Lincoln School News

August 2024

School Hours - 8:10 - 2:40

Message from Mr. Lang

August 2024

Hello Lincoln Students and Families,

I want to start by introducing myself. I am Justin Lang, Lincoln Elementary’s Principal. I live in Northfield with my wife Andrea and our two sons, August (age 7) and Forrest (age 3). We love spending time together outside gardening, boating and playing. Fifteen years ago, I started right here at Lincoln as a special education teacher, served in multiple buildings and capacities across the district and I’m excited to come back home. But enough about me; let’s get some updates for you!

Family Census

Every year, we ask that families provide the district with the most updated directory information. I cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring we have the most recent information. In the event of an emergency, we want to be sure we can communicate with you effectively and efficiently. If you have not done so already, please follow this link to complete your yearly update.

Absence Reporting

In the event your student(s) will be absent from school please be sure to communicate this with the office. You can call our attendance line at 444-8105 and leave a message. You can also call our main office at 444-8100 during office hours and talk to Pam or Cheryl. If you have a planned absence, please complete the absence pre-approval form, located in the office. Please do not rely on the classroom teacher to communicate the absence. We ask that you work through our office attendance process when communicating absences.

Morning Supervision

Morning supervision begins at 7:50. If you plan to drop your students off before 7:50, please know they will not have adult supervision. Due to staff hours and contractual requirements, we are unable to send staff outside prior to 7:50. In addition, our school leadership team is looking at alternative plans for morning supervision and where students will gather. If any changes are made, Mr. Lang will communicate with families or it will be provided in the next monthly newsletter.

Theme for 2024

This year, our Lincoln PBIS Team has named our school theme to be “We Are Lincoln." Our theme will help ground us in who we are, what we expect of our Lincoln Leaders and help guide our focus of celebrating our successes. We also want to celebrate our Lincoln Leaders more this year through additional ways. Look for us to be calling home, sending letters and writing Lincoln Leader tickets more this year!

Lincoln Families Facebook Page

Feel free to join the Lincoln Elementary Families Page on Facebook. We are excited to use this platform to share our story. You can find updates, events and celebrations going on at Lincoln.

New Staff Members

Please join me in welcoming our newest staff members to Lincoln Elementary! First, we have Joanne Harmsen, our Teaching and Learning Coach. Joanne is coming back to Lincoln where she served as a classroom teacher and instructional coach. Next up, we have Mattie Hellerud joining us as our School Counselor. Jake Dreifort will be our music teacher and will be shared with Washington Elementary. With the retirement of Julie Brown, we were in need of a nurse. Jolene Ward is coming over from McKinley Elementary and joining our team. We have two long-term substitute teachers this year. Jessica Williams will be subbing for Katelyn Heinz and Kristine Routh will be subbing for Toni Glynn. Dr. Karel Dokken, Occupational Therapist and Lena Nycklemoe, School Psychologist, are joining our special services department. Jennifer Lopez will be supporting students who receive English Language Services. Lastly, Kelly Velzke is joining our team as our Media Educational Assistant. I am honored to introduce them to you.

Thank you for taking the time to read my update. I am honored to have the opportunity and responsibility to work alongside our staff to create an educational environment where your student has the sincerest sense of belonging. I look forward to celebrating Lincoln each and every month with you through our newsletter. Please, if you have any questions, concerns or anything you would like to celebrate, please reach out to me by email or phone. Have a great start to the school year and GO HUSKIES!

Justin Lang

jlang@isd761.org

(507)-444-8101

Mark your Calendar

August 29th-Before School Interviews Kindergarten - 5th Grade 7:40am-3:00pm

September 3rd-Before School Interviews Kindergarten - 5th Grade 11:40am-7:00pm

September 4th-Before School Interviews 1st Grade - 5th Grade 7:40am-3:00pm

September 5th-First Day of School for 1st Grade- 5th Grade and 1/2 of the kindergarten class last names A-M

September 6th-First Day of School for Kindergarten class last names N-Z

September 9th-All kindergarten students together

September 9th-Picture Day at Lincoln

September 10th-PTO meeting at 6:00pm in the Lincoln IMC

September 11th-Fundraiser Kick Off Club's Choice

September 12th-Back to School Bash at Lincoln School East Playground 5:30pm-7:00pm

September 24th-Fundraiser Turn In/Sales End

September 27th-Bring your Parent to PE Day

September 28th-Fun Run at OHS grades K-2 9:00am and grades 3-5 9:15am

New Staff at Lincoln this Year

Welcome, to the following staff:

Justin Lang-Principal

Kelly Velzke-Librarian

Joanne Harmsen-Teaching and Learning Coach

Mattie Hellerud-School Counselor

Elementary Student Handbook Information

Please click on the Student Handbook and Expectation for Learning form to review the student handbook.

