Can you believe it? Just two days left before the summer officially begins. It's a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared, especially considering the challenges our students have overcome in recent years.

The best part of this last week was seeing our kids being kids again at Field Day. The air was filled with giggles, cheers, and boundless energy and the stress/anxiety of the challenges we've faced over the last few years seemed to melt away. It was a sight to behold, reminding us of the importance of fun, friendship, and joy in their lives...we need to remember to let kids be kids more often.

Please remember to continue fostering your child's growth and exploration throughout the summer months. Encourage them to venture beyond phone screens and video games, and rediscover the wonders of books! Whether it's diving into captivating novels, embarking on wild adventures with literary heroes, or simply letting their imaginations roam, books offer an avenue to keep their minds active and engaged.

Whether 300-page books, 200-page graphic novels, 25-page comic books, or articles in their favorite magazines...keep their imaginations alive reading. Don't let the world of electronics force-feed them images and social media garbage all summer...help them open up their own imagination and creativity by powering off the devices and living life.

Plan adventures for them; visit museums, explore nature trails, and do things with them as a family. Discover new hobbies together and unleash their curiosity, nurturing a love for exploration and discovery that will fuel their excitement for the next school year.

For those seeking structured activities, summer camps and programs offer the chance to learn new skills, forge lasting friendships, and keep their social skills alive and the mental health concerns minimized. From arts and sports to science and technology, there's a myriad of options to keep their minds sharp, bodies active, and hearts brimming with enthusiasm...let us know how we can help find the summer program that is best for your student!

Remember, the way we wrap up this school year is just as crucial as how we begin. Let's make these last two days of school absolutely unforgettable with fun all around! We applaud our students' resilience, growth, and accomplishments over these last incredibly challenging years...and we are proud to have been a part in helping them move forward through those years.

Wishing you a summer filled with laughter, joy, and limitless adventures!

Tuesday night is the night we will send our 8th graders off into high school at our 8th Grade Recognition Night! It is such an exciting and emotional night! Below are all the details, but we must remind families that we are only giving out 2 TICKETS PER STUDENT for the ceremony.

We know this isn't ideal, but given the capacity of our gym anything more than that would simply be unsafe as this is easily one of our most well attended activities every year. We will, however be Facebook Live Streaming the ceremony on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lpsdwang). We will try to get as much of the ceremony as possible on our camera angle so that people at home can watch and enjoy.

The kids will all end the night out front on the plaza for pictures and tearful farewells to some of their friends and their favorite staff members. The staff will stick around for pictures or conversations (and even hugs I'm sure) as we wish our 8th graders the very best as they leave us.

• 8th Grade Recognition Ceremony: Tuesday @ 6PM (please be there by 5:30PM at the LATEST as we will be starting right at 6PM)
• 2 tickets were given out per student...and this will be enforced strictly
• The ceremony will be Facebook Live Streamed at our Wang School Facebook Page

Let's celebrate our 8th graders together and make sure this is a truly wonderful and special night for the kids (and the staff) as the students say goodbye to Wang School!

Thank you to everyone who voted for our PTO Officers and SSC Voting Members for 2023-2024. Here are the results and your new PTO Officers and SSC Voting Members:

PTO Officers for 2023-2024:

• PTO President: Matt LeLacheur
• PTO Vice President: Dora Fernandes
• PTO Secretary: Cassandra Floor
• PTO Treasurer: Julia Shaw

Parent SSC Voting Members for 2023-2024:

• Matt Dion
• Dora Fernandes
• Cassandra Floor
• Julia Shaw
• Matt LeLacheur
• Greg Marion

Staff (UTL) SSC Voting Members for 2023-2024:

• Jill Maguire
• Kellianne Grady
• Lisa Moisakis
• Alison Kuzara

Staff (LSAA) SSC Voting Members for 2023-2024:

• Danielle Collins
• Matt Santy

Letters to the students who are assigned summer school went out a few weeks ago. We base our decision for summer school on grades and attendance history. Summer school is an opportunity for students to do the work they need to do in order to be ready for the next grade.

Missing summer school that is assigned may result in the student being retained in their current grade, but this will be determined on a case-by-case basis given the circumstances of each case.

Our goal with assigning summer school is to help your child be fully prepared for the next grade-level We appreciate your trust and support as we engage in this vital work.

The options for those students who selected the Enrichment Programs this summer will be sent out in an email this week for them to select what programs they would like to attend this summer. If Academic Summer School students do very well in summer school, we have historically offered them the ability to be a part of some of the Enrichment Programs...but that depends on their work during the Academic Summer School they were assigned.

Both Academic and Enrichment Programs will be 8AM-11:30AM from July 5th through July 28th.

