Lester Park School Newsletter - #3

• Sept 2...First day of school for 1st-5th Graders

• Sept 4...First day of school for Kindergartners

• Sept 2-3...Individual Family Meet&Greets with Kindergarten Teachers

• Sept 8...First Day of Preschool

• (lots of more important dates to be posted soon)

Lester Park Calendar HERE

2025-26 District Calendar can be found HERE

2025-26 District Calendar with 4 Day Specialist rotation HERE

(PD=professional development/NO SCHOOL for students)

Other Helpful Links:

Lester Park Family School Handbook

We are in need of a few parent helpers for Kindergarten and 1st Grade lunches. Duties would be opening milk, grabbing silverware or napkins, making sure students know where to go.

Lunch Helpers are never alone with students and therefore do not leave the cafeteria. There are 2 lunch monitors that can help with that.

Volunteers are needed from 11:00-12:15.

If you are interested, please email lesterpark@isd709.org. Please let us know what days you can volunteer the next few weeks.

Volunteers need to fill out a mini-background check:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd88hAIcR1yQtdeaxYY7VMt7rmNE1Flh5D0Bsd8yBtUsHUjew/viewform

When you come, please grab a red visitor badge and sign in the green visitor's book.

7:30am - School doors unlock. (SEE BELOW)

7:45am - Start of the school day. Students should be in their classrooms.

2:15pm - End of the school day.

Similar to last year, the front doors will not unlock until 7:30am. Please keep your child in your vehicle with you until this time. There is no staff available to supervise students waiting to come into the school. Thank you for understanding.

In order to ensure that your child does not miss out on this integral part of the school day, please plan your arrival time so that students can be in their classroom and ready to go promptly at 7:45. Need breakfast? No problem! We encourage you to arrive as close to 7:30 as possible if your child needs time to eat breakfast at school.

Each school year, parents must fill out a new online Blended Learning Agreement.

❗ Please do ASAP if you have not already ❗

Here is the link:

Duluth Public Schools Blended Learning 1 to 1 Agreement for 2025-2026 - Digital Form

* You do NOT need to enter your child's school email.

* You do need to know their Student ID # (on the Parent Portal - see below)

How do I find out my child's Student ID # (Lunch #)?

* Log into Infinite Campus:

https://duluthmn.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/duluth.jsp

* Click on your child's picture

* Their Student ID # is under their small picture.

If you do are not signed up for the Parent Portal, please email Tracy Thompson or lesterpark@isd709.org

The PTA will be chalking the sidewalk with welcoming messages for the first day of school!

Please join us at 3pm in front of the school. Bring some chalk if you have it - popsicles will be provided!

Yep they will be long, but they can go fast. Please check out the tip slip that was in your Open House packet on how to help these lines move faster and safer.

Big thing to remember is...drive slow in the school parking lot!

If you are stuck in a long Drop off line in the morning...your child will NOT be marked late.

The drop off and pick up lines will be longer starting Thursday when Kindergartners have their first day of school.

We will be short Crossing Guard coverage for at least the first 2 weeks of school, especially in the morning. Here is the priority order for coverage:

#1 - 52nd Ave/Glenwood St

#2 - 54th Ave/Glenwood St

#3 - 52nd Ave/Oneida St - not covered next week

#4 - 54th Ave/Oneida St - not covered next week

• Children need to be at their bus stops 5 minutes prior to their pick up time
• Buses will likely run late the first couple of school weeks, especially for drop off.
• Bussers should never have to cross these busy streets/avenues to board their bus: London, Superior, 43th, 45th, 47th, 52nd. If your child is this is an oops, so please let us know so we can let our district Transportation know.

Any bus changes made this week will likely not be ready for next week. Plan on a 3-5 business day for changes made next week.

If you need help with bussing...

• If your child is in K-5th grade...please email Tracy Thompson or lesterpark@isd709.org
• If your child is in Preschool...email earlychildhood@isd709.org

What do I do if my child is going to be absent from school?

• Email lesterattendance@isd709.org (the office & nurse will both see these emails)
  

• or call attendance line 336-8875 then “3” to leave a recorded message

• Please list any specific symptoms.

