Lowell Lantern

Hello Lowell Families,

What a great week at Lowell Elementary School!! We are so happy to have our students back in the building! Lots of smiles and happiness all around this week!

We kicked off our 17th Annual Kindness & Justice Challenge on Thursday! This is a challenge that is near and dear to our Lowell community! The focus of this challenge is to build an understanding of how simple acts of kindness and justice make a tremendous impact on our community and our world! Students work to spread kindness to others at school, at home, and in the community! In addition, we focus on being a good community partner by giving back to those in need. We give back by donating money earned through spirit days and our coin challenge to our three charitable organizations: Warren Early Childhood Center, Riley Hospital for Children, and The American Heart Association. We appreciate your support of our K & J Challenge! Sending out a big thanks to all of our students who wore hats to school today. Next Friday will be slipper day for a $1.00 donation!

We appreciate your efforts in screening the health of your child before school each day! As a reminder, students exhibiting symptoms of covid are prohibited from coming to school. In addition if a student or family member living in the student's household has been tested for covid, the student should remain at home until test results are known. If in doubt or if you have questions, please call the front office at 317-532-3900.

If your child has not yet returned his/her device and curriculum materials, please return those as soon as possible. All students should bring their iPad and chargers to school with them at this time. School books and materials should be returned as well. It is important that these are brought to school as soon as possible so that students will have access to needed materials and devices for learning.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend! As always, please let us know if you need anything! Thank you for your support of Lowell! Take care! Be safe!

Mrs. Griffin

We would love to hear your voice and gather your perceptions related to equity in our District! You’re invited to participate in the Warren Equity and Inclusion Diagnostic Survey, between now and Tuesday, Feb. 2. Your participation is entirely voluntary. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous.

If you would be willing to participate, please click here to take the survey. We ask that you complete the survey no later than Tuesday, Feb. 2. Thank you, in advance, for your participation!

¡Nos encantaría escuchar su voz y sus percepciones relacionadas con la equidad en nuestro Distrito! Estás invitado a participar en la Encuesta de equidad e inclusión de Warren, desde ahora hasta el martes 2 de febrero. Su participación es totalmente voluntaria. La encuesta debe tardar aproximadamente 10 minutos en completarse y es completamente anónima.

Si estaría dispuesto a participar, haga clic aquí para realizar la encuesta. Le pedimos que complete la encuesta a más tardar el martes 2 de febrero.

High Ability Classes are offered to elementary students in grades 2 - 4 for those students who meet qualification requirements. In addition, high ability classes continue into intermediate/middle school years.

Students are identified and placed in a Talent Pool based on state and district criteria which may include achievement test scores, student ability, parent and teacher recommendation.

Parent recommendations are considered but do not guarantee placement into the High Ability Program. If you would like to recommend your child for consideration, please click on the link below and complete the recommendation form. This form must be completed in its entirety and submitted for Excel placement consideration.

Los estudiantes son identificados y colocados en un grupo de talentos según los criterios del estado y del distrito, que pueden incluir puntajes de pruebas de rendimiento, capacidad del estudiante, recomendación de padres y maestros.

Se consideran las recomendaciones de los padres, pero no garantizan la colocación en el Programa de Alta Capacidad. Este formulario debe completarse en su totalidad y enviarse para su consideración de colocación en Excel.

Parent Recommendation form for 2021-2022 High Ability Program

To support our Kindness & Justice Challenge, we will have slipper day for students on Friday, January 29 if they bring in $1.00. Students will have to wear regular shoes to school but can bring slippers to change into while at school.

All money raised during our K&J Challenge will go towards our charitable organizations: Warren Early Childhood Center, American Heart Association, and Riley Hospital for Children.

We hope many of our students will participate!

ACCEPT THE LOWELL CHALLENGE ~ THE KINDNESS & JUSTICE CHALLENGE!

At this time, we are asking that your child return his/her device to school along with all of the textbook and curriculum materials that were distributed to him/her for first semester learning. These devices and materials will continue to be used during the remainder of the school year.

