Lowell Lantern

Hello Lowell Families!

It is hard to believe that we are almost to the end of August! Our students have done an outstanding job of practicing our new safety procedures and following all of our new protocols. We are so proud of their efforts!

Our instructional routines are set, and students are working hard and are focused on learning and growing academically! It is great to visit classrooms and see students enjoying their learning! Have I mentioned how nice it is to have our students back in the building?!

Teachers have been working with students this week on some beginning of the year reading assessments. In addition, students will take their first math assessments next week. Please look to receive some midterm feedback from your child's teacher if you have not already. Teachers will provide feedback on student performance by next Friday.

Starting next week, students will have 2 options for lunch: a cold lunch option or a hot lunch option. Lunch menus should be coming home soon. In the meantime, please see the menu below in the newsletter.

As a reminder, Monday, September 7th is Labor Day. There is no school on Labor Day.

The week of August 31 is a White Week for the related arts rotation.

Thank you for your support of Lowell School! Have a great weekend! Take care. Be safe!

Mrs. Griffin

Our Lowell PTA provides so much support for students, families, and staff. Please consider joining the PTA! It does not mean you must volunteer for events; however, joining the PTA allows you to advocate for your child and others.

For every membership bought, you will receive a discount card that provides great deals to businesses on the eastside. So your membership could be free with the great deals you get.

Please click on this link to become a member.

https://indiana-congress-of-parents-and-teachers.square.site/

Lowell 2019-2020 Yearbooks are still in the works! If you ordered a 2019-2020 Lowell Yearbook, we apologize for the delay. Because businesses shut down for several months at the beginning stages of the pandemic, yearbook orders and processing were put on hold.

We anticipate our yearbooks from the last school year to arrive sometime in September. As soon as they arrive at Lowell, we will contact those families who ordered one and arrange for pick-up and distribution.

We very much appreciate your patience with this delay!

The Warren Early Childhood Center is now enrolling children for both full day and half day preschool classes. ECC is a National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accredited program and is rated a Level 4 center on Indiana’s Paths-to-Quality.

Our staff works diligently to provide a safe and nurturing environment so the social and emotional needs of children can be met. We also believe in learning through play. Play is an important component of healthy brain development. It assists with developing social skills, thinking skills, problem solving and self-confidence; all the skills necessary for children to learn both academically and about the world around them.

ECC accepts CCDF and On My Way Pre-K vouchers. Please call Mary Crabtree in our front office to make an appointment to register, 317-869-4751.

Mrs. Hand, our school counselor, is available to support all of our Lowell students. A student may be referred to the school counselor by a parent/guardian, staff member or the student may refer themselves. Services provided by the school counselor through this referral process include individual and group counseling as well as informal check ins. Confidentiality is maintained at all times when meeting with the school counselor unless the child gives permission to share information or if the child says they are planning to hurt themselves, someone else or that someone has hurt them. It is the objective that all students will build healthy relationships and be successful at school. This occurs when students, families and the school are working together. School counseling services are available to every student.

If you are interested in counseling services for your child, please click on the link below and complete the referral form for Mrs. Hand. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhMbp6BSh7ti1I6Nc6ar3-LjYr-cqbFUzhxIesLZmRXiqa3w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

• Don’t forget that we will continue to distribute breakfast and lunches for all VIRTUAL students on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8AM-9:30AM at Moorhead Community Resource Center. We have also added a Tuesday distribution time in the evening from 4:30-6:30PM.

• Thank you for continuing to use Moorhead Community Resource Center to support your device needs. Their hours of operation are Monday-Friday, from 11-1PM. **Your technology needs can also be supported though submitting a helpdesk ticket through IncidentIQ Support System. If you are in need of a WiFi Hotspot, you can use IncidentIQ Support System to make the request or you can contact your homeschool.

For the 2020-2021 school year, Warren Township has transitioned to a new student information system called Synergy allowing our parents and caregivers to have improved access to school information through the parent portal called ParentVUE. We are aware that at his time some students’ attendance records are reflecting students are absent, when in fact they were present. This is mostly the case for our students who are attending school VIRTUALLY on application days or in the VIRTUAL opinion full-time. We want to assure you that teachers are keeping accurate attendance records and that we are working to correct attendance records for all our students.

We have heard from our parents that the VIRTUAL schedule can be confusing for our students. In response to this feedback, we are designating specific days to our Black and Gold Cohort students in grades K-6th grade. Starting on Monday, August 24, 2020, students will follow the schedule below. *On shortened school weeks, there will not be an Friday Academic Enrichment Friday.

• Black Cohort (A-K)

• Mondays and Wednesdays: Direct Instruction Day

• Tuesday and Thursdays: Application Day

• Gold Cohort (L-Z )

• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Direction Instruction Day

• Monday and Wednesday: Application Day

• Black Cohort and Gold Cohort

• Fridays: Academic Enrichment Days

Friday Academic Enrichment Days are designed to ensure there is more feedback and attention to student needs as well as creating increased opportunities for student and family support. Student experiences on Friday Academic Enrichment Day will include a playlist; however, will provide more opportunities for enrichment, reflection and targeted supports for students. Please visit MSD Warren’s Virtual Instructional Guide and Weeks At-A-Glance to learn more.

