Greetings, Lowell Community!

I hope this message finds you well and brimming with the same excitement I am feeling this week. I want to kick off this newsletter with an enthusiastic shout-out to each and every one of you for making this week nothing short of spectacular!

We started the week on a high note with our Art Room showcase at the School Community Meeting. A huge thank you to Sofjia Chroneos for her incredible efforts in bringing the vibrant joy and creativity of our students to life. Her work has not only decorated our walls but also touched our hearts with the amazing talents of our young artists.

Today, we had the privilege of hosting Dr. Galdston. Her visit was truly enriching as she spent the day engaging with different parts of our community. She joined insightful conversations with third-grade parents over coffee, shared a delightful lunch with our energetic fifth graders, and connected with our wonderful staff throughout the day. Her presence was a reminder of the strong support and collaboration we share in our educational journey.

A special shout-out goes to our fantastic Family Teacher Organization for organizing a stunning teacher appreciation breakfast. The spread was gorgeous, and the timing couldn't have been better! Your efforts and kindness nourished not only our bodies but also our spirits. Thank you for making our teachers feel so cherished and valued.

And now, for the grand finale of an already amazing week—tonight is our much-anticipated Trunk or Treat event! Dust off those costumes and come join the fun, because this is an event you truly can't afford to miss! Let's create unforgettable memories together as we celebrate with costumes, camaraderie, and lots of treats.

Thank you all for your continued support, enthusiasm, and energy. Let's keep the momentum going as we move forward together!

With Gratitude,

Principal Phelan & Assistant Principal Rufo

Hello Lowell Families and Caregivers!

From September 15th October 15th we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in the Lowell Library with displays, read-alouds and a big bulletin board in the hall highlighting authors, illustrators and books about famous Hispanic people. Students also explored the new library shelf arrangement, learned some digital citizenship and learned how find the library catalog to search for books.

Celebrate the abilities of those with Down Syndrome through reading. Here are books from our schools that address or feature characters with Down Syndrome.

Lenny was welcomed with open arms by Mrs. Hantson’s first grade class. He joined a reading group and learned about “magic e” words. He played a new math game called “Salute” and he wrote a story retell during Wit and Wisdom. He also enjoyed outside snack on one of the many beautiful days we had this week! He received many hugs and high fives during his stay in room 53. We will miss him but are excited to hear about his next adventure!

Hello Lowell friends -

We are on schedule for our Miyawaki Planting Day on 10/26! You may have noticed that they are still digging down the hill there, but we're assured that it will be completed on time, and we have volunteers coming tomorrow to help as the last of the trees are delivered and we sort out some of the last details of organizing the day.

Meanwhile, we've constructed a temporary fence by the big sugar maple tree on George St. to store our tiny trees while they wait to be planted, as we don't want any bunnies nibbling on their leaves. Once we get planting on Saturday, this fence will move down to the main forest to join the larger fence around the whole forest, protecting our trees over the winter as well.

Hope to see many of our Lowell community there!

Judy Fallows, School Garden Coordinator

"kids who grow veggies, eat veggies!"

After noticing how much unopened food is thrown away during lunch time, 3rd grader Naomi Ward has worked with staff and other community members to create a food rescue program at the school. She is raising funds to purchase a glass-fronted fridge for the school cafeteria where unopened food can be stored and made available to students during, before, and in after-school programs. All leftover food will be delivered to the Watertown Community Fridge for the greater community to access.

Here is the link to the fundraiser if you'd like to participate in raising funds for this project. All money will go to the FTO account and then be dispersed for this project: https://gofund.me/dc18c38f

BlackPrint Education Consulting, in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is gathering feedback from individuals who support students with IEPs and their families. We invite you to provide your valuable input by either attending a virtual focus group or completing a brief survey, open until November 8.

Register for a Virtual Focus Group|https://bit.ly/DESEFocusGroup

Family Survey Link | https://bit.ly/LetDESEknow

Special Educator Survey Link | https://bit.ly/SpedEducatorSurvey

Directions for Families:

• Click on the link above to open the Family Conference document

• Select your child's teacher's name

• Click on the SignUp Genius Link

• Select the time you would like to meet with your child’s teacher

• Enter your first name, last name, and email address

• Select the “sign up now button” to confirm the time

• Choose if you will attend in person or through zoom

• During the selected time, please attend in person or use the Zoom link provided to meet with the teacher

We’re off to a super start to the school year with students deeply engaged in learning, particularly around literacy. Early literacy universal screening is used to help schools identify students early who are at risk for future reading difficulties, including but not limited to, the risk of dyslexia. One of the ways students in grades Kindergarten - Grade 5 are assessed in reading is a literacy screening assessment called DIBELS 8th Edition, DIBELS is administered three times this school year.

At the fall teacher-caregiver conferences, you will have the opportunity to learn more about this assessment and your child’s performance. We look forward to partnering with you in your students’ literacy development. *If your child is just recently beginning to learn English they may be more likely to be identified for future reading difficulties. This will be taken into consideration at subsequent screenings and we will monitor your child's reading development alongside their English Language Development.

There are numerous benefits to starting each day with a morning meeting in the classroom that make it worth the few extra minutes each morning. It’s important to note that benefits are seen when morning meeting is a regular and consistent part of each day. Come join us and attend the morning meeting with your student. The schedule by grade is below. Please stay and have a cup of coffee with Mrs. Phelan and Mr. Rufo and our SEL team.

Here are a few positive outcomes that morning meeting can support:

• Builds meaningful relationships and establishes the trust (student to student and teacher to student)
• Sets the tone for a positive classroom climate
• Creates a space to highlight and discuss mental health needs
• Promotes the idea that all voices matter and are listened to
• Provides opportunities for teaching social, emotional, and academic skills
• Increases student confidence and self-awareness
• Motivates learners to do their best
• Supports academic learning
• Creates a kinder community

Simply put, morning meetings help all students do their best.

Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging to hold gatherings with caregivers at

Watertown Free Public Library

WATERTOWN - The Watertown Public Schools Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and

Belonging is inviting members of the community to a series of caregiver “meet and greets” this

fall.

These informal forums will give families and caregivers an opportunity to meet one another and

will be led by Watertown Public Schools’ Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Director Dr. Ceronne Daly.

“We are so excited to launch this series of meet and greets,” said Dr. Daly. “We are hoping

these sessions will give us an opportunity to connect in an authentic way with our families and

caregivers. It is critical for families and caregivers to know they have access to Watertown

Public Schools and they see the district as partners in the education of their children.”

These gatherings are born out of the Office of DEIB’s goal to plan, execute, and attend events

that engage staff, families, students and the community in the work of DEIB. The office aims to

enable opportunities to build and sustain strong and substantive relationships in the WPS

community.

Two key Watertown Public Schools district priorities will also serve as a guiding principle for

these sessions. These priorities are outlined in the district’s Strategy for Success and include:

Cultivating belonging and social-emotional wellness

Watertown Public Schools recognizes the role that schools play in the social-emotional

development and well-being of students. We are more than just academics. As such, WPS

strives to create learning communities where all students, staff, and families feel a sense of

belonging by creating safe, brave spaces in our schools; by proactively engaging all families;

and by staffing our schools with faculty and staff that represent our families and the global

community.

Creating a learning community that provides authentic, relevant, and engaging

opportunities

Watertown Public Schools create inclusive, safe learning environments where students want to

be in school by providing a wide variety of opportunities for students to explore content,

demonstrate understanding, and tap into their interests; employing culturally responsive

practices; and ensuring we meet all students where they are and provide them the support

they need to thrive. Students will feel the freedom to bring their authentic selves to school by

adopting inclusive curriculum and instructional practices

The meet and greets will be held at the Watertown Free Public Library. The goal of these

sessions is to bring together groups of families who may have some shared experiences.

September 2024 (meet and greets will be held from 5:30-7 p.m.)

● Wednesday September 18, 2024 - Caregivers of Incoming 6th graders

● Tuesday September 24, 2024 - Latino/a Caregivers

● Wednesday September 25 , 2024 - Caregivers of LGBTQ+ Children

October 2024 (meet and greets will be held from 5:30-7 p.m.)

● Tuesday October 1, 2024 - Single Caregivers

● Wednesday October 2, 2024 - Asian-American/Pacific Islander Caregivers

● Thursday October 3 2024 - Black Caregivers

● Wednesday October 16, 2024 - Caregivers of Multi-Racial Children

● Thursday October 17, 2024 - Intergenerational caregivers

● Tuesday October 22, 2024 - Caregivers of Adopted Children

● Wednesday October 23, 2024 - Caregivers Whose First Language is not English &

Caregivers of Newcomers

● Tuesday October 29, 2024 - Caregivers committed to raising Anti Bias Anti Racist

children

Dear Lowell Parents & Guardians,

The Department of Children and Families is seeking to keep Watertown children in their

schools and communities. In order to accomplish this, DCF is looking for Watertown parents

who would consider opening their homes and hearts to a student in need for short-term

care.

Please complete this brief survey if you are interested in opening your home and your

heart to a student in need.

We are so appreciative of your support. We’re hoping that with your help, we can reduce disruption for

children and school communities, mitigate traumatic experiences for children entering care, and reduce

transportation costs to school districts this school year.

If you have any questions you would like to ask before doing so, please reach out to:

Katheryn Butterfield, Area Clinical Manager

Katheryn.butterfield@mass.gov

• Monday, October 21st School Committee 7:00 pm
• Tuesday, October 22nd Day Adult & Teacher Conferences 1:00-2:30 pm
• Thursday, October 24th - Night Adult & Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:00 pm
• Thursday, October 24th - School Council 6:30-7:30 pm Lowell Learning Commons
• Friday, October 25th - Trunk or Treat 6:00-7:30 pm
• Tuesday, October 29th - Night Adult & Teacher Conferences 4:30-6:30 pm
• Learning Walks 9:00 am - 11:00 am
• Tuesday, October 29th - School Site Council 6:30-7:30
• Friday, November 1st - Day Adult & Teacher Conferences 1:00-2:30 pm
• Tuesday, November 5th - No School (Election Day & Teacher's Professional Development)
• 
  

Contact Us

J.R. Lowell Elementary School

123 Lowell Ave.

Watertown, Ma 02472

Phone: 1-617-926-7770

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JRLowellElementary

Website: https://watertownjrlowell.ss19.sharpschool.com/Principal: Stacy Phelan

stacy.phelan@watertown.k12.ma.us

Assistant Principal: Tara Rufo

tara.rufo@watertown.k12.ma.us

Administrative Assistant: Kara Flynn

kara.flynn@watertown.k12.ma.us

Receptionist: Jim Swift

james.swift@watertown.k12.ma.us

Nurse: Kristen Thibodeau

kristen.thibodeau@watertown.k12.ma.us

Guidance Pre-K - 2: Melina Jacovides

melina.jacovides@watertown.k12.ma.us

Guidance 3-5: Brian Connors

brian.connors@watertown.k12.ma.us

School Psychologist: Kelley Starrett

kelley.cochrane@watertown.k12.ma.us

Special Education Team Chair: Greg Roberts

gregory.roberts@watertown.k12.ma.us

LEDP Site Coordinator: Adam Vachon

adam.vachon@watertown.k12.ma.us