News and Events

Seattle Public Schools is partnering with the City of Seattle on a School Road Safety Initiative to make it easier for children to get to and from school safely, however families choose to travel. Families are asked to provide feedback by filling out an online survey – it should take 6-10 minutes – before June 30. 

Click the link to take the survey:

• English
• Spanish - Español
• Chinese 
• Vietnamese - Tiếng Việt
• Korean - 한국의
• Somali - Af Soomaliga  (Luqadda af Soomaliga)
• Tagalog
  

If you have questions about the survey, please contact SchoolRoadSafety@seattle.gov.

Save the date: Tues, May 21^st, 6-8pm.

Students will be exhibiting their visual and musical creative work in a school-wide celebration of the arts! Come earlier for Move-a-Thon, and come back for the Arts Showcase. Food reception starts at 6:00pm; performances begin at 7:00 pm. See you there!

Lowell Elementary's annual Move-a-Thon will be Tuesday, May 21.

This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, with all students participating. Students will run, walk or roll around the playground track as many times as they can in 20 minutes. They will ask family and friends to make a pledge for each lap they complete; flat-rate donations are more than welcome as well.

Our goal for this year's Move-a-Thon is to raise $15,000.

More details about the event can be found in an explanatory letter sent home last Friday.

The pledge form can be downloaded as well.

Lowell Elementary is partnering with Miller Community Center to expand the after-school enrichment opportunities to cover more hours and provide more hours.

Parents have been asked to fill out an initial survey to help gauge interest in schedules and types of activities to offer. Printed copies of the survey were sent home with students. A printable PDF copy is available for download.

Please return completed surveys to the school office or to Miller Community Center (Attention: Masha) by May 24, 2013.

• School-wide teaching and learning goals
• A full range of aptitudes within each class
• An even proportion of abilities and learning styles across the classes at each grade level
• An equal number of pupils in each class on a grade level; an even boy/girl balance
• Resources needed to maximize our efforts to ensure student growth and achievement

Once these factors have been considered, teachers begin to "build a class" of children who show promise of working well together and challenging one another. At this point, attempts are made to match pupil and teacher personality and style. Quite naturally, these decisions are based upon observations made by the teachers during the course of the year. While we welcome your input about your child's individual learning needs, we trust that you understand that your comments are but one of the many factors that we consider in forming classes. The final decision on class placements will reside with me.

Saturday is "Bat Night" and every kid 14 and under will get a full-sized Dustin Ackley Louisville Slugger bat!

Wednesday, April 10, is our annual Bring Your Grownup to Lunch Day!

Students may invite moms, dads, grandparents, godparents, neighbors, guardians, aunts, uncles, mentors or any other heroes they may have in mind.

So, pack a lunch and come on down to the lunchroom during the kids’ regular lunch periods:

·   Kindergarten: 11:45 a.m.-12:10 p.m.

·   Grades 1-2: 11:50 a.m.-12:10 p.m.

·   Grades 3-5: 12:15-12:35 p.m.

A few important reminders:

·   Lunch will not be provided for the attending grownups. 

·   Attending grownups may also bring lunch for their student(s) only.

·   Regular hot lunch service will be available for students, but not for guests.

·   Please enter through the main doors at the corner of 11th and Mercer, and sign in at the office.

Call the school at 206-252-3020 to RSVP.

If you plan to enroll your child in any of these before- and after-school programs for the spring term, please register before spring break!

Classes are scheduled to begin right after we return from break. However, a class may be canceled if not enough kids enroll. So, don’t delay in signing up!

Morning classes (8:10-9:10 a.m.)

·    Monday/Wednesday: Martial Arts

·    Tuesday/Thursday: Mandarin

·    Friday: All Sports

Afternoon classes (3:45 p.m. start, various ending times)

·    Monday: Chess

·    Tuesday: Clay Animation, Rugby

·    Wednesday: Mad Science

·   Friday: Creative Writing

For more info, see http://bit.ly/beforeandafterschool.

The Lowell community has launched a food pantry-style program to provide weekend lunch bags to kids who need food assistance on days when there is no school.

We need donations of nutritious, non-perishable foods that are easy to open or easy to prepare. For example: easy-open applesauce, protein bars, instant oatmeal, instant macaroni and cheese, soup or tuna in pop-top cans, and crackers.

Donations can be left in the main office. For more information, contact Tracy at ivotea@live.com.

The Yearbook Staff invites students and parents to submit photos for the yearbook. If you have great photos of school and community events or you and your friends just having fun, we'd like to see them. Help us get as many photos as possible to create a terrific book everyone will want to have.

