Lincoln School Newsletter

In Technology class, the students in Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades have been exploring the mathgames.com website and finding new and exciting math lessons and games. This is a really good site to learn new skills and practice the skills they are already comfortable with. The Third through Sixth Grades have been taking the NJSLA, our state’s standardized test. We all spent time working on many testing tools, in order to prepare for these tests. Next up, students in all grades will be working with a variety of robots. They look forward to ending the school year with these exciting activities!

¡Hola familias!

As we wrap up the school year, our Spanish classes are full of energy and exciting learning! Kindergarten is learning how to be a good family member, practicing phrases in Spanish like “yo ayudo” and “yo comparto.” First Grade is diving into summer activities through fun readings and comprehension questions, exploring words like viajar, jugar, and ir a la playa. Second Grade is reviewing all we’ve learned by conjugating -AR and -ER verbs in the present tense, reinforcing grammar, and sentence structure. Third Grade is finishing our unit on Hispanic leaders and getting ready to explore la música, where we’ll learn about rhythms, instruments, and musical traditions from Spanish speaking countries.

¡Gracias!

¡Saludos! Spanish students in 6th Grade created and presented projects online. The presentations included sentences stating what sports they practice and what sports their classmates practice, using sports, pronouns, and pictures.The 5th Graders are reading about the origins of some genres of Latin music and are writing sentences with different genres, using the verbs bailar-to dance and cantar-to sing. The 4th Graders are working on Reading is Fun, the last unit for 4th Grade Spanish. They are currently focusing on the virtual book, ¿Qué mascota te conviene tener? -What pet should you get? They are answering questions about the book and learning how to ask and answer questions in Spanish.

This month in Speech, we are transitioning out of our spring activities and getting ready for summer! Our Preschool and lower grades have been working on position words (i.e., on, in, under) to expand our sentences, as well as learning new summer vocabulary. Our older students have been working on their speech sounds and auditory comprehension to expand our receptive and expressive language skills in the classroom. Keep up the great work!

We have been very busy in Enrichment and Gifted and Talented classes. The Kindergarten and First Grade students heard the story A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni. We learned about chameleons and created habitats for them to camouflage themselves in! Grade 2 students started a Fairytale STEM lesson. This lesson is a twist on the classic tale Hansel and Gretel. In this version, the students will plan and create a trap to help them trap the witch! Grade 3 students continue building models of TIny Houses! In the process, we are studying geometry, area, and perimeter. These houses are coming out so cool! Grade 4 students have completed making original learning board games and are now enjoying playing them. Grade 5 G&T students have been enjoying exploring the Strawbees building system and using them to design and build bridges and catapults. Finally, the Sixth Grade G&T students continue studying mythical creatures. They have created Google Slide presentations to teach about their chosen creatures. The students are now designing and building a model of their creature, as well as a trap that will contain their creature without causing them any harm.

The students in Basic Skills continue to work very hard on both reading and writing as well as math skills. We continue to focus on reading comprehension with all of our students. Decoding, fluency, and vocabulary skills are some of the keys to reading comprehension, and we review all of those in our small groups. The ability to connect ideas within and between sentences helps students understand the whole text. Reading aloud and talking about experiences can help students build reading skills. Please continue to have your child read, and ask them questions about the story to further develop their reading comprehension skills. Thank you for your help and support at home.

In PT and OT, we made cards for some VIPs in our lives! We did some fun flower projects and practiced our fine motor skills. In PT, we had a big obstacle course and zipped around on scooters! Then we found frogs to throw back into the pond!

It's Go Time!

The Spring Concert is this Thursday, May 22nd. Grades 1-3 will perform at 2:20pm. Gym door 4, on Hackensack Avenue, will open at 1:50pm. The performance for Grades 4-6 will begin at 5:00pm. The Hackensack Avenue door 4 will open at 4:30pm. Band students should arrive no later than 4:45pm in the cafeteria. Chorus students should arrive no later than 4:55pm and sit in their homeroom section on the bleachers. We have all been working hard to put on a great performance!

See you there!

We are happy that NJSLA testing is officially behind us! Our 3rd-6th graders worked hard, and we couldn’t be more proud of their efforts.

In 6th Grade, with testing completed, we have shifted our focus to a new class novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. Each day, we are diving into a chapter and engaging in meaningful discussions. Students are responding to guided comprehension questions while applying the reading strategies we've learned and practiced all year. These include:

• Identifying Point of View (Who is telling the story?)

• Analyzing Character Traits

• Making Inferences based on textual evidence

• Citing Evidence using the RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain)

Our class is excited to explore the themes, characters, and historical context of this powerful story.

In 1st and 2nd Grade, we are continuing to expand our understanding of sounds and letter blends to strengthen our reading fluency and vocabulary. Through interactive activities and hands-on practice, the students are growing more confident in identifying sounds and decoding words. We are also revisiting writing prompts from earlier in the year, such as narrative writing. Students are using sentence starters and graphic organizers to express their ideas clearly and confidently.

In 3rd and 4th Grade, we are watching an engaging Science documentary about the coral reef and the important roles that different sea animals play in maintaining this vibrant ecosystem. After learning about these creatures, the students will choose their favorite sea animal and write a short informational essay about its job and benefits within the reef. To bring their writing to life, they will also create a fun craft of their chosen animal.

In Math, our students have been working hard on finishing all their lessons. We are so proud of their hard work this school year. We encourage them to practice their basic math skills over the summer. In 2nd Grade, the students have been working on telling time and place value. They continue to practice their basic facts. We are playing various games to help us with our learning.

In 3rd and 4th Grade, the students continue to work on mastering their multiplication and division facts. The 3rd Graders have also been working on addition and subtraction of multi-digit numbers. They are estimating by using rounding to help them understand if their answers are reasonable. The 4th Graders are working on adding fractions with different denominators. They have learned how to make equal fractions as well as change from improper fractions to mixed numbers.

The 5th Graders are working on multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals. They have been working to solve word problems with money to help them with real life experiences. The students continue to master their basic facts to help them with all areas of math.

Our 6th Graders are busy working on ratios and percentages. They are learning how to solve problems using these concepts. We continue to work on our basic skills and all operations with multi-digit numbers. The students continue to review previously learned concepts by completing a daily Do Now. We are so proud of their hard work this year and wish them a successful transition to the Jr./Sr. High School.

During Physical Education classes, the students have been participating in kickball basketball, big base kickball, and whiffle ball. The focus has been on how to run the bases, how to keep a batting order, and understanding the overall rules of baseball/softball. The students have also been reviewing the upcoming Field Day stations so they have an understanding of how each station runs.

With Memorial Day quickly approaching, the unofficial start of summer, Health classes have been learning the importance of sun protection and water safety. The students learned the importance of wearing sunscreen, following rules at the pool, staying safe in the ocean, and how lightning is extremely dangerous, especially around water.

Mr. Fells and Ms. Bohajian wish everyone a fantastic long Memorial Day Break!

Our ESL students have been making wonderful progress! The Kindergarteners are finishing up their alphabet books and are now starting to explore number and color words. It's exciting to see their vocabulary growing every day. The students have been learning to identify character traits and back up their ideas with evidence from the text. They've done a fantastic job thinking like real readers and sharing thoughtful insights. Next week, we will take this a step further with a fun activity. The students will pair up to practice their speaking and writing skills by interviewing each other, one as the reporter and the other as a character from a book. This interactive project helps build confidence while deepening their understanding of the stories we read. We have also been working on book reviews, where students share their opinions and support them with reasons. We encourage you to visit the town library with your child over the summer. They offer wonderful resources, including audio books, which are a great way to build listening and language skills.