Electric Lincoln Elementary
Conclusion
Welcome to the last chapter of our book called Lincoln Traditions. The articles in this chapter focus on some of the unique traditions of our school.
Primary Traditions
by Brent W.
Two traditions that are favorites of students in the Primary Unit are the Friday Art Project and the Primary Feast.
Every Friday, the Primary students at Lincoln have a project during the last period of the day called Friday Art Project. It is a good way to end the week and a good experience in cutting and pasting and also gives them a chance to work together.
Some of the favorite projects that they do every year are Hawkeye pennants, Halloween cats, acorn men, Thanksgiving placemats, 
snowflakes, Valentine sacks, May baskets and autograph books at the end of the year. 
Students look forward to this fun activity at the end of the week.
The Primary classrooms at Lincoln have a feast sometime around Thanksgiving each year. 
The feast consists of cornbread, pumpkin bars, applesauce, popcorn and something made out of cranberries. Each homeroom is responsible for one food. The children make the food during class. They do this to celebrate Thanksgiving, to learn how to share with other people and to say thanks to some of the adults that help them each day at school. Just the Primary has the feast because some things are for the younger children and they get to do this without the older kids.
Halloween Parade
by Brandon S.
The Halloween Parade was started many years ago. 
It was started to get families involved in the parade and because children like Halloween so much. In the parade, children and teachers walk around the block 
because a long time ago, all of the kids that went to Lincoln lived close. When they paraded around the block, all the parents could see all of the kids costumes. 
The funniest thing that ever happened is when a family brought a goat to school and the principal, Mrs. Harvey, had to lead the parade and walk the goat around the block.
Another funny thing is that each year the teachers always dress up alike. One year they all dressed up like scarecrows with real hay. It rained that day so the parade was held in the building. As they paraded, all of their straw fell out. After the kids went home, the custodian, Mr. Oakes, couldn't pick up the hay with the vacuum so all of the teachers crawled around on their hands and knees and picked up the hay from the floor!
Valentine's Day
by Stephanie F.
The traditional Valentine's Day celebration is a favorite of students. 
This year on February 12, we had our annual valentine party. We passed out valentines and read the ones that we got from others while we ate cookies. The parents supplied the cookies and drinks for us.
We can either not give out any valentines at all or we can give them to everyone in our homeroom. Anyone can pass them out to teachers, too. However, we may give as many valentines as we want to students in other rooms. We students at Lincoln do this because our school likes to follow certain traditions. Valentine's Day gives us a chance to send nice notes to people we probably wouldn't send them to otherwise.
Thirteen years ago students at Lincoln celebrated their ValentineÕs party the same way we do today. The only difference is that they made homemade valentines which took a lot of work! 
Who knows? People may come up with a new and better way of making valentines thirteen years from now! One thing will always remain the same, the Valentine's Day spirit!
Quilts
by Sarah R.
Quilts are pieces of art that we can make and look at for years and years. That's why we make quilts. The Lincoln quilt tradition started 21 years ago and has been going on ever since. Students and staff make a quilt every seven years. It is a way for every child to leave something at Lincoln. 
Each child designs a picture for one square of the quilt. Teachers explain and teach different stitches to students. Students learn the stitches, design their quilt square and then sew their patch.
We have had different quilt themes including "favorite book and book characters", 
"important events about America" in the 1776-1976 quilt, 
and "what we like best about Lincoln" quilt.
The quilts are a special tradition that past students enjoy looking at and future students are looking forward to making.
Sixth Grade Graduation
by Julia P.
On the sixth graders' last couple of days of school, they have many celebrations. During the afternoon of the day before the last day, the sixth graders and the teachers have two kick-ball games going on at the same time. The sixth graders and the teachers form teams and play kick-ball on the blacktop and on the field.
On the last day of school, from 9:15 to 9:30 A.M., the sixth graders have a personality contest. Each sixth grader's parents send in three words that describe their son or daughter. The sixth graders try to guess who the person is from the clues. At 9:30 A.M., the sixth graders prepare to go to the gym where the rest of the intermediate students are and parents for the Awards Assembly and Sixth Grade Graduation Ceremony. Once everyone is there, the sixth graders share their wills and prophecies and then their diplomas are awarded by the principal, Mrs. Kolarik. Other things students get awards for are things like lunchroom helper, media aides, ELP Type III Projects, track meet ribbons, music, Student Council and safety patrol. All intermediate students receive these awards.
At 11:00 A.M. until 11:30 A.M. the sixth graders go to the library for a reception with their parents and families. Finally, at 11:30 A.M. the sixth graders walk to City Park for lunch and activities. While walking to City Park, they also have a scavenger hunt. 
These activities have been a tradition at Lincoln for many, many years. Some sixth graders have parents who remember these traditions from when they graduated from sixth grade at Lincoln! To me, this sounds like a great way of spending the last day of school.
Lincoln Day
by T.J.T.
Perhaps the most memorable tradition for Lincoln students are the Lincoln Day celebrations on February 12. The first Lincoln Day was probably held in 1926. Today it is also known as Pancake Day! Why Pancake Day?
Fourteen years ago, students and staff were working on a project about family heritages and traditions. They looked for something that everyone could cook and eat and that perhaps had been a favorite of Abraham Lincoln's. Flapjacks or pancakes was suggested and it became a tradition! So now on Lincoln's birthday, we always celebrate by making our own special recipe pancakes. Parents come to help us cook. 
We eat pancakes and play games. Everyone likes Lincoln Day because it's a time to celebrate Lincoln's birthday and Lincoln School! 
Conclusion
by Charlie R.
The sixth graders at Lincoln have learned alot from the experience of making this electronic book. We are proud to have had the opportunity to share our work with you. 
We would like to thank Dr. Galvin and Dr. Franks, Teresa and our teacher, Mrs. Hutton, for making this experience possible. We have learned what technology will be like in the future and learned a lot about computers and how to use them.
We hope you have enjoyed our book and learning more about our school.