Principal / PTO Update 1.31.21

Dear families,

We hope you are all staying warm and safe, and that you saw the email from Superintendent Fleishman about the potential snowstorm this week.  As he wrote:  “If we need to close on Tuesday for in-person learning, we will have a traditional snow day.  If we need to cancel in-person learning on Wednesday, we will have a fully remote-learning day.  The buildings will be closed, and all students will access their learning virtually.”  Please keep an eye out for further communications to stay updated.

Remember that this Wednesday, Feb. 3rd, is our Lincoln-Eliot Bertucci’s Fundraiser — please see below for the flyer/code to support our school!

We also wanted to let you know about a webinar for parents and caregivers on Parenting and Educating Children with Special Needs During COVID-19 offered by The Resilience Project.  On Friday, February 26, from 11:30am-12:45pm, everyone is invited to a discussion and Q&A on tools and strategies to support kids and parents during this unusual year.

To register for the webinar, click here: 
https://partners.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wmlcJVogQfGQXqkawY9dUA

To find our more about the Resilience Project, click here:
nwh.org/resilienceproject

And finally, we are starting to plan ahead for our new kindergarten students joining us in the fall.  If you have an incoming kindergartner and are new to the Newton Public Schools, you are invited to a virtual information night on Wednesday, March 10th, at 7pm.

Please click on this flyer for more details and a Zoom link: 
Kindergarten Info Night Flyer 2021

More information about orientation and connecting with the teachers will be coming in the months ahead.

Have a great week, and enjoy the snow!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Bertucci’s Fundraiser THIS WEDNESDAY!

Don’t forget that this Wednesday, February 3rd is our Lincoln-Eliot Bertucci’s Fundraiser!

On February 3rd between 11am-9pm, enjoy all of your favorites at any Bertucci’s location (delivery, to go, or dine in) and present the following flyer — or enter the unique code 229-633-235 when ordering online — and 15% of the proceeds will go to support our school!

Bertuccis Fundraiser Flyer

Please pass the code along to all of your family and friends, as this code is valid at ANY Bertucci’s location on February 3rd from 11am-9pm!

Thank you for your support!

New Kindergarten Students Information Night: March 10

To all families with an incoming kindergartner, we’d like to say welcome to the Kindergarten Class of 2021!  In order to join the kindergarten class in September 2021, your child must turn five years old prior to September 1, 2021.

To assist us with planning educational programs for the coming year, we are asking you to complete a short on-line survey to let us know your plans for your child’s school registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScjoOme2-O3vhS3NKVWrcp5yVSpxpOZiGpdLO84NY5q9jAdPg/viewform

This year, there will be a New Kindergarten Parent/Guardian Information Night virtual webinar
for those parents enrolling a student for the first time in the Newton Public Schools on Wednesday, March 10, at 7:00 pm.  The session will include a general overview of the kindergarten registration and screening process as well as other important topics that may be useful to new parents.  Links to the webinar will be posted on the NPS kindergarten registration page at the beginning of March 2021.

The online registration system will be open for kindergarten registration beginning March 11, 2021.  While there is no deadline for registration of students in the Newton Public Schools, we are asking if you would register your kindergarten-age child by March 31, 2021 so that school staff can prepare for class placement.

In the spring, individual schools will also host a gathering for parents and children to meet the school principal, teachers and have an opportunity to get to know each other.  Information on kindergarten orientation will be sent directly from Lincoln-Eliot at a later date.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email staff at registration@newton.k12.ma.us.

FORJ: Upcoming Concert

Coming in FEBRUARY: Family-Friendly FORJ Live Concert with Dan and Claudia Zane

In honor of Black History Month, FORJ is inviting Grammy award-winning children’s performer Dan Zanes and Haitian-American music therapist/jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes for a family-friendly FORJ event.

The two decided to sing together and, in the spirit of progress and inclusion, that they would work with presenters to try and make all of their concerts sensory-friendly.

Inspired by their artful modern-day all-ages folk music and their commitment to accessibility, the Kennedy Center commissioned Claudia and Dan to create a theater piece for young audiences. Night Train 57: A Sensory Friendly Comic Folk Opera premiered in October 2017 and has been performed several times since.

