11/1 Lincoln log

Lincoln Families, 

I hope you are well and that you had a wonderful weekend. We’ve made it to stage 11 of 2020! 

In reflecting upon the past week, I can’t think of a more emotional one as an educator. Days and hours of preparation went into welcoming our kids back to Lincoln after a long seven months, so it was obviously with great trepidation that we had to pivot to remote learning so early in our process of reopening. However, it is always Lincoln and D90’s priority to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our kids, staff and community, so I’m excited to return when it is deemed safe to do so.  Like each of you, I continue to process the experiences of 2020 and try to remain open to the lessons it is teaching us about, patience,  goodness and humanity. In doing so, I stumbled across the following song/video that I thought was definitely worth a few minutes of your time. We are all carrying our own burdens and weight these days, but as the song says, we’re all doing a “good job.” Enjoy some wisdom in the form or music from the incomparable Alicia Keys   Alicia Keys- Good Job I remain confident in my thoughts that we will all be back together soon here at our Fine Fine School! 

Veterans Day is always a special day at Lincoln. Unfortunately, this year we will be unable to host our annual assembly. However, that won’t deter us from paying special recognition to the veterans in our midst. Each year our kids make cards for veterans that are then delivered to local veterans hospitals and presented to veterans on their breakfast trays. This year I encourage all kids to take a few moments to create a card for a veteran. There will be a drop box in the Park Ave lobby at Lincoln where kids can drop off their cards. Please be sure all cards are delivered to Lincoln by Tuesday, November 10. Additionally we will also be collecting photos of veterans to display in our Virtual Hall of Honor. Therefore, if you have the photo of a veteran you wish to have recognized, please send it my way via text or email and I’ll be sure it is included in our Veterans Day celebration. 

Fall conferences are quickly approaching. They are scheduled for Wednesday, November 11 and Thursday, November 12. Although they will be held virtually, I know our teachers are excited about the opportunity to share with you their experiences with your kids. This year you will notice that our K-4 report cards have a new look!  They are now providing more detailed descriptions regarding the specific skills and concepts your child(ren) have been working on during the first trimester of school.  Based on the Illinois Priority Learning Standards for the 2020-2021 School Year, released last August, the document identifies the most essential grade-level standards for teachers to focus on over the span of this school year.  Your K-4 child(ren)’s teacher will be sharing this information with you at your child(ren)’s conference, and will address any questions you have about the new format.  The increased clarity of concepts and skills will help provide an accurate reflection of the learning your child has been engaging in since August.

For the past two years, Ms. Bridget Gilmartin has served as the .5 Social Worker at Lincoln School. However, due to her husband’s relocation to Texas, Bridget is entering her final days as  a Lincoln School Eagle. While she is irreplaceable, I’m excited to welcome Ms. Brittany Yelnik as the new .5 Social Worker at Lincoln. Brittany will begin at Lincoln on Monday, November 2. She will be working closely with Bridget to make a smooth transition for the kids and families she services. Please join me in wishing Ms. Gilmartin all the best in her move to Texas and welcome Ms. Yelnik to the Lincoln School family. 

Finally, with the recent pivot to remote learning we have adjusted our supply drop off/pick up process. Effective this week, each grade level K-4 will have supply pick up/drop off on Fridays between 8:00AM-2:00PM on the Franklin blacktop. 

As always, please never hesitate to reach out if there is ever anything more I can do to support your family. Thanks for your continued support of Lincoln. Have a great week, stay safe and don’t forget to vote! All my best. CG

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Calendar

Tuesday, 11/3:

• NO SCHOOL – Election Day

Friday, 11/6:

• Supply Pick up for K-4 on Franklin

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Social Emotional Learning resources

Children look to their families with love and trust to guide their understanding about their place in this great big world.  The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special features Elmo and Abby Cadabby, who are joined by 6-year-old Muppet Gabrielle and her cousin, 8-year-old Tamir.  Come along with these friends as they learn how to become “upstanders” to unfair treatment based on skin or fur color.  This Sesame Street special is an uplifting and joyful celebration of how each of us is unique and how we can work together to help make this world a better place for ourselves, our friends, and for everyone! 

CLICK HERE to watch the video

CLICK HERE to see the companion activity booklet

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Kindergarten Girl Scout troop

Please email Diana Jacquez at dloshen@gmail.com if you would be interested learning more about registering your child for Kindergarten daisies this year. Thank you!

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Green4Good at Home: Pumpkin Smash 2020!

Help keep pumpkins out of the landfill by participating in the Annual River Forest Pumpkin Smash, Saturday, November 7, 9am-noon at Roosevelt Middle School on the Jackson side. Last year, we composted 512 pumpkins (4,860 pounds). Let’s smash that record in 2020! Please encourage friends, family, and neighbors to compost instead of trashing, and kindly wear your mask and observe social distancing when dropping off your pumpkins.

The Pumpkin Smash is hosted by the D90 Green4Good team with support from Roy Strom Company. Curious to know more about the impact of composting 4,860 pounds of pumpkins? Click here!

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Technology support

Thank you for emailing  powerschool@district90.org or helpdesk@district90.org with your technology questions/issues.  Please remember to include as much information as possible, e.g., Student Name, Teacher Name, School, iPad asset tag number, etc. Screenshots, links, websites and any other information regarding the issue is helpful. For example, my iPad/computer can’t connect to this website _________________ when I click on this link __________________. 

Additionally, if you have difficulty logging into your child’s special area classes, please be sure to reach out to that particular teacher to assist with any login issues.