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Dear Families,

Happy February Vacation Week! It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we moved out of the Lowell School into Phillips and St. Judes Building. It feels like just yesterday that we were making the transition, and yet so much has changed since then. Our school has had an amazing year, with our students and teachers continuing to grow in all ways, academically, emotionally, and socially. It's been an incredible journey and I'm looking forward to what the future holds.

We are thrilled to share the news that we are making great progress in our efforts to reopen the Lowell School on Orchard Street for the 2023/2024 school year. After the upcoming break, we will begin the process of constructing the necessary schedules and processes to reopen our school. We are looking forward to reuniting our two buildings into one unified community and I will be sure to keep you informed of our progress as we move forward.

Today, I had the pleasure of attending Ms. Antonelli's persuasive writing celebration. I was incredibly impressed by the ideas that the students had come up with. They asked for longer recess (a yearly tradition), a borrowing library in the cafeteria with rotating books from the school library, games for the cafeteria to play at lunch, and a welcome tour for all new students. I believe that these ideas should be implemented, and I am committed to making them a reality. I will work with Ms. McCollum, the FTO, and the guidance counselors to make sure that these ideas are implemented. It was truly inspiring to witness the enthusiasm of the students and their commitment to making their school a better place. I have included some pictures from today's celebration below. I additionally granted an extra recess block for today!

Happy vacation! Enjoy the little things!

Stacy

Monday February 6th - Grade 5 had a fantastic virtual visit from Kelly Yang – Award Winning Author. She gave a fantastic presentation where she shared stories of her own life, spoke about the joys and challenges of being an author and finally shared writing tips with us!

Yang's highly anticipated new novel, FINALLY SEEN will be released on February 28th and, thanks to the Watertown Community Foundation grant every Lowell fifth grader will receive a copy of the book!

Thank you to all of you who were able to attend one of our elementary parent math nights. If you were unable to attend, the presentations from each evening are below. Feel free to contact Elizabeth Kaplan, K-7 Math and Science Coordinator, with any questions!

elizabeth.kaplan@watertown.k12.ma.us

Our classroom brainstormed ways they'd like to spread kindness on Valentine's Day, and they voted on being school helpers. All 5th graders in our class will be wearing stickers that say "How can I help you today?"

Our goal is to spread this kindness throughout the building, so we'd love for people to reach out and ask for helpers.

Mrs. Brodeur's fifth grade class brainstormed ways to show that we care for Valentine's Day. Students decided that they wanted to invite all the students, teachers, and staff in the building to join a paper chain to show that we are all connected!

I just want to give a shout out to Kathy Burton. For the second time this year, she came out to watch her students play in basketball games on a Saturday - she attended two games on Saturday morning that Rhys, Isaac, and Eila were playing in. As if that wasn’t enough, she also came all the way to Brookline later in the day to watch Rhys’s futsal team play in the championship game. His face when he saw her was priceless- it made his day. She is such a wonderful teacher and really connects with each child by showing them that she truly cares about them, both in and outside of school. Rhys adores her and so do we!!

Erin Morgan

The FAPA Department is excited to announce the return of BANDARAMA, the district band student showcase. Band instrument students (percussion, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, horn, tuba) in grades 4th through 12th will perform for their community on Wednesday, March 15th at 7pm in the WHS Gymnasium. Please help us spread the word!

Kindergarten registration is now open for the 2023-2024 school year.

Registration is open to Watertown children who turn 5 by August 31, 2023. The registration link is below:

https://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/about_our_district/registration_for_school

If you need interpretation assistance, please contact the Registrar's office to set up an appointment. We would be happy to help you through the registration process.

Information nights will be held on Wednesday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at our three elementary schools. The Hosmer and Cunniff Schools will hold these sessions in person, while the Lowell School will hold their information night virtually due to ongoing construction.

You can find a map of the Watertown elementary school zones here and the updated attendance zone policy here.

Documents needed to register:

• Copy of Parent Photo ID

• A copy of the original birth certificate, or a copy of the passport if you do not have a birth certificate. If the Birth Certificate is in a language other than English, please also include a copy of the child’s passport.

• A copy of a current U.S. Physical Exam Form which includes all immunizations. If your child’s PE form will not be dated within 12 mos. of September 2023, please make an appointment for a new physical before September.

