Lester Park School Newsletter - #27
March 2, 2023
Hello Lester Park Families!
Thank you for patience with the new morning drop-off policy. Big changes can be challenging but also necessary when it comes to the safety of our students. We appreciate your help and understanding with the change. We have contacted our Resource Officer and will be getting some law enforcement help with some illegal traffic issues, as well as the safety of our crossing guards. Hang in there. We will get through this change together!
In less than 2 months, we will have our first K-5th Grade Spring Concert! This was a change from when we had the Holiday Program prior to COVID. The Spring Concert will be pretty similar, just a different month and no winter songs...at least we hope the snow is gone by then! There will be two identical 1-hour concerts...one at 9am and one at 1pm. Please come to only ONE concert. We have a lot of families who come to these concerts and there is limited seating. We will provide more information about the concerts in a few weeks.
~ Tracy Thompson, Admin Asst
Upcoming Dates:
Mar 4...5th Grade Wolf Ridge Fundraiser at Bent Paddle
Mar 9...Grandparents' Day
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
BINGO for BOOKS is Postponed
Tonight's PTA "BINGO for Books" has been postponed.
Join Us at Bent Paddle THIS Saturday!
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).
Grandparents' Day is in ONE Week!
We will have volunteers around the building making sure our guests can find the classrooms. If you would like to volunteer, please email tracy.thompson@isd709.org.
Due to the large amount of people expected, we will again have overflow parking at the OneLife Community Church located at 51st Ave E & Glenwood St. Unfortunately the bus shuttle will not begin until 9am due to the school bus driver shortage.
Kindergarten: 9:30-10:25
Mrs. Toscano--114
Mrs. Howard--116
Ms. Hill--120
Mrs. Baker--122
First Grade: 8:00-9:00
Mrs. Mikel--216
Mrs. Pilate--218
Mrs. Anderson--220
Ms. Wolff--222
Second Grade: 9:30-10:15
Mrs. Truitt--224
Mrs. Lukovsky--236
Mrs. Loiselle--238
Third Grade: 9:30-10:15
Mrs. Olsen--242
Ms. Sorbo--244
Mrs. Davidson--246
Mrs. Mattsen--230
Fourth Grade: 8:00-8:45
Ms. Jamar--136
Mrs. Isbell--138
Mrs. Zwak--240
Mrs. Mattsen--230
Fifth Grade: 8:00-8:45
Mrs. Kass--140
Mrs. Wittmers-Graves--142
Mrs. Mulliner--144
Mr. Davis--146
Grandparents' Day Shuttle
9am-11am on Thursday, March 9th
OneLife Community Church parking lot
to/from the Lester Park School Front Doors
(Church is located on the corner of 51st Ave E & Glenwood St)
Duluth Public School Student Art Exhibition!
There will be a Duluth Public School Student Art Exhibition at the Miller Hill Mall March 6th-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
Weekly News by our 5th Grade!
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
Here’s how it works:
- Complete five “green” challenges in any row, column or diagonally, just like regular bingo.
- Cross out the challenges you complete, then turn in your bingo card to your teacher by Friday, March 24th.
- Every card with a bingo will be entered into a drawing for some awesome green prizes, so don’t forget to write your name on it. Let’s play!
Volunteers Needed!
Thursday, March 9th is Grandparents' Day at Lester Park. Check out the link below if you are able to volunteer. Any amount of time is appreciated.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD29AAF58-grandparents
Friday, March 17th is Go GREEN Day! Wear green (Spirit Day) and eat green!! Our awesome cafeteria staff will have some fun treats for lunch. Are you able to volunteer? Check out the times below-
5th - 10:30-10:50
2nd - 10:55-11:15
4th - 11:20-11:40
K - 11:45-12:05
1st - 12:10-12:30
3rd - 12:35-12:55
February Ticket Challenge Winners!
Below you will find the winners of the February Ticket Challenge for students "Caught Being Respectful".
This is to positively reinforce your student for doing an exceptional job at being a respectful student, classmate, friend, etc. in ALL areas of the school. Please continue to keep the conversation going at home in ways your student can be a Respectful Lester Park Lab. The goal is to give out as many as possible.
If you have any questions or know of businesses willing to partner for prizes, please contact our Social Emotional Learning Coordinator- Jordan Fleek or Principal- Anna Cawcutt.
February 10
1- Adelyn
1- Kyrie
4- Brynn
5- Malachy
5- Mazzi
February 17
K- Timothy B
1- Elias S
2- Cora S
3- Kiyah P
4- Odin G
5- Lucy H
Monthly Winners
K- Malina
1- Kyla
2- Sully
3-Cullen
4- Emma
5- Emme
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.
IMPORTANT - Handicap Parking Spots
We spoke with our Resource Officer about the continuing problem with the Handicap Parking Spots filled with vehicles that do not have appropriate Handicap identifications. He will be coming to our school at pick up time and issuing tickets to these parents/guardians. This will be happening very soon. It is very important that these parking spots are available to families picking up their children with disabilities. It is also the law.
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
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