Lester Park School Newsletter - #8

Thank you for reading our weekly school newsletter! We try to keep you up to date with what is going on in the school, and answers to potential questions.

~Tracy Thompson & Brianna Solberg

Your friendly faces at the Front Desk!

• Oct 9-13...Conferences and Book Fair
  
• Oct 12...Apple Crunch Day at Lunch
• Oct 18...1st School Spirit Day (Activity/Hobby Day!)
• Oct 19-20...NO SCHOOL (MEA Break)
• Oct 27...PTA Dance (more info to come)
• Nov 8...Picture Retake Day
• Nov 10...School Spirit Day (Red White & Blue!)
• Nov 23-24...NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving)
• Dec 4...NO SCHOOL (Staff Development Day)
• Dec 7...PTA Holiday Craft Night
• Dec 21...School Spirit Day (Pajama Day!)
• Dec 22-Jan1...NO SCHOOL (Holiday Break)

Lester Park School Calendar is on our website HERE.

We will be adding more dates to our school calendar!

The Specialist (Day 1-4) Calendar can be found HERE.

Bus driver shortages continue across the district, the state, and the country. Buses for our school district are supplied by our Transportation Dept and Voyageur Bus Company. This past Monday there were 9 drivers out between the two businesses. One day last week there were 10 drivers out. While there are backup drivers, there were not enough these two days and a few routes were cancelled affecting other schools in our district.

We have been lucky so far at Lester Park School to not have a bus route cancelled due to the driver shortage. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared for one. Here is more information from the school district:

• The need to cancel a school bus route for a day may be announced the night before or early in the morning (between 5AM to 6:15AM) much like a snow day.

• The bus route will be referred to by School Name/AM or PM Service/Route Number.

  In Infinite Campus Parent Portal you can check your child's morning and afternoon route numbers.

• Families impacted by the bus route cancellation will be notified:

  • Automated phone call from the school district

  • Email from the school district

  • Text from the school district (if the family is set up to receive texts)

• Families impacted by the school bus route cancellation can either:

  • Provide transportation for their child in place of that route or

  • Keep their child home and, as long as they report the absence to the school, It will be considered excused.

• Families, especially those with elementary age students, should have a contingency plan for their children in the event of a school bus route cancellation.

If you have not ordered pictures yet...

They changed the online order deadline to 24 hours after the pictures are taken. If you click HERE and it shows it is closed, then you will need to wait for the Portrait order information to come with the other orders (takes a couple of weeks). It will show a sample of your child's picture. You can either order the pictures online then or wait for Picture Retake Day.

If you do not like your child's picture when you get your order back in a couple of weeks:

You can have your child's picture retaken on Picture Retake Day. Simply send the portrait package back to school on that day. Also please let the teacher know ahead of time. Classes do not go all together on Retake Day like they do on Picture Day. We will remind you of this process as we get closer to Picture Retake Day.

Picture Retake Day is Wednesday, Nov 8th.

* We will send more information about Retake Day later this month.

Want to work where you truly are making a difference in the lives of youth? Lester Park School is seeking to hire paraprofessionals!

38 hours/week | Monday- Friday 7:45am -2:15pm + bus ride
Starting Wage: $18.30/hr, increases with experience + Benefits

Additional details are listed on the district website. Job Posting ID 7274

Here is the teacher meal sign-up:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD29AAF58-44925265-teacher

Please consider supporting our LPE teachers during conferences by providing something off the list. Drop your items off by 3pm October 10th or 12th in the front office. Try to use disposable packaging if you can. If sharing your crock pot, include your name and number. There will be a power strip to plug in any crock pots. If you have any questions please contact the PTA at ptalp709@gmail.com and someone will get back to you. Thank you very much!!

Students will shop with their classes during their media specialist time. There will also be shopping from 3pm-6pm during the two main conference nights (Oct 10 & 12) if there are volunteers.

Volunteers are needed!