The deadline to submit photos is Friday, March 15!

The best way to submit your photos is to go to https://images.schoolannualonline.com/login and log in with username: 400143465 and password: dragons

Upload your photos, entering a caption and contact information in case the staff needs additional information.

Then click "Save Details."

If you have a great photo saved on your phone, you can also e-mail it to us at lowelldragons@gmail.com.

Students are really enjoying using ST Math learning software at school. They can use it at home, too, by going online to http://www.stmath.com using a browser with Adobe Flash installed. (Click the penguin to enter the program.) 

On your first visit, enter Lowell's homework activation code - LOW7KI-HTY-EJ-PQS - and have your child enter his/her ST Math password just like at school.







ST Math software lets students play computer games to learn math concepts aligned with state and Common Core standards. The puzzles start off simple and get more challenging as kids progress. All K-5 teachers on campus are using this as a supplement to regular math instructions.

Open Lab hours are:

• Monday-Thursday, 8:45-9:15 a.m. in the library
• Tuesday & Thursday, 3:45-4:15 p.m. in the computer lab

Seattle Public Schools has upgraded The Source, its online information portal for families and students, to a new software platform. The Source provides online access to a student's grades, MAP scores, attendance history and more.

The district explains that it had to make the change because the old systems used "out of date technology and are old enough that there is no support and very little back-up."

If you had registered on the old version of The Source, you need to transfer your account to the new system:

Go to http://source.seattleschools.org and click the link labeled "Click Here to transfer your Source account to the new site." Follow the instructions to transfer your account to http://powerschool.seattleschools.org

The Lowell Elementary Choir is open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade students. Interested students will need to report to the Music Room (Room 102) on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:35 a.m. - starting, Thursday, March 14.

Elementary choirs from schools across the Central and South Regions of the Seattle Public Schools will be participating in an Elementary Choir Festival at Garfield High School on April 30. Each choir will perform a piece representing its school, and all choirs will combine for one Mass Choir.

If your child is interested and you have not yet been contacted by Mr. Anderson, general music teacher, please contact him at (206) 252-3034 or mtanderson@seattleschools.org.

Thank you to everyone who made our Family Math Night a big success and especially to Jeff  "Mr. D." Delissio and Autumn Mittelstaedt for putting this event together.

Families packed the lunchroom; students clearly had fun practicing math concepts with a variety of educational tools and games as their parents helped and learned more about what happens in math class.

Lowell staff members guided them in activities including assembling tangram puzzles, shaping Play-Doh into geometric solids, and solving math problems written in shaving cream (one of the most popular stations). 

 

 

The Lowell community has launched a food pantry-style program to provide weekend lunch bags to kids who need food assistance on days when there is no school.

We need donations of nutritious, non-perishable foods that are easy to open or easy to prepare. For example: easy-open applesauce, protein bars, instant oatmeal, instant macaroni and cheese, soup or tuna in pop-top cans, and crackers.

Donations can be left with Nurse Sandi. We are also looking for sponsorship to keep the program going long term.

If you would like more information, or wish to help or volunteer, contact Tracy at ivotea@live.com.

Whether you represent the Cougars (WSU), the Huskies (UW), or are not affiliated at all like Dr. Smith (Go UNLV Runnin' Rebels!), Lowell staff and faculty put their collegiate allegiance aside for a few hours to stop by the gym on Thursday, Feb. 28.

Kyle Hoffman, physical education teacher, secured a campus visit from UW softball players, cheerleaders and mascot who worked - and played a few games - with our students during P.E. This was a fun time. Go Huskies!

Good news! We received over $25,000 worth of new technology to be used in our classrooms. Moving forward, we will work with our district assigned technology specialist to set-up these resources in the assigned classrooms throughout the building. A special shout-out to Ms. Lusnia (3^rd grade teacher) and Ms. Nancy (librarian) for coordinating the Student Technology Replacement Plan process.

Reminder:

There is no school December 24-January 4, 2013 for winter break. School resumes on Monday, January 7, 2013.

Look for information on winter quarter classes to be sent home soon. The next session of classes will begin the first week of February 2013. Information will be also available online at http://bit.ly/beforeandafterschool. 

Here are end dates for the remaining fall classes:

• Monday/Wednesday Martial Arts ends on Dec. 19
• Tuesday/Thursday Mandarin ends on Dec. 20
• Friday Basketball ends on Dec. 14
• Monday Chess ends on Dec. 10

Congratulations to the following students who were recognized at the Dragon-of-the-Month Assembly for November's core virtue: TRUSTWORTHINESS. Check out their pictures on the bulletin board at the main entrance.