Students should return the following:

• iPad in case and with keyboard attached

• Charging cord with plug box attached

Textbook and curriculum materials needing to be returned are listed below:

• Wonders hardback and/or softback reading books

• Eureka Math Workbooks

• Kindergarten -- Handwriting books

• Any other school distributed books/materials

Please return devices (even if they are damaged or missing accessories) along with curriculum materials to school as soon as possible. We appreciate your assistance in getting these materials returned. All devices and materials must be returned by Friday, January 29.

All Warren Township Schools will participate and provide the necessary data to the Division of Family Resources for the 3rd round of the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT).

The funds will begin to be mailed out to your home on January 31, 2021. It is essential that you keep your card, as additional P-EBT assistance will be loaded back onto this same card. Again, PLEASE KEEP THIS CARD.

For additional questions or information, please feel free to call our Food Service Department at 317-869-4381 or 317-869-4389, or you can visit https://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/dfr-policy-changes-and-actions/pandemic-ebt/.

If you should happen to move and need to complete a change of address form, please visit the following link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ur-ZIQmkE0wxBi0WTPYjbJ_x7DdGCFIvwlvRHlpyNNUN1pDMjdWOE1EQ1o5QTJQTkNJTFY0UVlCUi4u"

Please see the flyer below for your review. The assistance is only for students in grades K-12. Early Childhood and Adult Education does not qualify. For additional information about P-EBT, please feel free to visit: https://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/dfr-policy-changes-and-actions/pandemic-ebt/

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SCREEN YOUR CHILDREN FOR SYMPTOMS EACH MORNING PRIOR TO SENDING THEM TO SCHOOL. IF IN DOUBT, PLEASE CALL THE FRONT OFFICE AT 317-532-3900.

IN ADDITION IF YOUR CHILD IS SYMPTOMATIC OR ILL AND NEEDS TO REMAIN AT HOME, PLEASE CALL THE FRONT OFFICE TO REPORT HIS/HER ABSENCE AND SYMPTOMS.

IF A PERSON OR FAMILY MEMBER IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD HAS BEEN TESTED FOR COVID AND IS AWAITING RESULTS, YOUR CHILD SHOULD REMAIN AT HOME UNTIL THOSE RESULTS ARE KNOWN. PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE TO COMMUNICATE THIS.

Parents / caregivers will be required to screen their students before coming to school each day. All MSD Warren employees are also required to selfscreen before coming to school. Students and employees exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 without being otherwise explained, are prohibited from coming to school, and if they do come to school, they will be sent home immediately.

We appreciate your diliegence and support with these daily screenings as we continue to work together for the safety of all!

Please see below for an important update from health officials:

Recent updates from health officials discourage the use of face shields as a replacement for face masks. All MSD of Warren Township staff and students should wear face masks unless an extenuating circumstance is needed.

Warren is partnering with our food service vendor, Chartwells, to continue to provide meals to any child (18 or younger).

Starting next week, distribution nights will be Tuesday and Friday from 4:00pm - 6:00pm at the following locations: Moorhead Community Center, Warren Central High School, and Raymond Park Intermediate/Middle School.

If you have needs beyond what is being offered, you can call our outreach hotline at

317-608-0545 or email at MSDWarrenOutreach@warren.k12.in.us with your request.

WIDA testing is continuing for all identified English Learner students. Ms. Booher, our EL teacher, is working with students to complete testing. We are so proud of the hard work and effort our students have put forth so far with testing!

If you have any questions regarding WIDA testing, please reach out to Ms. Booher at

317-532-3912.

We kicked off our 17th Annual Kindness & Justice Challenge this week! Students are so excited to participate in the Challenge! Each classroom created and signed a poster to pledge their committment to showing kind and just acts to others.

Students will earn kindness slips when they have demonstrated kindness towards others. These slips will be linked together in their classroom to create a kindness chain. At the end of our challenge, we hope to combine these classroom kindness chains and create a school chain of kindness!

