The Weekly Update #4

Dear Washington Families,

We have had an exciting start to our school year! Your children are smart, kind, creative, hard-working, and so much fun to be around. We truly enjoy working with them every day and appreciate that you entrust them to us each school day.

Our attendance rate so far is 93.4%. We know the first few days of school brought some transportation challenges, and we're looking forward to seeing that number grow as everyone settles into their routines. Every day at school matters. Regular attendance helps students build friendships, stay connected to classroom learning, and develop habits that support long-term success. Thank you for your partnership in making daily attendance a priority.

We also want to remind families that students only need to stay home for certain health concerns. Keeping children in school whenever they are well enough to attend helps maximize learning while protecting everyone's health. Please keep your child home if they have any of the following:

• A contagious illness such as chickenpox, influenza, or strep throat until a healthcare provider or public health official says it is safe to return, or they have been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours (when applicable).
• A rash or skin condition that has not been diagnosed by a healthcare provider.
• A temperature of 100.4°F or higher within the past 24 hours.
• Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours.
• Head lice.
• Notification from the school nurse or health department that immunizations are not up to date.

Students must be fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications (such as Tylenol/acetaminophen or Motrin/Advil/ibuprofen) and have improving symptoms before returning to school. In accordance with health department guidelines, students diagnosed with contagious illnesses such as strep throat, impetigo, or conjunctivitis must be on antibiotics for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

See you next week!

Ms. Lilley

Monday, September 14th

• After School Program - registration begins for grades 1-4 (see info below)

• Grade 3 Field Trip to Concord Museum

Saturday, September 19th

• Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race 11:00AM - 4:00PM (see info below)

Students will enjoy fun activities, learning opportunities, time with friends, and lots of after-school fun! Space is limited. This year, students will participate in the same enrichment club two days each week. Meeting twice each week will give students more time to build skills, complete projects, and enjoy a more meaningful after-school experience.

Program Schedule

• Grades 1&2: Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Grades 3 &4: Mondays and Wednesdays

Program Begins: Tuesday, October 13th
Registration Opens: Monday, September 14th
Open to: Students in Grades 1–4
Pick-Up: 4:40 PM
Please Note: No busing is provided and students who enroll in the program must attend both scheduled days for their grade level. Unfortunately, we cannot accept students enrolled for only one day a week. We appreciate your understanding as we make this change.

Questions? Contact Mrs. Susan McCoy: smccoy@lowell.k12.ma.us or send a message on Dojo!

The Washington School will be represented in this year's Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race on Saturday, September 19th from 11:00AM until 4:00PM. Our sculpture is named "The Washington School Globetrotters" and will be decorated to represent the various wonderful cultures represented here at our school.

The race begins on Market Street in Lowell and school community members will be "piloting" (driving) a sculpture through the cobblestone streets of downtown Lowell, will then drive it through a mud pit near the Tsongas Arena, then will drive it to the Merrimack River where the sculpture (and the pilots driving it) will take a plunge and steer it through the river! This race is always a fun time and would love to have families come and cheer us on!

Above is a picture of the sculpture we will be decorating and piloting in this year's race. Please come join in on the fun!

PTO Meetings for the Year: October 1, November 5, December 3, January 7, February 4, March 4, April 1, May 6, June 3

If you can't make all the meetings come to the meetings you can make!

We are looking for parents who would like to participate in the Washington Site Council. Each school in the district has a site council, a group of teachers and parents who are an advisory committee to the school principal. The council is asked to oversee the school quality improvement plan, advise on the school budgeting process, and give feedback on the progress of the school as a whole. Representatives of community partner organizations are also very welcome to join site councils.

We would like at least 4 parents to serve on the council. No prior experience is necessary. Parent participants may serve in person or join us by Google Meet link. We will have meetings from 5:30 PM-6:15 PM on: October 22, December 17, January 28, and March 11 (all Thursdays). The council may agree to add additional meetings over the course of the year.

If you are interested in participating in the Washington Site Council, please reach out to Jennifer Lilley, Washington Principal by email jlilley@lowell.k12.ma.us or send a ClassDojo message stating that you are interested in participating in the Washington Site Council. Especially as a principal new to the district, I really do rely on the members of the site council to give feedback on the progress of the school and reflect the values of our community.

Please make sure to contact our school nurse, Anna McClintick amcclintick@lowell.k12.ma.us if your child has an epipen, inhaler, or other emergency medication to discuss next steps.

Also, please make sure you filled out and returned your child's medical emergency form. Let us know if you need a new form or need the form in a different language.

Each month the Washington celebrates a character trait under the guidance of staff members Krista Kubick, Social Worker and Jennifer Plunkett, K-1 Multilingual Learner teacher. In September, we're starting with the trait of RESPONSIBILITY. Students are asked to show responsibility at school by taking care of themselves, taking care of others, and taking care of things. At the end of the month each teacher gets to nominate students who have done a wonderful job showing RESPONSIBILITY. If your child is nominated you'll receive a ClassDojo message inviting you to a short ceremony honoring your child. Each month the parents/guardians of our nominated students can attend character celebrations on-line or in-person. We look forward to seeing many of you over the course of the year!

Washington Elementary teachers use an app called ClassDojo to send out message about the whole class or to send texts to individual families. ClassDojo can send notifications to your email and/or phone and supports translation into many languages.

If you have not already signed up for ClassDojo, please do. When you go to get the app/or sign-up ClassDojo will offer to sell you a paid version of the app. You DO NOT need the paid version of the app. When it asks you to pay just click the "No Thanks" button on the bottom and you will be all set.

Sign-Up at https://www.classdojo.com/