• 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.

• If you have health questions, you can call our school health office at 336-8875 x2654

Many students and parents are frequently concerned about when students should stay home or attend school. The following information is intended to help with this decision.

General practice:

• If a student has had a fever of 100 degrees or more, the student must stay home for 24 hours after the temperature returns to normal without fever reducing medication.
• If a student has vomited two or more times in the past 24 hours and/or had diarrhea, the student must stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
• If a student has had any rash that may be disease-related or the cause is unknown, check with your family physician before sending the student to school.
• If a student is ill, please call the school daily to report the illness.

When a student is sick, parents often wonder whether or not to keep a child at home from school. If a child stays home and has the care they need when first sick, they will often get better faster. Staying home and resting will help the body fight the sickness.

• On school days, the interior vestibule doors unlock at 7:30am, then lock again from 7:45am-2:15pm.
• All other exterior doors are locked during the school day, and most are locked 24/7.
• 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 push to speak to the office staff.
• Visitors sign themselves into the green book and grab a red "Visitor" badge if they are coming into the building.
• Parents sign in/out their child in the yellow book if they are coming in late or returning to school.

Lester Park Piano Lessons

Instructor: Elise Campbell

Sign up link: https://duluth.ce.eleyo.com/course/2228/fall-2025/lester-park-piano-lessons

During the time your child is at Keyzone they can have piano lessons! Fee for first books and supplies is $20.00. Renewing students pay a $12 book/supply fee. This fee is paid directly to the instructor and copies will be used until payment received. Payment is for lessons that meet on Tuesdays or Thursdays during the 9-week session. Makeups week of Nov. 11 if instructor is absent. No student makeups due to time limitations.

Instructor will contact parent for lesson times after registration via email. Lessons are in Mrs. Campbells first grade classroom, room 218 at Lester Park. Mrs. Campbell walks students back and forth from KeyZone.

9-lesson session is $275.00

There are a couple of different ways you can view our School Supply lists. They are below:

2025-26 Lester Park Supply List

https://lesterpark.isd709.org/families/supply-lists

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 should update phone and email contact information via the Parent Portal.

* If you forgot your password or username, please click HERE and follow the instructions.

* If you do not have an activation key email Tracy Thompson or lesterpark@isd709.org

* 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/high school.

Duluth Public Schools uses ParentSquare for school communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified.

Here’s what you can do with ParentSquare:

• Receive messages from the school via email, text or app notification

• Choose to receive information as it comes or all at once with a daily digest at 6 p.m.

• Communicate in your preferred language

• Comment on school postings to engage with your school community

• Direct message teachers, staff and other parents

• Participate in group messages

• Sign up for parent-teacher conferences

• Send payments, sign forms & permission slips, receive report cards, sign up to volunteer and more all from your desktop or mobile device

Questions about ParentSquare? Email communications@isd709.org

Breakfast and lunch will be free for all students again this school year.

All students receive breakfast and lunch at no cost (excluding milk for cold lunchers, or a 2nd milk for hot lunchers).

As part of this state program, Duluth Public Schools must continue its participation in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. This means we are still asking parents to fill out the Application for Educational Benefits, formally known as the "free and reduced lunch" form.

A new application must be submitted each year. The income tables change yearly, so a new application must be processed each school year. At public schools, your application also helps the school qualify for education funds and discounts.

Use Infinite Campus Parent Portal to add money to your student's food account for optional milk costs, and to fill out our Application for Educational benefits.

We ask that all families fill out the Application for Educational Benefits form each year before Oct.1 to help us get funding for our schools. If you need a hardcopy, please email lesterpark@isd709.org.

Look at Lakeside - Aug/Sept issue

Portman Hockey Registration

Rookie Basketball Registration

Youth Girls Basketball

YMCA Flyer (1)

YMCA Flyer (2)

Email: lesterpark@isd709.org
Website: https://lesterpark.isd709.org
Location: 5300 Glenwood Street, Duluth, MN 55804
Phone: (218) 336-8875
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lester-Park-Elementary-1900216436910729