Hello from our new principal

~ Lowell PTA

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

 

THANK YOU, Montlake PTA!

~ Lowell PTA

We want to give huge thanks to the Montlake PTA, whose membership recently voted to donate 5% of their projected revenue in 2018–19 ($10,300!) to Lowell Elementary.

Montlake is just over the hill from Lowell, and the Montlake PTA wanted to help Lowell as a Title I (high poverty) school within the same Meany Middle School cluster—i.e., many of our kids are and will be classmates together at Meany.

With our many challenges and high turnover rate (in addition to 65% of Lowell students qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch, upwards of 30% are homeless and 40% leave within the school year), Lowell doesn’t have the ability to fund-raise within our school community at the level of Montlake and other schools, so this gift really makes a big difference.

Let’s all keep working towards the day that all of our schools are funded adequately—but in the meantime, thank you to the Montlake PTA for showing solidarity and helping us work toward equitable funding!

 

Dragon Tales: Dine Out (TOMORROW!) at Southpaw, 5/3

~ Lowell PTA

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 5/2. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Hello, sunshine!

It’s hard to believe there are less than eight weeks left of school! But we’ve still got a lot of stuff coming up.

As always, for the latest updates, follow us on Facebook and at www.lowellelementary.org. If you ever have school-related news or events to share, email lowellparents@gmail.com.

This Thursday (TOMORROW!): Dine Out at Southpaw for Lowell

We’re very excited to get Lowell love this Thursday from Southpaw, the cozy pizza place near Seattle U created by chef (and James Beard award winner!) John Sundstrom.

Enjoy some delicious wood-fired pizza and soft-serve ice cream on Thursday, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Lowell! Southpaw is right on 12th Avenue, between Spring and Marion (926 12th Ave).

As one reviewer says: “It’s the very first pizza I’ve had in Seattle that comes even close to the pizza I grew up with in NJ.  Wow!  I’m blown away.”

Appreciate your teachers (always, but especially) next week!

Our teachers are the heroes of our school. They give so much, all the time, to make sure that our kids have what they need. So we want to thank them!

If you’re looking for ideas, here are some traditional ones and some not-so-traditional ones. (A nice note from your kiddo, or you, is always great.)

Continue reading “Dragon Tales: Dine Out (TOMORROW!) at Southpaw, 5/3” →

Monday Night Square Dance, 4/23: A benefit for our music program!

~ Lowell PTA

Thanks to Ms. Shelby working together with the music teacher at Stevens, the Tractor Tavern will be hosting a Monday Night Square Dance fund-raiser for the Lowell music program!

It’s a Traditional Square Dance and Two Stepping night with an instructor who teaches you how to swing your partner to and fro.  All skill levels welcome!

Here are the details:

Mon Apr 23 2018, 8:00 PM (Doors 7:30 PM)

Tractor, 5213 Ballard Avenue NW Seattle, WA 98107

$7.00, Ages 21+

Heritage Night tonight, 5–7pm!

~ Lowell PTA

The cafeteria is newly festooned with flags, and teachers and students have put a lot of work into tonight’s cultural celebration.

Everyone is welcome, hope to see you there! Tours start at 5pm, potluck dinner and pizza 5:30 to 6:30, performances at 6:30pm.

Dragon Tales: Heritage Night this Thursday, 5–7pm

~ Lowell PTA

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 3/27. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Happy spring, everyone!

A big thanks to all the families who came out to Morfire for our Dine-Out event earlier this month. We raised nearly $1,000 for Lowell Elementary. (And the kids loved the cotton candy machine!)

As always, for the latest updates, follow us on Facebook and at www.lowellelementary.org. If you ever have school-related news or events to share, email lowellparents@gmail.com.

Heritage Night this Thursday at Lowell, 5–7pm

Teachers and students have been working hard to put together this event for families. Please join us! In addition to the potluck dinner (feel free to bring a favorite dish to share), we’ll also have pizza for the kids. Here’s the schedule:

5 – 5:30 Tour
5:30 Drum circle to call dinner
5:30 – 6:30 Potluck dinner
6:30 – 7 Performances in the cafeteria by Lowell Students and the Gansago Drumming Ensemble

5th Grade Promotion Party

The 5th Grade Promotion Party is looking for parent coordinators! Ms. Laura posted this message in the Lowell Parents group on Facebook, just passing it along in case you missed it:

“This is a friendly ask from the 5th grade team at Lowell regarding 5th grade promotion. In the past, parent volunteers have planned a picnic lunch at volunteer park for the 5th grade class, and helped with graduation set-up, food and decorations. I know it’s just March, but I wanted to put it out there for interested families to start thinking about. Promotion to middle school is a big deal and deserves to be celebrated! We cannot make this day special without the help of families. Let me know if you are interested/ able to help!”

You can email Ms. Laura at lmschulz@seattleschools.org.

Continue reading “Dragon Tales: Heritage Night this Thursday, 5–7pm” →

Dragon Tales: Dine Out at Morfire (March 1–3, this week!), interim principal

~ Lowell PTA

[This post is a copy of the Dragon Tales newsletter sent 2/25. Sign up on this page to receive Dragon Tales in email.]

