Feb 2017 Part III

Principal’s Den Dear Lowell Families,

Happy Presidents Day! I hope you all enjoyed your extended weekend. My

husband and I spent the weekend learning how to ice fish with friends. It was

definitely a new experience for us filled with many memories.

It is a short week, but many great events taking place. Please make sure to view the

important dates and events, along with seeing what is new this week.

We continue to appreciate all the wonderful support our school receives from our families and patrons. Enjoy

the rest of your week.

Your Principal,

Dr. Adria David

Important Dates and Events Mon Feb 20 All Day No School, Presidents Day Tues Feb 21 5:30-6:30 pm 6th Grade Parent Night (parents only), North JR High Wed Feb 22 9:30-10:30 am 6th Grade Field Trip: Verde Percussion w/Philharmonic Thurs Feb 23 5:00 pm Boys’ Basketball Tournament @ Morley Nelson Fri Feb 24 8:30-9:10 am Lowell Pride Assembly (time correction, am not pm) Fri Feb 24 ALL Day PTSA Fundraiser: Pizza Day @ Papa Murphy’s Sat Feb 25 9:00 am - 12:00pm Boise Quadrant: Bond Canvassing

Thurs Mar 9 4:00-5:30pm Kindergarten Registration Mon Mar 13 5:00-9:00pm Lowell Bond Team: Phone Banking Tues Mar 14 ALL Day Boise Bond Election Fri Mar 10 Evening Lowell STEM Night 5:30-6:00 pm Food Trucks 6:00-7:30 pm Micron STEMbus and Grade Level STEM Activities

Eight Habits of the Heart Character Trait for February-Hope

Within the community, hope is believing in tomorrow – because you have learned to see with your heart.

-Clifton Taulbert

Weather Changes Please continue to remind your child to wear their warm outside gear (coats, boots, hats and gloves) as well as

appropriate footwear for the melting ice/snow mix. Students are welcome to pack a second set of footwear for

inside the building.

Historically, as a District we use 20°F as a baseline for making the decision to have indoor recess. As a staff

we also take into account the age of students and the wind chill factor in reaching our decision.

For safety reasons, students should not be on campus before 8:45 AM or on campus after 4:00 pm, as

there is no playground supervision. This will also limit the time students will be standing outside in the cold.

District News: Bond Update

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017 the Boise School District will hold a bond election to reinvest in our neighborhood schools and community with no increase in the current property tax rate.

● Relieves overcrowding ● Expands critical job-training programs ● Improves student access to music and athletics ● Modernizes classrooms and schools ● Increases student and staff safety

Learn more at www.boiseschools.org

Music: The Boise School District Choir Festival Students are invited to join the Lowell Choir to sing in the Boise School District Choir Festival. Rehearsals: Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 8:45-9:10 am Where: The music room portable, #76 Performance Day: Wednesday, March 2nd @ Boise High School Auditorium

For more information please contact:

Debbie Pimentel Music Specialist

deborah.pimentel@boiseschools.org

READ WEEK: February 27th-March 3rd

Lowell Book Fair

Shake It Up After-School Practice Continues:

February 21-23, February 27-March 2, March 6-10 and 13-16

Time: 4:00-5:30, Monday-Thursday Where: Lowell Cafeteria

Final Program Performance: Friday, March 17th @ 2:30 pm and 7:00 pm

Matthew C. Hansen, Ph.D.

matthewhansen@boisestate.edu 208-426-1215 (Office)

Kindergarten Registration

March 9, 2017 Registration Date Please attend registration with your child on Thursday, March 9, 2017 from 4:00 - 5:30 P.M. Your child will go through several learning stations and receive a packet of home activities that you can do with your child over the summer. Paperwork Registration packets are available right now! To enroll in kindergarten, students must be 5 years of age on or before September 01, 2017. A birth certificate, proof of residence and a current immunization record are required. You are encouraged to return this paperwork to the office as soon as possible. Although it does not give your child priority, it does make the registration process more efficient.

AM & PM Kindergarten Lowell Elementary offers two half day Kindergarten sessions. Classroom Hours - AM (morning) 9:15-12:00, PM (afternoon) 1:00-3:45. We also offer All Day Kindergarten. The cost for this program is $250.00 for ten months. Please let us know if you have mitigating circumstances that necessitate a morning or afternoon kindergarten session. We will do our best to

accommodate needs, but we cannot guarantee placement.

