Lowell Elementary Newsletter

Dear Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you and your family well. We appreciate all you do to help keep our community healthy during these cold winter days - keeping children home when they are sick, encouraging hand washing, and supporting your elementary student in getting enough sleep. It is recommended that children aged 6-12 get between 9-12 hours of sleep per night, so early bedtimes are very important for students to be on time and ready to learn at 7:30 am!

I am excited to report that our 4th and 5th graders will all be participating in programming through the UW Arts Collaboratory. Our 5th graders will be part of Drum Power during their Reach block, and 4th graders will work with Whoopensocker guest artists beginning in March. These opportunities have brought joy to our students in years past and we are grateful for these partnerships! Read more about the UW Arts Collab here.

Report cards will be available on February 3rd. See below on how you can access your student’s report cards online. In addition, we will be sending home paper copies with all Lowell students. As always, reach out to your child’s teacher or office staff with any questions you might have. We are here to help!

As we head into February, we look forward to celebrating Black History Month. All Lowell families are encouraged to participate in our Black History Month Celebration on February 28th, from 5:30-7:00 at the Goodman Community Center Gym. February gives us a chance to elevate these lessons and stories, though we know the real work of equity and anti-racism must happen in our daily lessons, interactions, and personal choices.

I connected with the words sent to our community by our superintendent, Dr. Jenkins, in a letter last week as our nation is, yet again, mourning lives lost to hatred and violence: “Today, I call on all of us to not rest on hope alone. Regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, disability, or how we identify, we should be common in our humanity. Therefore, it is time we take action and begin to replenish our supply of human decency and justice for all!” Our staff at Lowell is committed to continuing and ever-improving our most important work - cultivating critical thinkers and compassionate hearts, in the pursuit of justice and peace in this world we share.

Thank you for all you do for your families and our community.

Warmly,

Ellen Franzone

February 3: Report cards available in Parent Portal

February 14: Read Your Heart Out

February 21: LCO meeting at Goodman, 6:30pm

February 21: Spring Primary Election

February 24: No School - Staff Only Day

February 28: Black History Month Celebration at Goodman, 5:30pm

March 6: Districtwide Enrollment for Kindergarten/4K

March 24: End of 3rd Quarter

March 27-31: Spring Break

Beginning Friday, February 3rd, families can view their students’ report cards by logging into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. If you forgot your username or password, you can go to https://webapp1.madison.k12.wi.us/family/password-reset/.

How to view report cards in Parent Portal

Elementary Report Card Frequently Asked Questions

We are inviting Black/African-American families of Lowell students to come read to classrooms for our Read Your Heart Out event on February 14th!! Sign up here or contact our Family Liaison, Shanta Hood, at 204-6613. We would love to celebrate this day with you!!

Read more about RYHO here!

From Mr. Burkel: All students are invited to perform at Lowell’s Black History Month Celebration, February 28, 5:30-7:00 PM at the Goodman Center. Please join us in bringing back this amazing tradition!

From Ms. Jenkins: Fifth Grade Strings students are preparing for the annual Strings Festival on March 18th. Click here for information. I hope that your child(ren) can participate! Please fill out this form to let me know if your child(ren) will attend.

As we all recover from the COVID pandemic, some of the federal assistance that arose from the pandemic is ending. FoodShare members have been getting extra benefits each month because of a federal program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those extra benefits have been provided separately from members’ regular monthly benefits. The federal government is ending that program. Starting March 1, 2023, members will only get their regular FoodShare benefits.

If your family is in need of food resources check out this link: Find Food Near You Or check https://foodfinder.us/ to find a pantry near you.

Nearby:

The Goodman Community Center Fritz Food Pantry: 214 Waubesa St.

No ID or Pre-registration required

• Tuesday 9:30am – noon
• Wednesday 6pm – 8pm
• Thursday 12:30pm – 3pm

The doors will open 30 minutes prior to shopping. You are strongly discouraged from arriving earlier than that. To ensure you have sufficient time to shop please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to our closing time.

The River Pantry: 2201 Darwin Dr. Madison

This pantry has groceries, prepared foods/meals, and a delivery service for folks that do not drive.

Maybe you are new to the world of Advanced Learning or have significant experience or knowledge and would like to contribute to the conversations and learning surrounding talented and gifted learning, then Advanced Learning Advisory Committee (ALAC) meetings are the place for you!

We will be meeting at The Holtman Center Location:

333 Holtzman Rd

Madison, WI 53713

• Thursday March 9
• Thursday, June 8
• 6:00-8:00 and all meetings will be recorded and allow for online attendance.

Due to the complexities of the intersection of Atwood and Fair Oaks, we feel it might help if we explain some of the reasons behind why we do things the way that we do. The following steps should occur for every crossing:

• Guard asks everyone to wait behind the red line, and to walk bikes, scooters & carry any skateboards until called to cross (for safety reasons).

• Walk light is illuminated – Crossing Guard steps to the curb, looks left, right, and left again to make sure all traffic has stopped and is remaining stopped and verifies there are NO RED LIGHT RUNNERS!

• Guard steps off curb ONLY when certain it is safe, and takes proper position in the street, checks traffic again to make sure it is stopped and remaining stopped.

• Calls out to pedestrians or motions that it is now safe to cross.

• Guard waits until the foot of the last pedestrian is on the curb before returning back to the corner*. (How many times have you witnessed someone realize they forgot something and turn around and run back into the street to cross back? It happens, which is why we wait!)

• Guard may ask you to wait for a fresh walk light – if you arrive near the end of the walk cycle and the countdown is 7 seconds or less, this may not be enough time for everyone, including the guard, to make it out of the street before the light changes. You might be asked to wait for everyone’s safety. Please remember the guard has to wait for you to be off the street first*. Additionally, the guard has to be in position for the next crossing. *If Guard is returning to the same corner as pedestrians, they may follow the last person to the corner. The guard must be the last person to return to the curb.

Continue reading the full letter here.

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