Volume 2 Issue 1  November 2010

The arts are an integral part of the Central Elementary School’s curricu-lum. Students actively engage in a variety of programs that expose them to various aspects of art and music.

Among the most popular activities in the Arts Program is the Artsonia program. Students enthusiastically

participate in this activity which is the world’s largest kids’ art museum. This web

Inside This Issue:Inside This Issue:Inside This Issue:

“An educational system with a tradition for excellence, challenged by growth and diversity, is dedicated to building a part‐nership of home, school, and community, in order to provide educational opportunity through standards‐based curriculum and high quality instruction so that all students can learn the skills needed to be productive citizens in a global society.” 

Lincoln Public Schools

based program, which is offered at no cost, enables students to go online and share their art work with people around the world, while engaging their families in art education.

Central Elementary students were recently awarded second place in Rhode Island for their submissions to the Artsonia program. They have also demonstrated increased pride in their art work as they realize that they can share

their work with relatives and others around the globe.

Miss Devault, Central’s art teacher states, “being a part of this has been such a great experience for the stu-dents and I am so proud of them”.

Central Elementary is pleased to offer the opportunity to participate in the Artsonia Program which has markedly increased student interest and engagement in our Arts pro-gram.

As first quarter draws to a close, it is with great pleasure that I showcase the district initiatives which are taking place during the 2010-2011 school year. I know you’ll enjoy reading about the talented staff who work with your students on a daily basis.

I wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday season.

Best Regards, Georgia Fortunato Superintendent of Schools

The Arts The Arts The Arts ——— An Important Part of Central’s CurriculumAn Important Part of Central’s CurriculumAn Important Part of Central’s Curriculum

Reflections on Lincoln’s First Year with UCOAReflections on Lincoln’s First Year with UCOAReflections on Lincoln’s First Year with UCOA UCOA stands for “Uniform Chart of Accounts”. Last year state law and Rhode Island Department of Educa-tion (RIDE) Regulations required every public school district in Rhode Island to implement a uniform ac-counting system or chart of ac-counts.

A chart of accounts provides the framework to capture original trans-actions, logically organized data and a consistent basis for reporting so that the goals of transparency, uni-

formity, accountability and comparability can be achieved. This

means that school

districts within the state will be able to compare and analyze expenditures and revenues with other districts in a much more accurate and meaningful way than in prior years.

Lincoln adapted well to the new coding system that is very different from the system that was in use. The UCOA is much more detailed and that makes comparisons between years much more difficult. The 2011-12 budget will be presented in UCOA format which means that only one full year of actual detail as well as actual detail for the first six months of fiscal 2011 will be shown. Comparison with prior years will be difficult on a detailed basis but will be

possible at a macro level. Fiscal years before 2010 will need to be shown at the object code level only. The initial rollout of each district’s expenditure and revenue data is scheduled for January 2011. While this is the first year and still very much a work in progress, stake-holders will have the ability to look at financial and academic information to make data driven decisions de-signed to improve teaching and learning. The UCOA will also pro-vide guidance in allo-cating dwindling re-sources in the most efficient manner.

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The “New” Northern Lincoln Elementary School provides a quality education to all students in grades Pre K-5. We were always in the same building, but now we are one school! We are very busy learning new routines for things such as arrival,

lunch time, dismissal and of course, in our classrooms. Our Healthy Heart Walk took place on Friday, October 22nd. This healthy and fun event also serves as one of our biggest fund-raisers. All monies raised will be used to provide educational enrichment pro-grams, family activities and field trips. We know that we are going to have a great year!

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Lincoln Public Schools

Lonsdale Elementary School is a collabo-rative, collegial community of learners. Our first grade teachers, Ms. Kimberly Cole, Mrs. Kelly Marini, and Mrs. Dana Miga in collaboration with reading specialist Mrs. Debra Lyons, Resource Teacher Tracey Hastings and Speech and Language Pa-

Team Teaching and Flexible Grouping in Lonsdale’s 1Team Teaching and Flexible Grouping in Lonsdale’s 1Team Teaching and Flexible Grouping in Lonsdale’s 1ststst Grade Grade Grade

