Lester Park School Newsletter - #21

• Jan 12...PTA Ice Skating Party

• Jan 16...8am PAW Award School Assembly

• Jan 17...NO SCHOOL (Teacher grading day)

• Jan 20...NO SCHOOL (Martin Luther King Jr Day)

• Early February...Parent/Teacher conferences

• Feb 17-21...NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

• Feb 24...NO SCHOOL (District Professional Development Day)

Lester Park Calendar can be found HERE

2024-25 District Calendar with 4 day rotation can be found HERE

(PD=professional development/NO SCHOOL for students)

Other Helpful Links:

Current/Past Newsletters & their Table of Contents

Lester Park Family School Handbook

There will also be a PTA member meeting held at 2pm in the

Portman Community Center during the skating event.

Thank you to our amazing PTA volunteers for organizing this event!

Starts at 8:00am - PLEASE HAVE KIDS TO SCHOOL ON TIME.

Our next Paw Assembly is next Thursday! We are having one at the end of each quarter this year to celebrate PAWsitive behavior and expectations. Each classroom teacher, specialists, monitors, and support staff will select one student who has exemplified what it means to be Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and Kind here at Lester Park. We diligently select students to minimize overlap and maximize representation of all students.

Parents of the recipients will be contacted by our principal, Mrs. Anna Cawcutt, to attend the assembly as a surprise to their student.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact our PBIS (positive behavioral interventions & supports) coordinator- Ms. Jordan Fleek 336-8875 x3165

There are important changes you need to know now that Jostens is printing our yearbooks...

• Do not send money to school! All ordering must be done through Jostens (see options below).
• By March 17, schools must provide Jostens with a total # of yearbooks to publish. We will request a specific # of extras depending on how many yearbook orders have already been placed.
• After March 17, these extras will be available to order only through Jostens.
• We no longer sell extras in the office during the last week of school. This is because all yearbooks must be ordered through Jostens.
• When the extras are gone, they are gone.

Not sure if you ordered a yearbook yet or not?

Login into your Jostens account (same as the Picture Day account) and it will let you know.

Lester Park's Kindergarten Meet & Greet will be:

4pm-6pm on Thursday, March 27

Families must sign up for one 30-min slot to attend - CLICK HERE

You can find more about this event by clicking HERE

Everything you need to know (for right now)

about this event and the 2025-26 Kindergarten can be found HERE

We have a student who is missing her brand new white Sorel boots. They have a gray fur rim. If your child accidentally took them home, or has seen them, please let us know. Call 336-8875 or email lesterpark@isd709.org. Thank you!

Dear Lester Park Community,

Thank you again for all your support of the Fun Run in September! We are following up with a quick update on funding and how we're allocating the money for the year. Please see below. In summary, the funds we raised this year will help us continue the pod improvements for the teachers and students, fund teacher requests, and support a range of student activities. The amount is a bit higher than what we raised because we had some additional funds from last year.

Call for New Members! We have a couple spots open on the Lester Park Foundation Board. If you are interested in joining, please email us at lesterparkfoundation@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Lester Park Foundation Board Members

2024 - 2025 Planned Budget

$16,000 - Class Pod Upgrades (Kindergarten and 2nd/3rd Grade)

$15,000 - Teacher Requests (there are two cycles each year for these requests)

$4,300 - Spanish Club teacher and coordinator

$4,000 - Improvements to the school garden/outdoor space (e.g., seating)

$3,200 - Support to 5th Grade Wolf Ridge trip

$2,000 - Gift to School (the school designates the use for this)

$2,000 - Library Books

$1,200 - "Screenagers" film viewing at Lester Park (date TBD)

$1,000 - Library STEM kits

$1,000 - Angel Fund (this supports efforts like the bus cost for the Giving Tree project)

$1,000 - Lego Activities

$750 - Battle of the Books

$850 - Administrative costs (e.g., bank fees, insurance, etc.)

$800 - Children's Author School Visit (author is TBD)

$400 - Gifts/Recognition (this is set aside to support teacher recognition events)

$400 - Misc Expenses, Office Supplies, and Lester Park Copy Fee

Total: $53,900

Each year, we receive a few cards from hospital patients thanking us for the Giving Trees. Below is one we really wanted to share.

This sweet lady called a week ago and wanted to know our address so she could see send a thank you card and a donation for next year's Giving Tree Project. She said she and her husband were suppose to spend the holidays with their grandchildren in Colorado, but unfortunately she ended up in the hospital.

