Lowell Leopard News

Happy New Year, Lowell families! I hope you had a fun, safe, and healthy winter break, along with any holiday celebrations you may have observed. I love January because it’s a fresh start! It’s great to have a chance to think about changes we want to make. This is a fun topic to discuss with your children at home as we begin a new calendar year!

As we return from winter break each year, we take time to review our classroom and schoolwide behavior expectations. These are based on our school motto, which you can see below: "I work hard. I show respect. I make good choices. I am a Lowell Leopard!" During the first week back, your child will review expectations in at least one area of our school each day. You can support by asking them to share what they know with you at home.

Did you know that we are just over a third of the way through the school year? That means January is the time when we pause for another i-Ready diagnostic assessment for nearly all students in both math and reading. In addition to our ongoing classroom-based assessments of student work, the diagnostics help us know whether students are on track to make the growth we'd like to see this year. They also tell us how are students are doing in relation to grade-level standards. This month, younger students will also be assessed in early literacy skills such as reading fluency. Your child's attendance each day unless they are ill is so important to both their growth and proficiency!

January is a good time to review your family’s Internet safety plans and expectations. A common topic in the news is how students’ social media use can impact their time at school and their relationships with friends. While the majority of younger elementary students aren’t active on social media, it’s important that they build understanding and skills at an early age to stay safe online, and that families support with this. So, if you are looking for a resource to support this, check out Common Sense Media -- then hover over "Parent Tips and FAQs" to choose a topic.

Have a great month, and please be sure to reach out with any questions or needs!

Mrs. Kelley, principal

• Every Monday: Celebrate Motto Monday by wearing a Lowell shirt, or blue and white.
• Monday, Jan. 6: School resumes following winter break
• Thursday, Jan. 9: PTA General Meeting, 6:00 p.m. in the library
• Friday, Jan. 10: Popcorn Friday; 1:35 p.m. Learning Improvement Friday dismissal
• Wednesday, Jan. 15: Decades dress-up day
• Thursday, Jan. 16: Martin Luther King assembly, 1:45 p.m. in the cafeteria
• Friday, Jan. 17: 1:35 p.m. Learning Improvement Friday dismissal
• Monday, Jan. 20: No school for Martin Luther King Day
• Friday, Jan. 24: Popcorn Friday; 1:35 p.m. Learning Improvement Friday dismissal
• Friday, Jan. 31: No school -- staff work day

You can find printable district calendars for 2024-25 and 2025-26 here.

Special event on Jan. 16: Discover the Power of AI! An Everett Public Schools Let’s Connect community event for families will explore how artificial intelligence can positively impact education, and its ethical use in the classroom. We will discuss its transformative potential, practical applications, and the importance of using this technology responsibly. The event is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at Eisenhower Middle School. Let’s Connect gatherings are interactive, featuring presentations from district leaders or subject matter experts, followed by opportunities for families and community members to ask questions, share feedback, and gain valuable insights.

Lowell's drama is back! Remember our play last year, Beauty Lou and the Country Beast? This year’s play will be Sleeping Beauty. The Missoula Children’s Theatre will arrive the first week of March with two directors, costumes, the set and scripts. We provide the actors! The play takes an old favorite story and adds a twist:

Our version of SLEEPING BEAUTY: A new princess is born, and from far and wide the people of the kingdom gather to celebrate. One simple mistake is made – an invitation is misplaced – and the wrath of the vicious Scarella falls upon the poor infant in the form of a spell. Sleeping Beauty is now destined to sleep for eternity if she should prick her finger on a spindle before she reaches her sixteenth birthday. Sleeping Beauty’s Fairy Godmothers do their best to amend the spell, but Scarella, with the help of some nasty Trolls, tricks Sleeping Beauty into pricking her finger and the spell takes effect. Five hundred years pass and Sleeping Beauty wakes to find herself in a Rock ‘n Roll dream! Also featured in this production are the King and the Queen, Spot, the Fairies, the Palace Attendants and the Caterpillars. SLEEPING BEAUTY – a Rock ‘n Roll Fable for the ages. This is definitely no sleeper!

Here are key dates:

• Auditions: Permission forms will be available online (paper copies by request) on Feb. 13. They are due by noon Wednesday, Feb. 19 – no exceptions! Everyone with a completed form can audition. Auditions are from 3:00-5:00 p.m. March 3 in the gym. Then cast announcements are at 5:00, snack is from 5:00-5:15, and rehearsal is 5:15-7:15 (usually just for leads – generally Grades 4-5).
• Rehearsals: In addition to the one on March 3, they will be from 3:00-5:00 and 5:15-7:15 March 4-6 (times vary by roles/grades).
• Performances: 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 8, at Everett Civic Auditorium

This is an exciting time for us! We work together for one week to put on an amazing performance. Please watch for more information coming next month.

P.E. with Ms. Neyens: Happy new year, Lowell Leopards! In this new year, we will continue to work on whole-body movements and mix in some food group nutrition. My goal as the physical education teacher is to create a fun, active, and engaging environment for all students so that if they choose, they can take the skills learned here and apply them to sports and games outside of school. Please remember that on your child's P.E. day, for their safety they need to wear athletic shoes. Looking ahead, February will be the Kids Heart Challenge! Get ready for some new Heart Heroes and stay tuned for more information on how we will be completing the Kids Heart Challenge here at school and how you can complete it at home!

