Cougar Courier

Heart of Life Church was a wonderful support to our district during our Back-to-School Prep Week. They generously provided food and drinks for our staff throughout the week and also donated door prizes for our Back-to-School Bash. We are incredibly thankful for their continued generosity and the many ways they show their support for our school. Their kindness is a wonderful example of what it means to be connected as a community and to come alongside our staff and students. We are grateful to have Heart of Life Church as a valued community partner!

Place value is not only fun in third grade, but it's tasty too! Ryder Rushly is enjoying his small group Math lesson that included some yummy treats!

STUCO’s Cougar Hat Friday is about more than wearing your favorite hat! Proceeds help support the CTA Scholarship, which gives back to East Lynne alumni as they continue their education. It’s one small way our Cougars can help former Cougars with college expenses and invest in their next chapter.

Student Council (STUCO) gives students a chance to lead, serve, and make a difference in our school. Members help plan activities, build school spirit, serve others, and make East Lynne 40 an even better place to learn and belong. STUCO is open to our middle school students.

We’d like to take another opportunity to introduce Alisha Doe, our new Director of Instruction and Special Services, and share that the Special Services tab of our website has recently been updated and refreshed!

Alisha joined East Lynne 40 this year and is getting to know our students, staff, families, and the many pieces that make up our special services program. In her role, she will work alongside our staff and families to support students and help ensure they have the services and resources they need to be successful.

Our newly refreshed Special Services tab on our website is designed to make information easier to find and provide families with helpful resources, contacts, and information about the programs and services available at East Lynne 40.

We know that strong special services are built through communication, collaboration, and partnership between school and home. We’re looking forward to continuing that work with Alisha as part of our team. We invite you to visit the updated tab, explore the resources, and get to know Alisha a little better.

Welcome to East Lynne 40, Alisha!

Our STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) program continues to be a place where learning comes to life—sometimes quite literally! From our garden to our chickens, students have opportunities to learn through experiences that connect classroom concepts to the world around them.

Through the garden and chickens, students explore plant and animal life cycles, sustainability, responsibility, food production, and the importance of caring for living things. They plant, observe, harvest, ask questions, and see firsthand that learning is often a process that takes patience, care, and a little dirt under your fingernails. And we have some exciting news to help us keep growing! East Lynne 40 has been selected to receive a $3,500 Garden Grant! Our application was chosen from more than 800 applications across the United States and Canada. We are incredibly excited about what this will allow us to add to the hands-on learning already happening through our STEAM program.

But at East Lynne 40 STEAM class goes far beyond the garden. Students continue to work through the engineering design process—identifying problems, imagining possibilities, designing solutions, creating inventions, testing their ideas, and making improvements when something doesn’t work the first time. They are learning that mistakes aren't the end of the process; often, they're what lead to the next great idea.

We are so excited about this program and the opportunities it gives our students to create, investigate, problem-solve, collaborate, and discover. Whether they are harvesting something they grew, caring for our chickens, building a prototype, or working to solve a problem, our students aren't just learning about Science Technology Engineering Art Math —they are doing it! And we can't wait to see what they grow, build, create, and discover next.

Our Band and Choir students have some exciting opportunities ahead! From performances to special events, our students will have the chance to share their talents, build confidence, and make some great musical memories together. Mark your calendars, save the dates, and come cheer them on!

We’re continuing to look for ways to improve our playground and give students more opportunities to move, play, connect, and have fun together. With the generous support of our Parent Booster, our latest addition is a brand-new volleyball net! This new addition gives students another way to be active, learn a new game, work together, and enjoy time outdoors with friends.

We are grateful for our Parent Booster and their continued investment in our students and school. Improvements like this are a great example of what happens when our school community works together to create even more opportunities for kids. A new net, a new way to play, and another great addition to our playground!

Second graders read "First day Jitters!" by Julie Danneberg and illustrated byJudy Love. Then they created a graph about how the class felt on the first day and drank some “jitter juice” to wash away any nerves

We are excited to continue our partnership with OPAA! this year! Just a few reminders as we get the year underway:

1. Students will have opportunities each day to purchase à la carte items, such as chips, Rice Krispies Treats, and snack bars.
2. You can find our monthly menus on the school website in the bottom right corner, and money can be added to your child’s meal account through the parent portal.
3. Families who would like information about Free and Reduced-Price Program are encouraged to contact the school office.

As part of ongoing support for families, your child’s school is offering a series of classes for

parents and guardians through a partnership with the Behavior Intervention Support Team

(BIST). These training sessions are designed to provide ways you can support your child’s

developing academic and behavior skills, as well as increase consistency between home and

school. These virtual classes are provided free of charge, however, we do ask that you please register through our website on or before Tuesday, September 15th. Instructions for registration are

below.