Before School Interviews Information

Owatonna Public Schools is committed to creating strong student and family relationships and fostering a positive first experience. Students in grades K-5 will start the school year on Thursday, September 5th to allow time for before school interviews to take place.

Before school interviews allow teachers to meet individually for 30-40 minutes with students and parents before the start of the school year. All kindergarten students will sign up for an individual 30-minute interview conference time on either Thursday, August 29th or Tuesday, September 3rd. All students, grades 1-5, will sign up for an individual 40-minute interview conference time either on Thursday, August 29th, Tuesday September 3rd, or Wednesday, September 4th. Here is the link if you haven't signed up for a conference.

Students will meet one on one with their teacher for approximately 40 minutes to learn more about them and assess their reading level. Parents will complete paperwork during this time. Following the teacher meeting, students will stop at stations to complete a FASTBridge reading assessment. Students in first and fourth grade will also complete their vision and hearing screening. The teachers are looking forward to getting to know your child better at the beginning of the year.

On August 8th, teacher placement letters were emailed out to families with the before school information included. If you didn't receive a email, please reach out to the Lincoln office at 507-444-8100. Thank you

Student Assurance Voluntary Coverage Accident Insurance Information

Here is the link to the Voluntary Student Accident form.

Here is the link to the Voluntary Student Accident Plan online form.

Here is the link to the Voluntary Student Accident Plan online form in Spanish.

School Supply List

The 2024-2025 School Supply List is available on the Lincoln Website. You may order school supplies on this website https://www.teacherlists.com. Supply lists will not be available in the stores. This website allows you to shop electronically through Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, and Office Max/Depot to purchase you school supplies. We have noticed the website may default to a more expensive product, please watch for this and adjust for your preference.

School Picture Dates at Lincoln

Lifetouch will be taking school pictures on Monday, September 9th and picture re-takes will be on Thursday, October 3rd.

Welcome Back Students, Families and Staff!

Join us on Thursday, September 12th from 5:30-7:00 pm at Lincoln School for KONA Ice and to meet new friends.

We are so excited to start another year at Lincoln! This is a great opportunity to see other families, check out what the PTO is all about and join our team of parents, and best of all grab a KONA Ice!

Back to School Page 2024-2025

Please use this link on the Owatonna Public Schools website to access school start times, before school interview information, calendars, student handbooks and additional links with back to school information.

Volunteering at Lincoln School

If you are interested in volunteering at Lincoln School, please email Leah Wunderlich at lwunderlich@isd761.org. She will verify if you need a background check. Owatonna Public Schools requires all volunteers/chaperones to complete a background check every 5 years. You will receive an email from administrator@trustedemployees.com to complete the background check. Once the link is activated, you have 30 minutes to complete it. Below is an example of the email.

Mayo Mobile Clinic Information

Reading Corp Tutor

We are still in need of Reading Corp Tutors at Lincoln School.

Reading Corps Tutor Position

Reading Corps helps kids become stronger readers by training people just like you to be effecting reading tutors. No experience is needed, we provide all the training and ongoing support. Our evidence based program works and has already helped more than 275,000 students nationwide. To find out more information, please visit Join.ReadingandMath.org or call the Lincoln Office, 444-8100.

Let's Support Team "L"

Lincoln School is part of Buffalo Wild Wings Home Team Advantage program. Lincoln PTO will receive 10% of your total sale when mentioning Team “L” to the server or cashier (dine-in or take-out) anytime you are dining at BWW. Don’t forget to mention that you are supporting Lincoln PTO or Team L and Buffalo Wild Wings will take care of the rest. Thank you for your support!