Lincoln School News

Hello Lincoln Families,

Welcome to 2025 and boy has it started out as a COLD one! We have come into the year with quite the cold snap outside! We hope you have started out 2025 how you wanted to and are ready to continue making progress with us as we move into the second semester!

Winter Gear Reminder

This is a great time to remind students to be bringing all their winter gear and for me to remind parents of our guidelines. As a reminder, our outside supervision begins at 7:45 in the morning. This means we will not have adults outside to supervise or be able to bring students inside before then as they would be unsupervised.

In regards to temperature, if the “feels like” temperature is below zero degrees fahrenheit at 7:45 AM, we will have students come inside. We will make an announcement and staff will be waiting at the entrances to let students in. If your student is a patrol for our school patrol, they will go outside up to -25 degrees fahrenheit. Mrs. Sturges will communicate with them when a decision needs to be made so please plan accordingly. As always, if you are in need of winter gear, please feel free to connect with Amanda Griswold, our school social worker or your student’s classroom teacher to see how we may assist.

Transition Day

We started the year off welcoming our students back with a transition day this year. This is a new process for students and staff at Lincoln and is something I had experienced as a staff member at McKinley. A transition day is designed to help ease the transition of coming back after longer breaks. As a school and classroom, we refocus our attention to building relationships, getting back into our usual routines and relearning our building and classroom expectations.

End of quarter 2/First semester

We have come to the end of the 2nd quarter/1st semester of the 2024-2025 school year. We will also be hosting family/teacher conferences the week of February 10th on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (2/11, 2/13, 2/14). Please keep reading for the conference sign up link. Lastly, with the end of the quarter, our students have the opportunity to jump in bounce houses during the PE time. You should have received a release of liability to sign so your child can participate. If we do not receive a signed release, your child will not be able to participate.

Principal,

Justin Lang

jlang@isd761.org

(507)-444-8101

January 23rd-PTO Open Gym in Both Gyms 5:00-6:30pm

January 24th-EOQ Celebration Bounce House in PE

February 5th-Student Council meeting at 2:45

February 7th-Science Fair Registrations are due

February 7th-Dress Up-Pajama Day

February 11th-Student Conferences 3:00 to 7:00

February 13th-Student Conferences 3:00 to 7:00

February 14th-Student Conferences-7:40 to 12:00-No School

February 21st-Dress Up-Zookeeper Day-Bring a Small Stuffed Animal Day

February 28th-Dress Up-Animal Print or Husky Day

If you have a child that will be attending kindergarten next year, please register them using the link below. As a reminder, a cell phone is not reommended for this. Timely registration is the best way to secure your spot at Lincoln.

Here is the link to the kindergarten registration.

The Lincoln science fair will take place on Thursday, March 6th. All registrations are due by Friday, February 7th. Here is the link to sign up for the science fair.

Conference for Lincoln students will be:

Tuesday, February 11th from 3:00pm to 7:00pm

Thursday, February 13th from 3:00pm to 7:00pm

Friday, February 14th from 7:40am to 12:00pm

Here is the link to sign up for conferences.

Below are the dates of the upcoming PTO book fair that will be open the week of conferences. This will be the last year that Darren Albers will be in charge of the book fair. We thank Darren for his commitment to supporting this event. The PTO is looking for a volunteer to take this over. Without a volunteer, there may not be future book fairs.

• Monday, 2/10- 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

• Tuesday, 2/11- 3:00 PM - 7:20 PM

• Wednesday, 2/12- 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

• Thursday, 2/13- 3:00 PM - 7:20 PM

• Friday, 2/14- 7:30 AM - 11:50 AM

• Our book fair homepage is below:

• https://www.scholastic.com/bf/lincolnelementaryschool3

• Our volunteer sign-up page is below:

• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4AACAE29A4FA7-54327781-lincoln

Hello,
We are excited to announce that Main Street Dental Clinics will be participating in Give Kids A Smile 2025! This special event is dedicated to providing free dental care for children in need. I have attached a flier for you to hand out to families you feel would benefit from this event. Here are the details:

Event Name: Give Kids A Smile 2025
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025
Time: 2:00–5:00 PM
Location: Main Street Dental Clinics, 1170 E Frontage Rd, Owatonna, MN 55060

Services Offered:
Free dental treatment. Exams, cleanings, x-rays, and restorative work.
Care is provided by our dedicated dental team.

