Courtyard ducks in the Gazette

A Gazette photographer visited Lucas last week to meet our resident quackers. She posted a photo gallery on the paper's website. Thanks to all who have helped feed the ducks. And a special thanks to custodian Mr. Scott for building a ramp up to the wading pool for the 22 (!) baby ducklings. The three mama ducks will have their wings full teaching the little guys to swim and, eventually, to fly away.

A picture is worth 1,000 words; Please share yours with PTO for fundraising campaign

If you have any pictures or video from school activities in the past year that you would like to share for use in next fall's "Make A Mighty Difference" fundraising campaign, please contact Ben Hill (parent of Reese, 4th grade, and Ethan, Kindergarten.) 

Whether it is PTO-supported activities (classroom technology, school of the wild, visiting artists, etc.) or anything else at all you want to share, it will help us to better tell the Lucas story in our community. Here is the video we made last year. 

If your media is small enough you can email it to Ben; if it's too large to email, contact him to arrange transfer via USB drive or CD. 

Ben is also looking for any willing volunteers to tape a short testimonial on what you love about Lucas Elementary and supporting PTO. 

This project will be ongoing through the summer so there is no rush to provide materials this week. However, it would be helpful for planning purposes to drop Ben an email to let him know that you have something to share. email: baidanhill@gmail.com 

Our first school-wide direct-ask fundraising campaign was a great success in 2011 so we're looking forward to great results again in 2012!

Press-Citizen features Lucas' Mr. Ball, Iowa City's longest serving teacher

Did you know that the friendly face greeting you in the circle drive (and cheerfully redirecting you to the parking lot!) many mornings belongs to Iowa City's longest serving teacher Terry Ball? Well, be sure to soak up that early-morning enthusiasm in the next two weeks because come next fall, Mr. Ball will be enjoying a well-deserved retirement. You can read all about Terry and his wife Mona (the district's second-longest-serving teacher) in today's Press Citizen.

Press-Citizen features 4th graders at School of the Wild

Your faithful blogger is catching up from being off the grid most of last week. In case you were similarly out of the loop, be sure to check out the Press-Citizen story about School of the Wild, featuring Lucas 4th graders.

Get creative with summer arts camps and workshops

Thanks to Ms. Leslie and Mrs. McNiel for this great list of summer arts experiences for elementary students.



Willowwind School
Willowwind School, 950 Dover St., Iowa City.
Willowwind sometimes has children’s art classes and has a summer art camp. Call the school for more detailed information. Registration forms available at http://www.willowwind.org/docs/file/WWSummer11FINAL2.pdf or at the school. Call: 338-6061.

Puppet Classes
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre, 319 N. Calhoun St., West Liberty
Eulenspiegel has several classes and camps during the year during which children build puppets of different styles and learn how to manipulate them. Also children will learn about staging, rehearse and present shows. Call: 319-627-2487 or visit http://www.puppetspuppets.com/workshops or e-mail owlglass@avalon.net for more information.

Iowa City Recreation Division
Robert A. Lee Recreation Center, Gilbert and Burlington streets, Iowa City.
The Iowa City Recreation Division has Saturday, winter break, and summer classes for students in grades K-6. For registration information, deadlines, prices and classes, go to www.icgov.org . Call: 356-5110.

Iowa Fiber & Arts Summer Camp
Summer camps for kids ages 7 and up. Each camp is one week long. Kids age 7-9 learn weaving, spinning, felting, knitting and dyeing. Kids age 10 and older focus on sewing, quilting, weaving, fiber arts and dyeing. Camps held on an 83-acre farm between West Branch and Tipton in Cedar County, operated by Diane Fleshin. Round trip van transportation provided from the Iowa City area. Call: 351-9010 or go to www.fiberarts.com for more information.

Market Street Theater School
Summer camps offer one-week and two-week comprehensive theatrical training in Iowa City for children age 4 to 12 and teenagers. Students will collaborate to create an original performance piece. Call: 337-4993 or visit www.2msts.org for a full description of all camps.

Prairie School of Art
After school, Saturday and summer art workshops for children age 4 to 12. Workshops can include themes of junk, recycled art, puppets, clay, papermaking and tie dye. Prairie School of Art is located at the home of Peggy Fitzgerald in Iowa City. More information: Request list of classes and registration forms by sending an e-mail to PegnRo@aol.com.

United Action for Youth
Summer art camp -- Camp Create. A one-week creative art camp for ages 9 to 12. Kids will be exposed to new creative art opportunities and learn new techniques including textiles, beading, multi-media collage and drawing and painting.
Camps are during the morning at UAY, 355 Iowa Ave., Iowa City. Call: 358-9406 ext. 601 or e-mail: iuaystumullins@yahoo.com to register.

