Lincoln Cluster Schools Newsletter

We are proud to announce the return of The Takeover, a collection of stories, opinions, and news from the School of Media Arts and Entertainment and around Lincoln High School. The Takeover is updated on a weekly basis and our students work hard to create stories of interest, relevancy, and impact. Please take some time to look through the collaborative work of our students. https://www.thetakeoverlhs.com/thefrontpage

Some of our Lincoln Hornets participated in a Friendship Bracelet classroom project with schools in Tijuana and around the district! Our Lincoln students created paintings that represented friendship that later became interwoven with paintings from the other students. All together, they created a giant friendship bracelet. The “Friendship Bracelet” was on display in front of The San Diego Museum of Art in mid-October.

At Lincoln, we have four small schools. Over the next few Cluster newsletters, we will learn about the different pathways at Lincoln. Here is an abbreviated version of “The Pathways 10: Media Arts and Entertainment” by MAE Staff Writer, Yona Aguero, 9/12/24

“When Lincoln High School was reopened in 2007, it was rebuilt with the small school system in mind. The bigger campus is broken into four smaller schools or quads making the shift to a pathway structure easy. The idea of the small school structure was brought back to LHS during the 2020-2021 school year. After the staff had agreed to the idea, it was decided there would be a small school focusing on 9th Grade Success, a small school focusing on Engineering, a small school focusing on Public Health and Safety, and a small school focused on Media Arts and Entertainment.

As a student in the Media Arts and Entertainment (MAE) pathway I have studied Video Production and Multimedia concepts in addition to theme related work in all other content areas. I have created a movie trailer for a movie I will be making later this year using industry standard editing software. I have recorded interviews after learning about how camera placement, angles, and movement impact a scene. I have also experimented with Typography and C.R.A.P. design to create commercial art and graphic designs. Later this year, both Ms. Harvey and Ms. Ladd, the CCTE teachers in the MAE pathway have planned field trips and possible internships with local companies in the media industry. In fact, this website you are browsing right now, the student created and run online news source, The Takeover, is an example of the kind of work done in the Media Arts and Entertainment pathway at LHS.” For the full article visit: https://www.thetakeoverlhs.com/thegrade/which-path-to-take

Knox Middle School is off to a great start this school year. Knox is finalizing our journey to become a Level 4 Marzano High Reliability School Certified in Standards-based teaching and grading. Knox already holds Marzano High Reliable Certifications in Levels 1,2 and 3. As part of our work as a standards-based grading school, all students at Knox track their learning progress with rubrics and proficiency scales. Students set learning goals and monitor their progress. Students present their learning as part of our Student-led Conferences twice a year. Every student at Knox keeps a portfolio of their learning goals and shares this with their family at conferences. Our Knox teachers engages in Action Research as their model of Professional Development and all teachers are focused on making learning goals transparent to students.

Standards Based Grading Parent Brochure-English Spanish

Learn more about Marzano High Reliability Schools here.

Follow us on Instagram to see more exciting events happening at Knox such as our Thanksgiving Turkey Drive.

Instagram = @knox_middle

Knox Newsletter:

https://secure.smore.com/n/atrns

Millennial Tech Middle School students proudly showcased their talents and creativity at the Fall Showcase, impressing family and friends with an array of Project-Based Learning exhibits. The evening buzzed with excitement as attendees enjoyed tasty bites from the Taco Love Food Truck. Projects spanned all grade levels, featuring everything from student-created businesses to fascinating explorations of animal adaptations.

Families were treated to a special Monday Night Football watch party, complete with nachos, sodas, and enthusiastic cheers for the Chargers. Although the team lost a heartbreaker, everyone felt like a winner thanks to Coach Dunn, head football coach at Lincoln High School, and Lonnie Jones, who brought gifts for attendees, spreading community spirit.

Meanwhile, the MTM drone team soared to success at a local scrimmage hosted by the Mountain View Recreation Center. Six teams represented MTM, competing against other middle schools in a friendly match. The event was a hit, with students logging valuable flight time, making new friends, and even connecting with the San Diego Police Department Drone Division for an up-close look at their high-tech equipment. It was a week full of learning, teamwork, and celebration!

Porter Elementary: A Season of Learning, Creativity, and Community Fun!

At Porter Elementary, we are continuing our work to foster a vibrant community of learning, creativity, and connection. This fall has been full of inspiring moments, joyful events, and shared successes, all thanks to our incredible students, families, and staff.

A Visit from Interim Superintendent Dr. Fabiola Bagula
We were honored to welcome Dr. Fabiola Bagula, Interim Superintendent, to Porter Elementary! Dr. Bagula was thrilled to see our teachers deeply engaged in professional learning, and working together to enhance their skills and strategies. She noted the joy on our students’ faces as they learned and played, and she praised the school’s unwavering commitment to meeting every child at their point of need. Her visit reaffirmed the strength and dedication of our Porter community.

Teacher Highlights
Our teachers continue to shine as the heart of Porter Elementary, inspiring students with their dedication, creativity, and focus on growth. Whether it’s leading engaging lessons, supporting individual learning paths, or cultivating curiosity, they make a profound impact every day. We are so grateful for their hard work and care!

Fall Festival Fun
This year’s Fall Festival brought families together for an evening of fun and connection! From games and prizes to festive decorations and delicious treats, the event was a joyful celebration of community. Seeing families laughing and bonding on campus was a true highlight of the season.