Their love of songs and communal music-making lead to a publishing deal with the Quarto Group USA and the result, an award-winning songbook entitled Dan Zanes’ House Party: A Family Roots Music Treasury, was released in 2018.

When a national state of emergency was declared in March 2020, Dan and Claudia started their Social Isolation Song Series. For the next 200 days, in an effort to stay connected and uplift others, they performed a different song every day. This series of videos currently resides in the Library of Congress.

To learn more, visit Dan and Claudia Zane’s website at https://www.danandclaudia.com/  More information about the FORJ concert will be coming soon!

FORJ is looking for the next City-Wide FORJ Coordinator

For the 2021-2022 year, Newton Public Schools authorized a stipend to hire a FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) Coordinator. For information regarding FORJ, please visit www.forjnewton.com.  Applications are due to FORJ by February 12, 2021.

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 equality. Our Lincoln-Eliot FORJ contact is parent Lanni Isenberg, lanni_harris@yahoo.com.

Principal / PTO Update 1.24.21

Dear families,

We had a great turnout for Lincoln-Eliot Trivia Night on Friday — a big thanks to Kwok Yu for organizing it, and congratulations to Team Quizzy, our first Lincoln-Eliot Virtual Trivia Night Champions!

Mark your calendars for our PTO Bertucci’s Fundraiser on February 3rd.  From 11am-9pm, order from any Bertucci’s location and enter the unique code 229-633-235 (when ordering online), and Lincoln-Eliot’s PTO will earn 15% of the proceeds.

Also, if your family has had any phone number or emergency contact changes, please remember to update Aspen so that we have the most current information.

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Volunteers Needed for Lunch Bunch / Social Snack Zooms

Thank you very much to the parents who have signed up to chaperone some of our DLA-hybrid connection Zoom times!  We are hoping to host the first grade, third grade, and fifth grade this Wednesday — watch your inboxes for a Zoom link.

We would love to make sure we can offer these at some point to all the grades, so if you’re interested in volunteering — especially if you’re a 2nd or 4th grade parent — we’d really appreciate it!  Please visit our SignUp Genius to choose a grade & time slot:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44ABA72EA2FD0-lincolneliot3

We’ll provide the Zoom link and email everyone; you just have to sign in and be an adult presence for the kids.  You can decide the length — the slots are an hour long, but if you’d like to make it a half-hour chat, or whatever amount of time works for you, that’s OK, too!  If you’d like to read to them or organize a game, that would be great — but it’s also fine to sit nearby and let them chat.

Please email Elizabeth or Tui at dla@lepto.org anytime with any questions, and thank you so much for your help!

Science Fair Committee

We are looking for people to help plan a virtual Science Fair event this spring, to replace our usual Family Science Night.  If you’re interested in joining the Science Fair committee, or if you have any connections to cool science-related activities, please reach out to us at secretary@lepto.org — we’d really appreciate your help to make this as creative and fun for the kids as possible!

 

 

FORJ Meeting: Jan. 27th

UPCOMING FORJ CITY-WIDE MEETING
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27th, 7pm – 9pm
Discovery Speakers Series hosts Beverly Tatum: Talking to Kids about Race & Racism (Zoom) with FORJ Breakout Session

FORJ is canceling the City-Wide Meeting on the 21st and instead invites you to sign up to hear Beverly Tatum, who will be joining the conversation at the Discovery Museum 2021 Speaker Series.  FORJ will hold a 30 minute break-out session after the event.  You will need to fill out two RSVP’s to attend both parts of the program.

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College, is a clinical psychologist widely known for both her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education.  Her thirteen years as the president of Spelman College (2002-2015) were marked by innovation and growth and her visionary leadership was recognized in 2013 with the Carnegie Academic Leadership Award.

The author of several books including the national bestseller Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (now in a new 2017 20th anniversary edition) and Can We Talk About Race? and Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007), Tatum is a sought-after speaker on the topics of racial identity development, race and education, strategies for creating inclusive campus environments, and higher education leadership.