In addition, we are having a Coin Challenge this year between grade levels. Students may bring in coins to donate to our Coin Challenge. Grade levels will compete against each other to see who can fill their bucket with coins first. All money donated will go to support our three charities: Warren Early Childhood Center, Riley Hosptital for Children, and American Heart Association. We truly appreciate your child's participation in this Coin Challenge!

This coming Friday, January 29 will be Slipper Day. Students may wear their slippers at school for a $1.00 donation to our K & J Challenge. We hope to see many of our students participating!

Thank you, again, for supporting our 2021 Kindness and Justice Challenge and for helping to teach the valuable lessons of kindness and justice !

Below is the order form for this year's Heart Challenge T-Shirt. Please review the order form for information about availability.

There are 2 different shirts this year:

• Black T-Shirt -- Larger shirt sizes of Youth Large and up will receive the black t-shirt
• Grey T-Shirt -- Smaller shirt sizes of Youth Medium and below will receive the grey t-shirt

If you would like to order a t-shirt, please complete the form and send it with payment to school with your child. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Snider at

317-532-3942.

Please join us in supporting the American Heart Association through our 2020-2021 Hoops for Heart! Review information below. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to

Mr. Snider at (317) 532-3942 or lsnider@warren.k12.in.us

Registration forms were sent home with students. Our virtual students are welcome to participate as well. Online registration and participation is available. We are encouraging families to register and collect donations online this year.

The following is information for an online learning enrichment program for PreK-12 students at Purdue -West Lafayette.

The registration to enroll for the Purdue Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute’s (GER2I) Spring Super Saturday program held in February 2021 is now open! At these GER2I camps, students take challenging classes related to their area(s) of interest. We offer hands-on classes in a wide range of subjects, including STEM and the humanities, all designed to be one to two grade levels above traditional classroom content. These classes are taught by esteemed professors, graduate students, and teachers from Lafayette and surrounding areas.

GER2I's Virtual Super Saturday program provides learning experiences that explore advanced material and develop critical and creative thinking. We offer a caregiver-child format for children in PreK - 5th grades so caregivers can spend quality time and gain experience working with their children. This is required. The participation of caregivers of students in 6th - 12th grades is not required, but parents are invited to our parent interest sessions.

2021 virtual spring Super Saturday program will fall on February 6, 13, 20, 27 in 2021. REGISTER ONLINE at: https://cvent.me/2PdBln The registration fee per student is $145. All the students are eligible to enroll, with no prerequisites.

Our 2020 Spring Super Saturday courses are:

PreK-K:

Icky, Sticky, and Fun

Gr.1-2:

Kitchen Chemistry

STEM at Home: Forces & Motion

Gr.3-5:

Colonizing Mars

Fun Filmmaking

The Magical World of Harry Potter

Gr.6-8:

Games with Python®

Get Protected from COVID-19: A Biomimetic Engineering Challenge

Psychobabble: Let’s Talk Neuroscience!

Gr.9-12:

Python® Programming for the Future

Brainiacs! Neuroscience Highlights

Please visit our Facebook or email Yao Yang at yang1707@purdue.edu for more information!

For more information about Spring Super Saturday program, please visit our website https://www.education.purdue.edu/geri/youth-programs/super-saturday/

If your household is in need of a hotspot to support virtual learning, please complete the request form below. Once completed, Hotspots will be available to pickup at school. We will contact you when pick-up is available. If you need assistance with completing the request form, please call our front office at 317-532-3900.

Starting the week of January 19th, the Technology Help Desk Hours will return to 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Moorhead Community Resource Center. K-4 VIRTUAL students with iPad issues should be brought here.

Chromebooks can still be brought to any of the three Intermediate Middle Schools during school hours, 9:00 - 4:00, Monday - Friday or the Chromedesk at the High School during 1st and 2nd period, Monday - Friday.

If for some reason you are not able to access the above times and locations, you can submit a help ticket through IncidentIQ by clicking on Technology Tab under the Explore Tab and then select Parent Tech Info.