University of Iowa Arts Share Program
Children entering grades 1-6 can enroll in week-long summer arts camps featuring workshops in music, theater, visual arts, creative movement, writing, live performance and on-campus field trips. Camps are 8:30 a.m. to noon each day. Different activities are offered each week so children can enroll one or both weeks. Call: 335-1618 or e-mail artsshare@uiowa.edu or go to www.uiowa.edu/artsshare

University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center
The Belin-Blank Center offers numerous summer camps for children in grades 2-11. Most campers sign up for either one- or two-week-long sessions and have the option of staying overnight. These camps allow students to take challenging courses, enjoy a variety of cultural and educational activities and experience classes and daily life on a college campus. Camps include Challenges for Elementary Students, Junior Scholars Academy, Iowa Governor’s Institute, Visual Arts Institute and National Scholars Academy. Registration forms and requirements available online at www.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/summer/programs . Cost: Varies per session, some sessions have partial scholarship funding. Call: 335-6148.

University of Iowa Summer Journalism Workshops
This camp offers various journalism workshops for high school students. The workshops include news writing, editing, design, yearbook, photojournalism, broadcast, graphic design and Web design basics. Campers choose a workshop and spend the week getting hands-on experience learning the ins and outs of their focus. Registration deadline June 20. Registration forms available at www.uiowa.edu/~journshp/registration/registrationmain.html. Cost: $395 to $445 ($475 to $495 after June 1). Call: 335-3455 or e-mail David Schwartz at david-schwartz@uiowa.edu.

Home Ec Workshop
207 N. Linn Street, Iowa City
Home Ec is a textiles and fabric store that also offers classes in sewing, knitting, dying and fabric surface design. Some of these classes are open to children. These classes are advertised in the Press Citizen “Go” section on Thursdays. To find out more about classes and to register, call Home Ec at 337-4775.

Harte School of Art
421 Oakland, I.C.
The Harte School of Art is based on a unique program designed and developed by Lyudmila Harte. This K–12 program includes studying Art Theory and Art History through carefully constructed art projects. Students of all ages are encouraged at every stage of the program to express themselves by means of a wide variety of artistic media: painting, drawing, printing, collage, and sculpture. Exposure to various artistic styles, movements, and methods gives students the opportunity to try everything from realism to decorative art to abstract art. This approach allows students to discover their own artistic style and to develop it further. To find out about summer classes and to register, call 338-7843. The school’s website is www.harteschool.com 

Last PTO meeting of the year is Monday, May 14

The PTO will wrap up this year's business and start planning for next year at its final meeting, Monday, May 14, at 7 p.m. Included on the agenda are discussions of our fall fundraiser, plans for an outdoor classroom and natural play space, and selecting committee chairs for next year's programs. Babysitting will be available in the Kindergarten room.

Library card registration at Lucas Friday, May 25

Library Card registration will take place at Lucas on Friday, May 25, for any student who needs a card. Permission forms will be going home next week. In order to receive a card, students must return the form.

Mark your calendars for year-end awards and 6th grade promotion ceremony

Lucas students will receive awards for Optimist Good Reader, Student Council, Leadership, Perfect Attendance, and many other achievements at the annual Awards Assembly Tuesday, May 29, at 9 a.m. In addition to the awards, items from the Student Council Time Capsule will be on display. The assembly is for students in grades 3-6.

Later that week, we'll send off our 6th graders with a promotion ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 31. Those students may may leave with their parents after the ceremony.

The writing's on the wall--or, fence: Lucas teachers rock!

Did you see the front fence this morning? We couldn't agree more--Lucas teachers DO rock! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all of our amazing teachers!

Safety first! Lucas Bike Rodeo is Saturday, May 5

The second annual Lucas Bike Rodeo will be this Saturday, May 5, from 9-11 a.m. in the front parking lot of the school. All students are invited to bring their bikes and helmets for a safety check and to practice riding safely, using hand signals, through an obstacle course. This FREE event is sponsored by Lucas DEED (Dads Engaged in Engineering Dreams) Bicyclists of Iowa City, AAA, Boyd Murray Insurance, Iowa City and Coralville Bike to Work Week.

Sugar Bottom Bikes of North Liberty will be on hand to help with minor tune ups. Bike registration will also be available and helmets will be for sale.

Any questions please contact Joe Bell (DEED Chairman) at 354-2281  In case of rain this event will be postponed until May 19.