Inside - Lincoln Middle School

Quarterly
The Lincoln MIDDLE SCHOOL
A Publication of Lincoln PTSA • Volume 57 • Issue 1 • Fall 2006
Inside
Notes from The president
Spare change?
the Principal’s Office
Every middle-schooler
needs a little help
The ten tasks of
adolescence
A Harvard study offers
insight into parenting
teens
Wit’s End
Jenn Paddock advises you
in a new Q&A feature
Sponsorpalooza!
The carnival is coming
What the heck is
site governance?
The mystery unraveled
Dianne Talarico
Super Superintendent
A proposition
for you
Vote on November 7
Plus
Clubs, calendar, pictures of
(very local) celebs and so
much more!
page 2
the lincoln Quarterly
Notes from the presideNt
the priNcipal’s office
There is nothing
permanent
except change.
y
— Winston churchill
The 7 needs
of every middleschooler
d
esterday was the fall equinox, the
autumn day which is almost exactly
halfway between the winter and summer solstices, and the day on which
the length of day and night are nearly equal…
and balanced. Today that’s changed. From now
ear Lincoln Families ❧ We are well
into the school year and your students should be well on their way
to new understandings about themselves and their world through their coursework and guiding questions. In sixth grade,
until December, every day will be
somewhat different, with incremental changes in the length of
the days.
“What Makes a Good Student?” is
the overarching theme. Seventh
graders explore: “Who Am I?”
and “What is a Worthwhile Life?”
Eighth graders’: “What makes a
good citizen of the community?”
As our new principal Tristan Komlos navigates the challenges of
caring for an infant and toddler,
she would like Lincoln parents
to consider how schools and parents can care for and support our
students in their development
toward becoming healthy individuals. To that end, we would like to
share the following excerpt from
the National Middle School Association’s Family Connection:
“The years from 10 to 15 represent a time of physical, emotional,
social, and intellectual change.
The former Center for Early Adolescence identified seven needs
that promote healthy development during this time:
changes.
We’ve experienced many
changes — as we’re returned to
Lincoln this fall — most of them
not incremental. All of our families have had the exciting changes
associated with back-to-school:
new teachers, new activities and
new friends, new routines. By the
time you read this, some of the
necessary incremental adjustments to change will be settling
in. Still, several new elements at
Lincoln and the SMMUSD deserve
our attention.
changes.
Lincoln’s Academic Performance Index (API) and Standardized Testing & Reporting (STAR)
scores have improved; and an
important new bond measure
(Measure BB), which provides
for the renovation and repair
of deteriorating school facilities and equipment, is on the
November ballot. There’s a new
Superintendent in the District,
Donna Talarico, who says that,
“parents are [the teachers’] most
important partners in shaping
and guiding their child’s learning
pathway”; and “honoring their
input is something all of [the
District] should wholeheartedly
respect and embrace”. Also, very
significantly, Lincoln is fortunate
to have a dynamic new Principal,
Tristan Komlos, and while she’s
away on maternity leave we have
an energetic, capable replacement in a new ‘interim principal’
role, Carl Hobkirk.
There are also changes in the
look of the Lincoln Quarterly.
Thanks to Kathy Kelleher, Alyssa
Tennenbaum and Josh Freeman
for their fine work on the new
“Lincoln Q”.
In our demanding and rapidly transforming global world,
there are changes in expectations of our schools. Our children are expected to learn how
to be excellent communicators,
problem-solvers and higher-level
thinkers. But parent participation is critical to reaching these
expectations. One focus of LMS
PTSA for 2006-2007 is to build and
maintain united efforts between
the teachers, staff and the families of Lincoln so that together
we might provide the best advantages in public education for each
child at our school. The surest way to that goal is through
mutual respect and trust that our
entire community — parents, students and teachers — is doing the
very best to further our children’s
social and educational competencies. I thank each of your for your
good will, your support of Lincoln
Middle School and your efforts in
making it the best school it can
be for our wonderful children. We
look forward to an exciting year
of positive changes.
n competence and achievement
n social interaction with peers
and adults
n diversity
n participation in school and
community activities
n self-exploration and
definition
n routine, limits, structure
n physical activity
Julena Lind
PTSA President
Tristan Komlos, LMS’s new Principal, will
be on maternity leave until November. Carl
Hobkirk is serving as Interim Principal. Pat
Samarge is Interim Assistant Principal.
Ms. Samarge, who retired from Franklin
Elementary School last June, will be taking up
knitting following Komlos’ return.
As these needs suggest, young
adolescents search for personal
meaning in their lives. They
attempt to determine who they
are and what kind of person they
will become as they participate in
activities that give them a sense
of accomplishment.
Young
adolescents
learn
to define themselves by being
exposed to a wide variety of
experiences. Exploration is the
key word, literally a “trying out”
of many different opportunities
and possibilities.
Help your child build meaning
in her life by encouraging “safe”
risks and providing parental limits and unconditional love.
Remember that the experiences that build responsible,
caring, and morally courageous
adults begin long before adulthood. During this particularly
vulnerable period from 10 to 15,
young adolescents need more
guidance than ever as they
move from childhood toward
adulthood.”
Our aim here at LMS is to support what parents do to help their
children find meaning in their
lives with a curriculum of complementary learning experiences
here at school.
Finally, we would like acknowledge those who have helped us
get off to such a successful start
this year. Countless volunteers
participated in everything from
stuffing envelopes back in July, to
processing students on schedule
pickup days, helping students on
the first day of school, staffing our
student store, providing delicious
food for our staff, inputting volunteer information into a massive spreadsheet to staffing our
front gate. To each and every one
of you, a heartfelt thank you.
Tristan Komlos & Carl Hobkirk
parenting
page 3
The Ten Tasks of
Adolescence
A recent Harvard study conducted on parenting adolescents revealed that because the process of
adolescent development is so closely interwoven with the parental role, it is important to identify
the major developmental changes of adolescence that parents need to support. These changes have
been organized into the Ten Tasks of Adolescence.