If you have other needs beyond what is being provided, you can access the following resources:

1. Contact your child’s counselor or administrator. All of our schools are open during normal school hours.

2. Share your request through our district outreach hotline at 317-608-0545 or email at MSDWarrenOutreach@warren.k12.in.us.

3. Visit our Moorhead Community Resource Center ~~~ Monday / Wednesday / Friday - 8:00 - 4:00 or Tuesday / Thursday - 8:00 - 8:00.

Mrs. Hand, our school counselor, is available to support all of our Lowell students. A student may be referred to the school counselor by a parent/guardian, staff member or the student may refer themselves.

If you are interested in counseling services for your child, please click on the link below and complete the referral form for Mrs. Hand. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhMbp6BSh7ti1I6Nc6ar3-LjYr-cqbFUzhxIesLZmRXiqa3w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

Mrs. Hand has also created her own website where families can access information and resources. Please visit her website at the link below.

https://sites.google.com/warren.k12.in.us/lowell-school-counselor/home

Our Lowell PTA provides so much support for students, families, and staff. Please consider joining the PTA! It does not mean you must volunteer for events; however, joining the PTA allows you to advocate for your child and others.

For every membership bought, you will receive a discount card that provides great deals to businesses on the eastside. So your membership could be free with the great deals you get.

Please click on this link to become a member.

https://indiana-congress-of-parents-and-teachers.square.site/

As we prepare for potential inclement weather this winter, an inclement weather delay and closing FAQ has been created to address this during the IN-PERSON, VIRTUAL, and HYBRID window. The FAQ can be found on our website by clicking District Information under the Explore Tab.

Please read the important information below for those studehts enrolled in the virtual learning academy.

Parents/Caregivers of students who are participating in the Virtual Learning Academy should plan to pick up materials for their students if they have not already done so. There are materials that students who enrolled in the virtual learning academy for the second semester will need.

Materials that your student will need for the 3rd quarter may continue to be picked up during normal school hours of 8:00am - 4:00pm. If other times are needed, please call the front office at 317-532-3900 to make an appointment.

Click on the following link to access schedules for Grades K -1 ~~ Quarter 3 At-A-Glance

Click on the following link to access schedules for Grades 2 - 6 ~~ Quarter 3 At-A-Glance

The technology help desk is located at Moorhead Community Resource Center. Please drive through the gate on the west side of the building and enter through door 11 located at the rear of the building near the playground.

Starting the week of January 19th, the Technology Help Desk Hours will return to 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Moorhead Community Resource Center. K-4 VIRTUAL students with iPad issues should be brought here.

Chromebooks can still be brought to any of the three Intermediate Middle Schools during school hours, 9:00 - 4:00, Monday - Friday or the Chromedesk at the High School during 1st and 2nd period, Monday - Friday.

If for some reason you are not able to access the above times and locations, you can submit a help ticket through IncidentIQ by clicking on Technology Tab under the Explore Tab and then select Parent Tech Info.

Moorhead Community Resource Center (MCRC) is now open and ready to provide services and supports to our Warren Family! We are so excited to have this fabulous center in Warren Township and look forward to serving our Warren Families! Please see the flyers below for more information about MCRC.

Services Provided:

• Support for Homeless Students & Families
• Housing & Utility Support
• Foster Care Support
• Food & Clothing Pantry Services through Sonny Day
• Nutrition Education
• Mental Health Counseling for Individuals & Families
• Registration Assistance for Health Insurance
• Substance Abuse Education & Support Groups
• Healthy Relationships Education
• Latino Support Services
• Mentoring Services
• Employment Services
• Tutoring Services

Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm & Tuesday & Thursday 8:00am - 8:00pm

Main Line: (317) 532-3854

Outreach Line: (317) 608-0545

Email: MSDWarrenOutreach@warren.k12.in.us

Address: 8400 E. 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46219

Did you know that Amazon donates money to approved charities and the Lowell PTA was just approved as a charity?

If you use Amazon or have an Amazon Prime Account, money may be donated to Lowell with NO extra charge to you. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases.

Please see the flyers below for easy ways to donate to Lowell. Share with your friends and family!

