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ដើម្បីបកប្រែព្រឹត្តិប័ត្រព័ត៌មាន សូមមើលលើផ្នែកខាងស្តាំខាងលើនៃព្រឹត្តិប័ត្រ ព័ត៌មាននេះនូវមធ្យោបាយ ហើយសូមចុចលើជម្រើស" បកប្រែព្រឹត្តិប័ត្រព័ត៌មាន ។

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community Members,

I hope you all had a fun and relaxing February vacation.

Of course, learning never stops in Lowell Public Schools - not even for vacation week. Several of our schools including the Murkland, McAuliffe, Reilly, Butler, Wang, and McAvinnue schools held morning vacation week enrichment programs.

Three schools - the STEM Academy, Sullivan, and Robinson Schools held programming from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day funded by a $67,000 Acceleration Academies Grant the district was awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. These full-day programs are designed to provide targeted academic support in English Language Arts and Mathematics during February and April vacation for students identified as needing additional assistance.

Transportation and meals are provided to ensure accessibility for all participating students. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to fostering academic growth and success for all of our learners.

As you will see in the newsletter, the Robinson Middle School’s Acceleration Academy was based around celebrating Black History Month, focusing on English Language Arts around important African American literature, political, and cultural figures. The students did a great job in displaying what they learned over just a few days.

Although February is a short month, our schools certainly were busy. The Greenhalge School welcomed an educator from Acton’s Discovery Museum for the first in a series of science lessons that will take place over the next few months; students at the Reilly enjoyed an inspirational visit from hip-hop violinist Rhett Price; the Bartlett Dragons were wowed by the grace and agility of dancers from the Angkor Dance Troupe; and Stoklosa students connected with and were motivated by Kyle Greene’s story of overcoming hardship to achieve success.

At Lowell High School, the JROTC and Sound Impressions Show Choir both won impressive awards at competition. And career exploration was in full force with a field trip to Microchip in Lawrence, a STEM career speaker roundtable event, and the launch of a criminal justice course taught by Lowell Police personnel.

And congratulations to the middle school basketball champions! The Sullivan Middle School girls’ team took the championship for the second year in a row and the Robinson Middle School boys’ team capped off their impressive undefeated season with a championship win.

Welcome back to school. The rest of the year will go by quickly, so stay focused and have fun.

Sincerely,

Liam

On February 5, author and motivational speaker Kyle Greene visited the Stoklosa Middle School to share the poignant and inspirational story of how he overcame circumstances and obstacles to achieve success. Read about it here: https://lpsnotebook.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/create-your-own-path/

Second-graders at the Greenhalge Elementary School had a really fun and educational treat on February 4 - Allison Robinson from the Discovery Museum in Acton shared a variety of experiments with the students as they learned about and discussed physical changes of matter.

Liquid nitrogen and dry ice were a big hit as the kids learned about how substances change from liquid to solid to gas and vice versa. The students knew a surprising amount about states of matter before the experiments began, but seeing it in action really solidified (see what I did there?) the concepts for them.

Staff from the Discovery Museum will be back at the Greenhalge in March to conduct lessons in "Force and Motion" with Kindergarten classes and "Sound" with first graders; and in May for a lesson in "Force and Magnetism" with the third graders.

Greenhalge Community School Program Manager Monica Melo Ernest was able to use Community Schools grant funding for this expanded learning experience.

Learning never stops in Lowell. Not even for February vacation week. Several of our schools including the Murkland, McAuliffe, Reilly, Butler, Wang, and McAvinnue schools held morning programs. Three schools - the STEM Academy, Sullivan, and Robinson Schools held programming from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day funded by an Acceleration Academies Grant.

On Friday afternoon, the Robinson held an event for students to display and share what they had learned. At the Robinson, the work focused on English Language Arts and celebrating Black History Month. The amount of work they were able to do in a short time was impressive!

What an incredible Valentine's Day treat!