1
Renegotiate relationships
with adults in parenting
roles.
Rather than being seen
as “separating” from parents
through the teenage years, it
is understood now that adolescents should be working
together with adults to negotiate a change in the relationship
resulting in a balance of autonomy and ongoing connection.
2
Adjust to sexually maturing bodies and feelings
Within a short period
of time, teens are faced with
adjusting to bodies that as much
as double in size while developing sexual characteristics. They
are also learning to manage
biological changes and sexual
feelings and engaging in healthy
sexual behaviors. This task also
includes establishing a sexual
identity and developing the
skills for romantic relationships.
3
Meet the demands of
increasingly mature roles
and responsibilities
Your child will gradually
take on the roles that will be
expected of him in adulthood,
developing skills that will ready
him for moving into the work
force and meeting expectations
regarding family and community.
4
establish key aspects of
identity
The formation of identity is a lifelong process, but
crucial aspects of identity are
forged at adolescence. These
include the development of
an identity that reflects a
connection to valued people
and groups as well as devel-
oping a sense of himself as an
individual.
5
Formation of supportive
friendships
During adolescence,
young people shift from friendships based largely on the sharing of interests and activities
to those based on the sharing
of ideas and feelings with the
development of mutual trust
and understanding.
6
cultivate and utilize
abstract thinking skills
Adolescents
will undergo key
changes in their
way of thinking,
allowing them to
better understand
and coordinate
abstract
ideas,
think ahead, ponder possibilities
and develop philosophies.
7
Understand and express
more intricate emotional
experiences
Your child is learning to better
identify and communicate complex emotions in a more sophisticated way, also enabling her to
better understand the emotions
of others.
8
Develop moral standards, values, and
belief systems
During this phase,
young people
will typically
develop
a
deeper
understanding of
morality, and construct more
personally meaningful values, and religious views to help
guide their decision making and
behavior
9
Acquire and apply new
coping skills assisting in decision making,
problem solving and conflict
resolution
Part of this new skill set is the
ability for teens to plan for the
future, formulate better decision
making processes, and moderate their risk taking in order to
achieve goals.
10
Develop and apply a
more complex level
of perspective and
empathy
Children at this age will typically develop a powerful new
ability to understand human
relationships by learning to
take into account not
only their own perspective, but also that
of another.
Richard B. Cohen,
(LMFT, CCBT, CDVC,
MAC) is a licensed
marriage, family,
child therapist
and founder and
director of Of One
Mind, a behavioral
health, addiction, and
educational resources
center located in
West L.A.
(310) 479-9067
Page The Lincoln Quarterly
Behind
the scenes
...thanks to those who
make it possible!
Thanks to Elizabeth Stearns,
Debbie Mulvaney, Jill Garcia, Jody
Kasten and over 100 PTSA volunteers who guided, directed, counseled and helped Lincoln students
with registration.
With the able assistance of
Assistant Principal Carl Hobkirk,
DJ Eric Moe and his students, (and
the great student band “FormerlyKnown-as-Disorder”), we brought
families and teachers together at
the Welcome Back picnic the first
week of school.
Thanks to our phenomenal
Hospitality Committee (led by
Michelle Nadel and Liz GeorgesPaymer), we sponsored a delicious welcoming breakfast for the
teachers just before the start of
school.
More thanks: to Ann Payson,
Christine Mitges and their team
who have ably launched the fundraising Sally Foster gift wrap drive;
to Abby Adams, Pam Goodman
and Denise Kato who are off to
an incredible start with the Direct
Investment campaign.
The Just-For-Kids Halloween
Carnival is right around the corner
and Mary Smilove and her crew
are working hard to make this a
2006 Reflections art contest
LINCOLN’S 2005
REFLECTIONS WinnerS
Got a favorite place?
Show us through art!
A Single Seed
“My Favorite Place” is the theme or prompt for this year’s National
Under the lightest shade of the last
PTA annual Reflections competition for the arts. Students can think
about the theme, and what it means to them, then create an inspired
piece of artwork, take a photo, write a song, poem or story about it, even
make a film!
This is a chance for students to create something for the unadulterated joy of self-expression.
The work is judged by professionals in each category with winners
moving on to compete at the District, State, and possibly the National
level.
There are 6 categories this year with the additions of Dance Choreography and Film/Video Production joining Visual Arts, Literature, Photography, and Musical Composition.
If you’d like to check out what other kids created last year, go to www.
pta.org/reflections06.
Entries are due Wednesday, November 1st in Ms. Pomatti’s room 402.
Detailed information was distributed in Home Bases in early October.
Help get the word out to all of Lincoln’s free thinkers, and let’s see
everyone’s talent shine!
by Jasmine Jafari
1st Place, Literature
apple tree,
A girl feels loss and pain.
The only sign of life throughout the
entire ashen meadow,
Has been lost again.
How did a single sinister flame burn all
trees and plants away?
How could everything be so vulnerable?
How would happiness rise again?
How do forests rise from nothing?
How do children learn and grow?
I wonder why leaves colors change,
And then disappear in snow?
If it’s true that I can change the world,
where is the proof?
A gust of wind blows dust everywhere,
And in my palm a seed,
Without a word about it, I plant it, fear
relieved.
“Lincolnpalooza” of an extra-great
time for all our students; and Lynn
Leavitt is putting together a very
interesting series of parent education topics that will be presented
at the monthly PTSA meetings.
Thank you to Darcie Miller Bleiberg for coordinating the terrific
efforts of those volunteers who
comprise the ‘Copy Corps’; and to
Niaz Hakim and her ‘Student Store
Sales Force’ for making it possible
for our kids to buy needed sup-
Quarterly
plies (and P.E. clothes).
