Lincolnwood Elementary School

Hello Superstar Families-

Welcome to August! We hope that you have had a wonderful summer and can't wait to welcome students for our first day of the 26-27 school year on August 24th!

This is the first of our 26-27 Family Newsletters. These will generally be sent bi-weekly (although we will send more frequent updates in the lead-up to the first day of school) and will include messaging and information from both school and PTA leadership. This integrated approach to communication will replace the stand-alone weekly PTA Superstar News and monthly Family Newsletters from Lincolnwood leadership. We hope that this approach will help you stay informed without overloading your inbox!

There is lots of important information below including sign-ups for Kindergarten visit days, information on the first day of school and August family events, a call out for volunteers to paint the blacktop, fall sports registration, and some opportunities to donate goods or time to help Lincolnwood. Thanks for reading over everything and getting involved!

In partnership,

Laura & Kojo

Laura Pinsof, Principal

Kojo Sheppard, Assistant Principal

Hi Lincolnwood Families,

It’s going to be a great new year at Lincolnwood! Existing families are excited to welcome new students and our new families are excited for a fresh start (after a long year!) and getting to know their new school.

Whether you’re a returning family or a new one, we hope you’ll find a way to engage with the community through our PTA activities.

Please mark your calendars for 3 ways to get involved in August:

• Before school the school year officially opens, we could use some help to re-paint the stars and map on the Lincolnwood blacktop that was resurfaced over the summer. We’ll be meeting on August 10th and 11th from 5-7pm to paint and will take all the extra hands we can get to join us. Sign up here to donate paint and let us know you can join - or feel free to just show up if you can make it work! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0A48ACAD2FA5FF2-64939580-blacktop
  
  

• To officially kick off the year, join us for the Parent/Caregiver Welcome Coffee from 9-10am on the first day of school (8/24) outside near the school garden. This is a great chance to catch up with fellow Lincolnwood families new and old, ask questions and find out more about ways to get involved this year.
  
  

• To wrap up your child’s first week of school, please join us for the Back to School Block Party on Thursday, August 27th from 5-7pm on the Lincolnwood playground, for pizza, popsicles, music and fun!

Looking forward to a great year!

Annie Sutula & Katy Shapiro

Lincolnwood PTA Co-Presidents

Mon. 8/10: Power School Parent Portal Opens - Teacher Assignments Available

Mon. 8/10 & Tues. 8/11, 5pm-7pm: Paint the Blacktop!

Sun. 8/16, 3pm: 2nd grade Family Kickball & Popsicles @ Lincolnwood

Mon. 8/17: STEP & Gen Ed Kindergarten Student "Meet & Greet" Visit Day

Tues. 8/18: Gen Ed Kindergarten Student "Meet & Greet" Visit Day

Wed. 8/19, 7:30am-3pm: FREE Vaccine Clinic at JEH

Thur. 8/20: Deadline for Guaranteed Fall Sports Registration

Sat. 8/22:

• 10am: 1st Grade Family Playdate at Lincolnwood Playground
• 1pm: 4th grade Family Kickball & Popsicles @Lincolnwood
• 2pm: 3rd grade Family Kickball & Popsicles @Lincolnwood
• 3pm: 5th grade Family Kickball & Popsicles @Lincolnwood
• 4pm: Kindergarten Family Playdate at Lincolnwood Playground

Mon. 8/24:

• First Day of School!
• 9:00-9:45am: Parent/Caregiver Welcome Coffee on the Front Lawn

Thur. 8/27, 5pm-7pm: Lincolnwood Back to School Family Block Party

Mon. 9/7: NO SCHOOL for Labor Day

During the visit, students will play, do some learning activities, and meet with our Kindergarten team while parents/caregivers fill out a survey about their child and get to know other parents/caregivers.

• "Meet & Greet" Visit Days for Kindergarten students in the STEP program will take place on Monday, August 17th - please read over details and sign up HERE.
  
  
• "Meet & Greet" Visit Days for Kindergarten students in our General Education classes will take place on Monday, August 17th and Tuesday, August 18th - please read over details and sign up for a slot on one of these days HERE.

