A Year End Message from Our Principal, Ms. Hamilton

LINCOLN LOG
The PTO Newsletter for
Abraham Lincoln
Elementary School
Oak Park, IL
May 2013
What's Up at
Lincoln
The first meeting of the
2013-2014 school year
will be on September 4,
2013.
PTO meetings are held
the first Wednesday of
each month at 6:30 pm
in the Media Center.
Babysitting is available
for only $1.
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Inside this issue:
PTO Greetings
3
Dates to Remember
3
Student Achievements
4
Art in the Classroom
9
A Year End Message from Our
Principal, Ms. Hamilton
Summer is almost upon us! Soon it will be time to put away the school books
and put on the shorts, t-shirts, sun screen, vacation gear and shift into holiday
fun. I am so proud of all our Lincoln students this year. They have worked
hard and applied themselves to the very important work of learning. I believe
that each child has grown academically and intellectually this year and as a
result has developed socially, emotionally and physically. As we close out this
school year I would like to take a moment to acknowledge our graduating 5th
grade class, many of whom have been with us for six years. It is both sad and
exciting to see them move on to new and greater adventures. I know that they
will make Lincoln proud!
5th Grade Awards Ceremony
Fifth grade students were honored for their achievements during the Awards
Ceremony on Friday, May 24. Please join me in congratulating our fifth grade
students for their efforts, achievements and contributions to Lincoln School.
President’s Award for Educational Improvement
This award recognizes students for showing outstanding educational growth,
improvement and commitment to their work. It honors students for working
hard and putting forth their best effort in school, often in the face of obstacles.
Congratulations to the recipients of the President’s Award.
Rodney Allen
Ethan Bodzioney
Clara Cadwell
Shanelle Clark
Evie Combs
Seamus Fischer
Anna Gamal
Teanla House
Rayne Lampley
Johnathan Leggin
Pierre Macklin
Kyren Morris
Olivia Newmark
Dina Parikh
Ella Roadruck
Mykale Shaw
Jordan Sibley-Diggs
Aja Simmons
Kaylin Simmons
Lawrence Smith
Claire Von Ebers
Zahria Woodard
Jessica Zarosl
OPEF in Action
10
CCSS - English Language Arts
11
Super Specials
12
Classroom News
13
School Supply Fundraiser
18
Presidential Award
Teacher Lounge MakeOver
19
This award recognizes academic excellence. In order to receive the Presidential Award, students need to earn 3’s and 4’s in all academic areas and have at
least one 4 in an academic area each trimester.
PTO Officers & Committees
20
Continued on page 2
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Principal’s Message (continued from page 1)
Congratulations to the recipients of the Presidential Award.
Griffin Bassett
Lauryn Brown
Armando Carlo IV
Magnolia Chesney
Erin Daly
Max Halle-Podell
Oliver Haussmann
Alexander Hayes
Cleo Hendrickson
Miles Hirshman
Eva Homberger
Macey Huckstep
Jai Hsieh-Bailey
Takuma Kawamura
Sarah Kelly
Jack Kelsey
Charlie Kestler
Nora McIntyre
Clare McLaughlin
Jackalyna Neuman
Rufus Parenti
Kyle Peterson
Sophia Peysakhovich
Abigail Pridmore
Paul Raducha
Stella Saame
Jamal Sachleben
Mateja Tadic
Lily Trogus
Nic Ubogy
Colin Waco
Mary White
Principal’s Award
This award is given to one student from each fifth grade homeroom. The recipients are peacemakers,
good citizens, show respect for adults and students in the school community and have a positive attitude. Congratulations to the following students:
Jackalyna Neuman
Miguel Schuster
Jordan Sibley-Diggs
Mary White
Staff Changes for the 2013-14 School Year
It is with sad hearts that we say good-bye to our retiring nurse Maureen Powers and fifth grade teacher Tim Halter. We thank them for their years of dedication and loyalty to the staff, students and parents at Lincoln. They represent the “Up at Lincoln” spirit. We wish them both happiness and health
as they embark on their new adventures.
First grade teacher Criselda Carrera, and third grade teacher Lindsay Smith, are taking a one-year
leave of absence for the 2013-2014 school year.
Due to an increase in enrollment, we are adding a section to both the first and fourth grade. With
these added homerooms, retirements, and leaves of absence, we will be experiencing a number of staff
changes next school year.
A few staff members are taking this opportunity to move to a new grade level or position. In first
grade, Eliana Espana is moving out of the Spanish Immersion program but will remain a part of the
first grade team. Joining the first grade team is Catina Burries (currently 4th/5th looping) and Debbie
Cooper (third grade). Second grade teacher Rob Breit is moving to fourth grade and Marvin Childress
(first grade multiage) is moving to fifth grade.
Later this summer we will welcome new staff members to first grade Spanish Immersion, second
grade, third grade (2), fourth grade and the nurses office.
Good-bye! Adios! Adieu! Auf Wiedersehen! Arrivederci! Ja Mata Ne! Pozegnanie! Totsiens!
It has been a wonderfully successful school year. Have a fun-filled summer! We will see you in August!
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Greetings from Our PTO Co-Presidents
Hello Lincoln families and welcome to the last
Lincoln Log for the school year!
Waste Wednesdays and the classroom composing
efforts this year. Thanks to Mindy Agnew for
leading the charge!
We hope this year has been a good one for you!
This year's Spellcheck was a smashing success!
This fundraiser raised nearly $10,000 to help the
PTO support school activities. Thanks to Anne
Doherty, Gregg Simon and all the others who
helped coordinate this annual event.
Joanne Lowry was selected as a
recipient of a new tree from the
Village of Oak Park. The new
sycamore tree was planted on
Lincoln's grounds as a sign of
thanks for our efforts at reducing waste through the Zero
Our Teacher Appreciation Lunch was held on
Wednesday, May 15, featuring a catered lunch
and home-baked desserts. The teachers also participated in a raffle for gifts from Lincoln families.
