Please see this kind initiative by our neighbor Ilana Snapstailer to help another neighbor in need:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/newton-neighbor-in-need?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&mibextid=Zxz2cZ
PTO Update 6.19.23
Hi L-E Families,
We have had a fun-filled end of the year with a successful Fun Run raising over $14k!! Thank you to all who donated, shared the link to donate, and came to cheer our kids on. This will ensure the PTO will be able to continue Creative Arts & Sciences programs, support our teachers through mini grants, show appreciation to our staff, and continue to hold community events at our school next year. Our first Family Art Night was a huge success, Celebration Day was rain-free, and we bid our 5th graders a huge congratulations at their graduation.
Our wonderful teacher representatives, Sarah Jang and Jen Terrazzino would like to share their last words of the year:
It has been an amazing year of building community at Lincoln-Eliot! Dr. Morse led us in bringing new initiatives to life this year. We started LEAP groups – cross grade level groups of students and teachers that meet monthly – which quickly became a time everyone looked forward to. Students voted on an official LEAPs song, and danced their way to their group each month. We are excited to welcome new Kindergartners to our groups next year! Another new community event we enjoyed was monthly assemblies planned by 5th Grade Student Council and Dr. Morse. They highlighted a grade level each time we met. Professionally, the staff focused on building expertise in teaching in a way that values each student’s culture and the unique experiences, strengths and learning styles they bring to the classroom. Finally, thanks to you all, we are able to enjoy rich educational programs that supplemented all of the hard work in the classroom. The staff cannot thank you enough for all you do for our Leopards! Have a wonderful summer!
End of Year Picnic 6.20.23
Join the L-E PTO this Tuesday, June 20th from 5:30-7:30 at the Lincoln-Eliot playground to celebrate each other and our year together! Bring something to eat, something to share, bring some money if you’d like to buy a cold and tasty treat from Mr. Hani’s ice cream truck, or just come ready to play and chat!
Board Positions
Another huge thank you to Theresa Proia and Rodrigo Canales, who have stepped into the President and Secretary role for next year.
We are still looking for a few more positions to be filled to make next year run more smoothly. Think about grabbing a friend and tackling a role together. We are also looking for co-chairs to shadow the existing chairs who will be leaving next year.
*Fun Run Chair & Co-Chair – work closely with Principal Morse and Mr. C to coordinate the Fun Run on our own next spring
*Fall Festival Chair & Co-Chair – lead a committee to run the Fall Festival. This will include leading a couple meetings, organizing and deciding upon games, activities, music, and food.
*Art Night Co-Chair – work with Mrs. Sutherland and the Art Night Chair to assist in running this event.
*Science Night Co-Chair – work with the Science Night Chair to learn how to organize and run this event
Incoming Kindergarten Playdates
Our wonderful Kindergarten Welcoming Committee has set their first playdate of the summer for Saturday, July 15th at 10:30. This will take place at the Lincoln-Eliot playground. Come for 10 minutes or stay for an hour! This is casual and all siblings are welcome too. Take this opportunity to make connections with other parents and for your child to make some new friends in their grade.
Please sign up for the directory or add your new child in order to receive communication over the summer. lepto.membershiptoolkit.com
Newton Schools Foundation Honor Thy Teacher
As the school year comes to an end, if you are looking for a way to express your appreciation to a teacher or other school staff member for the hard work that they do and the care they show for your student each and every day, while also complying with the NPS no-gift policy, here is a way to say thank you.
By donating to Newton Schools Foundation’s Honor Thy Teacher, you can show your appreciation AND support your children’s schools. NSF will notify each staff member honored of your gift and share their names with Principals and the Superintendent. Each honored staff member will receive a certificate and commemorative display magnet, and a list of honored teachers will appear on the NSF website.
Your tax-deductible donation will go towards funding NSF grants for new approaches in the classroom, professional development for teaches, and programs that promote equity for all students.
It’s easy to donate. Use the QR Code, or donate online at the NSF Website. Please be sure to include the name of your student and the names of the teachers and/or staff that you are honoring.
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
THANK YOU TO ALL THE VOLUNTEERS THIS YEAR!!
Whether you took one shift selling pizza, was a Room Connector for the first time, or helped plan an event, we couldn’t have done this without you! Next year, grab a friend to volunteer with you!