Northern Lincoln Elementary Students Enjoy Healthy Heart Walk Northern Lincoln Elementary Students Enjoy Healthy Heart Walk Northern Lincoln Elementary Students Enjoy Healthy Heart Walk

thologist Kristen Cartwright, implement an excellent form of flexible grouping instruction during Readers and Writers Workshop. Every Monday, the three first grade teachers and the specialists listed above meet during a common preparation pe-riod. During this planning period, they discuss which standards and concepts they will be addressing during Readers and Writers Workshop. For example,

topics such as beginning-middle-end, story elements, making predictions, and making meaningful connections

to text are recent stan-dards that were dis-cussed. Students from all 3 classes have been grouped by need and the groups change weekly as students’

academic growth increases. Each teacher has a different group, and the teacher differentiates to meet the needs of the learners in their groups. For exam-ple, some students may be at the labeling phase when responding to text, while some may be at the sentence-writing phase, and some may be able to produce pages of writing. During reading, students are matched with text appropriate to their independent reading level, which is how children best learn to read. This wonder-

ful form of differentia-tion is exactly the

type of instruction that should be occurring in an early childhood model, since the diversity of learning levels is great; but all students still have the same standards they must meet. The Lonsdale Elementary School students receive the quality, appropriate reading in-struction they deserve! Excellent job team!

Ms. Kimberly Cole leads a group of first grade students.

First grade student Courtney Deluca, shares one of her favorite fall books.

Mrs. Marianna Galle, first grade teach-ing assistant, offers her assistance. Mrs. Kelly Marini, first grade teacher,

helps publish her student’s works.

How do you spell “relief”? Try W-A-L-K! On October 22nd, all students in Grades 1- 5 partici-pated in the District’s Heart Healthy Walk on the Blackstone River Bike Trail. What began as a school-based activity at Northern Lincoln Elementary School five years ago be-came a district-wide event in 2008. This year’s “walk” included a variety of yoga stations along the path where students from Lincoln High School demonstrated poses that the students were en-couraged to try. With the NECAP (state assessments) behind them, the students, teachers and many parents and younger siblings enjoyed everything good that comes with a three mile walk on a beautiful Autumn day! While this is a one-day annual event,

the message to the students and their families is that physi-cal activity is important every-day. Many people worked to make this year’s Healthy Heart Walk a success. Special

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Volume 2 Issue 1

thanks to Deb Reddy, Paula Paluch, Pattie Kilsey, Jim Frost along with Bar-bara Morse-Silva from Channel 10 for making this event a suc-cess.

The Lincoln Public Schools recognizes that the schools play an important role in supporting the education of the whole child. With so much emphasis on improving academic performance, it is easy to lose sight of that responsibility. The district’s Wellness Committee was established by a

policy adopted by the Lincoln School Committee in 2008 in response to state legislation re-quiring the school department to meet newly enacted state regula-tions that raised the standards governing the School Nutrition breakfast/lunch Programs. We are also required to assess and

support programs that in-crease physical activity and support staff wellness. From the beginning, the Lincoln Wellness Committee has been committed to becoming more than the “Cupcake Po-lice”! While the alarming increase in obesity among school-age children has been

the impetus for much of the regulatory activity at the state and national level, in Lincoln we have chosen to take a broader view of “wellness”. Each school is encour-aged to assess the health needs of its students and develop a plan of work in-cluded in its School Improvement Plan. There are 8 components of a Comprehen-sive School Health Program, including comprehensive Health and Physical Edu-cation Curricula, a safe and nurturing school climate and a healthy school envi-ronment. The Wellness Committee moni-tors this work and asks each school to report regularly on progress toward the district’s goals as well as their own. The Wellness Committee meets 4 to 5 times a year (Thursdays) at 8:00 AM at Lincoln High School. The next Wellness Commit-tee meeting is on December 9th at 8:00 AM. If you have an interest in the work of this committee and are able to attend, please contact Mary Anne Roll (333-0631 or droll1@cox.net).

Lincoln Students Utilize Healthy Initiatives Lincoln Students Utilize Healthy Initiatives Lincoln Students Utilize Healthy Initiatives

apply for and are ac-cepted into the pro-gram. These courses include science, tech-nology, music and the humanities. Each course spans a semester and is a rigorous course of study.

The sixth grade trip to Camp Bournedale was a great success! Teachers Matt Barboza and Doug Wall headed up the planning and coor-dinating of events and activities. Those 6th graders who attended the trip had a wonder-ful experience. Those who stayed at school

were busy with many activities and lessons planned around the same goals as the Bournedale trip.

