!Aventuras in Salón 6! Maestra Gonzalez' 1st graders

Students in Rm. 6 are learning about presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (since our school is named after him). They learned a fun fact that Lincoln would hide things under his hat. You can check out the Lincoln's displayed outside the classroom and see what students would hide under their hats (just flip the paper on the hats to find out).  To read more about Lincoln's hats click here: smithsonianmag.com

Students celebrated Valentine's Day by passing out friendship cards for their classmates and creating a gift for their family by placing a family portrait inside a decorated Mason Jar as a symbol of their love for them.

Students are currently learning about life cycles of butterflies, bees, plants, and next is frogs through nonfiction books.

A big thank you to Jose Saucedo's father, Jose who has volunteered in the classroom daily since school began!

¡Aventuras en el Salón! Adventures in the Classroom

UPDATE!!!!

What I've realized, after three years of blogging, is that it is difficult to get non-bloggers to write posts. I think it's because most people don't like to write, or more appropriately they HATE to write. Sadly, it leaves just little ol' me to write for this blog and, unfortunately, I don't always have a ton of time (who does) nor do I have all the information.

So, I hope I've found the answer to my dilemma.  I've decided to simply ask parents to tell me what's going on in their kid's classrooms - that includes YOU.  Wow-how simple is that?  I know,  it's a really novel idea and it only took me 3 years to figure it out.

Seriously though, I want to make this as easy as possible for all of us busy parents.  All it needs to be is basic information once a month (or every other month).  It can be about a field trip, a special project/unit, activity, art, or whatever is worthy of sharing with the rest of our Lincoln DLP community.  The point is, I think we'd all love to celebrate what's happening in and around our school and this just might be the way to do it (I'm crossing my fingers).  So, if you have something to share please jot it down; it can be bullet points, two to three sentences (or longer), or you can call me and I'll transcribe it.  Any way you want to share, I will formulate the content and post it.  You can reach me at dlpadvocates@gmail.com. 

I've already gotten two replies.  Yay!!! So here's the first of what I hope will be many posts on ¡Aventuras en el Salón!.

Maestra Rios

Maestra Rios 3rd class will be celebrating Día de San Valentín on Friday, February 13th.  This year, her class has opted not to do a traditional classroom party.  Instead, they are celebrating by making Oobleck...

UPDATE as of 2/9/15- Class project has been changed.  The Oobleck project will be done during Dr. Seuss' birthday in March.   Stay posted for more info....

According to the instructables.com, "Oobleck is a classic science experiment that's perfect for entertaining both kids and adults. If you haven't seen it in action it's very fascinating stuff and before too long you'll have your hands covered with it, happily making a mess that can be washed away with water.

Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid. That is, it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. You can grab it and then it will ooze out of your hands. Make enough Oobleck and you can even walk on it!

Oobleck gets its name from the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck where a gooey green substance, Oobleck, fell from the sky and wreaked havoc in the kingdom. " (http://www.instructables.com/id/Oobleck/)

It sounds like Maestra Rios' little scientists will be having a lot of fun! 

For those of us whom haven't had a chance to peruse through the hallways as of late, Maestra Rios' bulletin board is looking very festive. 

XOXO - Special thanks to Jodi Delgado for contributing to the content of this post. 

2015 SCESD Kinder Round Up

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

SCESD Kinder Round-up

8am-4pm

UPDATE:  If you don't make it to kinder round-up, you still have time.  Try not to panic!  Just register as soon as you can.

Unbelievably, it’s already that time of year - kindergarten registration for the upcoming school year.

We’ve put together step by step instructions for anyone who is confused by the registration process (as it can be very cumbersome).  Please know that this is written by parent advocates of the dual language program and not by the district or school; however, we have verified that our instructions are accurate.  If you require any additional information please contact the school and/or the district office.

IF YOU LIVE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF LINCOLN ELEMENTARY
If you live in the boundaries of Lincoln Elementary, Kinder round-up (registration for 2015-2016 kindergarten) will begin on February 4th.  If you haven't already done so, be sure to complete your paperwork as soon as possible, as space is limited in the dual language program.  Be sure to designate that you are registering your child(ren) for the DLP.


