Dowling Newsletter - January 16, 2026

Reminder: There is no school on Monday, January 19, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr and Friday, January 23, for teacher record keeping. 

From the Principal

We always prioritize our students’ well-being, but now more than ever it is important that we are able to stay focused on keeping everyone safe. You as caregivers can help us greatly by trying your best to do the following:

• If you are transporting your student to school in the morning, please be on time. The doors open for students at 9:20 am, school officially begins at 9:25 am, but we do not close the doors until 9:40 am. Having your student arrive before the doors are closed will reduce the number of disruptions in the main office and ensure your student is having the opportunity to connect with classmates and ease into their day.
• Whenever possible, communicating through Talking Points is preferable to calling the office. You may message your teacher directly or send a message to the office.
• Same day dismissal changes MUST be communicated to either the teacher or the main office, by 12:00 pm if possible. We understand circumstances can arise unexpectedly, but last-minute changes cause confusion at a time that can  already be quite hectic, increasing the chance for errors. Recently, many families are understandably choosing to transport their students instead of having them take the bus, out of an abundance of caution. Limiting changes to only those absolutely necessary, and communicating in advance, will help us make sure every student gets where they need to be.

Attendance Office Request

If you know your student will be out, please try to call before 9:30 AM. Due to nursing duties, attendance calls not entered by that time may not get put into the system until after the records are pulled for Robocalls.

Dowling Wishlist

Please check out the Dowling wishlist. We’d be very grateful for any donations!

From the PTO

January and February at a Glance

1/19-no school in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

1/23-no school for record keeping day

2/9-PTO meeting 6:30-7:30 pm hybrid format

2/13-no school for conferences

2/16-no school for Presidents’ Day

2/17-no school for professional development 

School Community Mutual Aid

Students and their families are facing challenges we could not have imagined at the beginning of the school year. Teachers and staff are working overtime to keep our schools safe. In response, our Longfellow Area neighborhood school is raising funds to provide mutual aid for our school community.  Funds will be distributed by the school's PTO to address urgent needs with care and speed. Your financial support, no matter what the amount or where you live, directly supports students and their families. Thank you for standing with our community. https://givebutter.com/community2026

Get Your Dowling Beanies!

A new batch of Beanies is available to order and we have a new color, sand, joining blue and mustard yellow. Order here: Dowling Merch Store

All proceeds from hat sales go directly to the school to help support additional staff time and more during this difficult period. When you order, note your student’s name and teacher in the note section so we can get them to backpacks when available. 

Read-a-thon start date TBD

We will be delaying the kick-off for read-a-thon this year with the hope that we can start when all students are back to in-person learning format. We are not sure exactly when this will be so please stay tuned to this newsletter and social media accounts (see below). 

Fridays “Stay to Play on the Ramps” from 4:05-5:00 p.m.

Join us for Friday Fun on the Ramps Playground after school to play and catch up with friends. Many thanks to parent volunteer Katie Murray for coordinating this event again!

MembershipToolkit

To get information from the PTO and connect with other families, you'll need to register or update your profile on Membership Toolkit. The district can't share your information, so this is the only way to be included in the school directory and receive important updates.

Register here: https://dowlingpto.membershiptoolkit.com