Special appreciation goes to
Treasurer Leslie Wizan and Executive Vice President Debbie Mulvaney for their many hours of
positive ‘behind-the-scenes’ work.
Finally, a sincere thank you
to those dedicated Gate-Keeper
volunteers who staff the front
gates, and give hours and hours
of their time to further the safety
of our kids!
Painting by Annie Volovik
2nd Place, Visual Arts
The Lincoln MIDDLE SCHOOL
he Lincoln Middle School Quarterly is published three times a year by the
T
Lincoln Middle School Parent/Teacher/Student Association. For information about underwriting this publication, please contact Kathy Kelleher at
310‑392‑9763 or [email protected].
PTSA President. . . . . . . . . . . . . Julena Lind
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Kelleher
Assistant editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . Alyssa Tennenbaum
Art director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Josh Freeman
Contributing writers. . . . . . . . . Julena Lind
Carl Hobkirk
Tristan Komlos
Abby Adams
Rebecca Kennerly
Laurie Yehia
Michelle Nadel
Ann Payson
Abby Adams
Brooke Gianetti
Monica Corrigan
Leslie Wizan
Jennifer Paddock
Mary Smilove
Paula Goldman
Janine Bush
Tracey Hom
Tere Viramontes-Guitierrez
Richard B. Cohen LMFT, CBT,
CDVC, MAC
Kathy Kelleher
Teri Sachs, RN
Josh Freeman
Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Husna Hossain, Sir Speedy/Santa Monica
Join the PTSA
Join the Lincoln PSTA (Parent
Teacher Student Association)
and help reach our goal of 100%
participation. We thank all who
have already joined for 2006-2007.
Anyone can join and we do mean
anyone: grandparents, neighbors, aunts , uncles, friends , businesses , the family dog.
Please return completed membership forms and dues to your
child’s home base teacher or the
office by Oct. 16.
Here’s how we plan to put our
PTSA dollars to work this year:
n Supply science lab equipment
and supplemental materials for English and history
classes.
n Ensure the library remains
open after school.
n Provide a second set of textbooks for use at home so
students aren’t lugging heavy
backpacks.
n Help get our children’s needs
addressed in Sacramento.
Questions? Contact
Tracey Hom (310) 450-0883 or,
Janine Bush (310) 829-3054.
Looking for Volunteer
opportunities?
Anyone in need of information about volunteer opportunities here at Lincoln should call
Amy Kivnick, Lincoln’s volunteer liason at (310) 315-0888 or
[email protected].
columns & comments
page 5
hoNest aBe
What would
Abe do?
Q & a with 6th grade counselor
Jennifer paddock
Q: We are not sure how involved
we should be in our daughter’s
school life now that she is in
sixth grade. She seems ambivalent; one minute wanting our
help, the next rejecting it. What’s
up?
Signed,
Perplexed
A : This is a time filled with
promise and anticipation, when
your child will grow socially,
emotionally, academically and
physically. During this time of
transition from elementary to
middle school, your relationship
with your child and the school
may change a little. But remember that your involvement still
matters as your child gets older
— just in a different way.
It is important to talk with your
child and ease any concerns that
they may have. Keep in mind that
it is normal for your child, especially at this age, to want to keep
certain thoughts and feelings private. Good questions to ask are:
what are you most excited about?
Or, how can I help? Highlight
the positives while they are still
transitioning. Be sure to let them
know that middle school means
having more independence and
more opportunities to explore
sports, music, and clubs.
Q : What are the best ways to
help my sixth grader be successful in his first year at Lincoln
Middle School? how much help
should we be giving him?
Signed,
over-anxious
n Use color-coded folders for
different subjects.
n Set up a routine and stick
with it.
n Make sure your child has a
consistent and quiet place to
study.
n Set a time for reviewing their
binder reminders and doing
homework.
n Learn to plan together for big
projects.
n Encourage your child to start
projects early and to break
the larger tasks into smaller
chunks.
n Check on their progress
regularly.
Q: Recently, my son came home
upset because of a grade his
teacher gave him on a paper. he
claims the teacher marked something wrong which was actually
correct but wasn’t reflected in
the overall grade. What to do?
Signed,
Mother on verge of meddling
A : Over the next three years, the
most important lesson to teach
your child is self-advocacy. They
need to learn to ask for help at
school and to go their teacher if
they think a grade is unfair or
incorrect. While it is important
that we work as a team to ensure
their success, it is also important
that students learn to take care
of themselves and to access the
right people to get the help that
they need.
Wit’s end is a recurring Q & A
A: You can best help your child be
academically successful by helping them get organized.
n Encourage them to use their
binder reminders and to
check them nightly (not in the
morning, just before school).
column featuring school counselors’
answers to parents’ questions.
Please send some along for our next
issue to: [email protected].
We will be taking your Q’s to our
7th and 8th grade counselors.
No holds barred.
Question:
The school
vending machine gave
me, like, 11 bags of pretzels and granola bars for a
quarter. A friend had been
messing around with
the machine and when I
put in my coins, it gave
me back change less a
quarter, but kept giving me stuff. I want to
sell what I got to kids
at school for a dollar,
which means I would
make about $11. Is this
wrong?
Signed,
Anonymous 7th
grader
aBe: Well, I bet you
thought you hit the
vending machine lottery and perhaps you
did. It is natural to
want to keep all 11
snacks,
especially
when you are 12
(I was a boy once too)
and you take a boring lunch to school
everyday.
You obviously
possess the natural
instincts of a capitalist — this is a
good thing — a
principle that is
a cornerstone of
American life for
goodness sake. But
this is a moral question. You have to consider
that someone owns the
vending machine, the
snacks within
and collects the
monies generated
as part of their
business. After
all, the snacks do
not belong to you (but you
knew that) and you should
not sell them to your friends
(or dudes, as you call them).
