Lincoln Families,

Happy Fall!

Hopefully your family was able to keep cool during our late September heatwave! Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures, I hope you were able to enjoy some time with your kids this weekend. I enjoyed having my brother and sister-in-law in town and spending some time out on the lake with friends!

The coming week looks to be another steamy one at the Lincoln School Sauna. Please know on these days of excessive heat we do our best to make sure your kids stay cool and hydrated. Additionally we rotate classes through the air conditioned areas of the school to provide relief as well. Fortunately, by mid week the weather looks to become more seasonal.

The village of River Forest is planning some pavement re-construction that will impact areas adjacent to Lincoln, Roosevelt and Willard Schools in the coming weeks. Weather permitting, this work is scheduled to be completed on Franklin Ave adjacent to Lincoln on October 4-5. In coordination with the village this work will hopefully be completed after student drop-off and before student pickup (between 8:30 and 2:30 PM). Attached are two fliers from the village outlining this project. 2017 Pavement Rejuvenation Map    Construction Notice

Finally, last week was a busy week of professional development for our staff. Early last week our K-2 teachers kicked off year two of our partnership with the Teachers College of New York. Through this partnership, consultants from Columbia College visit D90 schools and provide job embedded professional development for our staff in the content area of writing to support continued implementation of the writing units of study. 3-4th grade teachers will receive similar professional development in early October. Additionally, during Friday’s early release all D90 staff participated in professional development hosted by the National Equity Project and focused on best practices of inclusivity and equity in our schools. Each of these learning opportunities  provide us as educators with tools that enhance our repertoire of instructional strategies and continuously improve our schools.

As always, please never hesitate to reach out if there is anything I can do to better support your kids or your family. Thanks for your continued support of our Fine Fine School! Have a great week. CG

Calendar

Tuesday, 9/26:

• HEROBoys, 3:15-4:15 in the gym

Thursday, 9/28:

• Author visit: Justin Roberts
• Dine and Share at Nando’s Peri Peri – 4pm-10pm

Friday, 9/29:

• Fun Lunch – Pizza

Tuesday, 10/3:

• Picture Day (retakes 11/15)

News from the Library: Final Call for Justin Roberts Orders!

This is your final call for all Justin Roberts book and CD orders.  If you want an item personalized, please turn the attached order form in by tomorrow (Monday).  Justin Roberts Book Order Form

We’re looking forward to seeing him this Thursday!  We’ve been listening to his books and music during library time.  Students are excited to learn about his music and books and songwriting.  Can’t wait!!

Justin Roberts will be with third grade at 8:30 and with K, first and second at 9:25.  You are welcome to stop by (although we cannot accommodate younger children due to space limitations).

2nd Grade Coding Club – Register Now!

2nd Grade Coding Club with Mr. Taylor will begin on Monday, October 16 and extend through June.

Registration is NOW OPEN on the  PTO Web Store.

Due to space constraints only the club will be limited to 10 students.

A fee of $3.00 is asked to cover the pizza.

The class will meet Mondays in the LLC from 11:55 until 12:25 during lunch recess.

Here is a quick overview of the class.

The Introduction to coding will focus on the following:

1. Use of an iPad
2. Learning computer vocabulary
3. Introduction to simple computer programming
4. Discovering special languages that tell a computer what to do
5. Testing out their theories for moving around a game board
6. Develop a project  for the Smartboard to share with their class
7. Have fun

Calling all Yogis!

Adrienne Smith and Laurie Solberg of Family Flow Yoga will teach a yoga class for 1st – 4th grade students on Mondays in the gym. The program will provide children with an opportunity to foster greater self-awareness and improve their concentration and self-confidence. The team will introduce the children to the fundamentals of yoga and incorporate social-emotional themes.

When: Mondays 3:15 to 4:15 pm in the gym, dates are as follows: 10/2, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13
Space is limited to 22 students. $80 for 6 classes.
Registration is NOW OPEN on the PTO Web Store.

Questions? Contact Annie Bergin Dwyer at “loolatopiafairy AT gmail.com”.

Dine and Share at Nando’s This Thursday!

Check off your dinner plans for Thursday, September 28th and help support our school! Nando’s Peri-Peri will give 40% of all proceeds back to the Lincoln PTO. Simply print out the attached flyer and stop by between 4-10 PM at 1138 Lake St. in Oak Park. Thank you for your continued Lincoln PTO support!

Also, SAVE THE DATE for dine and share events at Lou Malnati’s on 10/25 and Hamburger Mary’s Hambingo on 11/14!

