Hi LE Families,
I want to thank you again for your patience and understanding with the emergency closure on Monday due to the sewage issue.
There was only one reported COVID case at our school this week. Tests will be sent home (for families who have opted in) on Tuesday in your child’s backpack.
I will be sending out more information tomorrow regarding new mask guidelines, once the document is finalized by the central office.
Thank you,
Principal Morrissey
The Lincoln-Eliot COVID vaccine clinic for ages 5-11 has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 8th. Please sign up through this link:
More information can be found in the flyer below.
Creative Arts & Sciences AuthorFest is coming! On April 12, authors and illustrators that presented to K-8 students all over Newton will be gathering at the Cabot Elementary School library for a book sale and signing, meet and greet, between 3:15 – 5:30 PM. The event is open to the public. Newtonville Books will be on hand with a selection of books for sale that students can get signed.
Newtonville Books is taking pre-orders of books between now and March 21. If you want to purchase a book in advance, go to:
www.newtonvillebooks.com/npsauthorfest
CAS AuthorFest is made possible by a generous grant from the Newton Schools Foundation with additional support from The Village Bank, Harmony Foundation, and parent contributions to the PTO.
March is Women’s History Month
Kicking off Women’s History Month, President Biden announced his nomination of the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. And, if appointed, Jackson would join the first Latinx justice Sonia Sotomayor. Diversity on the court – as diversity among our families in our great school – has the potential to bring new ideas and expand thinking and reasoning about decisions.
Bigelow Middle School FORJ 7-Day Anti-Racism Challenge Recap
On March 1st, Bigelow Middle School Principal Chassity Coston joined a group of parents and a few middle school children on Zoom to discuss some of the materials available in the posted 7-Day Anti-Racism Challenge – originally hosted by the Heller School at Brandeis University. We discussed some of the viewable materials (some more accessible to families with kids than others) and talked about what it means to garner generational wealth and the historic and cultural influences on who has access to generational wealth. In our brief hour together, we also discussed the materials on Reparations and “Redlining.” Participants agreed that the video on Redlining was very instructive. And, we looked at a striking map of the Newton Corner area when Redlining first began.The challenge materials remain available online and are parsed out into categories with great prompts to develop thinking and practice to be anti-racist (that’s non-racism in action!).
Check out A Virtual Tour: Women’s Heritage Trail
Visit the City of Boston website: https://www.boston.gov/departments/womens-advancement/womens-history-month to take a tour around Boston featuring women who made an impact. Includes addresses or locations so, when the weather improves, let’s take a walk to see them for ourselves! See https://bwht.org/ for more details about the women and sites.
Next CityWide FORJ Meeting – Thursday, March 10th
Contact Lanni if you’d like to join and learn more!
FAMILIES ORGANIZING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE (FORJ) is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity.
For more information about FORJ, contact Lincoln-Eliot FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com.
We ask that families take a few minutes to fill out a survey for a local Springfield College graduate student, Anna Ford. Your participation will help in her studies on organizational leadership. Here is more information about Anna’s efforts are below.
My name is Anna Ford and I’m a graduate student at Springfield College studying human services with a concentration in organizational leadership. My master’s thesis takes an in-depth look at youth participation in extracurricular activities in suburban communities. The survey linked below collects both demographic data and information about parent/caregiver preferences as it relates to extracurricular activities for youth. Some survey participants may be contacted for a voluntary follow-up interview.
All information collected as part of this survey is kept confidential.
Specific questions can be sent to me at aford6@springfieldcollege.edu
Thank you in advance LEPTO families and community!
Welcome Back LE Families!
I hope you had a restful break! Just a reminder that your student(s) were provided with a test kit just before February break. Please use one of these tests today, Sunday, February 27, 2022 (prior to returning to school on Monday). Please use the second test on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
Remember, you can still opt-in to the at-home COVID rapid antigen testing program. Simply log into your Aspen parent/guardian account: Aspen. Follow these instructions once you are logged in.
Additional information can be found on the NPS COVID Testing Webpage.
Thank you and have a great week,
Principal Morrissey & the PTO
Do you have an incoming Kindergartener or current Kindergartener? Please consider signing up for Garden City Soccer!! For each student that participates from Lincoln-Eliot, the PTO receives a small percentage back. It’s a great way to make connections with other families from LE and in Newton. Note: This is NOT the same program as Kindergarten Soccer (which is run by Zervas Elementary).
For next year, consider a volunteer board position to help benefit the LE PTO even more. For more information, click here.
The Newton Public Schools and Newton Health & Human Services is holding a COVID vaccine clinic right at our Lincoln-Eliot School this Tuesday, March 1 from 8am-11am for NPS students ages 5-11*.
*Please note that only the Pfizer vaccine dosage for ages 5-11 will be available at this clinic
Please see the information below and click here to sign up.
Just a reminder there are still available Newton Community Education after school programs scheduled to run at Lincoln-Eliot this Spring, with a few programs beginning this Friday.
Chinese Club Lincoln Eliot Elementary School Grades: Kindergarten – 5th; 3/4/22 – 5/20/22; 3:05-4:35pm
Chess: Intermediate Lincoln Eliot Elementary School Grades: 1st – 5th; 3/4/22 – 6/17/22; 3:15-4:15pm
Astronaut Adventure Half-Day Lincoln Eliot Elementary School Grades: Kindergarten – 5th; 5/11/22 from 12:20-3pm; $30
Note: the Chess: Beginner Lincoln Eliot Elementary School Grades: Kindergarten – 5th began 2/17 but slots are still available. With only one class in, you may still be able to sign up for the rest of the class session, which goes through 6/16/22.
If you have an interest in signing up your child, please click on this link to learn more: https://www2.newtoncommunityed.org/lincoln-eliot-elementary-school-win-spr22/
A reminder of two upcoming FORJ events this week.
Racial Representation in Pop Culture (e.g., “The Falcon & the Winter Soldier”) on Monday, February 28th at 8PM presented at the Burr FORJ February Meeting. Register here.
“How to Talk to Children about Anti-Semitism” on Tuesday, March 1st at 7:30PM presented by Hadassah Northeast, Lappin Foundation, Temple Emanuel and Holocaust Legacy Foundation. Deborah Gilboa, MD, attending family physician and parenting and resilience expert, will outline a framework for addressing antisemitism with children. “Dr. G.” will provide context for introducing and reacting to antisemitism, as well as an algorithm for talking to kids about any scary or difficult issue. Dr. G. will also give strategies for meeting children where they are and answering their questions as they come up, while strengthening their resilience and building your relationship with them. Register here.
() is a group of diverse Newton families helping our children learn about issues of power and inequality and how to stand up for racial justice. We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about differences in our society, and to work together towards racial equity.
For more information about FORJ, contact Lincoln-Eliot FORJ PTO Liaison Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com.