Principal Lavallee's Edu Blog Learning in and Through the Arts

I’d like to share a bit of news with you.  I have been appointed to serve as the new principal of the Waterbury Arts Magnet School beginning this school year.  WAMS is a performing arts interdistrict magnet school serving eight-hundred students from grades six through twelve who come from Waterbury and the surrounding region. 

 It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the Principal of Lincoln Middle School and to a be a member of the Meriden Community for these past five years.  The suport that I have received from parents and the community during my time at Lincoln has been truly appreciated.

I am certain that you share my pride in all that our students have accomplished in academics, in the arts and in performing service in the community!  Thier accomplishments were made possible with the help and the combined efforts of the school, our Lincoln Families and the surrounding community’s support.

Thank you again for all that you have done for our Lincoln youngsters!

Leo

This week the Lincoln PTSL & Show Choir are sponsoring an Easter Flower Sale to benifit student activities at the school.  Please come an support our students by purchasing your Easter Flowers at Lincoln this week.  The sale will run from Thursday through Sunday (April 5-8) out in front of the school.

This past week, School Resource Officer Glen Felton and Teacher Assistant Mary Chenard organized a school-wide three-on-three basketball tournament.  There were 29 teams participating made up of students, staff school administration and even central office administration.   See the video here.

Congratulations to the seventh grade teachers and students for hosting the very succesful “Making a Difference” event this past Friday!  This highly engaging interdisciploinary and interactive project  truly made the learning enriching and fun for all of our students!   There is a nice article in the Meriden Patch about the project and event.

Lincoln Middle School Students and Washington Middle School students are engaged in a challenge to see who can read the most during the second and third quarter of this school year.  To motivate the students and to have some fun, in February the sixth, seventh and eighth grade levels at Lincoln challenged each other.  The winning grade level was awarded by having their administrator sing a rap song for them at lunch. That was Mrs. Vumback and the seventh grade.  It was quite the event as Mrs. Vumback was a good sport as she sung the Lincoln AR Rap with the seventh grade teachers as her back up.

Here is the “Lincoln AR Rap” for your listening pleasure…  Enjoy!

Greetings

I am pleased to begin communicating to you weekly from this Blog as it seems that more and more parents are using it as a way to learn about what is happening at the school.

This past Thursday, report cards were sent home with the students.  Please ask your youngster for his/her report card.  If it has been lost, you can obtain an additional copy by contacting the guidance office at the school.

Though our “alert now” system of Friday we sent out the following message:

Dear Parents,

 This is a reminder that the school building is open for students and the public beginning at 7:30 every morning school is in session.  Parent and care givers should not have their student arrive to school earlier than 7:30am as there is no security or supervision for students prior to this time.

 We truly appreciate your helping us with this matter by ensuring that your youngster arrives to school between 7:30and 7:45 am each morning.

I had the privilege of attending the Tri M Music Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Friday evening.  Our new inductees and our returning members were in attendance along with their parents and families.  Thank you to Mr. Cote, Mr. Renner, Mrs. Boates and Mrs. Shaker for giving up your Friday evening for our music students.  It was a wonderful evening and I received several positive comments from parents. 

 Thank you also to Mrs. Guyette and Mrs. Medina as they were returning from a science field trip as part of the “Captivating Kids” program around 8:15 on Friday night. 

 We are very fortunate to have so many dedicated staff willing to give of their time to help our Lincoln youngsters.  Bravo!!!

The newly formed LMS School Governance Council has been meeting since November.  The initial meetings have been to organize and set goals for the long term operation of the council.  At the most recent meeting officers for the executive committee were selected; Chair – Joseph Galotti, Vice Chair (Facilitator) – Tom Moore, Recording Secretary – Robin Wolk, Corresponding Secretary – Evelyn Robles-Rivas, Time keeper – Trisha Bleicich. 

The School Governance Council is comprised of seven parents of current LMS students, five faculty members currently employed at LMS, two community members and the principal.   The purpose of the council is to act in an advisory capacity to the school’s administration.  It provides an opportunity for stakeholders in the school to craft a productive collaboration to support student success. The intent of the council is to enable parents, school staff and community leaders to work together to improve student achievement at our school.

On March 30th over 300 teachers, parents, students and community supporters gathered on the steps of the Board of Education and City Hall Buildings to support the educating of Meriden’s students.  There were several inspiring speakers but none touched the hearts of the Lincoln family the way that Emily Lowit did as she spoke to the crowd.

Great job Emily!  You have made us all very proud to be involved in your education and the educating of Meriden’s Children!

Beginning in March Lincoln students, along with students from across Connecticut, will be taking their annual state assessments (CMT’s).  Our students, faculty and staff have been working consistently all year to give each Lincoln student the opportunity to perform at their maximum on these important benchmarks. 

As a parent, you can help prepare your child for each ”CMT day” the by taking any or all of the following simple measures:

1. Insist that your child get at least (8) eight hours or sleep every night

2. Provide a healthy nutritious breakfast for your child every morning

3. Help your child arrive at school no later than 7:50am every day.  Students who arrive late to school or are absent on testing days generally perform at a lower level than students who arrive to school on time.

I have teenage children so I can appreciate how difficult it can be at times to get your child to do what we may think of as common sense… i.e. get enough rest, wake up on time and eat sensible meals…

Your assistance with providing these important areas of care can make a world of difference in your child’s ability to perform at his or her maximum at school.

I’d like to thank you for all that you do to help us prepare your child for the future that awaits them.

Thank you parents and community members for everything you do to support our school and your children’s success!  Here are a few holiday updates happening at the school.

Tonight there is our annual Choral Concert featuring over three hundred students from all three grades.  Students should arrive by 6:30pm.  The concert begins at 7:00pm and will be about an hour in duration.  We ask that parents stay for the entire concert.  Students will be sitting in the audience after their performance and will be listening to their classmates sing.

Next week, on December 16th we have our Holiday Band Concert at the school.  In addition to the band performance, this year’s concert will feature students from our music through movement class performing their original cheorography.  This concert begins at 7pm.

Beginning Monday, December 13^th there will be no main office phone use after school by students unless approved in advance by an administrator.   Of course, when there is an emergency, students will always be allowed to use the phone. 

Thank you again for all that you do for our school.  Have a wonderful holiday season!