Balloons Over Broadway Parade
Our students participated in the much-anticipated Balloons Over Broadway Parade, inspired by the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Each class worked hard to design and create unique balloon floats, showcasing their creativity, and artistic skills. We loved seeing their masterpieces come to life during this spectacular event!

Thank you to our families, staff, and community members for your continued support and involvement. Together, we are building a brighter future for every child at Porter Elementary.

Warm regards,

Vincent Anthony

October was a busy month and we are so proud of how our student leaders stepped up to the plate. Some students have been leading the Monday Morning announcements and the first awards assemblies of the year. We recently held a Kindness Art Contest and some of our student leaders are currently judging it. We also had a small group of students create a celebratory announcement for Hispanic Heritage Month, and our student Green Team has been leading some amazing initiatives for keeping our campus clean. We can't wait for all of the other amazing things our students will do!

It has been an exciting fall at Horton. We’ve had two HAWKS recognition ceremonies where students are recognized for demonstrating Horton’s values (Honesty, Achieve your highest potential, Willing to the right thing, Kindness and respect, and Safe at all times with words and actions). In addition to being recognized for HAWKS, we also recognized over 200 students for perfect attendance across September and October! We are on target so far to meet our site wide attendance goals of 93%. To incentivize and motivate our students, we’ve held attendance challenges and spirit weeks. The classes with the highest attendance have been invited to pizza parties and extra recess sessions. Students with perfect attendance have participated in an Atten-DANCE with fun treats.

In October, we held our annual Fall Festival and annual Storybook Character and Superhero Costume Parade. Over 350 families and students came to spend a fun-filled afternoon playing games, eating, making crafts, and interacting with community partners. The fun included staff hosted game booths, a DJ, food, contests, and resource information and swag from our community partners. It was a great afternoon of community building.

This year, Horton has been selected to participate with school police in the True Blue Buddies program. SDUSD School Police Officers “buddy with” and mentor a group of selected Horton students to build a bridge between the students and our officers. Throughout the school year, the students and officers participate in several fun events that allow the student and officers to bond. Our first event was a Meet & Greet followed by a Back-to-School fall shopping spree at Target. In partnership with the Assistance League of San Diego, students, with the help of their buddy officer, shopped for back to school clothes and shoes. Our upcoming events with our buddy officers include a Thanksgiving luncheon and Bike Rodeo.

Through our federal magnet grant, Webster is integrating STEAM to further our mission: Webster Elementary Academy of Science and the Arts supports children to think independently with curiosity and develop a passion for lifelong learning by responding to real world problems. Our magnet grant funds collaborations with community partners including ArtReach. ArtReach is a local non-profit organization that brings art experiences to students across San Diego. ArtReach’s mission is to ignite youth creativity through visual arts expression and community connection. ArtReach brings a working artist into the classrooms and focuses on local creators who represent a variety of cultures and points of view. The teaching artist engages with teachers and students to study different genres of visual arts and teaches the skills to work in that style. Classroom teachers engage in the art lessons with students, learning strategies they can embed in future STEAM units. Webster students are scientists, artists, engineers and storytellers!

Encanto Elementary’s youngest Eagles have embarked on their reading journey with the support of the RAISING A READER Red Book Bag program!

Dedicated staff have taken on the coordination of the program including, Literacy Acceleration Coach, Janice Anderson; K/1 teacher Natalia Campos; TK teacher, Maria Mendoza and ECE teacher, Vanessa Ortiz-Preciado. In addition to preparing materials and training Kindergarten teachers, they are facilitating parent-child workshops throughout the year to support early literacy habits in the home.

Raising a Reader’s evidence-based Classic Red Book Bag Program fosters family bonding moments and develops critical literacy and social emotional skills through shared reading.Every week, children bring home a Red Book Bag filled with award-winning, multicultural books. The caring adults in their lives read with them regularly, creating shared reading routines. These efforts are supported by easy-to-use materials and training to help families make the most of shared reading time and moments with their children.

Johnson students participated in the voting process! Who were the candidates? Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor!

Students researched the two "candidates" using the Scholastic Book "Who Would Win? Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Velociraptor" as the basis for the information.

Who won? T Rex by a landslide!

Most importantly, students learned about their civic responsibility to vote in elections as they get to voting age.

It was a lot of fun; everyone got their "I voted" sticker.

Thank you to the Johnson Power Up volunteers who met with our upper-grade students over the past few months to learn about the voting process. They were excited to know they have a voice in their futures!

Trunk or Treat at Baker Elementary

On October 30, Baker held their 2nd annual Trunk or Treat event. The event was organized by our group of amazing parent volunteers, who planned the event, created the flyers, collected sign-ups, set-up decorations and participated in the event. We also had 18 families, and Mountain View Community Center, participate in decorating the trunks of their cars and passing out festive goods. The students first participated in a costume parade, then each class visited the long line of decorated trunks, and took pictures in front of the photo booth. Thank you to all who participated - we had more than double the amount of trunks from last year!

On October 30, Chavez held its 2nd annual Classroom to Classroom Trick or Treat event. The event was well received by the parents, students and community. We had a great turnout and a high participation from the staff. Parents expressed how they appreciated this event because they were able to trick or treat as a family and not worry about it being unsafe. Parents also enjoyed watching their children socialize with other students and seeing their past and present teachers. The hunted house was a great success! A special thanks to our Community School Coordinator Samantha Tellez for supporting the event and getting free costumes for our families.