Lincoln Cluster Schools Newsletter
November 2021
Hello Lincoln Cluster Families
Greetings Lincoln Cluster Families,
November was a month of giving thanks and showing gratitude and honestly, this should be a constant in our lives throughout every month of the year. Living into these aspirations of always being grateful, and always finding ways to give and support others are cornerstones to the conditions we establish at schools and nurture in the young people we serve every day in our classrooms. Over these past 2 years, we have immense gratitude for your partnership in education with us in your homes, as you have had to adjust and adapt daily to the changing environment and expectations due to these unprecedented times in education. With your key support, clear communication and ongoing partnership, we have navigated these transitions due to COVID protocols together gracefully. Together we always stronger. Community is always about coming together to support those in need. Every step of the way, you have shown tremendous support to our schools, and for our students and staff in navigating these unchartered waters. As we continue to move through the month of December, please continue building our sense of community through authentic relationship building with our staff on school sites, and continue to be your son and or daughters support at home, so we can continue to grow and learn together, stronger and faster! Safety is paramount to our schools, and students now have the opportunity to receive the vaccine at many of our school sites. Knox and MTM will be hosting vaccine events for our cluster schools on Monday, December 13th from 8:30am-1:30pm (MTM) and Tuesday, December 14th from 9:30am-2:30pm (Knox). Thank you for your continued support as we work together to provide amazing educational experiences while keeping our students and staff safe.
Bruce R. Bivins
Area 1 Superintendent
Lincoln High School
Lincoln High School
Happy Holidays from the Hive to each and every home. Thank you to all who came out to support our student athletes in the Division I CIF Championship Game, it was a great contest, but a heartbreaking loss. We celebrate with all of our fall student athletes that completed their season and wish our seniors the best as they prepare for the next chapter in their journeys, so many of them with academic and athletic scholarships. Please check https://lhshornets.com
for schedules for our winter sports and we welcome all to come out and support. Basketball has not been the only business going on in our gym, we celebrate our students and counseling team and Cal-SOAP for hosting three successful College App Workshop Days where all seniors were able to come to the gym and get support for finishing up those college applications. We had 42 seniors attend a field trip to San Diego State and are planning our next college field trip opportunity for our junior class this Spring. We are celebrating all of our students that are on track for graduation with grade level drive through events the week of December 5th. If you missed the Vaccination Van at Lincoln HS, November 30th, please use THIS LINK to find the next location. The annual Toys for Joy Event held at Lincoln HS has been moved to Mesa College this year as a drive thru event on December 11, 2021. We acknowledge the holidays can create additional stress and needs and if you know of any Lincoln Students in need of social/emotional support or resources for basic needs, please use the Support Referral Form (English Form | EN Espanol) to submit the students’ information. We wish you and your families health and peace this holiday season!
Knox Middle School
Knox Middle
Deliveries were made in the evenings of November 15-19. Knox staff make home visits in the community and deliver the turkeys and gift cards to the students and their families. 20 Knox staff members helped out throughout that week to deliver.
We are Thankful for our Knox students and families and our supporters that make this amazing event possible.
Millennial Tech Middle School
MTM
MTM students, staff and families participated in a cultural celebration to build community and to celebrate a traditional holiday that many of our students and families take part in at home and with their families. The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), was celebrated at MTM the first week of November where the students were asked to bring in pictures and memories of their loved ones who have passed to place on our community Ofrenda. The students in history classes wrote a letter to their loved ones and shared special memories to honor their families and friends. MTM ended the schoolwide celebration with traditional face painting and special treats after school along with their families. This was a very special day to honor the tradition and the customs of many of our families. We look forward to a bigger of Ofrenda next year!
Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life.
Porter Elementary School
Porter Elem.
At Porter, we are constantly emphasizing the Porter Way--5 ways of being that support the learning of all and assist our students in managing their own behavior. We also have Porter Pride (Perseverance, Responsibility, Integrity, Dignity, and Empathy) which we use to ensure that we are following the Porter Way everyday and taking ownership of our learning. Our teachers and staff teach into these ways so that our students know what is expected of them and how this supports in building positive relationships with all school community members. We celebrate our students every two months with awards that recognize the way in which our students are Living the Porter Way and showing Porter Pride. Our students also get the chance to have lunch with the Principal every month by receiving Pawsitive Panthers that recognize our students for showing these characteristics. By continuing to emphasize these qualities, we are maintaining a safe, collaborative, and inclusive culture that supports our students in taking responsibility for their learning while also knowing that they will be supported every step of the way by our learning community.
Baker Elementary School
Baker Elem.
Baker Elementary is FULL STEAM AHEAD!
Baker's fourth graders are attending the Elementary Institute for Science EIS) every Wednesday during the months of October and November. This important partnership gives all students access to engaging and rigorous science instruction where students do the work of REAL scientists! We appreciate EIS for this amazing opportunity.
Baker’s Incredible SmartLab was also featured on KPBS ofer the Thanksgiving break. You can watch the video here. Go bobcats! Go Baker!
Nye Elementary School
Nye Elem.