Friday February 14 was a Dragon Day at the Bartlett Community Partnership School. Dragon Days happen 5 days a year, giving the Bartlett community an opportunity to celebrate all of their achievements and good behavior. On this Dragon Day they had some VERY special guests - the talented performers from Lowell's Angkor Dance Troupe.

McAvinnue Elementary School Principal Mike Domina and Assistant Principal Dan Shanahan celebrated Valentine's Day with a sweet treat for teachers and staff.

Congratulations to the Robinson Middle School Eagles Boys' Basketball team, led by coaches Andres Lopez and Levi Dennis, who capped off an incredible undefeated season with a 36-19 win in the championship game against the Butler Bulldogs! Both teams played with a lot of passion and class. Great job by all on the court.

The champs, are not only great athletes - they are also excellent students and role models for their peers. On February 14, they champs took the trophy on a parade through the school. See video below.

Congratulations to the Sullivan Middle School Girls' Basketball team who took home the championship trophy for the second year in a row. On February 10 they beat the Wang Eagles 41-29 at the Lowell High School gym. Both teams should be proud of how hard they played in the championship game and throughout the season!

Rhett Price left his hometown in Texas and headed to Boston with his violin, fueled by a dream.

He studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music for one year - then ran out of money.

He stayed in Boston, playing for tips in the Public Garden and other parks around the city, but it wasn't paying the bills. His YouTube videos were not catching on the way he had hoped. No longer able to pay rent, Rhett found himself homeless - couch surfing or sleeping on park benches.

He could have gone home to his parents in Texas and taken a job answering phones at an oil company, but that dream that brought him to Boston in the first place was still burning. He knew if he rode it out his break would come.

Eleven years ago, Rhett and his busking partner, Josh Knowles, hired a friend who was a film student - Jen Morgan - to film them playing Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" in the subway. The video (https://youtu.be/224E-VtB4k4?si=Dft98upAfynPQLt3) went crazy viral and suddenly Rhett was featured in the Boston Globe, the Huffington Post, and on news broadcasts, in newspapers, and on digital media platforms all over the place. His break had finally arrived.

In the past decade, Rhett has opened for T-Pain and Young Thug, played with Kanye West, Machine Gun Kelly, Ty Dolla $ign and many others. He has traveled the world and released his own albums. He has performed at the TD Garden for a Celtics halftime show, played at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and at parties hosted by Rob Gronkowski, Matt Damon, Cheryl Tiegs, and others.

On February 5, he performed for a gym full of enthralled and ready to dance Reilly Elementary School students, leaving them with an important lesson - follow your dreams and don't give up.

Lowell High School's Air Force JROTC traveled to Woodbridge, Virginia over February break to compete in the American Legion Virginia State JROTC Joint Drill Competition.

As out-of-state teams, the Red Raider Guard (Armed) and Red Raiders (Unarmed) were ineligible for "Overall" placement, but dominated the meet earning NINE team and individual awards, more than any other team and receiving accolades from judges and opponents' instructor teams.

Here are the final results: 1st Place: Unarmed Inspection, Armed Duals, Armed Solo. 2nd Place: Armed Exhibition, Unarmed Exhibition, Unarmed Duals, Third Place, Armed Inspection, Armed Color Guard, Knockout/Individual Elimination.

This high-level state-wide competition prepared the teams well for their May trip to Daytona Beach, Florida for the All-Service National Championship Meet and demonstrated the Air Force's 2nd Core Value: Excellence in All We Do!

Talk about a cool field trip! Lowell High School Theater teacher Ms. Grady took 41 of her students to see "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" at Merrimack Repertory Theater. The show, written by Lanie Robertson, chronicles the life, struggles, and artistry of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday.

The student are actors, stage crew and designers from the LHS Theater Department, who really enjoyed the opportunity to see a professional production - right down the street from their school!

