Crossing Guard and Bus Driver Appreciation, Friday June 11th

On Friday, June 11th, we will show our crossing guards and bus and van drivers how much we appreciate their help getting to school safely.  They have been with us through the pandemic, shifting schedules multiple times and keeping us safe throughout.

Please help your child make a thank you note and give it on your way to school on Friday, June 11th to your crossing guard or write a note to your bus driver.  Your note can be simple: “Thanks for helping me get to school safely!”  You can also print out a card to decorate.  They will appreciate it so much!

Newton Safe Routes to School will organize celebrations with pre-packaged snacks and drinks and Safety Superhero buttons at both the van yard and the bus yard for the 130 bus/van drivers, and will distribute flowers and buttons to the 56 crossing guards spread across the City.

Newton METCO Scholarship Fund

Today marks the official launch of the 2021 Newton METCO Scholarship Equity and Excellence Annual Fund Campaign.  This coming June, thirty-four Newton METCO Seniors will graduate from Newton North and Newton South High Schools.  As they stand at the horizon of new opportunities, we want each and every one of our Newton METCO seniors to know they have the tangible support of their Boston-Newton communities.  

The members of Class of 2021 have faced unprecedented times as the pandemic exacerbates educational and economic disparities, and experiences of racial injustice continue to have a significant impact on the students, their families, and our communities. 

Now in existence for over 35 years, the Newton METCO Community Scholarship Fund (NMCSF) provides financial assistance to deserving METCO  seniors seeking to pursue a college education.  As we seek to support our graduates, let us draw inspiration from the spoken words of Amanda Gorman, First National Youth Poet Laureate, on Inauguration Day, 2021: 

The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it 

Please join us in donating to the scholarship fund today, and be a light of equity, justice, and opportunities for our Newton METCO graduates. 

With gratitude,
The Members of the Newton METCO Scholarship Fund Committee 

Please donate by mail: 

Newton METCO Community Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 600053, Newtonville, MA 02460 

We are not accepting online donations at this time. Thank you.

FORJ Meetings and Juneteenth Celebrations!

Upcoming FORJ City-Wide Meeting:
Wednesday June 16th 7:30-9pm – Fostering Equity-Focused Family Engagement with Immigrant Families  RSVP here

At the May 25th FORJ City-Wide Meeting about “Building Bridges thru Advocacy for a Racially Just Newton,” a panel of Newton teachers, school, community and district leaders provided guidance and experience on how to bring up issues affecting our community to the Newton Public School District and City for results.  The FORJ Board shared a tool that members developed to follow for effectively addressing issues.  They highlighted that progress is more important than perfection (you don’t have to know all of the questions to ask, but it’s important to speak up and connect!), be specific about what you are trying to address (while some issues feel urgent, think about what you want to achieve and who to talk to), and make sure to have stakeholders in the conversation (don’t speak for other people, listen to and engage with them).

LINCOLN-ELIOT FORJ KIDS BOOK CLUB – Wednesday, June 9th at 4:30pm (ZOOM) (Note date change from original schedule)

The L-E FORJ Kids Book Club selected A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan to read for the next meeting on Zoom on Wednesday, June 9th at 4:30 p.m. ET.  This book is recommended for 9-12 year olds, but all family members are welcome.  Please RSVP to L-E FORJ Coordinator Lanni Isenberg if you’d like to join the chat: Lanni_harris@yahoo.com  (The book is available to borrow from Newton libraries, electronically and for purchase on a variety of online bookstores.)

Join Lincoln-Eliot’s FIRST Juneteenth Celebration – Friday, June 18th from 4-6p, Lincoln-Eliot Playground

Juneteenth is the celebration of the freedom of formerly enslaved people in the United States.  The Lincoln-Eliot PTO and L-E FORJ will host an afternoon of fun activities, including music and games.  Join friends and learn the Electric Slide and Double Dutch, too!

Newton North High School continues the festivities through the weekend!

Juneteenth is on Saturday June 19th.  FORJ, Newton Community Pride, and the Harmony Foundation are co-sponsoring a city-wide community event at the Hyde Playground in the Newton Highlands on Sunday, June 20th, commemorating this historic holiday.  (Requires Registration – see NNHS flyer for scan code to register)

FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) is a coalition of school-aged families in Newton coming together to teach our children – and ourselves – how to stand up for racial equity.  We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about the differences in our society.

