Lester Living

Friday, August 30, 2024

Hello Lester Families,

We have had another successful week of school. Students are getting into routines and doing a wonderful job of following expectations. As you know, our curriculum night was moved to Wednesday evening so we look forward to seeing you then. The schedule is the same as previously shared and is listed below for your reference.

If your child rides his/her bike to school, please remind them that they need to walk their bikes once they get to the school sidewalks. There are many people walking on the sidewalks near the building and we want to keep everyone safe. In addition, please be sure that if you/your children are crossing streets, they are crossing at a crosswalk. Students should be getting into vehicles on the curb side of the car.

Our Lester staff is a large staff, therefore, our parking lot is needed for our staff. We ask that if families want to park during drop off/pick up, they park on a side street and walk over. We appreciate your help in keeping our parking lot for staff so that they can get here and ready for the students on time.

As we move into the 3 day weekend, we want to thank you all for your support and partnership with the beginning of the school year. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful community.

Enjoy your 3 day weekend :)

Katie Novosel

Principal

knovosel@dg58.org

Lauri Smith

Assistant Principal

lsmith@dg58.org

The staff at our school will be utilizing The Zones of Regulation™ curriculum, commonly known as "The Zones." You may recall that this program was introduced in its pilot form last spring to our students. This year, we look forward to starting the year integrating this into student’s daily practice. As a refresher, this program includes lessons and activities designed to help your child develop self-regulation skills, which encompass self-control, self-management, and impulse control. Self-regulation is defined as the optimal state of alertness of both body and emotions for any given situation. The curriculum aims to teach students to recognize which Zone they are in and how to use strategies to maintain or change their Zone.

Through these lessons, students will expand their emotional vocabulary, learn to read facial expressions, understand others' perspectives, identify triggers for their behavior, and develop calming and problem-solving strategies.

A key component of this curriculum is ensuring that all team members understand and use The Zones language. This shared understanding creates a supportive environment, allowing students to practice and quickly adopt self-regulation skills in various situations. You can assist in this process by:

Using The Zones language and discussing the concepts as they apply to you in different environments. For example, verbalize your own experiences: “This is really frustrating me and putting me in the Yellow Zone. I need to calm down by taking deep breaths.”
Helping students become aware of their Zones and feelings by pointing out your observations.
Validating the student's current Zone and helping them brainstorm appropriate self-regulation strategies for the context.
Sharing how the student’s behavior affects your Zone and feelings.
Encouraging students to use The Zones language to express their feelings and needs, and to share their Zone with you.
Showing interest in learning about the student’s triggers and preferred tools for self-regulation, and asking how they would like reminders to use these tools.
Asking students to frequently share what they have learned related to Zones.
Reinforcing students for recognizing their Zone and managing their behaviors appropriately, rather than only pointing out unexpected behaviors.

It's important to remember that everyone experiences all of the Zones, and it is not considered “bad” to be in the Red and Yellow Zones. The Zones of Regulation aims to provide a neutral, judgment-free framework for understanding and managing emotions. We look forward to partnering with you in our implementation of Zones of Regulation this school year.

NEW DATE!!! SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!!!

From our Health Office:

As the year begins, we’ve noticed an increase in students visiting our health offices for insect bites, particularly on the neck, face, and arms. These bites are often red and itchy, and while we can provide Calamine lotion or an ice pack to ease discomfort, other over-the-counter treatments like Benadryl cream or Hydrocortisone require a completed Medication Authorization Form.

Please ensure that these medications are not sent to school with your child unless proper authorization is in place. If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact your school’s health office.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe and healthy.

INFORMATION FROM OUR PTA

PTA REFLECTIONS!

The National PTA Reflections program provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts which boost student confidence and success in the arts and in life. This program is a wonderful way for your student to express themselves through creativity in the arts, photography, dance, film, music, writing, and more. This year's theme is Accepting Imperfection.

For those interested in participating, please fill out the Interest Form. Additional details can be found here.

Projects are due Friday, October 25, 2024.

Check out a few of last year's entries! They make Lester Leopard proud!

District 58 Reading Games

The 2025 Reading Games will be held at O'Neill Middle School on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Registration coming soon in October!

The Reading Games is a free and fun reading competition for District 58 students in grades 3-8 and is sponsored by the Downers Grove Council of PTAs. The mission of the Reading Games is to encourage reading, expose students to different genres, series, authors, and topics, as well as foster teamwork and responsibility. All this occurs as teams of 5 - 8 readers, led by a parent or other volunteer community member, prepare for a fun competitive day of book trivia!

