To translate this newsletter, click on it then use the link to the right.

If you are on a computer, open this in a new page. Then to translate this newsletter, click on the link to the right. If you are on a phone, touch the person in the black circle to get the translate button.

________________

Se você estiver em um computador, abra uma nova página. Em seguida, para traduzir esta newsletter, clique no link à direita. Se você estiver em um telefone, toque na pessoa no círculo preto para obter o botão de tradução.

(Portuguese)

___________________

Si está en una computadora, abra esto en una nueva página. Luego, para traducir este boletín, haga clic en el enlace a la derecha. Si está en un teléfono, toque a la persona en el círculo negro para obtener el botón de traducción.

(Spanish)

___________________

إذا كنت تستخدم جهاز كمبيوتر ، فافتح هذا في صفحة جديدة. بعد ذلك ، لترجمة هذه النشرة الإخبارية ، انقر فوق الارتباط الموجود على اليمين.

إذا كنت تستخدم الهاتف ، فالمس الشخص الموجود في الدائرة السوداء للحصول على زر الترجمة. (Arabic)

____________________

Եթե ​​համակարգիչ եք, բացեք սա նոր էջում: Ապա, այս տեղեկագիրը թարգմանելու համար կտտացրեք աջ հղմանը: Եթե ​​հեռախոսով եք, դիպչեք սև շրջանի անձին ՝ թարգմանության կոճակը ստանալու համար: (Armenian)

____________________________

Если вы работаете на компьютере, откройте это на новой странице. Затем, чтобы перевести этот информационный бюллетень, щелкните ссылку справа. Если вы разговариваете по телефону, коснитесь человека в черном кружке, чтобы получить кнопку перевода. (Russian)

________________________________

Bilgisayar kullanıyorsanız, bunu yeni bir sayfada açın. Ardından, bu bülteni çevirmek için sağdaki bağlantıya tıklayın. Telefonda iseniz, çevir düğmesini almak için siyah daire içindeki kişiye dokunun. (Turkish)

Message from Mrs. Phelan

Watertown Race Reels

SEPAC Election Ballot

i-Ready Presentation from our School Council Meeting

Social Stories for our Move

Report Cards and i-Ready Parent Reports are Coming 2/4

Return to School After COVID

Dr. Galdston's COVID Protocol Slides from School Committee Meeting

Unity Breakfast and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observance

Who's Reading What in Our Building- Answer Key

Relocation Newsletters

This week's menu

Scenes from Around Lowell

UpComing Events

Good Morning,

We're already halfway through January, which may be a good thing. We are seeing a decrease in positive cases from our first week back from vacation and this week. The first week of January, we had 32 cases. The second week we had 16 cases. Six of the 16 cases identified this week were through pool testing on Monday, and ten were through symptomatic testing. I hope this trend continues. I will continue to keep you informed.

Students are working hard and adapting to our reintroduced precautions. WIN and Math Workshop started up again this week.

Stay warm and enjoy an extra day off!

Stacy

Please join us for our first Watertown Race Reels of 2022! On January 19th, in collaboration with the Watertown Free Public Library, we will be screening What Will Become of Us (see attached flyer for details).

This month our guest speaker will be Stephanie Ayanian, the producer and director of January's featured documentary . Her documentary, What Will Become of Us, focuses on a small ethnic group grappling with how to maintain their cultural identities in the melting pot of America 100 years after genocide. She is currently in post production on her next film, No Difference Between Us, that shares the story of Father Armenag, an Armenian-Catholic priest in Los Angeles who works tirelessly to aid Christian and Muslim refugees escaping the atrocities in Syria to secure their lives in America. Ayanian co-owns storyshop, an independent production house for creative media. Before starting storyshop, Ayanian worked as a Senior Producer/Director for Penn State Public Broadcasting where she was the producer and co-director of Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure, for which she received the American Association of Engineering Societies Award for Journalism. The feature documentary was shown on 717 public television stations with a total of 1800 broadcasts in a 12-month period. She also produced and co-directed the Geospatial Revolution Project, which was released episodically on the web and has screened worldwide. She holds an MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University and a BA in Film and Video from the Pennsylvania State University.

Stephanie is a third-generation Armenian American. Her grandparents survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as children, grew up in the Armenian ghettos of Marseille, France, and came to reestablish their community in Fresno, California. Her bedtime stories were often of her grandmother’s childhood—the Genocide, the kidnapping of her family members, the reuniting, and the refugee camps. We are honored she will be joining us to present and facilitate discussion.

We hope you can join us and will help us spread the word of the event/event details/flyer with your circles within Watertown and beyond.

In solidarity,

Kara and Teo (Watertown Race Reels Co-collaborators)

Thursday, Elizabeth Kaplan, Science and Math Coordinator k-7, presented Lowell's i-Ready data from December diagnostic assessment. The presentation is shared below.

Many families have asked for resources to help them explain our move as we prepare to relocate to our new buildings. Melina Jacovides, Guidance Counselor, has created a story for each scenario. Teachers will use similar materials in class.

Social Stories to facilitate conversation.

Move to Phillips Spanish

Move to Lowell West Spanish

Move to Phillips Portuguese

Move to Lowell West Portuguese

Move to Phillips English

Move to Lowell West English

Friday, February 4th you will receive your child’s semester 1 report card and (in the case of students in grades 1-5) their updated i-Ready diagnostic assessment results. These are being sent home with students via backpack. Each of these reports will provide you with information about your child’s progress. In many cases, the two reports are in close alignment. In some cases, they may appear to differ. Keep in mind that the information from the teacher is a synthesis of many pieces of information while the information from i-Ready is one snapshot in time.

Below you will find a list of frequently asked questions regarding Standards-Based Report Cards and i-Ready assessment reports. I hope this is helpful to you as you review the information.

