ART - Ms. Caira

Congratulations to all the K-4 artists who exhibited their work at the Lincoln Public Library for the month of March. For many students, this was their first public gallery show - what pride I heard from the students!

Kindergarten spent February learning about abstract surrealism by studying the art of Joan Miro. We read books before making drawings of animals and people without worrying about being realistic, which was a relief for some very particular young artists!   

First grade students drew underground worlds, imagining what might be going on under our feet.  We had ant spas, worm classrooms, and even a ball pit!  Next, we turned our attention to the animals waking up for Spring.  We learned how to give the illusion of depth with different lines on animal faces before moving onto an oil pastel flower background.  

Second grade studied various mushrooms and spent some time drawing their interesting shapes and textures, as seen in the morel mushroom.  Some students made small guide books of the mushrooms they learned about!

Third-graders studied form and value while drawing an apple still life in oil pastels.  These are some of their best pieces this year and the students were really proud. 

Fourth grade used foam to make a stamp for printmaking.  This can be a trial and error process as printing ink is gloppy.  If they rolled on too much ink, it would sink into their carved lines resulting in one solid block of color.  If they used too little ink, it would be hard to make out what they had drawn.  We worked hard until everyone got at least two good prints  They were excited to keep their foam as they can make prints as long as the foam survives!

First Grade

In February and March, first grade students conducted crayon investigations.  They predicted and observed what would happen to the properties of a crayon if it was heated and then cooled.  Students observed their crayons changing from a solid to a liquid and then back to a solid again.  Next, they designed and constructed crayon containers made from recyclables. Students rounded out their learning with a series of colorful and messy chemistry experiments.

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Second Grade

In February and March, second grade students explored building with Keva planks.  They learned how to create ball runs made of chutes and ramps, and added turns and built ball dispensers.  The next unit for second-graders involved helping Ms. Quigley rescue lost items from a model of a storm drain.  Students built tools to help her retrieve lost keys, cash, and her very important credit card.  

Third Grade

In February and March, students used what they learned in their sailing unit to make models of windmills that lifted weight.  Third-graders designed windmill blades and attached them to a windmill base.  Once they created a design that would spin with the help of a fan, they added metal washers to a cup attached to the windmill to see if their designs were strong enough to lift weight.  

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Fourth Grade

In February and March, fourth grade students explored winter sports and made models of bobsleds.  They experimented with using different materials to construct the runners of the sleds and then timed their creations as they raced down a track made from a plastic rain gutter.  

Grades 1, 4 - Mr. McDonough

Grade 1

For this last "tech rotation" of the year, first graders are learning some fundamental coding concepts by programming Finch robots to create geometrical shapes and to follow mazes on the floor. 

Grade 4

For this last "tech rotation" of the year, fourth graders are learning about networks. They're learning about the advantages of networking digital devices, including "The Internet of Things". Students will use Keynote (presentation software) to create a slide of their dream home network with all the cool devices, real or imagined, they'll want in their dream home.

Grades K,  2, 3 - Ms. Matthes

Kindergarten:
Students have been exploring the SeeSaw app as a way to share their knowledge. We've been talking about how to be kind and stay safe online. Ask your child about “Heart”, a digital citizen we recently met.

Second Grade:
Second-graders are back in technology class, and they’ve been hard at work turning their classroom research on continents into digital books using the Book Creator app. It's been a fun way for them to showcase their learning while developing digital skills, including working with text and images.

Mr. Trask (3-4 Wellness)

In February and March, the 3rd and 4th grades learned about pillo polo, which is an alternative to hockey that uses padded sticks. The 4th grade then had the chance to move into floor hockey! Both grades then learned about our muscular system and some exercises to strengthen our muscles. We finished off March moving into basketball to tie in with a little of college basketball's March Madness! 

3/7/2025 March Library Update

For the past six weeks, kids in grades K-4 have been studying books for our Mock Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) award. We read seven books published in 2024 and evaluated them based on the criteria below. 

During this past week, each child cast their vote for the book they believed should win. We gathered in the auditorium on Thursday, 3/13, for the big reveal. Two children from each grade level presented the nominees to the rest of our K-4 community and everyone cheered when they learned that The Blue Pickup by Natasha Tripplett won our silver medal and CHEERED when they learned We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang won our gold. This was such a FUN community-building activity... I'm already looking forward to another Mock EJK award NEXT year.  

Ask your child which book they voted for and why!

In other exciting library news, we had over FIFTY Lincoln School students enter the MSLA bookmark contest. I am thrilled to announce that we had a Lincoln School winner! Congratulations to Saige Hamilton for her bookmark design, judged to be the winner of the 2nd & 3rd grade division by the MSLA bookmark judging committee. You can see all of this year's winners here. 

On Monday, 3/14, we will begin a new library/technology rotation. Grades K, 3, and 5 will have library classes. Grades K, 1, 2, and 4 will have technology classes. Grades 2 and 4 will still come to the library each week for a short book checkout time. Please see the schedule below for your child's library day, or refer to this page on my district website. 

KD- Tuesday, KJ- Thursday, KM- Friday

1C,1L,1S - All on Friday

2M, 2N, 2W - All on Friday

3H - Tuesday, 3K- Thursday, 3S - Wednesday

4R, 4O, 4N - All on Tuesday

5B- Monday, 5L- Thursday, 5Sia- Wednesday, 5S- Friday

Happy Reading Everyone!