In order for our schools to be in compliance with the state laws regarding immunizations, please make sure that your student(s) have their updated information on file with Nurse Deb, our school nurse. All student vaccines must be on file and up to date by September 21, 2020 to avoid exclusion from school. Please make Nurse Deb aware of any upcoming appointments for vaccines, or if there are any medical or religious objections to your student receiving his or her vaccines

Also, PLEASE inform Nurse Deb of any chronic health conditions that the school should be made aware of, and that your student's medical emergency information is up to date. Thank you for your help in getting this important information to our nurse!

Did you know that Amazon donates money to approved charities and the Lowell PTA was just approved as a charity?

If you use Amazon or have an Amazon Prime Account, money may be donated to Lowell with NO extra charge to you. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases.

Please see the flyers below for easy ways to donate to Lowell. Share with your friends and family!

Thank you for taking time each morning to screen your child before coming to school each day. Please continue to do so. Below are symptoms impacting consideration for exclusion from school:

● A fever of 100.0° F or greater

● Chills

● Cough

● Muscle or body aches

● Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

● Headache

● Sore throat

● Congestion or runny nose

● Fatigue

● New loss of taste or smell

● Nausea or vomiting

● Diarrhea

Students and employees should be excluded from school if they test positive for COVID-19 or exhibit two or more of the symptoms of COVID-19 that are not otherwise explained based on ISDH / MCPHD guidance. If in doubt, please don't hesitate to call school at 317-532-3900 for some guidance. We appreciate your support in doing this important screening step each day before sending students to school.

Parents ~

You can view your child's "Warren Password" on the ParentVUE Student Info tab.

Click on Student Info and then scroll to the bottom of the page. You will see your child's' passwords right after the bus info.

You may download our 20-21 Reopening Plan on our S.A.F.E. Reopening Webpage.

https://www.warren.k12.in.us/o/msd-of-warren-township/page/20-21-s-a-f-e-reopening

Our car rider line has changed locations! The car rider drop-off and pick-up line is now on the SOUTH SIDE (Raymond Street) of the building. DO NOT ENTER OFF OF HUNTER ROAD. All car riders will enter the line off of Raymond Street. There is a circular drive that cars will follow around to the sidewalk. Pull your car to the end of the sidewalk, place your car in park, and wait for staff to signal that students may be released from cars. DO NOT RELEASE STUDENTS UNTIL STAFF IS OUTSIDE AND INDICATES THAT STUDENTS MAY BE RELEASED FROM VEHICLE. WE WILL BEGIN TO RELEASE STUDENTS AT 7:55AM. STUDENTS MUST WEAR A FACE COVERING WHEN EXITING THE VEHICLE. PARENTS ARE TO REMAIN IN CARS AT ALL TIMES AND CANNOT EXIT THE VEHICLE TO WALK STUDENTS INTO THE BUILDING.

Students will only be released on the sidewalk side/passenger side of the vehicle. Please make sure your child is sitting on that side of your vehicle. When the sidewalk is cleared of students, cars will be released by staff to exit back out onto Raymond Street. PLEASE DO NOT MOVE YOUR CAR UNTIL STAFF INDICATES IT IS SAFE TO MOVE. DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR RIDER LINE TO MANUVEUR YOUR CAR AROUND OTHER CARS. STAY IN LINE AND FOLLOW THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU SO WE CAN EXIT SAFELY. When the next row of cars are lined up along the sidewalk and are stopped and in park, staff will release the next group of students into the building.

OUR PRIORITY IS TO KEEP STUDENTS AND STAFF SAFE! PLEASE MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES AND TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF THE LOWELL STAFF. WE APPRECIATE YOUR COOPERATION.

Please make sure your child has backpack/supplies ready and that good-byes are said before it's time to exit the car. We will not have time to retrieve items or have prolonged good-byes in the morning. We appreciate your help with this!!

Review the map below to see the entry/exit location and the path for the car rider line. We appreciate your patience as we all learn this new system.

Please remember that our Lowell Campus is a smoke-free campus. There is no smoking allowed anywhere on Lowell grounds. This includes smoking in your cars while on the Lowell Campus. Please refrain from smoking on school grounds if you are picking your child up or dropping your child off at school. We appreciate your support with this policy!

The renovation at Lowell is going strong!! We are excited to see the progress!

Click on the link below to access the 2020-2021 Student Success Handbook.

Student Success Handbook 2020-2021

Contact Us

Kim Griffin -- Principal

kgriffin@warren.k12.in.us

Tasha Reedus -- Dean

nreedus@warren.k12.in.us

Website: lowell.warren.k12.in.us
Location: 2150 South Hunter Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-532-3900
Facebook: facebook.com/LOWELLLEOPARDS
Twitter: @LowellElementa1