Lincoln Eliot Community Reading Day: Lincoln-Eliot celebrated Read Across America Week from February 29-March 4. Read Across America Week is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for children and adults to celebrate reading. Motivating our students to read has a positive impact on their achievement and creates lifelong successful readers.
Last Friday morning, members of our community joined us and read to individual classes. Our “Readers” are from diverse backgrounds and represent different roles in our lives. One thread that unites us is a book or story that brings us fond memories. It is inspiring to see a member of our community share a favorite story.
Our Community Readers included: Beekeeper Rachael Bonoan, Musician Mike Costello, Retired Teacher Linda Crosby, Newton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. David Fleischman, Teacher Tahira Guillermo-Wilson, Baker Andrea Hemment, Virus Researcher Sergio Ita, Musician Zan Lamothe, Newton Literacy Coordinator Deana Lew, Health and Physical Educator Sue Marble, Title 1 Director Robin Norman, Newton Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Cynthia Paris-Jeffries, METCO Counselor Michelle Reddick, EMT Spenser Riley, Artist Michael St Germaine, Tutor Sue Tresca, Mayor of Newton Setti Warren, Newton Public Librarian Deena Zuckerman.

Our celebration was featured in the Newton Tab!

Grade 5 Parents Night:
Grade 5 parents, please save the date, Wednesday, March 30, 6:15-8:30pm, for an orientation meeting to Bigelow Middle School. A flyer with more information about the evening is attached.
NewtonSERVES:
Save the date of Sunday, May 1, 9-12am, for a community service event at Lincoln-Eliot where all volunteers will be working to beautify the school’s grounds. Adult workers are needed, as well as kids ready to work with their parents! We need 50 volunteers. We will be spreading mulch, raking, preparing our school garden, painting the class garden boxes, as well as aiding with other needed outdoor maintenance. Please see attached flyer for more information. Feel free to email Nora at noraziz@gmail.com or Amy at arpollack2@yahoo.com with any questions.

Highlights from Classrooms – Spotlight on Kindergarten!
Mrs. Bradley’s class celebrated students writing their own stories by inviting parents and families into the classroom. Students learned to write a story that they themselves could read as well as others. They have done a remarkable job!

Highlights from Classrooms – Spotlight on Grade 1!
The first graders have just begun their next writing unit, Opinion Writing. In this unit, students will come to know that people sort, rank, categorize, explain, convince, persuade, argue, change and are changed. Through this unit children will learn to write their opinions and give detailed reasons supporting them. They will learn how writers organize their ideas to make their voice clear and convincing. In the first part of the unit students are asked to bring in a collection from home. They will be reviewing their own collections and making choices about which item in the collection is best, giving supporting reasons for their judgments. The collections have come in and the kids COULD NOT be more excited!
Following our collection reviews, students will begin reviewing anything and everything: toys, restaurants, video games, etc. It is so fun to read their persuasive writing, these first graders can be pretty convincing!

Parent Volunteers Needed for Understanding Our Differences
Understanding our Differences is a disabilities awareness curriculum that is delivered to all Newton students in grades 3-5 by parent volunteers.

At least 6 parents are needed on each of the following dates to help lead activities:

• Grade 3 (Deafness/Hard of Hearing) – Friday, April 8th, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Grade 4 (Deafness/Hard of Hearing) – Thursday, April 14th, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
• Grade 5 (Autism Spectrum Disorders) – TBD, TBD

There is a 1-2 hour time commitment on the day of the unit and 30-60 minutes to train for the unit at your convenience with online materials.

LE 5th Grade Car Wash and SAVERS Donation Drive
DATE: Saturday, April 30, 2016
TIME: TBD
LOCATION: LE Parking Lot
All proceeds benefit the 5th grade camping trip! Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Reminder: This Thursday, March 10, is an early release day (12:30pm).

Parent Conferences
March is spring conference time. It is the expectation that ALL families will sign up for a conference with the classroom teacher to learn how their child is progressing in class. If you need help connecting with the classroom teacher, please call the office and we will help you.

PTO Meeting
The next PTO meeting is Tuesday, March 8^th from 8:30-9:15 AM in the library. Please join us. We will be working on recruiting new members to the PTO board and making some budget decisions.

Highlights from Classrooms – Spotlight on Grade 3!
Lincoln-Eliot third graders are working on a math investigations unit called “Muffles Truffles.” The students work with a partner in solving problems related to place value patterns and multiplication. This unit is a great introduction to multiplication.

