Lester Park School Newsletter - #3
September 2, 2021
Hello Lester Park Families!
What a joy it was to see so many of our students and families last night at the Open House! We hope you thought the sign up for a time slot idea went well. We felt less crowded in the rooms, hallways, and at the Office tables.
Below we will try to address a bunch of the popular topics and questions.
Have a wonderful long, holiday weekend!
~Lester Park Office
Upcoming Dates:
Sept 6...School closed (Labor Day)
Sept 7...First Day of school for 1st-5th Grades
Sept 9...First Day of school for Kindergarten
Sept 16...Fun Run Kick Off
Sept 24...Fun Run (more info to come)
School calendar can be found on our website or by clicking HERE
Masks
Recent Bus Change Forms
Any bus changes handed into the office or done by the office for you the last couple of days, were immediately faxed to our Transportation Dept. They handle all the bus assignments. They have been working hard on getting changes made, unfortunately we are not notified when they are made.
Tomorrow morning we will go through all the forms since Wednesday and check on Infinite Campus to see if the information is updated. We will then email the parents and teachers with the updated information, if there was any. Some forms were handed in for students who do not qualify for a bus (0.7th of a mile from school). So if your child/ren had requested bus changes over the last couple of days, be sure to keep an eye on your email, or better yet log in to the Parent Portal and check.
School Office Hours
During the school year, the School Office hours are 7:15am-3:15pm. Tomorrow/Friday, the office will close at noon.
Due to the high workload this time of year, emails work better than phone calls.
tracy.thompson@isd709.org - Admin Asst susan.lehna@isd709.org - Principal
School Day Hours
7:30am - Students should not arrive before this time
7:35am - Students are allowed in their pods
7:45am - Start of the school day. Students must be in their classrooms.
2:15pm - End of the school day.
Security and How to Pick Up Your Child Early or Drop Off Late
- On School Days, the interior vestibule doors are locked from 7:45am-2:15pm.
- All other exterior doors are locked during the school day, and most are locked 24/7.
- Similar to last year, Parents and other visitors will be limited inside the building except for special situations or to view the lost and found.
- 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 may push to speak to the office staff.
How do I pick my child up early?
- It's always a good idea to give the teacher or office a heads up
- Come in the front entrance and press the blue office door button
- Let the Office staff know why you are here
- Sign your child out in the yellow binder
- If you are ill or quarantining, the office staff will bring your child out to you.
What if my child is going to be late?
- Again it's always a good idea to give the teacher or office a heads up
- Please walk your child in and sign them in.
Information on Tardy and Unexcused:
Students need to be in the classrooms by 7:45.
Students who arrive between 7:45-8:15 will be marked tardy or excused tardy, depending on the reason they are late.
Students who arrive after 8:15am will be marked Excused or Unexcused depending on the reason they are late.
After so many tardies, unexcused or excessive absences, attendance letters will be mailed out.
If you have the cell phone app and your child is late, please note you will receive two attendance emails. We need to first mark him/her absent and then check them in at their arrival time.
Illness and Absence Information
What do I do if my child is going to be absent from school?
Call attendance line 336-8875 then “3” to leave a recorded message
Or email lesterattendance@isd709.org (the office & nurse will both see these emails)
Please list any specific symptoms, especially during times of increased influenza reports.
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.
Some helpful links:
- Duluth School District Safe Learning Plan (COVID info)
- Is My Child Well Enough To Go To School
- You can also call our school health office. Emails and Phone #s are HERE
Please Fill out the Free & Reduced Lunch Application
If you heard the rumor that lunches are free again...they are for now. However, we still really need families to fill out the Free & Reduced Application form. Below you will see why. If you need a hardcopy, we have a bunch in our front entrance area. We can also send one home with your child (in a blank envelop).
We encourage families to fill out this form to help support important school funding.
Families qualifying for free/reduced school meals via this form may also qualify for reduced school activity fees, benefits and other discounts.
Approved applications generate state funding that provides important services and programs for Duluth students.
A decline in approved applications now can result in loss of millions of dollars in school funding and less programs and services for students in the next school year.
Fill out the form anywhere, anytime - the process is secure, confidential, convenient and available 24/7.
Lunch questions
Are lunches still free for students?
Yes...for now.
