The Lions' Lens

As a friend of TLA, we value your support. The Lions' Lens, a quarterly newsletter filled with updates and activity highlights, is our way of sharing all of the great things happening at TLA throughout the year with you. Enjoy these updates from the third quarter of 2023-2024!

Since TLA’s inception, we have helped instill a love of reading in first grade scholars by working our way through the Junie B. Jones series. We have truly “laughed ourselves silly with the world’s funniest kid!” This year, 1st graders were able to attend a live performance of "Junie B. Jones, The Musical, Jr." at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. For many scholars, this was their first theater experience and they had SO much fun watching their favorite character come to life! 🎭

2nd grade scholars continued their study of fossils this quarter and undertook writing a narrative story about discovering a fossil. Scholars then participated in an author share where they could read their narratives to their classmates. There were so many awesome stories! 📝

K4 scholars sketched hat designs during art class that were then animated and transformed into tangible creations by skilled high school fashion design scholars using embroidery techniques. Witnessing their artwork come to life was a truly remarkable experience for the K4 scholars. The high schoolers brought so much joy to K4! 💙

As our sports program continues to grow, TLA winter sports teams showed great growth this year at both the middle and high school levels. Team records improved and a number of individual athletes placed in their competitions. GO Lions! 🦁

BookQuest is an annual reading program organized by Beloit Public Library for 4th and 5th graders that culminates with a friendly battle-of-the-books-style competition among teams from area schools.

Lowey Bundy Sichol, author of "From an Idea to a Lego" (one of the BookQuest books) visited the 4th grade to talk about real-life inventors and entrepreneurship. Each 4th grader received a signed copy of the book! Thank you, BPL, for your partnership in making this learning and career exploration opportunity available to scholars! 📚

TLA's Daisy troop earned their "My First Business," "Goal Setter," and " Money Basics" badges this quarter during club meetings as they prepared for Girl Scout cookie sales. The troop sold an amazing 1,547 packages of cookies through orders and a cookie booth at Parent-Teacher Conferences! 🫓

This quarter, we focused on careers in Arts & Communication, STEAM and Healthcare. Scholars at all grade levels learned about and explored career pathways in each of these areas. Middle and high school scholars with an interest in each field participated in a career panel highlighting different career pathways within the field. Field trips and a number of hands-on exploratory events rounded out each month's activities. 💡

Thank you to: USS Beloit Crew, Kerry Ingredients, Mid-States, CCI, Nohr Pattern, Versa Tool & Die, Craftsmen with Character, Welty Environmental Center, Helicopter Specialties, Gonstead Chiropractic Clinic, S.C., Beloit Health System, Stateline Mental Health Services, K12 Food Service, Beloit College, Wright Art Museum, Beloit Senior Living, Beloit Daily News, Morse Group, JA Business Challenge, Scot Forge, Geronimo Hospitality, Culvers, and Stoughton Trailers for your support around scholar career exploration!

During Arts & Communication month, 2nd grade scholars were tasked with becoming fashion designers and designing a piece of clothing that could be sold for profit. The scholars did an amazing job of designing dresses, sweatshirts and t-shirts! 👗

Middle school scholars with an interest in STEAM careers visited the Challenger Learning Center for Science & Technology to participate in a hands-on Mission to Mars simulation. The scholars were part of a team of astronauts and scientists being shuttled to Mars. Throughout the mission there were responsibilities to carry-out and challenges to overcome. Each scholar had an active role and duties that were part of completing the mission. 🚀

As part of their STEAM month activities, 3rd grade scholars met with visitors from Kerry Ingredients. Scholars learned about flavoring from a scientist, identified flavors by smell and then each scholar created their own drink by measuring out different flavorings. Many scholars were surprised by how just a little flavoring can change the taste so much! 🧪

TLA hosted its first college and career fair featuring more than 50 different college, business and military organizations. Junior level scholars as well as students from Community Action's Fresh Start program and Rock County Christian school had the opportunity to visit with the different organizations to learn more about internship, apprenticeship, summer and college programs, and employment opportunities available through each organization. THANK YOU to all of the colleges and businesses that participated! Click on the photo to see more. 🎓

Did you know participation in Work-Based Learning (Internship or Youth Apprenticeship) during a scholar's Junior and/or Senior year is a graduation requirement at TLA? Learn more about our Work and Service-Based learning requirements on the TLA website.

Evan S. is participating in Craftsman with Character, a program that provides a comprehensive curriculum and fosters partnerships between businesses and high schools to create a pipeline of potential employees-with-character through mentoring and coursework with students.