We strive to achieve safe and welcoming environments that enhance the well-being of all people.  We promote healing and connection between individuals and communities.  We speak out against injustice, support our kids to be upstanders, and take action to address bias and inequity.

Principal / PTO Update 5.23.21

Dear families,

It’s hard to believe we only have one month of school left.  We are so proud of all our students for how resilient and flexible they have been in this very challenging year!  There are a number of activities coming up to celebrate the end of the year, and we hope everyone will have a chance to participate and connect before the summer.

We are planning a number of playdates to connect our DLA and in-person students over the next month — we hope you can join your classmates on the Lincoln-Eliot playground at the times on the calendar below!  (Click here if the image is not showing up in your email.)

The playdates planned for this week are:

Tuesday, May 25th, 5-6pm: 1st Grade
Thursday, May 27th, 5-6pm: 2nd Grade
Saturday, May 29th, 4-5pm: 4th Grade
Sunday, May 30th, 4-5pm: 3rd Grade

This week we are also having two events for our Incoming Kindergarten families:

Tuesday, May 25th, at 6:30pm: Incoming Kindergarten Virtual Parent Night

Wednesday, May 26th, at 1:30pm or 2:15pm: Kindergarten in-person Visiting Day

Information has already been emailed out to registered families; if you have not received it, please contact the school office.

Our registration numbers are lower than usual for kindergarten next year — if you know anyone who has yet to register, or if you are a current family with an incoming kindergartner, please visit the NPS Kindergarten Registration page for more information and to register online.  You can also call the school office with questions anytime.  We look forward to welcoming our new students in the fall!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our International Week festivities — we hope you all had a chance to watch the impressive cooking videos, country presentations, and talent show!

And finally, just a reminder that there is no school on Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day.

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

One Book, One Community Wishtree Celebration

Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School invites you to our 

One Book, One Community Celebration

Please join us outside on Friday, May 28, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. to watch Lincoln-Eliot students tie their wishes to our very own Wishtree in front of our school. 

   

DLA families are encouraged to participate as well!  Look for a message from your teachers this week with more information, and there will be wish tags and ribbons provided for all our DLA students.

For 6 weeks, the Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School has enjoyed listening to members of our community read the book Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate. This charming story has themes of being welcoming to everyone and respecting “otherness” in our neighbors.

In the book, the main character, Red, is the town’s Wishtree.  Each year, townspeople of all ages write a wish on a piece of fabric and tie their wish to Red.

If you haven’t seen it already, there was a lovely write-up about this project in the Newton Tab:

https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/newton-tab/2021/05/18/newton-schools-book-club-brings-students-together-read-wishtree-lincoln-eliot-wishes-tree-friendship/5093722001/

Don’t forget to check out our LE Wishtree Website for more information and resources about the book!  Thank you to the LE PTO and the Frugal Bookstore for providing the books for each family, and a big thank you to Ms. Jeanne Conley and the literacy team for putting this all together!

 

Last Week for the Clothing Drive!

This is the last week we’ll be collecting bags of clothes to donate for our FUNDrive, and we’d love to get as many as we can before the May 29th deadline!  Right now we have 103 kitchen-sized bags and 30 lawn-sized bags, so we’re about halfway to our goal.  Help protect the environment and support our school at the same time!

Savers West Roxbury will weigh the items we’ve collected on our drop-off date, pay our PTO by the pound of donations collected, and give others the chance to love your gently used stuff.

Approved Items for Donation:

  • Gently used clothing and footwear of all sizes (babies thru adult), including socks, bathing suits, undershirts and bras. Doesn’t have to be seasonal; they are accepting winter clothes too!
  • Jewelry & accessories (belts, purses, wallets, bags, fanny packs, ties, scarves, hats, gloves, etc)
  • Bed and bath items: linens, curtains, pillows, towels, tablecloths, blankets, sheets

(Items should be laundered and ready to sell.)

Items NOT accepted:

  • stuffed animals
  • furniture
  • appliances
  • books, magazines or media (CDs, DVDs, etc)
  • sports equipment

Please collect in lawn-sized or kitchen-sized trash bags and contact Ronda Morra at 781-589-7226 or rbmorra@gmail.com to schedule a pick-up or inquire about a porch drop-off at her home!  Thank you!

