Lincoln Leadership Academy 

We are excited to launch our Lincoln Leadership Academy this year with our students! Lincoln and Harrison Elementary have officially become "Leader in Me" schools, a framework created by Steven Covey that uses the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People on a daily basis in our schools. On Friday, August 11th our students met in the gym to kick off the school year AND the beginning of this Leader in Me work. 

Through this Leader in Me framwork, our students will have a hand in the problem solving and leadership of Lincoln. They will take on responsibliities that once were only for adults. Each month we will unveil a new Habit from the Leader in Me framework and we will recognize Lions of Legacy (and invite parents to come celebrate with us) who have exhibited the habit well over the course of the month. Throughout year, you will hear your students become familiar with the seven habits of highly effective people and how they are incorporating this work into their school day. Our hope is that you will see these habits carryover to home as well. Watch for Leader in Me Information in each quarterly newsletter and to be highlighted in Weekly Updates. The Leader in Me habits include; 

Habit #1 - Be Proactive: This teaches students to practice pausing a moment before reacting and envisioning themselves acting from the values they want to portray. 

Habit #2 - Begin With the End in Mind: This is all about making a plan for the desired outcome and then choosing actions that will get you there. 

Habit #3 - Put First Things First: When we use this habit we choose to be responsible first....homework before play, eating healthy food before dessert. 

Habit #4 - Think Win-Win: This habit teaches students about compromise and solving problems with others. It is about hearing others out and coming up with solutions together. 

Habit #5 - Seek First to Understand, THEN Be Understood: We often like others to hear what we have to say first or to make sure our feelings are heard. This habit teaches us that it is often important to hear others out in situations and not be so eager to only have our voice be heard. 

Habit #6: Synergize: With this habit, students will really focus on the power of teamwork and valuing others' talents and ideas. When we work together, we can accomplish so much more than when we work alone. 

Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw: This is a habit we can all learn from. It is about life balance and prioritizing self-care. Students learn how to take care of their mind, body and heart and what things help "fill their cup." 

We will launch our first official Habit: Be Proactive, on Friday, September 1st at our morning assembly. 

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Our arrival and dismissal procedures are part of what helps keep our Lions safe as they get into school and get home each day. Your help in following these procedures not only helps us ensure student safety but it also helps your child see you following school rules and sets the tone for us working together as a team. There are three ways that students can arrive or depart from school: Walker, Bus Rider or Curb Clubber. These are our only three arrival and dismissal options. 

ARRIVAL PROCEDURES: Walkers- Entry is through Door #6 in the back of the building. Students may ride their bike IF they are in third grade or above. Bike racks are located outside Door #6. Bus Riders - Students will be picked up at their bus stop location and dropped at our south parking lot for entry through Door #12. Curb Clubbers - Parents will pull up to the curb where staff will open doors to greet and assist students for entry at Door #1. PLEASE do not drop students until you get to the front sidewalk to help in keeping the car line moving. If you have dropped your child, you will need to wait until the car line proceeds to exit. PLEASE DO NOT pull around cars in line at arrival drop off. 

DISMISSAL PROCEDURES: Walkers - Walkers will exit out building doors based on their crossing guard assignment/address and will be crossed off school grounds with their guard. PLEASE DO NOT PICK UP STUDENTS IN CAR FROM THE BACK SIDE OF THE BUILDING WHERE WALKERS DISMISS. All car pick up must be done through our curb club procedure. Bus Riders - Once buses arrive at the school, students will be called down to exit out Door #12 and load their bus for departure. Curb Club - All parents picking up their student by car must have a registered car tag. If you do not have one of these, please call the office or stop by to secure one. The first tag is free and any additional tags are $3/each. The car line snakes through our parking lot to help keep traffic at a minimum on Lincoln Street. Cars should line up from Clark street and turn onto Lincoln Street for the pick up line. This helps us not block driveways on Lincoln past Clark street. For pick up, pull up to the curb and your child will be loaded for you. Please DO NOT pull around parked cars if your child loads and you are waiting. This can be a safety hazard for students. Cones are often placed in the line to help remind parents.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US KEEP OUR STUDENTS SAFE EACH DAY BY FOLLOWING OUR ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES! 

WCS Attendance Policy and Need to Knows

Student attendance is so important as we seek to grow our Lions in both academic and personal knowledge. If you know your child is going to be absent due to illness, please call into the school to let us know on the day of absence. If your child is absent and we do not hear from you, our school secretary, Mrs. Ihnen will call to find out why they are out. All students can miss up to seven total days in the year. School attendance is very important and is part of Indiana law. As a courtesy, we will send out letters when a student reaches day five in their lineup of allowed absences to help alert families and keep there from being any attendance issues. Thank you for your help in making sure communication happens promptly when students are out and for working to create routines that make daily attendance a priority! We miss our lions when they aren't here! 

Lincoln PTO

Lincoln PTO does so very much to support our students, families and staff! We welcome you to join us for any of our monthly meetings to hear more about how you can get involved and support our Lion school family! All meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at 5:30PM in the Lincoln STEM LAB. Any and all parents/guardians are invited to attend. This year, our Lincoln PTO officers include; President - Heather Counts, Vice-President - Hannah Jeffreys, Secretary - Katie Miller, Treasurer(s) - Eric Jacko and Erin Hoak. Here are a few details about events or items that Lincoln PTO makes happen. 

Back to School Bash -  On Friday, August 18th our PTO will host a family event with pizza, water, popcorn, face painting, games, music, bounce houses and Kona Ice. Food and Kona are for purchase but all activities are free. Come as a whole family and plan to ring in the new year with some fun for the whole family! 

Annual Fundraiser - Our annual fundraiser helps PTO raise money for funding all family events for the year. Lincoln takes part in a Serve-a-Thon, which is a 100% profit event. Students learn what it means to serve our school and community and they are encouraged to do mini service projects for their family/neighbors/relatives to raise money for our event. We hope to bring in $15,000 this year AND to make a positive impact on our community as we serve them. This event will take place the week of September 11th. 

The Giving Room - Our PTO helps oversee the running of our student Giving Room. This room exists to support any student in need of shoes, clothing, school supplies and hygiene items. Families can take part in this room in two ways. 1) If your child is in need of items, call the office or your child's teacher and let us know what they need. We will make sure they get to take a trip to the Giving Room to shop for their items of need. 2) If you are cleaning out your closets and have gently used clothing, coats or shoes, we would love to have your donation right here at Lincoln. You can drop items at the office AND watch when we put in weekly updates that there is a specific need in the Giving Room. 

Spiritwear - PTO oversees our annual spiritwear sales. Information on back to school sales can be found on the PTO facebook page. Spiritwear will happen again in early November in time for Christmas gifts. 

The next Lincoln PTO meeting is Thursday, September 7th at 5:30PM in the Lincoln Stem Lab. Come join us! 

Lincoln Elementary, where ALL LIONS ARE LEADERS !