Yes! The School district has information on paying for milk and lunch here:
https://www.isd709.org/departments/child-nutrition/how-can-i-pay-for-lunch
All Student Passwords have been Reset
This past Friday all student passwords were reset. Once parents have filled out the online Blended Learning 1 to 1 Agreement (see above), a new password will be generated for their child and they will be able to log on to a device at school. Therefore it is very important parents fill out this online agreement form asap.
Blended Learning 1 to 1 Agreement
ALL K-12 families are required to fill this form out.
Please fill it out ASAP.
Click here: 2021-2022 Blended Learning 1 to 1 Agreement.
So what is this Agreement for?
In previous years, we had an Internet Access/COPPA form that parents of students under 13 years old were required to fill out. This form gave parent permission for students to use desktops/Chromebooks and access specific educational programs. This new online form covers the COPPA form, as well as the Chromebook Loan Agreement. 3rd-5th graders will be issued a Chromebook at school. K-2nd graders will have access to a Chromebook tablet at school. More information about this will be provided later.
I'm having trouble filling out this agreement online at home
You may pick up a hardcopy at the Lester Park School Office. We will also have a Chromebook KIOSK setup at our Open House.
I can't find my child's password on Infinite Campus
Once you fill out the 2021-2022 Blended Learning 1 to 1 Agreement online form, this will generate a computer password for your child. This is similar to past years when we had the Internet Access/COPPA form. Your child will not be able to use any type of computer device at school until this form is filled out.
More information can be found here:
Parent Portal of Infinite Campus
The Parent Portal is how you access your child's school information on Infinite Campus. Some items you will find are: Bus Assignment, Lunch Balance, report cards, and Teacher Assignment.
* Parents can update phone and email contact information via the Parent Portal.
* If you forgot your password or username, click HERE and see the light blue options to have it emailed to you.
* If your account no longer works or you did not receive an activation key, email tracy.thompson@isd709.org and I will email our district Technology department to send you a new one.
* After one year of nonuse, the parent portal access is discontinued, so be sure to log in a couple of times during the year. You will use it even more as your child/children move on into middle and high school.
Monitors and Sub Monitors Needed
Help us make the Morning drop-off and Afternoon dismissal safe and smooth for everyone!
Morning Drop-Off
· Do not drop your child off until 7:30am.
· Please do not block bus parking lot exit. Allow buses to exit.
· The sidewalk in front of the school is a fire lane. Do not leave your vehicle.
· Pull all the way up to drop off your child. Stopping in front of the doors greatly slows the drop off process.
· Do not drop off your child from the middle drive-thru lane. This is dangerous for your child, and also greatly slows down the drop off process.
· Have your child exit the car along the sidewalk, not into the middle drive-thru lane. This is also dangerous for your child.
· Have your child already 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.
· When pulling out from the fire lane, put your left turn signal.
· Drive slowly through the parking lot, watching for children who may dart out from parked cars.
· If the long line of cars causes students to be late, they will not be marked tardy.
Afternoon Dismissal
· If you are first here, pull all the way forward. Do not just stop in front of the door.
· The sidewalk in front of the school is a fire lane. Do not leave your vehicle. If you need to leave your vehicle, please park in the parking lot.
· Do not block other cars from entering the parking lot entrance, or exiting the parking lot.
MN Department of Education Digital Survey
The MN Department of Education is asking all families to complete a Digital Survey.
The survey will provide district-level summary data—in other words, no personal, identifying information—to MN legislators, MN agency staff and their external partners for the purpose of improving educational outcomes and digital access for public school students across the state.
Second Step!
We are excited to introduce Second Step, the social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that all ISD 709 pre-k, elementary and middle schools will be implementing beginning Fall 2021. We are taking a district-wide approach with all staff involved to better help our students develop social-emotional skills such as managing emotions, making responsible decisions, problem solving, and maintaining healthy relationships.
Research makes clear that the more holistic a community’s approach to social-emotional learning (SEL), the more benefits there are for children. This includes less unwanted behaviors, more mental health support & understanding, and even increased academics. In a coordinated holistic approach, SEL competencies are taught through explicit skill instruction, practice and reinforcement, as well as through implicit approaches such as modeling our own SEL competencies in day-to-day interactions with students and one another.
We look forward to beginning this opportunity with our students this Fall!
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