events: Courtney Zier

Ali McKay served on the selection committee to bring Boys and Girls club to Lowell to provide childcare starting next year! Yay!

Ali McKay is collecting last minute Mov-a-thon donations. Last day to be counted is tomorrow, so get them in!

The board has been advocating with the district to take into account the return of Mary’s Place to our school next year. This would have a big impact on the number of teachers and staff Lowell gets. 

Lacie Charles is busy organizing the Luau dance this Saturday.

The board approved two $395 opportunity grants for Special Education teacher Karen Giroux and speech-language pathologist Eileen Donahue to go to Washington State School for the Blind for Professional Development this summer.

As usual, on Friday Jen Anderson led a group of Lowell Food Pantry volunteers who sent home 125 bags of food with children experiencing food insecurity. 

At the general meeting we voted to fund $2000 for Writers in the Schools (WITS) next year.

The board approved a $1,175 opportunity grant to fund the Lowell Girl’s Running Club.

As always, we welcome the involvement and input of all families, regardless of race, sexual orientation, housing status, language, or religion.

Please be sure to check out available after school enrichment programs offered right at Lowell by Seattle Parks’ Lowell Community Center. Maybe your kid would like to take Photography, Spanish, Flag Football, or many others!

100% scholarships are available, so please don’t let cost be a barrier!

Sign up here:  https://apm.activecommunities.com/seattle/Home

Please check out the available courses! 2019_Winter_Catalog_Lowell

We are going to vote on our budget and standing rules Monday Sept 17th at the General  PTA meeting. Here are draft versions.

PALS – Budget – Fiscal Year 2018-19

Standing Rules 2018_19_draft1

Hello Dragon Families,

I am so glad to have students at school! We’ve been having a great time together! I wanted to share a little bit about our school improvement plans and how they fit with our district’s strategic plan.

The Seattle Public Schools Strategic Plan asks us to improve student-focused collaboration. We know that at Lowell, we need to do great work together because none of us alone can meet the needs of all the students we serve. We are using a process called Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (or MTSS) to accomplish this goal together. MTSS is a process in which we examine every student’s progress in reading, math, and social and emotional well-being. We do this work in teams 4 times a year.

In order to know how students are doing, we have an assessment calendar that includes measures for math, reading, and SEL skills. We’ve designed a consistent agenda for MTSS processes and expectations for data collection. We have developed a model for students to receive interventions based on the information we collect, and to cycle out of interventions when they’ve grown and are successful.

We’ve also blocked 40 minutes each morning for SEL instruction for each grade level. We will ensure that every student learns emotional self-regulation and social skills in their class with their peers. When students are having reading, math, emotional or behavior problems, we will help them a little more during other times of the day. We will partner with parents to make sure we know what works best for the student and that we are working together. We might do a reading group, a small math team, a check in and check out, a scheduled break, or a social group with our counselor or a teacher. We believe that if we work systematically and collaboratively, that we can understand the story, strength, and need of every student and meet the needs of every student at Lowell!

In case you missed it, here’s the hello email sent by Dr. Sarah Talbot, our new principal starting next year. We’re excited to welcome her to Lowell! If you have questions and missed today’s “meet and greet” in the library, feel free to find Nick or Maria, who interviewed Sarah as parent respresentatives on the hiring committee.

Dear Lowell Community,

I am thrilled to introduce myself as the newest member of the Lowell Community. I applied to Lowell because it is a unique and special place, and I am really excited to have the privilege of being chosen to lead here.

I bring with me 22 years of experience as an educator, and a broad experience across a variety of levels and kinds of schools. I have a doctorate in educational leadership from Seattle University. I’ve worked with students from pre-k to graduate level and have led in all levels of public schooling. This broad experience gives me an understanding of where elementary school is situated in the work of helping children gain the skills and knowledge they need to have the successful adulthoods they deserve.

Lowell is the perfect place for students to learn to lead in ways that are good for them and good for the people around them. Our schools are funded by our taxes so that our democracy can have a productive, educated electorate who lead our community and our nation. With a mix of families that is close to representing our nation as a whole, students at Lowell get a perfect chance to practice communicating across cultures and different life experiences. They have the opportunity to learn to build thriving relationships with the people in their community. This is a special place for students and the adults lucky enough to work with them; I can’t wait to get started.

I am finishing up the school year before I officially start at Lowell, but I will be announcing a few events for families and staff to get to know me and for me to get to know you. I want to have a deep knowledge of what our strengths are as a community and what our next steps might be. One of my goals will be to revisit our mission and vision; I want to include those qualities we truly want our students to leave our school with – I know I want them to have a sense of wonder, a joy for learning, strong relationships, and the academic skills to put those to good use. I can’t wait to hear what you and they want for their futures and to begin the joyous work of getting there.

Gratefully,

Sarah Talbot