LSES Weekly Update
Exceptional things happen here!
Week of April 4-8
A Message from the Principal
Dear families,
Our students will start taking their annual assessments in the next few weeks. Students in grades 3-6 will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Fifth grade students will start with the science assessment next week. There are many ways in which you can help your students prepare for these assessments. Eating appropriate meals, getting enough rest, and working with your students in solving real-life problems are some ways in which you can help your student get ready for these assessments. Most important, spend time with your children and tell them how much you love them! Today's life style is super busy, and sometimes we forget what our priorities are!
Have a wonderful week,
Carmen Brodniak
Lincoln Street Principal
A peek into Kindergarten...
Kindergarten has been busy learning and growing. We spend much of our time focusing on letter names/sounds, reading, writing, and math. We also learn about ourselves and the world around us in science and social studies. During this past quarter our focus has been comparing and contrasting adventures in stories, we have been learning about more or less with pennies in math, and we have been using our ELD and content time to learn all about our five senses. It is fun to learn and grow together.
We have also been lucky to work with an artist from NWCT and use our bodies and minds in some theater education. We read and discussed the story Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann and then worked in teams to create "tableau" images (frozen pictures) from the story. It was a lot of fun to work with the artist and together to show the story using our bodies. Here are some pictures of us working hard in class, learning and growing together.
Lynx Garden
We have exciting new arrivals in the LSES garden!
A Mason Bee nesting station has been installed on the west side of the garden. The nesting station, which sits on a post, stores bee cocoons in 12 trays, with a Plexiglas lid covering them. Mason bees are a docile bee that are not venomous and have no hive defense mechanism (they don't attack or sting). Their nesting season has just begun and they are starting to emerge from their cocoon for mating season. Each bee chooses a wooden tunnel and ventures about 300 feet beyond their own nesting area. We have no allergy-related risks at LSES. Thanks to our PTO for paying for the station's installation!
Over spring break, we had approximately 30 volunteers from INTEL come out to install 8 more raised beds in our garden. The project was spearheaded by Josh Phelps, an Eagle Scout, who helped to secure a grant from INTEL to pay for the beds. The new beds will be available for families to use over the summer to grow their own produce. If your family is interested in using one of the beds, please email golynxpto@gmail.com Thanks to Josh Phelps and INTEL for expanding our wonderful garden!
The PTO is inviting all families and community members to help to make our school look great. We will be having our 8th annual Garden Festival on April 23 from 11:00am-1:00pm. We will beautify our school by weeding, picking up trash, and planting flowers. Please bring your own garden tools and buckets. There will be a barbecue afterwards for all who helped. The INTEL volunteers that helped to install our new beds will be invited to the barbecue as a thank you. Come celebrate Spring!
Right Brain Initiative
Our school is honored to benefit from the Right Brain Initiative . The Right Brain Initiative is an arts integration program throughout Portland, Vancouver and the metro area. They connect the school with local artists that lead 3-4 art classes per grade level over an 8 week period. The arts are woven into core curriculum, giving teachers new tools to engage students in a creative process that connects back to other subjects. This year, we welcome artists from two different genres: Lisa Gilham-Luginbill from the Northwest Children's Theater (NWCT) and clay artist Karie Oakes.
In March,the NWCT began their residency at our school. Under the direction of Lisa Gilham-Luginbill, students studied how to bring learning to life through theater. Teachers from each grade level chose stories or books that were already being taught and students explored vocabulary and connections with literature through "Image Theater" techniques and tools. Students learned how to sculpt their bodies to express different parts of the stories they were studying.
Last week, clay artist Karie Oakes' residency began. Teachers from each grade level chose a theme to explore with clay that students were already learning about in the classroom . Ms. Oakes is excited to share this skill with the students because "clay is three-dimensional so it challenges kids to think, plan, and create differently. They will think spatially and use basic hand building and modelling methods to translate their ideas into clay forms." Each student is making something that will be fired, glazed, fired again, and eventually taken home.
For more information on the Right Brain Initiative, please visit http://therightbraininitiative.org/ .
What's happening this week:
MONDAY, APRIL 4
Box Tops For Education drive begins
TAG grades 4 & 5 1:15PM-2:00PM
Lynx Academy 2:10PM-4:00PM
BLAST 2:10PM-5:00PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 5
TAG grade 6A 1:15PM-2:00PM
Science Club class 1 2:10PM-4:00PM
5th & 6th grade band 2:10PM-3:45PM
BLAST 2:10PM-5:00PM
Mariachi 4:00PM-5:30PM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6
Early Release 1:35PM
Bricks4Kidz 1:40PM-2:40PM
Adelante Chicas 1:40PM-4:00PM
BLAST 1:40PM-5:00PM
District Kinder Fair 5:30PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
TAG grades 6B 1:15PM-2:00PM
Garden Club 2:10PM-4:00PM
Lynx Academy 2:10PM-4:00PM
BLAST 2:10PM-5:00PM
Mariachi 4:00PM-5:30PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 8
Teacher Work Day - No school
Lincoln Street Elementary
Website: http://schools.hsd.k12.or.us/lincoln/Home%7CInicio/tabid/169/Default.aspx
Location: 801 N.E. Lincoln Street Hillsboro, 97123
Phone: 5038441160
Twitter: @BrodniakCarmen