| Irene Santoni | Elizabeth Jenkins | Karen Furia | Brett Isenberg |
| Jessica Steytler | Jamie Rosenblatt | Melinda Misinszki | Matt Rosenthal |
| Julie Bower | Valerie Conen | Natalia Manea | Mike Yee |
| Shio Hirata | Heather Yu | Nicole Canulla | Ruiliang Liu |
| Ichiyo Hashimoto | Cindy Chan | Tui Sutherland | Sarah Vu |
| Jennifer Martin | Lanni Isenberg | Winko An | Jacqui Trotta |
| Amanda Webber | Terese Surette | Michael Richardson | Jun Xu |
| Margaret Ng | Mary Carey | Dianne Kanavas | Andy Wu |
| Alison Arcangeli | David Proia | David Morra | Foster Hoyt |
| Steph Johnstone | Manisha Menon | Ronda Morra | Izzy Hoyt |
| Cindy Pan | Emily Nunez | Tamara Peshlova | Jonah Sterns |
| Rachel Nelson | Lisa Pantermoller | Anna Stukalo | Liliana Isenberg |
| Jamison Bourque | Kirsten Viering | Nina Waldeck | Mia Borghorst |
| Ericka Ebot | Casey Hayward | Julie Yee | Oscar Yu |
| Kioumara Estrada | Dan Fleisher | Sarah Havens | Addie Bower |
| Carly Ruttner | Courtney Cole | Jessica Holman Pierce | Aria Borghorst |
| Liz Roderick | Kristen Mulherin | Stacey Kazakoff-Eigen | Elliot Sterns |
| Matt Walczak | Amy Lo | Christopher Richardson | Ethan Yee |
| Laura Wong | Linette Castro | Amanda Frank | Kaitlyn Morra |
| Liyu Cao | Idy Liu | Gwen Milan | Luna Santoni |
| Brooke Shrader | Sara Wirsul | Andrea Love | Milo Isenberg |
PTO Meeting Recap
In case you missed the last PTO meeting, please find the link to the presentation below.
We recapped a wonderful year of events, from the Book Fair to all the CAS programs we brought to each grade.
PTO Update – May 26, 2023
Hello families!
We are racing toward the end of the year – it’s hard to believe there’s less than a month of school left! There are a lot of exciting events coming up, so please read through this whole newsletter to make sure you don’t miss any of them. In particular, please mark your calendars for our last PTO meeting on June 5th and Family Art Night on June 8th, and please sign up to volunteer for Celebration Day!
One note about upcoming events: unfortunately, this year, we are pausing Multicultural Night (also known as International Night) for the spring, with the hope of possibly bringing it back in the fall.
Multicultural Night, previously scheduled for Wednesday, May 31, has been a labor of love brought to us entirely by the Lincoln-Eliot staff for many years. It requires a significant amount of time and resources outside of the school day in order to plan and prepare for the event, and we are so grateful to our teachers for dedicating their energy and enthusiasm to keeping it going all these years.
As you may know, Newton educators are currently in contract negotiations with the School Committee. In an effort to have a successor contract signed before the current contract expires, Newton educators are participating in a number of actions, including one-day-per-week work-to-rule. You may have seen Lincoln-Eliot educators walking into the school together, in their NTA t-shirts, on Wednesday mornings, right at the start of the contractual work day. One-day-a-week work-to-rule means that, on Wednesdays, they are working only the contractual hours and not before or after those hours.
This means that a number of events scheduled in the last weeks of school were adjusted to ensure our community could still have as many of our usual end-of-year events as possible! The staff made accommodations for our wonderful 4th and 5th grade concerts this week and will also make sure Celebration Day runs as planned, while Family Art Night was moved to a Thursday. Multicultural Night was the only one that had to be paused altogether, due to the amount of work and outside time involved. But it is an event beloved by the staff and community, and we look forward to holding it again as soon as possible!
For more information about the contract negotiations, please see this flyer or contact our Lincoln-Eliot Newton Teachers Association representatives, Lynn Penczar and Ariana Foster.
The PTO is also hoping to hold an end-of-year picnic on the playground in late June with a smaller version of the wonderful International Night potluck – stay tuned for more information, and if you’re interested in helping to make that happen, please reach out to us at secretary@lepto.org!
Upcoming Dates to Note:
* Monday, May 29th: No School (Memorial Day)
* Thursday, June 1st: Lincoln-Eliot Fun Run
* Friday, June 2nd: 5th grade field trip to the Ecotarium
* Monday, June 5th: PTO meeting (via Zoom)
* Wednesday, June 7th: Celebration Day!
* Thursday, June 8th: Family Art Night!
* Friday, June 9th: Step Up Day for 5th grade
* Thursday, June 15th: 5th grade graduation
* Monday, June 19th: No School (Juneteenth)
* Wednesday, June 21st: Last day of school (Half day; 12:10 dismissal)
Have a great long weekend!
Your Lincoln-Eliot PTO
Our Lincoln-Eliot Leopards Fun Run!
Our Fun Run is coming up in just one week, on Thursday, June 1st! Hopefully your kids have been coming home telling you about the kickoff event and the building excitement for this fundraiser, which helps bring much-needed funds to our school!
To Participate:
Register at MYBOOSTER.COM today if you haven’t already, and share your kid’s personalized link with family and friends! To register your student on mybooster.com search for Lincoln-Eliot Leopard Fun Run.
The Fun Run at a Glance:
1. Kickoff Event: Students learn what to expect from the fun days ahead and how the fundraiser will work.
2. Character-Building Videos: Our school will follow along with a character-building program called Grand Land Adventure. Students will learn about five different U.S. National Parks while building character and raising funds to hit our fundraising goal. Ask your kids which park they learned about today!
Throughout the week, each class will earn fun rewards based on how much they raise on the classroom donation tracker.
3. Event Day: This is the epic grand finale — the Lincoln-Eliot Leopard Fun Run on Thursday, June 1st! Parents are welcome to join the school on the field to watch the kids run!
Our school has a fundraising goal of $15,000, which will go towards more creative arts and sciences programs, support for the teachers, library books, field trips, and more.
Thank you for supporting our school!