• Lowell Public Schools

    Washington Elementary School

                795 Wilder Street         

    Jason McCrevan                                      Lowell, MA 01851                                          Megan Ames

    Principal                                        Phone: 978 937 7635                                                Clerk

    Fax: 978 937 7636      

    jmccrevan@lowell.k12.ma.us  

    Facebook - lpsdWashington  

                                                                                                               

    Principal Page – September 2019

    Welcome: Welcome to the Washington School. We are so excited to start another school year! Each month the Principal Page will inform families of upcoming events and information for the Washington School. Please call Mr. Jason McCrevan at (978) 937-7635 or email at jmccrevan@lowell.k12.ma.us if you have any questions or concerns. Our website always has our most updated information. Or Facebook search for lpsdWashington to see pictures and our most updated information.

     

    Attendance/Hours: Solid attendance is one of our top priorities at the Washington. We expect students to be on-time and in-school every day unless they are sick. Students with high attendance do better in school. School opens at 8:30AM. Students should be here as close to that time as possible, but not before 8:25AM. Whenever possible please schedule all outside appointments before or after school hours. We strive to keep our attendance rate at least at 95%. We dismiss all students starting at 2:40 PM. Please be on-time to school because tardy students often spend much of the day catching up from lateness. Students with perfect attendance for each month will be rewarded, but perfect attendance means perfect. Students need to be in school all-day without tardies or dismissals.

     

    Raptor System: In order to keep all children safe, all Lowell Public Schools have installed the Raptor Visitor Management System. This system screens visitors and prints real time badges if you plan on entering the building with the intention of going past the main office. You will need to have a valid picture identification, such as a license, to access this system. We will scan your license and print a badge with your picture. Even if we know you, we will need to scan your license once to get it to enter the system, even to dismiss your child. We can then print badges without the license the next time you enter the building. We know this may feel like an inconvenience, but helps us to keep all children safe.

     

    Drop-Off/Arrival: All students in kindergarten through grade 4 will be dropped off using South Wilder Street in back of the school. Students will then go to the recess yard and line up in classes. Please do not park out front or in the parking lot. Bus students will be dropped off in front of the building. Students will enter the building and go to class/breakfast. Pre-K students with Mrs. Quirbach will meet her by the playground area for both AM and PM sessions.

     

    Pick-Up/Dismissal: Walkers and car pick-ups in all grades will be dismissed from the parking lot. Families will need to park on the street and walk into the lot to get the children. Please park legally. Bus students will load at the front of the building. If there are any changes to your child’s dismissal, please put in writing to the teacher and office. Pre-K students with Mrs. Quirbach will meet her by the playground area for both AM and PM sessions.

     

    Bus Transportation: Bus passes should have been mailed from Family Resource Center last week and received by most families at this time. Please make sure that you are at the bus stop 10 minutes before the scheduled time. Please be aware that an adult must be present at the bus stop for students in kindergarten and grade one in order to release that child from the bus. If you have not received your bus pass, please contact the Family Resource Center at 978-674-4321. If you need to receive information about a bus when the office is closed please use the following phone number 978-323-0101. Buses tend to run late during the first few weeks of school as the drivers learn their new routes. Please be patient.

     

    Allergies: Many of our students have severe allergies to a variety of foods. We especially discourage any nut products in school for snack or lunch. Please consider alternatives to nut products at school. If your child has an allergy it will be maintained through an Individual Health Care Plan supervised by our school nurse.

     

    Lunch Forms: All Lowell Public Schools students will receive FREE breakfast and lunch. You no longer have to fill out a free/reduced lunch form. Lowell has been approved to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students.

     

    School Site Council: Our School Site Council meets monthly to discuss school policies, academics, and also to plan nighttime events. We are looking for parent/guardian members from all grade levels. Our first meeting will take place on October 8, 2019 at 6:00 PM in our library.

     

    Mascots: Our School Mascot is in development. We will be accepting nominations from children and voting on the mascot as a school.

     

    Early Release Days: We have one Early Release Day scheduled for most months this school year. During the following days we dismiss at 12:50 PM: September 18th, October 9th, December 11th, January 8th, February 12th, March 11th, May 6th, and the last day of school in June. All students will eat lunch at school on these days. We also have the Early Release scheduled for November 27th, which is the day before Thanksgiving. On this day children are released at 11:10 AM and will not be served lunch.

    Ice Cream Social: On September 10th, from 5:30-6:30 PM, we will be having a free ice cream social for all families. This will give all families an opportunity to meet each other. We will hold the ice cream social in the South Street parking lot. We encourage all families to attend, but you must sign-up in advance. Please limit the ice cream social to immediate family members living in your house. Flyers have been sent home.

     

    Penny Wars: Our annual Penny Wars fundraiser will start on Tuesday, September 9th and run until October 4th. Grades compete against one another by bringing in spare change. Pennies count as positive points for your grade while all other silver coins count against. As always, dollars bills count as double points. About half-way through the competition the bank counts our change so we can release halfway point standings. The winning grade receives a pizza party! Please start saving that change so we can raise money for the school. A flyer is being sent home!

     

    Safety Drills: All schools in Lowell are required to practice various safety drills including fire drills and lockdowns. We will be having practices within the first few weeks of school. If we practice a lockdown, you will be notified of the drill before and after the event. We practice these drills helping us to prepare for any emergency situations.

     

    Emergency Forms: Please make sure you return the emergency forms as soon as possible. Only list responsible adults for the pick-up of your child. If you have a custodial issues, you need to contact Mr. McCrevan immediately and have proper documentation.

     

    Student Handbooks: In order to become more environmentally aware Lowell Public Schools asks parents to review the Lowell Public School Parent and Student Handbook on-line at http://www.lowell.k12.m.us. Please return the sign-off sheets which will be sent home soon. We have a limited supply of paper copies in the office in several languages if you need access to a hard copy.