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Emergency Drill - Level II
By Marcela Abadi and Maribeth Wheeler
On January 14, we practiced protocol for a level two drill in case of an emergency. Level 2 means that the emergency might involve students being on campus for longer than 2 hours- whether it be an earthquake, fire or lockdown. We practice these drills to be prepared in case of an emergency and be able to implement plans as smoothly as possible. The focus of this drill was on release of students. Our goal is first and foremost to keep the children safe during the event, and then calm afterwards. In case of any of these events, clear instructions will be provided. Trust that we are doing everything possible to keep your child safe and loved. This is a great time to think about who you have listed as emergency contacts. We can only release to people that you have authorized. We’ve noticed some families have a number of emergency contacts and some have none. If you did not have such connections established earlier in the year, perhaps you do now. This is a good time to think about who can pick up your child, not only on a regular school day, but also in the event of an emergency situation. It is very important to keep the Emergency Contact list up to date. Please be mindful of that. If you have additional contacts that you would like to add, you can do so through Skyward Family Access, or by emailing your request with name and contact information for your new emergency contact/s to Wendy and Annie in the school office.
We share this with you in order to keep you informed regarding our attention to emergency procedures and to help assure that we have accurate and updated contact information for your student/s. Information is powerful, it allows us to make informed decisions when needed and to stay connected. If, unfortunately, we ever experience any of these events, please rest assured that your child is in a school and community full of love!
Thanks for your time and consideration,
Marcela
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Mark your calendars for the Lincoln Science Fair!
By Paul Rocks
Dear Families, It’s time to start thinking about the Lincoln Science Fair. Last year many kids and families participated in our science fair, there were lots of great examples of thinking, communicating, experimenting, and learning.
What is the Lincoln Science Fair?
The Lincoln Science Fair is a non-competitive exhibition of K-5 student created science projects. Adults and other students view projects, and offer compliments. Projects should be guided by an open-ended question. When answering their research question, students can conduct an experiment, design a field study, use the engineer design process or build a model. This is not a time for students to conduct a literature-based project (e.g. a study of birds). It would, however, be fine to do a field study on the types of birds in Olympia. Adults can help with these projects, just please remember, this is all about kids developing into strong science thinkers. I would like to avoid experiments with volcanoes and live animals.
A special note to 5th Grade Families...
I want all 5th grade students to participate in the science fair. One of my goals is for all students to have a firm understanding of the scientific method or inquiry process when they leave our program, this will give them a big advantage when entering middle school and beyond. If you think it would be a challenge for your family to pull off a science project, talk to me and we will work out a solution. We have many adults in our community with strong backgrounds in science that would be happy to help. I will be sending out more information to 5th grade families in the next week. If you haven’t received a packet from me by January 9th, please send me an email -- procks@osd.wednet.edu.
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Please see the attached Science Fair entry form
in the Opus email!
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Lincoln Options Fundraising
By Michael Santana, Fundraising Chair
Hi Everyone!
SAVE THE DATE: Spring Fling Auction on March 21 at SPSCC.
For the auction, the Fundraising Committee needs three specific things at this time that you may be able to help with:
- Airline Miles. If you, or a Lincoln supporter you know, have airline miles that you are not going to use, please donate them to us so that we can package them with donations we have received for trips such as the passes we have secured for Disneyland.
- Procurement Experiences. Do you or a Lincoln supporter you know own a getaway cabin or a timeshare? Are you a master chef? Do you have some other unique experience or skill set, that others would be interested in? Please consider donating that experience as an auction item.
- Business Sponsorships. The Fundraising Committee is interested in collaborating with local businesses who can help us put on the Spring Fling and auction. If you know of any such business please let us know.
If you have any suggestions regarding the three requests above, please contact Heather Cushing at hcushing@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
The Fundraising Committee
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Spread the Word about
Enrollment Information Nights!
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Enrollment Information Nights are set for March 4 and March 12!
