Lester Park School Newsletter - #28
March 9, 2023
Hello Lester Park Families!
What a fabulous Grandparents' Day!! It was so much fun to see all of the grandparents and special friends, as well as our students' smiles as they gave them tours and visited the Grandparent Museum. We have missed having this wonderful event. Our last one was Nov 2019. I am not sure when Mrs. Baker started this school tradition, but I do remember my parents going to it when my daughter was in kindergarten and she is now 20!
Thank you to the PTA for all of the delicious cookies and coffee for the grandparents. A HUGE thank you to our parent volunteers who helped us out this morning! We couldn't have done this without you.
~ Tracy Thompson, Admin Asst
Upcoming Dates:
Mar 17...PTA Go Green 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
The School Calendar can be found on our website HERE
Do not fill out a 2023-24 Registration form if...
The online registration is only for students who are new to the school district, or are in preschool and will be starting Kindergarten this fall.
If your child is in 5th grade and you had to fill out a Transfer Form or an Open Enrollment form for him/her to attend Lester Park School, you may need to fill another one for Ordean-East Middle School. Please email tracy.thompson@isd709.org with questions.
Drop-Off Reminders
Please do not drop your child off on the street below Lester Park School (Oneida).
* The street is narrow and slows buses from getting into the bus lot.
* Families reported it being dangerous for their children crossing there
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 parent who 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.
Update on the New Lester Park School Website
- Since it is a new web software, some of the links in previous school newsletters and emails are not going to work.
- We need to re-add information from the previous Lester website. This will take some time due to learning the new software, etc. In the meantime, the school newsletters and our Family Handbook have a lot of good information for parents (although a few links may not work yet).
Student Art Exhibition Going on NOW!
The Duluth Public School Student Art Exhibition is at the Miller Hill Mall until March 12th. Congratulations to these 10 Lester Park students who are being recognized for artistic achievement. Their artwork will be representing our school at the Art Exhibition! More information can be found on a flyer HERE.
Makoa - KG
Charlie - 1st
Aubrey - 1st
Walter - 1st
Miles - 2nd
Rielyn - 3rd
Dante - 4th
Trygve - 5th
Emme - 5th
Jamie - 5th
Spring 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:
Ticket Winners from Last Week!
K- Kate
1- Eloise
2- Max
3- Fiona
4- Brenn
5- George
For more information on about tickets, please see this school newsletter: March 2
Let's Raise Another TON!
The 16th Annual March Food Drive is underway! Lester Park School is now collecting non-perishable food and money for the Union Gospel Mission in Duluth.
For each dollar donation, proportional matching dollars from MN Food Share will be received at the Mission. Dollars spent by the Mission allows them to get approximately 10 times more food than can be purchased at a grocery store for the same amount of money.
Lester Park School has become one of the largest donors for the Union Gospel Mission. This year more than ever, the mission can use our help. We are hoping you will help us continue this amazing service project for the people in Duluth. With your donations, we can do this!
Please make sure all donations of food are not expired and are within the “use by” date on each item. Have your child place their donation in the food boxes provided in their classroom. All money donations should be placed in the marked envelope in their classroom.
HELP US REACH OUR GOAL OF ONE TON (OR MORE) OF FOOD FOR THE UNION GOSPEL MISSION. Thank you! Lester Park School
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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
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.
Lunch menu changes are put in school newsletters. If it is a very short notice then we will send out a special email. Regular lunch and breakfast menus can be found HERE.
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
Duluth Fast Pitch last chance to register - Link to Summer Flyer
Previous Community Flyers can be found HERE.
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