Picture Day Reminder – 10/3

Be sure to mark your calendar for Lincoln Picture Day – Tuesday, October 3. Order forms will be coming home with your student next week.

Art Appreciation Volunteers Needed!

Calling all Lincoln parents!  We still need Art Appreciation volunteers!!  Great opportunity to get into your child’s classroom.  Not a huge commitment but a really fun way to help the kids learn about art!

Please go to Sign Up Genius today.

Any questions?  Please contact Elizabeth Roginski (Elizabethroginski AT gmail.com).

Upcoming Green For Good Initiatives

Look@Your Lunch Week—October 2^nd-5^th

Have you ever been curious how much your child does (or does not) eat at lunch? Monday Oct. 2^nd-Thursday, Oct. 5^th, Lincoln students will bring home all uneaten food, recyclables and trash in their lunch boxes. Kids love to talk with their friends and can often be distracted from focused eating. So, a large amount of healthy food is thrown out each day! Parents are encouraged to “Look at Your (kids’) Lunch” and make any adjustments to pack a “just-right” size lunch in the future.

International Walk & Bike to School Day—October 4^th

Lincoln students and families are encouraged to participate in this international event!

Walkers and riders will be able to collect a t-shirt string to tie to their backpacks. Volunteers will be passing out the strings at both entrances of school,  Teachers will be counting how many students participated so we can see how we compare internationally with other schools!

Waste-Free Wednesdays start October 11^th

On all school days, students are encouraged to bring lunches that include as many items as possible that can be eaten, reused, recycled, or composted and as few items as possible that must be thrown away.  You can help your child pack his or her waste-free lunch by including only what your student can eat, using reusable containers or bags, or buying non-perishable foods in bulk. Each Wednesday, kids who bring a Waste-Free Lunch earn a hand stamp for their environmental stewardship. A waste-free lunch does not produce any landfill-bound waste. (Hint: wrappers, baggies, and packaging are the biggest culprits.)

Additional Waste-Free Lunch Tips:

Include:

• Reusable containers, forks, or spoons, foil or wax paper
• Whole fruits without packaging.
• Drinks in containers that can be reused, such as a thermos, or recycled such as a can.
• Snacks purchased in bulk & brought in reusable containers.
• Reusable ice packs.

Don’t Include:

• Individually wrapped snacks
• Plastic baggies that are not reusable
• Disposable forks and spoons
• Straws

One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest

Creative students who love planet earth will want to participate in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest to win prizes, a matching gift, and a film premiere at Chicago’s One Earth Film Festival in March 2018.

Link to high resolution video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nsYJE4PjNe4

Link to our contest details page which hosts the YouTube video: http://www.oneearthfilmfest.org/contest-details/

Sign Up to Volunteer in Your Child’s Classroom!

This year, the Room Parent Coordinators and teachers have decided to have parents sign up for any volunteer opportunities in your child’s classroom with Sign Up Genius instead of at Open House. This should provide all parents a more efficient way to volunteer for parties and activities in your child’s classroom such as holiday parties, field trip chaperones, classroom photographers and more…. please click here to sign up!

If you have any questions, please contact the Room Parent Coordinators,  Debbie Exner, “dkexner07 AT gmail.com”, or Nicole Lennie, “nicolelennie AT yahoo.com”.

Box Tops – Make a difference for our school!

Don’t forget to clip your Box Tops! Take a look at how much we can earn if everyone saved box top coupons each month.

Need a place to help keep track of your coupons? Print out a collection sheet here.

Please submit all Box Tops to your child’s classroom or feed our new Lincoln Box Top Monster in the office. Thank you for your continued PTO support!

Do you shop on Amazon.com?

Use AmazonSmile to make your purchases, and Lincoln Elementary will receive 0.5% of your purchases!

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Lincoln Elementary PTO every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization.

Click here to learn more about AmazonSmile. Click here for instructions on how to sign up. Any questions, please contact Missy Heintz (missyheintz AT gmail.com). Thank you for supporting your Lincoln PTO!

New Girl Scout Daisy Troop – Calling all Kindergarten Girls!

A new Girl Scouts Daisies group is forming for Kindergarten girls. We will be doing various activities and crafts, earn badges, and most importantly, make new friends, create memories and have fun. Our first troop meeting will be during the first week of October. Contact Anna Cook to sign up or for more details/questions you may have about the Daisies at “cook.anna AT ymail.com”. We hope you can join us.