Lester Living
Friday, February 16, 2024
We hope you all had a wonderful valentine's week filled with joy! We enjoyed seeing all of the students dressing up during our spirit days. Our primary students enjoyed trading valentines as well.
Our second graders had a great time on their Tivoli field trip. Thank you to our PTA for the opportunity for these students to participate in such a fun time.
As a reminder, please be sure that you do not bring in fountain drinks or milkshakes for students. Student drinks should be completely sealable to prevent spills. We appreciate you helping to make sure students are remembering their items each morning. We know that there are times when students forget things, but we appreciate you reminding them to bring ipads, water bottles, instruments, lunches, etc. This means less disruption in the classrooms each day. Thank you for your help.
We hope you enjoy your 3 day weekend :)
Katie Novosel
Principal
Lauri Smith
Assistant Principal
5 ESSENTIALS SURVEYS
Parent Survey Information:
As a reminder, parents are invited to take the District 58 School Environment Survey here. The survey should take just a few minutes yet provides valuable information that guides our school improvement efforts. All responses are anonymous.
In addition, parents are also invited to take the Illinois State Board of Education’s 5Essentials Parent Survey. This survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes. Your identity and survey responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected to you or your child.
Student Survey Information:
Additionally, grade 4-8 students will be asked to participate in a 5Essentials student survey sometime between Feb. 23 and March 22. If you do not wish to have your grade 4-8 student(s) participate in the 5Essentials, please fill out this opt-out form by Tuesday, Feb. 20.
A District 58 email was sent to all parents/guardians about the surveys and the student’s 5Essential opt-out form on Monday, Feb. 12. Learn more about the surveys here.
FAMILY READING NIGHT at Herrick!
Lester PTA invites you to Family Reading Night!
Come learn the science behind chemical reactions, special effects, fire, ice, and more! Show off your new knowledge at Science Olympiad the following week! All ages are welcome, bring the whole family. There will be a read-aloud, followed by a presentation from Mad Science of Chicago.
15th Annual Science Olympiad!
Mark your calendars for the 15th annual Lester School Science Olympiad, which will take place on March 5, 2024 at 6:30 PM. This is a tremendous team-building event where groups of three to five students, plus a parent guide, spend the evening solving problems together. Our free, non-competitive program allows students to experience three fun and exciting 30-minute events within their grade level. We have some exciting new activities planned for this year so don’t delay and sign up today!
Registration for student participants and parent guides is now open! The deadline to sign up is February 20th. https://forms.gle/6djr9B3BpwaQQbh8A
A special thank you to this year's Science Olympiad sponsor, MGFS!
NEXT WEEK!!!
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Mon. Feb 19: NO SCHOOL
Sat. Feb 24: District 58 Reading Games at ONeill Middle School
Mon. Feb 26 & Tues. Feb 27: DGPL Booktalks in Library
Wed. Feb 28: Family Reading Night (details to come)
Fri. March 1: NO SCHOOL- Dupage County Institute Day
Tues. March 5: Science Olympiad (details to come)
Mon. March 25-Fri. March 29: SPRING BREAK NO SCHOOL
A Peek into Lester Life:
REPEATED ITEMS BELOW:
Kids Heart Challenge
It's almost that time of year!! Save the Date for our annual Kids Heart Challenge Fundraising event! We kick off on February 20th! You can register now by clicking this link.
New service on mental health resources
District 58 strives to create a culture of well-being for students, parents, staff and community. To further support this endeavor, the District has invested in an additional support service through ReferralGPS.
ReferralGPS is a service providing assistance to our community in finding local mental health and substance use-related treatment resources. The service compliments the District’s existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS assists families in triage and appointment setting.
School district staff and families may access ReferralGPS in two ways:
Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists, counselors) to seek out treatment options
Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/DG58 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously
The platform has the ability to filter by mental health concern, clinician gender/specialty, location, and insurance acceptance. The service is available for all types of private and public insurance options including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, and families that are uninsured or underinsured.
ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored.
ABSENCES
Will your child be ABSENT?
This year, we have a Google Form for you to fill out to let our secretaries know when your child will be absent from school. This is an option for you instead of calling or emailing. Our hope is that this will streamline the process for you! We will add this link each week for you in this Newsletter.