Thank you for taking time each morning to screen your child before coming to school each day. Please continue to do so. Below are symptoms impacting consideration for exclusion from school:

● A fever of 100.0° F or greater

● Chills

● Cough

● Muscle or body aches

● Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

● Headache

● Sore throat

● Congestion or runny nose

● Fatigue

● New loss of taste or smell

● Nausea or vomiting

● Diarrhea

Students and employees should be excluded from school if they test positive for COVID-19 or exhibit two or more of the symptoms of COVID-19 that are not otherwise explained based on ISDH / MCPHD guidance. If in doubt, please don't hesitate to call school at 317-532-3900 for some guidance. We appreciate your support in doing this important screening step each day before sending students to school.

Please refer to the 2020-2021 MSD WARREN TOWNSHIP S.A.F.E. REOPENING PLAN regarding our safety procedures and guidelines. The plan can also be found on our school and district websites. We are reminding parents to be vigilant with screening students every morning before arrival to school. Parents / caregivers are required to screen their students before coming to school each day. Students exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 without being otherwise explained are prohibited from coming to school, and if they do come to school, they will be sent home immediately. Please reference the S.A.F.E. Reopening Plan for details.

Our car rider line has changed locations! The car rider drop-off and pick-up line is now on the SOUTH SIDE (Raymond Street) of the building. DO NOT ENTER OFF OF HUNTER ROAD. All car riders will enter the line off of Raymond Street. There is a circular drive that cars will follow around to the sidewalk. Pull your car to the end of the sidewalk, place your car in park, and wait for staff to signal that students may be released from cars. DO NOT RELEASE STUDENTS UNTIL STAFF IS OUTSIDE AND INDICATES THAT STUDENTS MAY BE RELEASED FROM VEHICLE. WE WILL BEGIN TO RELEASE STUDENTS AT 7:55AM. STUDENTS MUST WEAR A FACE COVERING WHEN EXITING THE VEHICLE. PARENTS ARE TO REMAIN IN CARS AT ALL TIMES AND CANNOT EXIT THE VEHICLE TO WALK STUDENTS INTO THE BUILDING.

Students will only be released on the sidewalk side/passenger side of the vehicle. Please make sure your child is sitting on that side of your vehicle. When the sidewalk is cleared of students, cars will be released by staff to exit back out onto Raymond Street. PLEASE DO NOT MOVE YOUR CAR UNTIL STAFF INDICATES IT IS SAFE TO MOVE. DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR RIDER LINE TO MANUVEUR YOUR CAR AROUND OTHER CARS. STAY IN LINE AND FOLLOW THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU SO WE CAN EXIT SAFELY. When the next row of cars are lined up along the sidewalk and are stopped and in park, staff will release the next group of students into the building.

OUR PRIORITY IS TO KEEP STUDENTS AND STAFF SAFE! PLEASE MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES AND TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF THE LOWELL STAFF. WE APPRECIATE YOUR COOPERATION.

Please make sure your child has backpack/supplies ready and that good-byes are said before it's time to exit the car. We will not have time to retrieve items or have prolonged good-byes in the morning. We appreciate your help with this!!

Review the map below to see the entry/exit location and the path for the car rider line. We appreciate your patience as we all learn this new system.

Please remember that our Lowell Campus is a smoke-free campus. There is no smoking allowed anywhere on Lowell grounds. This includes smoking in your cars while on the Lowell Campus. Please refrain from smoking on school grounds if you are picking your child up or dropping your child off at school. We appreciate your support with this policy!

The renovation at Lowell is going strong!! We are excited to see the progress!

Click on the link below to access the 2020-2021 Student Success Handbook.

Student Success Handbook 2020-2021

Contact Us

Kim Griffin -- Principal

kgriffin@warren.k12.in.us

Tasha Reedus -- Dean

nreedus@warren.k12.in.us

Website: lowell.warren.k12.in.us
Location: 2150 South Hunter Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-532-3900
Facebook: facebook.com/LOWELLLEOPARDS
Twitter: @LowellElementa1