The first Middle School Festival was held Friday, Septem-ber 24. A special thanks to the many teachers who at-

tended as chaperones and engaged in all of the activities with the students. A good time was had by all who attended. Thank you to parents who also chaperoned and who do-nated water and fruit drinks. Dancing, dodge ball, face painting, and games were all a big

The middle school welcomed back its students on Wednesday, September 1, 2010. With new administrators and sev-eral new teachers, the school opening was exciting and interesting. All middle school students new to the building were welcomed to Lincoln Middle School with a Welcome Breakfast sponsored by the student council and organized with the assistance of Mrs. Loretta Jones, school social worker. Students had breakfast in the cafeteria and teachers, administra-tors, and Officer Cavanaugh, the School Resource Officer , were invited to greet the new students.

A new schedule was introduced which allows all students the oppor-tunity to meet in a skills class devoted to sup-porting the students in the areas of English and Mathematics. In addition, Virtual High School is a program coordinated by Mrs.

Theresa DeRiso which offers accelerated programs of study to seventh and eighth grade students who

hit. There were over 500 students in attendance.

The cross country team, field hockey team, girls’ and the

boys’ soccer teams are well into their sea-sons and coaches Ms. Buontempo, Mrs. Mowry, Mr. Howard, and Mr. Laf-leur are looking forward to successful seasons. Mem-bers of the cross country

team, accompanied by their coach, Ms. Buon-tempo, competed in the CVS Down-

town 5K on Sunday, September 19 with all students finishing the race.

LMS Celebrates the First Days of SchoolLMS Celebrates the First Days of School

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Volume 2 Issue 1

Saylesville’s Writers Notebook Decorating PartySaylesville’s Writers Notebook Decorating PartySaylesville’s Writers Notebook Decorating Party

Each year the Saylesville PTO and parent volunteers spend the day with our students in planning and organizing for the

Writers Notebook Party.

Personalizing the Notebooks

At the beginning of the year, each student is given a blank composition book. After bringing pictures and other special me-mentos from home, students personalize the notebooks in order to make them their own.

Using the Notebooks

These reno-vated notebooks become a place for students to "grow" ideas

and develop their writer's craft. Students use the skills they learn during the Writing

Workshop mini-lessons to improve their writing and create new stories.

Publishing

It is from these notebooks that students choose one entry each month that they want to pub-lish. After sharing the entries and receiving feedback from members of their writing groups, students take these entries out of the notebook so that they can be revised and improved.

Once a draft has been completed and stu-dents have conferenced with the teacher,

their piece is now in the final step of the editing/revising proc-ess. Students publish their final copy of the story. The Writing Center is stocked with a variety of decorated paper on which lines have been printed for students to write.

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Lincoln Public Schools

“The Big Change” by Ailsa Ferland 6th grader at LMS“The Big Change” by Ailsa Ferland 6th grader at LMS

Moving up to the middle school was a lot easier than I expected. The minute my 6th grade teachers started explaining things, I was enjoying myself because I knew what to do. All of the teachers had similar ex-pectations and classroom rules. By the end of the first day, their rules had easily been planted into my brain, with new roots growing all the time. Most kids practiced using combination locks over the summer, but not me! I was nervous because I thought I wouldn’t be able to open my locker at all the first day. Then, after letting someone else open it, jamming my stuff in and slamming the door, I finally figured out

how to do it. This made me so happy, I almost whooped for joy (but that would have been a little embarrassing). Later on, I be-came a “pro,” so when I bought a lock for gym, I was able to open it right away. Be-sides gym locks, changing for gym class in under five minutes came even easier to me, and I can be out jogging at a normal pace before the clock even starts! My extra cur-ricular teachers are amazingly nice, and the same goes for my team teachers. I like that they treat me with greater respect than when I was in elementary school. This makes me feel that I am truly an eleven year old now, and a more responsible stu-

Mrs. Susan Rogers, Central Elementary School Secretary Mrs. Susan Rogers, Central Elementary School Secretary Mrs. Susan Rogers, Central Elementary School Secretary A competent school secretary is essential to the success of virtually every aspect of a school’s operations. Lincoln Central is very fortunate to have Mrs. Susan Rogers capa-bly filling that extremely important position.

Students, parents, staff, visitors and others appreciate her efficiency and her ability to promptly deal with requests for information, as well as her flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing situations.

As a secretary for over thirty years, Mrs. Rogers has extensive knowledge of the many diverse responsibilities the position

entails. She is now in her fifth year as the secretary at Lincoln Central and prior to that she served the school system as a teacher assistant for six years.

Mrs. Rogers indicates that working with the students makes her job a true “joy.” As the children share their work and pro-jects with her you can see the obvious interest she takes in their success. She also believes that the school staff is her extended family and truly enjoys working with them.

