Hello Lester Families,

.We had a wonderful week of fun and learning at Lester! Students participated in many community building activities including the Holiday Sing and winter class parties. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves! Please check out all of the photos shared from the party.

Our winter break has officially begun and we are hopeful that you are able to find time to relax and enjoy time with your family. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday, January 6th!

Wishes of a safe and relaxing winter break!

Katie Novosel

Principal

knovosel@dg58.org

Lauri Smith

Assistant Principal

lsmith@dg58.org

GRATEFUL FORM

ABSENCE REPORTING FORM

LINKS TO PRIOR LESTER LIVINGS

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!

After winter break, District 58's elementary schools will join the National School Lunch Program and partner with a new elementary food service provider, Open Kitchens.

To help with the transition, District 58 will automatically provide meals to all students who currently receive boxed lunches during the week of Jan. 6. Families do not need to pre-order meals for this week.

Starting with the week of Jan. 13, all families who would like their child to receive a boxed lunch will be required to pre-order it online through the MyMealOrder system. Lunch orders for the week of Jan. 13 are due on Monday, Jan. 6 at the end of the day.

Click here to learn more information about ordering elementary boxed lunches.

Buy tickets now! Proceeds will support the District 58 Education Foundation

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 invites Lester to its Harlem Wizards fundraiser game on Sunday, Jan. 19 from 6-8 p.m. at Downers Grove South High School.

Buy tickets online at www.58foundation.org/events/Wizards. All event proceeds will be donated to the Education Foundation, a non-profit that raises money to support District 58 students.

Learn more here!

Monday, December 23- Friday, January 3: NO SCHOOL-Winter break (school resumes Monday, Jan 6)

Monday, January 6- Friday, January 17: MAP TESTING & Aimsweb Testing

Sunday, January 19: Harlem Wizard game at DGS (Ed Foundation) (more info to come)

Saturday, January 25: District 58 Science Fair (more info to come)

Sunday, January 26: Lester Talent Show at DGN

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

Week of Monday, February 3: Book Fair

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.