The Lion's Roar

Hello McAvinnue Community!

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend! We will be entering the final week of school before the Winter Break. This will be a well deserved time away for everyone in the McAvinnue Community. We have just wrapped up a grueling month of assessments with our students and it appears that there is solid progress made across all grade levels. As you may be aware, this new data will be used to inform our decision-making regarding intervention groups and other ways that we can better support the needs of our students.

Please be on the lookout for Student Progress Reports for Grades 1-4 on Wednesday, February 14th. This report will be placed in your child's purple communication folder. After you receive the Progress Report for your child, reach out your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

Here is a quick reminder about Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14th for our PK - Grade 4 students. We will continue the tradition of exchanging of valentine cards in our classrooms. We only ask that you check in with your child's teacher if you are planning on bringing in any food or candy items with your child's valentines. We want to make sure that there aren't any allergies or food issues for any of our students. Also, please make sure that you include enough valentines for everyone in your child's class.

Finally, all Lowell Public Schools will be closed on Monday, February 19th - Friday, February 23rd due to the Winter Break. Enjoy the time away with family and friends making some fun and positive memories. We can't wait to hear about what everyone did over the Winter Break including just relaxing and unwinding! We will open our doors after the break on Monday, February 26th at 9:10 AM.

As always, we are looking forward to another productive, engaging, and fun week at the "best school that we all know"!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach directly.

Here are a few items that you need to be aware of. Please mark your calendars for the following events and activities at McAvinnue for this upcoming week:

• Saturday, February 10th - Lunar New Year Begins
• Monday. February 12th - McAvinnue Reopens @ 9:10 AM
• Tuesday, February 13th - McAvinue's School Site Council Meeting @ 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
• Wednesday, February 14th - Progress Report Distribution (Grades 1 - 4)
• Friday, February 16th - February Break Begins @ 3:30 PM

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Main Office at McAvinnue or send Mr. Domina a message a mdomina@lowell.k12.ma.us.

We will be sending home student progress reports for Grades 1 - 4 on Wednesday, February 14th.

Each student's progress report will be placed in your child's purple communication folder.

The student progress report will provide you with an update on how your child has been doing since the last report card period in December.

Please feel free to reach out directly to your child's classroom teacher if you have any questions after reviewing their progress report.

All Lowell Public Schools will be closed on Monday, February 19th - Friday, February 23rd due to the Winter Break.

McAvinnue will open our doors again on Monday, February 26th at 9:10 AM.

Enjoy the time away with family and friends making some fun and positive memories. We can't wait to hear about what everyone did over the Winter Break including just relaxing and unwinding!

McAvinnue’s “Night At Chuck E. Cheese” was a major success! Everyone had so much fun and we packed the place until closing! Thank you so much to the families that were able to attend!

McAvinnue's "Morning Announcements" are back for the 2023-2024 academic school year!

Like we had successfully done last school year, a new edition of McAvinnue's "Virtual" Morning Announcements will be presented to our students on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. We will continue to use Tuesday and Thursday each week to be used for "Open Circle"....our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program that focuses on community building, prosocial decision making, and appropriate responses to daily stressors both within the school and home settings.

This will continue to be a great way to bring our school together each day focusing on the same message to get the energy, commitment, and engage up before we launch into another great day at "the best school we all know".

You can check out each edition of McAvinnue's Morning Announcements on our YouTube channel using the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7hxiBuRjqjqfASl_RLMleQ

You can check out the latest edition of McAvinnue's Morning Announcements below!

We will practice a brand new pose called the "Sandwich" for this up and coming week after the Winter Break. This new pose will allow us to release tension through a lower body stretch that will improve your digestion! We will practice the "Sandwich" pose daily during our "Virtual" Morning Announcements during this up and coming week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

You can get an early head start and practice this technique before we launch into another exciting week!

