Hello Lester Families,

Happy New Year to everyone! We have had a wonderful week of fun and learning at Lester. Students are back in the swing of things and we are very proud of them for working hard this week. We have completed our Aimsweb Benchmark testing and students will participate in MAP testing next week. We are hoping to meet our school-wide growth goals in reading and math! Students are being encouraged to try their best! Please be sure your child gets plenty of rest the night before testing and a good breakfast.

Winter weather is here and so is snow! Please be sure to send your child with snow boots and snow pants if you want them to play in the snow. We encourage all students to dress for the weather so please remind your child to bring their warm gear to school each day. We appreciate your support and help :)

Over the next few weeks, Dr. Smith will be helping out at another District 58 building. In her absence, we will have some extra office support from Nicole Ring, our instructional coach, who has previously completed her administrative certification and Dr. Jayne Yudzentis, who is a recently retired administrator from District 58.

Next Tuesday, we will be visited by a Harlem Wizard during all 3 lunch periods to promote the upcoming Harlem Wizards game which is a fundraiser for the Ed Foundation. The Ed Foundation raises money to support District 58 schools. Dr. Smith, Mr. Burel, and I will all be representing Lester on the District 58 team this year! We hope to see you there as well!

Enjoy 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

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.

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.

As part of our new Student Library Card Program, District 58 invited families to sign up their child to receive a free library card during school registration last year. The Downers Grove Public Library recently finished preparing the library cards and delivered them to District 58 schools. Our school will distribute library cards during your child's library class during the first couple of weeks of February.

Students who signed up and already have a library card will receive an envelope with information about the program. In addition, participating students who live in Woodridge should have received their library card by mail last month. Library cards may not yet be ready for students who transferred to District 58 mid-school year. If you did not sign up your child for a library card but would like one, please contact the school office. We will partner with the library for a second issuance of library cards later this year.

Learn more about the Student Library Card Program.

Buy tickets now! Proceeds will support the District 58 Education Foundation! Mr. Burel, Mrs. Novosel & Dr. Smith will be playing for the District 58 team!

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!

Thank you to Mrs. Onken and all of our students who participated in the PTA Reflections Program this year! Students who participated had a pizza party and received a Hobby Lobby gift card! We are hopeful that next year we can get even more students involved. Great job, students!

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

Sunday, January 19: Harlem Wizard game at DGS (Ed Foundation)

Saturday, January 25: District 58 Science Fair

Sunday, January 26: Lester Talent Show at DGN

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

Week of Monday, February 3: Book Fair

Save the Date: Thursday, March 13th Kindergarten Round-Up for incoming Kindergarten 2025-2026

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.

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.