Thanks to everyone who donated and baked! Kitty Monty, thanks for your hospitality!
Finally, a sincere thanks from us to all of you!
This has been a great year for the PTO and the
school, but we could not have done it without you.
Thank you!
Dena Bell and Lynn Thomas
PTO Co-Presidents
Welcome New Executive Committee Members
Please join us in welcoming the following individuals to the PTO Executive Committee:
Co-President, Jamie Klobuchar; 1st VP, Allocations & Nominations, Phyllis Gunning; 2nd VP, Room
Parents, Christine Keyes; 4th VP Ways & Means, Laila McCloud; Secretary, Rebecca Malley.
They will be serving during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.
OPPL Summer Reading Program
The Oak Park Public Library visited Lincoln on Tuesday, May 17th to introduce the
new Summer Reading Program. For more information, visit the OPPL website at
http://oppl.org/events/summer-reading-program .
Summer Family Math Nights
Don’t miss Summer Family Math Game Nights at the Maze
Library. This is a great time to interact with other Lincoln
families, playing fun-filled math-themed games. If you’ve ever come out before, then you know what a wonderful time we
have.
There will be three Summer Family Math Nights: June 12th,
July 25th and August 7th.
We look forward to seeing you this summer!
If you have any questions, please email Patti Perry at
[email protected] .
Dates to Remember
May 2013
27
31
Memorial Day—No School
Last Day of School
June 2013
12
Summer Family Math Night at
Maze
July 2013
25
Summer Family Math Night at Maze
August 2013
7
26
Summer Family Math Night at
Maze
Back to school for the 2013-2014 school year
September 2013
4
PTO Meeting at 6:30 pm in Lincoln Media Center
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Student Council Food Drive Success
Hello and a BIG thanks from the Lincoln Student Council. We had a very successful Food Drive again this year, collecting 888 items of food and therefore,
adding $888.00 to the budget for the OPRF Food Pantry. We have our food drive
each year during the annual Feinstein Challenge where each item is met with $1.00, and so
we say THANKS Lincoln Families and Staff for helping Student Council gather food and
money for the greater good. It is our hope each year, to do the work that allows us to better
understand outreach.
I have enjoyed a wonderful group of student representatives this year, we will be meeting to
share a leadership lunch to end our year together as Lincoln's Student Council.
Diane Conmy
Congratulations Geography Bee Winners
First Place: Adam Raducha (4th grade)
Second Place: Mateja Tadic (5th grade), Third Place: Stella Saame (5th grade)
2012 - 2013 Reading Olympics Participants
Jordan Sibley-Diggs
Jamal Sachleben,
Macey Huckstep
Cleo Hendrickson
Ebony Austin
Armondo Carlo
Sarah Kelly
Charlie Kestler
Rufus Parenti
Aja Simmons
Mateja Tadic
Collin Waco
Ethan Bodzioney
Clara Caldwell
Seamus Fischer
Eva Homberger
Tealana House
Mason Hsieh-Bailey
Takuma Kawamura
Jack Kelsey
Rayne Lampley
Nora McIntyre
Paul Raducha
Ella Roadruck
Claire Von Ebbers
Zahria Woodard
Alia Anderson
Griffin Bassett
Alec Cabacungan
Magnolia Chesney
Anna Gamal
Max Halle-Podell
Dina Parikh
Stella Saame
Miguel Schuster
Kai Short
Nick Ubogy
Jessica Zarosl
Lauryn Brown
Erin Daly
Olivier Haussmann
Alex Hayes
Miles Hirshman
Clare McLaughlin
Jackalyna Neuman
Olivia Newmark
Kyle Peterson
Sophia Peysakhovich
Abby Pridmore
Lily Trogus
Congratulations to the winners!
Fall:
Ella Roadruck
Alia Anderson
Anna Gamal
Spring:
Max Halle-Podell
Collin Waco
Nick Ubogy
Extreme:
Max Halle-Podell
Collin Waco
Nick Ubogy
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What’s Blooming in the Lincoln Garden
The year closes with some gorgeous tulips and crocus blooming in our six garden boxes at the south
end of our playground. There would be more but I
have seen some very guilty squirrels chomping off
the tulip heads and eating the tender insides.
Luckily, they have left most of our tender bulbs to
bloom and each day the school is greeted by the
lovely color and sway of flowers.
globe pumpkins. We will monitor our garden as we
go to check on what seems too enticing to the
squirrels and protect it as best we can.
We are going to be watering the garden over the
summer and will need some assistance so keep an
eye out for a water-the-garden-rotation sheet and
sign up for a week at a time if you live close by
and want to take part in this lovely endeavor.
It is our hope that the students here at Lincoln get
a better understanding of how food comes to our
tables and we hope too, that in our late summer
harvests, they get to sample the vegetables and
herbs that we are growing.
Please visit the garden with your Child over the
summer to note the growth and development of
the plants. Our Lincoln Garden leader, Wendy
Nieslawski will be putting that rotation chart toNow to add to those six boxes, we have vegetables gether. Thanks Wendy. Those watering can beneand fruit growing. In the midst of the dark winter, fit by taking ripe veggies and herbs home for their
we asked each grade level to tell us what kinds of suppers. Thanks too, to Kirsten Straughn and
veggies they would like to see grow and we gathMindy Agnew for their generosity and support to
ered that information and ordered the seeds in
the Lincoln Garden.
mid-March. After spring break, the 4th grade garden club met over lunch in Mr. K's room and we
We look forward to some art installations that are
all planted the seeds. Just a few days later, tiny
being planned to help define our lovely garden.
green shoots began to emerge and so Mr. K's room
became a germination-station for the school's veg- Thank you to the Lincoln Staff who have helped
etables.
us get this garden going. It is a delightful addition
to our school and a wonderful teaching tool for all
The day came to plant but sadly, many of our
of our students.
plants did not make it, and so due to the kind
hearts of Lincoln Parents, we suddenly were gifted Happy Gardening,
with many new plants. Please look at our lovely
The Garden Committee
boxes filled with herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, peppers, strawberries, and hopefully little
Trekking from L.A. to Chicago
This year, the students trekked a total of 7,955
laps, which equals 1,988.75 miles. That’s equivalent to trekking from Los Angeles, CA to Chicago IL. An amazing accomplishment!