If your students have any medical concerns or diagnosis, please make sure Nurse Danielle is aware. Also, if they have any medical conditions, for example allergies or asthma, that require medications such as Epipens or inhalers here at school, please remember she needs updated paperwork and medication yearly.

Please reach out as soon as possible to get her the necessary paperwork and to arrange drop off of new medications. Nurse Danielle's email address is dralls@lowell.k12.ma.us and she can also be reached by calling (978) 937-2871 ex. 47858. Our fax number is (978) 937-2880.

Drop-Off Logistics

• Arrival begins at 9:10 AM each day. The late bell rings at 9:25 AM.
• Please pull up to the 4th Avenue side of the building when dropping off your child.
• As you approach the 4th Avenue sidewalk, a faculty member will greet and support getting your child safely out of the vehicle.
• This area is a drop off area ONLY. You will not be permitted to park in this location.
• Please be sure to drive all the way down to the end of the sidewalk so we can fit as many vehicles in this location as possible.
• Ensure your child is ready to go and do not get out of the car so we can keep traffic moving.
• Students accessing our CSA program will be dismissed out the 4th Avenue door near the rear of the school building by the exit driveway.
• Large bus students will enter using the back door located in the rear of the school building.
  
• Small bus and van transportation students will use the 4th Avenue door near the rear of the school building by the exit driveway.

Morning Lining Up Locations

• Grade 1, 3, and 4 students will use the Main Door to enter the school building.
• Grade 2 will use the 4th Avenue doorway near the front of the school to enter the building.
• PreK & Kindergarten will use the Early Childhood door to enter the building. This door is located to the right of McAvinnue's Reading Garden and to the left of the Main Door.

Pick-Up Logistics

• Grade 1 will be dismissed out the Main Door.
• Grades 2, 3, and 4 will be dismissed out the 4th Avenue door near the front of the school.
• Kindergarten students will be dismissed out the Early Childhood door. This door is located to the right of McAvinnue's Reading Garden and to the left of the Main Door.
• Students accessing our CSA program will be dismissed out the 4th Avenue door near the rear of the school building by the exit driveway.
• PreK students will be dismissed out the 4th Avenue door near the rear of the school building by the exit driveway. Please contact Ms. Annie for the specific dismissal time.

School bus transportation is provided to students in grades K-4, who live greater than .75 mile from their residence or alternate address to their assigned school. Middle school students (grades 5-8) must live greater than 1.5 miles from their residence or alternate address to their assigned school.

Kindergarten through 4th grade students will receive a printed bus pass via postal mail. These passes were mailed out on August 23rd. You can also look up your student's bus pass information by using their Student ID for the username and date of birth for the password at the link below. This is the same information that students use to log in to their Chromebooks for school.

Please note that Kindergarten and 1st grader students must have an older sibling (4th grade or older) or parent present at the bus stop in the afternoon in order to depart from the school bus. If a parent or older sibling is not present, the student will be brought to the Moody School, located at 158 Rogers Street. A driver’s license or valid identification must be presented to the staff in order to dismiss the student.

You can use the LPSD "Bus Lookup Tool" using the link below. You will need to use you child's LASID or lunch number along with their birthdate to access this helpful system.

There also is a helpful video that you can watch that will walk you through the process.

Here are important dates to remember in the month of February:

• Saturday, February 10th - Lunar New Year Begins
• Monday. February 12th - McAvinnue Reopens @ 9:10 AM
• Tuesday, February 13th - McAvinue's School Site Council Meeting @ 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
• Wednesday, February 14th - Progress Report Distribution (Grades 1 - 4)
• Friday, February 16th - February Break Begins @ 3:30 PM
• Monday, February 19th - Friday, February 23rd - Winter Break: No School
• Monday, February 26th - McAvinnue Reopens @ 9:10 AM

McAvinnue's School Site Council will meet on Tuesday, February 13th at 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held using the Google Meets virtual platform.

You can find meeting login information as well as the working agenda using the link below.

https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/site/default.aspx?PageID=5546

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! STEAM Studio Family Night!

