Lincoln Elementary School
November 8, 2024 - Family Newsletter
Veterans Day Holiday - Monday
Monday, November 11th is Veterans Day. This is a national holiday to honor military veterans of our armed forces. We thank our military veterans for their service! In observance of Veterans Day, schools across the state and nation will be closed on Monday.
No School on November 11
The YouthTruth Survey - Please Complete It - And Thank You!
Lincoln Elementary Wants to Hear from You! We're partnering with YouthTruth to hear what families have to say about their school experience. Help your school understand how to improve! We are excited to be partnering with YouthTruth to gather family feedback! The Survey runs through November 21st. We’re excited to dive into our YouthTruth survey data and incorporate family ideas to improve school. Thank you to all the families who have taken the survey! LINK
It's a Contest: With our YouthTruth Data, we will send copies for students. Send the family survey back with your child's name and grade and you can enter the raffle to win a prize for your family.
More About YouthTruth: The mission of YouthTruth is to "empower schools to improve by listening to student voice." The nonprofit organization aims to help schools achieve "better academic outcomes and improved well-being" for students. The survey allows schools to hear directly from students in their own words about how adults can create positive change and support their success. You can access more information through this link: YouthTruth.
Principal's Message
Hello Lincoln Community,
What beautiful weather we've had this week. Crisp and cool sunny days as the leaves continue to fall creates perfect Fall weather. We hope this finds you well and enjoying the season. Please remember that on Monday we have no school in honor of the Veteran's Day Holiday.
Report Cards Sent: This week we sent out Quarter 1 report cards with information about how your student(s) is progressing with learning and growth in the various academic areas. This is one of many communications we send out each year to keep you informed of your child's progress. If you didn't receive the report card, please give us a call.
In this Newsletter: We've provided information about upcoming events and opportunities such as the Social Media Informational Evening, the Love Santa program, and the Lunch Menu. We've also shared information on Sense of Belonging and how we're promoting a Sense of Importance in each of our students. Additionally, you'll find info on our Emergency Communication system, health and safety instruction, and more.
Questions: Please feel free to send your questions or feedback to us at teresa.alfaro@woodburnsd.org or pmcdougal@woodburnsd.org. Go Dolphins!
Sincerely,
Teresa Alfaro - Principal
Peter McDougal - Assistant Principal
Important Dates - Mark Your Calendars
Now - 11/20 - Food Drive
11/11 - Holiday - Veterans Day - No School
11/12 - SMILE Field Trip
11/13 - Social Media Presentation at FPMS
11/14 - 3rd-5th Grade Community Meeting (every Thursday)
11/15 - K-2nd Community Meeting (every Friday)
11/18 - Site Council
11/22 - PBIS Assembly
11/25 & 11/26 - District Professional Development Days - No School
11/27 - 11/29 - Thanksgiving Holiday (11/28) - No School
12/2 - School Resumes
Promoting a Sense of Belonging and the Feeling of Importance
Feeling Important
After reviewing our sense of belonging survey, we've noticed that it would be good to help our students better understand how important each of them are here at Lincoln. With that in mind, during a recent leadership meeting, our team discussed what the concept of feeling important may mean for our students. Afterwards, we promoted this sense of importance by reviewing the following questions with them.
- What do you understand by being important?
- What makes you feel important in school?
- Can you share a time when you felt valued by a teacher or classmate?
- What changes would you like to see to help you feel more important here?
We then collected student insights and feedback to inform us as we continue to create and refine the strategies we use to support our students effectively.
Morning Affirmation
Also, after reviewing our data, we identified a strategy to help our students grow in their self-management skills. Starting last Monday, alongside saying the Pledge of Allegiance, we began to incorporate daily affirmations into our routine.
- I am amazing
- I am smart
- I am kind
- I am important
- I am loved
- I will do my best today!
Love Santa Inc. is Back Again!
Social Media Workshop Reminder
This is just a reminder that on Wednesday, November 13th , we will be having the Social Media and Safety workshop hosted at the French Prairie Middle School gym and cafeteria. This workshop will be available in English and Spanish. At the event, dinner and childcare will be provided.
Would You Like to Know What's for Lunch Today?
Information about Health and Safety Instruction
In our school district, we teach students important skills to be safe and healthy. To learn
these skills, we ensure that students receive age-appropriate, comprehensive, and
inclusive instruction in human sexuality, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections,
and disease prevention. In health class, teachers will use resources from The Great
BodyShop book, which was on the most recent Oregon State Adopted Instructional
Materials list.
