Learning Community Charter School

We are thrilled to announce the LCCS App!

Now you can access information about LCCS News, staff emails, lunch menus, school closings, and more on your phone or mobile device. Search for Learning Community CS in the Apple Store or in Google Play Store to download and install this free app!

In other news, we wanted to explain some improvements as to how we communicate with families: 

1. The Honeywell Instant alert system will now ONLY be used in situations such as school closings, both scheduled half-days and unscheduled snow days, and other emergencies. (For example, like the time when an alert was sent out in the Fall after a major accident closed Kensington Avenue, impacting pickup at 3 p.m.)

2. The weekly communications from the school will return to its traditional home as “Friday Flyer,” to be released once at the end of the week.

We hope that these changes and the new app make it easier for you to get the information you need about the school. 

Every year around this time, 8^th grade families receive High School acceptance letters, and every year we are proud that so many of our graduates are accepted into the region’s best high schools. This year’s news continues that impressive tradition. We are thrilled to say that so far: 

• 11 students were accepted into High Tech High School _ an overall record number for us.

• 9 students were accepted into St. Dominic Academy

• 16 were accepted into McNair Academic High School, ranked the 3^rd best high school in the state

• 13 were accepted into St. Peter’s Preparatory School, including three who qualified for the full, 4-year tuition scholarship.

Congratulations to all of our amazing 8^th graders. We are so proud of you!

Want to learn more about how our Middle School prepares students for the best? A special note, especially to parents in 4^th and 5^th grades: The Middle School Open House originally scheduled for Feb. 25 has been moved to March 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. We hope you can come to learn more about all that our Middle School has to offer, and how we help prepare our graduates for great futures at high school and beyond. 

We are so proud to be able to continue our connection with students at the RD Rajpal School in New Delhi. As you might recall, the principal of the school there visited LCCS in the Fall and we have been exchanging emails and videos ever since.

On the LCCSLive YouTube Channel, you can see videos of the students from New Delhi singing “We Shall Overcome,” as well as a version of the same song from our students, which was performed at the Circle Assembly on Thursday. Several students also learned the song in Hindi to share!

Thanks to Ms. Jaffrey for working on this project, which helps reinforce to our students how we are all connected, across the globe. During the assembly she noted how perfect it was for us to sing this classic civil rights song, so close to Martin Luther King's birthday, and in Black History Month, and the connection between Martin Luther King and the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. 

To further our connection with the RD Rajpal school, a group of 8^th graders, led by Ms. Goral, are also challenging students in India to a debate. You can see our students throwing down the gauntlet in their video. We'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the debate! 

 

If you want to be knocked out by the academic skill from our incredible Middle School students, check out the National History Day presentations on Thursday, Feb. 26 in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

This program truly enables our students to do the authentic, rigorous work necessary for 21st century learning. Students learn how to conduct in-depth primary and secondary source research based around a theme, they learn how to effectively write about their research, manage their time, collaborate and work effective in a group, translate their research into documentary film, dramatic performance or exhibit and to present and defend their work publicly.

It's almost impossible to single out just a few projects that cover this year's theme, "Leadership and Legacy in History." Just to show the incredible range of topics our students have chosen, either individually or in groups, the projects include:

Exhibits on The French Revolution and Social Class, Simon Bolivar, and the Amistad Slave Rebellion.

Documentaries titled "Wonder Woman: Wartime Hero and Role Model," and "Patenting the Sun: Jonas Salk and the Invention of the Polio Vaccine."

Performances showcasing the history of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as those on the lives and work of both Richard Nixon and Gloria Steinem.   

This is the hardest work these students have ever done academically. In many Middle Schools, this program is reserved for school's gifted and talented programs, but at LCCS we believe that this type of rich and complex project-based learning experience is vital for all of our students' future success in high school and beyond.

After this week's presentation, on Sunday, a group of students will go to Rutgers University for the regional competition. Last year we were thrilled when three LCCS students were selected to go on to the state National History Day competition. 

We are so lucky to have Mr. Krinsky, Ms. Klaslo, Ms. Conod, Ms. Goral, Mr. Buono, and Mr. Laster who have all worked tirelessly with students on their work. 


(Photo from last year's regional competitions.) 

