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لترجمة هذه الرسالة من المدرسة ، اضغط عليها ثم استخدم الرابط الموجود على اليمين. (Arabic)

Այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք այն, ապա օգտագործեք աջ կողմում գտնվող հղումը: (Armenian)

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Dear Lowell School,

As a community, both locally and globally, we are being challenged in ways we probably have never imagined. In the span of only weeks, businesses and schools have been closed across the nation. No one could have ever anticipated all Massachusetts schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year. Cities that were recently thriving centers of vitality are now mostly desolate. In following the social distancing guidelines and quarantine recommendations from public health officials and civic leaders, we are all doing our part to contribute to the greater good to contain the pandemic.

Keeping our distance from each other is hard. We’re social people who are accustomed to spending time with friends and family, but now recognize the necessity of being patient, kind, cooperative, and selfless as being as important as ever. These virtues are working. The curve seems to be flattening and many of our government leaders have begun to indicate the spread of the virus is slowing.

By now, we all know someone who has been affected by the virus and the impact is more tangible than it was just a few short weeks ago. While we have been learning to cope with social distancing, the students, faculty, and staff of Lowell School also have been adapting to new ways of teaching, learning, and working. As we adjust to these new means and methods, we have accomplished much together and have overcome some initial, but difficult hurdles. We know there will be more obstacles ahead but together we will get through this health crisis.

Understandably, many in our community have turned their attention to what comes next. The one constant, however, in all the uncertainty is this situation appears to change rapidly. I am sure you all understand this already. What seems like a reasonable course of action in the morning becomes impractical in the evening because circumstances often change dramatically in a short period of time. As we make plans to address the next steps, the only certainty is, every decision we make will be grounded in what's best for the children and we will make these decisions together as educators.

Thinking of all of you, stay safe and be well,

Stacy

Dear Lowell Families,

Thank you to all the teachers, staff, students and families for participating in Virtual Spirit Week last week. This was a great opportunity to add a little excitement into our virtual learning week. In my own home, my children enjoyed getting dressed up and attending the morning announcements and their class meetings. They were so excited to see their friends and teachers dressed up each day. It gave them something to look forward to as the week moved along. I hope this excitement was shown in your household as well. We are looking to have more spirit days in the near future, so stay tuned. Below are highlights from the week.

Additionally, as a parent of Lowell Students, I want to personally highlight our teachers and staff, and thank them for all that they are doing. Each week, our staff members are planning and teaching instructional lessons, attending instructional coaching meetings, faculty meetings, troubleshooting technology issues, creating weekly newsletters, connecting with families, and taking care of their own personal lives. Our community is so fortunate to have such amazing, dedicated, hardworking, thoughtful and passionate educators! We are grateful for you all. Next week is teacher appreciation week. I know there are not enough words, gifts, or symbols of gratitude, to show my appreciation, but please know the work you are doing is continuing to make a lasting impression on the lives of my children and the Lowell Community.

Stay Well,

Candice Whitmore

Please join Mrs. Phelan every morning at 8:20 am for Lowell Morning Announcements! See Schedule Below:

• Pledge
• Lowell Pledge
• Thought for the Day
• Start of Virtual Learning Pep Talk

Please click the link below:

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/168213265?pwd=TjQwbUkrcDVnNHNOby9INlFsVk1rUT09 Meeting ID: 168 213 265 Password: 559093

Many teachers and students have started meeting on ZOOM for face to face Community Meetings, and it has been great to "see" each other and re-connect and catch up with each other. :) However, there are certain expectations we have for these meetings. The teachers have conveyed them to the students, but we ask that you please reinforce them with your child(ren).

• Please follow school dress code (no pajamas)

• School appropriate language and behavior

• Respect each other during the meeting

• Students (and teachers) have the option to turn off their video if they are more comfortable participating that way

• This is a fun way to re-connect, but we also need to keep it school/professional.

Mr. Spano is hosting office hours for instrument students! Monday, April 27th at 3pm.

These sessions are technically after-school and will be optional, but it would be wonderful to see everyone. For our first session, I'm planning to just check in with music students, offer some practice tips, and show them some cool online resources for practicing.

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/98876381435?pwd=OGRKQ1RaQ0RzdkpveDNBSTBWTHljdz09 Meeting ID: 988 7638 1435

Password: 087964.

Mr. Skaife and Mr. Spano, will be holding live, multi-grade Zoom sessions together starting this Monday. The sessions will be bi-weekly, alternating between Grades 3-5, and Grades Kindergarten-2.

Grade 3-5 Zoom Meeting:

Monday, April 27th, 2:00pm

Password: musicart

https://zoom.us/j/94237118397?