Lincolnwood is growing and we are in need of a few items for our staff lounge. Please let Laura know if you have any of the following gently used or new items to donate:

• A full size refrigerator
• A microwave
• A Keurig-type coffee maker

In addition, we are in need of a few helpers (parent/caregivers or middle or high school students) to volunteer to help us organize and label bins of extra clothes that we keep on hand for students to use throughout the year. If you or a teen you know loves to organize, we have the project! Please reach out to Laura to arrange a time to come in.

During the school year, Lincolnwood has a "rolling entry" starting at 8:50am.

The only exception to this plan will be the first day of school when students will line up outside of school to connect with their classmates and teachers and be walked into school. On the first day only...

• Homeroom teachers will be outside starting at 8:50.
• 1st and 2nd grade, Kindergarten STEP, and 1st-3rd grade STEP will line up on the blacktop (with the U.S. map and stars) by Door 5.
• All 3rd-5th grade (including STEP) will line up on the blacktop on the east side of the building near Door 4.
• Gen Ed Kindergarten will line up on the blacktop outside of the Kindergarten Breezeway near Door 7.
• All students who are taking the bus on the first day will be met by staff members and taken to their homeroom teacher when they arrive.
• On the first day, students who are eating breakfast at school will be able to pick it up when they enter the building with their teacher. However, if you would like your child to be dropped off for breakfast before 8:50, it will be ready as early as 8:30am and your child can enter the building by ringing the bell at Door 1.
• After drop off, parents and caregivers are invited to join our PTA for an outdoor Welcome Coffee on the front lawn near the Star Garden (off of Colfax).

Thanks to everyone who has been able to come out for our summer family playdates. See below for the final summer dates/times!

Lincolnwood is growing and we are so excited to welcome some new staff members and to welcome returning staff members into new roles! You can see a list of all of our 26-27 staff HERE.

• Lincolnwood educators moving into new roles include:
• Jacob Del Dotto - 3rd grade teacher
• Jennifer Tertulien - 4th grade teacher
• Marla Dobrin - 5th grade teacher
• Several IES teachers and paraprofessionals will be moving grade levels and will be in touch with the families of the students they are supporting before the first day.
  
  
• D65 staff members moving to Lincolnwood for the 26-27 school year include:
• Colleen O'Connor - 1st grade teacher
• Cheryl Prisebe - 2nd grade teacher
• Mike Liepitz - 5th grade teacher
• Music teacher Tiffany Bowen
• PE teacher Jeremy Rielley
• Occupational therapist Kathleen Maguire
• Computer science teacher Melissa Smoler (at Lincolnwood one half day/week)
• Psychologist Ernson Augustin (at Lincolnwood one day/week)
• Social Worker Renee Unizycki (at Lincolnwood one day/week)
• FACE Liaison Lachisa Barton (at Lincolnwood one day/week)
• Paraprofessional Steve Gustafson
  
  
• New to D65 staff joining the Lincolnwood team for the 26-27 school year include:
• 2nd grade teacher Ayanna Zedelashvili (nee Coleman)
• STEP Social Worker Kate Harris-Ferree
• Orchestra teacher Grace Nelson
• TBD new Lunch/Recess Supervisors

Please join us in welcoming all of these staff members into their 26-27 roles!

As we prepare for the 26-27 school year, we are still looking for a great Lunch/Recess Supervisor to join our team. This is a M-F, 10:30am-1:30pm position and is a wonderful role for someone looking for an opportunity to work with students in a fun, active job during school hours. If you or anyone you know is interested, please have them reach out to Assistant Principal Kojo Sheppard and/or apply HERE.

The Lincolnwood staff deeply understands how important it is for parents/caregivers to be connected to their children and that cell phones and smart watches offer an easy way to have that connection when children are at school. However, in the elementary school setting, we have found that cell phones and smart watches greatly distract students from learning, can expose children to inappropriate content, cause stress for students, and impede healthy social development.

We ask that, if at all possible, students are not sent to school with a cell phone, smart watch, or bluetooth headphones (such as AirPods).

If students have a phone, smart watch, or bluetooth headphones, we require students to keep the devices off and in their locker or classroom storage area for the entire school day. If you would like your student to have a watch, we encourage you to provide them with an analog (reinforcing learning to tell time!) or basic digital watch.

