Bear Bulletin
September 13, 2024
We are incredibly grateful for the amazing turnout at our recent events! Over 160 grandparents joined us for the Grandparents' Day Breakfast, as well as around 125 kids. We were excited to see so many of you at the Title I Parent Night, PTO Meeting, Chiller Bee Spirit Night, and our Volunteer Ice Cream Social this week! Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in our events.
We’re thrilled about the positive momentum in both academics and parent involvement at our campus. Be on the lookout for information in the coming weeks about our new “Parenting Partners” program, designed to further support and engage our school community.
Additionally, we encourage you to attend the WatchDOGS Kick-Off event this Thursday at the district office on Eva St. and the MISD Community Town Hall on September 23 to learn more about Proposition A. Your involvement is key to our continued success and community spirit.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Compulsory Attendance vs. Truancy
September is School Attendance Awareness Month, and we want to continue to highlight the significant impact of every day your child is present. Over the past couple of weeks, I've shared our campus goal of having 95% or better average daily attendance as a goal for this year and information about chronic absences. One thing that I've had many parents ask about is the difference between the compulsory attendance law and truancy requirements.
Ensuring your child’s regular school attendance is vital for their education and is also mandated by Texas law. Under the state's compulsory attendance law, once students are enrolled in school, they are required to attend regularly.
Key Points to Know:
- Enrollment Requirement: From the moment a child is enrolled in school, they must adhere to the compulsory attendance law.
- Attendance and Credit: To receive credit for a course, students must attend at least 90% of the instructional days. Missing more than 18 days in a school year can impact their ability to earn course credit, irrespective of their academic performance.
- Excused Absences: Absences for illness, family emergencies, or religious reasons are excused if proper documentation is provided. Always submit a written note explaining the absence when your child returns. These absences will be counted negatively toward compulsory attendance. However, they will not be counted toward truancy.
- Truancy: Excessive unexcused absences can lead to legal consequences for both students and parents, including fines or involvement with the juvenile court system.
Regular attendance is crucial for your child’s academic success and compliance with the law. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.
School Finance - Prop A
School funding is a complex topic that has many facets. Our MISD Board of Trustees has called for Proposition A, also known as a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) for Nov. 5, 2024. State law requires that school districts seek voter approval to raise their tax rate above a prescribed amount. Proposition A will allow MISD voters to approve or disapprove the tax rate adopted by the Board of Trustees.
Montgomery ISD is hosting a Community Town Hall to discuss the facts regarding Prop A. Please mark your calendars for Monday, September 23 at 6pm and join district leadership for a presentation of facts and a time of Q&A.
Please use this link to RSVP and take the opportunity to share any questions you would like answered in the presentation. https://forms.gle/iKeeXSJvbe2yC3f6A
I highly encourage you to learn more about this proposition and how it could impact our district, our staff, and our students. MISD has included information about Prop A on the district website.
To register to vote or to find out your registration status, call the Montgomery County Elections Department at 936-539-7843, or visit their website at https://elections.mctx.org/BBM.asp. The last day to register to vote in the November election is Monday, October 7.
Early voting begins Oct. 21 and ends Nov. 1, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Title I Information
Thank you to all of the parents who made it out for our Title I Parent Night and PTO Meeting on Tuesday! In case you missed it, we have another opportunity for you get the information about Title I in a virtual meeting this Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will last a little less than 30 minutes. You can log in with the information below:
Meeting ID: 307 466 3470
Passcode: Lincoln
You can also access the slide deck from the presentation below, along with our Title I newsletter that has even more information about Lincoln's participation in this federal program and what your parental rights are regarding this program.
Involvement Opportunities and Donation Requests
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 Feedback Form - 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.
Safety Reminder from Officer Jason
This Week at Lincoln
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: 478
**Welcome new students, Phoenix F. and Pablo P.!**
Attendance
Our goal is to have 95% or better attendance each day. Good school attendance is a key indicator of future school success. Below is our average daily attendance for this month so far:
Week of 9/3: 95.3%
Week of 9/9: 95.7%
Classes with the Highest Attendance Rates Last Week:
- PERFECT ATTENDANCE: Mrs. Robison & Mrs. Treharne
- 99% - Mrs. Jorgensen & Mrs. White
- 98.3% - Mrs. Perry
- 98.1% - Mrs. Brown
- 98% - Mrs. Holladay
- 97.9% - Mrs. Schaper
- 97.8% - Mrs. Moore
- 97.7% - Mrs. McClain
- 97.5% - Mrs. Lawson
- 97% - Mrs. Kirk & Mrs. McCullough
- 96.2% - Mrs. Springer
- 95.8% - Mrs. Gerbrecht
*A Special shout out goes our to 5th grade classes! The entire grade level had 95% or better attendance this week!*
Student Celebrations:
Bell Ringers for the Week:
The following students met a goal this week and rang our bell -
- Mrs. Jorgensen's Class
- Mrs. Meadors's Class
Way to go! Congratulations for meeting your goal!