Grade K-2 Zoom Meeting:

Monday, May 4th, 2:00pm

password: musicart

https://zoom.us/j/94237118397?

Lunchtime Library Read Aloud. Wednesday, April 29th, 12pm

Kelly McCollum is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

This is a drop-in event each Wednesday @ 12:00 PM

Topic: STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/4742415813?pwd=THJuSFZlMS92ZHpyM3JyN0lQVVU0UT09

Meeting ID: 474 241 5813

Password: 5w5fka

Should We Worry About Kids Getting Too Much Screen Time?

In this New York Times article, Andrew Przybylski (University of Oxford) and psychologist/author Pete Etchells say that with most schools closed, children’s screen time is going through the roof. That can be a blessing for parents cooped up with their kids 24/7, but wait a minute: isn’t this video game binging and smartphone indulging harming young people? In the last few years, say Przybylski and Etchells, we’ve been hearing that excessive screen time “melts our children’s brains, shrinks their attention spans, and weakens their social skills.” Digital abstinence for young children was the message from the American Academy of Pediatrics until quite recently.

Worries like these have a long history, with parents fretting about each new wave of entertainment technology – radio, movies, TV. But is viewing time all that damaging? For starters, say Przybylski and Etchells, “the evidence linking screens to harm is, in reality, paper thin.” Recent studies have downplayed negative effects, including on adolescents’ sleep. In fact, they say, “a couple of hours of screen-based leisure is associated with improved peer relationships and increased sociality. Gaming meets our fundamental needs for exploration, competence, and social connection. And games often improve rather than undermine our reasoning abilities.” As for concerns about kids getting isolated, the Internet “is the world’s best tool for distanced socializing.”

So parents and educators needn’t fret too much during the coronavirus lockdown, conclude Przybylski and Etchells. But they should monitor what kids are watching and playing, sometimes playing and watching with them, and steer kids toward “brainy games,” age-appropriate educational videos, documentaries available on streaming services, cooperative and team-oriented video games, and timeless films “that don’t just entertain, or distract, but teach ineffable lessons about life, love, and family.”

“Screen Time Isn’t All That Bad” by Andrew Przybylski and Pete Etchells in The New York Times, April 7, 2020, https://nyti.ms/2KkHYGw

In these fast-moving and uncertain times, it’s important that we show up for each other and build strong connections with our neighbors here in Watertown. We all have something to offer and we all have something we need. Please use our Mutual Aid Network to get help when you need it, help others when you can, and stay connected with our community.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U0BpDKjfMNzJIRvVKlM_E4YST4FdyluSyksRY_bVd78/edit

Voting is live online for the 2020-2021 school year PTO Board. Everyone in the Lowell Community is welcome and encouraged to vote. PLEASE VOTE BY APRIL 26th using this link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CG2C3M9

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from the PTO but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a lot going on behind the scenes! In an effort to help support our teachers with their new virtual lesson plans and classrooms, the PTO will be reimbursing each teacher an additional $75 this year in supplies for virtual learning. We recognize the challenges our teachers face setting up this whole new way of learning for our children and we want to support our teachers in every way we can!

The Lowell PTO, unlike many other organizations and nonprofits in our town, is fortunate to have hosted our largest fundraiser earlier this year with great success thanks to your support. With this in mind, we plan to go ahead with our annual spring Silvergraphics Art fundraiser and donate 100% of the profits to the Watertown Community Foundation Resilience Fund. The Community Resilience Fund will be for use in responding to urgent, community-wide needs or significant unexpected financial challenges from closures of core community institutions. Please press release below for more details.

We are thrilled that Silvergraphics was able to pull through and get our artwork online to purchase items such as notecards, t-shirts, etc. with our children’s artwork on it. It makes for a great gift for grandparents, family and friends who may miss seeing our kids regularly these days! Flyer attached with more details. If you don’t see your child’s artwork, you have the option to upload a piece of art. We know many of you have been doing lots of home art projects over the last few weeks that you may want to upload! Thank you to our wonderful art teacher, Mr. Skaife, for working with our children on their art for this fundraiser! Please join us in supporting our greater community by making a purchase.

ORDER TODAY!

Orders will ship direct to you or any address you specify at Checkout.

Ordering is easy (see attached flyer):

• Go to: https://www.silvergraphics.com/shop/ and enter your School Access Code: 2020artJRL
• Search for your art by class, teacher and student name. If your child does not have art on our gallery, choose the NewArt class and follow the directions to upload art created at home!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact SilverGraphics directly: info@silvergraphics.com.

Friday, May 1st. 8:30 -9:15 am

Click this link to attend the Zoom Meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/216424590?pwd=c3k5L2NtcXcrbGt1WnhMUUlMNHJUQT09

Meeting ID: 216 424 590
Password: 853764