We hope you wish them luck! 

Our PARCC testing began this week in Middle School, and we were very pleased with how it is going. Because of the school cancellation on Thursday, we have moved some of the math testing to this coming week. Although some schools reported major technical glitches, we had very few problems.

As Mr. Coven explains: “Any technical problems were generally solved with a very quick phone call, swapping out a computer or even re-starting the machine.”

I also wanted to share with you some of the thoughts of students, from our teachers. From Ms. Goral:

“What you prepared me with was harder than the actual readings/ essay prompts.”

“The main difference between NJASK and PARCC was the wording of the questions. PARCC took more brain power to decode what the question was asking, but had fewer questions we had to answer.”

“It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.” 

“We had so much time, it was nice to not have to be conscious of the time.”

----------------------------------------------------

We are also asking everyone to take part in our annual Parent Survey. This is an important way we get feedback from you on what we are doing well, and where and how we need to improve.

Results from this anonymous survey, as well as surveys of students and faculty will be released in May. 

----------------------------------------------------- 

Our students for this year’s National History Day have done a tremendous job. This innovative program requires students to conduct in-depth research, in this case about topics around the theme of Leadership and Legacy in History. Winning projects included those on Orson Welles, Jonas Salk, Joan of Arc and Richard Nixon. 

An amazing 11 projects were selected at the regional competition to go on to the state finals May 2 at William Paterson University. Even more impressive is the fact that we have students competing in all three areas – exhibit, documentary, and performance. In addition, we have students who worked with peers, and those who presented solo projects.

Here are some of the winners. We are so proud of you: Good luck! 

The next time you’re in the school lobby, check out the entryway.


     Art teachers Jill Schifter and Brooke Sunshine, as well as classroom teachers had their students fill out colorful post-it notes with “I learn so I can …” or “I learn to …" Classroom teachers also filled out their own notes on “I teach because ..”

Their responses are a wonderful window into our classrooms. 

This year’s Read-A-Thon was a smashing success, raising almost $6,000 for the school as students read more than 64,000 minutes! Here are some of our winners: (See the full list at the end.) Way to go! 

 

We were also able to award this year's Literacy Leader awards to three local journalists, Kate Rounds of the Hudson Reporter, Cat Hecht of the Jersey City Independent and Ron Zeitlinger from the Jersey Journal. 



After the awards, the three journalists went to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade ELA classes to talk about how journalists work, the important stories they cover, and how the digital age impacts their profession. 

 

Last week we were honored to have visitors from Denmark, from a high school and Aaolborg University in Copenhagen.

The group was motivated to come to the U.S. to learn more about the Touchstones program, which we have used in grades 3, 5 and Middle School since this Fall. This incredible program has a simple premise: Students sit in a circle and discuss a famous piece of writing that addresses a complex ethical theme or issue.

Teachers facilitate the discussion, but do not lead it, allowing students to take the lead. This year, students have tackled issues such as “Does money cause worries,” and “Is revenge ever right?”

The scholars from Denmark wanted to learn about how to address difficult issues, particularly in multicultural settings. They were motivated, in part, because of recent terrorist attacks and how the country, which has long been racially homogenous, is starting to become more diverse.

They chose to visit LCCS because of our involvement with Touchstones as a way to think about important issues, and because of our incredible diversity. 

During their visit to LCCS they visited two Touchstone classes, one that was addressing classism and the other that was analyzing a passage of the classic French text, Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville.

 Here are some of their reflections:

“To see that 5^th graders were having these really major discussions about really large philosophical issues and concepts was interesting to see,” said Iben Jensen.

“We wanted to get an idea of whether this is something we can bring to our classrooms,” said Ulla Hojmark Jensen. “How do you encourage a democratic classroom?”

“We have a lot of challenges in our country, and we don’t really know how to talk about race and diversity. We have such a short history when it comes to diversity,” said Mira Skadegard Thorsen.
“We wanted to see how a diverse community works.”

It’s a tremendous honor that these scholars chose LCCS out of the many schools across the country that participate in Touchstones. Thanks to Ms. Muse, Mr. Coven, Ms. Klaslo, Ms. Wuerthner, and Mr. Diamond - our dedicated teachers who are making this incredible program such a success!