Lincoln Families,

I hope you enjoyed the absolutely perfect weather this weekend. There’s no place like Chicago when the weather is this incredible! I haven’t been in Chicago for a weekend in quite some time, so I picked a good one to stick around to enjoy the weather and watch some some great hockey playoff games!

This week our students in grades 3 and 4 will participate in the PARCC Assessment. The testing schedule for the next two weeks of PARCC testing can be found below. We have done our best to create a “zero” stress atmosphere for our kids. Aside from making sure your kids get adequate rest, and a healthy breakfast, simply remind them of the importance for them to relax and approach the PARCC as they would any other assessment. Remind them that Lincoln School has taught them everything they need to succeed!

Lincoln School PARCC Schedule Spring 2016
MATH Grade 3
12:30-1:30
Monday, April 18	Unit 1	60 Min
Tuesday, April 19	Unit 2	60 Min
Wednesday, April 20	Unit 3	60 Min
Thursday, April 21	Unit 4	60 Min
MATH Grade 4
9:50-10:50
Monday, April 18	Unit 1	60 Min
Tuesday, April 19	Unit 2	60 Min
Wedesday, April 20	Unit 3	60 Min
Thursday, April 21	Unit 4	60 Min
ELA Grade 3
12:30-2:00
Monday, April 25	Unit 1	90 Min
Tuesday, April 26	Unit 2	75 Min
Wednesday, April 27	Unit 3	90 Min
Thursday, April 28	Field Test	90 Min McCole, Briggs Nichols (8:30-10:00) Mares (9:30-11:00
ELA Grade 4
9:50-11:20
Tuesday, April 26	Unit 1	90 Min
Wednesday, April 27	Unit 2	90 Min
Friday, April 29	Unit 3	60 Min

Additionally, with the leadership of our Green4Good Committee, this week we will celebrate Earth Week. One of the highlights of the week will be the “Walking School Bus.” Myself and several teachers will greet each school bus at the four corners of our school and lead them to school. All students are encouraged to wear green throughout the week as well. Please look for more information on our plans to celebrate Earth Week in this week’s Lincoln Log.

Finally, don’t forget that this Friday is an early release for students. Students will be dismissed at 11:25. During the afternoon our teachers will be engaged in an Institute Day of learning, dialogue and discussion about the Lucy Calkins writing Units of Study.

As always, thanks for your continued support of Lincoln. Please never hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do to support you or your family. Have a great week. Go St. Louis BLUES!!!

CG

 SPIRIT WEAR Winners: 04.15.16

K-2- Ms. Anderson (2nd Grade)

3-4- Ms. Dumont (4th Grade)

Calendar

Monday, 4/18:

• Spring Tennis (3rd and 4th) and Yoga (1st through 4th) begin
• Walk to school begins
• PARCC TESTING BEGINS – See schedule below
• Wear GREEN for Earth Week
• Waste-Free Lunch Challenge

Tuesday, 4/19:

• Girls on the Run
• Wear GREEN for Earth Week
• Waste-Free Lunch Challenge

Wednesday, 4/20:

• Spring Tennis (1st and 2nd) Begins
• Waste Free Lunch Wednesday
• Habitat Helpers – Grades 1 and 2
• Wear GREEN for Earth Week
• Waste-Free Lunch Challenge

Thursday, 4/21:

• Girls on the Run
• Lincoln Spirit Day
• Fun Lunch: Chicken Tenders and Veggie Burgers

Friday, 4/22:

• 11:25 Dismissal for all students
• No Lincoln AM Kindergarten – the PM Kindergarten classes attend in the AM.

Lincoln School Celebrates Earth Week!

April 18th-22nd

WALK TO SCHOOL EACH DAY
This year we will be doing a “walking school bus”! We have identified 6 “Bus Stops” that Lincoln parents can drop their kids at by 7:55am M-F next week.
The leader of each “Bus Stop” is an adult Lincoln parent. The kids will be chaperoned by the Bus Stop leader to the school grounds. Mr. Godfrey is arranging to have teachers/staff and himself stationed at the four corners of the school–Park/Lake, Park/Oak, Franklin/Lake, Franklin/Oak to welcome the walking school buses. They will hand out t-shirt strings for kids to tie onto their backpacks! Heartworks kids may also be there to help pass out t-shirt strings too!

BUS STOPS
Washington/Gale–Laura Maychruk
Washington/Forest–Sarah Hicks
Franklin/Oak–Vicki Freund
Monroe/Oak-Molly Quinn
Thatcher/Oak–Kessel
Bonnie Brae/Oak-LeFevour

WASTE FREE LUNCH CHALLENGE
Monday-Wednesday the Green 4 Good committee members will be circulating throughout the lunch room identifiying waste-free lunches. If your child has a waste free lunch, they will be entered into a raffle to win prizes. On Thursday, the lunch period that had the most waste-free lunches will be announced as the winner of the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge. There will also be additional prizes drawn for those entered into the raffle.

