Lincoln School Newsletter

Highlights of Our Black History Learning Journey

Black History Month Celebrations

This month, our Third Grade class dove deep into learning about incredible African American heroes who changed our world! Here are some exciting highlights:

Research Projects 📚

- The students completed in-depth research projects.

- Our class will compile these stories into a special class book.

- Each student became an expert on a remarkable historical figure.

Ruby Bridges Movie & Letter Writing ✉️

- We watched an inspiring film about Ruby Bridges.

- The students wrote heartfelt letters to Ruby Bridges.

- We learned about her courage during school integration.

Historical Timelines 📅

- The class created detailed timelines showcasing Black historical heroes.

- We tracked important moments and achievements.

- The students visualized the incredible impact of these leaders.

Coming Next Month: Women's History! 💪

Sneak Peek into March

- We will explore amazing women who have made history.

- We will work on research projects about women leaders.

- We will learn about contributions across different fields.

Class Spirit 🌈

We are proud of our commitment to understanding diverse histories and celebrating the achievements of remarkable individuals!

February has been an exciting month for our Second Graders! We participated in Global School Play Day and Random Acts of Kindness Day. We also celebrated Groundhog's Day, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents' Day. We are honoring Black History Month through various in class activities involving read alouds, station rotation comprehension tasks, and Scholastic News articles. Each of these events brought opportunities to integrate themed activities in many of our curricular studies. In Reading, we are summarizing, sequencing, and inferencing. We are also supporting the author's purpose, text meaning, and messages with details. We have transitioned to opinion writing and are working on generating ideas that provide details, reasons, and explanations on opinions for different topics. Earth’s landforms and bodies of water, as well as geography and map skills are the focus in our current Science and Social Studies units. We are also returning to addition and subtraction in Math, primarily working on their number sense. The students are developing their understanding of place value in the hundreds, specifically understanding that three digit numbers represent amounts of 100, counting within 1000, skip-counting by hundreds, reading three digit numbers, and comparing three digit numbers using the appropriate symbols.

Please be sure to check our Google Classroom for important reminders, updates, and additional resources that relate with class activities or school events. In addition, please continue to work on building math fact automaticity at home, using math fact strategies to better support student learning. Have a wonderful weekend!

We had a very busy and exciting month of February! A special thanks to our class parents and all the others who helped our students enjoy celebrating Valentine's Day. The class learned all about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington in honor of Presidents' Day. The students also enjoyed learning about Jesse Owens, an African American Track and Field Olympic athlete, who became a sports icon and a symbol of triumph against discrimination. Have a great weekend!

Mid-February has been jam-packed with activities and adventures in Ms. J's Room 2. The students really spread their love around in preparation for Valentine's Day. Using a salad spinner, they created spin art Valentine hearts for cards to be sent to our veterans, to show our love and appreciation for their sacrifice and service to our country. The students then went room-to-room delivering handmade Valentine's to teachers and staff who give them love and support all year round. Finally, once all the hard work was done, our tired, but happy mail carriers were able to kick back, relax, and enjoy some sweets and treats at our Valentine's party, one day before the holiday. On Valentine's Day itself, the students went on a field trip to 1 Gym 4 All in Waldwick, where they could climb, jump, bounce, swing, slide, glide, and play on the cushiony equipment to their heart's content.

In celebration of the President's Day holiday, the students listened to animated stories and songs about the leaders of our country over the years. They had a chance to wear a stovepipe hat and plaid, winter shawl just like our school's namesake, Abraham Lincoln did! In a cross-curricular lesson, the students identified numbers that are significant to each president, such as George Washington, who was our 1st president, and Barack Obama, our 1st black president and 44th president overall. In addition, throughout the month of February, our class has been acknowledging Black History Month by reading and coloring story quilt squares dedicated to notable African Americans, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, Michael Jordan, and more. With spring in the air this week, the students in Room 2 are excited about what the new month of March, and the upcoming season, will blow into our classroom! Let the wind "Roar!"