Outside of school Mrs. Rogers enjoys

spending time with her family which consists of her hus-band, Mark, a Cum-berland firefighter, daughter Jolene and her sons, Mark and Wayne. Her inter-ests include camp-ing, reading, sewing and arts and crafts.

Lincoln Central is truly fortunate to have Mrs. Rogers coordinating the many func-tions that insure a school’s success.

Mr. Harold Weaver, Central Elementary School Occupational Therapist Mr. Harold Weaver, Central Elementary School Occupational Therapist Mr. Harold Weaver, Central Elementary School Occupational Therapist

Harry Weaver, Central’s occupational thera-pist, provides important services to students directly through therapy sessions to those pupils whose education plans require them. He also indirectly supports most of our stu-dents through the Brain Gym activities that he has modeled for teachers who then em-ploy them to provide support to the children in the learning process.

As an occupational therapist, Mr. Weaver works to help students to effectively engage in the full breadth of school activities, such as paying attention in class, refining motor skills, concentrating on the task at hand, and holding a pencil or behaving appropri-

ately. He also consults with teachers regarding compensatory strategies to address attention

issues or problems such as those involving visual or perceptual tasks, disorganization or inappropriate sensory responses.

Mr. Weaver grew up in Dudley, Massachu-setts and attended college in Worcester. After graduation he worked at the Monson State Hospital; then spent seven years at the Ladd Center in Rhode Island; twenty years working at the Northern Rhode Island Collaborative and is now in his fifth year working in the Lincoln Schools.

Affectionately called “Mr. Harry” by the stu-dents, Harry’s program is very popular with them. His activities are highly engaging and the children recognize the substantial gains they have made in the skills he addresses.

Mr. Weaver and his wife Sally have two daughters, Tara and Crystal. He lives in

North Kingstown and is looking forward to retiring to Florida in a few years. His hobbies include camping and boating. He enjoys playing basketball in an adult league.

Part of the success of any therapist is getting students excited and actively involved in the remedial process. In Mr. Weaver, Central students are fortunate to have someone who can engage them so effectively and who is able to achieve such recognizable results.

dent. Lincoln Middle School is one of the best schools I’ve ever heard of, and been to. I enjoy my-self here more than any other school!

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Lincoln Public Schools

smoothly and effectively. She is very well liked and respected by the entire school community. She always takes the time to assist and help others. Ms. Coulombe is a lover of the great outdoors and in her spare time Ms. Coulombe enjoys tak-ing long bike rides along the East Bay bike path. She finds her balance and peace through her daily practice of yoga. She is a model of great health and an inspiration for all of us.

dren and staff, and she says, “No two days are ever the same.”

Pat has been married for 37 years, and has 2 sons and 3 granddaughters. Her sons Eric and Greg are alumni of Northern and now her granddaughters come here too. It really helps that she is a Manville resident because she knows the bus routes and stops as well as the families and parents of our stu-dents and almost all students by name! That’s why she helps make Northern seem more like home.

Sarah Mahler has been teaching art in the Lincoln school district for 11 years. During that time she has taught at Saylesville Elementary, Northern Elementary, Northern ELC, Fairlawn ELC, and Lonsdale Elementary. Currently, she is teaching at Lonsdale and Saylesville. Sarah grew up in the Town of Lincoln and attended Lonsdale as a stu-dent and she is very proud to be able to teach at her childhood school. Sarah has been publishing student art online for Artsonia since 2005. This will

be her 6th year. "Artsonia has been an amaz-ing tool for getting parents and students in-volved in the child's art", she says. Last year Sarah was #1 in the State of RI for the number of artworks published, the amount of money made, and number of comments left for stu-dents. This is a title she has earned for the last 4 years! Sarah is a wonderful art teacher, with lots of enthusiasm for her discipline and love for her students.

For the past eight years, Ms. Coulombe has served the Saylesville staff, teachers, parents and students with the most professional manner. Her kind, gentle, graceful demeanor keeps all of us balanced. She handles the many functions of her job with grace and efficiency. From handling the hectic front office to processing the budget, she accomplishes each task with attention to detail. Kathy is always cooperative in accepting new procedures and is always willing to assist others and do whatever she can to help our school run

Mrs. Sarah Mahler, Lonsdale & Saylesville Elementary School Art TeacherMrs. Sarah Mahler, Lonsdale & Saylesville Elementary School Art TeacherMrs. Sarah Mahler, Lonsdale & Saylesville Elementary School Art Teacher

Ms.Kathy Coulombe, Saylesville Elementary School SecretaryMs.Kathy Coulombe, Saylesville Elementary School SecretaryMs.Kathy Coulombe, Saylesville Elementary School Secretary

Liz Moore is the great Northern Elementary School social worker. She works with students individu-ally, in groups and in classrooms for a myriad of reasons. Some of her duties include running differ-ent types of social groups such as Lunch Bunch and Social Skills, she is part of our PBIS check in, check out reward system, and she does classroom observations to help teachers with their class-rooms. She is also our district homeless liaison. What does she like best about working at North-ern? She likes the opportunity to work with all the families and staff in and out of the classroom. Mrs.

