The Lions' Pride

Our first school assembly will be Friday, August 29th at 8:20 for grades 1-5.

Please wear your grade level color to help us celebrate 5 years in our new building.

1st Red, 2nd Yellow, 3rd Blue, 4th Purple ,5th Green

Dear Lincoln Families,

What a special first week we’ve had together at Lincoln! On Thursday and Friday, our youngest learners officially joined us, and it was such a joy to welcome all of our kindergarten students into the building. Their smiles, excitement, and energy reminded us why the start of the school year is such a meaningful time. They are now officially part of our Lincoln school family, and we couldn’t be more excited to watch them grow and learn this year.

Our older students also experienced a memorable start to the year. On Thursday, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders gathered for a motivational assembly led by Elec Simon. Mr. Simon, a gifted performer and percussionist who spent over a decade with the hit Off-Broadway show STOMP, brought music, rhythm, and powerful energy into our gym. More importantly, he shared an inspiring message about respect, love, and believing in yourself. His words connected perfectly to the values we strive to live out each day through our PAWS expectations: Be Positive, Act Responsibly, Work Hard, and Show Respect.

As we reflect on this first week, we are so proud of how our students are already building relationships, learning routines, and showing Lincoln PAWS. Thank you, families, for your partnership and support in helping us start the year strong. Together, we are building a community where every child feels safe, valued, and inspired to do their best.

Sincerely,
Claire Giardino
Principal, Lincoln Elementary

As we begin the new school year, you may notice that your child is occasionally pulled out of class by our Reading Specialist or Math Specialist. These short sessions are designed to help students “dust off” important skills from the prior year and make sure they are ready to dive into new learning.

This early review gives our specialists a chance to support students in strengthening their foundation and building confidence as we start the year. Our goal is to ensure every child feels prepared, supported, and set up for success as they take on new grade-level challenges.

Thank you for partnering with us in your child’s learning—we are excited to see them grow this year!

To help our kindergarten students review colors, we will have color days at Lincoln. We invite your child to dress in these colors to help us celebrate on the designated day!

Monday- Brown

Tuesday- Red

Wednesday Yellow

Thursday- Blue

Friday- Green (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders wear your grade level color for the assembly)

Dear GJPS families,

During the 2025-26 school year, all students in kindergarten through 10th grade will participate in district assessments for reading and mathematics. These assessments, Acadience Reading K-6 and NWEA MAP, help us better understand each student's academic progress throughout the year.

• Acadience Reading K-6 measures early literacy skills.

• NWEA MAP measures student achievement and growth over time in reading and math. It also provides a way to compare our students' progress with that of their peers nationwide.

Students in kindergarten and first grade will take the Acadience Reading and MAP Math assessments, while students in 2nd through 10th grade will take both the MAP Reading and MAP Math assessments.

These assessments will be administered three times throughout the school year: once in the fall, winter, and spring. Your building principal will share the specific testing dates for your school. After each testing period, you will receive a report detailing your child's performance and growth.

The results from these assessments provide a valuable set of data that helps us create a more complete picture of your child's learning. This information helps our staff plan and deliver instruction that is tailored to meet your child's individual needs.

Please contact your child’s teacher or principal with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Tia P. Holliman

Director of Curriculum

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools

We are proud to share that GJPS is now an All-Star District in the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network. We believe that student success starts with school attendance, and our shared mission is to prioritize attendance by connecting our learning community to resources aimed at tackling chronic absenteeism.

By working together, we can keep our students in the game and set them up for success. At home, at school and in our community, families and caregivers make a difference in student behavior and can be positive role models for attendance.

Everyone — educators, parents and families, community partners, and even students, can do their part to tackle absenteeism. Take the Attendance Pledge, and help us spread the word to Stay in the Game!

September is Attendance Awareness Month. Do your part in ensuring you get to school on time and ready to learn! If you haven't done so already, take the pledge!

Pursuant to House Bill 410, student attendance is calculated in hours. This includes absences that have been identified as both excused and unexcused by the school, as well as planned absences. Being late or tardy to school does calculate into the total hours absent.