I think it would be okay to
eat one (I’d eat the pretzels) because you made
an honest attempt to pay
for it and the machine
mistakenly gave you
back too much change.
The fact that most of
us never see money
we lose in these
machines
when
we put in our dollar and get nothing
out should not enter
into it. And that 800 number on the machine to call
if you lose money, well,
that is the cosmic equivalent of a black hole. But
I digress. You could also
give the other 10 snacks
to a homeless center,
or to a Lincoln Middle
School staffer who could
return them to the vending machine operator on
your behalf (or face their
own moral quandary of
what to do with them).
They don’t call me honest
Abe for nothing.
Honest Abe is a recurring
Q&A using the real moral
or ethical quandaries middle
school students wrestle with
every day. Parents and students,
please send questions to
[email protected], who
channels Abe as he ponders then
responds to the questions.
Page The Lincoln Quarterly
Sponsorpalooza
I
t’s not too late to support Lincoln Middle School’s Annual Carnival. We invite
you to be a part of this very important
fundraiser by sponsoring it with a sign or
banner. All donations are tax deductible
and we will acknowledge your generosity in future editions of our school newspaper,
the Lincoln Quarterly, and in our schoolwide
e-mail, The Lincoln List. Here are
the ways you can sponsor the
Lincolnpalooza:
n An ``All Access Backstage
Pass” sponsorship is $600,
which includes a 3’ x 5’ banner and four limited edition
Lincoln Rocker T-shirts.
n A VIP Package is only $300 and
includes an 8 1/2” x 14” sign
and 2 limited edition Lincoln
Rocker T-shirts.
n A ``Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame”
sponsorship is just $150. This
includes an 8 1/2” x 11” sign
and one limited edition Lincoln Rocker T-shirt
All banners and signs will be
proudly displayed on rides and
attractions during the carnival
and around the outside of the
school throughout the months of
October and November.
All sponsorships are due by
Wednesday, Oct. 18th. If interested, please contact Brooke
Giannetti at bgiannetti@mac.
com.
VIP Sponsors
Zack Gold Family
Max, Sam, Regan and Felle
Baumgarten
Emilee Barnoin
Pest Control Services: Environmentally Sensitive
Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame
Sponsors
The Flower Box, Santa Monica
Alex Comfortes and Family
The Corsa-Butterfield Family
Jake Fagen Family
The Benjamin Gaeta Goblins
Ilana Greenberg and Her Bootiful Family
The Greenwald Family
The Held Family
The Klein Family/Cityview
Productions
Isadora Lim and Family
The Nelson Family
The Devin Reed Family
Molly Quaranta’s Family
“The Keller” Lincoln Family
The Brett Tulchin Family
The Wizan Family
A HUGE THANK YOU to these
Rockin’ sponsors of the Lincolnpalooza Halloween Carnival.
(sponsors as of 9/20)
All Access Sponsors
Ellen Conrad Properties
Charlie Giannetti and Family
Justin Tavaf and Family
The Mulally Family
The Family of Maxwell Ulin
The Saigali Family and Galaxy
Computers Center
H.A.S. Construction and the
Viault Family
The Ben Vigman Family
Free money!
Just swipe
a card!
Se habla
español
We are so glad to be done with
“ELAC” Latino Parent Group:
paper scrip: standing in line to
buy it, running out at the checkout stand, and leaving it in the
car glove compartment just when
we need it. Too much effort.
EScrip is the multi-tasking,
internet dependent parent’s
obvious choice for effortless
fundraising.
With each swipe of a credit
card or Von’s card (we do swipe
so much), a percentage of every
purchase total goes to Lincoln
Middle School.
Shopping at eScrip merchants
(i.e. Von’s, Macy’s, Big 5, Office
Max) automatically results in
donations to Lincoln of between
1% to 6%.
All you have to do is register your grocery cards (re-register cards every Nov. 1) and credit
cards with eScrip. Here’s how:
Go to www.escrip.com to sign
up and when asked for Lincoln’s
eScrip group ID#, enter 164755704.
We think this is the simplest
way to give and support all the
outstanding programs here at
Lincoln!
Contact Monica Corrigan at
[email protected].
Spanish-speaking parents are
invited to our monthly parent
meetings held in the Staff Cafeteria. We will also offer a series of 4
sessions, “Adelante…a la Universidad!!!” in Spanish, on preparing
the way for college. Please refer
to the Lincoln school calendar
for posted dates and times. For
additional information, please
call Tere Viramontes-Gutierrez at
(310) 393-9227 x 109; or drop
by Room 109 any day except
Wednesdays.
sponsor! For more information,
email Brooke Giannetti at
[email protected]
nos: Se les invíta a los padres de
habla-español a nuestras reuniones mensuales en la Cafeteria
de los Maestros. Tambien ofreceremos una serie de 4 sesiones,
“Adelante…a la Universidad!!!”
en español, sobre preparando el
camino hacia la universidad. Por
favor consulte el calendario de la
escuela para las fechas y horarios.
Para mas información, por favor
llamen a Tere Viramontes-Gutierrez al (310) 393-9227 x 109, o páse
por la oficina, Salon 109, cualquier
día menos los Miercoles.
Carl’s Tips
What should I do when…
My child forgets his or her
My child has missed school
lunch/lunch money or a classroom project?
and needs to know what work to
makeup?
n Drop it off in the Attendance
Office—He or she can check
there between periods, at
Nutrition and at Lunch to see
if you’ve brought it.
n Have your child call their
study buddy –or- Check the
Homework Hotline by calling each teacher’s telephone
extension and punching
in the three-digit Homework Hotline number. –orUpon your child’s return
to school, have him or her
check the “Scribe Book” that
many teachers keep in their
classroom.
My child has trouble with his or
It’s not too late to become a
“ELAC” Grupo de Padres Lati-
her locker?
n For their hallway locker,
remind your child to go to
the Attendance Office and fill
out the “Locker Request and
Problem Form.” Security will
follow up with your child.
