Sharon Machrone

Link’s teachers and staff have been working hard for the past two+ weeks to get ready for the start of the new school year. They have been busy refreshing themselves on the platforms and practices they used successfully in the spring and summer for remote learning – improving upon them  and discovering  even more ways to deliver engaging content remotely. ELA and math teachers attended “boot camp” with the respective area coaches to strengthen their teaching. Everyone participated in professional development around student discipline strategy, cultural awareness/diversity, and much more.   All of this was done virtually!  A huge amount of time and effort spent by Link’s amazing and dedicated teachers and staff to make this the best year possible for our scholars…they deserve it.  #linkteacherscare #linkstaffrocks  #linkteachersrock #linkstrong

Link will open the 2020-2021 school year on Tuesday, September 8. The LCCS Board of Trustees voted in August to make the change from the original date of September 2 to give staff additional time to plan for the opening. The plan currently is to open both virtual/remote learning and in-school hybrid learning (2 days in school/ 3 days virtual from home). This could change based on several circumstances, including a change in the state directive on school re-opening, lack of required PPE, shortage of staff for in-person learning, etc. Click here to read the school’s reopening plan.

During Link’s Summer Academy, students created music in a virtual format known as DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).They produced audio tracks using digital content and virtual instruments. Soundscapes and digital compositions reflected on personal themes and current social events. Students showed tremendous development over the course of just four weeks. Listen to examples of  our talented students’ work during Summer Academy:

Congratulations to Mrs. Johnson’s 2020 Summer Performing Arts Class on the video they produced during the month of July – “It’s Not OK to Cyberbully.” Students created their own scenes and monologues, collaborated on scenes, and learned the art of self-taping, under Mrs. Johnson’s guidance. This video is the culimnating product of their four week summer program. View the video below and the foillowing video of Mrs. Johnson speaking about the summer program.

Mrs. Johnson speaks about the summer program and the arts.

On June 18th, seventy Link scholars graduated from 8th grade and joined the cadre of over 3000 other Link alumni from the school’s previous 48 graduating classes. While we could not celebrate together in a traditional ceremony due to the COVID-19 crisis, we gathered in spirit through a virtual graduation ceremony, a pre-recorded graduation ceremony. (Click here to view the ceremony.) Link is proud of our new alumni, for all their accomplishments over the past four years. This year was a tough one – with distance learning for several months – but our scholars persevered and achieved. Click here for the virtual 8th Grade Awards Ceremony.

Priot to the graduation date, Link delivered students’ caps and gowns to their homes along with some other special items to celebrate this milestone in our scholars’ lives – lawn signs, commenorate tee shirts, and more. Below you will see photos of some graduates that their parents kindly shared with Link.

Best wishes to the Class of 2020 as they continue on to high school. Once a Linker, always a Linker!