An amazing partnership between Lowell Public Schools and the Lowell Police Department is exposing students to a wide variety of career opportunities in criminal justice. Read about it here: https://bit.ly/4kgy73Z

The Student Vs. Staff basketball game at the Stoklosa Middle School on February 14 was INTENSE. No mercy was given on either side. At the end of regulation they were all tied up 68-68. At the last second of the one-minute overtime period, the students locked it up - winning 70-68.

Twenty Lowell High School students recently had the opportunity to visit Microchip, a semiconductor manufacturer, in Lawrence. The trip was sponsored by MassHire and supported by the LHS College and Career team.

Students were able to see what a technical career in a worldwide company looks like, visiting various departments and speaking with multiple engineers.

"We were thrilled to host a group of students from Lowell High to show them the world of semiconductor manufacturing!" said Kaitlin Casey, Microchip's Senior HR Business Partner. "The group was so engaged and asked insightful questions as we toured various areas of our fabrication. We ended the day feeling as though we really helped the students get a better idea of opportunities that exist post-graduation.”

It is always a blast when Lowell High School takes their show on the road to our elementary and middle schools. Check out this video from a recent visit to the Pawtucketville Memorial. The video was shot by LHS Sophomore Peter Cote of the Student Voice and Social Media Club and edited by LHS Digital Producer Anim Osmani.

The Youth Mural Competition really brightened up Winterfest, giving revelers art to enjoy as they moved between venues. Of the several murals mounted on the fence along the Enterprise Bank parking lot, were three created by artist teams from Lowell High School and one created by a team from the BRIDGE program.

On Friday February 7th the Lowell High School College and Career Center partnered with science teacher Megan Pederson and the Mass Hire Greater Lowell WorkForce Development Board to create a STEM Career Speaker Roundtable Event.

Students from Project Lead the Way and MCC Engineering Classes were invited to attend this two-hour event, where they spoke to career speakers from a variety of fields including Engineering, Medicine, Information Technology, Education and Entrepreneurship. Before the event, on a scale of 1 to 5, students rated themselves as understanding STEM Careers at about a 2.5. After the event, that number jumped to an understanding level of over 4.1 which shows us what a huge success the event was.

Thank you to the following companies and organizations for supporting this wonderful day!

Tufts Medicine Lowell General Hospital; CHESS Engineering; Editas Medicine; Mill City Environmental Corporation; Charles River Laboratories; Hancock Associates; Mychronic MRSI USA; Walking Tree Sustainable Growth Strategist; Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc; Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Classroom Quarterback, a partnership between Lowell Public Schools, Inside Lowell, and Wellpoint aims to showcase and honor one LPS teacher each month who goes above and beyond for their students. This month's honoree is The Career Academy's Community School Program Manager Jen Tarini. Mrs. Tarini received a $250 gift card courtesy of Wellpoint. Read about her here:https://insidelowell.com/classroom-quarterback-jen-tarini/

The Butler Middle School has been named a member of the UN Global Schools Program, one of only six schools in New England and 1,500 worldwide to earn this distinction.

This designation signifies the Butler's commitment to taking on leadership roles, developing new pedagogical content, finding innovative ways to engage students in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and setting a positive example within the community.

Go Bulldogs!

Lowell Public Schools is pleased to announce that we have been awarded the 2025 Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant from the commonwealth's Executive Office of Technology Services and Security, which will provide free, high-quality online cybersecurity training for staff through the KnowBe4 platform. This initiative is a crucial step in strengthening our district’s cybersecurity resilience and awareness.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Greg Limperis, Director of Technology, for his leadership and dedication in securing this grant. His efforts ensure that our staff have access to essential cybersecurity training, helping to protect our schools and community from digital threats.

On Wednesday March 5 the Boston Fleet will be playing the New York Sirens at the Tsongas Center and it is Women's Empowerment Night!

