Lincoln Families,

I hope you and your family had a great weekend. I enjoyed the weekend in St. Louis with my family attending the baptism of my new niece. It was nice to see so many friends and family.

Last week’s trip to Washington to represent our school ranks as one of the greatest honors of my career. It was inspiring to be in the company of our nation’s finest schools and to learn from their best practices and successes. In addition to a memorable ceremony, there were several great breakout sessions and speakers. I was particularly moved by a John F. Kennedy quote one of the keynote speakers shared, “For of those to whom much is given, much is required.” I found this statement to be especially significant as we continue the journey forward. When receiving an award like the National Blue Ribbon, it is easy to become complacent with our systems, instruction, and ideas. However, I embrace the challenge and opportunity to use this achievement as the foundation to further enhance our school, to implement new ideas, and to engage our community to make our Fine, Fine School… even Finer!

Attached is a letter President Obama sent to all Blue Ribbon Schools. Additionally, here are a few photos from our trip:

I look forward to seeing many of you at this week’s Book Fair. Many thanks to Book Fair Committee for such thoughtful planning of what promises to be yet another great event for our school.

On Monday afternoon, Mrs. Moriarty will hold a Young Authors Meeting in her classroom for any students interested in participating in this annual event.

As always, thanks so much for your continued support of our school. Please never hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do for you or your family. Have a great week.

CG

 

Calendar this Week

Monday, 11/16:  Young Authors Workshop from 3:15-4:15 in Mrs. Moriarty’s classroom

Tuesday, 11/17:  Picture retakes

Tuesday, 11/17 – Friday, 11/20:  Book Fair (see hours below)

Wednesday, 11/18:  Lincoln Family Reading Night from 6:30-7:30 pm

Friday, 11/20:

• Fun Lunch: PIZZA

• Spirit Wear Friday!  Any red clothing item counts as spirit wear.

Looking Ahead…

Wednesday 11/25 – Sunday 11/29:  Thanksgiving Break!

 

Young Authors Workshop – Monday 3:15-4:15

Attention all young authors!  Interested in entering a writing contest sponsored by District 90? Every winter the district hosts a Young Authors Conference and awards one student author from each school.  Learn all about this creative challenge at Monday afternoon’s workshop in Mrs. Moriarty’s classroom.  For the contest, students will submit a new piece of writing, in a genre of their choice:  poetry, short story, essay, graphic novel, or illustrated story.   Submission requirements and deadlines will be published shortly; stay tuned to the Lincoln Log and D90 emails for information.  Can’t make the workshop? Not a problem, you can still enter the contest.  Please contact Mrs. Moriarty at “moriartyp AT district90.org” with questions.

Lincoln School Book Fair

Get a head start on your holiday shopping at tax-free prices and support our school library by shopping for quality books, calendars and other fun gifts at the Lincoln PTO Book Fair. Your child will visit the book fair on Tuesday, November 17 to make a personal wish list to help you learn what they might like for their own bookshelves. There will also be staff wish lists for those who may be looking for the perfect gift to show your appreciation. Look for the “Apples” on the bulletin board outside the LLC.

We will be hosting a family story time on Wednesday, November 18 from 6:30-7:30PM. We will have readers from the community, including a police officer and a librarian from the River Forest Public Library, and cookies will be served!

New this year, we will be having a book mark decorating contest. The week before the Fair, all students will receive a black and white book mark to decorate. The two best from each grade will receive a $5 off coupon to use at the Book Fair!

If you can’t make it to the Fair this year, you may order online at abcfairs.com. Purchases will still benefit the Lincoln PTO. Volunteers are needed to help staff the Book Fair for the after-school shifts and Wednesday night.  Please see Sign Up Genius for available time slots.  Thank you! 

