Lester Park School Newsletter - #29
March 16, 2023
Hello Lester Park Families!
Yesterday, some parents surprised the staff with pies for National Pi Day. What a fabulous and fun way to start off a school day! Our coworkers kept mentioning how lucky we all are to have such sweet families.
Thank you to all of the families who have donated treats this year, volunteered in classrooms or for events, as well as for being understanding as we make our way through any changes this school year. It means so much!
~ Mrs. Tracy Thompson & Mrs. Brianna Solberg, Your Friendly Faces at the Front Desk
Upcoming Dates:
Mar 17...PTA Go Green Day
Mar 21...World Down Syndrome Day and Crazy Sock Day
Mar 30...2023-24 Kindergarten Meet & Greet 3-6pm
Apr 28...Spring Concert...9am & 1pm one hour concerts
May 3...PTA Walk/Bike to School Day
May 5...PTA School Carnival
May 8-12...Teacher Appreciation Week
May 16...Bike Rodeo at Congdon School (parking lot)
May 23...PTA Meeting
The School Calendar can be found on our website HERE
IF we have a 2-hour Late Start...
Below is what to expect IF our school district was to announce a "2-Hour Late Start"...
- AM Preschool class is canceled.
- Breakfast is NOT served
- Buses will pick up students 2 hours later than they normally do.
- Doors unlock for students at 9:30 am. Do not drop off before this time.
- School Office opens at 9:00am.
- Lunch and recess follow their normal schedule.
- School still ends at the normal time of 2:15pm.
Only the School Engineer is scheduled to be at elementary schools prior to 9am if there is a late start. This is why it is so important to stay on top of the weather, and check to see if you have been notified in your emails or on your phones/telephones.
REMINDER - Wear Green Tomorrow!
Thank you to the Lester Park PTA Wellness Council for organizing this event again. Also thank you to our kitchen manager, Mrs. Angie!
2023-24 Kindergarten Meet & Greet is March 30th!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A4FA8A82CAA8-2023
Please also share with them this contact form that we use to make sure we know about the future kindergartner and how to get a hold of parents.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqNSXEge7xJcGhNda-_YMBOATap3gJ2wi9n6xAOaaivNOzww/viewform
If they have any questions, they can email tracy.thompson@isd709.org. Thanks!
WOW! Check out what these kids can do!
Every year on National Pi Day, 5th graders compete for how many digits of Pi they can memorize. Our 4 winners this year were:
Jack - 211
George - 211
Sophia - 145
Alli - 137
Congratulations to these amazing 5th Graders! (pictured below)
Ticket Winners from Last Week!
K- Tupelo
1- Lyra
2- Ruby
3- Javon
4- Shayna
5- Gavin
For more information on about tickets, please see this school newsletter: March 2
Let's Raise Another TON!
Did you know that March is Minnesota Food Share Month? For many years, Lester Park School has been one of the largest donors for the Union Gospel Mission. We are hoping you will help us continue this amazing service project for the people in Duluth.
Did you know there will be a classroom competition? All classes will have a popsicle celebration provided by our school Foundation to show our appreciation of their efforts with this event. Additionally, the top 3 classes with the most "weight" of food and money donations ($1.00 =1 lb. ) will be also be celebrated.
- 1st place class gets to choose first between Sammys Pizza, 30 mins of extra recess, or a cookie celebration.
- 2nd place class will choose second between the remaining two options.
- 3rd place class will get the remaining 3rd option.
Please check food donations to make sure they are not expired.
Thank you for supporting of our food drive this year! Let's have some fun and raise ONE TON (or more)!
Looking for used shoes...
A request from our PhyEd teacher, Mrs. Bryant...
If you have a pair of sneakers at home that your child has outgrown, please consider donating them to Lester Park School. There are times when our students have forgotten to bring their gym shoes and need to borrow a pair. Our supply is getting low, and we would love to have more sizes for these children to choose from. Thank you! TracySpring Concert Information!
Time: 9am & 1pm
* The two concerts are Identical, so please only come to ONE performance.
