Lincoln School Newsletter

Week of the Young Child: April 7–11

We celebrated the importance of early childhood education with a week full of hands-on learning and fun! Each day brought a new theme that engaged our young learners and their families:

• Music Monday got us moving and grooving.

• Tasty Tuesday was all about exploring food and healthy habits.

• Work Together Wednesday focused on teamwork and problem-solving.

• Artsy Thursday let creativity shine.

• Family Friday wrapped it all up with meaningful moments shared between children and families.

Thanks to everyone who helped make it a week to remember!

Third Grade Test Preparation🌟

Our amazing Third Graders are gearing up for the upcoming NJSLA test with incredible enthusiasm and teamwork! They've been working hard to develop important test-taking skills that will help them not just now, but in all future academic challenges.

Test-Taking Strategies We've Learned 📚

Key Skills for Test Success

- Following Directions Carefully: Learning to read instructions thoroughly

- Finding Key Words: Identifying important information in questions

- Skimming and Scanning: Quickly finding crucial details

- Process of Elimination: Narrowing down answer choices

Confidence-Building Activities

Our students have been:

- Creating motivational posters

- Supporting upper-grade teammates

- Learning about positive test-taking qualities

Home Support Tips for Parents 🏠

How You Can Help?

1. Encourage a positive attitude.

2. Ensure good sleep and healthy meals.

3. Practice deep breathing techniques.

4. Remind your child to:

- Read questions carefully

- Check their work

- Stay calm and confident

Qualifying Words to Know 🧠

- Always

- Never

- Sometimes

- Most

- Least

Our Classroom Motto

"We are prepared, we are confident, WE CAN DO THIS!" 💪

Special Note

We know our Third Graders will do their absolute best! These skills will help them not just on the NJSLA, but in all future academic challenges.

Go Third Grade Team! 🌈📝

The week leading up to Spring Break was a busy, but fun time for the students in Ms. J's Room 2. They showed their school spirit by dressing up (or down) according to the theme of each day. On Dress Like a Staff Member Day, Amiir sported a navy blue suit, dress shirt, and trousers, looking every bit the part of Principal of Lincoln School. Watch out, Dr. Ferraro! As nice as it was to dress to impress for our class picture, it was just as special to be able to come to school in cozy pajamas to ease our way into the upcoming break. We were also able to celebrate the uniqueness of our individual cultures by wearing clothing that was representative of our diverse backgrounds.

Learning was all fun and games as our students engaged in sensory and interactive activities as a way of reviewing their alphabet letters from A-Z and numbers 0-26, plus Math concepts. In Science, we learned all about the parts of a plant and the life cycle of a plant by crafting a model and labeling the parts. In a combined Science and Social Studies lesson, we explored the scientific and cultural significance of eggs, then enjoyed an egg hunt before enjoying some sweets and treats.

During Spring Break, Earth Day was celebrated worldwide on April 22nd. Upon our return to the classroom, our students showed their respect for our home planet by making a model of the Earth out of homemade Play Doh, by combining flour, salt, cream of tartar, cooking oil, water, and food coloring. As we look ahead into May, we turn our focus from loving Mother Earth to loving and appreciating our Moms as Mother's Day approaches and the end of the school year draws closer.

Spring Break, National Autism Acceptance, our Library Trip, and the Dinosaur Rock Adventure school event were all fantastic ways to embrace the month of April! This week, we welcomed caterpillars into our classroom! Each day we will observe the changes in their life cycle. This topic is part of our Life Science unit, where students are learning about animal and plant life cycles, as well as dinosaurs. As a reminder, students have a culminating (at home) project, developing a dinosaur diorama that should be brought to school by May 5th. We cannot wait to see all of the students’ creative ideas! In Literacy, we have moved on to character studies, identifying main characters, character traits, and character feelings. The students have also been making predictions, inferencing, and drawing connections. Understanding what characters are doing, how characters are feeling, and how/why those feelings change throughout a story is a focus. The Second Graders completed their opinion/persuasive writing letters and have moved on to a “How To” writing piece. This writing project further develops the importance of facts, details, sequencing, and descriptions. In Math, we are finishing topic 11 centered around three-digit subtraction with regrouping. We will be moving on to topics 12 and 14 involving measurement, using varied tools, and addition or subtraction to measure. Following measurement, we will work on interpreting data and graphing, wrapping up the year with shapes and their attributes.

Please be sure to check our Google Classroom for important reminders, updates, and additional resources that relate to 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 are so excited for the warmer weather and spring! Room 101 has been enjoying playing outside with our friends and enjoying the sun. We have also been hard at work learning so many skills! In Reading, we are working on reading blends, bossy R words, CVC words, and sight words! We are also working on our writing skills, creating opinion pieces, and writing narratives. In Math, we are learning how to tell time on a clock, add 3 numbers, and we are learning all about money! We have really grown this year!

With spring upon us, the students have been learning about plants and the special job of each plant part. They are also enjoying learning about plant and animal fossils. We wish all of our special mothers a Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Families,

Welcome back! We hope you had a restful and fun-filled Spring Break. The students returned full of energy and excitement, and we’ve jumped right back into learning and growing together. Here's a peek at what we've been up to and what’s coming soon!

What We’re Learning:

• Reading/Phonics: We are exploring spring-themed books and working on retelling stories using beginning, middle, and end. We are also continuing to work on writing and reading CVC words.

• Writing: Students are writing simple sentences about springtime activities and practicing using capital letters and punctuation.

• Math: We’re working on addition and subtraction within 10, and we’re using number stories and hands-on manipulatives to help us understand these concepts.

• Science: Our Kindergarteners will be observing caterpillars transforming into butterflies and observing their growth over time.

Special Highlights:

• We created beautiful spring artwork to brighten up our classroom.

• We will be kicking off our end of the year alphabet countdown in May—stay tuned for more details!

Important Dates:

• May 5th- Cinco De Mayo Celebration
  

• May 20th – Field Trip to Imagine That! (Permission Slips due May 9th.)

• May 23rd-May 27th – Memorial Day Break

Reminders:

• Please make sure your child brings a water bottle and wears weather-appropriate clothing. Spring days can be unpredictable!

• Keep reading at home each night—it makes a big difference!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Break! The First Grade has completed their opinion writing unit, and we will begin working on narratives. In Reading, we will begin working on comparing and contrasting stories. In Math, the students are working on adding and subtracting two digit numbers. The First Grade classes will be hosting a Mother's Day Tea Party on Friday, May 9th. We are excited to celebrate our moms! On Thursday, May 15th, we will be going on our field trip to Chef It Up. Please make sure to RSVP to the Mother's Day Tea Party and return the permission slip and $15 fee for the field trip.