ONLY 20 SEATS LEFT!!!!

All of the information is on the application link below, but this program has a VERY limited number of seats available and will be working with students in grades 3 through 6 during the second week of August.

Camp Invention is ALWAYS a ton of fun, hands-on learning for the students...so grab a seat now before they are all gone!

We're all well aware of the increased mental health issues and anxiety within our young people since the pandemic, which means we still have a lot of work to do moving forward. As we have said for years (even before the pandemic), parents and schools will need to do this work together to help our children overcome any obstacles...and that is more true now than ever.

To that end, we are reminding parents to talk to your students regularly to try to help them navigate the complicated world of middle school effectively. Monitoring social media and helping students steer clear of vapes and know what to do when they are being peer pressured into bad decisions is so important, but you can't help them if you don't know what is going on with them.

Don't get us wrong, talking to our children about these things and monitoring their social media can sometimes be challenging...especially middle schoolers...but it is so important. Here are some simple tips to help your middle schooler with regard to healthy social/emotional growth;

• Monitor their social media: Social media serves a wonderful purpose of connecting people, but it can also be extremely unhealthy for our young people when used improperly and unsupervised. Monitoring your child's social media accounts or at least talking to them about how to use it in a healthy way will help them learn to use it effectively. One suggestion (and it may not be easy)...don't let them take their phones or computers to bed with them at night. Staying up all night on social media sites or texting is extremely unhealthy for our young people.
• Talk to them about vaping and other temptations: My wife and I were stunned when we found a vape in our daughter's room (twice actually) and we wished we had talked to her about them BEFORE we found them in her room. Open up conversations with your student about vaping, what to do if another kid offers or pressures them to vape or do something else that is unhealthy, and let them know that you know that they may make mistakes but you want them to always talk to you. (If you're wondering...yes...my daughter was grounded for QUITE awhile.)
• Don't wait for something to happen or a crisis: Be proactive and talk to your student before something happens. It is always much healthier to prepare your children than it is to help them put things back together.
• Let them know that making a mistake is not the end of the world: Acknowledge with your child that making mistakes is part of growing up and learning, and it's not the end of the world. This will help them open up to you more if/when they may make a mistake.
• Know your child's circle of friends...both in person and online: Parents sometimes feel "nosey" asking about their child's friends or who they are talking to online, but it is so important for parents to know who their children are communicating with and who may be influencing them.
• Find a trusted adult at school too: Encourage your child to find an adult at school they trust and want to talk to when needed. It can be a teacher, tutor, social worker, paraprofessional, custodian, clerk, administrator, or anyone that they trust and feel connected to at school...just so that they have someone to give them another adult voice of guidance in their lives.

Below are some articles that are quick and easy reads, but they also give some good insight and advice on how to navigate the VERY challenging task of talking to a middle schooler!

Social media has been one of the most impactful changes to society over the last decade...in both a positive and a negative sense. The ability to connect and stay connected with people is such an amazing gift we get from social media, but for many of our children social media is not a healthy environment. There are several ways social media can impact your child and it is something we are hoping you can help us with at home, because we often deal with the fallout at school.

First of all, speak to your child about how mostly everything they see on social media is not truly a reflection or reality. In essence, people most often post the "highlight reels" of their lives in order to portray an image that essentially is not real. In some cases, people blatantly lie or manipulate the truth in their posts to seem "more important" or "better off" than they actually are in real life. Many of our students are comparing themselves and their lives to these "highlight reels" or even "blatant lies" being posted by other people. Talk to your child about how mostly everything they see or read on social media is absolutely NOT reality. Everyone has problems and struggles...so don't let them believe that social media posts that portray a perfect body or face through filters or ones that brag about amazing lives are reality. Everyone has problems and struggles, but they use exaggerated of fake social media posts to hide them.

Secondly, monitor your child's access and interactions on social media. There is absolutely value in honoring your child's privacy and letting them maintain their own identity in these social media platforms, but to be completely oblivious to what they are doing on their phones and/or computers is simply not a good idea as a parent. We cannot and will not "police" the social media interactions of all of our almost 700 students...it simply is not possible. We will try to mediate things as best we can and support our students when there are issues, but it needs to be the parents who are truly "policing" their child's interactions on social media and communication platforms. It isn't being "nosey" to ask your child about their social media life...it's parenting. Never be afraid to look into your child's online activity or their communication via chat rooms, texts, or messaging platforms because then you can help educate your child on how to truly navigate the world of social media in a safe and healthy way.

