School 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
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