Enrollment Priorities If you have a child currently attending Lowell Elementary, you will be given first priority for enrolling your kindergartener. Please contact the office. Overflow The district will provide placement and busing for any students that their home school cannot accommodate. Lowell Elementary overflow schools are Whittier, Taft and Washington. In the event that we have more than 69 students register, we will have a lottery to determine which students will attend Lowell Elementary and which students will be overflowed to another school. The date of the lottery is yet to be determined. Open Enrollment If you currently live in an area other than Lowell Elementary you will need to register at your home school. At that time you may fill out an open enrollment form to request placement at Lowell Elementary. The Open enrollment forms will not be considered until 4/1/2017. Kindergarten Open House We realize that you may have several questions regarding kindergarten. Please know that a few days before school starts, Lowell Elementary will have a Kindergarten Open House. You will be invited along with your child to visit the classroom, meet the teacher, and become comfortable with school before the first day arrives. This has been very successful in reducing anxiety for both the child and the parent. In August, you will get a letter telling you the dates and times of our Open House.

If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 208 854-5480. Thank you!

Food and Nutrition

Boise School District Food & Nutrition Services launched a new state of the art website for students and their families. The website is loaded with nutrition resources about good nutrition and wellness, both at school and at home.

For the free mobile app, download Web Menus by School Nutrition and Fitness from your app store. To visit the webpage from the District website, select Food & Nutrition Services under the Parents & Patrons link.

One of the highlights of the website is our interactive menus. After selecting the month and grade level on the Menus page, you can view the nutritional and allergen information for items offered throughout the District. There is also a tool to view the menus in numerous languages. You can even print the calendar in color or in black and white!

Check out the other great resources on our website! On the site, you can sign up for Free & Reduced Price Meals or sign up for MySchoolBucks to make online payments or to get free low balance notifications.

The website will continue to be developed and updated. Future plans include Menu Surveys, Cafeteria Digital Displays and possible Online Ordering for High School students!

Check out our NEW interactive menus and information packed

Food & Nutrition Services Website and mobile app!

FAMILY STEM NIGHT

Please show your School Spirit by wearing your Lowell Spirit Wear

and/or black and gold! Please invite your neighbors, friends and family members!!

MOSS (McCall Outdoor Science School)

Creating new traditions for our 6th graders. MOSS Outreach Program is coming to Lowell this year!

Thanks to our PTSA and family donations.

When: April 4-7th

Afterschool Program: 1st and 2nd Graders

2017 NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS SAFETY POSTER CONTEST Who May Enter:

Any student enrolled in a public, parochial or other private elementary or middle school (plus High Schools in Division 4 and 5 only) in the United States of America, Canada or an overseas US military installation may submit artwork to the National School Bus Safety Poster Contest.

Poster Specifications:

Completed poster size must be 11” x 17” or 12" x 18". Posters may be illustrated on the vertical or horizontal axis.

Designs should be submitted on quality tag, poster illustration board or heavy paper. Construction paper may be used but winning entries must be mounted on quality tag poster. Lamination is not permitted, and will disqualify the poster.

There is no limitation on the use and number of colors.

There is no limitation on the type of media -- such as print, crayon, felt pen, etc. -- used on the poster design; however, wood, plastic, glass or metal should not be part of the poster. Collage materials should not be used. Glued on pieces will disqualify the poster.

Lettering and Drawing: The poster design may incorporate freehand letters only. Stenciled, pre-printed, manufactured stick-on or press-on letters or tracings may not be used and will disqualify the poster. Lettering should be clearly legible, even if used as part of the poster design. Cut paper / stencils (freehand or pre-drawn stick-on stencils) are not permitted and will disqualify the poster.

Poster designs may not incorporate any copyrighted characters (i.e., comic and/or television characters), photographs, and magazine or newspaper illustrations.

Drawings must be original, correct in safety concept and the exclusive work of the student entering the contest in idea, design and execution. All artwork should be positive in approach, demonstrating only proper school bus safety behaviors. At least a part of a yellow school bus must be present in the poster.

There must be a 3" x 5" card / entry blank securely fastened to the back of the poster which includes the student's name, grade, age, teacher’s name, school name and school address. Please print clearly. Do not place name, school, etc., on the front of the poster. Display information on the back only.

An art instructor or art teacher should supervise all work.

Poster Theme:

Every poster and slogan must harmonize with the 2017 poster contest theme:

My Driver - My Safety Hero!

Contestants must illustrate the above theme only. The theme on the poster must be exactly as shown above, to include all punctuation.

When Can Posters Be Drawn?

Posters can be drawn anytime between September 2016 and September 2017, up to the deadline to submit an entry. States / provinces often prefer the artwork to be created in the spring and then hold state contest in the summer to determine which poster(s) will be entered in the national contest. A state / province pupil transportation association often sponsors these contests. Please contact your state director of pupil transportation services or NAPT headquarters to obtain the name, telephone number, and/or email of the person who can best explain the poster contest logistics in your state.