We will be putting together some workshops for parents on the different social media and messaging platforms that students are using and also on how parents can stay on top of what their child is doing on these platforms; what they are saying, who they are communicating with, if they are being bullied, or if they are the ones doing the bullying. Remember, staying involved with and aware of your child's social media identity and what they are doing online is NOT being nosey...it's parenting.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming Social Media Parenting workshops...we hope to have them put together some time in October.

With your student, please review all of the policies provided and complete the sign-off form below...this MUST BE DONE BY ALL FAMILIES because students will be held to these policies this year at Wang School:

• LPS Student Handbook
• Wang School Dress Code 2022-23
• Wang School Technology Policy 2022-23

We appreciate your support in enforcing our dress code moving forward...we have put the rationale for each element of the dress code below.

• No obscene/inappropriate images or words on clothing

• Fairly self-explanatory

• No hats or hoods in school

• This does NOT include religious items and the only other exception is hoods INSIDE a teacher's classroom if allowed by that teacher (some rooms are chilly sometimes)

• The reason for this rule is it is a safety issue in the hallways for identification purposes in the case of emergencies

• No pajama pants

• • Helping students learn how to dress for a professional environment

  • Helping instill proper morning routine and hygiene practices (not just rolling out of bed and coming to school in the same clothes they slept in the night before)

• Ripped jeans are allowed...AS LONG AS...no underwear or pockets are exposed

• Shorts fall into the same category as rips...AS LONG AS...no underwear or pockets are exposed

• No sagging pants

• Underwear or undershorts cannot be exposed

• Shirts

• Must have straps...doesn’t matter how thick
  

• No underwear or inappropriate body parts exposed above or below shirt line and shirt line must reach the belly-button

We want to remind parents and students of the technology policy within the Lowell Public Schools, but also specifically at Wang School. Please make sure you and your student are familiar with the policies and reach out to your child's HR teacher or the school administration if you have any questions.

Prohibited Items based on LPS policy: The following items are considered disruptive to the educational process in Lowell Public Schools and are not allowed in school:

• Cell Phones and communication devices such as Apple watch

• Video Games

• Radios, iPods and other Walkman Type Devices

• Hand Held Laser Pointers

• Playing Cards

• Tobacco Products (including hookahs)

• E-Cigarettes (vape)

• Lighter/Matches (possession will lead to immediate suspension)

• Skateboards/Scooters/Roller Blades/Heelys/Hoverboards

• Other Items or Devices deemed inappropriate by the Principal or his designee

Wang School Policy has made some "flexible" accommodations for our students, but we must remind families that based on current LPS Policy:

• Students displaying and/or using any of these prohibited items will have the item confiscated and may receive disciplinary action including suspension. Though the school will secure the device, the ultimate responsibility for any loss or damage remains with the student who brought the prohibited item to school. A parent or guardian must come into school to pick up the item.

• Earbuds/Headphones: Students must be able to hear the intercom and directives from staff at all times to ensure safety. For this reason students are not allowed to wear earbuds in school. Ear buds will be confiscated and not returned until the end of the school year or until a parent/guardian comes in to collect the article. The only exception to this prohibition applies to teachers who allow the use of earbuds in the classroom for educational purposes, but the earbuds must be put away before exiting the classroom.

While we will be allowing students to bring phones to and from school, the Wang School Policy is that they must be turned in to the HR teacher or the main office each morning. Devices like cell phones or Smart Watches should not be in the school hallways or used during the school day UNLESS there is an academic reason. Phones are always available to students in the main office, there is no need in school for a student to have a cell phone or Smart Watch.

On the other hand, wireless earbuds, bluetooth connected headphones or AirPods ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED at Wang School for any reason. We have wired earphones the students can borrow if needed or they can bring their own wired earbuds for use at school when allowed/appropriate. Wireless earbuds, bluetooth connected headphones, and/or AirPods are not allowed for any reason.

In the event a student does not follow these policies, the image below diagrams how the school will respond and if confiscated too many times the student's phone or device may be locked in the school's safe and returned to the parents at the end of the school year.

Want to send some GOOD VIBES to someone at the school? Use our virtual GOOD VIBES Jar...just remember...GOOD VIBES ONLY!

• Monday, June 19th: NO SCHOOL (Juneteenth)
  
• Tuesday, June 20th: 8th Grade Recognition Night
• Wednesday, June 21st: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (All Grades)
• Wednesday, July 5th: Summer School & Summer Enrichment Programs Begin
• August 7th through August 11th: Camp Invention @ Wang School

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter where we post important updates, event information, and pictures of our students and teachers in action!

Email: mstahl@lowell.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/Page/25
Location: 365 West Meadow Road, Lowell, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 937-7683
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lpsdwang
Twitter: @WangLPS