FREE night of STEM activities With Top Secret Science!!!

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

5:15 PM -6:45 PM

McAvinnue School Cafeteria

All students are invited to join us for a fun filled night of hands-on STEM activities. Students may attend with one adult family member and will get to take home several experiments that they made during the program!!

This FREE amazing fun-filled night is limited to the first 70 students that respond by sending back the bottom portion of the flyer!!! Don’t delay and miss this fun filled opportunity!!!! No exceptions will be made as the cafeteria can only hold a limited number of people.

Paper sign-up flyers will be going home in the upcoming weeks! Make sure to look for it in your child's folder, sign up, and send back the bottom portion of the flyer ASAP!!! Don't miss out on a FREE fun filled night with your child!

Want to check out more....watch the video below and click the link to see what Top Secret Science is all about!

https://topsecretscience.org/

Here's the weekly ST Math summary for McAvinnue! We had another successful week and continue to be the top school in Lowell with total puzzle completion and percent progress!

McAvinnue continues to break the record of our previous playing years with ST Math!! Here's the total number of puzzles as of February 10th. As a school, our percent progress is 70%! Simply amazing!

Our Winter Waddle Challenge wraps up this week. Which classroom will be recognized? Tune in on the Monday edition of McAvinnue's Morning Announcements for the BIG reveal!

Congratulations to our winners of Week 3...Rooms 103, 104, 307, and 102. JiJi pencils for the classes were delivered to these classrooms!

Thank you for turning in the snowballs for our cafeteria winterscape! With the weekend's weather, it felt like a spring scape would be more appropriate.

The LPS Student Handbook is a great tool to use to fully understand the expectations of the role of our students as well as the partnership needed for our families to ensure that the school year is a great success.

You can access the district elementary student handbook by clicking the button below. You will find various policies and procedures focusing on attendance, grading, discipline, bus expectations, and more.

Please reach out directly if you have any questions.

As you are aware, attending school is first step each in the learning process for our students. It is critical that our students arrive to school on time each day so that they can access all of the engaging and meaning lessons that have been planned by our teachers and related service providers.

The McAvinnue Attendnace Team will monitor student attendance on a weekly basis and will reach our directly to families when they notice frequent absences, a pattern of absences, or an increased number of consecutive absences within a short period of time.

Please refer to McAvinnue's Student Attendance Booket below that will provide additional information. This booket will be sent home with students in multiple languages. It is important that you review this information for your own awareness and to be fully prepared to support your child with the first step of the learning process...attending school on time.

As we reopen for the new school year, Lowell Public Schools Food and Nutrition are "Powering Potential" for students and faculty with innovations in our menus and enhancements to our overall dining operations. When your child dines with us, rest assured that we will be serving delicious, nutritious meals prepared with the utmost attention to safety. We encourage every student to fuel up with breakfast and lunch meals each day so they can be energized and prepared to succeed throughout the day, in and out of the classroom.

Please keep up to date on our program, nutrition education, monthly menus and back to school letters on the LPS Food and Nutrition website.

Any concerns please feel free to email foodservice@lowell.k12.ma.us

Get a jump start now and complete your emergency contact form for the 2023-2024 academic school year?

We have made it really easy for you to complete this important task. You can access the online form below. When you complete this form, it is immediately sent to McAvinnue and we will print it out for our records.

You don't need to come to the school to complete this form...you can do it right on your phone, tablet, or computer!

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. De La Luz at adelaluz@lowell.k12.ma.us or contact the Main Office at McAvinnue for support!

We have an online store if you wish to order any McAvinnue gear! It is open 24 hours per day and there is no due date for orders. Anytime you want to order...on any day!

The company is Prep Sportswear and has been reliable with solid product quality from reputable brands.

There is a 30% off deal occuring now on all items! This is a major discount if you are interested in purchasing McAvinnue merchandise.

