Message from Dr. Larkin:
Although students are only in school for three weeks in November, attendance traditionally drops during this time. Lowry is part of an attendance cohort and is working with the University of Denver to work on increasing student attendance. As a participant in the cohort, we are asking parents/guardians to complete this short survey by November 6; it will help to inform our DU partners about some of the barriers to student attendance and how the school and district can better support families.
While we know that attendance is important for a student’s academic growth, data also shows that it is important to building relationships and developing a sense of belonging. Students feel better about school when they regularly attend school. In October, we had approximately 90 students with perfect attendance; our November goal is to have 150 students with perfect attendance (present all day, each day). We want our students to shine and have the best and most improved attendance, as well as have a sense of belonging at Lowry! We have some fun incentives planned and would love to celebrate our increased attendance as a whole school!
Important Dates:
November 5 & 6: Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7:30 p.m.
November 6: Walter’s 303 Dining for Dollars, Lowry location only (PTO Fundraiser). Mention Lowry when you order in-person and “LOWRY25” for online orders directly through the Walter’s website.
November 7: Picture Retake Day, check out this flyer for more details.
November 10: Butter Braids Sales End. You can sell Butter Braids with your personalized online store link and/or by using the paper order form that went home. To set up your personalized online store, scan the QR code on the paper order form or visit Lowry’s store. Follow the directions to have your personalized store link emailed to you.
November 11-14: The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Lowry! Students will be visiting the Book Fair with their classes, but families are invited to shop during the following times:
Tuesday, November 11: 3-5p.m.
Wednesday, November 12: 3-4:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 13: 11-4:30 p.m.
Friday, November 14: 2-4: p.m.
November 12: Walter’s 303 Dining for Dollars, Lowry location only (PTO Fundraiser). Mention Lowry when you order in-person and “LOWRY25” for online orders directly through the Walter’s website.
November 13:
Thanksgiving Lunch at school, during student lunch times. Parent/Guardian and sibling RSVP/payment information will be sent home soon.
PTO Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m. This month’s meeting will be virtual. A meeting link will be sent directly from the PTO.
November 18: Butter Braids Delivery, information will be sent directly to participating families.
November 19: Walter’s 303 Dining for Dollars, Lowry location only (PTO Fundraiser). Mention Lowry when you order in-person and “LOWRY25” for online orders directly through the Walter’s website.
November 24-28: No School!
What’s Happening:
East High School’s Female Athlete Wellness Club is organizing a new and used sports equipment drive. They are partnering with local organizations such as Soccer Electric, the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, and Y-Zero/ Building Resilience to donate the collected gear to children in Bijagua, Costa Rica and the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve. This partnership will promote the inclusion of girls in sports in their country as well as providing safer gear for as many children as possible. In order to help this endeavor, we will have a collection box for new and used sports gear, including footwear, clothing, and equipment. Items should be brought to school by November 20, and can be delivered to the collection box in the main office.
Lowry is working with the Lowry United Neighborhoods as a part of their Clean Team efforts. We will have teams of 4th and 5th graders cleaning up our grounds on a weekly basis. Kudos to the students for their excitement and engagement in this project!
Staff Spotlight:
You may have seen a recent Denver 7 news story about our very own Mr. Landon! Landon Squibbs is this month’s Staff Spotlight.
Mr. Landon is a graduate of DPS. He went to Carson Elementary as a student in the D/HH program, then on to Hill Middle and East High School. Prior to working at Lowry, Mr. Landon was a youth sports coach at La Familia Recreation Center and a barista at Starbucks for over 5 years. Landon now works as a Paraprofessional in the D/HH program, supporting students in the classroom and on the playground. He loves being part of the “best team working alongside Vicki, Erica, Julia, Lindsey, and Claudia” and he considers working at Lowry as a blessing! Mr. Landon has felt supported by the Lowry community and he loves his job.
Outside of work, Mr. Landon loves being an uncle to his one-year old niece. Landon can be reached via his DPS email.
Family Spotlight:
If you came to the PTO’s Trunk-or-Treat, you met the family for our November Family Spotlight: the Kozloff/James family!
Mom Hannah and dad DJ are very involved in the lives of their children, Karma (2nd grader at Lowry) and Rio (9 years old). Hannah works as a procurement specialist at Bonnie Brae Liquor and DJ is a forklift operations manager with Waste Management. Hannah and DJ also own The Koz, a bookkeeping business, and a clothing brand, GMD Clothing!
In addition to their full-time jobs and their involvement in Karma’s and Rio’s lives, Hannah is involved in raising awareness for people diagnosed with vascular compression. Hannah has multiple rare vascular compressions and has struggled with chronic pain for most of her life. She is hoping to raise awareness and support other people with vascular compression by sharing her experiences and resources.
Hannah was instrumental in connecting Bonnie Brae Liquor with our PTO–Bonnie Brae is a new sponsor of our school!
We are fortunate to have Karma as a student at Lowry and her family in the community. The Kozloff/James family is looking forward to continuing to support the school.
In partnership,
Dr. Annie Larkin