5/1 Lincoln Log

Lincoln Families,

I hope you had a great weekend. It is hard to believe that we’ve turned the calendar to May and only 24 school days remain!

I suppose it is fitting as we begin the final month of school that we spend our annual Staff Appreciation Week paying tribute to the teachers, aides, custodians, nurse, secretary, and all the other people that make our Fine, Fine School run so smoothly.  To the common eye, one might think that the operating functions of a school like Lincoln are as simple as arriving each morning, unlocking the doors, letting the kids in, going to lunch/recess, and dismissing kids home. However, those routine tasks don’t begin to scratch the surface of the of labor, planning, emotion, passion, and commitment that each staff member contributes to make Lincoln the best school around. The theme for this week’s celebration of our staff is appropriately titled, “You’re Out of This World!”  Therefore, in addition to all the fun surprises the PTO has planned for our staff this week, I encourage you to take a minute to write a note, send an e-mail, or make a phone call to any of the Lincoln School staff members who so fully give of themselves to make our school such a fine, fine place for kids to learn!

On Friday, we celebrated Arbor Day at Lincoln by partnering with the Village of River Forest to plant a Black Tupelo tree on the Park Ave. playground adjacent to our newly planted and landscaped Native Garden. Here are a few pictures from these exciting events!

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Congratulations to our 3rd and 4th grade students who have completed PARCC testing. They did an amazing job persevering through the past two weeks. This week we will complete make-up testing for any students who may have been absent during any units of PARCC.

As we continue planning for the 2016-17 school year, here again is a link to the family input form for next year’s class placements.  Placement Request Letter Please have any feedback you wish to share submitted by the end of school on Monday, May 2. This is an optional courtesy for families and not required.

As mentioned last week, we are excited to partner with the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society in their book drive that will provide the gift of literacy to children in our community. Please see the attached flyer for this opportunity and look for more information in the coming weeks.  Book Drive Attachment

Finally, please be sure to read an important message below from our school nurse, Erin Godellas, regarding student allergy information related to food and parties. There was an incident involving food/parties this week which prompted this gentle reminder of vigilance regarding the all-important safety of our students.

Thanks for your continued support of our school. Please never hesitate to let me know if there is ever anything I can do to support you or your family. Have a great week ahead and don’t forget to take some time to celebrate our Fine, Fine Lincoln School Staff!

CG

4/29 Spirit Wear Winners:

1st and 2nd Grade: Mrs. Neilson

3rd and 4th Grade: Mrs. McCole

Calendar

Monday, 5/2

  • PTO Meeting @ 8:45 am, River Forest Village Hall Community Room, 400 Park Avenue.  All are welcome!
  • Heartworks meeting – lunch/recess in the multi-purpose room
  • Tennis for 3rd & 4th
  • Yoga

Tuesday, 5/3

  • Girls on the Run

Wednesday, 5/4

  • Tennis for 1st & 2nd
  • Habitat Helpers – Grades 1 and 2

Thursday, 5/5

  • Girls on the Run

Friday, 5/6

  • Clothing resale drop-off – 3:20-6:30pm
  • Lincoln Spirit Day
  • Fun Lunch: PIZZA

cheese pizza

Saturday, 5/7

  • Clothing resale 10-1
  • Green4Good Recycling Extravaganza – 8-1

Important Message from Nurse Godellas

Families, please remember if you choose to send something in to celebrate your child’s birthday, ALL items must be NON-food items.  We ask this to go along with District 90’s Wellness Initiative in addition to District 90’s commitment to keeping kids with food allergies safe.  You can also find more about this in your Parent Handbook.  If you send something in to be distributed that contains food, we will not be able to distribute the items.  If you are in any doubt, please ask your child’s teacher or the school nurse.

As the end of the year approaches and end of year parties are being planned, PLEASE remember our food safety rules.  All food must be store bought or from a licensed commercial kitchen.  No food can contain any type of nut or be manufactured in a facility that produces nuts.  In addition, classes have food allergies that are class specific.  No food can contain any of these allergens or be manufactured on equipment shared with these allergens.  You can get a list of your class’s food allergies from your classroom teacher or the school nurse.  Food may not be prepared in any way in your home.  Pinterest has many cute and adorable ideas, but these should be saved for home.  Fruit may not be cut, and food projects may not be assembled in any way in your home to avoid possible cross contamination.  If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Erin Godellas at godellase@district90.org.  Unfortunately, food that does not follow these specifications will not be served.  Thank you for keeping all of our students at Lincoln safe.

Five, Four, Three, Two, One…Blast off! Get ready to celebrate STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK!

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This week, we will be honoring our Blue Ribbon School’s exceptional teachers and staff with a celestial celebration. Every day the PTO will provide Lincoln staff members with tokens of our appreciation for all they do to put our school in another stratosphere, and help our children become some of the brightest stars in the sky.

Please remember to take a moment to express your gratitude to our teachers and staff for all they do daily to make our students feel out of this world. Let’s let Lincoln teachers and staff know that we think they are the best in the universe!

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

Kids Resale Event

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).

We need volunteers!  Love resale shopping?  Sign-up here to help out with this event.

Heartworks & The Animal Care League

The next Heartworks project has been changed to Tuesday, May 10. We will visit the Animal Care League in Oak Park after school. A sign up sheet, waiver and more details will be sent to your email. If you have questions, please email Christine Khaledan at: chrissy_conroy@yahoo.com.