Evan is participating in the program as part of his required Work-Based Learning experience with students from other area high schools. This semester he will be rotating through the following participating companies: Mid-States, CCI, Nohr Pattern, Spider Company, Versa Tool & Die, and Greenberg Casework. Congrats, Evan, on challenging yourself with this great opportunity! 🔩

Congratulations to Harley, Theo and Evelyn on the completion of their internships at the Welty Environmental Center during the third quarter! The scholars completed their research projects using protocols from the GLOBE program. Harley's project focused on "Changes in fall color across broadleaf tree species." Theo's project looked at "The effect of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) on water quality," and Evelyn's project addressed the "Effects of soil moisture and temperature on wetland plant diversity." 🌿

From January through March, we focused on the character virtues of perseverance, honesty and cooperation. Virtues were infused into all of our curricular subject content and taught through direct instruction with a focus on citizenship and service. At the end of each month, scholars who embodied the monthly virtue at each grade-level were recognized. Great job TLA!

Buddy Classroom activities pair younger scholars with older scholars each month to work on a cooperative activity. February's activity focused on kindness. 💗

The TLA Scholar Council coordinated a Cereal Drive during early March collecting a total of 534 boxes of cereal to benefit TLA families, Caritas and Project 16:49. Shout out to Mrs. Johnson's class for winning the classroom challenge with 76 boxes collected and big THANK YOU to Scholar Council for undertaking this special project and celebrating with an AMAZING cereal box chain!

Our school community united this quarter in support of our first TLA Kids Heart Challenge sponsored by the American Heart Association! As part of the challenge, scholars worked toward completing "Finn's Mission," learning about heart and brain health, in addition to raising funds for heart research. This year, our collective effort resulted in an outstanding $3,099.61 raise, a testament to our shared commitment and dedication!

NJROTC scholars earned community service hours this quarter by helping parents at TLA with collecting items for our Butter Braid & Cookie Dough Fundraiser! The funds raised will support scholar trips, including the upcoming 8th grade trip to Washington DC. Go Lions! ⚓

We love to celebrate our successes and there were many things to celebrate in the 3rd Quarter.

GO LIONS! 🦁

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who, in their own way, has contributed to supporting scholars in preparing to achieve their dreams and live a choice-filled life.

Did you know more than 200 TLA scholars have received free dental care at school this year through the Seal-A-Smile program in partnership with Beloit Area Community Health Systems? Through this program, Dental professionals have provided services that include dental cleanings, fluoride varnishes, sealants, and dental education, at a cost savings of more than $20,000 worth of services for scholars. We are so appreciative of our partnership with Beloit Area Community Health Systems to be able to offer this program to families. THANK YOU to the Seal-A-Smile team and Beloit Area Community Health Systems for all that you do to support scholars in staying healthy and ready to learn!

As an independent charter school, TLA receives less per pupil funding than the traditional public school. It is imperative that we make up the funding gap, partnering with our generous community to ensure we can offer an environment that will give each and every scholar a chance to succeed. Click on the donate button below to learn more and join us in being part of something transformational!

Join us May 16th for a casual evening fundraiser that showcases the creativity and skills of scholars of all ages and supports scholar enrichment and learning opportunities.

317 new scholars completed applications during the February enrollment period for the 2024-2025 school and were eligible to participate in the March 12th lottery! Applications continue to be accepted on a rolling basis. If there is a seat available, the scholar will be enrolled. If no seat is available, the scholar will be added to the waitlist, behind lottery waitlisted scholars. Applications are available on the TLA website. 🏫

In April's blog, Dr. Cole discusses the path to middle school proficiency and the hard work required to get there. This month it's all about the secret sauce: our staff.

The Beloit Daily News recently highlighted TLA's continued progress as it moves toward full K4 through 12th grade enrollment in the 2024-2025 school year.

Learn about the transformative partnership between TLA and Concordia to empower educators in pursuit of their teacher licensure through TLA's tuition reimbursement program.

Interested in exploring a career at TLA or know someone looking to make a change? We are hiring for the 2024-2025 school year! earn more about available opportunities by visiting our website.

The Lincoln Academy (TLA) is a K4-12th grade public charter school serving Wisconsin residents and committed to reflecting the diversity of Beloit. Built with input from the community, access and equity drives TLA as an innovative, high quality, free public-school option. We expect ALL scholars to graduate from high school with a clear pathway to success.

Email: info@tlabeloit.com
Website: https://www.thelincolnacademybeloit.com/
Location: 608 Henry Avenue, Beloit, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 690-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TLABeloit
Twitter: @TLABeloit