January flew by and we had so many fun, learning opportunities! This week we will enter into the school month of February. We do have a few events during this month and lots of fun learning opportunities as well.

Students are currently working on self-portraits for our Art to Remember fundraiser that is being ran by our PTO. Once all students have completed this, the Art to Remember company will send us order forms. More information will be coming when available but order forms will be due by March 15th.

Our winter carnival is quickly approaching as well. It will be on 2/9 at Lynwood from 6-8pm. Ticket purchasing information will be shared soon as we will offer both in advance and day of the event. We are still taking snack cake, soda, and grade level basket donations. Donations will result in your student being entered into a raffle for a special basket. Reminder, students may only attend this event if they are with an adult. They may not be dropped off at the door or walk to the carnival. Proceeds of this event will go towards teacher classroom needs.

We also have vision screenings for 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade on 2/13. 5th grade will be going on their STARBASE field trips in February. Our Valentine's Day parties will be on 2/14 at 3pm, more information on these will be coming from your child's teacher. There will also be no school on 2/19 for Presidents' Day.

Have a great week!

Jay Lovell

Principal

2/9- Winter Carnival 6-8pm

2/13- Vision Screening for 1st, 3rd, and 5th Grade, PTO Meeting at 5pm in Media Center

2/14- Valentine's Day Parties 3-3:45pm

2/19- No School

The State of Indiana requires student's vision to be tested in 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades. In February, the Marion County Public Health Department will complete the required vision screenings. If your student does not pass the screening, you will receive a letter referring them for additional examination. Please reach out to your School Nurse if you have any questions.

Attention parents of Kindergarten students! The MSD of Decatur Township High Ability Committee is getting ready to begin this year’s identification process to determine which students will qualify for the High Ability Program for the 2024-25 school year. Beginning February 20th, all kindergarten students will be given a test called the CogAT Complete online, which is a measure of potential focusing on general thinking skills and problem-solving skills. Students have also taken an NWEA test this year, and their most recent scores will be used for achievement scores in reading and math. All of these scores will be used by the High Ability Committee to determine which kindergarten students will be ‘flagged’ as having exceptional abilities for provisional admission to the High Ability Program. If you have questions or concerns about the process, you are welcome to contact the school or the district office.

The MSD of Decatur Township High Ability Committee is getting ready to begin this year’s identification process to determine which students will qualify for the High Ability Program for the 2024-25 school year. Beginning the week of Feb. 20th, all students in grades 2 and 5 throughout the district will take the CogAT Complete online. The CogAT is a measure of potential focusing on general thinking skills and problem-solving skills. Students have taken their winter NWEA tests and those scores will be used for achievement scores in reading and math. Using the data from both assessments, the High Ability Committee will determine which students qualify for the program. If you have questions or concerns about the process, you are welcome to contact the school or the district office.

Attend a Pacers game and support the Decatur Township Educational Foundation!
Follow the link below to purchase tickets for a choice of four different games. A portion of ticket sales will be donated back to DTEF.
DTEF will be recognized during the Pacers vs. Timberwolves game on March 7th.
Ticket prices start at just $12!

www.pacers.com/timberwolves

Every student in the district is eligible for prizes for selling tickets. You, family, or friends can choose your child's school, and type the student's name so that they get credit when you purchase online. Paper fundraising packets were distributed to elementary students as well.

The Indiana Department of Education made a decision that a school corporation can only have a maximum of 3

asynchronous eLearning days for the 2023-2024 school year. Below is a summary of instructional types:

1. In-Person Instruction: instruction that is provided in real-time where the teacher and students are in the same

physical space.

2. Virtual Synchronous Instruction: instruction that is provided in real-time, but the teacher and students are in

different physical spaces. For example, the students may be at their home and the teacher could be at school or

their home and they are meeting over Webex.

3. Virtual Asynchronous Instruction: instruction that is provided at different times and the teacher and students

are in different physical spaces.

Asynchronous Overview: Nov 7th is our first eLearning day and it will be Asynchronous

Indiana Code: No more than three (3) days consisting of more than 50% virtual asynchronous instruction may be

considered instructional days that contribute to the 180 day school year.

*K-12 students will use Canvas to complete their eLearning work.

*Students work at their own pace on assignments.

*Teachers will have all learning activities posted to Canvas no later than 1 hour after typical school start time.

*Length of assignments posted will be roughly equivalent to 30 minutes per subject area.

*During the day, teachers will be available to respond to student questions submitted through email or Canvas

*Attendance is dependent on the completion of assigned work.

Synchronous Overview:

Indiana Code: Virtual Student Instructional Days must include at least 50% teacher-directed synchronous

instruction. If the school district has used its 3 Asynchronous days, all other days that students are not in the

building (inclement weather) are synchronous virtual days. This is when the teachers deliver content via Webex

to students in real-time.

*Each school will share their synchronous schedule.

*K-12 students will use Webex to meet with their teacher through a link provided by the teacher.

*Teachers will provide direct instruction.

*Lesson information like Webex meeting link and assignments will be available in Canvas.

*Students are to attend the Webex meeting, be on time and ready to interact and participate.

*Students are accountable for their work. Attendance is based on work completion/submission/meeting

attendance.

*Homework could still be assigned and the due date is at the discretion of the teacher.

Decatur Township will be using NWEA as our benchmark assessment this school year. The data from the assessment is used to guide instruction for each individual child. I am including links to informational videos that you may review.

K-2 Video

2-6 Video

Communities In Schools Site Coordinators are in all Decatur Township schools. At Lynwood, Ms. Bickel and Mrs. DeMyers have the pleasure of serving you, our families, and community. Some of the wraparound services she can assist with include:

Basic Needs

Behavioral Interventions

Family Engagement

Parenting Resources

Life Skills/Social Emotional Learning

Mental Health Referral

Physical Health

Feel free to contact directly at: 317-243-7559 x1130

E= Events: We cannot control things that happen

R= Response: We can control our response to the event

O=Outcome: Having a proper response will get the desired outcome.

This concept is powerful for all of us. Daily, many things happen that are out of our control. We can lash out or we can pause, think, and then respond. Pausing for reflection allows us to get the outcome that we need and want.

Culture Guide

Website: https://www.decaturproud.org/lynwood-elementary-school/index
Location: 4640 Santa Fe Drive, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-243-7559
Twitter: @lynwood_school