Lincoln Staff Blog

💙 Way to bring the energy during our first week back! Our students are settled in and focused on learning. You have reviewed and maintained routines that will make these last 10 weeks feel normal for our students and, ultimately, helps us feel less stressed.

💛 If you need additional labels, we are getting more from Clarke. Let the office know if you need some! Please remember that there is no need to label desks and chairs as they will be put in the pods by classroom. If you have special furniture, such as couches, you may want to put a label on it.

💙 April 4th is our Kindergarten Round-up. This event will help us to have a better idea of numbers for next year. We know that everyone is anxious to know about movements that will occur in the building, but time will be needed after round-up to make those important decisions. I assure you that this is as big of a priority for me as it is for you!

This Week

P2: OPM: Cheering on others' success

SEL: Tier 2

4/03 Lisa at Ad Staff (9:00 - 10:30), Water Safety begins for 3rd grade, Trails

4/04 Fire Drill #4 at 10:45am, Kindergarten Round-Up at Brown 7-8pm

4/05 Late Start, 2nd Grade Rehearsal (1:55)

4/06 New Teacher Training 4:15

4/07 3rd-Grade Water Safety Ends

Next Week

P2: Humility

SEL: Tier 1

4/10 Lisa at Ad Staff (9:00 - 10:30), M-Step testing window opens- Scheduling details to come

4/11 Staff meeting 4-5pm

4/12 NO LATE START, 2nd grade rehearsal 1:55

4/13 New Teacher Training 4:15, Donuts with your VIP (Last Name A-K) 7:45 - 8:15 am

4/14 Donuts with your VIP (Last Name L-Z) 7:45 - 8:15 am

Future dates to know...

4/17 Book Fair Begins

4/18 Curriculum Release Day K-1

4/19 Curriculum Release Day 4-5, Second Grade Performance 2:00 - 2:30

4/24 Curriculum Release Day 2-3

4/25 Science and Culture Night 6 - 8 pm, School Bus Driver Appreciate Day

4/26 Secretary's Day, District Leadership Team

5/31 5th Grade Performance 2:00 - 2:30

On Wednesday, we celebrate Jen, Jenni, Grace, Daniel, and Jasmine on National Paraprofessional Day! Each and every day, they bring positivity to our most challenging situations. Thank you for showing up every day, ready to do challenging things without thinking twice. Our students and staff appreciate you more than any words can convey.

Since returning from break, many of your rooms are VERY bright. This is not an optimal learning environment, but none of you have complained at all--thank you for your positivity! The good news is that next year the lights will be completely dimmable whereas previously you could only shut off part of your lights. With the new dimmers, you can dim to the level you want which means no need for light covers in your room! Yay!

Our third graders will be heading to the high school pool on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week. Please note that Ettinger's class will have an adjusted time. They will eat and have recess with the Y5, K, and 1st-grade classes for those four days. There will be a substitute teacher in gym classes for those days.

We have two important events coming up at Lincoln, thanks to our motivated and caring PTO. These events help our families feel connected to us. Please take a moment to talk about these events with your students. Additionally, when students see our staff members at these events, they make connections with us and realize that learning is important. We all have very busy lives, but if you have some time to stop by that would be so appreciated!

Donuts with your VIP

This event is split into two days. Students with a last name beginning with A-K can come on April 13th, and students with a last name beginning with L - Z can come on the 14th. If there are multiple last names in the home, please tell your students to choose the best day for their family. Remind students that they can bring 1 VIP per family. And, please stop in and have a donut and say hello to our families!

Science and Culture Night

This is a new event for Lincoln! The PTO and I are very excited for this evening as our goal has been to increase engagement with families. This event will include various sessions throughout the evening. Students will rotate through sessions of their choice. They can look forward to:

*Krasl Art Center

*Glass Blowing

*Love Creek

*Whirlpool Women for Engineering

*Upton Planetarium--Jenna Francis

*Amy Dirlam

*Cook Nuclear Plant

All sessions will include hands-on activities. In addition, there will be two cultural tables. Again, please encourage your students to come and choose their own adventures that evening and join us if you are able!

