LOC Board finds minimal interest in summer program for 2012

After careful review of the recent Lucas On Campus summer program survey, the Board has determined that the numbers are too small to support a summer program at Lucas for 2012. However, because of the interest expressed by many of our families, we will continue to review the possibility of offering a summer program in 2013. The LOC Board thanks all who participated and offered feedback in this process

Flip out with UI women's gymnastics Friday, Feb. 24

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s gymnastics team invites Lucas Elementary to Elementary School Night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this Friday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. when the GymHawks host the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The first 200 fans will receive a free Iowa women’s gymnastics “Stick It!” t-shirt. Admission is $3 for adults. Youth 18 & under are FREE.

Come early to test your leaping abilities in the Kids’ Zone and get your face painted. There will also be a drawing to win an Apple iPod Touch or a pair tickets to the March 24 Big Ten Gymnastics Championships. The Kids’ Zone is also full of life-sized board games and pictures of Herky to color. After the meet, kids will have the chance to come down to the floor for the Cha-Cha Slide and show off their best dance moves with the GymHawks! After the meet, fans will be able to get the autographs of their favorite GymHawks!

What's for dinner Thursday? Area restaurants serve up profits for schools

The Iowa City Community School District Foundation is partnering with 38 area restaurants for "Food for Thought: Dine Out for Education" Thursday, Feb. 23. Participating restaurants will donate 10% of their sales (excluding alcohol) to the Foundation. Click for a list of participating restaurants.

Treat  yourself to a night off in the kitchen. Ditch the brown bag and make it lunch AND dinner. It's for the kids!

Registration for Fall 2012 Kindergarten is Feb. 28

All elementary schools in Iowa City will hold Kindergarten Registration on Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you have any five-year-old friends or neighbors who will be starting Kindergarten at Lucas in August, please encourage them to stop by the school with a birth certificate or passport to show that the child will be 5 years old by Sept. 15, 2012. Children do not need to accompany the parents; their Kindergarten introduction will come later this spring when Lucas holds its Kindergarten Roundup on April 12.

PTO meeting Feb. 13 includes spending decisions for Make a Mighty Difference funds

While the snow flies, it's difficult to conjure a mental picture of the school-year end. But the PTO is actually reaching the home stretch and would like to encourage all interested Lucas parents to be involved in the remaining events of this year as well as planning for next.

Monday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m., the discussion will focus on distribution of funds from the Make a Mighty Difference campaign. As part of this discussion, we'll hear an estimate of costs for our outdoor learning space. We believe this is will be a multi-year project and will determine how to break it down into stages that fall within our fundraising budget. Classroom technology is also a priority for disbursal of the campaign funds.

Looking ahead, the March 19 meeting will focus on Fun Night planning and nomination of officers for the 2012-13 Board. On April 16, we'll finalize Fun Night plans and elect new officers. We'll end the year on May 16 with a discussion of fundraising and sustainability.

Child care is available in a Kindergarten classroom for all meetings. All parents are welcome to attend any PTO meeting, whether a newcomer, returning member, or regular participant.

Lucas students will Jump Rope for Heart Feb. 21-24

Lucas students will be skipping through the week of Feb. 21. Not skipping in the halls. Not skipping school. Skipping rope to raise funds and awareness through the American Heart Association Jump Rope for Heart program.

Students in 2nd - 6th grades will participate during their regularly-scheduled P.E. classes Feb. 21-24. Information will be sent home with the students, and Mr. Lowry requests all donation envelopes be returned to him by Wednesday, Feb. 29. 

To generate excitement for the event and to reinforce the importance of heart health, the Iowa Skippers Jump Rope Team will visit Lucas for an assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 15. This team of 4th - 12th graders is based in Cedar Rapids and was organized 20 years ago by two Cedar Rapids physical education teachers. 

Please contact Mr. Lowry with any questions or to volunteer during the week of Feb. 21. You can download the parent information letter here. For more information from the American Heart Association about this event, visit www.heart.org/jump

Photos: Lucas Day at Iowa Women's Basketball

Thanks to all who came out for Lucas Day at the Iowa Women's Basketball game last month. We had a great turn out, the Hawks upset Purdue with a second-half comeback, and a few of the kids even managed to pay more attention to the game than the snacks! DEED has made this a great annual tradition, so if you couldn't make it this year, be sure to watch for information next season.

Lucas artists' work exhibited at MidwestOne Bank

The following young artists answered the call to submit their artwork for the annual MidwestOne Bank Kids Art Exhibit. Their work, along with that of their peers throughout the Iowa City Community School District, is now on exhibit at the bank's downtown office, 102 S. Clinton Street.  

The bank will host a reception for the artists, their families and friends, on Friday, March 2, 2012, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.  This is a fun family-friendly event with snacks. Thanks to art teachers Ms. Leslie, Ms. McNiel, and Ms. Thurmond for their encouragement and support for our Lucas artists.

Kindergarten

Noah Brentlinger

Althea Downing                              

Brinyah Dunn                   

Katy Harmsen                   

Ethan Hill                           

Samantha Hopson          

Jacob Kelley                      

Edward Kenyon                               

Anthony Malkusak         

Jeremy Myers                  

Natalie Wildes                 

First Grade

Lamarius Gordan             

Valencia Rukakiza          

Ben Sarabia                                                       

Second Grade

Vanessa Bautista            

Sara Cassady                     

Ethan Goodrich                

Emma Jo Holmes-Wanlass          

India Johnson                   

Amira LaVelle                  

Ricardo Marcelino          

Sophia Lusala                   

Faith Reynolds                 

Colin Shults                       

Jaidan Spencer                

Third Grade

Genesis Gillespie           

Gabe Riggs-Baird            

Cileigh Smiddy                

Fourth Grade

Alexandra Arias                               

Maggie Arnold                 

Muriel Brown                   

Valerie Gonzalez            

Reese Hill                          

Megan Jones                    

Maisie Snyder                  

Julia Veit                            

Fifth Grade

Jack Bacon                         

Ana Cassady                      

Phoebe Chapnick-Sorokin          

Olivia Lusala                     

Anna Spellman                

Emma Welter                   

Anna Whittaker                               

Sixth Grade

Bridget Brown                  

Binnie McKillip                

Kawther Rouabhi            

Ashleigh Seydel                              

Emily VanDell                  

Grace Whittaker              

Save the date(s): Spring 2012 general music programs scheduled

Mark your calendars for your child's class music performance this spring.

Lucas music teacher Mr. Kelley says the performances are held during the school day to insure that all the children can participate. We hope parents will be able to take an hour off (perhaps a late lunch?) to join us as the students demonstrate what they have learned in music classes this school year.

Thursday, April 12
1 p.m. 1st grade
1:30 p.m. 2nd grade

Thursday, May 10
1 p.m. 3rd grade
1:30 p.m. 4th grade

Thursday, May 17
1 p.m. Kindergarten
1:30 p.m. 5th grade

The 6th grade performance will be part of graduation ceremonies on the last day of school.