PTO News
🍂🎉 Save the Date! 🎉🍂
Lincoln Elementary's Fall Festival is just around the corner, sponsored by our amazing PTO! Join us on October 3rd from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. for a fun-filled evening with games, food, and community spirit.
Stay tuned for more details coming soon—we can't wait to celebrate with you! 🍁🎃
Homecoming Mums & Garters (Benefitting MHS Floral Design Department & LES PTO)
It's homecoming time! MHS Floral Design is selling mums and garters for our students to wear to show their Bear pride for homecoming on 9/27. We will pass out the mums and garters at LES on 9/26 for them to wear on 9/27. If you order by 9/13, your mum/garter will be $10 each. If you order after 9/13, orders will by $12 each. This is raising money for the MHS Floral Design department, as well as our LES PTO.
Link to order- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTXPV20i2EtkQ2fFplvvSU5yrs25CO66ZzsUnVrX55EC3O6g/viewform?usp=sf_link
Staff Shout Outs
All staff members and parents are encouraged to nominate MISD employees who are "Making An Impact." Submit your nominations here: https://forms.gle/F3eWSxo3GawGw1f98
You can also submit names straight to the district through the Quick Tip Tab. Visit our school webpage and click on the Quick Tip tab. Select "Lincoln Elementary" from the drop-down menu. Then select "Share a Positive Story/Teacher Shout Out" in the next drop-down. Finally, enter information about how the staff member made a difference for you or your child. There's even a place to include a picture if you have one. The information has the option to be entered anonymously if you like.
This Week at LES
September: Attendance Awareness Month
This Week: Celebrate Freedom Week
Tuesday, 9/17
- Title I Virtual Meeting 9:30 a.m. (Zoom Meeting ID: 307 466 3470; Passcode: Lincoln)
Wednesday, 9/18
- Principal-Parent Safety Meeting 10:00 a.m.
Thursday, 9/19
- WatchDOGS Kick-Off Meeting at the ESC 6:00 pm
- Mrs. Knee's Birthday
- Wear Your Spirit Wear!
- Hat Day! Students and Staff may wear a hat with a $1 donation to our activity fund.
Upcoming Events
SEPTEMBER
- Tuesday, 9/24 - Campus Advisory Committee at 4:15 pm
- Friday, 9/27 - Rock Your School Day - Wear your rock 'n roll gear and be ready for some high-engagement learning activities!
- Week of 9/30 - Book Fair Week
- Thursday, 10/3 - Fall Festival
- Friday, 10/4 - World Teacher's Day; Wave Club Starts
- October 8-10 - Bring Your Parent to PE (Schedule to Come with Exact Day for Each Class)
- Friday 10/11-Monday, 10/14 - No School (Fall Break)
- Tuesday, 10/15 - District PD - No School for Students
- Wednesday, 10/16 - Anti-Bullying Day; Wear Orange
- Friday, 10/26 - Fall Pictures
- Week of Monday, 10/28 - Red Ribbon Week
WatchDOGS Kick Off
All About Lunch
Lunch Schedules
Lunch visitors who are on a child's emergency contact list are welcome to eat with that child at one of our 3 reserved lunch visitor tables during the student's lunch period starting on September 3. 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. Students should not bring other students with them to join their guests for lunch. Food should not be provided to other students than the child the guests are visiting.
Lunch Times:
ECSE 3s: 11:40-12:10
Pre-K & ECSE 4s: 10:55-11:25
Kindergarten: 11:10-11:40
1st Grade: 11:25-11:55
2nd Grade: 11:45-12:15
3rd Grade: 12:00-12:30
4th Grade: 12:20-12:50
5th Grade: 12:35-1:05
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.
Birthday Recognition Fundraiser
Celebrate your child’s birthday and raise money for our LES activity fund. These funds are used to pay for field trips and special activities for our students and staff.
You can have your child’s first name and initial of last name (i.e. Kerri A.) displayed on our marquee and/or our internal hallway monitors for the week of his/her birthday for a small donation to our activity fund. If you choose to have their birthday recognition on the hallway monitors, you have the option to include a picture of your child for an additional $5 donation. If you child has a summer birthday, we can recognize their half-birthday.
Cash donations only, please. Use the form attached below to place your order. Forms will also be available in Tuesday folders.
School Hours, Attendance, and Tardies
- 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 no later than 3:15 pm.
Attendance is of critical importance to your child's academic success. Parents should enter the absence information through Family Access in Skyward within 48 hours of the absence.
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
- Send a note with your child,
- Email LincolnElementaryTransit@misd.org with the note and a copy of your driver's license, or
- Come to the school with a copy of your driver's license.
About Us
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: https://lincolnes.misd.org/
Location: 700 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Montgomery, TX, USA
Phone: (936) 276-4700
Facebook: facebook.com/MISDLincoln
Twitter: @lincoln_MISD