By far the most important way families find out about Lincoln Options is through word of mouth from parents of students, coworkers, teachers, and friends – in other words, YOU!
Please help us spread the word about Lincoln Options, especially if you know of any families whose children will be entering kindergarten this fall. A robust enrollment is the key to keeping Lincoln Options a viable alternative school. See details below about how you can help.
Enrollment Information Nights will be March 4 and March 12, from 6 – 8 p.m., in the Lincoln cafeteria. We ask that new families attend one of these meetings before participating in the lottery for admittance to Lincoln Options. Childcare will be provided by donation from those families attending the meetings.
During the Enrollment Information Nights, interested families will learn more about the Options program, philosophy, and family involvement opportunities. They also will learn about the lottery process, which is Lincoln’s way of accepting students who live outside the Lincoln service area.
Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT almost impossible to get into Lincoln. Families in the Lincoln Service Area and siblings of currently enrolled students, who are entering at Kindergarten level, are guaranteed access to the Options program. The lottery ensures that all families outside the Lincoln service area have an equal chance of admittance.
We all love Lincoln Options and know that it is a unique school, offering multi-age classrooms where social, emotional, and academic growth are equally valued, and where cooperation, social justice, and sustainability are taught and practiced. Now’s the time to let others know exactly why we have our children enrolled here.
You can help. The Enrollment Committee is distributing information on the Enrollment Information Nights throughout the community. The committee can use assistance with flyer distribution. Additionally, consider helping to get the word out to potential Lincoln families through conversations and social media: https://www.facebook.com/LincolnOptions/. Please contact Mollie & Curt Gavigan at gaviganclan@gmail.com if you would like to assist with flyer distribution, or would like information for electronic distribution. Thank you!
Additionally, the Olympia School District is hosting an informational event for families who will have children in kindergarten in the 2020 – 2021 school year. This event, ‘Countdown to Kindergarten,’ is Saturday, March 7 in the Capital High School Commons (10 – 11:30 a.m.). Lincoln Options will be there to answer questions about our kindergarten program.
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Library News!
By Kari Rigg, Teacher Librarian
And the award goes to… The kids are eagerly reading a variety of picture, non-fiction and chapter books in preparation for selecting their favorite nominees for several statewide awards.
Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award
The Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award winner is selected annually by Washington State’s students who vote for this award through their local teacher-librarians. Lincoln students will have the chance to hear some of these nominated books read to them by our teachers in multi-age groups during the last week of January and the first week of February. We’ll continue to read all the books during library time and will be voting on our favorites in April. The results of the entire state are tallied in April. Last year’s winner was The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Drew Daywalt.
Sasquatch Award
The Sasquatch Award is given to a chapter book written for grades 4-8. The award winner is also selected by students of Washington State in the spring each year. Kari introduced the nominees to the 4/5 classes during library. The kids are devouring these books!
Towner Award
The Towner Award is given to a non-fiction title. The award winner is selected by students in grades 2-6 in Washington State. An interesting anecdote for this award is that the award is named after Bill Towner, a beloved former librarian in the Seattle School District who was also a grandparent of former Lincoln Options students.
Which titles will win?! Stay tuned...
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Note from Paul: Habits of Mind and Movers and Shakers
The Options Philosophy states that “thought and expression develop out of experience." We want students to grow as thinkers, especially as they engage with the world and develop connections to the community and environment around them.
One way the Options staff supports the development of critical thinking is by
intentionally teaching Habits of Mind. These are sixteen behaviors or habits that researcher Art Costa identified after studying successful people, and how they solve problems, make decisions, and create ideas.
We have divided the Habits of Mind into our three themes (environment, social
justice, community). For this year’s theme, Movers and Shakers, we have chosen the following habits to focus on:
- Persistence
- Listening
- Communication
- Taking Responsible Risks
- Flexible Thinking
- Metacognition (thinking about thinking) is a habit that is used all the time and deserves to be woven through each year’s theme.
Recognizing these habits in your student’s play can support these habits at home.
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