MARCH NEWSLETTER
by Maggie Janssen
March 17, 2008
Kindergarten
During this next month, kindergarten will be “March-ing” ahead in our reading and math skills. We will learn one new letter and sound. Also, three new sight words will be introduced. Our students are doing a nice job reading their kindergarten readers in class. Many students are doing a great job sounding out unfamiliar words on their own. This is a great skill to practice at home when you read together. There are many “easy readers” available in the library that will help beginning readers to practice their sight word and phonics skills.
In math, we will start adding two groups together to find a sum, and begin subtracting a smaller group from a larger group to find what is left. Hopefully we will start to see the connection between addition and subtraction!
Think Spring!
Mrs. Wayman, Mrs. Folkerts & Mrs. Williams
SECOND GRADE
Second graders enjoyed helping Lincoln School celebrate its 50th birthday. We had a fun filled day of activities. We are also celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday by reading his books throughout the first week of March.
Mrs. Leake’s class has been studying about our country in social studies. Miss Schopp’s class is learning about solids, liquids and gases.
We are working hard to read and take tests on the books we read from the library and reach our monthly goals. We are progressing nicely in our reading, but still need to read aloud at home using expression and trying to comprehend as we read too.
Practice, practice, practice those math facts. It is so much easier to regroup in subtraction if we know them. We are on chapter 13 and you can check out what we are doing by going to www.eduplace.com for extra practice.
We have completed about half of the letters in cursive. We have some very neat cursive writers this year.
As always, thank you for all the work you do at home. Reading with, studying spelling lists, practicing math facts, going over and talking about papers and projects we have done in school will only make your student better. Thank you for all your support.
Miss Schopp and Mrs. Leake
THIRD GRADE
All of the third graders have been working extremely hard preparing for the ISAT tests. We will be taking them in both reading and math. As we reviewed, the students realized how much they had actually learned this year. They have been proud of how much they have remembered. They also have been even a little surprised at how easy the practice tests now seem as compared with the beginning of the year. However, we will all be glad when the tests are over and we can get back into a regular routine. We will be able to study science and social studies along with our reading and math. We hope to do some projects and have some fun. The nice part is we have a whole quarter of the school year to do these things without very many interruptions.
Mrs. Kilgore and Mrs. Moore
Mrs. Adcock’s and Mrs. Green’s 4th Grade
Wow! It is hard to believe March is here already! We have had enough wild weather, and we are all ready for Spring! We are anxiously awaiting the sunshine and warmer temperatures! J
We worked hard at reviewing and preparing for the ISAT that we took during the week of March 4 -14th.
Weather is our current unit of study in science class. We are learning to recognize and utilize different instruments used to measure humidity, air pressure, wind speed and temperature. We are investigating how weather forecasters make their predictions, and are looking at cloud formations too. Right before Spring Break we will attend the Livingston County Body Walk at the Armory here in Pontiac. This trip will educate us on a variety of topics about how the Human Body systems work and how to keep our bodies healthy.
Long division will be covered soon in math. Students who are still struggling with memorization of multiplication facts really need to practice at home. Division is much easier when these multiplication facts are mastered!
Please continue setting a time for reading at home. All students will need to have 10% of their yearly goal in Accelerated Reader for the month of March. Students will need to have their goal met by Monday, March 31st.
We had 19 students from our fourth grade classes participate in the spelling bee at Lincoln School on Wednesday, February 20th. Jeremiah Rowland from 4th grade was our 2nd place finisher! Congratulations to all participants!
Wright’s 5th Grade News
Many Congratulations go out to the 5th grade this month! Our 5th grade beginning band performed for the first time together and were awesome! All of their hard work and dedication has really paid off. I am very proud of them! WAY TO GO! J
In February, we were honored to have two of our classmates advance to the Livingston County Spelling Bee. Our Lincoln School Bee winner was Lance and Molly was in 3rd place. Molly was very supportive and went along as the alternate. Congrats!!!
Thanks for continuing to encourage your child to read at home. It is really showing in their performance at school and through the Accelerated Reader program. It is hard to believe that March has arrived and we are entering our final nine weeks. Wishing you all a safe and relaxing Spring Break!
Mrs. Kristi Wright J
LIBRARY
Greetings from Lincoln Library!
Every year Lincoln participates in the Illinois Monarch Award program. Twenty books are nominated for the award and all twenty are read to students grades 1st-3rd. In February the students vote on their favorites. All voting results from participating schools are sent off to the state to be tallied, and an official winner announced. Lincoln students have voted and the results are in. SOS File is the school winner for the Monarch Award! Voting results by class are posted outside the library. Keep watching to see which book is the official winner of the Illinois Monarch Award!
The library is missing several books that were checked out during a computer malfunction. Please help your child check at home to ensure that all Lincoln Library books are returned.
March News from the Gym
With snow days and other non-attendance days, most educators have found that we have had to adjust our yearly plans to fit the calendar. This certainly does not mean that your students lose any curricular education, but it does mean that when they learn material may be at a different time this year.
