Lincoln Cluster Schools Newsletter
December 2021 and January 2022
Hello Lincoln Cluster Families
We hope that everyone had a restful winter break. As we return to our school sites, we appreciate the flexibility of our families and our school site staff in supporting the shifts that happen as we make our way through these challenging times with COVID numbers on the rise. Our Lincoln Cluster team values your partnership in ensuring that our schools are safe for students and staff. In the last few months, our Lincoln Principals have collaborated to build a strong educational pathway in our cluster. Opportunities for your student include: A dual language pathway, Visual and Performing Arts, Engineering, and much more. During this time, our Middle Schools (Knox and MTM) will begin to reach out to our elementary parents and 5th grade students to talk about 6th grade next year. Our 8th grade students are also going to be visiting Lincoln High School to learn more about program offerings and opportunities that are available to our 9th graders.
We thank you for all of your support of the Lincoln Cluster and we look forward to your continued partnership.
Bruce R. Bivins
Area 1 Superintendent
Lincoln High School
Lincoln High School
At Lincoln High School we want to start the year celebrating the academic accomplishments of our students and teachers throughout 2021. Students and teachers spent the last week of December sharing their learning through Exhibitions of Learning to audiences of their peers, teachers, administration and few community members. Please take the time to bear witness to the inspirational moments captured in the photos below. In the most difficult fall semester ever, we in true Hornet Fashion overcame and showed out!!! What you see inputted below is especially incredible you consider the conditions of teaching and learning this time last year. GO HORNETS!!
- Kami Farohki’s chemistry students presenting to their peers their research and artwork to build a large scale periodic table.
- Sharon Mitchell-Reynolds 9th gr English students performed a mock trial in our very own moot courtroom based on the book, Monster.
- Christopher Dier & Eb Harvey’s Video Production students presenting short films from a variety of genres.
- Courtney Cruz and Lauren Wilensky’s students Technical Theater students presenting poetry and short skits developed with the SD Opera’s Words & Music program.
- Cassie Gately, Geanncarlo Lugo & Jeremy Jeffries Biotechnology and Engineering students presenting their research and solutions for problems in our world like using recycled plastic bottles and different applications of biotech.
- Frank Alardi, Jorge Hernandez and Geanncarlo’s Medical and Emergency Services students presented their findings from the 30 day health challenge and solutions to identified health barriers.
- Jonah Perine’s Band and Orchestra students brought back the music to our beautiful theater for and their families made a great show of support!
- A special thanks to our administration, Stephanie Brown and Melissa Agudelo, the CCTE and PBL team Tom Antl and Chris Millow for lifting the vision, and supporting the work it takes to make these moments happen.
Knox Middle School
Knox Middle
Our Knox ASB plans many school events to support our positive school culture and climate. During the month of December, each Advisory class designed and decorated an ugly sweater for their teacher to wear in our lunchtime fashion show!
Knox Middle School students had the awesome opportunity to scrimmage MTM's basketball team before the break. The students were very excited about this opportunity and look forward to their next game together which will be played in Lincoln's gym.
Check out more of the fun activities going on at Knox here: https://www.smore.com/6fxn4
As we move toward the end of Semester 1, we will be kicking off many articulation events this month to support the transition for our 5th grade students from Baker, Balboa, Chavez, Valencia Park, Nye and Porter to Knox for 6th grade. We invite our 5th grade parents to join us on Zoom to learn more about Knox and our program.
Millennial Tech Middle School
MTM
MTM Student Spotlight
MTM would like to spotlight a student every month and this month we are sharing the work of Daisy, a crafty 8th grader at MTM who loves to make Jewelry and other wearables. In Ms. Hilliard's STEAM elective class, Daisy learned how to make Jewelry using her creativity using safety pins and researched how to start a small business. Daisy successfully started to sell her products at the Mission Valley Mall at the store- Local Niche and also has started an Etsy store. Daisy and other students enjoy making creative things in their STEAM class. In this class, students get the opportunity to work on passion projects for themselves, others and the school. Students enjoyed making holiday gifts for their family and friends before the holiday break. Other creative products made by the students include baseball caps, socks, Tshirts, dog apparel and holiday decorations to name a few.