By reading her card you really get a feel for how much this project means to the hospital patients, and why we continue to have it every year. Thank you so much to teacher Mrs. Sue Baker for all she does to make this event happen, and to the rest of our staff and families for their valuable roles as well.

The Duluth Public Schools K-12 Math Committees are inviting interested family and community members to participate in the Math Curriculum: Family and Community Member Survey.

This survey asks for feedback regarding both the current Duluth Public Schools math curriculum as well as suggestions for the new or revised curriculum as they work toward implementation of the 2022 Minnesota Math Standards. The committee will review the feedback as part of their process to review, revise, and adopt a new math curriculum during the next couple of years.

The survey can be found here and is open until January 31st, 2025. Thank you in advance!

There are many dental appointments available at our newly renovated 10 operatory dental clinic at 25 W. Superior Street!

As background...Children’s Dental Services offers a full range of preventive and restorative dental care to children and families ages birth to 100 plus. The services we can provide at these include exam, x-rays, fluoride, silver diamine fluoride (SDF), full cleaning including scaling, one on one dental education, evaluation for children 8 and under who need restorative hospital-based dental care, and pre-surgical cleaning appointments.

Who is eligible?: Anyone ages birth to 100 plus, all forms of insurance including Medical Assistance, and we offer a sliding scale discounted care program for income eligible uninsured.

How to schedule?: Please call 866-543-6009 or 612-238-0214 (this line is dedicated to the Duluth clinic), or visit our website at www.childrensdentalservices.org and message us with your call back number.

https://lesterparkelementary2023.itemorder.com/shop/home/

We are trying something new. We have lots of information in our school newsletters and provide past links, but sometimes it can be hard to remember which newsletter a topic was discussed. We now have this: Current/Past Newsletters & their Table of Contents

We will keep a link of this on our website and in each school newsletter.

What do I do if my child is going to be absent from school?

• Email lesterattendance@isd709.org (the office & nurse will both see these emails)
  

• or call attendance line 336-8875 then “3” to leave a recorded message

• Please list any specific symptoms.

• Teachers may have a preferred way for you to report an absence to them.

• If the office does not know why a student is absent, an automated phone call and an email message will be sent out at sometime between 8:30-9:00. This is for safety reasons.

• If you have health questions, you can call our school health office at 336-8875 x2654

Do you have some gently used gloves/mittens that you could donate? We would love to have some more! Our extra supplies greatly dwindled last month.

We are low on hats, as well. Hats need to be new. And of course we would never say 'no' to new gloves :)

Thank you!

The Duluth NAACP is leading the organizing of a series of events on January 19-20, 2025 to honor and carry on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. More info can be found here: https://duluthnaacp.org/mlk

Community worship Service

Sunday, January 19, 2025

• Time: 4:00 pm

• Location: Peace United Church of Christ - 1111 North 11th Avenue East, Duluth MN 55805

• Description: This service will be a modern-day expression of the Black Church tradition that nurtured the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. More details to come.

Community Breakfast

Monday, January 20, 2025

• Time: 7:00 AM - 9:30 AM (CST)

• Location: First United Methodist Church - 230 E Skyline Parkway, Duluth MN 55805

• Description: The breakfast will feature a brief local program and a community viewing of the broadcast of the program in Minneapolis. Keynote speaker will be the journalist and author Michele Norris. This year’s event will also feature musical entertainment by Grammy award winning Sounds of Blackness and a special collaborative performance byThreads Dance Project and Vocalessence Food will be served starting at 7:00 am. The broadcast runs from 8:00-9:30 am. A freewill offering will support the United Negro College Fund which supports students of African Heritage throughout Minnesota to attend college. For more information, you can visit: mlkbreakfast.com.

Gathering and March

Monday, January 20, 2025

• Time: 10:30 - 11:45 AM (CST)

• Location: Gather at Family Freedom Center (Washington Center Gymnasium) - Entrance between 3rd and 4th Street on 1st Ave West; We will begin on Lake Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue.

MLK Rally

Monday, January 20, 2025

• Time: 12:00 - 1:30 PM (CST)

• Location: DECC-Symphony Hall; 350 Harbor Drive, Duluth

Volunteer Opportunities

If you are interested in volunteering for any of the events, fill out this volunteer form.

Hartley Nature Center February Camp

Duluth Parks and Recreation Winter-Spring Program Brochure

For previous Registrations and Community Flyers click HERE

Email: lesterpark@isd709.org
Website: https://lesterpark.isd709.org
Location: 5300 Glenwood Street, Duluth, MN 55804
Phone: (218) 336-8875
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lester-Park-Elementary-1900216436910729