May 11, 2012

Dear Families,

It is with great excitement that I send this letter to all of you! Below you will find a list of the staff of Lowrie Primary School as I know it at this point in time. There will be other classified and certified staff added to the staff in the weeks to come. It will be all of us who collectively have this rare chance to write the initial story of our school. Together with children and parents, we all form the foundation of what already is the exceptional Lowrie Primary School community.

I feel so fortunate to have this incredible group of educators as the foundation of Lowrie! Here is the staff as I know it at this time (Please understand that these grade level assignments could change. I appreciate your patience and understanding during this transition time.):

Pre-School: Cheryl DeLay, Regina Wahlstrom

Kindergarten: Karen Janke and Holly Bloemer (At this point, I am still working on the number of Kindergarten sections for the coming year. There will be one all day, one dual language and I am waiting to see where the numbers will land to determine whether or not we will have enough students to have any half day sections. If you are interested in all day, please let me know.)

1st Grade: Zach Rodecap, Connie Coston, and Mary Duden

2nd Grade: Kim Hahmeyer and Mary Dargen

3rd Grade: April Locke and Michelle Malcom

4th Grade: Clay Slocum and Nancy Curtis

5th Grade: Karena Marcum and Patrick Sweeney

Resource: Carol Elischer

Counselor: Katie Flaker will be joining us in a shared counselor role with Boones Ferry. Boones Ferry.

IC/TL: Michelle Wilson, who has worked at Sunset as a classroom teacher and IC, will be joining in the role of IC/TL role.

Head Secretary: Maria Horton who has been working at Boones Ferry in the office, will also be joining us as the head secretary.

It is that time of year that we all begin to think about class placements for coming year. Creating classroom communities for next year is a complex task, but one that I take on with a great deal of thought and care, because it is critical that each student have a year of academic and social growth. It takes a lot of time and thought to create these communities because the relationship a child has with their teacher is extremely important. It is critical that we create learning communities that challenge and engage each and every learner. It is important to us that all students have academic peers who they can work with and peers with whom they feel comfortable and confident with in their classroom. I also believe that each classroom community needs to include students with a variety of skills and experiences. My goal is to have balanced classrooms that will support the needs of each individual student. Classroom teachers, specialists, and administration work diligently together from all the Wilsonville schools to create communities of learners where each student in each school will flourish both academically and socially.

I believe that parents have valuable information to share and offer in this process. Parents help us to better understand the learning styles, areas of needed growth, and social needs and/or concerns of their child, along with neighborhood issues. Creating balanced learning communities that foster strong relationships and appropriate levels of challenge is our goal. If you would like to share your thoughts regarding your child as a learner, please free to do so in writing by June 1^st. You can either send me your thoughts via email (meigsp@wlwv.k12.or.us) or in the mail. My address is: 22210 SW Stafford Rd. Tualatin, OR 97062. I would also be happy to chat on the phone as well. My number is (503) 673-7705.

This is an exciting time as we begin to plan for the year as a new school community.  I am excited that there is such a fabulous group of teachers to help bring both Lowrie and their own classroom communities alive with grace, care and excitement for all the possibilities in front of us. I am continually inspired by the care and thoughtfulness of West Linn-Wilsonville teachers and their work with children. I know that the teachers coming to Lowrie will carry this work forward beautifully. I would be honored to have my child in any of their classrooms. Thank you for your support and trust of teachers and our placement process.

It is your support, care and belief in the power of newness and possibility that our growing school community represents that fills me with excitement for the coming year!

With appreciation,

Patrick

PS. If you have not done so, please sign up for the Lowrie Listserv from the Lowrie Primary School website. The address is: www.lowrie.wlwv.k12.or.us.