The one exception to this policy is if students need to have a cell phone or smart watch due to a health condition (e.g. monitoring glucose for a diabetic). In this case, families must provide a written request from a health care provider and collaborate with school staff on an individual plan.

If parents/caregivers would like to communicate with their child during the school day, they may call the main office and/or email the child’s teacher. Also, please let your child know that they can ask any adult to give them access to a school phone to call parents/caregivers during the school day and that all Lincolnwood adults know that this is allowed.

Lincolnwood offers two options for before and aftercare - Right at School and School Aged Childcare.

• At this point, School Aged Childcare (SACC) is full for the 26-27 school year with a waitlist. We recognize that SACC filling so quickly has caused significant frustration and worry for families. District leadership is working to expand SACC capacity at Lincolnwood (the current DCFS license is capped at 30 students) but this will be a long process.
• Right at School is still open for registration and families in need of before or after-care are encouraged to explore this option.
• Right at School also offers a wide range of elective Discovery Clubs for all students - stay tuned for these offerings!

Once you have decided on and registered for before or after-school options for your student, please let your child’s homeroom teacher know the plan for your student.

Lincolnwood encourages any interested parents to become approved to volunteer at the school! Staff will reach out about volunteer opportunities throughout the school year.

• There are two types of volunteers - limited (supervised) and comprehensive (unsupervised).
• Limited volunteers are only able to volunteer at school occasionally and must be supervised by school personnel at all times. Limited volunteers may not chaperone field trips.
• All interested Lincolnwood parent/caregivers are encouraged to become Comprehensive Volunteers if possible.
  
  

Here are the steps to take if you are interested in volunteering:

1. Fill out a Volunteer Form (Limited and Comprehensive)
2. Fill out a Background Check Form (Comprehensive)
3. Print and take this form to an Accurate Biometrics location. (Comprehensive)

Please see the attached flyer about an upcoming free vaccine clinic for D65 students.

Registration is now open for our Fall District 65 Sports Leagues!

To guarantee a spot in the league, participants must be registered by August 20.

Please note that all registrations must be completed online or in person at one of our Community Centers. We are unable to accept registrations over the phone, as a parent or guardian must sign the required waiver and code of conduct for each participant.

Families seeking financial assistance may contact scholarship@cityofevanston.org to learn more about our scholarship program. District 65 McKinney-Vento students are eligible for additional league discounts and should contact me directly at eeichholz@cityofevanston.org for more information.

We are also looking for volunteer coaches for each league! This fall's offerings include:

• 4th & 5th Grade Cross Country
• 2nd & 3rd Grade Flag Football
• 4th Grade Flag Football
• 5th Grade Flag Football

Flyers for each program are below. I've also attached registration tips to help families navigate the Amilia registration system.

For answers to frequently asked questions, please visit our FAQ page:
https://bit.ly/4wpPntl

We look forward to another fun and successful fall season!

Best,

Eric Eichholz, CPRP

Program Coordinator

PRCS Department

City of Evanston

Pronouns: (He, Him)

1028 Central Street | Evanston, IL 60201 | 847-448-8685

eeichholz@cityofevanston.org | cityofevanston.org

This is an exciting year for Lincolnwood and our school community as we welcome new families and continue to grow and strengthen our community. We are a strong, vibrant, loving and inclusive school led by an amazing administrative team, exceptional teachers and supported by a small but mighty PTA.

The Lincolnwood PTA is a volunteer run parent-teacher organization committed to serving our entire Lincolnwood community. We encourage all parents/caregivers to join the PTA. Membership is free to all but voluntary donations are always welcome. If you are interested in joining the PTA this year, please complete this form! Please remember, membership must be renewed each school year!

Each year, our PTA creates a family directory. It is optional to be included but highly encouraged so that you can connect with other families and receive any PTA communication outside of the bi-weekly Family Newsletter.

To sign up for the directory for the first time, click this link: https://forms.gle/1aEXi7pPo1AWdwTm7.

Once you join, you will have an account created HERE where you can view the directory, make changes to personal information, etc. Haven parents can use the same login.

Email lwooddirectory@gmail.com if you have any questions.