The students use various strategies such as repeated addition, skip counting, grouping of tens and doubling and halving. Then they make a poster to show their work and explain the strategies and shortcuts they used. Students explain their thinking to their peers and compare solution strategies.

In class, the students are enjoying solving for how many truffles are in each box and representing their thinking with arrays. They are also designing different boxes from smaller boxes using the commutative and distributive properties of multiplication.

Parent Volunteers Needed for Understanding Our Differences
Understanding our Differences is a disabilities awareness curriculum that is delivered to all Newton students in grades 3-5 by parent volunteers.

At least 6 parents are needed on each of the following dates to help lead activities:

• Grade 3 (Deafness/Hard of Hearing) – Friday, April 8^th, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Grade 4 (Deafness/Hard of Hearing) – Thursday, April 14^th, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
• Grade 5 (Autism Spectrum Disorders) – TBD, TBD

There is a 1-2 hour time commitment on the day of the unit and 30-60 minutes to train for the unit at your convenience with online materials.  Please see the attached flyer for more details on how to participate.

LE 5^th Grade Car Wash and SAVERS Donation Drive

DATE: Saturday, April 30, 2016
TIME: TBD
LOCATION: LE Parking Lot

All proceeds benefit the 5^th grade camping trip! Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Start cleaning out your closets and basements!!!

The 5^th Grade class will be holding a Savers Donation Drive Fundraiser on Saturday, April 30^th, in the Lincoln Eliot parking lot.  All money raised will go towards funding the 5^th Grade Camping Trip this spring.

See the attached flyer for more details

Family Science Night
The second annual L-E Family Science Night was held on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd. It was a wonderful evening of curiosity and science investigation. Thank you to all families who submitted projects. Over 50 projects were presented on a diverse array of topics including: space, pollination, DNA extraction, skeleton investigation, chemistry, sound, circuits, liquid density, color, and many, many others.

The Birds of Prey exhibit from the Trailside Museum was both fascinating and beautiful. Unfortunately, Top Secret Science could not make the event due to a flat tire, but an investigation table with microscopes, skeletons, and circuits was a big hit.
It was wonderful to have many families attend the event even if they didn’t present a project this year. Our hope is to increase the fair each year. I hope many got some good ideas for future projects.
Blue Zone Help
The BLUE ZONE on Jackson Road is a live drop off area. Traffic here can get quite congested particularly on poor weather days. We need your help to make this as safe and orderly as possible. You can help us by following these few guidelines:

1. Your child should be ready to exit the car right away. If you need to gather materials or help your child prepare, you should park along a side street.
2. Please pull all the way forward towards the Jackson Road entrance. This will prevent cars from backing up into the intersection. (If your child enters through the front door, it is best to drive down Pearl Street and let off in front of the school.)
3. Children should exit on the CURB SIDE not into the traffic. This may require some shifting of car seats.
4. Please do not cut in front of cars that are already there. Rather, wait for the cars in line to pull away.
5. Please be careful in pulling away from the curb as there is traffic coming down Jackson Road.
6. Pedestrians- PLEASE DO NOT CROSS AT CAPITAL. WALK TO THE LIGHT AND THE CROSSWALK WITH THE TRAFFIC SAFETY OFFICER.

Thank you for taking the extra few minutes needed to ensure the safety of our children.

Highlights from Classrooms – Spotlight on Grade 5
Did you know that 600,000 families are homeless and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States each year? There are over 20,000 homeless people living in Massachusetts.
The 5th grade class is working on a community service project at Lincoln-Eliot that we hope you will all join in to support! We are collecting toiletries for the homeless from Wednesday, February 24th through Friday, March 4th.
Please bring in travel size or regular size toiletries. For example, you may bring in soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and other toiletries. You can bring them into the office or any classroom. Look out for collection boxes in each location! The 5th grade class will then bring the toiletries to our local homeless shelters.
We are collecting donations because there are so many homeless people, not only in the world but also in Massachusetts. They don’t have the money to buy toiletries. Just imagine your life without soap, shampoo and toothpaste! Please help us support the 5th grade community service project by donating toiletries at Lincoln-Eliot. Thank you!

Parent Volunteers Needed for Understanding Our Differences
Understanding our Differences is a disabilities awareness curriculum that is delivered to all Newton students in grades 3-5 by parent volunteers.  At least 6 parents are needed on each of the following dates to help lead activities:

• Grade 3 (Deafness/Hard of Hearing) – Friday, April 8th, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Grade 4 (Deafness/Hard of Hearing) – Thursday, April 14th, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
• Grade 5 (Autism Spectrum Disorders) – TBD, TBD

There is a 1-2 hour time commitment on the day of the unit and 30-60 minutes to train for the unit at your convenience with online materials. Please see the attached flyer for more details on how to participate.