Moore has been at Northern for the last 5 years but has been in Lincoln for 9. Liz likes that Northern is now one school because we can now use the older kids as helpers and role models. Also she says that now the entire staff will get to know one another, work together, and benefit from each other’s expertise.

Mrs. Moore has two children ages 11 and 13 and she is on the board of her daughter’s figure skating club. She likes to cook, read and travel when she has the time. She wants everyone to feel free to call her, as she is available to all students and families.

Ms. Liz Moore, Northern Lincoln Elementary School Social WorkerMs. Liz Moore, Northern Lincoln Elementary School Social WorkerMs. Liz Moore, Northern Lincoln Elementary School Social Worker

Mrs. Patricia Moreau, Northern Lincoln Elementary School SecretaryMrs. Patricia Moreau, Northern Lincoln Elementary School SecretaryMrs. Patricia Moreau, Northern Lincoln Elementary School Secretary Mrs. Patricia Moreau is the Northern Lincoln Ele-mentary School secretary and has been for the last 12 years. Actually only one of them has been as a Northern Secretary (this year) and 11 as Northern Early Learning Center secretary. Mrs. Moreau thought that it was going to be a harder transition when two schools became one but she says it is not as busy and overwhelming as she first thought that it would be. Pat loves working with the children and what she refers to as an incredible staff. The part of the job that she likes the best is the day to day interaction with the chil-

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Volume 2 Issue 1

Mrs. Marla Barrett, third grade teacher at Lonsdale Elementary School, is an out-standing teacher who is known for her natu-ral approach to building strong relationships and shaping all students’ behavior in a re-spectful, proactive, and preventative manner. Mrs. Barrett’s highly skilled approaches with students and their families is well known and highly respected. She superbly builds trust with her students and their parents with re-gards to their learning, completion of home-work, and the shaping of student behavior.

The excellent assertive discipline program she uses in her classroom maximizes learning oppor-tunities for her students. She naturally reaches out to colleagues, serving on Lonsdale committees including PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports), and SIT (School Improvement Team). She has also been the co-leader of the Lonsdale Student Council. Students in other grades benefit from Mrs. Barrett’s natural exper-tise with positive behavior interventions because she is a visible, committed and caring teacher who obligates herself to Lonsdale Elementary

Mrs. Betty Valatka, Pre-School Teacher Assis-tant in Mrs. Leslie Catallozzi’s class, is a valued and dedicated support in the Lonsdale School Community. Mrs. Valatka exudes enthusiasm and commitment in her position. She is known and regarded as a highly qualified teacher as-sistant with regards to assisting students with their learning, behavior and citizenship. Mrs. Catallozzi reports that Mrs. Valatka has an

insatiable willingness to learn. She has developed a wonderful rapport with the pre-school children, and exhibits a sense of humor that is essential to adults working with young children. The initiative Mrs. Valatka takes is notable, as she attends to the needs of the classroom instinctively and enthusias-tically. Lonsdale Elementary School is fortunate to have Mrs. Valatka as part of our faculty and staff.

Mrs. Betty Valatka, Preschool Teacher Assistant, Lonsdale Elementary School Mrs. Betty Valatka, Preschool Teacher Assistant, Lonsdale Elementary School Mrs. Betty Valatka, Preschool Teacher Assistant, Lonsdale Elementary School

Mrs. Marla Barrett, Lonsdale Elementary School, Grade 3 Mrs. Marla Barrett, Lonsdale Elementary School, Grade 3 Mrs. Marla Barrett, Lonsdale Elementary School, Grade 3

School in every way. Many laud Mrs. Barrett as the spirit of Lonsdale School.

Mrs. Lisa Doherty and the Lincoln Middle School Library Media Center kicked off the school year with Mrs. Doherty, the library media specialist, introducing all the students to the fantastic re-sources that are available in the library and online!

Children come to the library media center to re-ceive guidance and instruction in the areas of literacy and information literacy. Mrs. Doherty plans, executes and evaluates lessons and pro-jects with teachers, providing opportunities for children to learn subject area content and re-search skills. Last year over 700 classes took place in the library!