I know in advance that my child
will be unable to attend school
for a week or more?
Continued on next page
EventsPage Breakfast
for
champions
We know going back to school
after a long, hot summer can be
just as miserable for Lincoln’s staff
as it is for our middle schoolers.
Nothing like a hearty breakfast to
brace the gut, soul and psyche for
the transition from mindless play
to serious work. This is why our
hospitality committee laid out a
sumptuous breakfast spread for
our staff who returned to school
on Sept. 5, for a day of meetings
and school prep. Teachers and
staff were greeted with balloons,
brightly-colored flowers and a
delicious hot breakfast provided
by the culinary masters among
our Lincoln parents.
Thank you to the devoted hospitality committee for the chow
and service and to all of our parent volunteers who rose early to
deliver goodies for the breakfast.
We think this is the best way to
start the year!
If anyone would like to offer
up signature Epicurean delights
for our next hospitality event, a
staff Holiday Luncheon (bushe
de Noel anyone?) will be held on
Monday, December 18th. Contacts: Michelle Nadel mjnadel@
nadel.com or Liz Georges [email protected].
Liz Georges-Paymer, Hillary Wilson, Michelle Nadel and
Kuniko Usui host the staff breakfast.
Interim Assistant Principal Patricia Samarge at a PTSA meeting.
Greg Stearns of the picnic band “Formerly-Known-asDisorder” with local groupie.
Lincoln families enjoying the annual picnic.
“What should I do?” continued
n See Diane Nyden in the Counseling Office. With advance
notice, Diane can organize
an Independent Study packet
from your child’s teachers
that will be due back to her
upon your child’s return to
school.
PTSA Executive Board meeting.
I want to know my child’s prog-
ress in his or her classes.
n You have access to our
district’s Pinnacle Grade program. Sixth Grade families
will receive the PIN number
and more information about
this program when the first
progress report comes home
at the end of October. Seventh and eighth grade codes
remain the same as last year.
Kids check out clubs to join. (See page 11 for list.)
Teachers Chon Lee, Stephanie Suffolk and Vanessa Ventre,
chat with Adminstrative Assistant Robin Minca and
Assistant Principal Francis Costanza at the school picnic.
Whaddaya mean “back” to school? I gotta get there the first time....
Page The Lincoln Quarterly
Site governance
Animal,
vegetable or
mineral?
Some of us here are Lincoln
Middle School are as bewildered
by site governance as we are by
our adolescent. Perhaps a simple
explanation of site governance
is in order. (As for adolescence,
no simple explanation but see
our Wit’s End column for wisdom as well as The Ten Tasks of
Adolescence).
The Site Governance Committee is a group comprised of
teachers (representing each core,
PE, and the electives), administrators, students (ASB members
from each grade level), and parents (representing each grade
level, African American
students, the
English
Language
Advisory Committee, Special Education, and PTSA)
that meets monthly
to discuss school
policies. Site Governance is empowered by the district to
design and implement Teachers’
“Wish Lists” (particularly related
to technology), consistency in
discipline and detention policies
throughout the Cores and school
improvements. For example, last
year’s committee helped bring to
fruition a new track, new bleachers and new lockers in the Girls’
Locker Room.
One parent can make a difference. Former Lincoln parent Stephen Saks inspired much needed
clean-up days last year. Parents
and students hauled off an assortment of things in an excavationlike scouring of LMS’s basement,
including a sewing machine. Still
under discussion are options
for staff development, creating
a “sustainable” school, campus
beautification and our College
Youth Outreach program.
If you have a vision for an
improved Lincoln or an idea you
would like to see realized, commit it to paper and drop it the
“Site Governance” mail slot in
the office (next to the PTSA slot).
Imagination is the inspiration
for change.
Meet Dianne Talarico,
SMMUSD’s new Superintendent
D
ianne Talarico hit the ground running last August, arriving to work as Santa Monica Malibu Unified School
District’s new Superintendent to a dizzying schedule
of PTA, district, student and community meetings. A
ruthless greeting, perhaps, but educational. A quick
study of SMMUSD’s diverse student population compelled Talarico to pledge that the district would work collaboratively
with the people of Santa Monica to achieve a pressing goal: educating all students with the richest academic experience possible.
“We must stretch our highest-
achieving students to their absolute limit, enrich educational
opportunities beyond belief for
the vast middle, and pull up the
lowest achieving students,” she
said at a recent SMMUSD Council of PTA meeting. “Or America will start to parallel a Third
World country and we will have
revolution.”
Symptomatic of schools’ failure to reach every student are
such social phenomena as rising gang violence and declining
U.S. enrollment at top universities. “It is schools’ responsibility
to help develop the whole child,”
she asserts, including social,
musical and artistic opportunities. She stressed that her primary mission is to ensure that
the district is meeting the needs
of each member of its diverse
population. “The health of society depends on preparing all children to enter adulthood with the
ability to choose what they will
do with their future,” she said.
A veteran educator, Ms.
Talarico comes to SMMUSD from
the Canton City Schools in Canton, Ohio where she was Superintendent for five years. She took
the Ohio position following a
nearly 20-year run working for
the San Francisco Unified School
District, three years of which she
served as associate superintendent. She began her career as a
special education teacher in Ohio,
has worked as a principal and
special education teacher San
Francisco, and served as principal
of the American Overseas School
in Rome, Italy.
As Canton City Schools Super-
intendent, Ms. Talarico was
instrumental in raising the district’s academic achievement at
every level and increasing the
high school graduation rate by 25
percent. Additionally, her administration secured $42 million
dollars in competitive grants,
oversaw a $178 million reconstruction project and secured
voter approval of a $7 million
annual tax levy, while curbing
expenditures and streamlining
district operations.