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Midwest Academic Talent Search (MATS), Center
for Talent, Development, Northwestern University
This year the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University conducted its eighteenth
annual search for elementary and middle school students who are academically talented. Over 5,400
students participated in the Midwest Academic Talent Search from several Midwestern states. These
students qualified for the Northwestern program by attaining outstanding academic achievement in
the math and/or verbal areas of a nationally normed achievement test. Participating students completed the EXPLORE, out of level test, in January or February. The students who participated this
year from Lincoln are:
Lauryn Brown
Erin Daly
Miles Hirshman
Eva Homberger
Takuma Kawamura
Stella Saame
Lily Trogus
Toby Barnes-Mazur
Cerys Hattersley
Zoe Klein
Ellie Kate Loftus
Dhruv Rao
Thaddeus Schultz
Samuel Taylor
Emma Dean
Sofia Ferraro
Jaden Himmel
Emma Sage
Midwest Academic Talent Search Coordinator: Mr. Kuntz
Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics Grade
6 MATH CONTEST
ICTM sponsors in-school contests for students in sixth grade mathematics. Contest questions reflect
the NCTM Standards spirit of problem solving and encourage the use of calculators. Team events also promote cooperation among students. Problems are written to challenge students thinking, hopefully leading to further appreciation and exploration of mathematics.
Students completed a series of three contests throughout the year - each test consisting of a team
competition and an individual event. The team competition, a small group of students works together
to solve 20 challenging problems in 25 minutes. The second test is for individuals, where students
work independently on 8 questions for 20 minutes. Scores of the two best teams and top 10 individuals for each competition will count toward the school total. Participating students in the sixth grade
contest were:
Rufus Parenti
Erin Daly
Jack Kelsey
Max Halle-Podell
Collin Waco
Eva Homberger
Stella Saame
Nora McIntyre
Griffin Bassett
Takuma Kawamura
Armando Carlo
Magnolia Chesney
Nic Ubogy
Macey Huckstep
Sarah Kelly
Cleo Henrickson
Jamal Sachleben
Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics Grade 6 MATH CONTEST was coordinated by Mr.
Kuntz.
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Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and
Middle School Students (MOEMS) Grade 6 Contest
Lincoln participated in the Mathematical Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools this year.
They were among the nearly 135,000 students and 4,600 teams worldwide to participate this year in
the Math Olympiad Program. The students participated in a series of five monthly contests consisting of five very challenging problems each.
The following students participated in MOEMS this year:
Griffin Bassett
Magnolia Chesney
Stella Saame
Nic Ubogy
Max Halle-Podell
Rufus Parenti
Macey Huckstep
Sarah Kelly
Collin Waco
Cleo Henrickson
Jamal Sachleben
Armando Carlo
Eva Homberger
Takuma Kawamura
Nora McIntyre
Jack Kelsey
Erin Daly
The silver pin is awarded to those students in the 90th to 97th percentile of all students tested worldwide. This year at Lincoln we have six students who will receive this prestigious award. Students
will receive a silver pin and a MOEMS patch.
Cleo Henrickson
Rufus Parenti
Nic Ubogy
Eva Homberger
Sarah Kelly
Takuma Kawamura
The MOEMS (Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools) Contest was coordinated
by Mr. Kuntz.
Illinois Math League Contest - Grade 6
Lincoln students participated in the Annual Illinois Math League Contest-Grade 6. The Grade 6 Illinois Math League Contest involves taking a short but challenging math test. The test consists of 40
problems and the students had 30 minutes to solve as many problems as possible. The students that
participated this year were:
Erin Daly
Jack Kelsey
Nora McIntyre
Takuma Kawamura
Eva Homberger
Armando Carlo
Jamal Sachleben
Cleo Henrickson
Collin Waco
Sarah Kelly
Macey Huckstep
Rufus Parenti
The Illinois Math League Contest is coordinated by Mr. Kuntz.
Max Halle-Podell
Nic Ubogy
Stella Saame
Magnolia Chesney
Griffin Bassett
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5th Grade Global Virtual Classroom Project
The Global Virtual Classroom Contest is a global team cooperation and website-building activity. Using Internet technologies to communicate, a team of three schools from around the world work together to build a website. The Global Virtual Classroom (GVC) Project emphasizes collaboration and telecommunication throughout the world. Students learn effective communication with all ages and cultures. Students celebrate their varied talents and combine those talents to create a product greater
than any one individual could create alone. They learn how to learn, and are taught new software
products and educational themes.
After working together for the last 6 months, approximately 1,800 students from 73 schools, representing 26 countries around the world unveiled 24 websites as part of the Global Virtual Classroom
Contest 2013. The Global Virtual Classroom contest is sponsored by AT&T International as well as
GBSI- Give Something Back International.
The 5th grade team from Lincoln School teamed up with schools from Tainan, Taiwan and East Hartford, Connecticut to create a website entitled: A Look into Technology. Students explored new technologies as well as created future technology. A highlight was getting to use the Makey-Makey board
to control their Scratch games. A big thank you to parent Ljubomir Perkovic for all of his efforts in
teaching the students about Scratch.
Congratulations to our team from Lincoln and our partners from Taiwan and East Hartford. We were
awarded third place (bronze) in this year’s worldwide web design contest. We earned a third place
plaque and $250 in prize money to go towards a pizza party and some new technology! Way to go Lincoln!
Please check out our award winning work at http://1201.virtualclassroom.org/.
Check out all of the winners at http://virtualclassroom.org/win12.html#.UZQpXEL9ivk.