The children also visit the library during the school day with a pass. They work on projects and choose books, individually and in small groups, often with the assistance of Mrs. Doherty. Last year there were over 9000 visits to the library media center by students on passes.

To start the new school year, all the English

Usernames and passwords are available in the library brochure or by contacting Mrs. Doherty at dohertyl@lincolnps.org.

Students, teachers and parents are encour-aged to take advantage of the many re-sources that are available from the Lincoln Middle School Library Media Center at home and at school!

Mrs. Lisa Doherty, Lincoln Middle School Librarian Mrs. Lisa Doherty, Lincoln Middle School Librarian Mrs. Lisa Doherty, Lincoln Middle School Librarian classes visited the library for orientation. The pres-entations included a PowerPoint, an introduction to the library website - lmslibrary.weebly.com, and the distribution of a brochure outlining the features of the media center and how students may use it dur-ing school as well as with Mrs. Doherty after school on Tuesdays.

Mrs. Doherty has an online library website which has a Reference Desk page where her students will find a variety of databases they can access through links. World Book Web, an online ency-clopedia, and EBSCO Databases, where stu-dents can search magazines, newspapers and more, are made available to all residents through the State of Rhode Island for free! ABC-CLIO American History, an online history ency-clopedia, Culture Grams, which provides infor-mation on all of the countries of the world, The Biography Resource Center, which contains biographical articles, and GALE’S Virtual Li-brary, which allows access to some of the refer-ence materials found in the school library, are financed by the Lincoln Middle School Library.

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Volume 2 Issue 1

Cathy Czajkowski has been a valuable employee of the Lincoln school system for 23 years. Al-though she has spent most of her career at the high school where for over 18 years she worked in the main office, the guidance office and the Center, she is now our dedicated and profes-sional secretary in the middle school Guidance Office. Mrs. Czajkowski started at Lincoln Middle School in 2006, when the new school opened and spent this past summer being the sole per-son responsible for registering every new student for every school in the district. When interviewed by 8th grade student, Erin Gannon, Cathy said her favorite part of the job is “The students. Every day a student makes me smile or laugh.”

Mrs. Czajkowski started working for the Lincoln School District when her children were small as it allowed her convenient mother’s hours. She grew to love working with the children, and has fond memories of being the LHS senior class advisor for the class of 1993, her son’s class. “I loved going to the proms.” Now, she says, she enjoys seeing former students returning to Lincoln and registering their own children in the schools, a new generation. Cathy says that one challenge of her job is keeping up with the computer system, but she loves a challenge. The students have helped her to use a computer and Cathy thinks that the middle school students are very percep-tive, smart and kind. “They keep me young. I am very interested in the things the kids like.”

“Members of the guidance suite feel Mrs. Cza-jkowski is invaluable to the smooth function of the guidance office.” Guidance counselors, Mrs. Gray and Mrs. Reynolds say, “She is always there to listen and help all who enter the door.”

Since coming to Lincoln High School in 2003, Mr. Graham Souness has distinguished himself an outstanding educator. Each year, at the National Honor Society Banquet many students list Mr. Souness as their most memorable teacher. No doubt Mr. Souness’ science classes are challenging, as he seeks to bring out the best in his students every day. Mr. Souness teaches many different courses in the science department at LHS. This year he is teaching Honors Foundations of Physics, Hu-man Physiology, Advanced Placement Biology and Life Skills Science. Mr. Souness has car-ried on the long standing tradition of excellence in teaching in AP Biology. His students score extremely well on this rigorous and prestigious

test.

An early leader in LHS’s move to the Physics First sequence of courses, Mr. Souness believes that the order of courses now (Foundations of Physics, Chemistry and Biology) helps students to see the connections among the various areas of the sci-ences. Teaching all types of students successfully is the hallmark of a truly exceptional educator and Mr. Souness certainly accomplishes that task. Working with students with significant challenges in the Life Skills class provided Mr. Souness with, in his words, a “great sense of accomplishment.” Mr. Souness is also enjoying teaching a new course for him, Human Physiology. For the past two years he also taught Chemistry, so he has really made his way around the science department.

