Laura Lee Newsletter

This week's spotlight on learning focuses on Social Studies with Mr. Gauthier.

This year in Social Studies we are focusing on America History; from the first British colonies in Jamestown and Plymouth up until the US Civil War. The first month of school we heavily focused on Geography, looking at the names and locations of Earth's seven continents and our oceans. Students worked on building their own Geography folder filled with facts about the different continents and oceans, as well as keys to reading maps and a compass.

Next, we moved onto learning about our country's first inhabitants. We focused on two different native american tribes that are very different from one another; The Comanche and The Iroquois. We looked at the different regions in which these tribes lived and thrived in, as well as their vastly different cultures.

After finishing up the Native American tribes, we moved into the arrival of Europeans into the ‘new world’. Students learned about the arrival of the Jamestown and Plymouth settlers into the eastern coast of America. We discussed the motives each group of people had for taking this treacherous journey to America; God, Gold, Glory, and their successes and failures in starting their new colonies.

Currently, we are focusing on the events that lead us to the American Revolutionary War. Events such as The French and Indian War, Tax Acts, The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, and The Battle of Lexington and Concord have been points of discussion in classes recently.

Students made special bee ornaments for our holiday tree. Thank you to Mrs. Mcglauflin and Mrs. Morrison for helping to make this special project happen.

December 18 - 22, 2023; Holiday School Spirit Week

Wednesday, December 20, 2023; 1:00 pm dismissal

Friday, December 22, 2023; Holiday Break Begins at the end of the school day

Tuesday, January 2, 2024; School Reopens

Wednesday, January 3, 2024; 1:00 pm dismissal

Friday, January 5, 2024; Monthly Student Awards

Wednesday, January 10, 2024; District Early Release - 11:00 am dismissal

We have incorporated daily affirmations into our school day. Affirmations are short positive statements. Affirmations become mantras when they are repeated over and over to oneself, out loud or silently. A new affirmation is posted daily throughout the school.

Here are the daily affirmations for this week:

Monday: I am grateful.

Tuesday: I am unstoppable.

Wednesday: Today is full of possibilities.

Thursday: My mind is full of great ideas.

Friday: I am a winner.

We will be having our annual holiday spirit week December 18 - 22, 2023.

Here is the schedule:

Monday: Candy Cane Day - wear red and white to look like this favorite winter treat, monthly school store, coloring contest voting

Tuesday: Color Block Tuesday - wear your favorite holiday colors - red, green, gold, blude, white, silver, etc. Classrooms will decorate gingerbread houses

Wednesday: Holiday Cheer - wear your favorite holiday sweater, vest, shirt, socks, or hat

Thursday: Grinch Day - wear green, Holiday Raffle

Friday: Merry Morning Friday - just wake up and come to school in your pajamas (PJ day), hot cocoa, holiday movies

(Sped PAC) is an organization run by parents of children receiving special education services through the Lowell School Department. It was created to share information about special education and promote understanding between parents and the school department.

Below is a link to the SPED PAC newsletter with dates of meetings for the school year 2023-2024. All meetings are on Thursday evenings beginning at 7:00 pm. The meetings are being held remotely.

The Lowell Public Schools has begun a partnership with McLean Hospital.

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  The McLean School Consultation Service is excited to announce our second annual “Leaders in Youth Mental Health Series.”

  For the 2023-2024 academic year, we will be hosting 7 free parent webinars presented by McLean clinical experts. The topics will focus on childhood suicidality/self-harm, childhood irritability, pediatric anxiety disorders and OCD, navigating the mental health system for youth in crisis, supporting non-binary and transgender youth, and partnering with schools for youth services and supports.

  Where can I access the parent webinars?

  All information (topics, dates, zoom links) for the 7 parent webinars can be found here: https://healthcare.partners.org/streaming/Live/McLean/McLean_SCS.html

  Note: You will use this website to access ALL live and recorded webinars throughout the year. Please bookmark it!

  When does the parent series kick-off?

  September is National Suicide Awareness Prevention Month. Next week, Wednesday, September 13th 12-1pm, Dan Dickstein, M.D., FAAP, McLean Hospital Chief and Director of Research of the Nancy and Richard Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will present “Addressing the National Emergency of Suicide and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Children and Teens.”

  FAQs:

  1. Who can attend?

  All parents of school aged children K-12 and all school staff in your school district are invited to attend. We kindly ask that you do not distribute the website link outside of your school district.

  2. If I can’t make the live webinar, where can I watch the recorded webinar?

  All live and recorded webinars will be hosted on the same website link. The recorded webinars will found on the “On Demand” logo. Please allow up to one week from date of presentation for the recorded version to be uploaded.

  3. Do I need to pre-register?

  No pre-registration is required for the webinars.

  4. Are there Q & A time for each presenter?

  Yes! Each presenter will provide content for roughly 45 minutes with 10-15 minutes for available questions from the chat.

  
  

  
  

Email: paulapeters@lowell.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/lauralee
Location: 235 Powell Street, Lowell, MA 01851
Phone: (978)937-7655