January 2018 401 Maple Avenue, Madison, WI 53704 204-6600

Backpack News from Principal John Burkholder

As we move into the New Year, Lowell staff members will continue their wonderful work to embrace the creativity and uniqueness of every member of our Lowell community, whether student, staff member, family or community member. With reference to our school’s work around our Welcoming Schools curriculum, we want to take this time as 2018 gets under way to affirm the right of all students and community members, regardless of race, color, national origin, immigration status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion to participate in a schooling environment free from fear, violence, and intimidation. As a school community, we will always celebrate our diversity and work to ensure that school is a safe and welcoming place for every student and every member of our

community. We thank you for your partnership in making sure that our school is a welcoming and safe environment for all. I am proud to be part of this community!

In this issue

Principal’s Letter

Health Office News

Important Dates

RYHO

Library News

4/5 Music Showcase

The Essential Arts

IMPORTANT DATES

Jan 03 School Resumes

Jan 09 LCO Meeting, 5:30-7pm

Jan 15 No School—Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan 16 4th & 5th Grade Music Showcase

Jan 19 Early Release at 10:50am (K-5),

No AM or PM 4K Classes

Jan 22 Beginning of 3rd Quarter

FROM THE LOWELL HEALTH OFFICE

VISION SCREENING for all 4K and Kindergarten students took place on Tuesday, December 12th. The health office will contact any parents/guardians of children that need follow-up. We are also in the process of screening 3rd and 5th grade students in the health office, and we will contact any parents/guardians of children that need follow-up.

CELEBRATE SMILES will be back at Lowell February 5th-8th. Consent forms were sent home recently. Please fill out and return to school, even if responding NO. Thank you!

HEARING SCREENING will take place the end of January/early February for 4K and K students.

As always, feel free to contact us in the health office with any questions! Deena and Sara, 608-204-6655

Jan 23 Lowell Math Night

Feb 02 School Dance

Feb 07 RIF Book Distribution

Feb 09 No School—Professional

Development

Feb 13 LCO Meeting

Feb 16 Read Your Heart Out (RYHO)

 

You’re invited to Lowell Elementary for 

 

Read Your Heart Out  

Friday, February 16, 2018 In Celebration of National African American Parent Involvement Day 

Please join us to celebrate family and community involvement!  

Classroom Readers Welcome Throughout the Day Refreshments Provided! 

 All-School Assembly featuring Student Performances at 1:45 pm 

 

Everyone is welcome for all or part of the time!  

Our Theme this year is SANKOFA Schools and Neighborhoods Keep Our Families Alive 

 Sankofa means “go back and fetch it”.  

The concept of learning from the past and bringing all that is good to the future.   

 Questions? Please contact Joe Martin, Instructional Resource Teacher, at 204-6648 or by email at jemartin@madison.k12.wi.us, if you have any questions regarding this event. 

Library News for January

The BOGO Book Fair was a big success!

Thank you to all of the shoppers who stopped in and got some book bargains just in time

for the holidays. The library raises funds for more materials with these Book Fairs and

this one was no exception. We were able to collect numerous new titles either at the fair

or because of the fair. So thanks for doing some of your shopping at Lowell!

Battle of the Books – grades 4 & 5

Battle teams were formed in December and our brave readers are busy studying

and gearing up for our Lowell competitions. Just a reminder that students who are

part of a team now are required to stay on that team and be part of the

competition since quitting in the middle would cause the other members of the

team much stress and frustration. We will have our school competitions at the end

of February and the winning team at each grade level will advance to the East Side Super Battle in

March. The specific dates will be shared later. Book lists can be found on the Lowell Library Portal. Just

go to the Lowell School website and click on the Library Portal at the bottom of the page. Battle

information is found under the BOOKS tab. Books can be checked out from school or from the public

library and audio versions of the books are fine as long as they are unabridged. Movies however cannot

be used in place of books as the storyline is often changed.

Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship – grades 2 – 5

Students have been studying this very important topic during library lessons this quarter. We have relied

heavily on information from Netsmartz.org & NSTeens.org. There are tips for educators, parents, kids,

and teens. Follow the link on the library portal under the Library Skills tab. Ask your child if she/he can

share any tips for you about being safe online. Four rules that the 2-3s learned were:

1. I will tell my trusted adult if anything makes me feel sad, scared or confused.

2. I will ask my trusted adult before sharing information like my name, address and phone number.

3. I will NOT meet face-to-face with anyone from the Internet.

4. I will always use good netiquette and not be rude or mean online.

Mrs. Pipson

skpipson@madison.k12.wi.us

608-204-6610

Lowell Elementary

4th and 5th Grade

Music Showcase

When: Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - 6 PM

Where: Lowell Elementary Gym

Who: Lowell Students in grades 4-5

This is the first in a series of special grade-level concerts, presented right here at our school, and featuring performances by 4th and 5th grade general music classes, Drum Power, and Strings. Future performances featuring 2nd and 3rd grades, and kindergarten and 1st grade will be announced soon. Hope to see you there!

MrB

The Essential Arts

January 2017

Music

Happy 2018 from music class! We have an exciting New Year ahead of

us, filled with guitars, recorders, singing, dancing, stories, games, and

so much more! A final reminder – Tuesday night, January 16, is the

first in a series of grade-level music performances right here in the Lowell

Elementary gym. The January performance features the work of 4th and 5th grade general music classes, 5th grade strings, and Drum Power. I am very excited for the opportunity to bring the student concerts to our own

space, and to be able to really represent the work we do every day in music class. Future 2018 dates for 2nd and 3rd grades, and kindergarten

and 1st grade will be announced soon.

REACH/TechnologyIn grades K-2, all students practiced coding with activities from code.org. Kindergarten and 1st grade students have been practicing clicking and dragging with a mouse with games from minimouse.us. Second and third grade students learned about how to stay safe online with videos and discussion from BrainPOP Jr and Professor Garfield. Students learned that they should never share anything YAPPY (Your name, Address, Phone numbers, Passwords, Your Plans).Fourth and fifth graders have been focused on typing skills and especially on recognizing and using the Home Row keys to develop typing speed and accuracy. They will be joining the lower grades in coding activities from code.org. Fifth grade has also been learning about Internet Safety as well as Digital Citizenship.

Physical Education

This month has been all about basketball. We worked on developing skills

using the ball as well as learning about how the game is played.

Art

Observation drawing, or sketching is a

great way to relax, connect to our

surroundings, and of course improve

our drawing skills. Artists sketch on a

variety of materials (scrap mail,

recycled cardboard, napkins, etc…), so

it isn’t necessary to buy a fancy

sketchbook, just start sketching! Some

artists give themselves the challenge to

make a sketch everyday for a week (or

more)... See how you improve and how

you feel!