Bear Necessities
Lincoln Weekly Staff Update Week of 2/28/22
March Madness: Magnificent Calls
Let's have some fun while letting our Lincoln families know how magnificent our little bears are!!!!
Throughout the month of March (starts Tuesday), staff are challenged to collectively make 100 positive phone calls home this month. Once a call is made (voicemail messages do not count), you will complete a shamrock with your name, the date the call was made and the student's first name (see example on side). You will then place the shamrock on the March Madness grid for a chance to win. ANY staff member can make a positive call.
"So how do you win?" you ask.
- Once a row or column of 10 in complete, the teachers on the row or column win a little prize!
- Once all 100 squares are filled, the entire staff wins a treat!
Have fun making those magnificent calls home letting our families not how marvelous their kids are!!!!
Read Across America
On Wednesday, we celebrate Read Across America. We are inviting students to wear pajamas on this day. We encourage all staff and students schoolwide to snuggle up with a book a read silently for the first 30 minutes of the day, right after announcements. This can be in the main hallway, under desks, or anywhere! Then, at 8:45, we would start our day. This would mean no one is roaming the halls or visiting the library or office. All school business would begin at 8:45.
Cheryl, DeAnna, Lorra, and I will be available to be guest readers throughout the day and will send out a sign up link on Monday.
Here are some other ideas you can incorporate ito your day:
- Consider having parents sign up to be guest readers through Zoom.
- Guest teacher and faculty readers. Rotate teachers from one classroom to the next to share their favorite read alouds.
- Read with stuffed reading buddies. Each child can bring a stuffed animal, or the teacher can supply some, to read with!
- Read with human reading buddies!
- Make it into a contest: have kids keep track of their reading by # of pages or books read. Each class can have a thermometer and, at the end of every hour, you can check and see how many pages or books have been read. Color it in to keep track.
Let us know your plans, and we will do what we can to come by and support you or just join in!
Discover Dome Schedule & Specials Adjustment for Wednesday
Adjusted Specials Times:
5th Grade: 8:45-9:30/(Domes 9:00-9:30)
4th Grade: 9:35-10:20/ (Domes 9:45-10:15)
3rd Grade: 10:25-11:10/(Domes 10:30-11:00)
1st Grade: 11:45-12:30/(Domes 11:55-12:25)
2nd Grade: 12:30-1:15/(Domes 12:40-1:10)
Kindergarten: 1:20-2:05/(Domes 1:25-1:55)
Pre-K: 2:10-2:40 (+15 minutes with Tamara)/(Domes 11:15-11:45 with PK Teachers)
Make a Note
- Don't forget to complete the Staff 22-23 Survey with your anticipated plans for next year. We are asking for this information to be completed by the end of this week. We still have around 15 more staff members left to complete it by Friday. See Kerri with questions.
- Be sure to turn in any absence excuses from parents to Joan as soon as you receive them. Too many unexcused absences triggers truancy measures for the parents. It tends to get kind of sticky when notes are sent in but not recorded. See Joan or Cheryl with questions.
- On Wednesday, we will have a couple of schedule changes throughout the day. The HMNS Discovery Dome schedule is shorter than we anticipated, so all grades will not be able to participate during specials. See the schedule below for specifics. See Kerri or Lorra with questions.
- Task forces - Remember to turn in any Collaborative Comprehensive Needs Assessment data, sign in sheets, agendas, etc. to Kerri as you get it.
- TELPAS Testing is taking place this week. Please make note of "Testing" signs on doors and do not enter those rooms. Remind and encourage students to be silent in the hallways when testing is taking place.
Celebrations, Kudos, and Thanks
Remembering our WHY is so important, allowing us to focus on our purpose and our calling. It helps us to better deal with the struggles and difficulties we face each day because we know there is a bigger purpose out there. For us, our staff made a commitment to ensure high levels of learning for every student, every day. Here are some of our successes:
- Kristen W.'s DI team earned FIRST place and will be advancing to the state competition next month. Both DI teams worked very hard, and we are proud of their efforts. We wish the team DONUT_Mess With Us the best of luck as they advance.
- Stephanie from DONUT_Mess With Us earned a special DI award for her performance in the Instant Challenge portion of the competition.
- GT Testing is complete! (DeAnna)
- We had TONS of students meet goals last week and ring the bell!