The Reading Lists are available here. To learn more, reach out to Lester PTA Reading Games chair Shannon DeGuilio.

A Peek into Lester Life

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, August 30: First day of 6th grade Gifted (at Henry Puffer)

Monday, September 2: NO SCHOOL- Labor Day

Wednesday, September 4: Curriculum Night 6:00-7:30

Thurs. Sept 12: Dr. Kool Assembly

Thursday, Sept 19: Bus Evacuation Drill

Wednesday, Sept 25: Fire Drill

Monday, Sept 30: Fire Drill with DGFD

Monday, August 19- Friday, September 6: Fall Benchmark Testing

Friday, September 27: Fun Lunch (More info to come from PTA)

REPEATED ITEMS BELOW:

Our wonderful staff created some quick videos to introduce themselves to you. We are excited for a wonderful 2024-2025 school year! Please know that we are all here for you!

KINDERGARTEN team video

Specialists team video

Food service in District 58

Elementary School Food Service

Elementary schools provide pre-ordered boxed lunches for students, through www.MyMealOrder.com. Lunches cost $4.60. Click here to learn more. Elementary boxed lunches will be offered starting the week of Aug. 26. Orders must be submitted by Aug. 22 to receive boxed lunch the week of Aug. 26.

In addition, elementary students may sign up to receive daily milk for $53 (which is 30 cents per day). Families should complete this Elementary Milk Order Form to sign their child up for milk. This is separate from the boxed lunch option. The $53 milk fee will be posted to the student's PushCoin account next month.

Free and Reduced Meals and Milk

District 58 provides free and reduced-cost meals and milk to students who qualify and apply. These meals will be provided starting the first day of school.

Please visit District 58's Food Services webpage for more information.

Fee waiver form ENGLISH

Fee waiver form SPANISH

DROP OFF/ARRIVAL PROCEDURES

We have 3 official drop off locations.

DROP OFF ZONE #1- Indianapolis Avenue

DROP OFF ZONE #2- through the parking lot off of Indianapolis Avenue

DROP OFF ZONE #3-Lincoln Avenue

*The locations are marked on the map.

There are two options for drop off:

OPTION #1

You drive up to one of the drop off zones, have your child exit the vehicle on the school side of the vehicle, & drive away to keep traffic moving.

Staff members will be on duty to assist until school starts.

OPTION #2

If you want to walk your child to his/her line, we ask that you park on a side street (not Lincoln or Indianapolis). These two streets become congested and we would like to keep traffic moving on these two streets.

PLEASE NOTE:

We do have staff on duty outside with all grade levels at 8:05 am. These staff members will assist with ensuring your child gets to their class line if you are dropping off through our drop off zones.

Students need to use the crosswalks when crossing streets. In addition, please be sure to follow all traffic safety guidelines to ensure student safety.

Please be mindful of student patrols. We ask that you follow their guidance as well.

Students may arrive at Lester School beginning at 8:05 a.m. each day when adult supervision begins. In order to assist with a timely and safe arrival process, the school playground will be closed before school. Upon arrival, students should line up in their assigned classroom teacher line location by their assigned door. Students will be directed to enter the building at 8:15 am. Anyone arriving after the lines of students have entered & doors have been closed should enter through Door 1 (front office).

***We appreciate everyone's help and cooperation as we organize safe drop off and pick up procedures for our students. Thank you!

PICK UP/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

Students will exit the doors they entered for arrival. Students will be dismissed at 2:00 pm on Mondays & 3:00 pm on Tuesdays through Fridays.

Once outside the building, students will do one of the following:

Meet FAMILY at a previously designated location on school grounds

Walk/bike home as they normally would

Walk to a designated pick-up area for a parent to pick up in a car (Please refrain from parking in these pick up zones for families who will be driving up, picking up students, and driving away)

Please communicate this information to your child(ren) so the Lester staff can assist in guiding students to the family’s pick-up location.

The east blacktop area will be opened up for parent pick-up at dismissal time.

Following daily dismissal at Lester School (2:00 p.m. on Monday and 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), all students who are not scheduled to remain in the building must leave the school grounds and check in at their destination as there is no supervision on school grounds after the school hours. We want to ensure the safety of all students.

RAPTOR SECURITY SYSTEM REMINDER!

For those of you who are new to Lester, please be sure you read the following letter. Lester's doors remain locked and closed at all times. Only school staff and students are able to enter the building through outside doors other than Door 1. Any adults who are not staff members as well as children who are not Lester students must enter through Door 1 and go through our Raptor system. Thank you for taking the time to review this important information to keep our school safe.