Talarico’s first three months
here
(the “discovery” phase)
will be spent meeting with community members and gathering
information. She is also analyzing the District budget in an effort
to find available funds for additional enrichment programs. She
would like to usher in technological advances at every school
to modernize the way teachers
deliver information to their students. To help underwrite such
sweeping technological advances,
she envisions community partnerships that would bear private
funding models and the winning
of technology grants to jumpstart SMMUSD into a cutting-edge
learning community.
Meet our new teachers, too! Top left: Sean Allstot (physical education) Bottom left to right: Vy Pham
(math), Dana Danesi (humanities), Linda Catanzano (special programs SDC – math), Vanessa Ventre (vocal music).
GoverningPage Mark Your Ballots
Yes on Measure BB—For
School Safety and Repair
Our School District Board of
Education placed Measure BB,
For School Safety and Repair, on
the November 7 ballot to address
specific school facility needs
identified by the complete assessment done last year as part of the
Master Facilities Planning project.
Twelve of our 16 schools are over
50 years old, with 8 of those more
than 60 years old. Our school
buildings need to be repaired and
updated to ensure that they provide a safe and effective learning
environment for our children.
Lincoln’s PTSA and the Santa
Monica-Malibu Council of PTAs
strongly support Measure BB
in order to fund much needed
school health and safety repairs,
replace portable structures with
permanent classrooms, upgrade
computer technology and expand
facilities such as science labs and
libraries to ensure that each and
every student has a safe and
healthy place to learn.
Measure BB is a $268 million
general obligation bond, which
will cost property owners in
the District no more than $30
per $100,000 assessed property
valuation (not necessarily market
value) per year. Important taxpa-
yer safeguards are included in
Measure BB, including independent audits and a Citizens Oversight Committee. If BB passes, it
will also make our school district
eligible for state matching funds
if the statewide school bond (1D)
also passes. Passage of 1D alone
will not cover the costs of needed
school facility repairs and upgrades in our district.
Please be sure you are registered to vote, and re-register if you
have moved. PTA strongly encourages you to vote by absentee
ballot to be sure your vote gets
“banked.” Our PTA can provide
you with voter registration materials and absentee ballot applications. Thank you for doing your
part to support our children’s
schools.
For more information, please
contact PTA Legislation Co-Chairs
Lynn Leavitt (310) 453-3793 or
Laurie Yehia (310) 829-9106, or the
campaign manager Jesse Switzer
at (818) 631-5377.
CA State PTA Takes Positions
On State Ballot Initiatives
The California State PTA has
taken the following positions on
statewide initiatives, and urges
you to make an informed vote on
November 7th.
Hear the candidates.
Be informed.
Make informed choices this
November 7th. Hear the candidates at these forums:
Saturday, October 14th
10:00 a.m. – 12 Noon
S.M. Council Candidates Forum
Bergamot Station Café,
2525 Michigan Avenue
Sponsored by The Independent
Committee For The Arts
Tuesday, October 17th
7:00 p.m.
S.M. Council Candidates Forum
Santa Monica City Council Chamber,
City Hall, 1685 Main Street
Sponsored by the SM League of
Women Voters Education Fund,
CITYTV and the Center for Governmental Studies
For more information, see
Calendar of Events – LWV of
Santa Monica
Proposition 1D: Support
The Kindergarten-University
Public Education Facilities Bond
Act of 2006. This ten billion, four
hundred sixteen million dollar
($10,416,000,000) general obligation bond will provide needed
funding to relieve public school
overcrowding and to repair older
schools. It will improve earthquake safety and fund vocational
educational facilities in public
schools. Prop 1D will be paid
through the state’s general fund
with existing tax dollars. The
initiative includes strong accountability provisions to ensure the
funds are used appropriately.
Proposition 86: Support
The Tobacco Tax Act of 2006.
Imposes additional 13 cent tax
on each cigarette distributed
($2.60 per pack), and indirectly
increases tax on other tobacco
products. Provides funding to
qualified hospitals for emergency services, nursing education
and health insurance to eligible
children. Revenue also allocated
to specified purposes including
tobacco use prevention programs,
enforcement of tobacco-related
laws, and research, prevention
and treatment of various conditions including cancers (breast,
cervical, prostate and colorectal),
heart disease, stroke, asthma and
obesity.
Proposition 88: Oppose
The Classroom Learning and
Accountability Act. Provides
additional public school funding
for kindergarten through grade
12 by imposing a $50 tax on each
real property parcel. Funds must
be used for class size reduction,
textbooks, school safety, Academic Success facility grants, and
a data system to evaluate educational program effectiveness.
Our State PTA believes Prop 88
is poorly drafted and could cost
many school districts more than
it would provide in new funds.
In addition, there is concern
that Proposition 88, much like
the Lottery, will feed the public
perception that the problem of
under-funded schools has been
“taken care of,” when in fact, this
measure would provide less than
half of what the Lottery provides.
(The Lottery contributes only
approximately 1% of the entire
state education budget.)
What are
the rights of
students with
disabilities?
¿Cuales son
los derechos
de estudiantes
incapacitados?
Protection & Advocacy Inc.
Protection & Advocacy Inc.
will conduct a free seminar
regarding laws protecting students with disabilities. The seminar will be conducted in English
on Saturday, October 21 from 9 to
noon at the Professional Development Center, 2802 Fourth Street,
Santa Monica. The seminar will
also be conducted in Spanish on
Saturday, November 11 from 9 to
noon at the same location. Funding for this event was provided
by the Malibu Special Education
Foundation.
conducirá una conferencia gratis sobre las leyes que protegen
a los estudiantes incapacitados.
La conferencia se conducirá en
inglés el sábado, 21 de octubre
de 9:00 a.m. a 12:00 p.m. en el
Centro de Desarrollo Profesional,
2802 Fourth Street, Santa Mónica.
La conferencia también será conducida en español el sábado,
11 de noviembre, de 9:00 a.m. a
12:00 p.m. en el mismo lugar. Los
fondos para este evento fueron
proveídos por la Fundación de
Page 10Fundraising
Fundraising
Baby, we
need you
so bad!