There was so much to learn during the month of February! We started the month learning about Groundhog's Day. Our class enjoyed watching the video of Punxsutawney Phil! We have also learned about many important people during Black History Month such as Simone Biles, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We learned about coins and presidents for Presidents' Day too! In Math this month, our Kindergarten students have been learning addition, while our First and Second Grade students are learning fact families and fractions. We continue to learn many new sight words, word families, blends, and vowel teams. We can't wait for the warmer weather to come so we can get back to playing outside!

Dear Kindergarten Families,

Spring is just around the corner, and March is full of exciting learning opportunities for our little learners! Here is a look at what’s happening in our classroom this month:

What We Are Learning:

• Literacy: We are focusing on sight words, blending letter sounds, and beginning to read simple sentences.

• Math: Comparing numbers 0-10, classifying and counting, and introducing addition and subtraction.

• Science: Exploring how objects move in different ways using forces of motion.

• Social Studies: Learning about different events and people that shaped our lives today.

Special Events & Reminders:

• Read Across America Week (March 3-7): We will celebrate with fun reading activities and dress-up days!

• Lincoln School Read-a-thon Olympics (March 3-21): Please make sure to sign your child up by March 3rd. This school-wide event will encourage our young readers to challenge themselves, track their reading, and earn fun prizes along the way.

Reminders:

• Please send a light jacket as the weather is changing. Warmer weather is around the corner!

• Ensure your child brings a water bottle daily.

• Label all belongings to prevent mix-ups.

Thank you for your continued support! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!

It has been an exciting time in First Grade! We wanted to share some highlights of the past month and upcoming events. In February, we celebrated the 100th Day of School, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, and Black History Month. The children created a trail mix with 100 snacks for the 100th Day! We have been learning about the contributions and achievements of African Americans throughout history. We will be wrapping up our "How to" Writing unit and our Fiction/Nonfiction unit. Please make sure to register for the Read-A-Thon. Reading is our superpower!

PreSchool 4 is having an exciting and hands-on learning experience with the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" study! Creating a recycling center in the dramatic play area is a great way for children to practice sorting materials and understand the importance of taking care of our environment. Exploring ways to reuse items in the classroom and at home helps build creativity and responsibility. Our small group activity with shaving cream was a blast! Not only is it a fun sensory experience, but it also strengthens fine motor skills and letter recognition in an engaging way. We can’t wait to see how the children continue to explore and learn through this study!

Why is attendance important?

Attendance is crucial for elementary-aged children because it directly impacts their learning and development. Being in school helps children build a strong academic foundation, stay engaged with their lessons, and develop important social skills. Absences from school can lead to gaps in knowledge, making it harder for children to keep up with grade level expectations. Regular attendance also fosters responsibility, routine, and a sense of commitment, setting the stage for future success both in and out of the classroom.

What is truancy?

When a child has many unexcused absences, it can fall under the category of truancy. Truancy is defined as 10 or more cumulative, unexcused absences of the days in session. Truancy is a juvenile offense that can lead to consequences for the juveniles and his or her legal parents or guardian. This may result in juvenile court and penalties imposed. Our school policy 5200 states, “prolonged or repeated absences, excused or unexcused, from school or from class, deprive students of the educational and classroom experiences deemed essential to learning and may result in retention at grade level.”

Which absences are excused?

According to district policy, a physician’s note is required to excuse student illnesses. It is important to note that this is excused ONLY for counting towards truancy. The number of days absent in Genesis will not change. The total number must be accurate for reporting purposes to the NJDOE.

According to the NJDOE, there are a few allowable reasons for a state-excused absence that pertain to elementary aged students:

• Religious observance (N.J.A.C. 6A:32-8.3(h));

• “Take Our Children to Work Day” or other rule issued by the Commissioner.

Let's work together to increase student attendance!