Message from Mrs. Hawkins
Lincoln Families and Friends.
I am overwhelmed by the generosity of our Lincoln community. The month of November was truly a month of giving.
The student council organized a food drive and collected 865 pounds of food for the food shelf at Community Pathways. As part of the challenge, students brought in enough cereal boxes to create a domino train in the gym. It took two truck loads to deliver all of the donations last week.
The Healthy Husky Challenge raised $12,500 that will be used by the physical education department to purchase equipment and provide students with activities. We will also use some of this money to supplement the playground replacement on the east playground. The school district is replacing this playground during the summer of 2023. The student council is helping with the design.
Another act of giving took place in our 2nd grade classrooms. Students raised over $1,000 for Toys for Tots and then took a field trip to the store to purchase items to donate. Many other classrooms are participating in service projects at this time also. I just wanted to mention a few of the larger ones.
Thank you for supporting Lincoln and our Owatonna community through these service projects. When students start practicing acts of kindness at a young age, it will become a habit. And we all know the world needs a little more kindness.
Happy Winter!
Mark your Calendars
November 29th - Lincoln Winter Concert 4th, 5th & Choir
November 29th - CHAMPs after school program starts
December 2nd - 2nd Grade Fieldtrip to Children's Theatre
December 9th - PTO Bingo Night; 5:30 - 7:00
December 14th - Student Council Mtg
December 20th - Ugly Sweater Day
December 22nd - 5th vs. Staff Volleyball Game
December 22nd - Pajama Day
December 23rd - January 2nd No School; Winter Break
Screenagers
The school district and the Exchange Center for Family Unity recently held a community screening of the documentary called Screenagers directed by Delaney Ruston, M.D. The documentary highlighted the challenges that come from raising children in this digital age. We wanted to share a few highlights and tips from the documentary.
A child’s brain does not have the skill to resist the impulse to self-distract from technology (social media, video games, etc). On average our kids are spending 6.5 hours a day on screens. This does not include time they spend on devices for school or homework. We also learned that MRI brain scans of kids who play video games about 20 hours a week show patterns similar to scans of people who are addicted to drugs. For all these reasons, it is really important to make sure we are all doing our part to help kids develop health habits when it comes to technology.
The single most important psychological trait to help our kids develop is self-control. Kids who have the ability to self-control will have healthier relationships, do better in school and overall feel happier. There are several ways we can help our kids develop this trait.
Science shows that positive rewards work better than punishment. If you see your child focused while doing their homework without their device praise them!
Build times when technology is out of sight for your family. Self-control can be challenging so it is helpful to decrease temptations.
It is also helpful to have family conversations about technology in your life. What are the benefits? What are the challenges? You can set up a weekly “tech talk” to do this as a family. This can also be a great way to have conversations about how your child can reach out for help if they’ve gotten themselves into a difficult situation online.
Research has shown a link between an increase of physical aggression and decrease in empathy and compassion in children who are playing violent video games. They also stated that there has been a link between an increase in pro-social skills (empathy and kindness) in kids who are playing prosocial video games where there is a goal of helping others. Pro-social games involve characters that help and support each other without aggressive actions. Here are a few prosocial video games that were recommended: Animal Crossing, Minecraft, Portal and Gone Home. Common Sense Media is another great resource to help build boundaries and self-control around your family’s screen time.
Lunch Schedule
5th Grade 11:05
2nd Grade 11:25
4th Grade 11:40
Kdg 11:55
3rd Grade 12:15
If you are interested in visiting during lunch, we hope you will consider trying the school lunch. Adult lunch is $4.95. All visitors should bring a drivers license and check in at the office. Visitors joining us for lunch will eat with their student in the lunchroom.
School Closing Reminders
When decisions are made to alter the school day or cancel it due to inclement weather, every effort is made to communicate that decision to parents in a timely manner through our school messenger system, website, and local radio and TV stations.
Parents can choose to receive notifications via text message, phone call, email, and/or parent portal inbox messages. To help us contact households efficiently, be sure to update home, work and/or cellphone information in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, and verify that the appropriate boxes are checked to receive notifications.
Other ways to stay informed:
- Visit the website: www.isd761.org
- Check local TV stations: KSTP-5, KMSP FOX 9, WCCO, KEYC TV, KTTC, KAAL
- Listen to local radio stations: KOWZ, KRFO/KAT KOUNTRY 105, KDHL
The first two inclement weather/emergency days in the Owatonna Public Schools are considered non-attendance days for students. In the event OPS has more than two inclement weather/emergency days, students will follow the E-Learning Plan.
Let's Support Team "L"
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Notes from PTO
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Fall Book Fair especially all of the volunteers who helped make the Book Fair a huge success.
Please join us for PTO Book Bingo December 9th from 5:30 - 7:00 Lincoln School Gyms.