The team is offering a buy 1 get one free ticket deal for members of the Lowell Public Schools Community: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/LowellPublicSchools1

In addition to incredible hockey action, this night will include:

Rally Towel Giveaway sponsored by MA Tourism

Charlotte North Ceremonial Puck Drop (Boston Guard WLL player)

Exciting Booths in the Concourse:

BOS Nation (Boston’s Women’s Pro Soccer Team)

Boston Banshees (Boston Women’s Professional Rugby Team)

Women’s Sport Trading Card Giveaway Table

Sports Girl Club

Celebration is in order! Lowell High School’s Show Choir- Sound Impressions - are Gold Medal winners!

On February 1, the show choir, under the direction of Evan Caverly, competed at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley. In the competition, each group performs to earn a gold, silver, or bronze level medal designation.

Sound Impressions earned a Gold Medal and placed fourth overall in the Large Mixed Division. They also received the judges’ "Joyful Joyful" award for the most joy displayed onstage in the division; AND Derek Ngin won Best Performer.

These accomplishments did not come easily for the members of Sound Impressions. The last several years have been fraught with obstacles for the group including the COVID-19 pandemic and staff changes. They did make it to the finals in Ohio last year, but Saturday was the first time in five years the group earned a Gold Medal.

Additionally, Saturday’s performance was only the second time they had performed that show on stage and the second time they had performed it with a live band. They also ran into a big costume kerfuffle the day of the performance.

“Despite all of that, they got a Gold,” said Caverly. “It proves yet again that Lowell kids are adaptable, strong, and capable of doing amazing things!”

Preschool and Kindergarten Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is open. For all the info you need about registration visit: www.lowell.k12.ma.us/registration

If you would like to register your child for Preschool or Kindergarten, but have questions or need assistance, the Family Resource Center will be offering on-site registration at selected schools. You may attend any of the on-site registration events that are convenient for you. It does not have to be at the school you wish your child to attend. Additionally, attending an event at a particular school does not guarantee that your child will be assigned to that school.

To sign up for a session: https://bit.ly/4hZ14jg

Transportation information, the transportation form, and bus lookup tool can be found here: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=3552

Looking for a great time for the whole family? The Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Dan Brown's Wild Symphony on Saturday March 15 at 2 p.m. at Fusion Church (125 Mt. Hope Street in Lowell).

Students from around the Merrimack Valley will also be joining them for a string play-in piece (including two Pyne Arts Magnet School students). The concert will be about an hour long.

Tickets for kids 17 and under are FREE with the code "Under17" (up to 4 tickets per purchase). Get tickets here: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/lowell-philharmonic-orchestra/66d7832100b9e11fbb34ff1b

Looking for a new opportunity? Just curious to see what else is out there? Come work with us!

Lowell Public Schools is holding a Job Fair on Saturday March 22 from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Shaughnessy Elementary School at 1158 Gorham St.

This event is free and open to the public. Bring a few copies of your resume and come on down. Professionals of all levels and from all fields are highly encouraged to attend. We have a wide range of opportunities and career paths available.

It is a great time of the year to gather up those unneeded medications and medical supplies and dispose of them properly. See details below about the Lowell Health Department's Unwanted Medication and Sharps Disposal Day at the Lowell Senior Center on Saturday March 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Thursday March 13th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., our friends at Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union are hosting a Free FAFSA Information Session at their headquarters (1 Tremont Place near the Tsongas Center). This session is designed to help students and their families navigate the complexities of the FAFSA application process, which is crucial for accessing financial aid for college.

To sign up for this event: https://www.jdcu.org/.../financial.../fafsa-info-session/

The Lowell Youth Leadership Program runs a FREE 4-week summer camp, with transportation provided, for kids ages 10-16 at Greater Lowell Technical High School. They will host an open house where you can learn about the camp and have all of your questions answered on Saturday March 15 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at GL Tech. To register for the open house: https://forms.office.com/r/i78htdhqzJ

Lowell Public Schools students, staff & families looking for help with mental health or substance use, can call Care Solace at 888-515-0595 for 24/7/365 personalized & confidential help finding a therapist or you can search on your own at www.caresolace.com/lowellma