Lincoln Families,

Happy Summer! Welcome back to school! I hope you and your family enjoyed the exceptionally beautiful weekend here in Chicago. I enjoyed hanging out with friends and soaking in the final weekend of summer. While it’s always bittersweet to see summer draw to a close, I’m very excited to welcome your kids back to Lincoln on Thursday!

Hopefully, by now you have received your child’s class placement information. If by some chance you didn’t receive it, please let me know I will be sure to send you that info.

Don’t forget tomorrow evening, August 21, at 7:00 in the auditorium is our new family welcome meeting/orientation. If you are a new or returning family to Lincoln feel free to attend to learn more about day-to-day life at Lincoln. In the event you are unable to make it, below are some things to remember as we return to school:

School/Classroom Communication: If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to sign up to receive our weekly Lincoln Log family newsletter. Please go to https://lincoln.district90pto.org/ to sign up to receive this important weekly communication. Classroom teachers will also communicate with families on a consistent basis via class newsletters.

School Supplies: If you ordered School Supply kits from the PTO, those kits will be delivered to your child’s classroom for them to receive on Thursday.

Attendance: This year we are excited to introduce a new attendance line as well as attendance email. For your convenience please use these new systems as a way to communicate your child’s absence. Families will no longer contact the school nurse to report student attendance. The logistics of this e-mail and phone line are being completed and will be shared with families before the start of school.

Arrival: Students are encouraged to arrive no earlier than 8:00 each morning. There will be staff supervision at both the Park and Franklin entrances from 8:00-8:15 each day. The entry bell rings at 8:15 and the instructional bell at 8:20.

Dismissal: Dismissal is at 3:10 each day. Lincoln Staff will also supervise both the Park and Franklin exits from 3:10-3:25. This year at 3:25 we will ring one final bell signaling all students on the playground without a supervising adult to travel home. For student safety purposes, only students supervised by an adult should remain on the playground after 3:25. Students still waiting to be picked up will escorted to the office.

Car Pool Line: Please always remember to exercise caution in the car-pool lines and follow these important rules:

• Please refrain from parking in the line.
• Students should always exit the vehicle from the passenger side.
• Please wait patiently for the vehicle in front of you to proceed before exiting the line.
• Drive slowly in the school zones.

Walking and Biking:
Students in Grades 2-4 are permitted to ride their bikes and park them on the Franklin playground. All walkers and riders MUST ONLY cross streets where a crosswalk exists.

Lunch: The lunch period for 2017-18 will be 11:30-12:30.

• 11:30-12:00 1st and 2nd Grade: Lunch
• 12:00-12:30 1st and 2nd Grade Recess
• 11:30- 12:00 3rd and 4th Grade Recess
• 12:00-12:30 3rd and 4th Grade Lunch

Our Green 4 Good Committee actively promotes recycling, composting, and waste-free lunches. Therefore, please keep this in mind when preparing your child’s lunch. Accommodations are made daily for students with allergies. Please contact our school nurse for any allergies related to your child.

Nurse’s Office: We are so fortunate at Lincoln to have the amazing talents of Ms. Erin Godellas as our school nurse. Please reach out to her with any allergy or medical information regarding your child at Ext. 8034.

As always, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help or support your kids/family this school year. I am excited to see you and your kids on Thursday!

All my best – CG

Calendar

Monday, August 21: New Family Welcome/Orientation 7:00 PM

Thursday, August 24:

• First Day of School for 1st-4th Graders
• Back to School Coffee – 8:30-9:30 AM; 12:15 for kindergarten parents
• Kindergarten Orientation
  • 8:30 -AM Class
  • 12:30-PM Class

Friday, August 25:

• First Day of School for Kindergarten
• NO Fun Lunch

Sunday, August 27: Lincoln Links New Family Park Playdate – 10-11:30 AM at Lincoln playground (Franklin side)

Monday, August 28: First PTO Meeting of the Year – 8:45 AM in multi-purpose room

Tuesday, August 29: 2nd Grade Bike Safety – 3:10-4:30

Wednesday, August 30: 2nd Grade Bike Safety – 3:10-4:30

 

PTO Webstore is NOW OPEN

The PTO webstore is open – sign up now for FUN LUNCH and FLIP! You will need your teacher assignment and student ID to complete your orders.