MSTEP and NWEA are just around the corner. Updating chromebooks is the first step to resolving many testing issues. HERE is the link to manually check for Chromebook updates. Remember that we should be shutting computers down on Friday before charging and restarting on Monday so all new updates take effect.

As you know, our spring is looking a bit different because of construction. Lincoln will now have a half day of school on Tuesday the 6th. Our only full day of school that week will be on Monday, June 5th. To ensure that our staff has as much time as possible to pack, this year, we will be changing the layout and times of our field day/picnic/5th-grade kickball game and these events will all be combined into one event.

Please plan on the following events for that Monday:

*Demrhy and Michelle are planning to cook hot dogs for our picnic lunch that day. This is a special day, and we encourage our teachers to eat with your class that day.

*Field Day--this will be set up and run by the PTO this year. It will look different from your traditional field day, although some activities from the past will be utilized. There will be lots of fun additions, so stay tuned! Catherine is working hard to plan this day, and the specifics will be shared once she has more finalized. It is likely that lower elementary and upper elementary will do this at different times.

*5th Grade Kickball Game--this fun tradition will continue while classes gather outside to watch.

We are looking forward to continuing our work with Joe E. next month with the plan to complete our grade level specific Quick Glance Pacing Guides that are housed in our incredible math resource hub (also linked in our grade-level Classrooms). Our building secretaries are working hard to secure guest teachers for our time together. The schedule is as follows:

K (a.m.) / 1st (p.m.): April 18th
4th (a.m.) / 5th (p.m.): April 19th
2nd (a.m) / 3rd (p.m.): April 24th

We will meet in the central office conference room. The session times will be as follows:

8:30 - 11:30: A.M. sessions
12:30 - 3:30: P.M. sessions

The BEAR Team--Thank you for your patience, flexibility, and willingness to serve these students. So much growth is occurring because of you!

Katie M.--Thank you for sharing your artistic and creative abilities to make tools to help our students in their learning.

Jo-Anne--Each day this year, you have gone above and beyond to supervise students during their lunch times. Your communication with the family, teachers, and students is appreciated more than you know!

Our Paraprofessionals--Thank you for all you do on a daily basis to help ensure that all students are learning. We all agree that we could not do this without you--The Lincoln Staff

Our Lincoln Staff--Thank you for keeping business as usual and handling all things that came your way when we were out of the building on Thursday--Melaina, Tessa, and Lisa

Renee--You went above and beyond with a group of your students that truly needed your support. You made a huge difference for everyone in your class and specifically created an environment that made it so one student will want to come to school now.

Jenni--We appreciate you changing your schedule to help out on the playground when more supervision was needed!

Trena--Your flexibility with your assignment each day is appreciated!

Olivia--Your willingness to go to 5 days of TCI training is helping us with our mission to respond to students in a trauma-informed approach. We will be a valuable leader and resource for us next year!

Andria--Thank you for always having a smile on your face and staying positive. We love having you back at school!

Kelsey--Thank you for the way you care for our fifth graders. They feel noticed and heard in your room. Thank you for helping hold them accountable for their learning.

Jo-Anne--Thank you for coordinating the news team and all the work you do in the media center. Your smile and patience help all students feel welcome!

✔️ Look for your placement doc email

✔️ Work on class placement with your team and schedule a meeting with Lisa when you are finished.

✔️ Let Melaina know when your TWC documents are complete so she can review and have them ready for next year's teachers.

✔️ Schedule your M-STEP and NWEA Test sessions. Plan for any make-up times.

✔️ Email Mandy Mortimore with your lunch choice for your curriculum release day.

✔️ Read our Lincoln Family Blog to stay current on what families see from our school (not updated until 3:00 pm on Sundays)

Email: lknuth@sjschools.org
Website: www.sjschools.org
Location: 1102 Orchard Avenue, St. Joseph, MI, USA
Phone: 269.926.3700