Art with Ms. Johnson & Ms. McHargue: Happy New Year! We will begin the month of January by finishing up projects that we were working on before winter break. Kindergarteners and first-graders are finishing their moonlit midnight landscape collage. Second- through fifth-graders are finishing their geometric color wheel paintings. Later this month:

• Kindergarten and first grade will learn about color hues and how to create skin colors with tints, tones, and shades of a color hue. They will make a collage using paper and practice their cutting skills to make an image of people with a variety of skin colors.
• Second- and third-graders will investigate the use and meaning of handprints in prehistoric artwork. Then, they will use paint and markers to create a composition of handprints demonstrating positive and negative space.
• Fourth- and fifth-graders will create a drawing of a paper column inspired by Greek antiquity and mythology. They will choose a column style and add imagery and symbols inspired by a character from Greek mythology.

Reading with instructional coach Ms. O’Connor: Hello, Lowell families! Happy 2025! Let’s begin the new year by discussing reading, what it takes to learn to read, and how you can help your child grow as a reader and learner! First let’s learn the expectations around the five essential components of reading:

1. Phonemic awareness: What kids need to know before they learn to read, such as how to hold a book, turn pages, rhyming, what a word is, ability to count syllables, and ability to orally play with sounds in words. This is mainly worked on in kindergarten and first grade, but continues throughout the grades depending on students’ needs.
2. Phonics: Letters and the sounds they make, either alone or with other letters to form words. There are 44 phonemes in the English language that make over 250 sounds. Kindergarten students are expected to master all letter sounds and blend consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words such as “rat” or “fit.” First-grade students are introduced to the rest of the phonics rules and practice throughout the year. Second-graders practice their phonics in multisyllabic words, and focus on fluency. Third- through fifth-graders should have mastered their phonics.
3. Fluency: Reading accurately, at a good rate, and with expression. This comes from repeated readings, reading aloud, and paying attention to punctuation. There is a desired correct words read per minute for each grade level. We hope children are fluent by the end of second grade, and assessments are done in first through third grades to check.
4. Comprehension: Understanding what is read. This skill is worked on every year. The focus beginning in third grade changes from learning to read to reading to learn, and reading skills are then applied to understanding science, social studies, and more complex texts.
5. Vocabulary: Meanings of the words in the text, which is practiced throughout the components and grade levels.

Next month, we’ll discuss how to help with these components at home.

Our district has many great resources that can be accessed at home -- click the accompanying image, or here, to access them.

Message from PTA: Welcome to 2025! The Lowell PTA had a fantastic fall supporting our students!:

• Book Fair: We had a very successful book fair, which raised funds for our library! New books are already on the shelves, including new nonfiction – always a student favorite!
• Fun Run: The Lowell Fun Run, hosted by Apex, was so successful! Students raised more than $17,000! Thank you for supporting your students! This money will fund field trips, student activities, classroom grants, and other student supports! This year's theme was "future leaders." You can see the topics from the daily leadership lessons in the accompanying graphic -- ask your child what they learned!
• Holiday Shop: PTA, in coordination with the Family Support Team at Lowell, was able to provide a shopping experience for many of our students in need. The library was turned into a Holiday Shop, and kids were able to choose gifts for members of their families. Thank you for supporting this activity with your generous donations.

Upcoming PTA events:

• Next meeting: Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6:00 p.m. in the library is the next PTA general meeting. Please join us for planning our spring events, including Carnival, Student Appreciation Week, Book Fair and Movie Night!
• Membership drive: In January, we are having a membership drive! Our goal is to increase our membership by 20% in January! Starting the week of Jan. 13, classrooms will compete to sign up the most new PTA members! The class with the most adult sign-ups will win a Happy Meal for each student! Please consider joining the PTA. Membership is just $10 dollars yearly, and benefits Lowell students in so many ways! You can join here. We look forward to seeing you in 2025!

Spirit wear store: Visit the PTA storefront!

Interested in volunteering? Volunteer clearance is a must, and it can take up to two weeks. Get ahead of things now -- visit the district website to start your application!

Ongoing supports: Does your family need assistance with items such as food or housing? Are you looking for connections to housing and medical services? We have resources to help! E-mail family support specialist Amy Watkins at awatkins@everettsd.org or call the school office at 425-385-5300. You can also find some resource links here, and access more by calling 211 or starting here.

Did you know that our school partners with a community organization to provide weekend food bags for Lowell families in need? We can always use donations -- we have an Amazon wish list here. Or you can drop off items in the office!

Absences: If your child will be absent, please e-mail us at loeattendance@everettsd.org or call the attendance line at 425-385-5305 to report their absence daily. Include the date, child's first and last name, ID number, and the reason for the absence. All absences must be reported/excused in writing, so if you aren't able to e-mail, please send a written note upon your child's return to school.

Late arrivals/tardies: If arriving between 8:35 and 9:05 a.m., your student will be marked tardy. After 9:05, your student needs to be walked into school by an adult, as they need to be signed in. This will ensure that their half-day absences is being marked excused or unexcused appropriately.

Changes to dismissal routines: If you are wanting to change how your student is getting home on a given day, you must contact our office before 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and by 1:00 on Fridays. The rest of each day is very busy, so we cannot guarantee that messages will get through after those times.

Email: ekelley@everettsd.org
Website: https://www.everettsd.org/lowelles
Location: 5010 View Drive, Everett, WA, USA
Phone: 425-385-5300
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EPSLowellES

Instagram: @epslowelles

ParentSquare is Everett Public Schools' and Lowell's communication system. Though you will receive messages even if you don't have an account, setting one up allows you to customize notifications. Click here or on the image for information on how to get the app and log in!