Downey School

Principal's Message

April 1, 2024

Dear Downey Community, 

Despite the fact that a Nor’easter is predicted for Thursday and Friday, on the calendar it says spring is here! It looks like we will be getting mostly heavy rain during this storm, but for those of you who are skiers you may want to head north next weekend! 

April is turning out to be a busy month for the Downey community. Our Student Council is running a community service project called, “Got Sneakers” and they are collecting used sneakers. An email went out earlier to all families with more information. This group of students in Student Council continue to impress me with their ideas to get students involved and to make Downey a better place! They truly are a group of rising leaders! 

As you know, on April 8th we will be experiencing a solar eclipse. This is such an exciting time for all of us! To get our students excited and prepared for the big event, Westwood Science Coordinator Kate Doyle and her assistant Jennie Goossen, will be meeting with all grade levels to talk about the solar eclipse on Thursday of this week. The PTO has purchased viewing glasses for all students and staff to use on April 8th and will be distributed on the day of the solar eclipse. If you and your family are taking a road trip north to watch the eclipse please inform your child’s teacher and a pair of glasses will be sent home with your child beforehand. Thank you to the PTO for purchasing these glasses! The eclipse is predicted to begin around 2:30 p.m. so as school we will be outside with our glasses to view the eclipse. Students will be reminded to keep their glasses on during dismissal as it will be tempting to look at the sky! Please email me or your child’s teacher if you have any questions. 

Lastly, a big thank you to the PTO’s Multicultural Committee who planned a wonderful multicultural event on March 22nd. It was an incredible event and so well attended! Superintendent Piwowar also stopped by and was so impressed with how many students and family members were in attendance. 

Below are dates for some upcoming events, please mark your calendars! As always, thank you for your continued support and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely, 

Deb Gallagher 

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ELA MCAS

April 2nd and 4th-Grade 4

April 8th and 9th-Grade 5

Parent/Teacher Conferences

April 3rd-afternoon conferences

April 10th-evening conferences

Solar Eclipse Viewing

April 8th

PTO sponsored Book Fair

April 9-11. *The book fair will be open on the evening of April 10th so that parents can shop before/after their conference. 

Spring Break-April 15th-19th. ENJOY!

Grade 5 Chorus Concert

April 26th at 9:30 a.m. in the cafeteria. 

SAVE THE DATE:

May 31st  Field Day  *Rain Date-June 7th

More information about volunteering will be coming out after April break. Stay tuned! 

PTO Updates & Information:

The Downey PTO is a non-profit organization that supports our teachers and students. We organize exciting community events, provide essential resources that enhance the educational experience of every student and provide funding for enrichment programs for all students.