The 47 fifth grade GVC participants are:
Armando Carlo
Rufus Parenti
Collin Waco
Evie Combs
Charlie Kestler
Sarah Kelly
Aja Simmons
Kianah Vantrease
Cleo Henrickson
Jamal Sachleben
Truin Green
Taylor Anderson
Mateja Tadic
Ethan Bodzioney
Jack Kelsey
Nora McIntyre
Claire Von Ebers
Mary White
Eva Homberger
Ella Roadruck
Paul Raducha
Takuma Kawamura
Mason Hsieh-Bailey
Nicolas Ubogy
Alec Cabacungan
Kai Short
Max Halle-Podell
Anna Gamal
Griffin Bassett
Dina Parikh
Alia Anderson
Miguel Schuster
Magnolia Chesney
Stella Saame
Jessica Zarosl
Kyle Peterson
Alex Hayes
Erin Daly
Abby Pridmore
Lauryn Brown
Lily Trogus
Adrian Ward
Sophia Peysakhovich
Clare McLaughlin
Olivia Newmark
Oliver Haussmann
The Global Virtual Classroom (GVC) Project was coordinated by Mr. Kuntz.
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Girls on the
Runon the Run
Lincoln
Girls
Congratulations to the 2013 Lincoln Girls on the
Run team! Since March, this year's team, consisting
of 59 girls from grades 3rd through 5th, has been
meeting and running after school two days a week
in preparation for the Girls on the Run 5K.
The Lincoln Girls on the Run
completed their 5K practice run
on Wednesday, May 15th. Way to
go! Thanks to the teachers and parents who ran with
and supported the girls!
The Girls on the Run 5K will be held on Saturday,
June 1st at Toyota Park. It is a family-friendly event
and fun run and is open to the public.
Creating Caterpillars (and Butterflies) with Mrs.
Carrera’s Class
The Art in the Classroom committee, through the PTO,
works with teachers to design and implement art projects
that support the standard curriculum.
In May the committee explored patterns and symmetry in a
Butterfly and Caterpillar project with Ms. Carrera's second
grade class. The children
enjoyed cutting and gluing geometric patterns influenced by
American quilt designs onto felt butterflies and tucking
scraps of fabric into styrofoam caterpillars. Furry antennae
and googly eyes transformed their creations into Spring creatures!
If you're interested in working with one of the co-chairs to
bring an art project into your child's class then please contact
either Faith Humphrey-Hill at [email protected] or
Anna Lentz at [email protected].
Art in the Classroom is looking for your old stuff! Please
bring in the following items and deposit into appropriate
bins in the school lobby: washed plastic bottle tops, corks,
box tops, clean baby food jars with lids, used crayons, empty
tissue boxes (square or rectangle), clean yogurt and butter
containers, cardboard rolls, and empty coffee cans with lids.
Thanks!
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Real-World Learning with a Lot of Heart
Every year, the Oak Park Education Foundation and Lincoln School form a collaborative learning community, creating innovative, hands-on projects that supplement the
curriculum and enrich Lincoln students’ learning. The remarkable work that one class
of fifth-graders has undertaken highlights this valuable partnership.
Mrs. Smith’s fifth-graders started their study of anatomy right before Valentine’s
Day… by dissecting pig hearts! Who was the OPEF Science Alliance expert who led
their study? Veterinarian Ana Cottington, parent of a Lincoln first-grader. Dr. Cottington learned of the OPEF’s Science Alliance at Lincoln’s Curriculum Night, and will be an instructor at the
OPEF’s award-winning Summer Base Camp as well.
Dr. Cottington ensured that students treated the animal organ with respect, and students were allowed to participate at their comfort level. Over the course of the lesson, every student worked to find ventricles, valves,
and aorta, all to determine how their structure related to their purpose. “I thought it would be squishier!” led
to a discussion of the heart as a muscle. Students continued their studies over several sessions with Dr. Cottington, examining what lives in dog drool, and the structure of a sheep’s eye.
This same group of students showed the mettle of their own hearts and brains as they worked to effect realworld change: making a historic site accessible for people of any physical ability. When one of their classmates
chose not to attend a field trip at Graue Mill because all of its levels would not be accessible to him, students –
then fourth-graders in Ms. Priceman’s class – created a plan to ensure no one would feel left out of a field trip
in the future.
They marshaled an army of OPEF and Lincoln resources to help guide them: Ms. Priceman; Lincoln GTD
teacher, Mr. Kuntz; Mark Klancic, an Oak Park architect they had worked with as third-graders in the OPEF’s Architecture Adventure program; and Kris Lenzo, who served as their OPEF Art Start artist when they
were first-graders. The students researched Graue Mill’s architecture and mission, created accessible models,
recorded their ideas in a blog, wrote a three-act play, and presented their recommendations to the DuPage
County Forest Preserve Board. They have been invited to work on the plan
to convert the Ben Fuller Farmhouse into an education center. Check out
www.opef.org for more details about this real-world project.
The Oak Park Education Foundation reaches every student over the course
of his or her time in District 97. As this Lincoln fifth-grade
class shows, the OPEF meets many students multiple times,
and learning relationships are continued over many years.
Lincoln’s PTO appreciates the OPEF’s impact on our students, and generously has donated $1350 this year to the
OPEF.
You personally can contribute to the OPEF’s work with Lincoln School, too. Sign up to be an expert in one of the OPEF’s
five programs, just like Ana Cottington. Enroll your child in
the OPEF’s Summer BASE Camp for more hands-on learning. And check out www.opef.org to help further enriching
opportunities for our students!
Lincoln first-graders in Ms. Slanina’s, Mr. Childress’, Ms. Hayes’, and Ms. Zillman’s classes,
worked with the Oak Park Education Foundation and Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation
Trust to create Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired art glass windows. You may have even seen
these art glass designs displayed in the store front windows at Oak Park Kitchen & Bath,
at Lake and Ridgeland, (5/14 through 5/29)!
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Strategies for Success with CCSS English Language
Arts from Mrs. Davidhizar, Reading Specialist
Dear Lincoln Parents,
On behalf of Lincoln homeroom teachers and support staff, I would like to thank you for the support that
you have given your child throughout the school year. Without the extra time and practice at home, your
student would not have had the success that she or he has had this year.