Known as a rigorous task master, Mr. Souness be-

Ms. Cathy Czajkowski, Lincoln Middle School Guidance SecretaryMs. Cathy Czajkowski, Lincoln Middle School Guidance SecretaryMs. Cathy Czajkowski, Lincoln Middle School Guidance Secretary

Mrs. Cheryl DelFarno, Lincoln High School Teacher Assistant Mrs. Cheryl DelFarno, Lincoln High School Teacher Assistant Mrs. Cheryl DelFarno, Lincoln High School Teacher Assistant

Mrs. Cheryl DelFarno has been a classroom aide in Mrs. Patricia Kilsey’s classroom for 7 years. Working with students in LHS’s Transi-tion Program, Mrs. DelFarno helps students prepare for independent living by assisting them as they work and learn in the school and in the community. Mrs. DelFarno works very hard to ensure that students have meaningful work experiences each day. According to Mrs. Kil-sey, “Mrs. DelFarno’s efficient, caring, dedi-cated and professional manner is exhibited in all she does for the students and our program.”

Part of her job entails assisting students in pre-paring items for sale each day at the First Class

Café. Students in the program sell healthy snacks and refreshments to students and staff members. Mrs. DelFarno assists students with each phase of preparation: making a list, grocery shopping, food prep, selling and counting the money.

Each year, Mrs. DelFarno assists Mrs. Kilsey in preparation for the Northern Rhode Island Regional Transition Night. Mrs. DelFarno helps to schedule the event which features resources for special needs students after leaving high school. She is also very active in preparing for the annual Thanksgiving Din-ner. This tradition is attended by many members of the school community as well as the community at large.

Mr. Graham Souness, Lincoln High School Science TeacherMr. Graham Souness, Lincoln High School Science TeacherMr. Graham Souness, Lincoln High School Science Teacher

Mrs. DelFarno quietly works everyday to give students a rich and meaningful education.

lieves that it’s most important to be fair with his students. He is always adjusting the presenta-tion of his lessons to be more successful and mean-ingful to students. Lincoln High School is certainly lucky to have an educator of his quality on the faculty!

This fall has been very busy at LHS! Students in Grade 11 and each

subsequent grade thereaf-ter must score

at least a “2” or “partially proficient” in order to graduate from Lin-coln High School.

Much has been done to prepare students for the NECAP assessments. In June, math teachers distributed summer NECAP packets for students to complete for the opening of school. All departments iden-tified various types of writing to review prior to the tests. An assembly was held on September 29, 2010 to remind stu-dents of the importance of the testing and to discuss test taking strategies. Mr. McNamara reiterated the importance of the testing and preparations done by the school to ensure they would be ready for the test. Mr. Jay Schofield, English Department Chair and Mrs. Melissa Smith, Mathemat-ics Department Chair addressed the students regarding the various de-partmental incentives for good per-formance on the test. Teachers from the math department volun-teered their time on the morning of Saturday, October 9th to help stu-dents review for the tests. Over 65 students attended this review ses-sion. The LHS PACT donated an iPod to be raffled off during the pep rally. In order to qualify for the raffle, teachers identified students that were trying very hard during the testing.

On October 1st, Cumberland High School Principal Mrs. Dorothy Gould came to present the Cross River Cup to Mr. McNamara. The Cross River Cup is a

competition between LHS and Cumberland High School as to which school has the largest increase in its NECAP testing in the previous year. For the Fall of 2009 test-ing, LHS bested its “cross river” rival.

Mrs. Gould and Mr. McNamara appeared on the school’s broadcast system and con-gratulated the seniors for their excellent per-formance last year and encour-aged the juniors to do their best this year. The junior class is highly motivated to “keep the cup” at LHS!

On October 4, 2010, Lincoln High School opened its Confucius Classroom in grand style. The classroom at LHS is the counter-part to the one at Northern Elementary which will service all the town’s elementary school students. School Committee Chair-woman Mrs. Elizabeth Robson and Superin-

tendent of Schools Mrs. Georgia Fortunato and Principal Mr. Kevin McNamara unveiled the plaque dedicating the room with the help of the President of Bryant University the Honorable Ronald Machtley and Bryant Uni-versity’s Director of the Confucius Institute Dr. Hong Yang. The Confu-cius Classroom will host a variety of programming designed to ex-pose students to the history, cul-ture and language of China and the

Far East. In advance of the opening of the classroom, Lincoln High School be-gan offering Mandarin Chinese I taught by Ms. Re-becca Regan and Asian Art taught by Mrs. Susan Kolenda as

electives for the 2010-2011 school year.

As part of the celebration for the opening of the classroom, students in the band, International Business Academy, Mandarin Chinese I and Asian Art classes viewed a performance by musicians from the Inner Mongolian Folk Dance Institute. The students were an exceptional audience and represented LHS well as they watched attentively during the pro-

gram. By partnering with institutions such as Bryant University, LHS contin-ues to offer high quality programs to its students.

