Alto All Star Gazette

October 9, 2023

SCHOOL BEGINS AT 8:50 A.M.

Dismissal time: 3:43 PM

1/2 Day Dismissal: 12:00 PM

Phone# 616-987-2600

24-hour attendance line: 616-987-2625

*please call any transportation changes/early dismissals in by 2:45*

From the desk of Principal Papes

Dear Alto Families,

I am continually impressed with our students’ character, enthusiasm and work ethic. We believe that positive reinforcement is extremely important in recognizing the efforts of our students and encouraging appropriate and prosocial behaviors. We are intentional about providing this positive praise in a variety of ways. Please reiterate with your children how much our staff cares about them, how appreciative we are of their outstanding effort, and that we love spending our days with them. Thank you for all that you do to prepare your students for success at school!

Homecoming Spirit Week

This week is Homecoming week at Lowell High School! We plan to join along in the spirit week activities.

Monday-Hat Day

Tuesday-Sports Day (favorite sports team)

Wednesday-Wacky Wednesday (crazy hair, socks, outfits)

Thursday-Beach Day

Friday-Red Arrow Spirit Day

Half Day on October 31st

Tuesday, October 31st will be a half day for students. Our half day dismissal time is 12:00 PM. During the afternoon hours, our dedicated teaching staff will be participating in district professional development.

Halloween

We will be celebrating Halloween on Tuesday, October 31st. The school parade will start at

11:00 AM. Parents are encouraged to join us! The parent viewing area will be outside unless we have inclement weather that day. If we have inclement weather, the parent viewing areas will be moved inside. The plans for class parties and activities will be communicated by your child’s teacher. The teachers will also reach out regarding volunteer opportunities. We ask that parents do not “drop in” at parties unless they are signed up to volunteer or prior arrangements are made with the teacher. We hope that this relieves some pressure parents often feel to attend class parties because they think it is expected that every parent attends. We encourage students to bring costumes to wear for the parties and parade. Please note: Toy weapons, blood, gore, etc. are not allowed with costumes at school. Teachers will be communicating their requests for donated treats or other items. Our Alto staff has decided that we will continue to require that all treats be store-bought (no homemade treats please). This will also continue to apply to birthday treats as well. We’re looking forward to this fun event!

Lowell Area Schools Community Forums

We warmly invite the community to share their input as we discuss our vision for the future of our learning environments and what students need to thrive. Your thoughts and ideas are invaluable and will help shape our approach. Let’s work together to create the best learning experience for all students.

Join us for one, or all, of the forums:

Community forum held at Cherry Creek Elementary - October 10th, 2023 - 6:30 PM

Community forum held at Lowell Middle School - November 7th, 2023 - 6:30 PM

More Information:

https://www.lowellschools.com/our-district/superintendent/community-forum-information/

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held at the school on the evenings of October 16th and 18th from 4:00-8:00 PM.

Parent/Teacher Conference Meals

We need your help! Please consider signing up to help provide meals for our dedicated staff during conference week. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44AFA728A4FEC70-44357055-conference#/

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair will be featured the week of P/T Conferences! During the week of October 16th (Monday-Thursday), students will have opportunities during the school day to visit the library to make purchases. The book fair will also be open the evenings of October 16th and 18th during P/T Conferences.

Have a great weekend!

Paul Papes

Principal

Alto Elementary

Lowell Area Schools

Art

ART UPDATE: The joy of mixing paint!

Orange is the color for kindergarten through second grade students right now! There has been a lot of mixing “mustard” and “ketchup” in different amounts in order to intentionally make yellow-orange, orange, and red-orange.

Third grade through fifth grade students have been sketching a fall still life of pumpkins, squash, and gourds at their table groups and then mixing the appropriate colors to match the fall still life using the primary colors, black, and white.

Alto Public KDL Library- Alto Elementary ART:

I just dropped off new artwork to display at the Alto Public KDL Library. They are excited to continue partnering with us in displaying around 12 new student art projects every 2-3 weeks. Please continue to check out the artwork on display there.

Your kids are amazing!

Mrs. Graham