Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current, December 30, 2015, Image 29

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Cottage Grove sentinel., December 30, 2015, Image 29

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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)

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Newspaper Page TextSchool Zone December 30, 2015 A monthly newsletter covering Cottage Grove-area schools LMS Hot Chocolate Party courtesy photo Recognizing the kids who have outstanding attendance Getting kids to school every day can be a chore especially if they don't want to go no matter the reason. Lincoln Middle School has been working hard to change that and provide a little incentive to show that school can be fun and enjoyable. Lin- coln Middle School Prin- cipal Jeremy Smith said, “We’ve been working on building relationships with kids and parents in an ef- fort to get kids motivated to come to school more of- ten. So far the results are promising: during the fi rst three months of the school we’ve had attendance rates better than we’ve seen in over 5 years!” We promote to kids the many advantag- es of regular attendance, show kids our attendance rate with a “Thermometer” in the hallway, and reach out to those students who are struggling to help sup- port them. Finally, we are also rewarding and recog- nizing the kids who have outstanding attendance. Yesterday we had a hot chocolate party in the caf- eteria for the kids who had 98% or better attendance so far this year. 201 kids - that’s almost 40% of our students! Our counselors, Tom Partridge and Connie Wonham, have been the leaders of this effort, and they deserve a bulk of the credit. Dorena Elementary School happenings Number Talks and Writing Collaboration Dorena’s Holiday Lunch Dorena students shared lunch with fam- ily members at November 19th’s Holi- day Lunch. Over 30 parents attended the affair. Kindergarten, fi rst, second and third grade students participated in a Thanksgiving parade where they donned special vests that displayed the many people and things that they are thankful for. The parade led to a Thankful Alpha- bet presentation where they shared their gratitude in alphabetical order. Teachers continue to work with South Lane School District’s instructional coaches and within PLC’s to better our instructional practices. Dorena teachers meet monthly as teams to learn, practice and discuss writing and math. That’s two days per month they dedicate to professional development in addition to what we already do as a school. Dorena teachers are dedicated to the cause of improving instructional practice. snow. The concert was a huge success. The audience was entertained with a wide range of musical genres, including classic songs from children's literature and contemporary songs. Students sang and played musical instruments. One grandparent commented, “I haven’t seen a concert as good as this one since my daughter attended Dorena as a young girl.” Preschool Holiday Bazaar on 12/5 Thank you to all Dorena families who joined us on Saturday, December 5 at the Cottage Grove High School for the Holiday Bazaar. The event was well attended, and we hope to get even more support next year. We had many dedi- cated parents and employees help with this event. We owe a special thanks to Stacey Atwell-Kiester, the Dorena School President and Aleece Faught for their parent leadership on this fundraiser. It was a great deal of hard work, and we schedule that will allow students to stay after school twice per week in order to get help with their homework. We are currently working on getting transporta- tion. If you are interested, please tell your child’s teacher if this is an opportu- nity of which you would take advantage. Safety Measures Homework Club Fall Music Concert To avoid cancelling a winter concert, Dorena School planned a Fall Concert this year. It was still a near miss when it came to weather. I think it was the only time students were hoping for it not to are blessed to have staff and parents who are dedicated to Dorena students. You may have noticed our new Dorena sign in one of the Holiday Bazaar pictures. Don and Regie Valenti made that for Dorena students. Thank you, Don and Regie! Teachers are interested in starting a homework club this year. Last year, teachers coordinated after school STEM classes for students to experience hands- on learning in science and math. Unlike last year, teachers are hoping to create a Please, ask students what they are learning about lock down and lock out drills. Teachers will be delivering safety lessons before Winter break. Lockout drills are in place for situations when a school’s safety may be compromised due to an outside concern of some kind, like a mountain lion sighting or a police incident not related to the school. In these instances, the school is locked and students are asked to conduct business as usual in the classroom but are asked to stay on alert and stay in the class- room. A lockdown drill is practiced in case there is an intruder who is in the Continued on page 2 STUDENT ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION $ 10 E-EDITION for your student www.cgsentinel.com 116 N. 6th St. Cottage Grove (541) 942-3325 Give us a call today to take advantage of this GREAT OFFER!