LE 5th Grade Car Wash and SAVERS Donation Drive
DATE: Saturday, April 30, 2016
TIME: TBD
LOCATION: LE Parking Lot
All proceeds benefit the 5th grade camping trip!

Newton Girls Soccer Juniors and IM Spring Soccer Registration NOW OPEN
REGISTER NOW
Registration Deadlines: Register by March 5 to have a friend request considered. After March 5, a $15 late fee applies and placement is contingent on space. Click here for registration guidelines.
Click here for information about the juniors (Grade K-2) program.
Click here for information about the intramural (Grade 3-9) program.

Crocodile River Music Concert – Friday, April 8
TIME: 7-10PM
LOCATION: Newton South High School

Creative Arts & Sciences presents an evening of Global Music featuring this year’s Concert Series performer Crocodile River Music.

Come celebrate the global music experience that students enjoyed this fall. Crocodile River Music brings the music of Mali, Brazil, Spain and Trinidad, and the instruments and dances that celebrate these cultures to Newton. Join musicians from Bamako, Mali and Boston, for an evening of world class entertainment in our own backyard. Complimentary wine, beer and light fare round out what is certain to be a fabulous event for a 21+ audience. Tickets go on sale February 22. More details can be found in the attached flyer.

Contact Stacey Moriarty with questions: stacey_moriarty@newton.k12.ma.us

Shriners Hospital Pull Tab Community Service Program
You can help support families who need transportation to Shriners Hospital by saving aluminum can pull tabs and bringing them to the Shrine Center in Wilmington. More details can be found in the attached flyer.

Hello Plowshares,

The summer registration form has arrived.   Please disregard the registration deadline of February 12th.  All current families will have until the end of February to register before we begin taking children outside of Plowshares.

Registration Form

Registration is now open for Newton Girls Softball, a recreational league for Newton girls (residents or girls who attend Newton Schools) in grades K-7.

Register soon for guaranteed placement and pair-me-with requests. For more information and to register, visit www.newtongirlssoftball.org.

The league welcomes players of all skill levels and will provide your daughter with an experience that fosters positive self-esteem, team spirit, and individual growth through personal achievement and as a team member.
The wildly successful Kindergarten T-Ball program continues this year. Sessions are split between fun skill development drills/activities and game play. Register your daughter now; you’ll be glad you did.

2016 Registration Dates:
February 28th: Deadline to register with guaranteed placement and pair-me-with rights. A $15 late fee will be applied.

2016 Season Dates:
May 1st: Grades 1-7 Opening Day
May 7th: Kindergarten T-Ball Opening Day
May 28th and 29th: No games on Memorial Day weekend June 18th: Last T-Ball session
June 19th: Grades 1-7 Final games

Reminder: Wednesday, Feb. 3^rd is a 12:30 Release Day for Teacher Professional Development.

On Tues. Feb. 2^nd Winter Progress Reports will be available for families on ParentConnect. There is a link for ParentCONNECT on the school website and there is one on the district website as well.  The address for the portal is: https://parentconnect.newton.k12.ma.us/

An email with the link and directions for accessing the Progress Report will be sent to every family on Tues. Feb. 2^nd.

Some basic information:  * You will need your login information to access the Progress Report. 

If you need your login information or if you have a technical issue you can email the Tech Department at the Ed Center directly at parentconnect@newton.k12.ma.us
There are two ways the grades are displayed in the portal.  A web view where the progress report looks like a web page (not formatted like the printed version) and a copy of the PDF, which looks just like the printed version.

Please note: The web view does not show any narrative overall comments, the PDF does.  It is important to review the PDF version, otherwise you will miss the overall comments (instructions will be in the email sent on Feb. 2^nd).

To help parents understand the categories on the Progress Report you can access the descriptors.
When you click to view the progress report, right above it there will be links for the descriptors for every grade, when you click on the appropriate grade link, the descriptors PDF will open in a new tab within the web browser.  (The directions for this will also be included in the email). 

To ensure ALL families have access to the Progress Report, Lincoln-Eliot will be sending home a paper copy with each child on Tuesday. It is important, however, that you have access to ParentConnect so you have reference to the Progress Report and other information at all times.