* Zaria J.
* Stella S.
* Maylah A.
* Natalie W.
* Ryan H.
* Kalil H.
* Rasaan T.
* Owen T.
* Myla N.
* Malli M.
* Ahlam K.
* Barok G.
* Cash G.
* Dhriti B.
* Rania B.
* Ilham S.
* Roman T.
* Jupiter K.
* Stormy N.
* Jamal H.
* Sean K.
* Jack W.
* Ezra J.
* Daija K.
* Bowman C.
* Angelo J.
* Abdi M.

Parent / Teacher Conferences will take place on Monday, November 19, and Tuesday, November 20, between 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. At Curriculum Night families were able to sign up for a conference date and time with their child's teacher. If you have not scheduled a conference, please be sure to do so.

REMINDER: There will be no school for students the entire week of November 19-23 due to conferences and the Thanksgiving holiday.

• Hayite A.
• Khalid S.
• Allison D.
• Ivy K.
• Kamyraj C.
• Ursula T.
• Kyle C.
• Kyle F.
• Calvin L.
• Caleb B.
• Iris A.
• Alex C.
• Patrick P.
• Ashley O.
• Darren G.
• Zaidaan S.
• Taylor S.
• Maimuna Y.
• Andrea C.
• Tea F.
• Leo B.

November's core virtue is TRUSTWORTHINESS. Trustworthiness is being truthful, loving the truth, telling the truth, and living truthfully in word and deed.

REMINDER: Wednesday, October 31, 2012, is a 2-Hour Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 1:35PM.

The End of Bullying Begins with Me: That's the message during National Bullying Prevention Month in October. It's a time when communities can unite nationwide to raise awareness of bullying prevention through events, activities, outreach, and education.

On Friday, October 19, 2012, members of the Lowell school community participated in a special Community Circle with a special visit from Slick Willie Shaw of the Harlem Globetrotters who presented The ABCs of Bullying Prevention. This program was designed in coordination with the National Campaign to Stop Violence and focuses on Action, Bravery, and Compassion. Slick Willie Shaw's message was informative and entertaining. The Harlem Globetrotters will bring their new tour to Seattle in February.

Congratulations to the students recognized during last week’s school-wide Dragon of the Month assembly. It was exciting to see students recognized for exhibiting the September core virtue: RESPECT. As a school community we examined RESPECT as follows: “treating others politely and kindly. It is treating others with high regard regardless of their race, their place, or the color of their face.” A big “shout out” to all students who continue to make positive choices as they follow the dragon PATH of being Professional, Attentive, Thoughtful and Hardworking. Pictures of these Dragon’s of the Month are on display at the main entrance on a bulletin board:

Ms. Dixon's class: Isatou, Tyler
Ms. Rae's class: Denetria, Zeyd
Ms. Mittelstaedt's class: Carson, Jessica
Ms. O’Neal's class: Jeremiah, Hailey
Ms. Radder's class: Ibrahim, Khadi
Ms. Mauer's class: Ruby, Akram
Ms. Lusnia's class: Romello, Damar
Mr. Hinson's class: Wilson, Elle
Ms. Amy's class: Sydney
Mr. Marc's class: Jarophi
Ms. Lindsey's class: Lysl, Jonah

October’s core virtue is RESPONSIBILITY. RESPONSIBILITY is doing your part for the group that makes us whole. How are you showing RESPONSIBILITY? We will be watching throughout the month of October for those RESPONSIBLE students.

Our annual Curriculum Night is scheduled for Thursday, October 4, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. At this event, teachers will share with families an overview of their class, instruction, and priorities for the school year. Individual conferences will not take place during this time.

Discussions about your child’s progress are to be scheduled at a different time to ensure that teachers have adequate time to devote to these in-depth and meaningful conversations. The purpose of Curriculum Night is for teachers to showcase what is happening in the classroom and to share their plans for the school year.

September's  "Student of the Month" core virtue is RESPECT.

RESPECT is treating others politely and kindly. It is treating others with high regard regardless of their race, their place, or the color of their face. It is treating others politely and kindly. We will be watching each day for those students that show RESPECT. How are you showing RESPECT? Our Student of the Month Community Circle will take place on Friday, September 28, 2012, at 3:00PM.

Greetings, Lowell families!

The new school year is off to a great start for everyone.

Lowell students assembled for their first Community Circle Friday afternoon to kick off our first fundraiser of the year. We are selling Chinook Book coupon books and mobile coupon apps. Lowell receives 50% of all sales.