• Two Proofs of Residence in Watertown (one from List A and one from List B):

• List A: real estate tax bill, lease, or notarized affidavit form signed by the homeowner (if you are not on the deed/lease, the affidavit must be accompanied by a copy of the owner's Mortgage bill/ deed/real estate tax bill.)

• List B: utility bill- electric, gas, oil, cable or confirmation of service notice/service agreement/new customer letter (for those who recently moved and have not yet received a bill) (Note: bank statements, telephone bill, excise tax or income tax documents are NOT acceptable.)

For more information, please contact Terri Stafford at terri.stafford@watertown.k12.ma.us

The 2023 school attendance area (zone) policy is now in effect for incoming kindergarten students. This policy applies to all new students, except for those who have an older sibling already enrolled at Lowell Elementary School. It is important to read and understand this policy to ensure that all students are attending the school in their designated attendance area. Please take the time to read and understand this policy.

Attendance areas for the various schools of the town will be drawn up by the Superintendent

and approved by the School Committee. The primary considerations that govern the

establishment of a school attendance area are school capacity and transportation considerations.

Generally, students will attend the school in the attendance area in which they live.

In establishing an attendance area, the following general guidelines will also be applied:

1. Use of safe walking conditions consistent with the Committee's transportation policies;

where possible, major traffic thoroughfares and natural barriers will be used

for boundaries.

2. Honoring community of interest; where possible, school attendance zones

will incorporate community patterns.

From time to time an overcrowded condition in an existing school, the development of

new residential areas, or the opening of a new school may require the establishment or change

of previously established school attendance areas.

The Committee will confer with community representatives prior to setting new attendance

lines. However, the Committee's primary basis for judgment must be equity of educational

opportunity for all students rather than the personal desires of any one group.

The Superintendent is authorized to make exceptions to attendance lines for individual

children in the best interests of the student and/or the school. Exceptions can be made to support

class size, special programming and other criteria established by the superintendent.

The Superintendent may exercise this authority for any of the following purposes:

• Manage disparities in class sizes between schools and/or prevent or alleviate a condition

of classroom overcrowding utilizing Buffer Zones.

• Preserve family integrity, where two or more children from a single family are

of elementary school age and at risk of separation between schools.

• Assist families facing temporary dislocations or changes in their living situation. ·

Facilitate school construction or renovation projects.

• Provide specialized services addressing specific student needs.

• Address any other situation which the Superintendent deems to be an

extenuating circumstance.

Buffer Zones

The School Committee establishes certain "Buffer Zones", addresses on or near

certain elementary school district boundaries, as areas from which new students in that

elementary school district may be assigned to either one of the immediate elementary

school districts only when a material enrollment problem exists. Once a student is assigned to a

school based on the Buffer Zones, that school will be their school through fifth grade.

Subsequent assignments of siblings in a given family will be made to the same school.

All families of incoming kindergarteners or elementary students new to the district in Buffer

Zones who enroll in the Watertown Public Schools before May 15 will be notified no later than

June 1 of the final placement. Families living in Buffer Zones who enroll after May 15 will be

assigned on a space available basis.

Use of the Buffer Zones is only done when there is a material enrollment problem between

the two schools. With respect to the assignment of new families residing in Buffer Zones, class

size equity is the primary driving factor of using the buffer zones. Any use of the Buffer Zones

will strive for neighborhood continuity and cohesion. It should be accomplished with the

least amount of disruption to families and the local community.

To determine a material enrollment problem, the Superintendent will calculate the potential

class sizes at the schools using the established boundaries. When the superintendent determines

there is a material enrollment issue, it should be addressed through voluntary measures first.

These include use of family preferences within the buffers. Family preferences will be only be

granted where they help address a material enrollment problem. Finally, if voluntary measures

are not sufficient to address the material class size and enrollment issues, the Superintendent will

make assignments.

Buffer Zones can be found on the attached map.

The Superintendent of Schools shall have the sole responsibility for the assignment of

new families residing in Buffer Zones, in accordance with School Committee policy.

