Dear Parents,
We had a busy 100th day of school after our unexpected five-day hiatus. The morning began with our annual Chinese New Year parade led by our first graders. It was lovely to see colorful dragons march to the beat of the drum (that Mrs. Spetnagel beat so adeptly). We are enjoying our 100-year-old visitors, a.k.a., our Kindergarten students. I reassured them that in case they are unable to manage the stairs, we do have an elevator. They seemed relieved and eager to access the second floor that way.
Unfortunately, our Lower School parent luncheon scheduled on Friday, January 31, was cancelled due to the snow. Since we are making up one of the snow days on Presidents’ Day, we are rescheduling the parent luncheon on Monday, February 17, from noon until 1:00 pm. We hope all who planned to come on January 31 will be able to join us. If you did not sign up, but would like to attend, RSVP to Lower School Parent Luncheons. This is an informal way for us to get to know one another better, and we are looking forward to it.
Since school will be in session on Presidents’ Day, I wanted to remind you that, throughout the year, if you are requesting an excused absence or early dismissal for your child, please direct all requests to Darlene Walls at [email protected]. She will make sure I review the request and will reply to your email or phone call.
Thank you to our grade reps for sharing parent concerns and suggestions during our January meeting. Several parent questions involved our After School Enrichment Program, and Cynthia Coleman, Director of Summer Programs, After School Programs, and Adult Education, joined us for the beginning of the meeting to address the concerns. At the bottom of this email is a summary of her responses.
The question about registration for the Middle School summer study buddies came up. If you are a parent of a rising sixth grader, we highly recommend that you enroll your child. Classes fill up quickly, especially after acceptance letters go out to children applying for sixth grade. Registration is open, so if interested, please register on-line. One other offering that may be of interest is a creative writing class offered by Middle School teacher Kelly Leccedone. Be sure to check out the Lovett webpage to learn more about our summer programs.
Parents were interested in knowing some of the proactive measures we are taking to ensure the security of our children, teachers, faculty, and staff. We have had more emergency drills than ever before. This includes fire, severe weather, and lockdown drills. Substitute teachers receive training on how to respond during an emergency. Officer Chip Wood is armed and very visible during the school day. He is present during afternoon carpool, and Chip, along with the entire security staff, are working vigilantly to protect our campus. We have adjusted the timing on the Lower School front doors so they are only open for short periods during arrival and dismissal. At all other times of the day, visitors gain access to the building via our new secure entry system.
There were several questions about recess guidelines. Teachers have been reminded that all children must participate in recess. Students may be given several minutes to complete their work; however, the expectation is that they will participate in at least half of the recess period. Recess is never taken away from the entire class. If a child does not come to school dressed for the cold, rather than staying in from recess, teachers are asked to send the child to the office to borrow a fleece or jacket.
There was a suggestion to have children sit with their carpool during dismissal rather than with their class. The representatives thought that this would be problematic for a number of reasons, including the frequent changes that are made on a daily basis.
Here are a few reminders:
Warm regards,
Mary Baldwin
Lower School Principal
Download After School Enrichment Summary, January 2014 (1).pdf
Lower School Events Mon, Feb 3rd D Day
We had a busy 100th day of school after our unexpected five-day hiatus. The morning began with our annual Chinese New Year parade led by our first graders. It was lovely to see colorful dragons march to the beat of the drum (that Mrs. Spetnagel beat so adeptly). We are enjoying our 100-year-old visitors, a.k.a., our Kindergarten students. I reassured them that in case they are unable to manage the stairs, we do have an elevator. They seemed relieved and eager to access the second floor that way.
Unfortunately, our Lower School parent luncheon scheduled on Friday, January 31, was cancelled due to the snow. Since we are making up one of the snow days on Presidents’ Day, we are rescheduling the parent luncheon on Monday, February 17, from noon until 1:00 pm. We hope all who planned to come on January 31 will be able to join us. If you did not sign up, but would like to attend, RSVP to Lower School Parent Luncheons. This is an informal way for us to get to know one another better, and we are looking forward to it.
Since school will be in session on Presidents’ Day, I wanted to remind you that, throughout the year, if you are requesting an excused absence or early dismissal for your child, please direct all requests to Darlene Walls at [email protected]. She will make sure I review the request and will reply to your email or phone call.
Thank you to our grade reps for sharing parent concerns and suggestions during our January meeting. Several parent questions involved our After School Enrichment Program, and Cynthia Coleman, Director of Summer Programs, After School Programs, and Adult Education, joined us for the beginning of the meeting to address the concerns. At the bottom of this email is a summary of her responses.
The question about registration for the Middle School summer study buddies came up. If you are a parent of a rising sixth grader, we highly recommend that you enroll your child. Classes fill up quickly, especially after acceptance letters go out to children applying for sixth grade. Registration is open, so if interested, please register on-line. One other offering that may be of interest is a creative writing class offered by Middle School teacher Kelly Leccedone. Be sure to check out the Lovett webpage to learn more about our summer programs.
Parents were interested in knowing some of the proactive measures we are taking to ensure the security of our children, teachers, faculty, and staff. We have had more emergency drills than ever before. This includes fire, severe weather, and lockdown drills. Substitute teachers receive training on how to respond during an emergency. Officer Chip Wood is armed and very visible during the school day. He is present during afternoon carpool, and Chip, along with the entire security staff, are working vigilantly to protect our campus. We have adjusted the timing on the Lower School front doors so they are only open for short periods during arrival and dismissal. At all other times of the day, visitors gain access to the building via our new secure entry system.
There were several questions about recess guidelines. Teachers have been reminded that all children must participate in recess. Students may be given several minutes to complete their work; however, the expectation is that they will participate in at least half of the recess period. Recess is never taken away from the entire class. If a child does not come to school dressed for the cold, rather than staying in from recess, teachers are asked to send the child to the office to borrow a fleece or jacket.
There was a suggestion to have children sit with their carpool during dismissal rather than with their class. The representatives thought that this would be problematic for a number of reasons, including the frequent changes that are made on a daily basis.
Here are a few reminders:
- Friday, February 7, is Lower School “Jean Day” NUD. This is to promote the 4th grade Girls Scouts’ Denim Drive that will benefit the Johnson County Schools. Please drop all gently used jeans, sizes 6-14, in the collection bin under the Parker staircase this week.
- Friday, February 7, is a Lovett Walk to School Day.
- Friday, February 14, is a Valentine “pink, red, and white” NUD. Valentine parties are from 12:30-1:30 pm.
Warm regards,
Mary Baldwin
Lower School Principal
Download After School Enrichment Summary, January 2014 (1).pdf
Lower School Events Mon, Feb 3rd D Day