Lester Park School Newsletter - #5

With the second week almost finished, we hope your kiddos are feeling more settled in their school routine. Well and I guess that goes for parents/guardians as well. Staff too!

Did you know we have a Family Handbook for Lester Park School families? We try to keep it up to date to help parents with their questions. The same goes for the Weekly School Newsletter. However if you still aren't finding an answer to your question, please feel free to ask us! If we send you a response that includes a section of the handbook or previous newsletter, it is probably because it is the quickest way for us to help you out.

Have a wonderful evening!

Tracy Thompson & Brianna Solberg

Lester Park Admin Assts

lesterpark@isd709.org

Family Handbook for Lester Park School

• Sept 13...8am PBIS assembly...9am Lockdown Drill

• Sept 17...5th Grade Forestry Field Day
  

• Sept 18...6-7pm PTA meeting - All are welcomed!

• Sept 19-25...Fun Run Week
  

• Sept 26...The FUN RUN!

• Oct 2...Picture Day (more info in the next week)

• Week of Oct 7...Parent/Teacher Conferences

• Oct 14...NO SCHOOL (Teacher PD day)

• Oct 17-18...NO SCHOOL (MEA weekend)

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)

This Friday at 8am we have our first assembly- PBIS assembly! Please have your child/children here on time so they can attend this FUN assembly and sit with their class.

This will be a gathering to celebrate PAWsitive behavior and expectations to start the school year off strong. Mrs.Cawcutt will go over our four values- Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and Kind and introduce all of our staff members. (scroll further down in newsletter for examples)

We will also go over the process in which our positive recognition system works through "Paw Coins" and "Super Paws"! The whole school will also find out what our first Paw Meter goal will be! (Pictures below)

What is PBIS?

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

What does that mean?

Prevent behaviors before they happen, Define and teach expectations for students, Acknowledge positive behavior, Establish consistent consequences, and Use data to make decisions. PBIS can improve academic success, social emotional competence, and school climate.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact our PBIS (positive behavioral interventions & supports) coordinator Jordan Fleek 336-8875 x3165, or email lesterpark@isd709.org and we will forward your email to her.

This is just a reminder that we will be having our first Lockdown drill tomorrow/Friday at 9am.

You can learn more about this type of drill here:

https://www.isd709.org/about-us/safe-and-welcoming

If you have concerns about your child's participation, please contact your child's teacher.

Lockdown Drill 2024-25 Schedule:

September 13, October 22, November 19, December 13, March 3

Yesterday, parents/guardians received a few calls/emails/texts with information about a lockdown at Denfeld High School. Parents/Guardians are able to change what messages they want to call their phone, or maybe just email and text, etc.

You can edit your contact preferences by using the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus.

1. In the top right corner, click on "USER MENU" (person icon)
2. Click on "SETTINGS"
3. Click on "CONTACT PREFERENCES"

Please note that the School Office cannot edit these for you. We do not have access to do so.

The First PTA meeting will be 6pm-7pm on Wednesday, Sept 18, in the school library/media center.

AGENDA

Meet and Greet

How the PTA supports the school vs the Lester Foundation

Volunteer opportunities

Questions for School Office Staff

Other Q & A

Due to Fire Codes and the large amount of visitors that attend, we are trying out something new this school year. We will have 3 morning music programs with only 2 grades at each program. There will be only 1 program each day. Here is the schedule:

Grades 4 & 5...Friday morning, Nov 8

Grades K & 1...Tuesday morning, Dec 17

Grades 2 & 3...Wednesday morning, May 7 (CHANGED)

The programs will likely start at 9:30am. Doors would open at 9am.

More information on these 3 programs will be provided a few weeks prior to each event.

If your vehicle does not have appropriate Handicap identifications, it is illegal to park or wait in a handicap parking spot.

We have many families with children with physical disabilities, and it is very important that these parking spots are available for them when picking up or dropping off their children. It is also the law.

In past, we have had a School Resource Officer in the parking lot giving out tickets.

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 who filled out the form. The Lester Park 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.

Please submit a separate online form for each student.

Online Form due BY OCT 25!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at ptalp709@gmail.com .

The classroom that returns the most new/renewed memberships

by OCTOBER 25th, wins an extra recess!!