LEGAL REFS.: M.G.L. 71:37C; 71:37D; 71:37I; 71:37J

603 CMR 17.00; 603 CMR 26.00

CROSS REF.: JCA, Assignment of Students to Schools

Learning for Grown-Ups

The podcast and article below include information about how to talk about race with children and childrens' awareness/understanding of race at various stages of development. Research tells us that children are aware of and responsive to racial difference as early as infancy. In our diverse community and world, children learn from our words, our actions, and our silence as they grow and navigate. The recent killing of Tyre Nichols makes these conversations even more important. I hope these resources are helpful to you and your family.

Talking Race With Young Children : Parenting: Difficult Conversations

subscribe to Parenting: Difficult Conversations podcast subscribe to Parenting: Difficult Conversations podcast Even babies notice differences like skin color, eye shape and hair texture. Here's how to handle conversations about race, racism, diversity and inclusion, even with very young children. A few things to remember: Don't shush or shut them down if they mention race.

npr.org

Please join your fellow elementary school families and students as we dance the night away during this fundraiser put on by the class of 2023. Concessions including pizza, drinks and snacks will be for sale. Dressing up a little is encouraged but not required! Please note this is NOT a drop-off event, all children need to be accompanied by an adult.

All participants are asked to register using this Google Form. Online payments ($10 for adults, $5 for students) are preferred so organizers can better estimate the number of participants. Cash will be accepted at the door ($10 entry fee for all ages).

Please email WatertownFamilyFormal@gmail.com with any questions.

A translation of the Google form can be accessed by right-clicking on the form and choosing “translate to English”. You may then “Choose another language” to have the document translated to a language of your choice.

Please join us for Watertown Race Reels this February! We will be screening the film The Color of Care on February 13th (see attached flyer).

We will be serving pizza starting at 5:45 and starting the film at 6pm. After the film (~75 minutes), we will have a post film discussion/activity. Hope to see you there!

In solidarity,

Kara, Teo and Nicole (Watertown Race Reels collaborators)

Winter Vacation Week

February 20th-24th

No School

Holiday: Ramadan (Islam)

February 22 - April 21 - 2023

Holiday: Ash Wednesday Lent (Christian)

Wednesday, February 22

MCAS Infrastructure Trial (Time TBD)

Thursday, March 9, 2023

*************************************************************************************************

MCAS Dates for grades 3,4 & 5

ELA

Wednesday, April 4th

Friday, April 6th

Math

Tuesday, May 16th

Thursday, May 18th

Science

Only Grade 5 takes Science

Wednesday, May 24th

Thursday, May 25th

Announcement: Parents’ Recreational Softball League, Season 2!

We are currently in the process of organizing season 2 of the Watertown, MA Parents Softball League.

Season 1 was super fun, and we are expecting season 2 to be even better! For those who didn’t play last

year, the Watertown, MA Parents Softball League is a recreational softball league for parents of kids in

the Watertown schools. It is very relaxed and social and open to players of all skill levels. If we get

enough players signed up, teams will be school-based to give parents a fun opportunity to socialize and

build community with other parents at their kid’s school.

If you might be interested in participating, please fill out the Google Doc below.

For additional information please contact Jesse Fenichel at jfenichel@gmail.com

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesAmo1U2Kdqa6IgU6OL4D4S3bKih_Le9lXo2IsWM2pcHJfd

g/viewform?usp=sf_link

We live in New England, and whether we love them or hate them, snow days may be just around the corner. As such, please review the information contained in this section regarding school closure protocols. State law requires 180 days of instruction and also requires that any school closures (“snow days”) be made up before June 30. In the case of inclement weather or school closure for emergency reasons, information about school closures will be:

-Posted on the District’s website (www.watertown.k12.ma.us), the WPS Facebook page (@watertownpublicschools) and the WPS Twitter feed (@watertownschool)
-Emailed to parents and staff from the Superintendent’s office via the District’s messaging service
-Broadcast to the following stations

• WCVB Television (Channel 5)
• WHDH Television (Channel 7)
• NBC Boston (Channel 10 and NECN)
• WFXT Television (Channel 25)
• WBZ Television (Channel 4)
• WBZ Radio (AM 1030)

Some television stations provide a free text alert service notifying of closures and delays (e.g., www.fox25boston.com/weather/closing-login). We will post on the above locations as soon as the decision is made.

More detailed information can be found at this link.