LINK TO HOME for the Week of May 3, 2021 ______This Week Week of May 3 Grade 8 – NWEA Assessment (See below.) Week of May 3 Teacher Appreciation Week Wed., May 5 Early Dismissal for students, 12:45 pm; Instructional Planning and Professional Development for Staff, 1:15 pm

Important Upcoming Dates Week of May 10 Grade 7 – NWEA Assessment (See below.) Mon., May 10 LCCS Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:30 pm (Click here for detail.) Wed., May 12 Early Dismissal for students, 12:45 pm; Instructional Planning and Professional Development for Staff, 1:15 pm Wed., May 12 ProjectLit Book Club Meeting, online, 4:15 pm

REMINDER TO PARENTS OF CURRENT 5TH, 6TH, AND 7TH GRADE STUDENTS If you have not yet done so, please re-register your child for next year at Link. Click here to complete a brief form to let us know your child will be back for 2021-22!

THANK YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER! This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week. We hope you will take a moment to send an email or a note/card (mailed to the school) to show your appreciation for the commitment, caring, and effort that your scholar’s teachers exhibit every day. They will be so grateful!

STANDARDIZED TESTING As mentioned in last week’s issue, in May, Link students will sit for the online NWEA Assessment, which will measure student progress and provide information for planning support to ensure your child’s success. Testing will take only a portion of each school day. Students will be apprised of the time of day testing will take place. There is no way to study for these tests. We ask you to encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep before the assessment and to do his or her best!

The calendar for NWEA Assessment is as follows:

Grade 8 Mon., May 3 - ELA Tues., May 4 - Math Thurs., May 5 - Science Fri., May 6 - Reading Grade 7 Mon., May 10 - ELA Tues., May 11 - Math Thurs., May 13 - Science Fri., May 14 - Reading Grade 6 Mon., May 17 - ELA Tues., May 18 - Math Thurs., May 20 - Science Fri., May 21 - Reading Grade 5 Mon., May 24 - ELA Tues., May 25 - Math Thurs., May 27 – Science TBD - Reading

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO ORDER YOUR CHILD’S LIFETOUCH PHOTOS Didn’t get around to it yet? You still have time to purchase the photos that were taken of your scholar on School Picture Day. Ordering is online and easy. See the flyer at the end of this newsletter for more information.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS …to come to Link to pick up your child’s supplies on May 19,20, and 21 for year-end activities including Black Lives Matter and Science Weeks. We will post the exact times that the building will be open in next week’s issue and send out a phone blast.

BLACK LIVES MATTERS WEEK IS COMING SOON Link’s Virtual Black Lives Matter Week will take place from May 26th to June 3rd. The purpose of the weeklong program is to empower students of color and to educate them on black excellence and culture so they can be proud of who they are and advocate for themselves and their communities. This year, we will include a variety of engaging events; including an opening ceremony with a member of the Black Lives Matter Movement (Paterson unit), an HBCU/PBI panel, a Talent Show, Poetry Slam, a Black Business Expo (Parents, email Dean Ruth if you own a business!), robust conversations, and much more! Please be on the lookout for more communications about the program.

LINK’S SCIENCE WEEK: JUNE 7-11 Link is excited to host Virtual Science Week during which our scholars in grades 5-8 will participate in a full week of activities designed to:  create excitement and challenges related to science  give students an opportunity to experience science in a relaxed environment  expose our students to a wide range of interesting science topics  have fun!!

Stay posted for more information in the upcoming issues of Link to Home.

GREAT NEWS FOR LINK 8TH GRADERS! Congratulations to Link’s Class of 2021 for their acceptance into exemplary high schools! Below is a list of the schools and the number of Linkers (in parentheses) each school accepted, as of April 30th. We eagerly await our students’ final decision on their high school choices for 2021-2022!

Private Catholic Schools The , Immaculate Conception, Montclair (7) Princeton, NJ (2) , Upper Montclair (2) Kiski School, Saltsburg, PA (2) Mother Seton Regional High School, Clark (2) Knox School, St. James, NY (1) Roselle Catholic High School, Roselle (4) Randolph Macon Academy, Front Royal, VA (1) Seton Hall Preparatory School, West Orange (2) Pennington School, Pennington, NJ (1) St. Benedict’s Boys Prep, Newark (13) Phelps School, Malvern, PA (1) St. Benedict’s Girls Prep, Newark (11) Salem Academy, Winston-Salem, NC (1) St. Vincent Academy, Newark (19) St. Andrew’s School, Middletown, DE (2) West Nottingham Academy, Colora, MD (2) Independent Day Schools Woodberry Forest School, Woodberry Forest, VA (2) , Hoboken (4) Winchendon School, Winchendon, MA (1) Morristown-Beard School, Morristown (4) Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, PA (2) , Livingston (2) Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, Summit (1) Public Magnet Schools American History High, Newark (1) Independent Boarding Schools Arts High, Newark (3) Cambridge School of Weston, Weston, MA (2) Bard High School Early College, Newark (5) Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall, Waltham, MA (2) Science Park High, Newark (1) Church Farm School, Exton, PA (2) Technology High, Newark (1) Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA (1) University High, Newark (2) Darrow School, New Lebanon, NY (4) Cicely Tyson School of Performing & Fine Arts, East Girard College, Philadelphia, PA (2) Orange (1) County Vocational-Technical Schools Newark Public Specialty & Charter Schools Newark Tech, Newark (4) Newark School of Fashion & Design (1) Payne Tech, Newark (12) Newark School of Global Studies (5) , West Caldwell (8) Newark Vocational High School (10) Union County Vocational-Technical Schools, Scotch Eagle Academy for Young Men (2) Plains (1) People’s Prep Charter School (7)

5th Grade Award Recipients for the Week Ending April 30 Award Name Team Core Values Dejaun Gray Jennings Core Values Tamia Yaah Veritas Core Values Anas Amin Caldwell Core Values Jayden Beauplan Dominic Scholar of the Week Najah Jacksaon Jennings Scholar of the Week Maya Pierre Veritas Scholar of the Week Zamir Black Caldwell Scholar of the Week Kyra Thomas Dominic

Grade 6 Award Recipients for the Week Ending April 23 Award Name Team Core Values Infinite Sincere Amen-Ra Chavez Core Values Aaron Soleyn Malala Core Values Aiden Holliday Link Core Values Gimayiah Paul King Scholar of the Week London Winkey Chavez Scholar of the Week Juberlens Dumerant Malala Scholar of the Week Kenny Pierre Link Scholar of the Week Haylee Thomas King

Grade 8 Award Recipients for the Week Ending April 23 Award Name Team Core Values Samina Dargan Nia Core Values Alyssa Hinson Paz Core Values Tyler Glace Ujima Core Values Jayda Badoo Umoja Scholar of the Week Omar Wilson Nia Scholar of the Week Kendra Badoo Paz

Scholar of the Week Ann-Christie Dieujuste Ujima

Scholar of the Week Zanyla Howard-Mathis Umoja