Fifth Grade Graduation: Thursday, June 17th, 1:30pm

We are so thrilled to be able to have an in-person graduation ceremony this year, and can’t wait to celebrate with all our awesome fifth graders!  Plans are in the works, but here’s what we know so far:

Date: Thursday, June 17th, at 1:30pm  (Rain date June 21st)

Location:  On the field outside the playground.  There will be chairs set up for the graduating fifth graders; families are asked to bring their own seating / picnic blankets.

How to help:  We would love some volunteers to help decorate the field/fence/basketball court ahead of time, to make it even more festive and exciting for the kids!  Please email Tui at secretary@lepto.org if you’d like to join us!

Gift bags:  We are working on gift bags for all the kids, which will include the yearbooks and a middle school sweatshirt.  We know not all the graduates are going on to Bigelow Middle School, so we are asking all 5th grade families to fill out this very brief form for us to let us know which middle school your child will be attending and what size sweatshirt we should get for them:

https://forms.gle/qL32V8gT6WcJRzzw8

Please respond by this Friday, May 28th, so we can be sure to order and have the sweatshirts in time for graduation!  (We understand information is going out this week to families who are waiting to hear if they’re going to Day or Bigelow — if you haven’t heard by Friday, please let us know!)  We have also included a “Lincoln-Eliot” option for anyone who is not sure or not going on to a Newton middle school.  If we do not hear from you, we will order your child a Youth Large Bigelow sweatshirt.

Thank you for your help, and hooray for our fifth graders!

May 2021 PTO Meeting Recap

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for our final PTO meeting of the year on Tuesday, May 18th!  If you missed the meeting, you can review the minutes and slideshow at these links:

May 2021 PTO Meeting Minutes

May 2021 PTO Meeting Slideshow

We are still looking for new members of the PTO board for next year, especially co-presidents; without volunteers, it will be impossible to keep the PTO running, so this is a really urgent need.  There are other positions open as well, if you’re interested in getting involved in any way!  Please reach out to president@lepto.org to find out more or with any questions.

FORJ Updates

Mark your calendars for these upcoming FORJ City-Wide Meetings: 

  • Tuesday May 25th 7:30pm-9pm – “The Universe is on the Side of Justice”: Advocating for a Racially Just Newton.  Looking at the how and why of advocacy and how to avoid common pitfalls.  RSVP here 
  • Wednesday June 16th 7:30-9pm – Fostering Equity-Focused Family Engagement with Immigrant Families.  RSVP here

MAY IS ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH

Check out these AAPI-centered events:

  • Monday, May 24th at 2pm – BUILDING AAPI POWER
    The Asian Community Fund and the Boston Foundation offer a data presentation assessing the needs of the AAPI community.  Afterward, community leaders Carolyn Chou (Asian American Resource Workshop) and Souvanna Pouv (Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell) will talk about how those needs can be met to create lasting change.  Free.  https://events.tbf.org/event/home/buildingaapipower
  • Also, this youth band of Asian American and Latinx girls from Los Angeles is making news with their song addressing racism one of their band members faced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCBn-70_HcE

COVID Crisis in India

The devastating losses continue in India due to COVID-19.  We are thinking about all in our community who have family in India and ways that we can support each other.  Consider providing comfort to our local community and direct relief to those in India.

Some ways to locally support families: 

  • Offer to cook a meal so they can focus on providing emotional support to their families in India
  • Ask if they need any resources to send to their families
  • Offer to help with a GoFund Me page if they need money to support care or funeral costs
  • Provide healing circles in your community to give people space to connect and share their experiences

Donate to direct relief agencies: 

Organizations working on COVID RESPONSE in INDIA

Here are few in which we know Newton residents are closely involved:

One of our Lincoln-Eliot parents shared an organization they have been working with for many years —  Vibha: www.Vibha.org

Vibha works with local NGOs in different cities in India to send oxygen concentrators and other essential medical supplies.  See how you can help:

https://campaigns.vibha.org/campaigns/vibha-a-ray-of-light

https://vibha.org/covid-campaign-details/

Akshaya Patra: https://www.akshayapatra.org/covid-relief-services

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in close coordination with State Governments & District Administration, has stepped in to provide relief by providing food to thousands of people across the country.

