City High Homecoming Parade Wednesday, October 1st

Come represent Lucas at the City High School Homecoming Parade!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Meet at Mercer Park beginning at 5:00 (Look for Joe Pavelich and the DEED Dads). The parade begins at 6:00.

The parade route will go down First Avenue and end at Bates Field.  Kids can bring candy to distribute, poms to shake, and SPIRIT to SHARE.

All kids MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Lucas Spirit Gear Now On Sale!

Order your Lucas Spiritwear!

T-shirts, both short and long sleeved, as well as adult-sized hooded sweatshirts with a Lucas logo are available for purchase! Orders will be taken online at : Lucas Elementary Apparel.

Orders will be collected from Sunday, September 28- Sunday, October 12.

Place your order online by following the link: https://ugpogo.undergroundshirts.com/groupIndex.php?cart_id=3833

You pay online with a debit/credit card. No order forms to return, no payment to send to school. Just an online shopping experience!

Once the order is complete on October 12, the items will be printed and then delivered to you child in their classroom about 2 weeks later.

If you don’t have internet access at home you may visit the Lucas Office for assistance in placing your online order.

If you have questions, please contact Leslie Veit at 319-594-0752 or leslie.veit@gmail.com

Go Mighty Hawks!

Fall Fundraiser Sprints to 9/30/14 Goal

FALL FUNDRAISER SPRINTS TO 9/30/14 GOAL

Make a Mighty Difference has already raised $5,700 towards our goal of $10,000- but with September 30th just around the corner, we need the support of the entire Lucas family.  Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference!

This year our focus is on supporting educational enrichment, including cultural events and field trips. 

Read this testimonial from 2nd grade teacher Troy Turnquist and see what a difference your donation can make:

Thank you so much for funding the 2nd grade trip last winter to see "The Nutcracker" at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. It was a truly amazing experience for all of the students who attended to see a real life acting performance first hand. It was especially exciting because a student in my classroom, Shay LaVelle, was one of the star performers up on the stage! It was very cool for the kids to see a classmate of theirs up on the big stage!

When I had asked the children in my room how many of them had been to the Englert before, only about 20% of the kids said they had been there before. Many of our kids are on the free and reduced lunch program and their parents just don't have the extra money for these kinds of events.  Many of our kids simply enjoyed the bus ride down town as well.

I know my own 2 children at Lucas loved the field trips they have been able to go on such as The Wilson's Apple Orchard trip and the School of the Wild.  Thank you again for helping our kids here at Lucas make some great memories!

Please consider making a donation of any size today, if you haven't yet.  You can give a cash donation in the office, drop off a check payable to Lucas PTO, or donate online by credit or debit card at www.MakeAMightyDifference.org

And, THANK YOU! to everyone who has already given! The Donor Wall of Fame has an updated list. 

Earn Money for Lucas with the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts!

The Lucas PTO is partnering with the CCPA to raise money for Lucas!  When you use the code LUCAS on your ticket orders for up-coming performances, CCPA will donate 10% of your ticket cost back to Lucas.  This includes the family-friendly productions of Xanadu, DiNO-Light, and A Year with Frog and Toad.  Don't you just love this kind of multi-tasking?

Check out the CCPA flyer for details about up-coming performances that are included in this promotion and a link to order tickets.

Make a Mighty Difference Hits Halfway Mark!

Make a Mighty Difference Hits Halfway Mark!

Make a Mighty Difference, our annual PTO fund drive, is on great pace with $4,680 towards our goal of raising $10,000 by September 30th!  Thanks to the following friends of Lucas for making a difference already:

 Donor Hall of Fame

This year, PTO is focusing its support on educational enrichment- one of our biggest (and most popular) investments is School of the Wild.  Fourth grade teacher Andrea Gugliuzza describes what makes this unique program special:

"Every year 4th graders spend a week at Lake MacBride Field Campus outside, in nature, learning about the woodlands and wetlands of Iowa. Students get to canoe at spider pond, build shelters testing their survival skills, tag birds, visit the spillway, identify wild flowers, and learn about edible plants to name a few of the great hands-on activities. Without the support of our PTO this memorable experience may not be possible."

If you haven't already had the opportunity to Make a Mighty Difference, please do so today.  Make a cash donation in the office, drop off a check payable to Lucas PTO, or donate online at MakeAMightyDifference.org

Support Lucas and Run for the Schools

The Annual Run For The Schools is on Sunday, Oct. 19th.  There are 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 5K, 10K and 1/2 marathon races. All proceeds go to the Iowa City Community School District Foundation and then back into our schools!  The deadline for registration to get a t-shirt is Oct. 3.  There is a family package for 4 people for $50.  We will also be raffling off a free entry to the race and t-shirt at the Lucas Academic night on Sept 23.  