PTO & School Site Council Meeting

Minutes from January PTO & School Site Council Meeting with Supt. David Fleishman and Members of the School Committee:

On Monday, January 25^th Superintendent David Fleishman and members of the school committee met with our PTO and Site Council for our annual school meeting. Minutes from the meeting are noted below.

• Recent changes/updates for Lincoln-Eliot have been focused on increasing student achievement including:
  • L-E has had an increase in enrollment from 2 classrooms at each grade level with large class sizes in 2010 to now 3 classes at each grade level with smaller class sizes.
  • The addition of co-taught classrooms at 2 grade levels (4 & 5).
  • The addition of the Team Chair Role. This frees up Learning Center Teachers to provide more direct services to students.
  • A significant increase in technology.
  • More support in math and literacy for small group targeted instruction.
  • Building renovations including a new boiler system, internal painting, window replacement, updating the main office.
• School committee members presented an overview of the long-range plans for school building projects across the district. Angier opened two weeks ago. Zervas has now moved to the Carr School while Zervas is undergoing construction. Cabot will be next in the pipeline. Eventually Horace Mann will move into Carr.
• The long-range plan for the Aquinas building has begun. Right now the district is working on changing the windows in the main building to house the Preschool Program at that site beginning next Fall 2016. (This will free up one additional classroom at Lincoln-Eliot giving us more room for support instruction.) The next step is to renovate the smaller building (rectory building) which will become the permanent home of the Preschool Program. The main building will then be renovated for the new Lincoln-Eliot school. This plan includes building a gymnasium. The process involves applying for state funding to help build the new school. The projections are for Lincoln-Eliot to move to the Aquinas site in 2021.
• Discussion moved towards continuing to update our current building to improve the quality of life and instruction for the students at Lincoln-Eliot.

Family Science Night: SAVE THE DATE- Tues. February 23rd. Lincoln-Eliot is excited to host our second Family Science Night. We are moving into the gym this year to allow for more space based on last year’s participation. We hope every child (and family) works on a science project. Family Science Night is not a competition. Students may work independently, with a partner, or with their family. All participants receive a participation medal. See the attached flyer for details.                         

Crocodile River Music Dance Workshops for Grades K-5:
Thanks to a STARS Residency Grant funded by the Mass Cultural Arts Council, all Lincoln-Eliot students participated in two dance workshops highlighting African dance movements and drumming. Students learned the names of various drums, the country of origin, and various dance moves and how to count to the beat. The smiles on the students’ faces at the end of the workshop was evidence that fun was had by all!

Highlights from Classrooms – Spotlight on Grade 2!
Second grade is currently working on two very exciting Science and Math units.  In Science, we are exploring the relationship between the earth, sun and moon.  The unit allows for students to process their prior learning about the relationship of the sun and earth and the patterns that we see as a result of their motion – day and night. They are also able to understand that the earth has two motions and that the second is the pattern we identify as a year.

Students will also have an opportunity to review the earth and sun patterns and then to add the moon. The basic intuited conception of students is that the moon always appears as the same shape in the sky and is only visible at night. The essential understanding is that the moon reflects the sun’s light, it is visible during the day and the night and that the moon appears to change shape over a period of a month.

In Math we have begun Geometry.  In this unit, students focus on various attributes of 2 dimensional shapes and how we classify using those attributes. Students also examine the attributes of 3 dimensional shapes, focusing on cubes.  There is a lot of exploration in this unit, which allows students to stretch their thinking and hear ideas that may be different from their own.

Chinese Speaking Lessons
The ELL program for the Newton Public schools is providing Chinese-speaking liaisons to assist families and schools with home communication. If you are a parent, please use the number below to leave a message in either Mandarin or Cantonese.

Include your child’s name, home school, and your contact number with any questions or concerns regarding school and your child. If you are school personnel, please leave a message with your contact information, school, and reason for call. Messages will be returned within 24 hours during the school week when school is in session.

Mandarin phone line: Fenny Gao 617-559-6047
Cantonese phone line: Ling Chung 617-559-6032
ELL Social Worker:  Rachael Kaplan 617-559-6048

Newton Girls Soccer Juniors and IM Spring Soccer Registration NOW OPEN
REGISTER NOW

Registration Deadlines: Register by March 5 to have a friend request considered. After March 5, a $15 late fee applies and placement is contingent on space.  Click here for registration guidelines.

Click here for information about the juniors (Grade K-2) program.

Click here for information about the intramural (Grade 3-9) program.

