Lincoln Lions Family Newsletter

Dear Lincoln Families,

Welcome back to a new school year! My name is Dionna Roberts, and I am your child's principal. With 24 years in education and four years as principal at Lincoln International Studies School, I am committed to supporting your child's growth. I earned all three of my degrees from Western Michigan University in Elementary Education, The Art of Teaching, and K-12 Educational Leadership, which reflects my dedication to continuous learning and excellence.

I am a proud mom of three wonderful young people who all attended KPS schools. My oldest daughter has graduated from college using the Kalamazoo Promise at Oakland University, my youngest daughter is currently utilizing her Promise dollars at Eastern Michigan University, and my son, the youngest, is a high school senior this year and will graduate from KPS Virtual this year (Class of 2027).

We are grateful for your continued partnership and support as we begin this next chapter together. Thank you for being an essential part of our school community. We look forward to a fantastic year ahead filled with learning, growth, and collaboration!

Lincoln Lions ROAR!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Roberts

🤎Lincoln Principal

The first day of school for the 2026-27 school year is August 31st. Every morning for arrival, students gather behind the school nearest the Parsons St. side. Students are lined up by class homeroom teacher across from the playground equipment. They stand in line and wait for the bell and signal to enter the building at 8:04.

IMPORTANT: There is NO PARKING in the bus lane on Parsons Street. You can park in the Mt. Zion parking lot, walk your student down to the crosswalk to cross over to the playground area. Please refrain from crossing your students in the middle of the street and walking in between busses. We want to ensure everyone's safety at all times.

On the first day, we will have community greeters and Lincoln Staff positioned to help point you in the right direction and get your little ones where they need to be. The first day will be a half-day of school. School begins at 8:04 am with dismissal at 11:20 am on half days (3:15 pm on full days).

If your child is being picked up at the end of the day for dismissal, they will be dismissed from the front doors closest to Parsons St. There will be a sign out front.

Important Announcements

• You should have received your child's bus information from the district transportation office. You may email the department here or call the office at (269) 337-0500. Hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days.

• Address Updates:
  At the end of spring, we mailed out report cards, and several were returned due to families moving. If you have recently moved, please ensure your address is updated in our system. You can reach out to our child accounting secretary, Ms. Lauren, for assistance at kannegieterlk@kalamazoopublicschools.net

• Classroom Schedules:
  Your child’s classroom schedules and specific procedures will be included in your teacher's first classroom newsletters once school starts. Be sure to look out for:

  • Physical Education days
  • Music days
  • Art days
  • Library days

  It helps if students wear tennis shoes on PE days, clothes that can get messy on Art days, and return library books on their library day. Our K-2nd grade students keep their library books at school for activities, while older grades will bring them home. We encourage them to return books as soon as they finish reading. If your child needs new gym shoes, you have the opportunity to order them through the First Day Shoe Fund (FDSF). More information about FDSF is listed below.

For those of you that are new or as a refresher for returning families, we ROAR at Lincoln!

• ROAR stands for Responsible, On Task, Always Caring, and Respectful
• Often teachers and staff will pass out ROAR tickets to students being role models and following our school's positive behavior expectations.
• The first week of school all staff will spend significant time modeling, reviewing and celebrating our positive behavior expectations for different areas including lunch, recess, hallway, office and bathroom expectations.
• If your child ever brings home a ROAR ticket make sure to give them lots of congratulations, and let them know how proud you are, that they are going above and beyond to build our caring Lincoln Lion school family!

During the first week of school, please check your child's backpack and folder for an important back-to school packet. Within this packet is important information including the education benefits form. This form needs to be filled out and returned to school as soon as possible. This helps ensure that we can continue to provide universal breakfast and lunch FREE of charge for ALL STUDENTS. Please help our school reach a 100% form return rate!

It was great seeing so many of our returning and new Lincoln families at our back-to-school meet the teacher event last week. Special thanks to all of our teachers, staff, and community partners who helped make it a huge success!

Grade Level Teachers for the 2026-27 School Year

Kindergarten: Mrs. Horn and Mrs. Meine

1st Grade: Ms. Lenehan and Mrs. Sims

2nd Grade: Ms. Grabiec and Ms. Wright

3rd Grade: Mrs. Herzig and Mrs. Kaiser

4th Grade: Ms. Beltran and Ms. Kasinger

5th Grade: Mrs. Buckley and Mr. Carter

Special Education Teachers: Ms. Avery and Mr. Phillips

Specials Teachers:

Art: Ms. Johnson (Ms. J.)

Music: Ms. Jordan-Rial

Physical Education: Mr. Horn, Mr. Negri, and Mrs. Zedrick

Behavior Support Staff: Ms. Dunning and Ms. Star

Home-School Support Specialist: Ms. Tina

Mrs. Zedrick will teach our Thursday morning PE classes here at Lincoln this year. She created the newsletter below to introduce herself!

This is a great opportunity to build your child’s home library with new books that will get them excited about reading, while also earning funds for our school. The easiest way to let your child shop the Fair independently is by creating a Book Fair eWallet through our school homepage. It’s easy to set up and easy for family and friends to add funds. With eWallet, you’ll also have the chance to contribute to Share the Fair™—the giving program that supports students at our school who need help buying books. Consider participating so that no child leaves the Fair empty-handed! Preview the books coming to the Fair by taking a 360° virtual tour via our school’s Book Fair homepage and explore the titles, watch video book trailers, and more. We can’t wait to see you at the Fair and help every student discover a book they’ll love!

Aug. 31st- First Day of School K-12 Half Day 11:20 Dismissal No PEEP

Sept. 1st- First Full Day of School K-12

Sept. 4th - No school for students

Sept. 7th- Labor Day No School

Sept. 14th- First Day for PEEP students

September 14-18 Scholastic Book Fair

Sept. 17th- Open House 5:00-6:30

Sept. 30th- FDSF Shoe Distribution

Oct. 20 PreK-12; no students

Oct. 30 PreK-12 half day; records day 11:20 Dismissal

Nov. 5. K-8 half day 11:20 Dismissal

Nov. 6 K-5 half day 11:20 Dismissal

Nov. 13 PreK-5; no students

Nov. 25-Nov 27 Thanksgiving Break; all buildings closed

Dec. 9 PreK-12; no students

Dec. 21 - Jan. 1 Winter Break

Email: robertsdn@kalamazoopublicschools.net
Website: http://lincoln.kalamazoopublicschools.com/
Location: 912 North Burdick Street, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Phone: 269-337-0640