This year's Chinook Book offers more than 450 coupons for many local, sustainable businesses, including stores and restaurants; plus discounted admission to area museums, Woodland Park Zoo, the Aquarium and other attractions. The paper books also include ferry and bus tickets, and coupons for individual grocery items.

The mobile coupon pack app lets you download new coupons as they become available. And, if you visit another city where Chinook Book operates, you instantly get access to all the local coupons there.

You can purchase:

• The Chinook Book on paper for $20 a copy
• The mobile coupon pack app for Android or iPhone for $15; the app can be loaded on up to three devices
• A combo pack, including both, for just $30

We are hoping that each family can sell two (2) Chinook Book items -- whether it's a paper book, mobile app or combo pack.

Half the money from each copy sold will help pay for field trips, library books, teacher classroom grants, before- and after-school activity scholarships, music therapy, drama instruction for all students and much, much more.  

Each family that sells at least one item gets entered in to a drawing for a $50.00 Gameworks gift card.

Order envelopes were sent home with students on Friday. All orders are due by September 21. Chinook Books will be delivered no later than September 26. 

If you can't wait until the end of September to start saving money, return your envelope early or e-mail amypasco@yahoo.com and your purchases will be delivered to your student within two school days.
 
We also need volunteers to help us sell Chinook Books at:

• Central Co-Op Madison Market on Saturday, September 22, from 10:00am-2:00pm

 Please contact Amy at amypasco@yahoo.com if you are able to come and help. 

Let's kick-off the school year right!

The Summer Social is Tuesday, August 28, 2012, from 6-9PM on the Lowell Playfield. Join your fellow Lowell dragon families for a night of fun, festivities, and good times. Bring your own picnic dinner and beverages.

Come and meet our new principal, Dr. Marion Smith, Jr., staff and teachers! Make sure that you join us because you don't want to miss Beny The Balloon Guy with his balloon bending fun and free frozen yogurt provided by Menchies Frozen Yogurt. See you all there!

For more information contact amypasco@yahoo.com or AJ@Remedyteas.com

New kindergarten students and families are invited to get acquainted with each other at the Kindergarten Playdate on Thursday, August 23, 2012, at 5:30-7:00PM on the Lowell Playground.

August 3, 2012

Dear Lowell Elementary School Community,

My name is Dr. Marion Smith, Jr., and it is an honor and a privilege to write my first letter to the families, staff, and students of Lowell Elementary School as the new principal, effective August 6, 2012. I look forward to becoming a member of the Lowell family and continuing the tradition of cultivating a school where all children learn in a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment. Schools are about people; therefore, I believe that we must look upon ourselves as partners working together to build strong relationships as we work toward common goals.

As I make this transition to Lowell, I am aware of the anticipation and eagerness that accompanies new leadership. I know that change may provoke both excitement and anxiety. Understanding this, I plan to spend my first initial months getting to know each of you, so that I may better understand what drives the successes of the Lowell families, staff, and students, then leverage this as we collaborate to lead the school into the next phase of our journey. I anticipate learning about the collective vision and hopes for our school. What is important to you about Lowell? How do you envision me supporting you? What do we need to work on? How do we best serve our children?

As a career-long urban educator, my path to Lowell has been filled with a variety of opportunities to learn and grow as an educator. Prior to joining Lowell, I was assistant principal at Madrona K-8 during the 2011-2012 school year. Before then, I was the founding director of culture at Young Scholars Frederick Douglass, a K-8 turnaround school in North Philadelphia. My professional career began in my hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Clark County School District (CCSD) as a middle school English Language Arts teacher, Breaking Ranks high school founding English teacher and AVID curriculum specialist, and middle school dean of students. Prior to the CCSD, I was a lead pre-kindergarten teacher in a dual language early childhood education program and a direct support coordinator for adolescents with mental and physical impairments in a residential group home.

As we prepare for the start of the 2012-2013 school year, I look forward to meeting you all. Please, feel free to stop by the school and introduce yourself to me. I will host a monthly informal chat, "Mondays with Marion," for families regarding any issues or concerns. I encourage you to attend and to bring potential solutions to any concerns, so that we are able to discuss our best thinking. Additional information regarding the dates, time, and location for these chats will be communicated to you after SLI.

Again, I am honored to have been selected to serve the Lowell community. It is my hope that through my ferocious work ethic, collaboration, humility, dedication, and thoughtful leadership, I will gain your trust and respect as Lowell's new principal. I look forward to working and learning with the dedicated staff and families to provide the best possible education for our children. Here's to the start of a rewarding and transformative school year.

Your partner in education,

Dr. Marion Smith, Jr.
Principal
mjsmithjr@seattleschools.org