Through these resources and lessons, students will learn these types of skills:
- Personal Safety and Decision Making: Students will learn about responsible behaviors and hygiene practices. They will also learn how to stay safe in many contexts by identifying unsafe situations such as sexual harassment and abuse, and how to seek help (“My Body is Special” Unit).
- Healthy Relationships: Students will learn about the characteristics of a healthy relationship, including the emotional, physical, and psychological aspects of a healthy relationship.
- Boundaries and Firmness: Students will learn to make responsible decisions and practice using rejection skills to resist peer pressure to maintain their own goals, values, and health. Students will also learn that they have a responsibility to respect others' decisions about not engaging in risky behaviors.
For more information on these resources, please visit the website ( https://bit.ly/2Z7fL0k )
or The Great Body Shop webpage at: https://www.thegreatbodyshop.net/. From there,
you can login under the “Families” tab at the top right, and enter the login code from your
students’ take-home pamphlet to learn more about these materials and explore
additional resources.
If you have additional questions, please contact your child's teacher. If you do not want
your child to participate, you must submit the "Student Exemption Request Form" which we recently sent home to each family.
Thank you for helping us make our school a healthy and safe learning community.
Start Making a Smart Reader Today
SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) is starting another year at Lincoln Elementary in mid October on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays from 8:00am - 9:15am. We are looking for volunteers to read with students one-on-one for this program. It is a great way to make a difference in some of our students' lives. You can apply by going to the website and fill out the application. https://www.smartreading.org/volunteer
Flash Alert: Sign Up to Receive School Emergency Notifications
If you would like automatic Woodburn School District notifications related to closures and delays, you can register to receive email or cell text messages by clicking on the link below and following the steps listed.
Registration Instructions:
Create an account.
- Click on link.
- Then enter your email address and click "Subscribe".
- You will be asked to confirm your email address and set a password.
- Then click "Create your Account"
- Portland/Vanc/Salem.
- Marion Co. Schools (3).
- Woodburn Sch. Dist. Then press "Subscribe" button.
- You may add one or two more email or text message addresses. Choose the type of message and enter the address. If it is a cell text address, select the carrier that the phone uses.
- After you have added the addresses, click on "Click here to send validation message".
- The system will send a three letter code to each address (by email or text), which must be entered into the account page to confirm that address is correct. Then click "Update".
- When addresses are validated, you may click "Log Out" at the top right.
Student-Parent Handbook - Woodburn School District
Each year throughout the Woodburn School District we distribute the Student-Parent Handbook. This is an important resource that provides information about rights and responsibilities, expectations and accountability, and systems and procedures. It's linked here in English, Spanish, and Russian.
- English: Student-Parent Handbook
- Español: Manual Para Estudiantes y Padres
- Russian: Руководство для учеников и родителей
Every Day Matters - Focus on Attendance
This year we are continuing to pay close attention to ensuring that children are present at school regularly, because Every Day Matters.
Setting High Goals: We're focusing on attendance because last year 58% of our students were regular attenders (attended more than 90% of the days) and 42% were chronically absent (attended less than 90% of the days). The 58% was an improvement from the previous year when we had 51% of our students who were regular attenders. For the current school year our school leadership has set the goal to improve from 58% up to 70%. WE CAN DO IT!
So Important: There's a very strong correlation between good attendance and student success in school. Please see the visual below for more information.
Safe Oregon: If You See Something, Say Something
Safe Oregon. Feel Safe. Be Safe.
Remember, if you see something, say something. If you become aware of a safety concern please report it to our school office at 503-981-2925 or anytime of the day.
You can also report it to SafeOregon.com or call or text 1-844-472-3367 to report it. SafeOregon gives students, parents, schools, and their communities a way to report safety issues or threats confidentially or anonymously with a simple phone call, text, email or by using the web form or mobile app.
Link to Previous Newsletters
So Far This Year:
- LES Newsletter - November 1, 2024
- LES Newsletter - October 25, 2024
- LES Newsletter - October 18, 2024
- LES Newsletter - October 11, 2024
- LES Newsletter - October 4, 2024
- LES Newsletter - September 27, 2024
- LES Newsletter - September 20, 2024
- LES Newsletter - September 13, 2024
- LES Newsletter - September 6, 2024
- LES Newsletter - August 30, 2024
- LES Newsletter - August 23, 2024
- LES Newsletter - August 16, 2024
- LES Newsletter - August 9, 2024
From the 2023-2024 School Year:
Link to Previous Newsletters
Your Lincoln Admin Team - Feel free to contact us at 503-981-2825 or by email.
Teresa Alfaro - Principal: teresa.alfaro@woodburnsd.org
Peter McDougal - Assistant Principal: pmcdougal@woodburnsd.org