Many students will be attending District 97 summer schools. Again, we want to say “thank you” for the
extra effort given for your child to attend this support that bridges the months between May and September. We encourage all students to continue reading regularly throughout the summer months, whether or
not they attend these extra classes that the District offers.
Many parents are seeking knowledge about the Common Core State Standards initiative. Recently, the
District had a parent/teacher information session in which these thoughts were shared regarding student
and parent strategies for success with the CCSS ELA (English Language Arts Standards):
1. Students should read equal amounts of fiction and non-fiction (information, science, social studies).
Parents should read more nonfiction with the child.
2. Students should learn about the world by reading.
Parents should find books on topics of interest to the child and discuss ideas.
3. Students should read more challenging material carefully.
Parents should know what is appropriate for the child’s reading level and read more
challenging text together.
4. Students should point to evidence found in the text when discussing what is read.
This involves asking questions like: “How do you know that? Where did the author say that?
Can you show me where? Can you find ideas that support your opinion?”
Parents should use evidence in everyday conversation and to make a point.
5. Students should write non-fiction using evidence.
Parents should encourage more writing by finding topics of interest to the child, so that
the child will want to learn more about them.
6. Students should increase vocabulary knowledge and use.
Parents should read often with the child and let the child see them reading.
The three main shifts in instruction, that the Common Core delivers, are:
*Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction
*Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational
*Regular practice with complex texts and its syntax and vocabulary
For more information and help for parents (and teachers) on the CCSS for reading and math, go to:
www.commoncoreil.org.
Have a wonderful, peaceful summer. Safe travels…and buckle up with a good book.
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Davidhizar
MAY 2013
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Physical Education News from Mrs. Madura
We have had a wonderful year
in physical education class
this year! Some of our most
favorite experiences have been
gymnastics, Heartland Adventure, Just Dance 3 with the
Xbox Kinnect, games such as
Ultimate Bean Bag Slide,
Fainting Goat Tag and much,
much more!
students were able to experience the thrill of victory! Also,
thanks to the PTO for providing our delicious and healthy
frozen treats!
A final thank you needs to go
to the staff of Lincoln. They
are the best people in the
world to have working with
your children.
I would like to thank the won- They are also
derful parents who were able amazing when
to volunteer for Olympic Day. it comes to supWithout you we could not have porting all the
had this fabulous event where activities that
are part of our Physical Education program. They help
with the Turkey Trot, dance
like there is no tomorrow during ACES, and even wear pajamas on the first day of
Sports and Fitness Week. You
are all amazing!
Summer is the perfect time to
start, or stay, active!
Enjoy the great
weather and get outside and move! Stay
safe!
FLES with Señora Ruiz
What a great school year we had together! We have learned a lot! We are ready for the summer
break to enjoy the great weather, family and friends. During this third trimester:
My first grade class has been working on nutrition, healthy life style (what should we eat)
and are currently learning about the rainforest. What is there at the rainforest? What animals live there? Our great first graders have been learning vocabulary words related to the
rainforest and what they do, such as “el coquí vive en la selva tropical y salta” = “the coqui
lives at the tropical forest and it jumps.”
Second and third graders have been learning about their favorite subjects in the school.
From vocabulary words to complete sentences and expressions have been used to express what
subjects they do at school and why. For example, “Yo dibujo en la clase de arte” = “I draw at art
class.” In addition, they have learned to express what they like to do in Spring using complete
sentences in Spanish such as “Me gusta hacer volar mi cometa” = “I like to fly my kite.”
Fourth and fifth graders are currently working on expressing who their heroes are and why.
They are learning names of the heroes in the community and vocabulary to justify why those
people/animals are their heroes. For example, “el policía es un héroe porque detiene la violencia” = ”the policeman is a heroe because he/she stops violence”.
Enjoy your well-deserved summer everyone and remember:
UP AT LINCOLN !
¡ARRIBA LINCOLN!
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First Grade Looping with Mrs.
Hayes and Mrs. Zillman
Full speed ahead until May 31st! That’s what’s happening in the
first grade looping classes! We are busy and working hard until
the last day of school and will pick up where we left off on August
26 for the first day of second grade.
We are finishing our Treasures curriculum with the last unit,
“Adventures.” In our writings, we are working on main ideas and
details, expository pieces, and making predictions. Our reading skills include fluency, decoding new
and harder words, and understanding prefixes and suffixes. We are also doing activities connected
with the new Common Core Standards.
We hope all of our students will read every day this summer, and that parents will sign their child up
for the Oak Park Public Library’s summer reading program “20,000 Reads under the Sea!” The first
day to register is May 31.
In math, we have finished a unit on fractions and making change. Our next unit continues learning
about fractions, adding 2-digit numbers, number grid puzzles (GREAT for number sense skills) and
writing and figuring out number stories.
We loved our time with educator Shannon Greve from the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust,
working through the Oak Park Education Foundation’s program “Art Start”. We designed and created buildings, combined them into a community, and did our own “Art Glass” projects. Our field trip to
the FLW Home and Studio was excellent.
Special events:
Thursday, May 23 8:00-11:00 Olympic Day
Friday, May 24 8:15-9:30 Memorial Day Ceremony
Thursday, May 30 Walking trip to Hole in the Wall for Ice Cream – afternoon
Friday, May 31 11:00 -2:00 First Grade picnic at Maple Park (room parents bringing lunch)
Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Zillman say thanks to all parents for your continued support and partnership as
we educate your children together.
Flipper the Frog is 20 Years Old!
Yes, it’s true! The African water frog named Flipper in Mrs. Zillman’s classroom is celebrating her 20th
birthday on May 16th.