Students in fourth and fifth grades have been playing Floor Hockey. Because students have really been focusing on SAFETY, there have been very few “high sticks” penalties during our tournaments. Congratulations, to these students who use self-control in high-energy games and keep it fun for everyone. Students in lower-elementary grades have also been working on “self-control.” Even being able to WALK to and from the gym everyday, can be part of this practice. They have been playing “high-energy” games for their aerobic fitness.
The Daily Pantagraph has a section of their website devoted to Fit Kids. Actually, that is the name of the section. This month on the Fit Kids Calendar, there are several venues for activities that you may want to visit. One is in Pontiac so check it out at www.pantagraph.com/fitkids.
Have a safe and healthy Spring Break!
Dental Services Are Again Coming This Spring
“Smile Illinois”, a mobile dental unit, will be at Lincoln School on May 9th. A dentist and 2 dental hygienists will set up a temporary office in our school and provide PREVENTATIVE CARE. This includes an exam, cleaning, fluoride treatments, and sealants. (Free toothbrushes will also be given.)
Mobile dentists accept Medicaid, AllKids, and most Illinois insurances. Your child may also be seen, even if you do not have any insurance. In this case, you may pay for these services or apply for a grant to pay for the services. NO CHILD IS TURNED AWAY because of their inability to pay.
A letter and an application form will be going home with your student(s) soon. The application will need to be RETURNED for your child to be seen. NO WALK-INS can be accepted. A “dental report card” will be sent home from the dentist, after your child is seen. Please direct any questions to Shelly Murphy RN at Central /Lincoln schools.
Science Triathlon
The annual Pontiac Science Triathlon will be held at Pontiac Jr. High on Sat., May 3, 2008. The event is open to any area 4th-8th grade student. Applications are available from Mrs. Adcock at Lincoln School. Registration begins the day of the Triathlon at 8:00 a.m. and the opening ceremony begins at 8:45 a.m. Students are to build the projects at home with their parents or their teammates. Three events that students may compete in are Land Yachts, Bridges, and Model Rockets. The application has complete descriptions and instructions. Students compete against others at their grade level. They may enter as individuals, or as a member of a three-person team. The application has more information about this as well. Mrs. Adcock will have balsa wood available for purchase if students decide to build a bridge. Rocket kits can be purchased at hobby stores- be sure they will fit an A8-3 engine which will be given to you at the event. Materials for land yachts are found or purchased items depending on the builder’s own design. Awards will be presented to first, second, and third place winners in each event at each grade level at the Awards Ceremony at the end of the competition. Students who do not win one of those awards will earn a participation ribbon. Everyone will go home with an award! Hope to see you there! Contact Mrs. Adcock or contact Mrs. Thompson at Central School if you have questions or concerns. (Central 815-844-3023; thompsonbre@p429.k12.il.us)
Physical Education and Active Play Help Teens Maintain Normal Weight as Adults
Adolescents who participate in physical education at school are more likely to maintain a normal weight as young adults, according to a study by researchers at theJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For each weekday of physical education at school the odds of being an overweight adult decreased by 5 percent. Participation in all five days of physical education decreased the odds of being an overweight adult by 28 percent. The study is published in the January 2008 edition of the journal, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
“These findings underscore the important role that school-based and extracurricular physical activities play in reducing the likelihood of becoming an overweight adult,” said Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD, the study’s senior author. “While physical education was not a good weight-loss mechanism over time, it appears to have a positive impact in helping teenagers maintain a healthy weight into young adulthood,” added Blum, who is the Bloomberg School’s William H. Gates Sr. Professor and Chair in Population and Reproductive Health.
The Hopkins team studied 3,345 teens in grades eight through 12 who took part in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health at which time the teens were surveyed on their participation in physical education and physical activities outside of school. The researchers then followed up with the participants five years after leaving school to check their height and weight.
The researchers found that increased participation in physical education and certain extracurricular physical activities decreased the likelihood of being overweight as an adult. The likelihood of being an overweight adult was most reduced among teens who participated in wheel-related extracurricular activities, such as rollerblading, biking or skate-boarding more than 4 times per week. These teens were more than twice as likely to maintain a normal weight as adults compared to their less active peers. However, no impact was detected when physical activities were performed fewer than three times per week.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend physical education at all grade levels. Studies show that less than half of high school students are enrolled in physical education courses. Only 6 percent of junior high schools and 5 percent of senior high schools offer daily physical education, according to the Institute of Medicine.
“Sixteen percent of adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese and 85 percent of obese teens will become obese adults. School-based physical education could be a low-cost strategy and a long-lasting solution to adult obesity,” said Blum.
“Adolescent Physical Activities as Predictors of Young Adult Weight” was written by David Menschik, MD, MPH; Saifuddin Ahmed, PhD; Miriam H. Alexander, MD, MPH; and Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD.
The research was supported in part by the William H. Gates Sr. Endowment at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Public Affairs media contact for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Tim Parsons at 410-955-6878 or paffairs@jhsph.edu