WEAR GREEN
We will be encouraging kids to wear green all week and will be entering the kids in a raffle during lunch M-W. Prizes for kids wearing green will be drawn on Thursday

Can’t get too much of a good thing…the PTO’s Connect4Kids is running additional 6 week sessions:

Yoga on Mondays, 3:15-4:15, from 4/18- 5/23.

Adrienne Smith and Laurie Solberg of Core Power Yoga will be teaching children’s yoga class for 1st – 4th grade students on Mondays in the Gym.

Registration is open until midnight Sunday on the PTO Website.  The cost is $70 for 6 classes.

Play For Lot Tennis from 4/18 to 5/25:  

Tennis on Mondays for 3rd/4th grade from 3:15-4:15 pm

Tennis on Wednesdays for 1st/2nd grade, 3:15-4:15 pm – FULL

Tennis will be taught by Mirka and Luka Bagos, professional coaches of Play For Lot, outdoors on the playground, weather permitting, or in the gym. The 6-week program welcomes children of all skill levels.

Registration is now open on the PTO Website. The cost is $70 for 6 weeks.

Order School Supply Kits for 2016-2017

Looking for an easy way to shop for next year’s school supplies?  Purchase the complete, teacher-tailored kits from SchoolKidz.  The PTO organizes these kits for your convenience, and supplies will be waiting in your child’s classroom in August.  Save yourself a few shopping trips this summer and get exactly what the Lincoln teachers asked for, all in one simple on-line purchase!

• Review kit contents and pricing and place your order here (Lincoln Account Number: 20838).
• Please remember to order NEXT YEAR’S grade kit.
• Please type in your child’s name as you want it to appear on all labels.

Orders will be accepted online only, and only until Friday, 4/29.  

Questions?  Please contact Ann Mills:  anncieslica AT msn.com

Does Your Child Love the Yearbook?

Please consider volunteering to help chair the Lincoln Yearbook for the next two school years. Without co-chairs, the PTO will no longer be able to create and distribute this beloved keepsake of the Lincoln school year.  We have a few volunteers who can help produce the book digitally,  but we need 2 volunteers who can organize and do the leg work to run the project.

There are many benefits to co-chairing this project:

• get to know the teachers (and many parent volunteers)
• be present at Lincoln for many events
• learn a new software tool
• channel your creativity & artistic ability
• keep your organizational skills sharp

Review the monthly details of the project here: Yearbook Project Scope.

Many of us enjoy flipping through the old yearbooks and reminiscing; please help us keep this tradition alive.

Order this year’s book here.

Need more info?  Contact Ann Mills at:  anncieslica AT msn.com

Theater Club for 2016-2017

Our amazing Theater Club leader for the last four years is moving on to Roosevelt.  In order to keep this club alive, we need 1-2 volunteers willing to lead our Theater Club once a month after school in the auditorium.  If you have professional acting experience, great!  If you don’t, but have taken acting classes or performed in any way and want to teach 3rd & 4th Graders those fun acting games/exercises, you’re just what we’re looking for!  Please contact Amy Dwyer at amyAdwyer AT gmail.com.

Spring 2016 is time to brush up on bike safety for 2nd Graders!

The River Forest Police Department will be conducting a bike safety workshop, and you can register now for this free event on the PTO Web Store.  Choose one of the two days to participate.  

This is an informative and fun event for second graders only.  Second graders must have successfully completed this workshop before they are permitted to ride their bikes to school. 

Kids will be outside for the second half of the workshop, so be prepared for the weather!

DAY: Tuesday, April 26th or Wednesday, April 27th
TIME: Right after school until 4:30 p.m.
PLACE: Multipurpose Room (bikes can be brought in the morning & left locked at the bike rack outside the gym)
BRING: Bike with lock set and helmet

Note: You will be able to register your bike with the Village of River Forest on the day of your workshop. 

PTO Kid’s Resale Event on May 6th – 7th

In the spirit of recycling and spring cleaning, clear out your closets and garage to participate in the PTO’s first ever Kid’s Resale Fundraising Event!

DROP OFF:  Friday, May 6th   3:10 pm to 6:30 pm

SHOP:  Saturday. May 7th   10:00 am to 1:00 pm

LOCATION:  the Lincoln Gym for both Drop Off and Shopping

Donate your gently worn summer kids’ clothes, accessories and outdoor equipment (e.g., bikes, wagons, scooters, play tents, sports equipment, etc.) to the PTO.  Please drop off summer items only and no items with holes, stains or heavy wear/tear. Accepting all kids sizes from baby to youth XL.

