Hello Lester Families,

We have had a busy week and students have been enjoying their lunch movie prize. Next week, we will have our Metacognition Week where we will challenge students to think about their thinking. This is one of our school improvement goals so we are excited to have a week to review this important part of learning. In addition, we have our color spirit week beginning on Monday. If your child would like to participate, the colors are included in the messaging below. THESE COLOR DAYS HAVE BEEN UPDATED!

IAR testing is coming up the week after next. During IAR testing weeks, students in grades 3-6 will be testing. We will encourage them to try their best and show what they know on these assessments.

Today will be the last day for our amazing secretary, Angie Cushing. We are sad to see her go but we want to congratulate her on her next opportunity in her new job. We are also excited to share that Lisa Kelsey (current instructional assistant at Lester) will be joining Bebe in her new secretary role. You can now reach our secretaries at jsteele@dg58.org & lkelsey@dg58.org.

Please remember to register your child for next school year. We are still only at about 74% of returning families who have registered. As was previously shared, your registration now helps us with staffing and planning.

We hope you enjoy your weekend :)

Katie Novosel

Principal

knovosel@dg58.org

Lauri Smith

Assistant Principal

lsmith@dg58.org

GRATEFUL FORM

ABSENCE REPORTING FORM

LINKS TO PRIOR LESTER LIVINGS

ORDERING LINK

Christina Forzley (our librarian) is bringing Kate Messner to visit Grades 3-6 on Wednesday, March 12th of next week. If your child is interested in ordering a book, here is the information below.

www.educationalproducts.com/shoppacks

Order code: LES123

Any questions, please contact schoolsupplies@lesterpta.com

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core and will be administered in English language arts and mathematics to all students in grades 3-8.

Tuesday, March 11: PTA Science Olympiad at Lester & Severe Weather Drill

Save the Date: Thursday, March 13th Kindergarten Round-Up for incoming Kindergarten 2025-2026

Tuesday, March 18- Friday, March 28: IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) Testing for 3rd- 6th graders

Tuesday, March 18: Fire Drill

Mon. March 31- Fri. April 4: SPRING BREAK

Thursday, April 10: Family Reading Night at Herrick cafeteria (more info to come from PTA)

Tuesday, April 22: OPEN HOUSE 6:00-7:30 at Lester

Lester School will hold Kindergarten Roundup on Thursday, March 13th at 6:00 pm. If your child will attend Lester next school year, please be sure to attend to learn more about the kindergarten experience and to meet the kindergarten team.

In addition, we invite our 2025-26 kindergarten families to attend Kindergarten Dual Language Information Night at El Sierra School, 6835 Fairmount Drive, on Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This meeting will provide an overview of District 58’s Dual Language Program. No RSVP required to attend; we hope to see you there!

As you are spending time over the next few weeks with family, please consider submitting a recipe along with a photo of the recipe and/or you creating the recipe as a family in this form (optional). We would love to hear about the delicious recipes that represent your culture and your family’s history. Please share a recipe that is meaningful to you, the culture it represents, and any story behind it. We will then put them all together and create a document to share with all of our families!