Flipper was raised from a tadpole along with 4 siblings by Mrs. Zillman’s daughter Claire when she
was is kindergarten. (Claire is now 26, living and working in New York City). Claire’s kindergarten
teacher, Mrs. B., let her care for the tadpoles at home. She originally named them Dave, Dennis, Ed,
George, and Pockets. Claire gave 2 of the frogs away to friends. One of them was eaten by a house cat,
and the other was put in Silver Creek. One of the other 3 also got eaten by the Zillman pet cat, Tiger.
The other two came to school with Mrs. Zillman and got new names. Frankenfrog lived about 10 years
and is buried out in the Lincoln Courtyard. He was about 3 times as big as Flipper.
Continued on page 14
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Flipper the Frog (continued from page 13)
Flipper seems healthy, spending a lot of time floating on the surface of the water, and sometimes swimming around looking for food. She’s a good swimmer with those webbed feet! She gets one stick of food
each day, grabbing it with her claws and gobbling it down.
If the room is very quiet, you can hear her. She makes a sound that
is definitely not a “ribbit”, more like a purr.
Every summer, a student has taken Flipper home to care for her.
The students always do a great job seeing that Flipper gets fed and
her filter changed.
What is the secret to Flipper’s long life? Probably that she doesn’t
have any predators, gets fed the same amount of food each day, has
lived in the same tank for 20 years, and that she rarely gets
touched.
On May 16th, all Lincoln students got a frog sticker, Flipper’s tank was on a table in the hallway decorated with balloons and cards, and students and teachers came by to say “Happy birthday, Flipper!”
Ms. Smith’s Super Stupendous 3rd Graders
The third graders in Ms. Smith's class are BUSY! We are creating Student City, a city made from recyclables and simple machines. We brainstormed a community's wants and needs (and even some frivolous things) and then chose what each of us were to make. We had to
write proposals because the whole class needed to know why this
building was necessary. Then we sketched the building and made sure
to include a working simple machine (for example, a pulley might be
used to create an elevator for a tall building). Then Ms. Florczak
stepped in! We created our structures in art class with some crucial
parent help! We'll be finishing them up and will then ASSEMBLE
THE CITY! And only Ms. Smith knows what the future holds for this
thriving community! This summer be sure to ask a Room 209 alum
what happened next in Student City! DUN, DUN, DUUUUUNNNNN!
Written by:
The Super Stupendous Students of Room 209 (alliteration alert!)
Keeping Up with Mrs. Conmy and Room 204
Hello from the 2nd floor of Lincoln, overlooking the now green Grove Ave., sidewalks covered in seed
coats and gardens in bloom all around. I wonder how it could already be May? I question time and how
quickly it zips past, but I am at the same time amazed by how much we have been able to do in our
year together in third grade.
We have covered many genres of reading and will continue through the last week of school. I encourage your Children to keep reading all summer long, using the library and the summer reading opporContinued on page 15
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Mrs. Conmy (continued from page 14)
tunities there, and making sure that they read several kinds of books
this summer. It really is true, the more you read, the better reader you
become. Please encourage your Child to read non-fiction as well as fiction this summer. Help your almost 4th grader to choose a variety of
books such as poetry books, mysteries, biographies, joke books, books
about animals, about places, and make some room for fantasy and science fiction. There are so many wonderful choices of books just waiting
to be plucked off the shelves at the library. Happy reading.
The Children in 204 have been super busy reading, writing, and collecting poetry. They have worked to create a collection of poetry using a rubric that explains what kinds of poems were needed. Your Children have learned the characteristics of
limerick, rhyme, cinquain, haiku, and free verse, and are in the process of writing a group poem of ancient origin called a sestina. I am very proud of the work that they are doing. They have had to learn to
use their time wisely and have had to determine which poems out of so many, that they wanted to use
to represent each kind of poem. Please enjoy reading the poems collected and know that your Child put
a great effort in completing this project.
We are working on more complicated multiplication and division at this point in the year. Your Children are learning several strategies to solve multiplication and division story problems. They are also
learning to use lattice to solve multiplication problems. Keep these new found skills sharp this summer
by making sure your Child practices some math several times per week. They will all need to have their
multiplication facts on the ready for the start of fourth grade.
We had some great Learning Goals presented this year. I enjoyed these very much.
We are ending our Science Unit on the Solar Systems and Sun and Moon with a visit from a high school student, and a former Lincoln Student wanting to teach us
about Astronomy. I think that she may be surprised by how much this group of third
graders already knows.
The Third Grade Classes have been delighted by the wonderful field trips we have taken this year.
Thanks Parents and Guardians for all the support you lend on these amazing trips. Our most recent
trip to the Lyric Opera was another example of the rich cultural arts opportunities that are available to
us. I do believe that our students benefit from the many kinds of
trips we take. We had two more trips; on May 22 to Maple Park for
our picnic, and two days later we took the Chicago River Architectural Tour. Pretty wonderful ways to end our amazingly delightful
year together.
I love what I get to do each day, and so ending the year is bittersweet. I am a lucky person to have the best job in the world. Thank
you for sharing your wonderful Children with me this school year. I
love them each and hope to hear about their summertime activities via email or snail mail.
From my grateful heart,
Diane Conmy
MAY 2013
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Metro News from Room 201
“Spring has sprung!” as the old saying goes and
school will be over soon. We continue to enjoy each
other’s company and needless to say, our students
are having fun in fourth grade sharing information
about their chosen states. It took many weeks of
reading different reference materials, getting on the
websites, checking references,
editing papers and simply coloring their state birds, flowers
and flags. That was the routine
that took place in our classroom for several weeks as we
persevered the hard work of
learning how to do research,
apply the process of writing
and finally writing the final
copies after spending some
time going over paragraphs, punctuation and sentence structure. Thanks to Mrs. McGillen who not
only came to help with our small reading group, but
has given us some valuable time and helped edit
some of our papers. Ms. Esmeralda Ojeda, our student teacher, who did her clinical study with us from
Northeastern University also assisted in this area.
We are very grateful to them.