Porter Elementary School
Porter Elem.
At Porter we know how important it is for our students to be able to have books that they are able to read and have available to them at home. Our students need to read more so that they are practicing their literacy skills and becoming proficient readers. Currently, our teachers have libraries in their classrooms where students can pick from a variety of books that interest them. Many of our teachers have also devised systems where our students are taking books home daily to continue to foster the love of reading. In December, as we were getting ready to take a few weeks off, we wanted to make sure that all of our students would have their own books at home that they could read over the break. Thankfully, the San Diego Gulls were able to donate books to each of our students. They made sure that the books were culturally responsive and texts that the students would want to read. Through their generosity, each of our students was able to receive two books each along with a bookmark and a book light to support reading. We were able to pass out these books during our Kindness Spirit week which really kicked off the giving season for us at Porter. With these books and our continued focus on literacy, our students will continue to make strides in their reading proficiency.
Baker Elementary School
Baker Elem.
BAKER ELEMENTARY!
Baker is excited to announce that After School Clubs are beginning in January! In support of our mission to Elevate and Empower Student Voice and Identity in our daily practice, staff are offering after school clubs that meet once/week. Over 150 students have signed up to participate in the following: DANCE, SPORTS, GARDENING, ART, RUNNING, MATH, CHESS, AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP!
Nye Elementary School
Nye Elem.
Nye Elementary School 1st Graders.... Understood the assignment!
Giving clear, concise instructions to others is an important skill for children to learn. Nye students are doing a great job presenting their "how to" projects. This assignment gave students an opportunity to practice using descriptive vocabulary, communicating ideas to others, recognizing steps in a process and recognizing the importance of the use of clear language.
Valencia Park Elementary School
Valencia Park Elementary
Bikes for Kids brought some special holiday cheer to our campus in December! They hosted an essay contest for our 2nd and 3rd grade students. The prompt was, "What is your dream?"
The students were told that the essay contest winners would receive a new bike. There were three chosen essay award recipients as pictured.
Then something unexpectedly amazing happened:
ALL of our 2nd and 3rd graders got new bikes!
The students were overjoyed. We are so thankful for this special gift and opportunity from Bikes for Kids!
We also received a visit from Interim Superintendent Lamont Jackson, who is pictured with our new student council president, Chloe Reed, our new student council historian, Cali Cattouse, and principal Lori Moore.
Horton Elementary School
Horton Elem. -
Horton Hawks wrapped up the month of December with a strong focus on our school community through School Spirit Week. Horton’s Builder’s Club, our student-led leadership council, coordinated the week’s activities with a special dress up theme each day: festive colors day, hat day, twin day, ugly sweater day, and pajama day. Classes with the highest participation received an invitation to a special event. In addition to Spirit Week, our student leadership council also hosted a Toys for Tots campaign and collected toys for children who might not otherwise receive toys during the holidays. We’re proud of this effort to give back and serve the community.
In addition to building school community with our students, we also strengthened partnerships with our families in the month of December. On December 3rd, we held our first in-person (socially distanced, masked, outdoors) Family Friday which focused on Family Math Games. District Math Instructional Coordinator Aly Martinez, shared different math games that reinforce mathematical concepts and family engagement. Families rotated through different math game stations, played, and received a free math game kit to take home and use with their students. Next month’s Family Friday will focus on literacy strategies.