Page 9

Lincoln Public Schools

A Busy Fall at Lincoln High SchoolA Busy Fall at Lincoln High SchoolA Busy Fall at Lincoln High School

WWW. LINCOLNPS.ORG

Rhode Island has been awarded a Race To The Top (RTTT) 75 million dollar fed-eral grant designed to spur reforms in state and local school district K-12 edu-cation. The 4.35 billion dollar United States Department of Education Program is funded by the Education Recovery Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Lincoln Public Schools and the Lincoln Teachers Association have partnered with the Rhode Island Department of Education to improve teaching and learn-ing in five main areas:

Support System One: Standards & Curriculum

Support System Two: Instructional

Improvement

Support System Three: Educator Effective-ness

Support System Four: Human Capital De-velopment

Support System Five: School Transforma-tion

The Rhode Island De-partment of Education (RIDE) has prepared a Scope of Work that each district must submit for approval. Lincoln’s plan is currently being devel-oped by a District Lead-ership Team consisting

of members of the School Committee, Super-intendent, Central Office Administrators, Principals, Union Leaders, and Teachers. The Scope of Work encompasses four years of school improvement that requires a funda-mental shift from steady continuous improve-ment to transformative action that yields substantial improvements in student achieve-ment. RIDE is not requiring that Lincoln ad-dress Support System Five: School Transfor-mation.

Superintendent Georgia Fortunato will be holding a public forum to inform parents and the Lincoln Community about this partnership agreement between RIDE and Lincoln Public Schools. Please continue to check the district web site for RTTT updates.

Lincoln’s Piece of Race to the Top FundingLincoln’s Piece of Race to the Top FundingLincoln’s Piece of Race to the Top Funding

Lincoln’s Initiatives to Support Students with Special NeedsLincoln’s Initiatives to Support Students with Special NeedsLincoln’s Initiatives to Support Students with Special Needs

The Lincoln Public Schools has adopted many initiatives to support our students with special needs and those students that need early intervening services. These initiatives include the greenhouse at the high school complex and the planetarium at the middle school com-plex.

Another formidable initiative we have undertaken is to enhance our repertoire of assistive technology for students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. Assis-tive technology can address communica-tion, organization/behavior, reading, writ-ing, math, and physical/sensory areas. Under IDEA 2004 and our current Rhode Island State Regulations for Special Edu-cation, “assistive technology is not neces-sarily to make a task easier; it is to make it possible.” With this in mind, the IDEA ARRA committee examined the needs of our district and developed a list of priori-ties that we submitted for review on the ARRA grant. Our plan was approved and we have been working to put these excit-ing initiatives in place to support our stu-dents.

Part of our Assistive Technology initiative was the formulation of our own Assistive

Technology Committee. This committee consists of occupational therapists, special education teachers, regular education teachers, speech/language therapists, physical therapists, and staff from our technology department. The goals of the Lincoln Assistive Technology Committee include:

Creating an inventory of all assistive technology equipment and software throughout the district.

Providing support for teachers in the area of assistive technology by providing consultation services through the district assistive technology referral.

Providing on-going professional development for teachers using assistive technology programs and equipment.

Providing teachers with an Assistive Technology Handbook that provides a list of district programs that would be essential for student growth based on academic and behavioral needs.

Making informed purchases with a K-12 per-spective to get the biggest bang for the buck.

We will begin providing professional study groups for teachers and teacher assistants beginning next month. Our study groups will focus on Clicker 5, Boardmaker Plus, and Accessible Books.

Clicker 5 is a multi-media software program that provides picture supported text and audi-tory feedback to support students in develop-ment of early literacy skills. Teachers and support staff can make customized reading and writing activities to target a student’s individualized goals and objectives.

Boardmaker Plus is a computer program that allows the user to create multi-media, inter-active educational and communication activi-ties. Boardmaker Plus has all the print capa-bilities of Boardmaker with the interactivity of voice, animation and video.

Accessible Book Collection, Book Share, and Start to Finish Professional Development provide accessible books for students with a reading disability or a physical disability. Accessible Book Collection is an online sub-scription service that is currently available for Lincoln students with a print disability.

As you can see Lincoln is on the move and we are actively moving our assistive technol-ogy initiatives ahead to support all students.

Distributed by the Office of the Superintendent

LINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

1624 LONSDALE AVENUE, LINCOLN RI 02865 P:401.721.3313 F: 401.728.5482