A civic leader in the Atlanta community, Dr. Tatum is engaged in educational initiatives designed to expand educational opportunities for underserved students and their families.  She holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan as well as an M.A. in Religious Studies from Hartford Seminary.

More information and REGISTER HERE if you want to attend:
https://26033.blackbaudhosting.com/26033/Discovery-Museum-Speaker-Series-2021-Featuring-Dr-Beverly-Tatum

** If you want to attend this, you NEED to RSVP with the hosts so they can manage their event with info about participant interest and send you a Zoom link.

To sign up for the FORJ BREAKOUT SESSION, please RSVP HERE.

21 Day Racial Equity Habit Challenge

Reminder this month: check out Dr. Eddie Moore Jr’s “21 Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge”©: https://www.eddiemoorejr.com/21daychallenge/#act

As families, we are often working on doing for our kids or others.  This challenge is a chance to center ourselves in the work, learning and action against racism.  It’s something you can start any time – it’s not date specific, and the articles, podcasts and activities can be reviewed at your own pace.

FORJ is looking for the next City-Wide FORJ Coordinator

For the 2021-2022 year, Newton Public Schools authorized a stipend to hire a FORJ (Families Organizing for Racial Justice) Coordinator.  For information regarding FORJ, please visit www.forjnewton.com.

Applications are due to FORJ by February 12, 2021.

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 equality. Our Lincoln-Eliot FORJ contact is parent Lanni Isenberg: lanni_harris@yahoo.com

L-E Kids FORJ Book Club Update

This month, the Lincoln-Eliot FORJ Kids Book Club met to discuss the book “Front Desk” by Kelly Yang.  About 10 L-E students, grades 3-5, joined the Zoom conversation, and some family joined, too.  Everybody in the discussion said they liked the book and would recommend it to others.  Thanks to our special guest, Lincoln-Eliot Librarian (hybrid) Ms. Selwyn, for her great contributions to the discussion, too!  Watch the PTO Newsletter for the next FORJ Book Club title and meeting date!

Principal / PTO Update 1.17.21

Dear families,

A reminder that there will be no school tomorrow, Monday, January 18th, in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

I also wanted to share with you some resources regarding the inauguration on Wednesday, to support conversations families may have with their children.  These links have been shared with the staff as well.

For older students:

Bill of Rights Institute:  Peaceful Transitions
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/playlists/peacefultransitions

Generation Citizen:  Teacher Resource Guide
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18fgIgjgBBekoqmz5R78Z27OiZFsYtNQWrVqgYLDcXjM/edit?ts=5ff87c67

National Constitution Center: Nothing less than a miracle: The Constitutional transition of power
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/nothing-less-than-a-miracle-the-constitution-and-the-peaceful-transition-of

 

For younger kids:  (parents can sign-in with access codes on their school’s library site)

PebbleGo Next:  Electoral College
https://site.pebblego.com/modules/11/categories/8853/articles/11333

Understanding Check and Balance
https://site.pebblego.com/modules/11/categories/8854/articles/8782

https://www.apa.org/topics/talking-children

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-difficult-subjects

 

Also on Wednesday at 7:30pm is the Supporting Your Child in the 2020-21 School Year forum.  Please register in advance for this forum via this Google Form.  You can also use the form to submit questions to be answered during the presentation or the Q&A session.

And on Friday, Jan. 22nd, at 7pm, we’ll be having our PTO Online Trivia Night — please see below for details and to sign up!  We’d love to see you there!

Have a great week!

Principal Morrissey & the PTO

Virtual Trivia Night THIS FRIDAY, Jan. 22!

Our Lincoln-Eliot Virtual Trivia Night is this Friday, January 22, at 7pm, and we’d love to see you there!

Make sure you RSVP here so you can be emailed the Zoom link before the event:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3fkue7WLxA_d-WQ5BfKTBaVEaNjjxtMGHKAzHeU8dwRPYkQ/viewform?gxids=7628

The format will be Stump! Trivia (https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2020/05/what-is-stump-trivia).  Families will be put onto teams and will be able to discuss questions with their team in breakout rooms.  Children are welcome to join in (and teachers, you’re invited, too!).  It should be a fun way for us to connect — we hope you can join us!