Bear Bulletin

As we enter the third quarter and the beginning of 2023, we are excited to welcome back our Lincoln Bears! The new year is a time where people traditionally reflect on the previous year, our successes, and our areas where we can improve. We set goals and work toward them. At school, we do the same. Next week, our staff will work with our students to complete their mid-year screeners. These assessments will provide teachers and you with information about what progress your child has made at the halfway point of the school year. Our teachers will meet with our instructional leadership team later this month to discuss next steps for each child. The data collected will help in setting goals for each child and to design instructional strategies and supports to help each child meet his/her goals by the end of the school year. If you have questions about where your child is academically or how much progress they have made, we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher later this month for specifics. Additionally, report cards for the second quarter will be released in Skyward on January 17. Be sure to log in to your family account on or after 1/17 to view and electronically sign your child's report card. We will send a reminder for the steps required closer to the date if you don't have them handy.

We are looking forward to greeting our students on Tuesday and getting off to a wonderful start for 2023!

We want to hear from you. What are we doing well that you want to see continue? What are some things we can work on? What questions do you have for our staff or leadership team? As you know, our district sent our a survey in the fall that allowed our staff and our students' families share their insights. One of the areas that showed we can improve is welcoming input from families. 75% of our families felt that their input was welcomed, but we want to do better. Any time you want to share your thoughts, you can email, call, or make an appointment to visit. Another way you can provide input is to simply complete our parent feedback form at any time. Your responses are anonymous unless you choose to include your name and/or contact information.

One of our campus goals is to build more parent involvement on our campus. As parents, you know your child best. We want to partner with you to consistently make our school better. Below are several opportunities where you can be involved or provide feedback.

• WatchDOGS - Click this link for more information, the program presentation from the district, the background form, and the registration form.
  
• Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) - Our PTO is an organization of parents that works to support our students and staff in a variety of ways. They recently purchased some toys and games that students can play with the weather inhibits their ability to play outside. They also bring in special programs and activities for our students and find ways to show appreciation to our staff. We encourage all families to join. For more information, you can contact our PTO at mylespto@gmail.com. You can also find them on Facebook (@myLESPTO).

Each week, we want to provide you with an overview of our Lincoln statistics and where we are as a campus. We will share information about enrollment, student behaviors, and attendance. Additionally, as we have celebrations to share regarding our students' academic successes, we'll list them here too.

Enrollment

Current enrollment: 448

Attendance (Goal 95%)

Average Daily Attendance Rate August-December: 93.6% (2,408 absences)

Average Daily Attendance Rate for the Week of:

• 12/5-12/9: 90.5%
• 12/12-12/16: 94.3% (Great Improvement!)
• 12/20-12/21: 92.3%

Classes with the Highest Attendance Rate for the Week of 12/12-12/16:

• Mrs. Gerbrecht (100%) WooHoo!!!
  
• Mrs. Hensley (100%) WooHoo!!!
• Mrs. Thorp (100%) WooHoo!!!
• Mrs. Forrer (97.1%)
• Mrs. Veillon (97.1%)
• Mrs. Robison (96.7%)
• Mrs. Kirk (95.5%)
• Mrs. Herzog (95.2%)
• Mrs. Lawson (95.0%)
  

*Congratulations to Mrs. Gerbrecht's, Mrs. Hensley's, and Mrs. Thorp's classes for 100%!*

*A special shout out to 3rd grade - the entire grade had 95% or better attendance!*

When students return to school next week, we will have a pep rally and begin our Apex fundraiser that ends with students completing an obstacle course on January 20. Our students and staff absolutely LOVED this activity last year. Students will receive an access code on January 10 and can begin collecting pledges on that date. This fundrasier will go toward adding additional technology on our campus.

Just as our students work hard, so do our staff members. If you have a staff member who has gone above and beyond for your or your child, let us know about it! We love sharing your celebrations with our teachers, paraprofessionals, auxiliary and support staff. Your words mean more than you know for our staff. You can always email your feedback to kerri.ashlock@misd.org or complete this form.

Next Week:

Monday, 1/9:

• No School for Students
• Police Appreciation Day

Tuesday, 1/10:

• Students Return - Beginning of 3rd Quarter
• Apex Fundraiser Begins; Pep Rally at 8:30 a.m. after Announcements

Friday, 1/13:

• Wear your spirit wear

Upcoming Events:

• 1/16 - No School for Staff or Students (MLK, Jr. Day)
  
• 1/17 - Report Card Grades Released in Skyward
• 1/20 - Apex Obstacle Course
  
• 1/20 - PAWSitivity Cart
• 1/20 - PTO Meeting - Guest Speaker: Dr. Morrison
• 2/17 - Professional Development Day - No School for Students
  
• 2/20 - President's Day - No School
• 2/21 - Progress Reports Released in Skyward
• 2/22 - Principal-Parent Safety Committee Meeting (Focus on Reunification Process)
• 3/10 - Field Day
• 3/10 - End of 3rd Quarter
• 3/13-3/17 - Spring Break

Lunch visitors who are on a child's emergency contact list are welcome to eat with that child on the stage during the student's lunch period. Visitors will need to check in at the front office with their ID and get a visitor badge. Please do not invite other students to join you or provide food or snacks for other students. When lunch is over, all students will line up with their class. Visitors will return to the front office to turn in their visitor badge.

A friendly reminder, we do not have an open lunch policy so please do not order food for your child from outside vendors to be delivered to the school during the school day (i.e. Uber Eats, Grub Hub, Door Dash, or any kind of delivery service). This becomes a safety concern when staff need to leave the front office to deliver food to students or take their focus off of families who have business in the office. Food deliveries also increase the number of unfamiliar people entering the building. Additionally, our lunch times are very tight and do not allow for late deliveries. We cannot allow for learning to be disrupted by early or late food deliveries. Thank you for understanding our focus on safety and uninterrupted instructional time.

Lunch TImes:

• Pre-K - 10:40-11:10
• Kindergarten - 11:15-11:45
• 1st Grade - 10:45-11:15
• 2nd Grade - 12:15-12:45
• 3rd Grade - 11:35-12:05
• 4th Grade - 11:55-12:25
• 5th Grade - 12:35-1:05

School Hours:

• Doors open at 7:50
• Tardy bell rings, and class begins at 8:15. (This is the time students are expected to be in their seats in the classroom.)
• School day ends at 3:40

We are working hard to maximize each and every minute our students are here. Students who arrive after 8:15 are considered tardy and will need to be walked into the front door of the building and signed in by a parent or guardian. If your child needs to leave early, they may be checked out through the front office by a parent or guardian.

Changes in transportation need to be made prior to 2:00 in order to allow time for the messages to be communicated with the appropriate staff member. To request a change of transportation, either

1. Send a note with your child,
2. Email LincolnElementaryTransit@misd.org with the note and a copy of your driver's license, or
3. Come to the school with a copy of your driver's license.

Lincoln Elementary is a Pre-K through 5th grade campus in Montgomery ISD that opened in the fall of 2018. We are dedicated to collaboration that focuses on ensuring high levels of learning for every student, every day, in a safe and supportive environment.

Email: kerri.ashlock@misd.org
Website: http://schools.misd.org/page/les.homepage
Location: 700 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Montgomery, TX, USA
Phone: (936) 276-4700
Facebook: facebook.com/MISDLincoln
Twitter: @lincoln_MISD