Hello Plowshares Families,

Here is the sign up for the February Vacation Week Program that will be taking place at our Franklin Site. Lincoln Eliot will be closed. All of our teachers will be scheduled at Franklin that week, so your child will still be surrounded by familiar faces.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Ploughshares February Sign-up Form

Registration is now open for our full range of summer programs, including new additions for 2016.  Sign up  for one of our week long programs before March 1st to enjoy our 20% Early Bird Discount.

Learn more including dates and registration details Kids at the Farm: Summer 2016

Questions? Please contact Alison at education@newtoncommunityfarm.org  

Developing Independence and Self-Advocacy Skills: The Lincoln-Eliot faculty has been reflecting on how to help students develop independence and self-reliance skills. We brainstormed various areas of expectations for independence and realized these skills fell into three broad areas: self-help skills, social skills, and academic skills.

As a school we are implementing Responsive Classroom techniques to promote student autonomy and problem solving skills.

We are also working with students to develop independence in academic areas by teaching them to independently read directions and utilize strategies they have learned before asking an adult for help. There are very few tasks students are assigned that have not been taught and modeled. We want to see students take ownership and responsibility for their work by applying the strategies they have been taught and persevering through seemingly difficult problems.

Under self-help skills we listed things students needed for daily life such as the ability to tie your shoes, zip your coat, boots, snowpants, pack up your belongings, organize materials, follow daily routines, and open and clean up snack supplies. This is where we can use your help! Please help your child learn to dress himself/herself in winter outerwear, zip their coats, and tie their shoes. These are developmental skills we expect most children to have by kindergarten and first grade. You can help your child to learn independent organizational skills by developing a constant structure of where to put their backpacks and papers and how to prepare their materials in the evening so they are ready to go the next morning. I have attached an article the faculty has read about ways to promote independence with homework.

Life is very busy and it is often easier to do for them than to take the time to teach and practice some of these skills. As the old proverb goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” It is more worthwhile to teach someone to do something than to do it for them.

Reminder Outdoor Recess: We will go outside for recess (even with snow) unless the “feels like” temperature falls below 20 degrees Farenheit. Please be sure to send your child(ren) to school with warm clothes – hats, mittens, winter coats, boots, and snow pants (when there is snow). This is where it is really helpful that your child can dress and zip themselves as we are moving 100+ children at a time outside.

Also, please LABEL outer clothes so we can return missing items to your child.

SAVE THE DATE- January 25th (8:30-9:30 a.m.) PTO Meeting with Superintendent David Fleishman and School Committee Members: We want to hear from you! Please join Superintendent David Fleishman and members of the Newton School Committee for their annual visit to our school. The meeting will include a brief update on district initiatives, followed by an interactive session to answer your questions and listen to feedback. Light refreshments will be served.

Family Science Night: SAVE THE DATE- Tues. February 23rd. Lincoln-Eliot is excited to host our second Family Science Night. We are moving into the gym this year to allow for more space based on last year’s participation. We hope every child (and family) work on a science project. Family Science Night is not a competition. Students may work independently, with a partner, or with their family. All participants receive a participation medal. See the attached flyer for details.

Community News

Pajama Story Time with the Newton Police Department – Tuesday, January 26
TIME: 6:30PM
LOCATION: Newton Police Department, 1321 Washington Street,  Newton, MA 02465

Responsive Home Workshop for ELL Families – Thursday, February 4
Childcare and interpreters available upon request. Light refreshments provided.
TIME: 6:30-8:30PM
LOCATION: Room 210, The Education Center, 100 Walnut Street, Newton, MA 02460

Teachers manage behavior in school using Responsive Classroom techniques that can be used to help create a calm, supportive and encouraging environment at home too! More details can be found in the attached flyer.

Newton North High School 4th Annual Mattress Fundraiser – Saturday, February 27
TIME: 10AM-5PM
LOCATION: Newton North High School Cafeteria

The Newton North High School Lacrosse Program is pleased to host its 4th annual mattress fundraiser sale. This sale was VERY successful for the last three years, and has been in school districts all over the country for nearly 10 years.

Newton Girls Soccer Juniors and IM Spring Soccer Registration NOW OPEN
REGISTER NOW

Registration Deadlines: Register by March 5 to have a friend request considered. After March 5, a $15 late fee applies and placement is contingent on space.  Click here for registration guidelines.

Click here for information about the juniors (Grade K-2) program.
Click here for information about the intramural (Grade 3-9) program.