• Jostens is taking Elementary Photos (similar to high school)
• Jostens email parents/guardians directly
• You will receive 2-3 images to choose from after Picture Day.
• All ordering is done online through Jostens
• All payments are done online through Jostens
• No money is handed into the school
• No ordering deadlines
  
• Special discounts for families with 3+ children
• All picture orders are mailed directly to parents/guardians
• PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW

Fun Run is Coming! September 26th

Take me

To the magic of the moment on a glory night

Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream away)

In the wind of change

Previous Fun Runs have been awesome but there’s always room to improve! This year the Fun Run will be different. More dynamic. More inclusive. More focused on maximizing the impact of donations on the things that matter to students and teachers. Yes there will still be some cool prizes for students and classes related to fundraising efforts. There will still be movement and music and, of course, FUN! The annual Fun Run is the only formal fundraising effort of the Lester Park Elementary School Foundation (non-profit organization of volunteer parents, teachers, school staff) to support the enrichment needs of kids and teachers.

Volunteers have been busy behind the scenes securing some awesome donations from local businesses and planning the details of the new event. Look for donation details and info that your student will bring home on Wednesday, September 18! We'll share more details in the next newsletter too.

Questions? e-mail sarah.m.crowell@gmail.com

Lü is a Quebec-based educational technology company that transforms the gyms of

students aged 5 to 12 into immersive learning environments. Lü systems are composed of

giant wall projectors, 3D cameras, a lighting module and speakers, for an infrastructure that

creates larger-than-life interactive learning experiences. Since its inception, Lü has

continued to diversify its catalog of curriculum-inspired applications that integrate

components essential to the development of children as a whole, and make learning fun and

active.

Together, these tools enable teachers to stimulate and motivate students, helping them to

grow socio-emotionally, intellectually and physically. Lü systems are installed in over 2 000

schools in more than 35 countries, enabling schools to open up to new interactive,

immersive and collaborative teaching methods.

The LÜ was purchased with money raised by previous Fun Runs. A HUGE thank you to the Lester Park Foundation and all the families and friends who donated to the Fun Run fundraisers!!

You can learn more about the Lü here: https://play-lu.com/

The Backpack Program provides a supplemental supply of weekend food to children in need.

Students receive a 3-6 pound bag of food twice a month to carry home from school in their own backpack or book bag. Deliveries start September 18.

Availability varies but often includes shelf-stable entrees like soup or pasta, fruits and vegetables, cereal, snacks and more.

For more information, contact:

Heather Rappana

Lester Park School Social Worker

lesterpark@isd709.org

218-336-8700 x2429

This school year, Grandparents' Day will be on Friday, Nov 22nd. Watch for more information on this treasured event later in October.

If your child's grandparent is unable to come, they are more than welcome to bring an adult who is special to them.

The School District has provided all of their schools with new red Visitor badges. These badges are only for adults as there are not enough for children visitors.

If we run out of badges, there are still the orange Visitor stickers. Please return these badges when you leave the school. Missing badges cost the school district money.

You will still need to sign in and out of the GREEN binder. We will still need to buzz you into the main hallway.

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

The K-5th Grade 2024-25 School Supply Lists can be found on our school website or by clicking here: https://secure.smore.com/n/29kef

• On school days, the interior vestibule doors unlock at 7:30am, then lock again from 7:45am-2:15pm.
• All other exterior doors are locked during the school day, and most are locked 24/7.
• The Office door is only unlocked from 7:15am-8am
• There is a blue lit doorbell to the right of the office door that you push to speak to the office staff.
• Visitors sign themselves into the green book and a red visitors badge if they are coming into the building. Please remember to return badge when you leave. Thank you!
• Parents sign in/out their child in the yellow book if they are coming in late or returning to school.

We have received a lot of questions about what these 3 are and how they work together. Below will hopefully help explain the difference

Infinite Campus

Program containing the database with all our student and guardian information, schedules, bussing, etc.

Parent Portal

Parent/Guardian access to Infinite Campus and how they view their child's information, as well as change their own contact information.

ParentSquare

The communication system our school district uses to send emails and phone calls to families, and families can respond back in a secure way. It uses the contact information set up in Infinite Campus. ParentSquare syncs with Infinite Campus every night, so any updates will go into effect the following day.

Click HERE for more information on ParentSquare

Click HERE for instructions on signing up for ParentSquare

Cub Scouts

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