September Lincoln Weekly Update

What's Happening This Week:

Good afternoon, Imagine Lincoln Family,
Thank you for an outstanding start to the school year! Your energy, preparation, and care for our scholars are shining. Please review the details below for upcoming school events and important beginning-of-year updates and reminders.

Principal Richardson

“Character grows when home and school meet in respect.”

Reminders & Updates:

Arrival: School doors open each morning at 8:05 a.m. Please ensure scholars arrive on time, ready for the day.
Coat Drive: Our annual Coat Drive is quickly approaching! Join us on October 11th at Iverson Mall in partnership with WHUR to support families in need as we prepare for the colder months.
Thank You: We deeply appreciate your participation in last week’s Board Meeting, Principal’s Meeting, and growing PTO. Together, we are building strong momentum for a successful school year.
PGCPS Closure: Please note that schools and offices will be closed on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership as we work together to ensure every scholar at Imagine Lincoln thrives.

This week’s special emphasis is student safety at arrival. Please do not drop scholars off early or leave them unattended before school opens. We’ve observed students arriving as early as 7:30 a.m., when no teachers or office staff are on duty. Unsupervised arrival is unsafe and creates risks we cannot accept.

We are exploring steps to prevent early entry. We’d prefer not to make additional operational changes, but our top priority is student safety. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure scholars arrive only when supervision begins.

Why this matters (policies & guidance):

PGCPS sets procedures to ensure student safety and supervision during arrival/dismissal; students should be supervised during these times (see AP 5090). PGCPS
The district emphasizes regular attendance and early intervention for truancy (Board Policy 5113). Timely, supervised arrival supports both safety and attendance. PGCPS+1
County guidance states that young children may not be left alone in public places (for example, children under 8 cannot be left unattended). Prince George's County
Additional PGCPS procedures reinforce that students must not be left unsupervised during school-managed activities. PGCPS

Thank you for being an essential part of our village and community. With your help, we can keep every scholar safe.

Dismissal Classification

PGCPS 2025-26 Calendar

We are excited to share that a new school website will be launching soon. We heard your suggestions and are working hard to make improvements that will provide clearer communication, easier access to resources, and updated information for our families.

Thank you for being such an important part of our village and community. Your partnership and feedback help us grow stronger together in service of our scholars.

Stay tuned for more updates—we can’t wait to share the new site with you soon!

Excused Absence Form

Please use the Excused Absence Form (link above) to document your child’s absences. Kindly refrain from leaving messages on ClassDojo, as the chat is not monitored by staff authorized to approve absences.

In addition to completing the form, please send an email to your child’s teacher for proper documentation.

📌 Truancy Reports will begin this week for scholars who have been absent several days without proper excused notification, in alignment with PGCPS policy.

Dear Parents & Guardians,

We kindly urge all families to ensure that scholars arrive to school on time each day. Please remember that students are marked tardy after 8:30 AM.

Arriving on time helps scholars start the day successfully and ensures they don’t miss important instruction. Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s success!

🌍✨ Happy International Day of Peace! ✨🌍

📰 Counselor’s Corner – Weekly Update:

📣 Peace Poem Contest Winners Announcement!

Dear Imagine Lincoln Families,

In celebration of International Day of Peace, we held our annual Peace Poem Contest for scholars in Grades 3–8. We were inspired by the creativity, thoughtfulness, and heart that our scholars put into their poems about what peace means to them.

✨ Congratulations to our winners:

Azuri A.
Bailey B.
Joanne F.
Khaliah M.
Brooke S.
Kennedy M.
Marcus M.

Each winner will be recognized with a prize for their outstanding work. We also want to extend a special thank you to every student who participated—you truly reminded us that peace begins with each of us.

With gratitude 🌿🕊️

Mr. Porter

School Professional Counselor

🍎 Friendly Reminder, Imagine Lincoln Families! 🍎

Don’t forget to check your scholar’s lunch balance. Applications for Free and Reduced-Price Meals (FARMS) are now OPEN! 🎉

Completing the FARMS application not only ensures every scholar has access to healthy meals, but it also brings valuable resources to our school community. 💙

✨ We encourage ALL families to apply—even if you’re unsure if you qualify! ✨

👉 Apply today: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict

📩 Need help or have questions? Please contact me at mark.blake@pgcps.org
—I’m happy to assist!

Mr. Blake

Dear Imagine Lincoln Families,

A gentle reminder that, per PGCPS policy, parents/guardians are responsible for picking up their scholar on time each day at dismissal. Please plan accordingly so scholars are not left waiting and staff can maintain a safe, orderly end to the day.

If you need care beyond dismissal, after-care options are available at the link below:

Before/Aftercare Resources

Strong attendance is the key to student success. Students should be in school every day and on time. Students are marked tardy after 8:30 AM.

✅ Attendance Incentives

Monthly Celebrations: Perfect attendance and fewer than 2 tardies (lawful or unlawful).
Quarterly Administrative Incentive Trips: Students must have no major discipline infractions (i.e. administrative time-out, in-school or out-of-school suspension, fewer than 3 lunch infractions), and fewer than 4 absences (lawful or unlawful).

👥 Attendance Policy 👥

Please be advised that Imagine Lincoln follows attendance policy AP 5113.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of school days, whether absences are lawful or unlawful.
Families will receive notifications for all absences regardless of type.
Documentation must be submitted within 3 days of the absence.
After 3 absences within a quarter, whether or not consecutive, our teachers will notify you via email or send you a “Notice of Concern”.
After 4-5 absences, a letter from school administrators will be sent and a parent meeting will be scheduled to develop an attendance plan of action.
Our final step is referring the family to our Pupil Personnel Worker for support, and then we will proceed with the withdrawal process.
Chronic absences: 4 in a quarter, 9 in a semester, and 18 in a year. Parents, please send a note or email within 3 days of your child returning to school.
Unlawful absences: Students will be given assignments, but grades will not be recorded.
Please note that vacations and out-of-state sporting events & competitions are unlawful absences.
If your child participates in a paid performance (commercial, play, TV, etc.), proper documentation and student work permits are required; otherwise, the absence will be marked unlawful.

When your child is absent, please complete the form here:. If sending written documentation, also provide a copy to Ms. Holmes, who maintains all official attendance records.