So send in your direct
donation, pronto!
Welcome back to Lincoln and
the 2006-2007 PTSA Direct Investment Drive. We all understand
what a shock it is to your system to have to get your children
out of bed, fed and out the door
for the 8:20 bell (even more traumatic for those of you juggling an
AM class!) Now
that you and
your children
have
settled
into the school
year
routine,
please take the
time to participate in this
year’s
Direct
Investment
Drive by making your contribution TODAY.
Our goal, as always, is to have
100% participation, but as of this
writing, only 10% of Lincoln families have contributed, and unfortunately, what this means is that
many of the basic programs that
we take for granted are in jeopardy. At Lincoln, the Direct Investment Drive funds technology
support personnel, upgrades and
maintenance of schoolwide com-
puters, parent access to on-line
grades via the Pinnacle program,
after school library supervision,
the Peer Mediation program, 8th
grade promotional activities, science lab equipment, and supplemental materials for Humanities
classes.
Last
year’s
participation
funded new lockers for the girls’
locker room, new bleachers, completion of the auditorium sound
and lighting upgrades, the hiring of a technology consultant to
create a master technology plan,
and the purchase of 5 LCD projectors. These essential school
improvements were realized with
only 38% of parent participation.
Imagine what 100% participation
could afford our students!
Think
about it…
4-to-6
laptop
computers in each
classroom,
a muchneeded
physical
facelift of
the campus and an increase in
staff development programs are
a smattering of the possibilities.
Please, send in your contribution today and help us reach
our goal of 100% participation. Regardless of the amount,
every donation is important and
appreciated.
To those families that have
contributed as of 9/28/06, we
thank you ever so much.
Thanks to
our donors
(sponsors as of 9/28)
Family of Natalie Schwich
Grandmother of Aliza and Chloe
Abarbanel
Jeffrey Johnson
The Abarbanel Family
The Ada and Bruce Brown Family
The Aidan Richker Family
The Alemania Family
The Angarella Family
The Arimura Family
The Balaguer Family
The Bankler/Jukes Family
The Bartolucci-Browne Family
The Baumgarten Family
The Bencivengo Family
The Biren Family
The Blessington-Hartford Family
The Bloomfield-Auguste Family
The Bracey Family
The Brian Alfano Family
The Brode Family
The Cassilly Family
The Chan Family
The Chetty Family
The Cluff Family
The Comfortes Family
The Corande Family
The Crane Family
The Culps
The Dean Ferdows, M.D. Family
The DeLucia Family
The Diane and Mike Binder Family
The Dinolfo Family
The Dunn Family
The Family of Max Ulin
The Ferrara Family
The Fields/Picard Family
The Franklin Family
The Freemans
The Frischer Family
The Giannetti Family
The Goodman Family
Fundraising corner
(Gift)Wrap Party
This year’s Sally Foster gift-
wrap fundraiser is off to a great
start. But it’s only the beginning.
Lincoln families can still raise
money for our school by purchasing Sally Foster products online
through Jan. 15. (Perfect for last
minute holiday or New Year’s
gifts!) Just make sure that Lincoln’s Account # 22946 is entered
so we receive 50% of all internet
proceeds!
Catalogue sales and online
prize-winning sales (which concluded Oct. 3) are now being
tallied. Names of top-selling
students are being announced.
Home bases garnering the high-
est sales celebrate with Pizza and
Ice Cream parties.
Lincoln students sold over
$52,000 of Sally Foster Products last year, raising $26,000 to
help purchase second textbooks
(for at home copies) and pay for
upgraded classroom technology.
We need yet more second textbooks. We’ll update our progress
in the next Lincoln Quarterly.
Product Delivery information:
Sally Foster products purchased online will be delivered
directly to you within days of
your order (food orders won’t be
delivered until mid-November).
Check status of orders at www.
sallyfoster.com: click help button
at bottom of page.
If you ordered by catalogue,
the student seller will pickup
your Sally Foster products at Lincoln on Nov. 16 & 17. The student
should deliver your order the following week. Direct questions
about orders to the student seller.
For more information, email Lincoln’s Sally Foster Chairperson,
Ann Payson at [email protected] (best) or call (310)
394-2881.
The Gordons
The Harris Family
The Haskell-Swirkel Family
The Held Family
The Helen Weary Family
The Holden Family
The Horn Family
The Howard Family
The Hulbert Family
The Hwang Family
The Johnson/Wright Family
The Joshua Uhm Family
The Kaveladze/Addes Family
The Keller Family
The Kellogg Adams Family
The Kendall Family
The Kendall-Bar Family
The Kennedy-Levin Family
The Khalil Family
The Kivnick Family
The Kirst Family
The Klein Family
The Kottler Family
The Krieger Family
The Kubota Family
The Legagnoux Family
The Lennons
The Lentz Family
The Lojac Family
The Malina Boehm Family
The Matsumoto Family
The Max Tamahori Family
The Meyer Family
The Modabber/Holmes Family
The Mulally Family
The Nadel Family
The Nemzer Family
The Noveck Family
The O’Connell/Olsen Family
The Ortenberg Family
The Owens Family
The Palmer Family
The Pollack Family
The Poole Family
The Pomerantz Family
The Pratt Family
The Reed/O’Brien Family
The Ric Tennenbaum Family
The Sardo Family
The Shaevel’s
The Shakeshaft/Rosenthal Family
The Shaw/Crowley Family
The Sherouse Family
The Shoenfeld Family
The Silverman Family
The Snyder Family
The Southam-Daly Family
The Speakman Family
The Spetner Family
The Stearns Family
The Stewart Family
The Sussman Family
The Thomas-Anikst Family
The Ventura-Boucher Family
The Wayne and Sandee Black Family
The Wen/Guh Family
The Wylie Family
The Yanov Family
The Yazdani Family
The Zelon Family
This list does not include donor families who
requested anonymity and we would also like
to thank them.