BIST Virtual Parenting Series

• 5:45 PM - 6:00 PM Enter Zoom Waiting Room
• 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM Informational Session
• 6:45 PM – 7:00 PM Questions and Answers

***All times are Central Time***

1. 9/17- “Oh, My Words!: Being Intentional with What We Say and How We Say It”
2. 9/24- “Grace: What it IS and What it ISN’T”
3. 10/1- “Accountability: Going Beyond Admission to Ownership”

These classes are designed to:

•  Create consistency between school and home
•  Provide language for adults to use when redirecting children
•  Share ways to problem solve to increase your child’s success
•  Increase generosity and kindness in your children
•  Bring a sense of calm to your home

Please join us for any or all three sessions!

To register for this class:

1. Go to http://BIST.org

2. Click Log In on the home screen.

3. If you already created a username by previously enrolling in a BIST class, just log in on

this screen.

4. If you have never registered for a BIST class, enter your information (Name, Email, and

a Password). This will register you on the website, but not for the class.

5. At the top of the page, use the dropdown menu called “Classes.” Click “Training

Calendar.”

6. Select the class you wish to attend (Parenting with BIST). Click “Register” under your

preferred class.

7. Fill out the required questions and click “Register.”

8. On the checkout screen, complete the billing details even though this is a free class.

9. Click “Place Order.” The Order Details page is your confirmation of registration.

10. You will receive an email containing the Zoom link for the training sessions on

Wednesday, September 16th.

a. If you have not received an email containing the Zoom link by noon on

September 16th, please contact our office at bist@cornerstonesofcare.org for

assistance.

Who says math has to stay on paper? First grade students are thinking, solving, drawing, and explaining their reasoning right on the tabletops! Turning the table into a workspace makes math warm-ups a little more engaging—and gives students the freedom to try an idea, erase it, and try again.

Sometimes a simple change in where we do the learning makes learning even more fun!

As we start the year, we want to remind families to keep an eye on our district calendar and our events tab for upcoming activities and important dates. As a four-day school, our regular school week is Tuesday–Friday, but there are a few Mondays on the calendar this year. We had one during the first week of school, and students are also scheduled to attend:

• the Monday before Thanksgiving
• one Monday in March (3/1)
• the Monday of our final week of school

We also use Mondays as snow make up days as needed.

As a reminder, our regular school day is 8:00 AM–4:00 PM. For the most current information on school days, activities, and events, visit our online event calendar:

East Lynne 40 Events Calendar

Save the page and check back often to stay connected with what’s happening at East Lynne 40!

Our ELS Art Club gives students another opportunity to explore their creativity, try new techniques, and express themselves through art!

Art Club is open to students in 1st–8th grade and meets after school. To give students plenty of time to create and explore, the club is divided into two groups:

• Grades 5–8: First semester
• Grades 1–4: Second semester

Students will have opportunities to experiment with different materials, develop their artistic skills, work on special projects, and simply enjoy creating alongside other students who love art and your favorite art teacher.

Sign-up is required, We can't wait to see what our young artists create this year!

September 1-15 SCHOOL STORE FUNDRAISER

September 2 - STUCO Meeting (7:15 AM)

September 3 - Parent Booster Meeting

September 15 - Donuts with Grownups

September 16 - FALL PICTURES

September 18 - STUCO Elections

September 23 - ART CLUB (grades 5-8)October 1 - Parent Booster Meeting

October 7 - STUCO Meeting (7:15 AM)

October 8 - DRAMA CLUB

October 21- ART CLUB (grades 5-8)

October 22 - DRAMA CLUB

October 23 - First Quarter Ends

October 26 - Parent Teacher Conferences

October 30 - Fall Class Parties

October 30 - Fall Festival

October 30- Middle School Masquerade Ball

November 4 - STUCO Meeting (7:15 AM)

November 4 - Picture Make Up Day

November 5 - DRAMA CLUB

November 5 - Parent Booster Meeting

November 7 - All District Choir

November 12 - Chilli Cook Off & Veterans Day Concert

November 18 - ART CLUB (grades 5-8)

November 19 - DRAMA CLUB

November 23 - MONDAY - School is in session

November 24 - MATH FAIR

November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break

December 1 - AMI PACKETS SENT HOME

December 2 - STUCO Meeting (7:15 AM)

December 3 - Parent Booster Meeting

December 9 - ART CLUB (grades 5-8)

December 9 - DRAMA CLUB AUDITIONS

December 10 - K-4 Christmas Show

December 12- All District Band

December 21-January 1 - Winter Break

January 8 - End of Quarter 2/First Semester