IF YOU DO NOT LIVE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF LINCOLN, BUT ARE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF SCESD
1.  Complete an Intradistrict Transfer Request:   Transfer requests must be done at the District Office, 801 S. Main Street, Salinas. 
2.  Please make sure to write on the paperwork that you are requesting the dual language program (DLP) at Lincoln. 
3.  Upon acceptance of your transfer the district office will notify you in writing (or via phone).  You then need to take your approved SCESD transfer paperwork to Lincoln and fill out the kinder registration paperwork. 
 4.  Again, be sure to designate that you are registering your child or children for the DLP.

IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN THE BOUNDARIES OF SCESD
1.  Complete an Interdistrict Transfer Request: Go to your current school district office and request a transfer out of your district (interdistrict transfer). 
2.  Be sure to specify that you are requesting a transfer because your current district DOES NOT offer a dual language program.   Once you've completed the request, be sure to ask for a copy for your records.  Additionally, make sure to ask for the phone number and email address of the person you can follow up with directly regarding your request.
3.  Check on the status of your transfer request frequently: Please note that most districts will not approve transfers on the spot, it could take several weeks/months.  It will be your responsibility to check on the status of your transfer request.  You should also note, that your district must approve your transfer if they do not offer a Spanish dual language program at any of their district elementary schools.    
4.  Once your request is approved, your current district will mail or fax the approval to SCESD.  You should continue to follow-up with SCESD to make sure they receive the approved transfer. 
5.  Once SCESD receives the transfer and SCESD approves your request for Lincoln, you should receive notice from SCESD (either in writing or via phone).  You will then need to take your approved SCESD transfer paperwork to Lincoln and fill out the kinder registration paperwork.  BE SURE TO DESIGNATE THAT YOU ARE REQUESTING DLP ON ALL YOUR PAPERWORK!!!!

Check out our brochure for more basic dual language facts 

If you have questions about which school boundaries you live in, please take a look at the following map:

Districtmap

Hopefully, this is useful information for anyone out there that is confused about the process.

Please note, that you can always ask the school or the district office directly if you require any additional information!

Best of luck!

100 days of DLP Happenings

Hola Lincoln DLP amigos-

Wow, our poor teachers have aged a lot over the last 100 days of school (ha, ha)!

 (L-R, Maestra Rios, Maestra Leyva, Maesta Perez, Maestra Covarrubias, y Maestra Santana)

We hope the year has been going great for everyone.  There's been a lot of cool things happening in the 100 days since school started.  There was a great turn-out to the dia de los muertos workshops hosted by some of our maestras in November.  Additionally, some of the classes went on a field trip to see the movie "The Book of Life" at Maya Cinemas.  If you haven't see the movie, it is worth a watch and is now available on DVD.  Check out Roger Ebert's movie review here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-book-of-life-2014.  Also, you can read a blog about the importance of cultural celebrations (such as Day of the Dead) written by award winning DLP teacher, Ashliegh Williams  http://lincolndlp.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-connection-of-language-cultural.html

There was equally a great turn-out to the las posadas workshops hosted by Maestra Leyva, Maestra Santana and Maestra Rios!  Attendees enjoyed homemade tamales prepared by Lilia Macias, Mariana Santos and Maria Ocampo (all parents of students in Maestra Leyva's 4th grade class).  Muchisimas garcias!

Additionally, Maestra Leyva's class successfully raised over $400 for a Lincoln family in need during the holidays!  Thank you to Maestra Leyva for letting the parents know about the family in need of support.  Maestra Leyva's 4th graders also recently attended a FREE field trip to the Monterey Museum of Art.  The museum also provided reimbursement for bus transportation.  The focus of the field trip was centered on California landscapes which is aligned with 4th grade curriculum.  Museum docents engaged the students in active discussion about the works they saw and used strategies to the develop the students' critical thinking skills.




Also, we'd like to give a big shout out to Ben and Jenny Cogswell for their incredible "Just Taste" lessons in Maestra Santana's class.  The students have been learning about beets, sushi, seaweed and lots of other unusual and yummy foods.  We hope to share some of their fun videos right here on our blog in the near future! 

If you would like to share what's happening in your DLP class, please let us know, as we would love to feature it here on our blog.

We're excited to see what everyone is doing at our great school.

Happy 100 days of school!

Maria Giannini