Welcome back after Mid-Winter Break!

Hope your family has enjoyed the break! And once again, thanks to all the families that came to the Valentine’s Dance earlier this month. If you took a photo in the photo booth, watch for a print sometime after break. (Thanks to Chris Sondreal, Theo’s dad, for donating the printing and all-pro booth skills.)

As always, for the latest updates, follow us on Facebook and at www.lowellelementary.org. If you ever have school-related news or events to share, email lowellparents@gmail.com.

THREE DAYS! THIS WEEK! Dine-Out to support Lowell at Morfire, March 1–3

Capitol Hill’s own Thai hot pot restaurant, Morfire, will be donating 20% of all proceeds from Thursday, March 1 to Saturday, March 3.

WHAT?! That’s amazing, and we’re so thankful to Morfire. No fliers or reservations necessary, just come with the family, enjoy some delicious Thai hot pot or small plates, and support Lowell Elementary! You can see their whole menu here.

Check out the event on Facebook so you’ll get a reminder—and, even more importantly, so you can easily share with friends. The more people go to Morfire those days, the more money Lowell can raise.

New interim principal

All families received a notice earlier this month about Dr. Stump taking a leave of absence until further notice. The PTA board has been involved with and following these developments very closely. If you have questions about this change or want to share thoughts or information about your child’s experiences at Lowell this year, come find a PTA board member at pickup/dropoff or email lowellparents@gmail.com.

We’ll have an experienced interim principal starting tomorrow, Jo Lute-Ervin. She’s the recently retired principal of Kimball Elementary School, and she has since subbed for and with principals at several elementary schools around the district.

Continue reading “Dragon Tales: Dine Out at Morfire (March 1–3, this week!), interim principal” →

Spring After-School Enrichment Classes—Register March 6!

~ Lowell PTA

Update 3/6/17: 

  • STEM Powered Girls – No gender restrictions (this needs to be cleared)
  • Anyone Can be An Artist (1st Session/178203) age restriction changed from K-3 to K-5
  • Launch It! (2nd Session/178222) age restriction changed from K-3 to K-5

 

Does your student love soccer, art, chess, or martial arts? Miller Community Center has a busy after-school enrichment program that’s available to all Lowell students—with classes *at* Lowell.

Spring session is 4/16 to 6/15. You can register through the Seattle Parks and Rec website (https://class.seattle.gov/…/Activit…/ActivitiesAdvSearch.asp) or call Miller Community Center at (206) 684-4753.

For details, see the full schedule below. Classes have a minimum enrollment of 5. Prices adjusted for 8- and 9-week classes. (Miller also has a great selection of summer camps—registration opened on February 6!)

Remember: scholarships are available for all Miller Community Center camps and classes. For more information, email Eric at eric.luu@seattle.gov.

*Age restrictions may be lifted

Free “Family Talk Time” and Computer Literacy classes

~ Lowell PTA

We received an exciting invitation for parents and guardians of Lowell students who want to attend classes designed to help you communicate with teachers and find your way around the district.

See the flier below, and here’s an introductory email from the kind folks at Seattle U with more details:

I’d like to share an opportunity for Lowell families through Seattle University’s Youth Initiative. At Seattle University’s Center for Community Engagement, our Family Engagement team offers free English (Family Talk Time) and computer literacy classes to parents and guardians at Bailey Gatzert. We would like to extend the offer for these free classes to the parents and guardians at your school. These classes hosted at Bailey Gatzert are drop-in classes, so no pre-registration is required.

Family Talk Time is offered Monday and Wednesday mornings. Our English learners have various proficiencies, and we adapt our classes to suit the needs of each individual. Much of our content is based around the school environment; some lessons include parent-teacher conferences, talking to your students’ teachers about performance and behavior, accessing the Source, and the various holidays students are celebrating at the school and how families choose to celebrate holidays at home. We try to make the class as accessible as possible for our families, so we include free child activities for younger children who aren’t in school yet.

Our Computer Literacy class is offered Tuesday mornings. As with the English class, the curriculum is adaptable based on individual student needs. We also offer free child activities for participants in this class. With Computer Literacy, participants not only learn more about the school webpages and communicating with teachers, we also work on developing resumes and job-searching skills, and navigating the wider Seattle community. While this class is developed with English learners in mind, we have gladly helped native English speakers one-on-one to work specifically on resumes and job searches.

Our greatest goal is creating a strong community for families.

 

 

Thanks to everyone who came to the Valentine’s Dance!

~ Lowell PTA

There was much snacking, face-painting, and balloon-assisted revelry! If you have an idea for another fun community event (movies? games? a cultural event?), email lowellparents@gmail.com and help get something started.

Big thanks to everyone who helped organize, especially Chris Sondreal (Theo’s dad) who masterminded the photo booth. Chris says that any kids who took a photo there should get a print after the break next week, via their teacher’s mailbox.