Like during previous school years, we are also exploring additional local options to purchase McAvinnue gear. Stay tuned for more information in the month of September.

To access our current online store for McAvinnue spirit gear, please click the link below.

How can I update my contact information (phone number/email/address)?

• Go online to the Family Resource Webpage (https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/UpdateContactInfo) and fill out the “contact us” form. Families who don’t have access to the internet can fill out the form in person at the Family Resource Center. If an address change is related to economic factors or housing instability (family moves in with relatives, eviction, hotel/motel, fire or unsheltered, please contact the McKinney Vento Office located at the Family Resource Center in person (151 Merrimack Street), by phone (978-674-4321) or go to the webpage at https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/HomelessAssistance.

How do I update my emergency contacts?

• If you were in the school last year we will send a verification sheet out. if you are new we will send home an emergency form to fill out on the first day of school.

How do I register my child for the new school year?

• All school registrations are completed online using a computer or laptop. You can access the online application by going to https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/SchoolRegistration. If you only have a mobile device and don’t have access to a computer or laptop, you can register in person at the Family Resource Center (151 Merrimack Street). Please call the Family Resource Center if you have any questions (978-674-4321).

What should I do if I need to register my child(ren) and I don’t speak English?

• The Lowell Public Schools is committed to providing translation and interpretation services for families who require assistance in a language other than English. The online registration application and website is translated in Spanish and Portuguese and can be accessed by going to https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/SchoolRegistration. For all other languages, please call Vannak Khin at (978) 328-6782 to arrange services. In-person language interpretation support for registration can be accessed by visiting the Lowell Public Schools at 151 Merrimack Street. Families can also call the Family Resource Center at (978) 674-4321 to make an appointment with a Bilingual Family Liaison.

How old does my child need to be to enroll in preschool or kindergarten?

• A child must turn 4 years old on or before September 1, 2023, in order to apply for preschool and 5 by September 1 to apply for kindergarten. A family can apply for preschool by going to https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/PreschoolRegistration to fill out an online application or https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/KindergartenRegistration for kindergarten. For registration questions, please call (978) 674-4321.

How do I apply for a transfer for my child to change schools in the new year?

• Per the 2023-2024 School Assignment Policy, all students have the option to request one school transfer per year.
• Families can apply online at https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/SchoolTransfer or can come to the Family Resource Center in-person to complete the application. Transfers are assigned on a space availability basis.

Please see the information below regarding 2024 Spring Baseball & Softball Recreation League Registration. The flyer is offered in mutiple languages for your convenience.

Check out some playground opportunities including how to sign up using the scan code below.

Do you have a child that is between the ages of 2-5 and not sure what to do during the Winter Break in February? Look no further...check out the information below regarding the fun opportunity including how to sign up using the scan code.

With an increase in COVID-19 cases, this is a good time to remind you all of the current COVID protocol for public schools, which can be found here:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-isolation-and-exposure-guidance-for-children-and-staff-in-child-care-k-12-out-of-school-time-ost-and-recreational-campprogram-settings?fbclid=IwAR24BK80e6lAiisGU4enilSFTPrZ1-z7PoNp5nRovlR1ApBTpt7722BFw2g

Additionally, FREE at-home COVID tests are again available. To claim yours, visit https://special.usps.com/testkits or call (800)-232-0233.

Thursday, November 16th will marka the kickoff of Mill City Grows Indoor Winter Mobile Market season! Come shop with us at the City of Lowell Senior Center from 9:00 AM -11:30 AM, and stock up on fresh produce for your holiday week!

Check out the flyer below for more information.

Here is a great opportunity for parents of students that are in PreK or Kindergarten. The sessions start on November 15th. Follow-up sessions will occur on December 13th, January 10th, January 24th, and February 7th.

Sessions will start at 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the James Houlares Early Learning at 126 Phonix Avenue, Lowell, MA.

Please see the fly below for more details. If you are interested in signing up for this helpful opportunity, you can click the link below to access the registration form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSQ1cAqjKMREIZROtW8jyFDUjtyf3i22qti67gB1df4_tDVw/viewform

Cub Scout Pack 7 is looking for new cubs to join their pack! Tons of fun and learning experiences for all kids in Kindergarten through Grade 5. For more information, visit www.pack7lowell.com

Pack 7 meets at St. Rita's Church directly across from McAvinnue!

Looking for before or after school daycare options for your child? Here is a short list of options and information for your consideration.

Here is a list of daycare options in Lowell:

• Community Team Work (CTI) (978) 454-5100

• Families who are already enrolled in a CTI program...

• Call or text school-age coordinators to request a slot

• Billy 978-995-0028, wma@commteam.org

• Karen 978-729-7216, kshannon@commteam.org

• Families who are not enrolled in a CTI program

• If you’ve filled out a CTI application in the past...

• Contact Karen (978) 729-7216, kshannon@commteam.org to see if where you are on the waitlist (if there is a waitlist)

• If you’ve never filled out a CTI application...

• Fill out an application at 17 Kirk St., 126 Phoenix Ave

• Or call the main CTI number (978) 454-5100 to request an email version of the application.

• YMCA: (978) 454-7825; 1 YMCA Dr in Lowell

• Karen Espinola is the school-age director

• Fill out a application online or at the YMCA to request a slot

• Debbie Doben is the preschool director if your child is preschool age

• Family Childcare: Call programs to see if they have openings near you

• Bethel Family Childcare (978) 458-6577

• Clarendon Family Childcare (978) 454-3026

• Child Development and Learning (CDE) (978) 275-2843

• ACRE Family Childcare (978) 937-5899

• CTI: See above contact information

• Girls Inc: (978) 458-6529, 220; Worthen St. in Lowell

• Accept girls ages 5-14 years old

• Accept Child Care Circuit vouchers, DCF vouchers, and private pay (income-based, sliding scale)

• Call Pam Lerocque (Director of Finance & Administration) to check on openings

• Boys and GIrls Club: (978) 458-4526; 657 Middlesex St in Lowell

• School-age openings for after-school

• Teens who are working with the Department of Children and Families can call BGC or DCF to see if they’re eligible

The Family Leadership Institute provides families with the knowledge and skills to partner with schools and communities to ensure their children achieve their full potential.

Throughout the year, the FLI runs a variety of programs including: survival English classes, family college visits, mental health and financial literacy workshops, and more. For more information about the FLI visit: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/Page/5263 or email FLI Director Zoe Dzineku at zdzineku@lowell.k12.ma.us.

Do you need support with food options for your family. No need to worry...there are many local groups that can offer support for you during your time of need.

Click the link below for a list of local food pantries that are willing to help.

You can also reach out to Mrs. De La Luz, McAvinnue's Social Worker, for support navigating these and other options.

Food insecurity is a serious issue for many Lowell Public Schools families. Help is available. The Merrimack Valley Food Bank offers "Operation Nourish" in ALL of our schools. This program provides a bag of food for students to take home two Fridays each month. Please contact the school directly if your family is interested in joining this program.

Check out our school website where you can find a wealth of information including school news, calendars, and other events.

Please visit our website at: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/mcavinnue

You can follow McAvinnue on social media at the following sites! We update things daily and this is a great way to stay in touch with all of the amazing things that are happening inside and out of "the best school we all know"!

Click the buttons below to access our social media sites!

McAvinnue Elementary School is a place...where there are high expectations, where students are academically engaged, where instruction is guided by a systematic approach to examine data, where there is a multi-tiered system of support, and where a responsive environment that fosters social emotional connections between faculty and students prevails.

#McAvinnuePride #BeTheDifference #NextLevel

Email: mdomina@lowell.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/Domain/21
Location: 131 Mammoth Road, Lowell, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 937-2871