Lowell Lantern

Please make sure your child does not miss any school days due to lack of required immunizations. Exclusion date is Monday, September 16th, 2019. If your child is missing any immunizations, letters were sent home. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Nurse Deb at 532-3900.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES are coming up on Tuesday, October 1. These are very important meetings with your child’s teacher. Please look for a letter coming home with your child(ren) that will give more information about conference times. Teachers will discuss student progress and performance as well as distribute report cards during these conferences. We ask parents to make every attempt to attend a conference with their child(ren)’s teachers.

Elementary School Counselors provide education, prevention and intervention activities through school wide initiatives, classroom lessons, small groups and individual counseling. Counselors assist students in their academic, career and social/emotional development and provide support to students during times of transition or heightened stress. As a resource to staff and parents, counselors assist in identifying children's academic and social/emotional needs. Counselors may also provide referrals for additional community support services.

A typical day for our elementary school counselor might include the following:

• Classroom lesson on social skills

• An intervention assisting a small group of third grade students with organizational skills

• Collaboration with a grade level team review of academic and behavioral data

• Facilitating conflict resolution between students

• Organizing career exploration activities for teachers to use in the classroom

• Parent conference to address academic concerns

• Small group intervention activity in anger management

• Individual counseling for students dealing with emotions relating to stress or significant life events

We are fortunate to have Mrs. Hand at Lowell Elementary School! If you have questions regarding counseling services, please feel free to call 532-3900.

Our September Attendance Contest has begun. Students who have perfect attendance for the month of September will receive a Lowell Leopard Squishie. Check out this website with some great information for schools and families on attendance. http://absencesaddup.org/

Your child’s daily, on-time attendance is critical to their success in school. And while some challenges to your child’s school attendance are unavoidable, it’s important to understand the impact of each absence.

A student is considered chronically absent if they miss only two days of school per month (18 days in a year), whether the absences are excused or unexcused. This is true for children as early as elementary school, when they are at a higher risk of falling behind in reading. Even one year of chronic absence can cause a child to fall behind academically and decrease a child’s chances of graduating from high school, which can have long-term consequences on their financial independence, physical well-being and mental health. The good news? Attending school every day increases a child’s chances of success in school and in life.

Dear Lowell Families,

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know how excited the Lowell Elementary family is about the start of the school year and to share our process for emergency preparedness. In an effort to make sure our students and staff understand and know what to do in the case of emergencies, we plan practice drills throughout the school year. Some of these drills include procedures we practice monthly, like fire drills, and some we practice only a few times during the year, like wind/tornado drills.

We wanted you to be aware of the types of drills that we practice together in the event of a school safety concern so that you can talk with your students about these situations if they should come home with questions.

• Fire Drills – Students and staff evacuate their classrooms and exit the building. All classrooms report to a designated location outside of the school building. During these drills, cars entering campus will be stopped by staff until our perimeter is clear of students and staff.

• Wind/Tornado Drills – Students and staff report to designated locations in the building away from large windows and doors with windows. During this drill, our exterior doors will be locked so that all office staff can participate as well.

• Lockdown Drills – Our buildings are secured internally and externally. Students remain with staff and wait for directions. During these drills, if you visit campus, you may see law enforcement agencies like Warren Police, parked on our campus supporting this practice.

• Bus Evacuation Drills – Students practice exiting the bus using emergency exits upon arriving to school. During these drills, cars entering campus will be stopped by staff until our perimeter is clear of students and staff.

It is important to note that your student’s focus and cooperation during our drills is paramount. When drills are conducted, all individuals on our campus must participate, and that number can be upwards of 600 people. Paying attention, being alert and following directions allows for the best learning experience during the drills. Please reinforce this at home. Also, please know that if you are in the building when these drills are being practiced, you will be asked to practice with our school.

I appreciate your support and ask that you reach out with any questions.

Kim Griffin, Principal

The occasion may arise when the school district wants to recognize your child or your child's school. This may include your child's photo, your child's name or your child's work in district publications, newsletters, on school district websites, and in electronic/ social media or in staff training videos. We may also want to tell the media (including newspapers, television, and radio) about your child's achievements. We never knowingly release information about a student to anyone who wants to use it for commercial/ political purposes. However, we will honor your request to not include your child in these types of recognitions if you notify your child's school office in writing that you do not want this type of information released.

Contact Us

Kim Griffin -- Principal

kgriffin@warren.k12.in.us

Tasha Reedus -- Dean

nreedus@warren.k12.in.us