Back in October, during their field trip to Rader Farms, students had the chance to meet Grandma Bee, a favorite character at the farm who helps teach kids all about bees, pollination, and the importance of plants in our world.
Today, Grandma Bee returned to Lincoln Grade School to read her book, The Search for Bella Honeybee, as a culminating activity for the unit. The students loved hearing the story come to life and making connections to everything they’ve learned about how plants grow and how bees help them thrive.
A huge thank-you to Grandma Bee for bringing such joy, curiosity, and buzz to our kindergarteners’ learning!
Camp Invention is a weeklong STEM program that introduces our K-6 students to the joy of hands-on invention and helps them develop an innovative mindset with confidence, creativity, and collaboration skills. Camp Invention is $285 per student, and last year, we were able to sponsor five students through your Giving Tuesday donations and the matching from the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
This year, on December 2 (Giving Tuesday), the National Inventors Hall of Fame will again match every local dollar given nationwide. Last year, they matched up to $35,000, and this year, they have said the matched amount will be even higher. Every donation received on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, will be matched 1:1 until national matching funds are expended.
If you are interested in donating to help provide a scholarship to the STEM camp for a D52 student, you can do so by visiting the CrowdFunding link below.
Thank you for your continuous support of our students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Camp Invention director, Lynn Isbell (d52lisbe@d52schools.com).
give.classy.org/IL141439626
Tuesday, December 2 is known as Giving Tuesday, and we have a unique opportunity for you to help sponsor D52 students in attending our Camp Invention STEM camp next summer. Last year, we had 100 students attend our second annual STEM camp at District 52. Camp Invention is a weeklong STEM program that introduces our current K-5 students to the joy of hands-on
invention and helps them develop an innovative mindset with confidence, creativity, and collaboration skills.
Camp Invention is $285 per student, and last year, the Camp Invention organization provided two sponsorships for D52 students to attend, and we were also able to sponsor 5 additional students through Giving Tuesday sponsorships.
This year, on December 2 (Giving Tuesday), the National Inventors Hall of Fame will again match every local dollar given nationwide. Last year, they matched up to $35,000, and this year, they have said the matched amount will be even higher. Every donation received on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, will be matched 1:1 until national matching funds are expended.
If you are interested in donating to help provide a scholarship to the STEM camp for a D52 student, we will be sharing the CrowdFunding link on Tuesday, December 2.
We are also attaching the STEM Camp flyer in case you want to get your child signed up as there is a $30 discount until 12/31.
Thank you for your continuous support of our students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Camp Invention director, Lynn Isbell (d52lisbe@d52schools.com).
One of the most popular stops was Astronaut Training, where students discovered that becoming an astronaut requires focus, strength, and plenty of practice. They crawled through tunnels to simulate the tight spaces astronauts navigate, completed balance checks to understand how the lack of gravity affects movement, and jogged in place for one minute, mirroring the hours astronauts spend running on treadmills in space. Students also tried constellation navigation, spotting star patterns projected on the ceiling, and took part in the ice water challenge, dipping their hands into cold water to experience the temperature conditioning astronauts endure. The station wrapped up with a taste test of freeze-dried fruit, just like the special food astronauts enjoy during missions.
Another highlight of the day was the Make Your Own Rocket station. Students designed and built their own rockets and then launched them, applying the vocabulary word launch in the most exciting way possible.
Additional stations enriched the experience even further. Students played Space Vocabulary Bingo to reinforce key terms from the unit and worked with space tangrams, building astronaut- and space-themed shapes that challenged their spatial reasoning and creativity.
Throughout the unit, students also created astronaut art, designed their own planets, and made moon dials, which were all projects that helped deepen their understanding of space while tapping into their creativity.
Astronaut Day was the perfect finale to a unit filled with wonder, discovery, and hands-on learning. Our first graders truly reached for the stars!
Today serves as a reminder that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference. Let’s make kindness our superpower today and every day! 💛
-2025 Illinois School Report Cards Released-
District 52 is proud to announce the summative designations of schools in our district. These designations include descriptors of how well our school is meeting the needs of all students. The designations are based on eight indicators of academic success and school quality.
-Lincoln Grade School received a designation of “Exemplary”
(No underperforming student groups and performance is in the top 10% of all schools in Illinois. This is the highest possible ranking!)
-Washington Middle School received a designation of “Commendable”
(No underperforming student groups, reflects strong academic achievement and growth, and is the second highest ranking a school can earn)
We are excited to have an exemplary and a commendable school in our district! The success of our students and the hard work of our staff should be celebrated!
Happy Thanksgiving to All! From your Lunch/Recess Staff here at Washington GSD #52.
Principal Appreciation Week!
This week, we proudly celebrate the incredible leadership, dedication, and integrity of our school leaders: Mrs. Bowman, Mr. Lawson, Mrs. Arnold, and Mrs. McMullen! Each day, they go above and beyond to support students, staff, and families building a positive school culture, inspiring academic success, and leading with compassion and purpose. Thank you for the countless hours, the wise guidance, and the unwavering commitment you show our schools. You make a difference every single day, and we are truly grateful for each of you!
Next week, we recognize National School Bus Safety Week, a time to highlight the importance of safe transportation and to celebrate the amazing individuals who get our students to and from school safely each day.
A huge THANK YOU to our outstanding bus drivers:
Mr. Browning, Mr. Copley, Mr. Corbitt, Mr. Dreyer, Mrs. Loete, Mr. Rushing, Mr. Spillman, and Mr. Tinervin. Your early mornings, careful driving, friendly smiles, and steady presence mean the world to our students, families, and staff. You are truly the first and last faces of the school day and we appreciate everything you do to keep our kids safe on the road!
Let’s give our drivers a big round of applause!