Ekal Vidyalaya: https://www.ekal.org/us/campaign-detail/covid-crisis-support

Ekal USA is gathering funds to send diagnostic equipment and medicines to the villages. Ekal, in conjunction with Intelehealth, our tele-health partner has established a health-line of 1000 Karyakartas to answer calls from the villages. The health-line provides instant connection to doctors of the National Medicos Organization so that expert help can be made available as needed. With these measures – hotline and addition of the diagnostic equipment and medicines we can help EKAL VILLAGES TIDE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.

To learn more about what is happening in India, please read: COVID-19 took my wife: Battling a sneaky virus in healthcare system under stress where the only consolation is humanity.  Written by a relative of a student at Cabot Elementary School.

Facebook Virtual Affinity Space FORJ Families of Color

FORJ Members created a Facebook page for Families of Color to connect and communicate.  You don’t have to be a member of FORJ to join the group.  Families of Color and families with children who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color are encouraged to check it out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/293432345707888

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration Location Petition – October 11, 2021

The BAA rescheduled the 2021 Boston Marathon for Indigenous Peoples Day, October 11th.  This decision was made without consulting Indigenous people.  Because of the Marathon, the City of Newton said that city resources are strapped and the Indigenous Peoples Day event must move to Newton South High School, not an optimal location because it’s not near public transit and is not a highly visible locale.  If you’d like to join the effort to move the event to Albemarle Field (equidistant to Newton South, but more visible to the public and accessible by transit), please reach out to Mayor Fuller and your Ward Councilors to let them know.  You can write your own letter, or just copy and paste this letter!

(Click here if you are not sure who your Ward Councilors are.)

And, if you would like to sign this petition urging the BAA to change the Marathon date, click here.

LINCOLN-ELIOT FORJ KIDS BOOK CLUB – Wednesday, June 9th at 4:30pm (ZOOM)

Please note we are moving the FORJ Book Club meeting one week later, to Wednesday, June 9th, to give everyone more time to read the book!  The L-E FORJ Kids Book Club selected “A Place at the Table” by Saadia Faruqi to read for our next meeting on Zoom.  This book is recommended for 9-12 year olds, but all family members are welcome.  Please RSVP to L-E FORJ Coordinator Lanni Isenberg if you’d like to join the chat: Lanni_harris@yahoo.com  (The book is available to borrow from Newton libraries, electronically, and for purchase at a variety of online bookstores.)

May 25th is the One Year Anniversary of the Killing of George Floyd

Tuesday, May 25th marks the 1 year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.  If you haven’t talked with your family about racism and anti-racism or this tragic event, here are some tips for how to get started.

1st Lincoln-Eliot Juneteenth Celebration

On Friday, June 18th, Lincoln-Eliot and all of Newton Public Schools will be closed in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.  Also called Freedom Day, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865 when a troop of Union soldiers arrived in Texas and announced to enslaved people that the Civil War ended in 1863 and they were free.   Stay tuned for details on a celebration and opportunities for read alouds for DLA and in-person classes. Contact Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com, if you’d like to help!

FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) is a coalition of school-aged families in Newton coming together to teach our children – and ourselves – how to stand up for racial equity.  We seek to generate understanding and curiosity about the differences in our society.

We strive to achieve safe and welcoming environments that enhance the well-being of all people.  We promote healing and connection between individuals and communities.  We speak out against injustice, support our kids to be upstanders, and take action to address bias and inequity.

Principal / PTO Update 5.16.21

Dear families,

This year, International Night will look different than it has in the past.  Since we still can’t gather all together and celebrate our many cultures, we have decided to make it a virtual International Week!  This coming week, we will be releasing three videos:

  • On Tuesday, May 18th, please watch our cooking videos!  Yum!

  • On Wednesday, May 19th, please enjoy some presentations about some of the cultures we represent at Lincoln-Eliot.

  •  On Thursday, May 20th, please enjoy our talent show.

Links to the videos will be shared this week. Stay tuned! 

Sometime during International Week we hope you get to try one of the restaurants that are offering discounts for Lincoln-Eliot families.  Please see this flyer for details!  Enjoy!

We are so lucky to be part of such a diverse community, and we are excited to celebrate with all of you!  Happy International Week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO