Short's Burgers Eastside Lucas Fundraiser - Wednesday, Nov. 25th

After prepping all day Wednesday for Thanksgiving dinner, take the night off by ordering take-out from Short's Burgers Eastside 5pm-10pm, Wednesday, November 25th and 15% of your order will go to Lucas Elementary PTO!

It's sure to be crowded so consider calling 319-338-7743 to make a take-out order. Click here for Short's take-out menu for easy ordering.

Toys For Tots Sign Up Information

Christmas Sign-up Dates

November 30^th – December 4^th, Monday- Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm & 1:00pm-4:00pm. (Closed for Lunch 12:00-1:00pm)

Register at: The Salvation Army, 1116 Gilbert Court, Iowa City, IA 52240, Phone: (319)-337-3725

To register you MUST have the following:

• Photo ID for Head of Household/ Applicant. If ID address is different than address on application you must bring proof of address.
• Social Security Cards for Every Child. If you do not have a Social Security card, you must bring the sheet showing you have applied for one.
• Proof for Each Child’s Date of Birth. You must bring proof of birth date for each child such as their Medicaid card, birth certificate, passport, school records etc.
• Proof of Income for the Entire Household. You must bring proof of all income: Employment, Unemployment, Child Support, SS/SSI/SSDI. (Examples: pay stubs, unemployment award letter, insurance card, etc.) NOTE: If you have no income, you must bring statement from unemployment office showing income for the last 12 months, Food Stamp statement, TANF letter, etc.

To Qualify for the Toy Program:

• Child’s date of birth must be Dec. 29, 2000 or later.
• You must be a Johnson County Resident.
• Parents/Applicants may only register children who are in their legal custody. Children's SSN will be cross-matched to avoid duplicate registrations.

Please have ALL of your information ready when you come to register!

Scholastic Book Fair This Thursday and Friday!

It's Book Fair Time!

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the Multipurpose Room

4:00-7:30pm, Thursday, November 12
7:30am-3:30pm, Friday, November 13

This year Lucas is participating in a Scholastic program called All for Books. We collect donation from our Lucas community, and the money collected helps in two ways: We used the donated money to purchase books for Lucas AND for every $1 raised, Scholastic Book Fairs donates $1 to organizations such as Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. and the Kids in Need Foundation. This is a great way to put books in our classrooms and make a difference in the world!

To support All for Books, please bring your loose change to the Lucas library on Monday, November 9 through Thursday, November 12. There will be a collection bin for each grade level. Which ever grade level collects the most donations will earn a free book for each of that grade level's classroom libraries!

PTO Meeting Tonight at 7:00pm!

Join us tonight at 7:00pm in the Art Room for our November PTO meeting! Babysitting is available.

November Agenda

September Minutes

November Newsletter Available Online

In case you missed the Mighty Hawk Newsletter in your child's backpack, a digital copy is available for viewing:

November 2015 Newsletter

November 2015 Newsletter (Spanish)

A big THANK YOU to Lucas parent Aprille Clarke for translating our newsletter into Spanish each month! 

Coats of Kindness Giveaway - THIS SATURDAY

Coats of Kindness Giveaway

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2015

Where: Grant Wood Elementary Cafeteria

Time: 9:00-11:00am

Please come and choose from the following attire: Coats, snow pants, hats,

gloves, mittens, and scarves.  Infant through adult sizes are available.

Almost 2,000 items are available. First come first serve.

All items are free! Children need to be present.

(Sponsored by students at Longfellow, Hoover, Shimek, Wickham, Weber, SEJH, Nolte Preschool and Regina Elementary)

Get to Know A Mighty Hawk - Modified Teacher Jessica Flannery

Each month the Lucas PTO is featuring a teacher or staff member on the Mighty Hawk Messenger blog. This month we spoke with a 15-year Lucas veteran, Modified Teacher Jessica Flannery. 

Photography generous donated by Lucas parent Amanda Monday, owner of BirdsDream Design. 

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today. I understand that you've been teaching at Lucas for since the beginning of your career 15 years ago. What originally inspired you to become a special education teacher?

I thought I was going to be a kindergarten teacher. When I went to college I had a double major in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. At the time UNI's Early Childhood Education major had a special education component to it. I had some great "field experiences" at different schools with varying levels of special needs children.

When I started subbing my first year as a teacher I was drawn to the Early Childhood Special Education class that was at Lucas at the time. A month into the school year I did a long term subbing job in that class and just fell in love with the kids. That October, Lucas' special needs numbers increased and the school was approved to hire a third teacher for the then SCC (self contained classes). I was asked to apply by the principal and was very happy to accept the position. I originally taught the middle class out of the three rooms.

What is the special education population like at Lucas?

Awesome! Our special needs kids are each unique individuals just like all the kids in Lucas. I walk down the halls of Lucas and see diversity not only in the modified classrooms, but in the general education classes as well. It is one of the things I love about the Lucas community.

I understand that in the Iowa City Community School District the attitude is that all special education students are general education students first. How much time do your students end up spending in more traditional classroom setting?

It really depends on the individual child: their abilities, their needs. Each child is different so they all spend different amounts of time in their general education class. My goal is to include them as much as possible.

At the start of this school year, I read an article in the Press-Citizen by a local parent with an autistic child about how to talk to your children about how to be inclusive and kind to their autistic classmates. Do you have additional thoughts about how Lucas students (and parents!) can be inclusive and kind to your students?

I love this question! I am very lucky to work with great teachers who talk about acceptance of all students in their classrooms. I feel that the best thing that kids and families can do is talk to each other. I try to go into the general education classrooms of students I have and talk to their peers about my students needs at the beginning of the year.

I think the best thing Lucas families have to offer each other is acceptance.

Other posts in this series: 

Music Teacher Nathan Kelley
Family Resource Center Director Yolanda Spears

Shop Now for Mighty Hawk Apparel!

They're back!!! Lucas tshirts and apparel!

Show your Lucas Mighty Hawk spirit with a new t-shirt or sweatshirt, available now in our online “store:” http://tinyurl.com/lucas-mightyhawks

Short and long-sleeve t-shirts and crewneck sweatshirts are available in youth and adult sizes from small to extra-large. Hoodie sweatshirts are also available in adult sizes (youth sizes are not large enough to fit the Mighty Hawk logo.)

Order now through November 15 only. Delivery is expected in the first week of December—perfect for holiday gift giving! Please contact Mary Kenyon at mgkenyon8 [at] yahoo [dot] com if you have questions or need assistance.