Contest Deadline:

Posters must be received at NAPT Headquarters by October 1, 2017.

Contest Infrastructure:

The National School Bus Safety Poster Contest is sponsored each year by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, and the National School Transportation Association.

The National School Bus Safety Poster Contest is supported by a state / province level infrastructure. The national contest is open only to winners of state / province contests or contests held by overseas US military installations. Contact your state director of pupil transportation or the NAPT headquarters for information about where to submit posters in your state contest. No other posters will be accepted.

As an exception, students who live in a US state, Canadian province, or overseas US military installation that does not have a contest may submit entries directly to NAPT National School Bus Safety Poster Contest Committee for evaluation and potential selection for national competition.

Each participating US state, Canadian province, or overseas US military installation may submit one (only first-place winners) winning poster in each of the following categories: Division #1 - Grades K-2; Division #2 - Grades 3-5; Division #3 - Grade 6-8; Division #4 - Special Education (Grades K-12); Division #5 - CAD (Computer Aided Drawing). There is also a separate contest for International entries (Division #6).

Please Note: Division #5 - CAD and Division #6 - International entries are eligible for competition within those respective divisions, but are not eligible to be the Overall Contest Winner.

All posters and related intellectual property rights become the property of the National Association for Pupil Transportation upon receipt and are not returned to the artist, his/her parents / legal guardians, art instructor or art teacher, school, state or contest sponsor, or any other person(s) claiming a right, title, or other interest in the poster. Posters that have been used for any promotional purposes may not be submitted. Mailing Instructions:

No more than FIVE posters from each state / province may be entered in the national contest (one in each Division).

Do NOT roll posters. They must be mailed / delivered flat.

Winning posters from each participating state / province / overseas US military installation must be mailed first class in a flat envelope to:

National School Bus Safety Poster Contest c/o NAPT 1840 Western Avenue Albany, NY 12203

Judging:

Prominent individuals in the field of pupil transportation will evaluate posters during the annual NAPT Conference & Trade Show. Criteria for the selection of award-winning posters are:

Relationship of the poster design to the school bus safety practices. (Safety Impact) Originality of the poster and how the idea is expressed in the poster design. (Originality) Artwork and its execution. (Artistic Quality) Visual impact of the poster design. (Visual Impact)

The National School Bus Safety Week (NSBSW) Committee has the right to disqualify any entry that does not comply with all contest requirements.

Prizes:

Prizes will be awarded for each division as follows:

1st Place and Overall Winner $ 500 check 1st Place Winners of remaining 3 divisions $ 250 check 2nd Place Winners of each 4 divisions $ 100 check 3rd Place Winners of each 4 divisions $ 50 check 1st Place Winner – CAD division $ 50 check 1st Place Winner – International division $ 50 check The 1st Place / Overall winning poster will be used to promote National School Bus Safety Week in 2018!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017 NATIONAL SCHOOL BUS SAFETY POSTER CONTEST Please complete and attach this form to the back of each poster in accordance with poster specifications noted in the contest rules. PRINT CLEARLY Student Name ________________________________________ Grade _________ Age _______ Division____________________ School ______________________________________________ School Address _______________________________________ City _____________________ State _______ ZIP ___________ Teacher's Name ______________________________________ Student’s Home Address _______________________________ City _____________________ State _______ ZIP ___________ Do not place this information on the front of the poster. Display on the back only.

From the PTSA: Box Tops For Education

Wanted: Box Tops! Please submit Box Tops for Education by Friday, February 24th!

Turn them in to your child’s teacher. Or bundle them, write the name of your child’s teacher on the package, and leave them in the Box Top collection bin up the stairs from the office.

The classroom with the most Box Tops submissions will earn a pizza party! Teachers, please submit classroom Box Tops to PTSA box in the mail room by Friday, Feb 24th.

Best way to turn in Box Tops?

If you have time, clip them to size. Extra weight means more money spent on shipping costs, which equals less money earned for Lowell. Ask your neighbors, grandparents, friends to save their Box Tops for Education. Each Box Top earns Lowell $.10.

Last fall Lowell earned $1004.00!!

Did you know? Lowell has a Box Tops collection bin just up the stairs from the office. Drop them off any time throughout the year. Submissions are made to General Mills once in the fall and once in the spring. Please note: Lowell does NOT collect Labels for Education.