- 3 of my students rang the bell! They are making big improvements on their reading fluency!! (Chiara)
- Kinder has a math curriculum! We are so excited to start a module of it this Wednesday and get a glimpse of the awesomeness we are going to be teaching next year! (Kindergarten Team)
- Angela - Angela has a great attitude and is so flexible! She is willing to help in whatever way we need. She jumped right in with our new WIN groups, she helped create TwosDay door signs and volunteered for Skype with a Scientist. We love your smile and your helpful spirit! (5th Grade)
- Carole - Carole wrote out 60+ cards showing each 5th grader where they would go during each WIN time, since it changes daily. She also put everything in spreadsheets for the teachers. We are so grateful for the time you devoted to this! (Kristen)
- Kristen W. - She took the afternoon Art kids when Ginny had a family emergency (Tim); Thanks for helping with my classes when I needed to leave quickly & get to my kiddo (Ginny); Thank you for all of your help in making sure I had all of our DI paperwork in order and helping me find our results! (Kerri); Thanks to all your hard work and dedication to our STATE BOUND DI team! Their hard work paid off Saturday. (Julia)
- DeAnna - Always a listening ear for students and staff. Best counselor ever!!! (LaDonna)
- Patty - Helped 4th grade with research (Jennifer & Kimber); Works so hard with announcements! (Carole)
- Demi - After training in Eureka math all day she went home and figured out all the supplies we needed to start next week!!! (Erica)
- Courtney K., Lynn, Dianna, & Jacki - Made it through a rough day with a person short
- Casey - Is a Pawsitivity Buck ROCKSTAR!!! She is wonderful at acknowledging positive behaviors and giving out purple bucks! (Chiara)
- Courtney W. & Kenya - Helped with our 3rd grade kiddos on Wednesday, when my sub couldn’t make it last minute due to an auto accident. (Pamela)
- Kayla, Kimber, & Jennifer - They are always patient and supportive in showing me the 4th grade ways! (Molly)
- Linocln Staff - Thank you to all of you for guiding me and helping me with school. Thank you for all the support and prayers last week for Grayson it was definitely a ruff ride. You don’t know how much I appreciate all of you. (Shonda); Making every day fun and welcoming! You all are the best in the business (DeAnna); Thank you for supporting our Apex fundraiser. The kids are having fun, and we are raising money for our school at the same time. Your support makes it work! (Kerri)
- Patty, Cheryl, & Angela - Volunteering to give up a day to be appraisers at the DI competition. The competition can't happen without people like you stepping up. We apprecaite you! (Kerri & Kristen W.)
- Vania - Shout out to our diagnostician, Vania Turov, for working with us to help identify students who need specially desinged instruction to successfully access the curriculum. Happy Diagnostician's Week!
- Kerri, Cheryl, Lorra, & DeAnna - Thank you for the delicious ice cream that some of us may or may not have eaten as dinner Friday. (Haha!) We appreciate the sweet treat and you checking in on us. You remember what this time of year is like and how we have to double check to make sure everyone's floaty still has air to stay afloat until Spring Break. We Love Lincoln! (Kindergarten Team)
- 5th Grade Team: For being flexible and splitting classes to accommodate for the Skype a Scientist. (Patty)
- Kristen W. & Kerri - Their amazing work with the DI teams! (Patty)
- Tim - Coach does a great job going out of his way to ensure kids love PE. He isn’t afraid to be silly and laugh with kids. (Kenya)
- Kindergarten & 1st Grade Teams - After getting all the data laid out on the data wall, it is very evident how hard teachers spend working with our Bears each and everyday. An overwhelming majority of our K-1 Bears are sitting in the “green” on the data wall. WAY TO GO K-1 teachers. (Kenya)
- Cheryl & Kerri - Making February fun with fab Fridays (DeAnna)
- Lorra - Instilling and modeling kindness for our kids. The Wave Club Wellness drive was a success thanks to you. (DeAnna)
Submit your celebrations & shout outs here: https://forms.gle/GSmJ8cPLSrP2n9iu9
This Week's Schedule and Important Events
*Staff may wear jeans any day they wear an Apex fundraiser shirt this week.
*Diagnostician's Week*
Monday, 2/28
- Wear jeans and Growing Greatness Shirt
- Ashlock & Mallant off campus in morning
- Dr. Morrison on campus in afternoon
- Reading/Language Arts planning with Lorra during conference period - Come prepared with ideas for lessons and resources for the upcoming week(s) based on the TEKS designated in the district's curriculum.
- Wear jeans and Apex shirt.
- TELPAS Testing
- Discovery Domes (See Schedule Above)
- Read Across America Day - Wear pajamas!
- TELPAS Testing
- Ashlock off campus in afternoon
Thursday, 3/3
- Math planning with Lorra during conference period - Come prepared with ideas for lessons and resources for the upcoming week(s) based on the TEKS designated in the district's curriculum.
- Apex Fundraiser Obstacle Course During Specials (PK/K Combine)
- TELPAS Testing
Friday, 3/4
- Team Leader Meeting 7:15-7:45
- Jeans and Spirit Shirt
- Apex Fundraiser Wrap Up
- Maintenance Worker Appreciation Day
- PTO Meeting 9:00
- TELPAS Testing
Upcoming Events:
- March 7-11 - Career Week
- March 7 - Dress as Your Future Career
- March 8 - 2nd Grade Program 9:00 (students & staff) & 6:00 (families)
- March 9 - Spring Pictures
- March 10 - PTO BMX Program (evening event)
- March 11 - End of 9 Weeks
- March 23 - 3rd-5th Spring Reading & Math Benchmark Window Opens; 5th Grade Science Benchmark Window Opens