Don’t miss this sale event– you can fill a bag for just $35! Only large ticket items (e.g, bikes, wagons, sports equipment), shoes and designer merchandise will be priced individually.  All other apparel/accessories that fit in a single bag is yours for the flat rate of $35.  If you want more clothing, buy a second bag for $30.

Please note this is not a consignment sale. All drop-offs are donations and all resale proceeds fund the Lincoln PTO. Unsold items will be donated to Hephzibah/Salvation Army. Please save fall/winter clothes for a TBD fall resale event.  Also, please no baby gear (e.g., car seats, high chairs, walkers, strollers, etc.) as we cannot resell these.

Questions? Contact event organizers Michelle Elfvin (michelleelfvin AT gmail.com) or Janice Moskoff (janicemoskoff AT gmail.com).

Time to Spring Clean for Green4Good Recycling Extravaganza!

Green4Good’s  Recycling Extravaganza

When:  Saturday, May 7th   8:00 am to 1:00 pm

Where:  RF United Methodist Church.

Please save the date and spread the word. This year due to the electronics recycling market, we are charging anyone who brings electronics.  It will be $10 per car and cars will be limited to 1 tv (plasma or CRT) and 1 monitor. All other household electronics are unlimited.

We will be collecting all of the other usual items as well:  scrap metal, bikes, books, school supplies, CFLs etc.

4th Grade Corner – Information for the Roosevelt Class of 2020!

4th Graders – Maypole and/or Drumming – Participants wanted! Join the FUN!

Would your son or daughter like to participate in one of Lincoln School’s Field Day traditions? Our kids have excitedly been watching the “big kids” (aka – 4th graders) over the years entertain and kick off Field Day with Drumming and the Maypole Dance. Now it’s their turn to participate! They can choose to participate in the Maypole Dance and/or Drumming. Practices will tentatively take place the 3 weeks leading up to Field Day (scheduled for Friday, June 3rd). We hope to start practice the week of May 16th. Practice days/times are TBA (we are shooting for a range of practices before school, at lunch, and after school). We all know that schedules these days are busy, especially during the spring months leading up to the end of the school year. If your son or daughter is interested in participating – please Click Here for the sign up sheet (and we’ll be in touch re: practices, etc.). If you are experiencing issues w/ the sign up sheet please email Dee Dee Carr at dwn1878@gmail.com.
Sincerely, 4th Grade parents – Lurana Brown (Drumming Queen), Amy Tomaso (Maypole Queen), Dee Dee Carr (assistant to the Queens)

Attention 4th Grade Parents: Roosevelt Spring Spirit Wear is Now On Sale!

New items, new styles…including a new BPA-free water bottle for spring and summer sports! Get ready for spring and show your school spirit!  Ordering only open through the month of April, so order your items here today.

Questions: bulldogemporium@gmail.com

Please Don’t Forget to Pay 4th Grade Activities Fee

Please click here to pay your $20 4th Grade Activity Fee. This money goes toward the t-shirts that your 4th grader will wear during Field Day, the commemorative DVD of the kids’ time at Lincoln that all children receive, and the cost of the 4th grade breakfast celebration on the last day of school.

(Note: this fee takes the place of separate t-shirt and dvd fees that were collected in the past).

Any questions? Contact Tammy Travis (tamara_irwin@yahoo.com).

Commemorative DVD for 4th Graders: Pictures Needed

Please send pictures of your 4th grader’s Lincoln years to Jenn Meyer (jmeyer AT ajenda.com).

Last Chance to Give our Schools Feedback

Monday 4/18 is D90 Survey Deadline! 

You’re invited to participate in District 90’s Education for the Future climate survey, available here.  Conducted online through California State University, the survey is part of the District’s continuous improvement initiatives and analyzes the perceptions of our students, families, and staff.

The survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the workings of our schools by inviting participants to share their thoughts on important elements of school processes and practices. The insights shared will help advance understanding about the conditions of District 90 schools and will guide ongoing improvement.

Confidentiality will be maintained for all survey participants.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to assist District 90 with their efforts to maintain a high quality educational environment for all members of the school community.

Save-the-Dates for End of Year Celebrations

Mark your calendars now for Lincoln’s end of the year celebrations!

• Ice Cream Social & Yearbook Distribution: Friday, May 20 – 6-7:30 pm
• Field Day: afternoon of Friday, June 3 (last day of school)

Community Bulletin Board

Click here to find out more about community events, sports, classes and workshops.