* There will be a shuttle similar to Grandparents' Day. Unfortunately again it will have to start at 9am because that is the soonest we are able to have a bus due to the bus driver shortage.
* More coming information in the April newsletters.
Weekly News by our 5th Grade!
You can find previous Weekly News recordings here:
Breakfast/Lunch information?
Breakfast:
* Free & optional for all students
* Served starting at 7:30am
Lunch:
* Regular lunch and breakfast menus can be found HERE.
* Lunch menu changes are put in school newsletters. If it is a very short notice then we will send out a special email.
* For more breakfast and lunch information, please click HERE
How do I pay for my child's lunch?
You may pay for your child's lunch by either sending cash/check with your child, give to the office, or pay online with https://paypams.com/. Our kitchen manager, angela.beyer@isd709.org x1347, handles all Lester lunch money questions. Bank runs are done once a week.
AM Drop off and PM Pick up Tips
Please do not drop off your children until 7:30.
The Front Doors are locked until 7:30am.
We understand these requests add to the length of the morning drop-off line, but again safety of our students is our #1 priority.
Thank you to the parents who have offered to help make drop-off go smoother in front of our school! If you would like to volunteer...please email tracy.thompson@isd709.org. For more ways to help the drop-off go faster and safely, please see the tips further down in this newsletter.
- 1st tip...Patience, patience patience. Your child goes to the 2nd biggest elementary schools in the district. This means more parents dropping off and picking up.
- 2nd tip...drive slowly through the parking lot! Watch for children who may dart out from parked cars. Nothing is more important than our students' safety!
- 3rd tip...Signal when exiting drop off lane.
- 4th tip...Do not block other cars from entering the parking lot entrance, or exiting the parking lot. We had a situation last year when this happened and parents got out of their vehicles and told the blocker to move.
- 5th tip...Please do not block bus parking lot exit. Allow buses to exit.
How to make the drop off and pick up process faster:
- Have your child all ready to exit your vehicle before you get to school. This way you can “Stop (unbuckle) Drop and Go”. The faster you drop off your child, the faster it will go for others.
- If you stay in line waiting to get to the front door...this greatly slows the drop off process!
- You do not need to follow the line. If you see an empty space ahead...take it. So many times we have seen room for 3 more cars at the end of the drop off/pick up area. More empty spaces mean less kids being picked up and dropped off.
- If you are one of the first cars there in the afternoon...pull all the way forward.
- The sidewalk in front of the school is a fire lane. Do not leave your vehicle. It is illegal and greatly slows down the process. If you need to leave your vehicle, please park in the parking lot. We will put a reminder slip on cars that are parked in the fire lane. If you see someone parked there, please let us know and we will go put a slip under their wiper.
Biggest Safety concern...Do NOT drop your child off in the middle drive-thru lane!! Twice we have witnessed a child nearly being hit. If we see you do this, we WILL contact you! You need to pull in next to the sidewalk.
Important stress reliver...If you are stuck in a long drop off line that causes your child to get into the building after 7:45, your child will NOT get marked tardy. The same goes for when roads are snow covered and slippery. If you see us writing down your child's name, it is in case the teacher marks them absent and so we know to change it.
If your child tests positive for Covid...
* Call the attendance line or email lesterattendance@isd709.org and state COVID and the first absent day. You do not need to call in every day after that.
* Your child will need to be absent for 5 days. The test day is DAY 0. Your child can come back to school on Day 6.
* A mask is required for DAYS 6-10, if they are feeling better and back in school.
* You do not need to fill out a COVID online form for students anymore. Just letting the school know is all that is required.
If you have questions please call the health office 336-8875 ext. 2654 or ext. 2522.
Community Flyers
ABOUT US
ISD709 School District Update Center
Email: tracy.thompson@isd709.org
Website: https://www.isd709.org/lester-park-elementary
Location: 5300 Glenwood Street, Duluth, MN 55804, USA
Phone: (218) 336-8875
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lester-Park-Elementary-1900216436910729