2015 BOOK FAIR HOURS

• Tuesday, 11/17:  Exclusive shopping for STAFF & VOLUNTEERS 8:00am to 3:10pm

OPEN TO ALL:

• Tuesday, 11/17:  3:10 pm to 5:00 pm
• Wednesday, 11/18:  8:00 am to  8:00 pm (FAMILY STORY HOUR is 6:30-7:30 pm)
• Thursday, 11/19:  8:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Friday, 11/20:  8:00 am to 9:30 am

 

Connect4Kids Book Talk

In the winter months we think it may be time to curl up with a good book. Pre-order a copy of Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies, or “Fat Envelopes” by Madeline Levine, PhD at the Lincoln School Book Fair.   We invite Lincoln and Willard parents to our first Connect4Kids Parent Book Club on January 28 at 7pm. Dr. Cara Lanza Hurley is a licensed clinical psychologist with nearly a decade of specialized training and expertise. Cara will lead an intimate post discussion encouraging us to reflect on insights from the book, and process the art of parenting with peers.  We are delighted she will be facilitating our post book discussion as she comes to us with positive reviews after several parent book talks at the Lane School in Hinsdale.

Blue Ribbons

It is time to take the blue ribbons down off the trees, BUT DON’T THROW THEM AWAY!!  The Lincoln G4G committee will be collecting them in the office for the next two weeks. Please remove as many as you can from the trees in your neighborhood and either drop them off in the Lincoln office or send them to school with your child to drop off in the office. The G4G committee is working on making a blue ribbon remembrance that will be made from all of the ribbons we can save.  Thank you!!  We look forward to seeing what beautiful, up-cycled item we can make that will keep our Blue Ribbon Pride fresh in our minds!

 

Help Fund Our PTO While You Shop

Do you shop at Target or on Amazon?  If so, this one is a no-brainer!   By registering your Target REDcard or Target MasterCard with Target’s Take Charge of Education program, Target will donate 1% of all of your purchases to the Lincoln PTO. That is IN ADDITION to your 5% savings with the REDcard. If you have a card already, all you need to do is register it by calling 1-800-316-6142 or by visiting www.Target.com/tcoe or an in-store kiosk. The primary cardholder of a Target Debit Card™ can sign up for the Take Charge of Education program by calling 1-800-316-6142.  Our school ID is 48034.  The Take Charge of Education Program will end on May 14, 2016, so take advantage of this valuable opportunity while it lasts!   In addition, when you shop at smile.amazon.com, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Lincoln PTO.  Prices are the same as on Amazon.com, and millions of products are eligible.  Simply select “Lincoln Parent-Teacher Organization of River Forest” the first time you visit the site.   Lincoln also participates in the Box Tops For Education Program.  Click here for a list of participating box tops products.  Each box top is worth 10 cents to the school, so they really add up!  We will be having a box tops contest after winter break, so start clipping and saving them now.  The Box Tops website, www.BTFE.com, also offers coupons and recipes for participating products.   Finally, there is a Dine & Share opportunity at Panera coming up on 12/7.  More details to come!

Will Your Country Be Part of the International Festival?

On Sunday, February 7, Lincoln School will be hosting our first International Festival where children will interactively learn about the many countries represented in our student body. So far, we have volunteers to represent the following 12 countries:

• France
• Croatia
• Japan
• Chile
• Argentina
• India
• Brazil
• UK
• Lebanon
• Turkey
• China
• Italy

We would love to have a few more countries! All you need is a passion for a particular country, whether from having traveled there or having lived there. If you’d like to help with one of the countries above, or have another country you’d like to share with the kids, please fill out this form or email Vanessa Druckman “vanessadruckman AT gmail.com”.

 

November and December Character Trait

POSITIVE ATTITUDE Because Positive Attitude is so important and because the month of December is shortened by winter break, we focus on this character theme for two months in a row! A person with a Positive Attitude:

• Always sees the good in a situation

• Tries to find solutions to problems

 

• Takes time to appreciate the little things

 

• Is happy with what s/he has

 

• Takes responsibility for his/her actions

 

• Understands the need to listen to other people

 

• Doesn’t complain often

 

• Enjoys life!

 

 

 

Young Filmmakers Contest

The contest is open to Grades 3 through College, with recognition in each category: elementary, middle school, high school and college.

Create a 3-8 minute film or a shorter animation on a specific topic related to climate change or sustainability.  See the attachment One Earth Film Contest  for details or click here for the One Earth Website.