Lincoln School’s Foreign Language Introductory Program (FLIP)

 

Registration for Lincoln School’s Foreign Language Introductory Program (FLIP) is now OPEN on the PTO webstore. FLIP instruction begins the week of Sept 11. Classes run for 28 weeks and tuition is $170. The schedule for 2017-18 is as follows:

Chinese Introductory/Intermediate: Thursday Lunch
French Introductory: Tuesday Lunch or Wednesday 315-4 pm
French Intermediate: Tuesday Lunch
French Advanced: Tuesday 315-4 pm
Italian Intermediate/Advanced: Tuesday Lunch
Italian Introductory: Thursday Lunch
Spanish Introductory: Tuesday Lunch, Tuesday 315-4 pm or Thursday 730-15 am
Spanish Intermediate: Monday Lunch, Wednesday Lunch or Thursday 315-4 pm
Spanish Advanced: Wednesday Lunch or Thursday Lunch

Bike Safety Training for Second Graders is Next Week

This is an informative and fun after school event for our second graders only! Officer Glenn Czernik of the River Forest Police Department conducts a fun, informative and hands-on-the-handlebars bike safety workshop at Lincoln Elementary. Second graders are strongly encouraged to complete the workshop before becoming regular bike riders for the remainder of their Lincoln Eagle days.

Register for this FREE CLASS on the PTO Web Store by Monday 8/28!

Kids will be outside for the second half of the workshop; please be prepared for the appropriate weather.

When: Tuesday, August 30th, OR Wednesday, August 31st
Time: Right after school until approximately 4:30 p.m.
Place: Meet in the Lincoln Auditorium (bikes can be brought in the morning & left locked at the bike rack outside the gym)
Bring: Bike with Lock Set and Helmet

Questions? Contact Andrew Lennie at “a_lennie AT yahoo.com”.

Lincoln Spirit Wear Available!

Show your Lincoln Spirit with Tshirts, hooded sweatshirts, shorts, backpacks and more while raising funds for our school.  The Lincoln PTO gets a percentage of the sales proceeds.

Please be on the lookout for a flyer in your child’s Friday folder this week.  Order online here or via check which can be dropped off with your order form in the school office. All orders ship to Lincoln and will be given to your child to bring home.  Please direct any questions to Jennifer Nelson (“jennifernelson77 AT gmail.com”).  Thank you for your support!

School Supplies

If you ordered school supplies, they will be waiting on your child’s seat on the first day of school. Check your order history on the PTO webstore if you cannot remember if you ordered school supplies.

Be a Lincoln Library Volunteer!

Do you love books?  Do you love to organize?  If yes, please consider becoming a Lincoln Library volunteer.  Over 25,000 books were checked out last year.  Of course, what goes out, must come back!  Volunteers are extremely vital to the library.  They help to get the books back on the shelves quickly so they can be checked out by new students.

The timing is flexible – either at beginning of the day (walk your kids to school and stay for a bit) or at the end of the day (come early and get a good parking spot).  Most volunteers come in weekly – but we are very flexible with schedules!

If you’d like more information, please contact Mrs. Brauweiler (“brauweilerd AT district90.org”) – she’d love to talk with you!

We Need Your Help!

There are many different ways to volunteer at Lincoln! You can sign up for one time volunteer slots at events like the pancake breakfast or for recurring volunteer slots like fun lunch. Some volunteer opportunities can be done at home while others take place at school or in the classroom.

The sign up genius page for Volunteer registration is NOW OPEN. Even if you can only commit to an hour a month, your help will be highly appreciated. We thank you in advance for your help!