If your child is going to be absent for any portion of the school day, please notify the school. You may report an absence by using our Online Absence Reporting available in the Parent Portal in Infinite Campus. To enter a request follow these simple steps:

1.Log in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account.

2. Select your child’s profile.

3. Navigate to the Absence Request section.

4. Fill in the required information, including the date and reason for the absence.

5. Submit your request.

You will be able to view the status of your request using the View Requests button.

You may also call Lincoln 614-478-5555 or email our secretary at pedrottya@gjps.org

Welcome Back-to-School from Lincoln's counselors, Nick Rediger and Jenny Hayhurst. Mr. Rediger covers grades K, 2, and 4 and can be reached at redigern@gjps.org. Mrs. Hayhurst covers grades 1, 3, and 5 and can be reached at hayhurstj@gjps.org. Please see below for information on two programs we are offering.

Our school coordinates with Gahanna Residents in Need (GRIN) to provide the weekend supplementary food program for students. The program provides for students who are in need of help with food at home. If you would like to participate in this program, your student will receive a bag of non-perishable food items every Friday to bring home. If your child received a weekly bag last year, you will need to sign them up again this year. Please sign up here:

Weekend Food Program Sign-Up.

Please email hayhurstj@gjps.org if you are interested in the new student group

Kroger Community Rewards

Do you shop at Kroger? Add Lincoln Elementary PTO to your Kroger Community Rewards to help support our PTO! It doesn’t take away from your rewards or fuel points. Here is how to sign up in the mobile app:

Stay Connected

• Facebook: Gahanna Lincoln Elementary PTO

• Instagram: Gahanna Lincoln Elementary PTO

• Website: Gahanna Lincoln Elementary PTO

• Google Calendar: Subscribe Here

Upcoming PTO Dates

• September 19th - Carnival (9am - 2pm)

• Volunteers Needed: SIGN UP HERE

• September 26th - Outdoor Movie Night (8:00 PM - 10:00 PM)

• October 17th - Walk-a-thon

October 24th - Trunk or Treat

7:50 AM Breakfast offered in the cafeteria for interested students. If you are a walker or car rider, students need to arrive by 8:00am for breakfast.

7:55 AM Students enter classrooms.

8:05 AM School starts - Students are to be in classrooms and ready to learn by 8:05 AM! Students entering the building after 8:05 AM will need to be signed in to the office by a parent/guardian.

2:35 PM Dismissal begins.

Dismissal Changes:- If you need to make changes to your child's dismissal on the day of, please call the office before 2:00 p.m. so we can ensure they receive the message.

For the safety of all students, please follow the provided drop-off and pick-up map for car riders. All vehicles must enter through the car loop, where we will be operating two lanes to help traffic flow efficiently.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping arrival and dismissal safe and orderly for everyone.

We want to inform you of an important update regarding the Infinite Campus Payment Portal. Beginning July 23, Infinite Campus is transitioning to “Stripe” as its new merchant service provider. This change affects how online payments are processed for food service accounts and student fees (including instructional, athletic and technology fees).

All families will need to update payment information and re-enter any recurring payments, as your previous data will not carry over to the new system.

1. Add Payment Method(s)

Payment methods are used for both food service and school fees. Your current payment information will not be transferred. For security reasons, you must manually re-enter your payment methods.

You can add:

• Credit/debit cards

• Bank accounts

  • To validate bank accounts:

    • Automatic Validation: Log into your bank to confirm.

    • Manual Validation: A 24-48 hour delay for confirmation.

Steps to Add a Payment Method:

1. Go to "Food Service" in the Infinite Campus menu.

2. Click on "My Accounts."

3. Select the "Payment Methods" box.

4. Click the blue "New" button, enter your info, and hit "Save."

2. Re-establish Recurring Food Service Payments

Recurring payments will not carry over for security reasons. You must reconfigure them using your newly established payment method.