As always, feel free to reach out with additional questions!

Returning after COVID

Self-isolation for COVID-19 positive cases is a minimum of 5 days - regardless of vaccination status Most people who test positive and have a relatively mild illness will need to stay in self-isolation for 5 days. People who test positive can return to school on the 6th day if they:

• If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID and they are asymptomatic, they may come back on day six. The day they test positive for COVID is day 0. For example, if an individual gets a positive test on Wednesday, you can return on the following Tuesday. See chart below.

• If a student or staff member is symptomatic and then they test positive, day 0 is the first day they start to develop symptoms.

• If a student or staff member tests positive and develops symptoms AFTER their positive test, day 0 resets to the day they become symptomatic.

• A student or staff member CAN ONLY RETURN after 5 days of isolation if they were asymptomatic, OR if they are fever-free and your symptoms are significantly resolving.

• If a student or staff member has COVID, they cannot be part of pool testing for 90 days from their positive test, as they may test positive for up to 12 weeks on a PCR test.

Tomorrow we observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Some will attend the Unity Breakfast and others will spend the day in service of others. Maybe you'll volunteer or do something in the spirit of MLK.

Pooled testing will take place on Monday morning for students and staff.

Dear Families,

Could you please send me your child's completed COVID- 2 doses information via email or hard copy? Your child's personal medical information will not be shared with anyone but the school nurse.

Thank you!

FOLLOW UP!

The week of January 9th children will be reminded to pay attention to who is reading what as they walk to lunch and specials. Monday’s morning announcement will show this document and, at the end of the week, there will be a follow-up quiz during morning announcements.

Have fun!

GENERAL INFORMATION—REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 7:00 PM ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19TH All registrations must be completed online. An individual registration form must be completed for each student you are registering. Please use this link https://forms.gle/4WrZSYUUA3rDeZo26 or scan the QR code to register. Registrations will be accepted on a first come/first serve basis. Program capacity is based on confirmed staffing. Please note that since registrations are for individual days, it is possible that some days will reach capacity before others. PAYMENT Families of registered students will either be emailed a space offer & invoice OR emailed a notice that they are being placed on the waitlist within 5 school days of registering. The invoice will include instructions on how and where to submit payment. Payment should be made in the form of a check or money order and made payable to the Town of Watertown with the student’s full name and FEB VAC listed on the memo line. Payment will be due within 5 school days of the invoice being sent.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR PAYMENT BEFORE RECEIVING YOUR INVOICE.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR PAYMENT INTO SCHOOL WITH YOUR STUDENT.

PAYMENT SHOULD BE MADE IN THE FORM OF A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER AND MADE PAYABLE TO THE CITY OF WATERTOWN WITH THE STUDENT NAME AND FEB VAC LISTED ON THE MEMO LINE.

CONDUCT

The Vacation Week Programs are offered as an enrichment opportunity. Children are expected to follow the teacher's instructions and not to interfere with the learning experience, enjoyment and safety of other children. If a child is disruptive and does not follow the teacher’s instructions, parents will be notified. If this does not resolve the situation, you may be asked to pick up your student. There is no refund and future enrollment is on a trial basis.

PROGRAM CANCELLATIONS

If inclement weather is predicted, and/or any potentially unsafe conditions are expected, Watertown Community Education reserves the right to cancel the program for a full or partial day. Announcements regarding weather and/or other closures or delays will be sent via email first asking parents to confirm they received the notification. If a parent does not respond to the email notification, phone calls will also be made.

REFUNDS & CANCELATIONS

If a refund is due because of over or under-enrollment, it will be sent as soon as possible. Any enrollment cancelations must be received by Tuesday, February 1st. Tuition will not be prorated or reduced due to absences, early departure, holidays, snow days, unexpected school closures, and/or any other days school is closed or a student is unable to attend, and/or failure otherwise to make full use of the program.

ILLNESS, MEDICATION AND ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES

Please note that Watertown Community Education makes every effort to staff a nurse for the Vacation Week Programs. It is possible that a nurse may not be available each day for either the full program hours or partial program hours. In the event that a nurse is not staffed or is unavailable, Watertown Community Education staff will respond to all medical emergencies by immediately calling 911. Non-emergency needs such as small cuts, bumps, and bruises will be managed by a staff member who is certified in first aid and CPR. There will be a first aid and CPR-certified staff member on-site at all times. Watertown Community Education staff are not permitted to administer medications of any kind with the exception of prescribed Epi-Pens. Staff trained in Epi-Pen administration will be on-site for the full duration of the program. In the event of an emergency, students with prescribed inhalers may self-administer their inhaler. If the inhaler does not provide relief to their breathing difficulties, 911 will be called immediately. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that inhalers and EpiPens are with the child during the program.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions, please email or call Debi Cornelius at debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us or 617-923-7653 or Jeff Bodner at jeffrey.bodner@watertown.k12.ma.us, 617-926-7764 (office), or 857-241-8499 (cell).

Access Testing

January 6th to January 21st

Lowell Buddy Time

January 21st at 1:45 PM

MCAS Dates for Spring 2022

ELA: April 12th & 14th Grades 3, 4, & 5

Math: May 16th & 17th Grades 3, 4, & 5

Science: May 24th & 25 Grade 5 Only

MCAS Dates for Spring 2022

ELA

April 12th & 14th Grades 3, 4, & 5

Math

May 16th & 17th Grades 3, 4, & 5

Science

May 24th & 25 Grade 5 Only

Principal, Stacy Phelan ext. 33002

Main Office ext. 33001

Email: stacy.phelan@watertown.k12.ma.us
Website: https://lowell.watertown.k12.ma.us/
Location: 175 Orchard Street, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: (617) 926-7770
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JRLowellElementary