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. This book fair will be held in the media center/library. If you are able to sign up for part of a shift please note that in the comments. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4DADAF29AAF9C52-44613292-fall

Here is the link for the eWallet if you would like to choose this option instead of sending money to school with your child: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/lesterpark

Flyers with more information are being sent home with students this week.

Do you have questions for our PE Specialist, or would like to discuss your child's participation during gym time? Feel free to sign up for a time to talk to her during our two main conference nights next week:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084DA4A828A4FDC70-44954997-peconferences

Interested in helping in the library? Please come to an informational session and training hosted by our new media specialist, Anna Rose, to find out more!

Date: October 10th and 12th (Main Conference Nights)

Time: 3pm-4pm and 6pm - 7pm

Where: Lester Park Media Center/Library

Only attend one session. We are looking for consistent volunteers to assist M-F for one-hour slots 7:30-8:30am or 1:15-2:15pm. Shelving, book repair, and book processing will all be discussed. Questions? Contact anna.rose@isd709.org.

Ways the PTA supports the LPE community:

• Family and community events, picture day, meals for conferences and more.

• Wellness Council - Walk & Bike to school day, Apple Crunch Day, Green Day and Ice Skating!

• Our meetings provide a forum to discuss issues & provide education on certain topics.

• Memberships, book fairs & donations help fund events for our kids, staff and families.

A paid membership is not required to attend the 3-4 board meetings a school year. Sign up for monthly PTA emails ptalp709@gmail.com and/or follow us on Facebook-@LesterParkmnPTA.

The classroom that returns the most new/renewed memberships by October 24th, wins an extra recess!

Join the PTA $15 individual/$20 family

Sign up online https://lesterparkpta.memberhub.com/store

Or return this form to school, make check payable to Lester Park PTA.

Name:____________________________________________

Email:____________________________________________

Child(ren)/Teacher:____________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Short on time and want to support the PTA? Consider a one time donation. $30, $50, other.

We want to hear about your experiences with your child’s education. It includes questions about your child’s learning, school safety, and interpersonal relationships, as well as your attitudes about the institutional environment and your personal involvement in school. Your responses will be very helpful in improving student relationships, learning conditions, and the overall school environment.

All your responses are completely anonymous. We have no way to connect you to your answers, and results will only be reported as group responses. There are no right or wrong answers. We just want to know about your personal experiences.

As you respond to each item, think about your own personal experiences as a parent or caregiver at your child’s school. Please answer all items, or your answers won't count. This survey should take approximately 10 minutes.

Survey Link

Thank you for your time and participation!

Ms. Jordan Fleek

MTSS/SEL Coordinator

Lester Park Elementary

218-336-8875 x 3165

This form is to voluntarily participate in a public family directory of Lester Park students and families, so students can contact their classmates and friends via telephone or email. We are not including physical addresses in the directory.

By completing and submitting this form, you acknowledge you have read and understand the following:

This directory is not being created by ISD 709, Lester Park Elementary or any of its representatives, and is a volunteer effort by the Lester Park PTA. By filling out and submitting this form, you acknowledge that you are aware that you are making your contact information public, and that the Lester Park PTA does not have control over how this information may be used by those who access the directory.

The Lester Park PTA will create a public Google Doc that will be made electronically available to members of the Lester Park Elementary School family community. The Lester Part PTA is not the source of the information, therefore has no control over its accuracy. We will remove information from the directory upon written request, but this process may take a few days due to the volunteer nature of our organization. By submitting your information here, you acknowledge that you have read these terms, and understand that the Lester Part PTA is not responsible for misuse of any information you choose to make public through this directory.

Click HERE: 2023-24 PTA Lester Park Elementary Public Directory Form

You can find the information on our school website. Click on "Parents" on the menu bar...then "Family Involvement".

For Positive COVID Results or Symptoms

please click HERE.

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.

Some helpful links:

• Is My Child Well Enough To Go To School
  
• You can also call our school health office at 336-8875 x2654

Previous Community Flyers can be found HERE.

Lester Staff Directory (firstname).(lastname)@isd709.org

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