How to Schedule:
To book an appointment, please call us at 507-455-1000.
Appointments are 1 hour long, and spaces are limited, so we encourage you to schedule early.
New patients should mention that they are first-time visitors when calling so we can ensure appropriate scheduling.

Thank you for trusting us with your dental care. We look forward to helping kids smile at our annual event Give Kids A Smile 2025! Please contact us should you have any questions.

Participate in a 3-part series of community conversations based on the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Discuss how smartphones and social media are affecting young people's mental health, and explore ways to keep our kids safe and healthy in today's world.

A light dinner and childcare (ages 2+) will be provided.

Register here and request a free book or childcare at the events.

Don't have time to read the book and still want to be involved? Use one of the links below to hear from the author, as he summarizes the connection between smartphones and declining mental health in children.

Interview with Jonathan Haidt (1 hour)

TED Talk with Jonathan Haidt (40 minutes)

This opportunity is possible due to support from local businesses, organizations and student groups.

When decisions are made to alter the school day or cancel it due to inclement weather, every effort is made to communicate that decision to parents in a timely manner through our school messenger system, website, and local radio and TV stations.

Parents choose to receive notifications via text message, phone call, email, and/or parent portal inbox messages. To help us contact households efficiently, be sure to update home, work and/or cellphone information in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, and verify the appropriate boxes are checked to receive notifications.

Other ways to stay informed:

• Visit the website: www.isd761.org
• Check local TV stations: KSTP-5, KMSP FOX 9, KARE 11, WCCO, KEYC TV, KTTC, KAAL
• Listen to local radio stations: KOWZ, KRFO/KAT KOUNTRY 105, KDHL

The first two inclement weather/emergency days in the Owatonna Public Schools are considered non-attendance days for students. In the event OPS has more than two inclement weather/emergency days, students will follow the E-Learning Plan.

Don't miss out on preserving the memories of this school year! Order your yearbook today to capture all the special moments, events, and friendships that make this year unforgettable. The yearbook is the perfect way to relive the memories for years to come. Secure your copy now before it's too late!

Here is the yearbook link to order.

Remember to check the lost and found before January 31st, after this day we will be donating any items left. Thanks to the Lincoln Student Council for helping to keep the lost and found organized.

Click this link for the January editions of the newsletter Building Readers.

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!

To complete the 2024/2025 Meal Benefits Application,

log in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account.
The application can be found on the left hand side under "more".

All students enrolled are eligible to receive one breakfast and one lunch at no cost on each in-person academic day regardless of their application results.
Families are still encouraged to complete an Application for Educational Benefits to be considered for additional benefits such as reduced fees for school sports and activities. The application also helps determine state education funding for your children's schools.

Applications may be submitted anytime throughout the school year. More information may be found on the Owatonna Public Schools website.

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

Title IX Disclosure

Owatonna Public Schools is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for all students and staff and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, in its programs and activities, as required by Title IX. This includes prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, gender-based violence, and unequal access to extracurricular activities. Any concerns related to Title IX should be reported to Chris Picha, Director of Human Resources & Title IX Coordinator at 507-444-8602 or cpicha@isd761.org.

Nondiscrimination Policy

Owatonna Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color creed, religion, national origin, sex marital status, familial status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, age , gender identity or expression, or socio-economic status. Students with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education that includes general education, special education and/or related aids and services. Direct reports or concerns to Chris Picha, Director of Human Resources. More information can be found on the district website: isd761.org/nondiscrimination.

PTO Meeting Minutes

PeachJar

School Board Meetings

District Calendar

Lunch Menus

Website: https://www.lincelemowatonna.portal.rschooltoday.com/
Location: 747 Havana Road
Phone: 507-444-8100
Facebook: Lincoln Families Facebook Page
Twitter: @LincRoadRunner