Registration flyers were sent home with students on Friday or information can be found at runfortheschools.com.

Lucas will also be sponsoring a water station during the race this year.  If this is more your speed, contact Sara Turnquist to volunteer. 

Informational Meeting: Foreign Language Programs in ICCSD Elementary Schools

Are any Lucas families interested in having after-school foreign language opportunities? The University is offering the following support: 

 Foreign Language Programs in ICCSD Elementary Schools

Informational Meeting, Tuesday, September 16

For ICCSD elementary parents wishing to start an extracurricular foreign language program, or parents in schools that already have one and want to collaborate or improve!

When: Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 7-8 pm

Where: Coralville Public Library, Meeting Room A (park in lower level)

What: We’ll discuss basics of how to organize and run a program, and we’ll give some ideas about good language instruction practices for elementary-aged students.

RSVP and Questions: Pam Wesely, University of Iowa College of Education

pamela-wesely@uiowa.edu(note unusual spelling) or 319-335-5261

Free Family Tailgate this Friday, September 12th

Lucas Elementary Family Tailgate

When:        Friday, September 12

Time:          5:00-6:30 PM

Where:       South Parking Lot of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church

                     (located at the corner of Court St and First Avenue)

Come join us for free hot dogs, chips and lemonade before the City High Little Hawks take on the Ames Little Cyclones at Bates Field.

This event is sponsored by DEED (Dads Engaged in Engineering Dreams)

Contact Rob Rindels at 430-2962 or robrindels@gmail.com if you have any questions.

**All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian**

Great Start to Make a Mighty Difference 2014

Make a Mighty Difference, the annual Lucas PTO fund drive, is off to a great start this week with over $3,300 raised towards our goal of $10,000 by September 30th!  Thank you to the family and friends of Lucas who have made a difference already:

Nancy Cassady

Aprille Clarke & Dennis Crall

Amanda Goodrich

Erick Acevedo

Sarah & Kyle Galloway

Andrea Guggliuzza

Cate & Jason Burke

Nicole Haman

Sarah Holmes

Sarah & Andrew Lynch

Tara & Rodney Martin

Rossel Pagvada

Jerry Sayabath & La Phanthouvong

Ana McComas

Ben & Brooke Hill

Angela Ptacek

Joe & Jessica Pavelich

John & Mary Kenyon

Renee Speh &Anthony Miller

Dawn Fitzpatrick

This year, PTO is focusing its support on educational enrichment; one place where PTO has helped Lucas do things that would otherwise not be possible is outdoors.  

In the last two years, PTO added a natural playscape to the K-2 playground; re-developed the Lucas Prairie Patch; purchased and installed a new custom play structure on the 3-6 playground; and established Lucas Elementary's first vegetable garden.  These improvements not only make recess enjoyable but enhance our children's growth and learning.  Read this testimonial from Kindergarten teacher Sheral Jensen:

“Creative play and discovery began immediately on the natural playscape.  Where once there was only asphalt, suddenly students began to play together on logs which became imaginary boats, bridges, and trains.  Students balanced on tree trunks one minute, then stopped to examine the bug trails beneath the peeling bark the next.  It seems that everyday there is a new discovery on our school's natural playscape.”

If you haven't already had the opportunity to Make a Mighty Difference, please do so today.  Make a cash donation in the office, drop off a check payable to Lucas PTO, or give online at MakeAMightyDifference.org

PTO and Pizza!

The first PTO meeting of the year is "PTO and Pizza" on Monday, September 8, 5:45 pm in the Multi-purpose Room (MPR).  PTO committee chairs, including DEED, our dads' group, will be available to chat with you about our events and opportunities to get involved.  We will offer a light pizza supper for both parents and kids.  We will have a team of 6th grade babysitters to play games with kids in the gym while parents are talking in the MPR.  We plan to end the gathering by 7 pm.

We look forward to connecting with Lucas families next Monday!

Contact PTO President Mary Kenyon with questions.

Make a Mighty Difference for Lucas in 2014

Our annual direct-giving fundraiser, Make a Mighty Difference, has kicked off for 2014!  Our goal is to raise $10,000 by September 30, 2014.  

Your cash, check or on-line donations support classroom needs such as books and special project materials as well as extra learning opportunities including field trips, visiting authors and musicians.

Lucas PTO will not ask your children to sell items, take orders or make deliveries.  The goal of this fund drive is to cover the costs associated with the activities that PTO sponsors for the whole year!

Please consider a tax-deductible donation today: makeamightydifference.org