Horton Hawks concluyó el mes de diciembre con un fuerte enfoque en nuestra comunidad escolar a través de la Semana del Espíritu Escolar. Horton’s Builder's Club, nuestro consejo de liderazgo dirigido por estudiantes, coordinó las actividades de la semana con un tema especial de disfraces todos los días: día de los colores festivos, día del sombrero, día de los gemelos, día del suéter feo y día del pijama. Las clases con mayor participación recibieron una invitación a un evento especial. Además de la Semana del Espíritu, nuestro consejo de liderazgo estudiantil también organizó una campaña de Toys for Tots y recogió juguetes para los niños que de otra manera no recibirán juguetes durante las vacaciones. Estamos orgullosos de este esfuerzo por retribuir y servir a la comunidad.
Además de construir una comunidad escolar con nuestros estudiantes, también fortalecemos las asociaciones con nuestras familias en el mes de diciembre. El 3 de diciembre, celebramos nuestro primer viernes de familia en persona (distanciado, enmascarado, y al aire libre) que se centró en los juegos de matemáticas en familia. La coordinadora de instrucción de matemáticas del distrito, Aly Martinez, compartió diferentes juegos matemáticos que refuerzan los conceptos matemáticos y la participación familiar. Las familias pasaron por diferentes estaciones de juegos de matemáticas, jugaron y recibieron un kit de juego de matemáticas gratis para llevar a casa y usar con sus estudiantes. El Family Friday del próximo mes se centrará en las estrategias de lectura.
Webster Elementary School
Webster Elementary
Happy New Year’s to all in the Lincoln Cluster. At Webster, we wrapped up the month of December with most of our students completing their third full writing assignment this year. This one was an “Informational Text’. At Webster, we believe that if we can improve our writing, we will improve our reading. Our goal is to have the students write three more full writing assignments before we start our “State’ testing in May. We have big expectations for all of our 3rd through 5th graders when it comes to our “State” testing.
We also wrapped up the year 2021 with an all school “Holiday Sing”. Every class sang a Holiday song for the whole school. It was the first time we invited families on site since Covid began in spring of 2020. This event was held outdoors and we had over 100 family members on site. This event has become an annual event for Webster but due to Covid we had to cancel last years. We were so happy to bring it back this year and to be able to welcome parents back on site. It turned out to be a wonderful event and the students sang their hearts out. Please be safe and take care.
Encanto Elementary School
Encanto Elementary
Encanto staff and our community partners are going above and beyond to ensure students are reading at grade-level by the end of the year. Our goal is to provide extra support and intervention for all students during and/or after school.
Our Reading Support Teacher provides small group phonics and fluency lessons all day in the classroom. Additional support staff are being trained to work with our youngest learners on letter names, sounds and high frequency words. Some of our amazing teachers in grades 3rd, 4th and 5th will begin Extended Day Reading programs after school for 3-4 days a week this month. The Diamond Educational Partnership (DEEP) funded our SOARing Readers after school 10-week reading intervention for 30 students this fall. Our site teachers were hired to provide targeted reading interventions. DEEP has funded another 10-week session this winter and is fundraising for additional support in the spring.
Our partnership with the Bayside Community Center is providing 20 students with the Bayside Academic Club after school reading intervention 5 days a week for the remainder of the school year.
Our PrimeTime Academic hour will begin this month for students who attend PrimeTime in the afternoon. Site teachers will provide reading support across grades Kindergarten to 5th grade twice a week for the next five months.
It truly does TAKE A VILLAGE - and our Encanto Eagles are fortunate to be surrounded by such a dedicated staff and community village!
Principal Mandler
Chollas-Mead Elementary School
Chollas-Mead Elem.
Hello Lincoln Cluster community. December was a great month for Chollas Mead students and their families. We held our first Holidays Around the World festival and welcomed parents on campus to participate in crafts, games and student performances.
Thank you to our partnership with Ms. Peaches and Toy 4 Tots, every students at Chollas Mead received a gift to take home and open.
We also launched our Think Big Reading room. Thank you to the Carson Foundation for their generous $17,500 grant that allowed the committee to bring this room to life. We were able to purchase an underwater mutual, comfortable seating and $7,000 worth of cultural diverse books for our students to enjoy.