Valencia Park Elementary School
Valencia Park Elementary
Valencia Park Elementary started implementing Leader in Me across the school with teachers and students learning about the first of the seven habits, being proactive! Students and teachers were encouraged to use proactive language, to take responsibility and to be accountable for their actions and choices throughout the month of November. Similar language and messaging of habit one were heard across the campus, through the halls, at lunch, and in classrooms. In addition to starting Leader in Me, Valencia Park opened up our new library space filled with brand new books that represent and highlight the variety of diversity found on our school campus and within our community. Students and staff were thrilled to see the new selection of books and the warm and welcoming library space available for all to enjoy! Starting in November, we welcomed local librarians from the Malcom X Library who will be coming on campus twice a month for four hours to provide our students with additional library education and early literacy support - thank you Malcolm X Library! Student Council elections were held in November, with our new student council team selected and ready to go for the start of December. We are looking forward to promoting leadership opportunities on campus for all students and are excited to have such dedicated students lead our student council efforts!
Balboa Elementary School
Balboa Elem.
Horton Elementary School
Horton Elem. -
During the month of November, Horton’s School Safety Patrol began its service to promote the safe crossing of elementary students to and from school and to maximize the safety of students at all times. Twenty-five 5th grade students were selected and trained by Horton staff and Officer Allen of the SDPD Juvenile Services Team. Mr. Neil and Mr. Jimenez are the School Safety Patrol Coordinators and Advisors. School Safety Patrol jobs include crossing children and adults safely at their school locations, controlling pedestrian traffic, controlling vehicle traffic, and watching and reporting traffic violations. Not only do students’ participation in Safety Patrol help make Horton a safer place, it also fosters leadership skills that will carry with them into middle school, high school, college and beyond. We’re very proud of the work our School Safety Patrol does!
Durante el mes de noviembre, la Patrulla de Seguridad Escolar de Horton comenzó su servicio para promover el cruce seguro de los estudiantes hacia y desde la escuela y para maximizar la seguridad de los estudiantes en todo momento. El personal de Horton y el Oficial Allen del Equipo de Servicios Juveniles de SDPD seleccionaron y capacitaron a veinticinco estudiantes de quinto grado. El Sr. Neil y el Sr. Jiménez son los coordinadores de la Patrulla de Seguridad Escolar. El trabajo de la Patrulla de Seguridad Escolar incluye asistir en cruzar a niños y adultos de manera segura en las ubicaciones de sus escuelas, controlar el tráfico de peatones, controlar el tráfico de vehículos y observar y reportar infracciones de tráfico. La participación de los estudiantes en la Patrulla de Seguridad Escolar no solo ayuda en que Horton sea un lugar más seguro, sino que también fomenta las habilidades de liderazgo que los llevarán a la escuela intermedia, secundaria, universidad y más allá. ¡Estamos muy orgullosos del trabajo que hace nuestra Patrulla de Seguridad Escolar!
Webster Elementary School
Webster Elementary
Hello Lincoln Cluster Families,
Happy Holidays. Great things are happening here at Webster! Teachers and students have been working hard on our school-wide writing initiative. All students will have completed three full writing samples (Narrative, Opinion, and Informative) by December 17. We are excited at the growth our students have made in this area!
At Webster, we expect our students to give back to the Webster community. Every 4th and 5th grader is now signed up for at least one of our Service Clubs. These clubs include Safety Patrol, ASB, tutoring, office helpers, Team Clean, Art Club, and the Caught You Being Good committee. The purpose of our clubs is to encourage and build student leadership, agency, and civic engagement. Check out the photo below to see our ASB officers.
Finally, we will be rolling out our new Webster Instagram and Twitter accounts. These will allow us to better communicate with our students and their families as well as share all of the wonderful things we are doing here at Webster. Keep an eye out for the links/hashtags.
Encanto Elementary School
Encanto Elementary
Fall Celebrations at Encanto!
Encanto hosted a Trunk or Treat for all students on October 28th. Staff decorated their cars to pass out treats and trinkets. Students and staff came dressed in their favorite costumes to enjoy a safe Halloween celebration. Next, we embraced our multiculturalism in our Two-Way Dual Language program on November 1st and 2nd as students created Day of the Dead altars or ofrendas to honor and remember loved ones who have passed. Then, our community partner Grace Unity Missionary Baptist Church brought Thanksgiving to the homes of some students by donating full turkey dinners for very appreciative families. What a wonderful way to launch a holiday season filled with celebration, love and gratitude!
Chollas-Mead Elementary School
Chollas-Mead Elem.
Chollas Mead had a very exciting month. To kick off November the Chollas Mead community paid respect and celebrated our loved ones who have passed with a beautiful De a De La Moretz mantle.
We also kicked off our Leader in Me characteristic. Many of our parents participated and earned raffle tickets for being proactive, having their students ready to go to school each day on time. Students had a chance to write about their own leadership skills and how that made them feel
To wrap up our conference week we held our first annual Turkey Trot. 150 parents came out to participate and help with their students stay healthy. It was a great time and felt so good to see parents back on campus.
Johnson Elementary School
Johnson Elem.
The transformation of the Johnson Cafetorium has begun! First step?! New paint job in vibrant colors! Next steps?! New storage furniture, electronic equipment and comfortable seating to name a few things. Stay tuned to see the full transformation sponsored by a grant from Young Living and Heart of America!