Steps to Set Up Recurring Payments:

1. Click on "Food Service" in the Infinite Campus menu.

2. Select "My Accounts."

3. Click the "Recurring Payments" box.

4. Under "Food Service," click "View."

5. Set your frequency, amount and payment method.

6. Click "Save."

For more detailed instructions, including screenshots, please see the documents listed below. There are no other changes to the way you experience online payments.

We appreciate your attention to this important update. If you have any questions or need help, please fill out the Infinite Campus Help Form.

How to Add Fee Payments to Infinite Campus

Parent Portal Annual Update - Beginning August 1

Infinite Campus is our parent portal and student information system. This site will allow parents/guardians to access school information electronically. For example, Infinite Campus will allow you to update email addresses and other important information regarding your child as well as view your child's report card electronically.

ALL Families need to update your information in the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus. Directions for how to update Infinite Campus are linked below:

1. Log into the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus at: https://gahannajeffersonoh.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/gahanna_jefferson.jsp

2. Click MORE from the left hand column

3. Click on ONLINE REGISTRATION from choices on the right

4. Click START next to "Existing Student Registration"

5. Go through each step to complete the registration

If you need assistance - please call the school office at 614-478-5555.

Bus Transportation

Your students' bus route for the 2025-26 school year is available on Transfinder. The web-based service provides Gahanna-Jefferson families 24/7 flexibility and access to route information based on their home address!

Be sure to enter only the street number and street name. Do not enter zip code, grades or school. (Entering more than the street number and name may cause inaccurate information to display.)

When you receive your bus information, please check over it carefully. If something does not make sense, please contact transportation at (614) 751-7581.

We are excited to offer the mobile device app Here Comes the Bus. This app allows families to view the real-time location of your child's school bus on a smartphone, tablet or computer using GPS technologies with which each school bus is equipped.

How to Get Started with Here Comes the Bus:

1. Download the Here Comes the Bus app or visit www.HereComesTheBus.com.
2. Click the “SIGN UP” button at the bottom of screen.
3. Follow directions on screen to create an account using the GJPS school district code: 29231
4. You will be sent an email to verify your email address and activate your account.
5. Return to app and add your child’s last name and STUDENT ID number.
   (STUDENT ID NUMBER IS THE SAME AS STUDENT CAFETERIA PIN NUMBER)
6. Click “ADD STUDENT” to add other children in your household.
7. You are now ready to begin following the location of your child’s bus!

A plate lunch is $2.75.

Breakfast is $1.50.

*New this year - 2 hot lunch options will be available for students to choose from for lunch each day. Please see the lunch menu for details. Students not interested in the hot lunch options will be able to select Yogurt/roll, Wowbutter sandwich, Garden Salad, Cheese Sandwich, or a Turkey Sandwich.

Families are again asked to complete and submit a 2025-2026 Free/Reduced-Priced Meal Application if they believe they may qualify. Applications are available in the Lincoln school office or online at: GahannaSchools.org. If approved, the completed application will cover the student for the entire 2025-26 school year, and no other steps will be necessary unless there is an income change during the school year.

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Food Service Department is committed to assisting families and making this transition back to normal operations as easy as possible. Please feel free to contact Food Service Supervisor Stephen Ismael (Ismaels@gjps.org) if you have any questions.

GJPS Elementary Student Handbook 25-26

Wit & Wisdom is our English Language Arts curriculum.

Here is a Curriculum Overview for Families.

Bridges is our Mathematics curriculum.

Check out Bridges Family Information if you would like to learn more by clicking on your child's grade level.

Ohio State Testing Dates are ready for the 2025-2026 school year. Please avoid scheduling vacations or appointments over these dates.

September 1 Labor Day No School for Students and Staff

September 18 First Grade Vision Screening

September 30 Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 1 Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 2 Professional Learning Day for Staff - No School for Students

October 3 Conference Comp Day - No School for Students and Staff

October 17 End of Quarter 1

October 20 Staff Work Day - No School for Students

October 24 Report Cards for Quarter 1 go home with students