Green4Good – Earth Week Success!

Earth Week @ Lincoln was a HUGE success last week thanks to YOU!!

YOU–walked with your kids or encouraged your kids to walk/bike or dropped your kids at a Walking School Bus Stop

YOU–packed zero-waste lunches all week last week

YOU–reminded your kids to wear green and made sure the green shirt was clean all week last week

The Green4Good Committee says:  Thank YOU!!!  and Keep it up! Another BIG Thank YOU to the teachers, staff and principal of our fine school for participating in the walk-to-school effort by meeting our walkers and bikers at the 4 corners of the school!! Also, If you did not hear–the 1st and 2nd Graders were the winners of the Waste Free Lunch Challenge by averaging 76% waste-free lunches!!  WOW!! 3rd and 4th graders also did an awesome job, averaging 57%.

Next up will be our School Supply Collection on the very last day of school, June 3rd.  We will be collecting used school supplies and donating them to the Maywood School District.  We hope you will participate!

Time to Spring Clean for Green4Good Recycling Extravaganza!

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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.  The event is free, but this year due to the electronics recycling market, there will be a $10 fee (per car; cash only) for anyone who wants to drop off televisions or computer monitors, with a limit of one of each such item.  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.

Shop & Share at Good Earth Greenhouse: Friday May 13 through Sunday May 15

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Getting ready to do some spring planting? Good Earth Greenhouse on Madison Street has generously agreed to donate ten percent of pre-tax sales during the weekend of May 13-15 to the Lincoln PTO.

Just mention the Lincoln Elementary PTO Shop & Share when you make purchases at Good Earth any time May 13, 14 or 15.

Make the world a greener and more beautiful place and Good Earth will share the “green” with the PTO.   Thank you for your supporting a local business and the Lincoln PTO!

D90 Free Early Childhood Screening on Saturday, May 14th

Early Childhood Screening takes a developmental snapshot of children between the ages of 3 and 5 in the areas of hearing, vision, coordination, speech, cognitive development, and social and emotional skills. See the attachment for details.  Early Childhood Screening 2016

2016-2017 Lincoln PTO Opportunities

We still need volunteers to be in charge of the Yearbook,  3rd & 4th Grade Theater Club, and 4th Grade Lunchtime Leaders for next school year. Please consider sharing your talents with our school community.  We cannot run Theater Club or produce a yearbook next year unless we fill these positions.

Lunchtime Leader Job:  conduct a one-time training and set up a monthly schedule for 4th grade volunteers to help out during 1st & 2nd grade lunch. Questions?  contact Dee Dee Carr  “dwn1878 AT gmail.com” or Annie Bergin Dwyer  “loolatopiafairy AT gmail.com”

Yearbook Co-Chairs:  Organize a team of volunteers to digitally publish a custom book showcasing classrooms & school/PTO events. Plenty of creative license; opportunities include work at home and be “hands-on” at school. Review the monthly details of the project here: Yearbook Project Scope.

Theater Club:  Teach 3rd & 4th Graders fun acting games & exercises for one hour a month, after school in the auditorium.  Please contact Amy Dwyer at amyAdwyer AT gmail.com.

The Lincoln PTO’s Spring General Membership Meeting will be held at the Ice Cream Social on Friday, May 20th. Click here PTO SLATE 2016-17  to see the current proposed slate.

Most areas have room for another co-chair or co-officer; if you would like to learn more about a particular activity or role, please email Tammy Travis at “tamara_irwin AT yahoo.com” or Amy Dwyer at “amyadwyer AT gmail.com”.

Have an idea to share? Curious about what’s going on with the PTO?  Please come to the next PTO meeting tomorrow, Monday, May 2 at 8:45 a.m.  Location: River Forest Village Hall Community Room, 400 Park Avenue.

Ice Cream Social & Yearbook Distribution

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Friday, May 20  6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Join the Lincoln School community for its last and loved end-of-the-year event at the annual Ice Cream Social and Yearbook Distribution on Friday, May 20th from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Families can enjoy a Brown Cow ice cream sundae – complete with whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate sauce and a cherry for $2.50 – while students walk about the Franklin Avenue grounds gathering signatures of friends and teachers.

In the event of inclement weather, please gather in the gym.

For more information, contact Jennifer Moore jenniferandrichmoore@hotmail.com or Katie Moroney moroneykatie@yahoo.com.

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

News about ordering School Supply Kits for Roosevelt’s incoming 5th Graders is COMING SOON

Save yourself a few shopping trips this summer and get exactly what the Roosevelt teachers asked for, all in one simple on-line purchase! An announcement will be going out shortly when you can officially purchase the Supply Kits online for incoming 5th graders. Once the link goes live for ordering, orders will be accepted online only, and only until Thursday, 5/26. Stay tuned! Please note that orders for the incoming 5th graders is not to be confused with any orders previously placed for Lincoln or Willard students.

Questions? Please contact Vickie Freund: vmfreund@sbcglobal.net

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

Drumming - PicWould 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 AT gmail.com”.

Sincerely, 4th Grade parents – Lurana Brown (Drumming Queen), Amy Tomaso (Maypole Queen), Dee Dee Carr (assistant to the Queens)

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 AT 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).

Community Bulletin Board

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