We are finishing up Unit 4 in Treasures. This
month we focused on figuring out the theme of the
story and learned to analyze poems, drama, prose
and text structure. In particular we learned what
personification is in the poem we read called The
New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. We had an opportunity to study her life and why she wrote the poem. We found out that she was of Jewish ancestry,
from a well privileged family that believed in social
justice in America for people who emigrated from
Europe to America in the late 1800’s to the early
1900’s. Her poem was chosen to be inscribed on a
plaque after her death and embossed on the pillar or
base supporting the Statue of Liberty as a reminder
not to take freedom for granted. We also learned
that not only was Miss Liberty given as a gift by the
people of France to America, but that many school
children in America sacrificially saved all their pennies and donated them to the organization that
helped raise enough money in order to build the
base that supported the statue. We thought that
this was pretty amazing! Isn’t that similar to what
our Lincoln students do today to help raise awareness and carry on the causes that are dear and close
to our hearts? We found many similarities that stem
from doing this simple research. The spirit of giving
can never be banished from the hearts of our young
people which is so commendable. The Common Core
State Standards are being introduced at different
grade levels and fourth grade is starting to focus
more on these kinds of topics to study.
While Ms. Ojeda was with us she had an opportunity to teach our class a couple of lessons in reading. One of the stories students read
from Treasures was called “Second Hand Art” by
Amir Ferry. In small groups our students were able
to create artwork from recycled paper products. We
had fun creating the project using our imagination
and after we completed it, sharing them. Via internet she also showed us different photos of statues
and 3D artwork using items from recycled materials. The images were very vivid display of unusual
arts found around the country.
Learning about fractions in math is a nice transition
from multiplication and division. We are getting
good at ordering fractions, comparing them (less,
greater or equal), adding and subtracting, and converting them to decimals. We are almost done with
this unit and will soon move to area, perimeter and
percentages. We play fraction games to reinforce
the concepts.
With science we continue to explore electricity and magnetism.
We learned the difference between
an insulator and conductor, hook
up series and parallel circuits,
played around with motors and
light switches and learned to do
schematic drawings. Our investigations have been successful and we have enjoyed
learning about conserving electricity, what to do in
case we are caught in a thunderstorm and how to
avoid live wire for safety reasons. It was also interesting to read and learn about the life of famous scientists like Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin.
Our next unit of study is called Land and Water
where we will learn about erosion and the effects of
water on the land.
Our class has earned our 60th Big Wow. We enjoyed
all the celebrations so far and are looking forward to
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Mrs. Metropoulos (continued from page 16)
reaching the next level. Our students are also involved with the Garden Club and planted some
seeds for our Lincoln Garden. Our student council
reps. Emma Sage and Olivia Lopez are doing a very
nice job attending the meetings and representing
our class.
dith Agnew, Yana Keane, Natalie Jaimez, Ninah
Tendrick, Amanda Janusz, Tiahna Haggar, Samay
Velegar, Emily Kucharz and Deanthony Howard.
Our trip to the Brookfield Zoo on May 7th was spectacular. Viewing the animals in their natural habitat and learning about their behavior and habits
In class we read a novel called A Tale of Grimm by
made our trip very meaningful. We had a beautiful
Adam Gidwitz for the Young Author’s visit. Thanks day seeing them outdoors and talking about the difto Mrs. Frame for lending us the book and allowing ferent animals that are
us to participate in the discussion. We had a wonconsidered predators
derful morning of question and answer time with
and prey. The gorillas
live authors after several of them spoke to a live dis- were not as visible due
cussion by the audience.
to construction, but seeing the dolphins, the
Our trip to the Chicago Historical Museum was a
reptiles and amphibians
memorable experience. Not only did we see the bed were some of the highwhere Abraham Lincoln died, but we got to listen to lights. Eating at a pica docent and learn about the Chicago Fire that took nic area made our conplace in October 1871. The fire, according to the
versations very enjoyatheory, was started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow and
ble. Thanks to Mrs. Burries and to our room parspread almost 4 miles long and it lasted 3 days. It
ents, Mrs. Kucharz and Mrs. Agnew for chaperoning
was only after it rained that the blaze finally
us.
stopped. With intense heat and horrific struggle to
get away from the fire people literally jumped into
Our end of the year class picnic has been scheduled
Lake Michigan. People also hid under newly dug
for Wednesday, May 29th, at Euclid Park. Map
graves to save themselves and their children. People Testing was May 8th (Reading) and May 14th
from all over Europe, Asia and the world rallied to- (Math). These were our final tests for the year.
gether to help support our devastated city. Miraculously, Chicago rose from ashes by rebuilding struc- Have a wonderful summer vacation everyone! It has
tures out of bricks and steel to modern skyscrapbeen a real pleasure to have known all of you this
ers. Eventually the city was year. I will be experiencing a mixed emotion when I
able to host the famous Cohave to say good-bye to all of you, but knowing you
lumbian Exposition of 1893
are now ready to move on to the next grade level, I
to showcase the tremendous hope that you will continue to have positive attitude
improvements made to our
about school and learning. Read as many books that
Great City of Chicago. Did
you can find this summer and enjoy life to its fullest.
you know that Mr. Ferris
Take time to visit some of the wonderful museums
invented the Ferris Wheel
in the city and the suburbs and have an open mind
that was displayed and ridfor more challenging work ahead of you. I wish you
den by the people who atthe best life has to offer and continue to be kind and
tended the Exposition? The
good to one another.
idea came to him when he
studied the unicycle. We enjoyed learning Chicago’s Mrs. M. Metropoulos
own history and are grateful to Mrs. Ashford
“Up At Lincoln“
for arranging this tour.
Several students from our class participated in the
Latin American Folk Dance and they did a great
job. They were Emma Biddle, Emma Sage, Mere-
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Lincoln School Collaboratory Art on Display at the
Bridgeport Art Center May 13 through June 10
Ms. Priceman’s fourth grade
class has been collaborating with
a third grade bilingual class at
Liberty School in Cicero this semester on a special art project
funded by the Do Your P’Art
Foundation. The Do Your P’Art
Foundation is made possible
each year by generous gifts from
individual and corporate resources and grants. It provides
support for partnership school
programming with the aim of
bringing children together from
various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds through artistic collaborations. The foundation has provided transportation and admission fees for the
54 student participants to visit
each other at their schools as
well as visit local art exhibits.