Message from Parent Teachers Student Association (PTSA)

Please show your Lowell school spirit by joining our PTSA! The Lowell PTSA meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 4:00 pm in the library. You do not have to be a member to come to the meetings. However, if you would like to become a member it is only $10.00. Forms to become a member are located on Lowell’s website at, http://lowell.boiseschools.org/parentspatrons/parent_teacher_student_association_ptsa_. For more information on Lowell’s PTSA, please contact Amber Bennett, Lowell PTSA President at amberjbennett@ymail.com.

PARENT EDUCATION CLASSES – Spring 2017

Parenting the Love and Logic Way

This common sense approach to parenting will give parents practical ideas about:

Teaching children to make responsible choices Setting Limits Empathetic responses Avoiding power struggles Consequences Helping to develop problem solving skills

Registration Fee Book – (Please send $10.00 book fee along with registration fee) Hawthorne Elementary Jan 19 – Feb 23 (Thursdays) 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Sara Wright & Becky Paslay (child care provided for 3 yrs. and older)

Adams Elementary Feb 2 – Mar 9 (Thursdays) 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Annie Pierce & Christopher Gibbons Morley Nelson Elementary Feb 8 – Mar 15 (Wednesdays) 4:15 – 6:15 p.m. Miranda Palmer & Tenneal Lujan (child care provided for 3 yrs. and older) Grace Jordan Elementary Apr 3 – May 8 (Mondays) 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Lindsy Thomas & Joni Graham

$ = Registration Fee based on sliding scale

= Book required

Building a Relationship with Your Teen to Last a Lifetime

Formerly “Parenting Teens with Love & Logic”

Being the parent of a teen is rewarding, exciting, and quite often challenging. With skills and understanding you can guide your teen to be responsible, cooperative, and independent. Learn

unique strategies that will make living with a teen more enjoyable and less stressful

The class will focus on helping parents with:

building a relationship with your teen

adolescent development

boundary setting

navigating conflict

Love and Logic strategies

parental concerns Registration Fee Book – (Please send $10.00 book fee along with registration fee) Fairmont Jr. High School Feb 6 – Mar 13 (Mondays) (no class 2/20, will be 2/21-Tuesday) Joan Parsons & Rita Romberg 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

$ = Registration Fee based on sliding scale

= Book required

Parenting Spirited and Strong-Willed Children

This class will focus on parenting strategies and practical ideas for parents of strong- willed/spirited children. Also covered in the class will be anger management techniques to avoid

power struggles, knowing the importance of considering your child’s personality and temperament traits, developing prevention plans to deal with known areas of conflict, managing homework time,

knowing how to balance rules and consequences with love, and discussing cognitive thinking patterns that affect your child’s response to your parenting.

Registration Fee No book – handouts will be provided

Mountain View Elementary Jan 23 – Mar 6 (Mondays) (no class 2/20) 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Barbara Kennedy & Matt Siron No child care provided

$ = Registration Fee based on sliding scale

Drug Education (By administrative referral only)

Family Survival Training: At-Risk Instruction and Support for Parents: These classes offer information, practical ideas and support for parents of at-risk teenagers who may or may not already be involved in substance abuse. Focus is on information on drugs and effects of drugs, tips on building student strengths and improving family relationships, and providing support for parents.

Student Survival Training for Junior High and High School Students Six week closed sessions focus on the physical and emotional effects of drugs, how to develop personal strengths, providing support and self-esteem development.

Drug Free Idaho Drug Free Idaho offers educational presentations about the risks and consequences of drug and alcohol abuse for classrooms, employers, and community organizations. The active community coalition gives parents a resource for current information and collaborative efforts to create a drug free culture in Idaho. For more information or to schedule a presentation, please visit www.drugfreeidaho.org or call 570-6409.

Youth Classroom Education and Demonstrations Parent Group & Workplace Education and Demonstrations Red Ribbon Week Presentations Volunteerism & Community Coalition

BOISE SCHOOL DISTRICT PARENT EDUCATION

REGISTRATION FORM

1. Complete this form indicating the class you wish to attend. Class Name: _________________________________________ Location: ____________________________________________ Your Name(s): ________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________ City: ________________________________________________

Zip Code: ____________________________________________ Home Phone: ________________ Work Phone: _____________

2. Please use the sliding scale for fees. Plus $10.00 book fee for Love & Logic or Plus $12.00 book fee for Co-Parenting

Annual Income Cost per family $10,000 and under $10.00 $10,000-$25,000 $20.00 $25,000-$40,000 $35.00 $40,000 and up $45.00 Lifetime Membership $100.00 A lifetime membership entitles the member to attend any of the Parent Education classes for life. 3. Mail this form with a check, payable to Boise School District.

Boise School District Attn: Parent Education Center 8169 W. Victory Road Boise, ID 83709