Linden Avenue School

Kathy Newman

Linden K-5, Pittsburgh Magnet School
 
Although I'm not a Point Breeze resident, I am a proud Linden School parent. I'm Kathy Newmen and I live about one mile away, on Beeler Street, close to Carnegie Mellon University where I am an English professor. I chose Linden for my daughter because her older brother received a great education there, and because I wanted everyone in the family to learn German so we could spend sabbatical year in Germany.
 
Have you ever wondered what is new with Linden? Some of you might have gone there 30 or 40 years ago, when you could run home for lunch in the middle of the school day.  Maybe some of you were even classmates of David McCullough, the famed historian who grew up in Point Breeze and who remembers his Linden days fondly.
 
Linden Avenue School, also known as Linden K-5, is currently a Pittsburgh Public Schools German/Mandarin language magnet, with school wide festivals throughout the year that celebrate both languages. Last year the kids enjoyed hand-made Mooncakes for the Chinese autumn festival, and they constructed their own paper lanterns to celebrate Martinstag, a German festival that honors St. Martin, a third century Roman who became the patron saint of the poor.
 
Linden is the only Pittsburgh Public elementary school that has an annual science fair. Every year, local scientists from Pitt and CMU who volunteer as judges say that they are impressed with the quality and originality of our students’ work. We also have a chess club, an art club, a drama club, a Royal Leaders club that focuses on African heritage, and this year we brought the art and science group Assemble to the school to run a “makers” program for our second graders.
 
Our fifth graders participate in the district’s fantastic Dancing Classrooms program which teaches ballroom dance skills and etiquette. We have excellent teachers and a very involved PTA that organizes an annual Art Night, a Talent Show, a Spelling Bee, two annual Book Fairs, a Book Battle competition, and a night that celebrates reading and world languages called Passport to Reading.

Linden Fun Fair this Friday, June 3, 6-8 p.m.
 
This year the PTA would like to invite you, our neighbors, to another annual event, the Linden Fun Fair, taking place on Friday, June 3, from 6-8 p.m. Our event is designed to include smaller children this year, with a bounce house and an inflatable obstacle course that are each sized for kids 3-7 years old. We will have some carnival games suitable for older kids, too, as well as two food trucks, Las Chicas Mexican food from Wexford and Franktuary. We will have face painting, a photo booth, and a dunk tank. We’ll have some free activities too---bubbles, chalk, and hula hoops.
 
Come see what’s new at Linden!