Students from Ms. Priceman’s
(Lincoln School in Oak Park) and
Ms. Nancy Flores’ (Liberty
School in Cicero) classes have
met on four occasions. Each student was paired with a “Pen Pal”
from the other school. Students
met for the first time at the District 97 Multicultural Education
Center at Julian Middle School
in February. Since then the Lincoln students have traveled to
Cicero and spent the day at Liberty School, and the Liberty students visited Lincoln for the day
in April. On each occasion students worked on their special art
project. The HEXAGONS CELEBRATING INTERDEPENDENCE DAY project gave the students a glimpse into a world both
similar and different than their
own. The students created a
large sculpture comprised of 54
individual hexagons. The students worked together to transfer symbols of commonality,
identity, environment, diversity,
right onto the hexagons.
You can visit the exhibit at the
Bridgeport Art Center 1200 W.
35th Street Chicago, IL 60609,
through June 10.
The experience was so rich for
the students and teachers that
Ms. Priceman and Ms. Flores
plan to continue their collaboration next year with the Do Your
P’Art Foundation to bring this
opportunity to a new group of
students.
Get Your Green School Supplies and
Support Lincoln PTO
Avoid the lines and the hassle of back to school shopping, support the PTO and help the environment all at the same time!
Green Home Experts Green School Supplies Fundraiser takes your child’s official
school supply list and prepackages those supplies in a customized School Supply Kit.
What makes this project special is that the supplies are as environmentally friendly as
possible and GHE donates 10% back to our PTO!
Order forms were sent home with students and are also available for download in the
Digital Backpack.
Please return the completed form and a check payable to Green Home Experts
to your child’s teacher or GHE on or before May 31, 2013 for early bird pricing.
Return to GHE by June 15th for regular pricing. Orders received after June
15 will be waitlisted and filled based on availability.
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The Lincoln PTO Takes on the Teachers Lounge
If you’ve been in the Lincoln teachers lounge, you know that the space is in need of improvement (pictures below). This dreary space is home to our eighty teachers and staff members
and is used every day for meetings, planning and lunch.
At our May meeting, the PTO voted to improve the space this summer with new furniture,
paint and flooring.
PTO Teachers Lounge “Before” Pictures
Stay tuned for the “After” pictures, coming in the Fall!
We are looking for donations of supplies and labor for this project. Please contact Dena Bell at [email protected] for more information on how you can help.
Spring Box Tops Collection Update
This spring, Mrs. Arreola's 2nd grade class turned in over 530 Box Tops! To celebrate
their accomplishment, they celebrated
with a pajama party. They also shared
their enthusiasm about Box Tops and
how they collected so many of them.
This school year, our Box Tops submissions resulted in over $1,900 in
earnings to our PTO! Thanks to each
and every one of our Lincoln Lions that
clipped, clicked or shopped on behalf of
our school.
Keep those Box Tops coming through
the end of the year and check out the
digital backpack for some fun summer
collection sheets.
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Make Your Money Count
Support the PTO with purchases you make every day. Through our partnerships with these vendors, your purchases can bring cash rewards directly to the PTO.
Mabel’s Labels: Labels for the stuff kids lose! Visit www.mabelslabels.com to place your order. Be sure to enter
Lincoln Elementary School Oak Park PTO at checkout.
Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks: Locally grown organic foods delivered to your doorstep. See www.freshpicks.com for
current offerings. Simply indicate Lincoln School in the exclusions section of your order.
Target RedCard: Apply for a Red Card at www.redcard.target.com and designate Lincoln Elementary School. You
will receive a 5% discount every time you use the card and the PTO will receive a donation.
Box Tops for Education: Save your Box Tops from General Mills products and send them to your child’s class at
collection time (twice per year).
Market Day and Manna Gift Card sales will resume in the 2013 - 2014 school year. Thank you for your continued support!
OFFICERS
Co-Presidents
Dena Bell
Lynn Thomas
Treasurer
Bob Walicki
Recording Secretary
Molly Naples
1st VP Allocations and
Nominations
John Metzger
2nd VP Room Parents
Co-Chairs
Michelle McAndrews
Mona Rao
3rd VP Communications
& Marketing
Jennifer Hauptmann
4th VP Ways and Means
Gregg Simon
Massimo DiPierro
Corresponding Secretary
Phyllis Gunning
Thank You to Our 2012-2013 PTO Officers,
Committee Chairs, Committee Members
and Many Volunteers!
COMMITTEE
CHAIRS
Cub Scouts
Gary Nieslawski
Listserv/WUAL
Tanja Saarinen
Spellcheck
Anne Doherty
Art in the Classroom
Faith HumphreyHill
Anna Lentz
Cultural Arts
Josh Klein
Mad Science
Anita Mendoza
Spiritwear
Anna Harlan
Facebook
Kitty Monty
Manna Gift
Cards
Alycia Sutor
Summer Math
Patti Perry
Book Fair
Trish Ryan
Gardening
Wendy Nieslawski Market Day
Anna Harlan
Girl Scouts
Julie O’Shea
OPEF Liaison
Nora Flynn
Girls on the Run
Trish Ryan
Pasta Dinner
Kristi Braun
Kristi Braun
Monica Newmark
Green Committee
Photography
Mindy Agnew
Kristi Braun
Elaine Petkovsek
PTO MemberHospitality
ship
Kitty Monty
Anna Harlan
Box Tops
Naila Towne
Carnival Chair
Allison Fluecke
Carnival Ticket
of Choice
Sloan Watson
Anne Ferraro
Chess Club
Marvin Childress
Trekkers
Kristi Braun
Betsy Kelly
Wellness
Kirsten Straughan
World Languages
Eileen Lynch
Yearbook
Monica Newmark