Hello Lester Families,

Mr. Burel, Dr. Smith and I had a blast at the Harlem Wizards game! Thank you to all who attended.

It has been a busy week of finishing our benchmark testing. It has been a cold one so students were excited to get outside for recess to run around at the end of the week!

Thank you to everyone who donated to our Student Council fundraiser. We appreciate all of your help to support the American Red Cross and the LA Wildfires.

We will continue to go outside for recess when temperatures rise above zero degrees so please make sure your child is appropriately dressed for the weather. We appreciate your help making sure that students have warm clothing/coats/snow gear during these cold temperature days.

A shout out to all of our singers who participated in the DGCC (Downers Grove Children's Choir) concert this week! It was so great to hear their beautiful voices. These 5th and 6th grade students did a fabulous job.

As a reminder, the District 58 Science Fair is happening this weekend. Projects are to be dropped off on Friday evening at O'Neill Middle School and then the fair is happening on Saturday morning. We are looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful leopard scientists in action.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend :)

Katie Novosel

Principal

knovosel@dg58.org

Lauri Smith

Assistant Principal

lsmith@dg58.org

GRATEFUL FORM

ABSENCE REPORTING FORM

LINKS TO PRIOR LESTER LIVINGS

Regular school attendance is crucial for your child’s academic and social development. We appreciate your partnership in helping them arrive at school on time each day. District 58 is focused on improving student attendance, and as a part of this effort, I will be sending an attendance awareness letter home to each student’s family. This letter will be sent home on Friday, January 31, and it will include the number of days your child has been in attendance. Please reach out to me should you have any questions about your child’s attendance or this letter.

Will your child be 3 or 4 years old this August? Do you have a neighbor or friend with a future preschooler? Please share! Grove Children’s Preschool will hold an open house on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Henry Puffer School, 2220 Haddow Ave. Parents and guardians may tour the preschool, meet the staff, hear an overview of the program, and ask questions.

Grove Children’s Preschool tuition applications for the 2025-26 school year will open online at www.dg58.org/preschool on Wednesday, Feb. 19th at 8:00!

Will your child attend kindergarten at Lester next school year? Or do you have a friend or neighbor whose child will? Here are four steps to prepare!

1. If we don’t already know that you have an incoming kindergartner, please complete the form linked below and let us know! We will add you to any school-specific kindergarten contact lists.

2. Attend Kindergarten Roundup at Lester on Thursday, March 13. Kindergarten Roundup gives parents and guardians the opportunity to visit their child’s future school, meet the principal and staff, and ask questions.

3. Visit our Kindergarten Resource webpage for kindergarten resources and helpful information.

4. Attend Kindergarten Dual Language Information Night. Learn more about the Dual Language Program below!

Incoming kindergarten parents and guardians are invited to an informational meeting regarding District 58’s Dual Language Program on Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at El Sierra School, 6835 Fairmount Drive.

The meeting will be in both English and Spanish.

It is intended specifically for parents and guardians of incoming kindergarteners for the 2025-26 school year.

Learn about:

• Understand the benefits of dual language learning.
• Learn more about District 58’s bilingual learning model and how to participate.
• Meet some of the dual language teachers and staff. Get answers to your questions.
• Learn how to enroll.

District 58’s Dual Language Program opens up a world of opportunities for young learners. We welcome your child to join this journey! To learn more, visit our Dual Language Program webpage.

Winter parent-teacher conference signups will be open from Thursday, Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. through Friday, Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. Families can sign up using the PowerPTC system.

Conferences will take place the evenings of Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.

View conference signup instructions here. (para Español: Registro para las reuniones de padres y maestros).

We value communication with parents and guardians, but we have received feedback that as a result of strong and ongoing communication between home and school a winter conference may not be necessary for all families. You can simply choose not to sign up. Regardless, please know that you can request a conference with your child’s teacher at any time throughout the year. Additionally, your child’s teacher(s) may contact you at any time if they feel a conference would be helpful.

Saturday, January 25: District 58 Science Fair

Sunday, January 26: Lester Talent Show at Downers Grove North 4:00-6:00 pm

Tuesday, February 4 & Thursday, February 6: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Week of Monday, February 3: Book Fair in Lester Library during conferences!

Tuesday, March 11: PTA Science Olympiad at Lester (more info to come from PTA)

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

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

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!

District 58 is busy planning for its 2025 Summer School and Extended School Year (ESY) programs!

While details aren't finalized, we wanted to share basic information for families who may want to start making summer plans.

More information, including registration links, will be shared next month.

Summer School: General Education & Enrichment classes will take place Monday, June 9 through Friday, June 27, 2025 at Henry Puffer School. No class will be held Thursday, June 19. This session will offer math and reading grade-level readiness courses, as well as enrichment classes; topics are still being finalized.

Summer School: Band & Orchestra classes will also take place. The schedule is still in development and will be shared soon.

Extended School Year classes will take place Friday, May 30-Friday, June 27 from 8:15-11:15 a.m. at Henry Puffer School. No class will be held on June 19. This session is open to students who qualify through their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The student’s IEP team will identify targeted goals and specific special education services for the student.

Please note, District 58 will not offer the Essential Skills Summer School program this year. This program was previously funded by federal money that is no longer available.

Did you move? Let us know! District 58 will start residency verification after winter break!

If your family has moved in the past year, or if your student’s address information has changed in any way, please contact Bebe (jsteele@dg58.org) or Angie (acushing@dg58.org) or call Lester School at 630-719-5855 and provide your updated information prior to winter break. In addition, if you rent a property, please make sure that your school has a copy of your most recent lease. You may email a copy of your lease to Bebe (jsteele@dg58.org) or Angie (acushing@dg58.org) or drop off a copy at our school office.

District 58 will open 2025-26 student registration in February 2025. As part of the student registration process, District 58 works with a third-party vendor to verify that all students live within the District’s boundaries. After winter break, District 58 will begin the student address verification process. By starting this process earlier, we hope student registration will go more smoothly and more efficiently.

If our third-party vendor, Thomson Reuters CLEAR, cannot confirm that a student lives at their registered address, they will flag that student. District 58 will contact the student’s family and request additional documentation to confirm their address. A family will not be able to register their student for the 2025-26 school year until their residency is confirmed.

Keeping your child’s address information up-to-date will help make the registration process go more smoothly and ensure your child’s registration is completed without delay. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter! District 58 will share more information about 2025-26 student registration after winter break.

If winter weather requires schools to close, District 58 will promptly email and call all families and staff. The District will also post school closure information on the website, www.dg58.org, and social media channels.

District 58 has the option to use an e-learning day or an emergency day (also called snow day) during bad weather.

This year, District 58 will likely use e-learning days. E-learning days do not need to be made up at the end of the school year. District 58 needs to maximize the summer for referendum construction, so e-learning days would allow District 58 to keep on its construction schedule.

Learn more about District 58's winter weather procedures.

Read District 58's e-learning plan.