ActivitiesPage 11
What does your kid love to do?
There’s probably a club for it. Sign up! It’s serious fun.
MONDAY
Computer Lab
Ms. deAlmeida
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Room 222
Health and Fitness Club
Mr. Allstot
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Fitness Lab
6th & 7th Grade Home Base Presidents
Mr. Stauffer
Home Base B
Room 140
8th Grade Home Base Presidents
Mr. Stauffer
Home Base A
Room 140
Library
Mrs. Kelin and Staff
7:30-8:15 a.m
Library
3:00-4:30 p.m.
TUESDAY
Madrigals
Ms Ventre
3:10-4:00 p.m.
Room 156
String Orch. Bass Sectionals
Mr. Park
3:15-4:15 p.m.
Room 400
Math Tutoring
Wally Grayson
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Room 202
Computer Lab
Ms. deAlmeida
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Room 222
College Youth Outreach (CYO)
Counselors
3:00-4:00 p.m.
TBD
Homework Club
Mrs. Moazzez
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Library
Concert Orchestra
Mr. Park
3:10-4:30 p.m.
Room 400
Library
Mrs. Kelin
7:30-8:15 a.m
Library
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Lincoln Book Club
Ms. Haenschke
3:10-4:10 p.m. 1x per Mo
Room 203
Math Tutoring
Wally Grayson
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Room 116
National Junior Honor Society
Mrs. Jaroch & Mrs. Hart
2nd Tues. of each month
Library
3:05-4:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
String Orch. Viola & Cello Sectionals
Mr. Park
3:15-4:15 p.m.
Room 401
Student Council
Mr. Stauffer
Home Base A
Room 140
Computer Lab
Ms. deAlmeida
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Room 222
Jazz Ensemble
Mr. Hunt
3:10-4:10 p.m.
Room 400
Library
Mrs. Kelin
7:30-8:15 a.m
Library
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Mediation Club
Candice Gottlieb
First Wed. of each month
Library
Book Club
Ms. Hart and Ms. Sinclair
one Thursday per month
Room 157
Computer Lab
Ms. deAlmeida
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Room 222
Debate Club
Ms. Barker & Mr. Schwartz
2nd Thurs. of each month
TBD
Harry Potter Club
Mr. Hobkirk
2nd & 4th Thurs each Mo
Library
Homework Club
Mrs. Moazzez
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Library
Library
Mrs. Kelin
7:30-8:15 a.m
Library
Lunch
THURSDAY
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Madrigals
Ms Ventre
3:10-4:00 p.m.
Room 156
String Workshops
Mr. Park
TBA
Room 400
Student Council
Mr. Stauffer
Home Base A
Room 140
Travel Club
Mrs. O’Brien
TBA 2x per Month
Room 506
Writing Club
Mrs. Suffolk
2nd Thurs. of each month
Room 120
Library
Mrs. Kelin
7:30-8:15 a.m
Library
3:15-4:15 p.m.
FRIDAY
3:00-3:30 p.m.
DAILY
TBA
Peer Mentors
Counselors
3:10-4:15 p.m.
Student Council
Mr. Stauffer
Home Base A
Counseling
Off.
Room 140
Boys and Girls Club
Dominic Hollins
3:00-6:00 p.m.
Cafeteria
Teen Center
Alicia Mercier
3:00-6:00 p.m.
Room 510
Seasonal Sports
City of Santa Monica
3:10-5:00 p.m.
Gym/Field
Computer Workshop Classes
City of Santa Monica
TBD
Room 222
Lincoln Middle School
1501 California Avenue
Santa Monica CA 90403
Important information from your PTSA
on the web at
www.lincoln.smmusd.org
Coming Up This Quarter
October
18
19
19
20
27
31
December
Wednesday
Site Governance 3:15 pm
Thursday
PTSA Meeting 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Thursday
ELAC Meeting 8:30 am
FRIDAY
1st grading period ends
FRIDAY
Halloween Carnival 5:00 – 9:30 pm
TUESDAY
Progress reports go home
November
10
13
13-15
15
16
16
23-24
30
Monday
No School – Veteran’s Day
TUESDAY
2nd exploratory classes begin
Monday
8th grade family analytic writing nights
Thursday
Site–Governance 3:15 pm
FRIDAY
ELAC Meeting 8:30 am
FRIDAY
PTSA Meeting 7:00 – 8:30 pm
FRIDAY
NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Holiday
FRIDAY
ELAC Parent Ed:
Systems of Higher Education 7:00 pm
01
07
08
14
18
12
22
23
Monday
2nd grading period ends
TUESDAY
Band Concert 7:00 pm
Wednesday
Winter Dance 4:30 – 7:00 pm
Monday
Orchestra Concert 7:00 pm
Monday
Staff Holiday Luncheon
Monday
Progress reports home
Monday
No morning classes
Monday
NO SCHOOL – Winter Recess
January
08
Monday
School resumes
Wash, wash, wash hands!
Flu season is here. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by a virus.
The best flu prevention is a vaccination (two weeks following, the body produces
antibodies) and frequent, we repeat, frequent, hand washing.
Flu is spread by coughing and sneezing, which spreads the droplets from one
person to the next. The virus can live for 24-to-48 hours upon surfaces: 12 hours
in a tissue. (Eeeewwwww!)
To prevent spreading the virus, encourage your children to wash their hands
often during school and to use the classrooms’ hand sanitizer. Discourage them
from sharing pens and pencils, and from putting them in their mouth. When sneezing or coughing (and tissueless), they should use the inside of their sleeve, not
hands. If feeling sick, please have them stay home!