Lester Park School Newsletter

Sept 23...Fire Drill
Sept 24-26...5th Grade Wolf Ridge Trip
Sept 26...Fun Run Kick-Off
Oct 1...Picture Day
Oct 2...Fun Run Event
Oct 9...Fire Drill
Oct 16-17...NO SCHOOL (MEA Break)
Oct 22...Lockdown Drill ("Secure" drill)
Oct 24...Halloween PTA dance (see flyer further below)
Week of Oct 27...Teacher Conferences and Book Fair

More events on our Lester Park Calendar 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

School District Student Handbook

Lester Park Staff List by Grade/Dept

Looking for a previous school newsletter, or something you read in a school newsletter? You can find all of this HERE or by checking out our Lester Park School homepage and clicking on this image...

Student Concerts will be similar to last year. They will be held on three dates but only 2 grades will perform on each date. Here are the dates:

Nov 13...Grades 4 & 5

Dec 16...Grades K & 1

May 7...Grades 2 & 3

These dates are on our school calendar in case you forget.

School District policy for requesting homework - teachers have up to 48 hours to prepare the work to send home. This is because teachers have limited time during the day to assemble the work and write up the homework instructions.

Once the teacher has the homework assembled, they will notify you and set it on the black cart in the front vestibule. You will find this cart to the left of the cafeteria door and available to you from 6:30am-5:59pm on school days. Please wait to hear from the teacher before coming to school for homework.

It can take a lot of time for a teacher to put homework together, so if you request it then please have your child complete it. Thank you!

The Book Fair is coming! Mark your calendars, the book fair will be here at the end of October. Students will shop during their Media time and there will be two after-school opportunities during conferences. Please sign-up!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4DADAF29AAF9C52-58705408-book

Help with meals for teachers on long conference days

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD29AAF58-58379321-copy

No Time? No Problem! Click here to donate and we will do the shopping!

https://lesterparkpta.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true

Givebacks

Givebacks helps you engage your supporters, raise money online with less work, and harness innovation to build up your entire community through GIvebacks. See why over 12,000 organizations and over 2.4 million people use Givebacks to thrive.

lesterparkpta.givebacks.com

Come help the students look their best for picture day!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD29AAF58-51735219-picture

Picture Day is Wednesday, Oct 1.
NO GREEN CLOTHES - due to the photographers' green background screen.
Students will have their picture taken with their class at designated times.
If a student is absent during that time, they can still have their picture taken.
If a student is absent for the whole day, they can have their picture retaken on Wed, Nov 5th.
All picture orders must be done through Jostens. (see flyer below)
Pictures are mailed to home addresses and not sent home from school.

Thank you for all your help with the drop off and pick up lines running so well for the first few weeks of school!

One safety note that we would like to pass on again is to have your child get out/into the vehicle on the sidewalk side of the Fire Lane. This will prevent the child from darting out of the car and into the "drive-through" lane. Thank you!

We would love parent volunteers for the Fun Run on October 2 from 7:45-10 am. Please reach out to Sarah.m.crowell@gmail.com if interested!

Previous Fun Runs have been paw-some! Last year students had fun cheering on the mascots (including Lester the Lab, the UMD Bulldog, Ripp the Harbor Monster and others) in an indoor race and joining them for a dance party. This year, the mascots will be back but the students will also get to run! We plan to hold the event outdoors and they will get a chance to run with many of their classmates and cheer on friends in other grades. Don’t worry, there will still be music and dancing. Maybe even some super secret special guests that are really good at both of those things!

As always, our goal is to maximize the impact of donations on things that matter to students and teachers. There will be some cool prizes for students and classes related to fundraising efforts. The annual Fun Run is the only formal fundraising effort of the Lester Park Elementary School Foundation (non-profit organization of volunteer parents, teachers, school staff) to support the enrichment needs of kids and teachers.. Look for donation details and info that your student will bring home in the next week.

Volunteers have been busy behind the scenes securing fabulous donations from local businesses and we want to be sure to thank some of our generous sponsors.

In 2024-2025 the Lester Park Elementary School Foundation (an independent 501-3C non-profit organization) was able to reinvest $40,808.87 in enriching activities and material upgrades for students and teachers at our school! Highlights include school pod furniture upgrades, materials requested by teachers, Spanish club, Lego club, an author visit, and much needed school field and garden reseeding/maintenance. See attached the picture below for full details.

This was possible only because of the awesome support of your kids, family, friends and local businesses during last year’s Fun Run fundraiser. This year’s Fun Run will be September October 2nd and you can begin donating the week before. Stay tuned to future newsletters for details!

Many of you have your phone set up to receive attendance alerts when your child's attendance is changed in Infinite Campus by either the teacher or the office. Here's how the process works:

If your child isn't in class at the start of the day, the teacher will mark the absence whether they know the reason or not. The office will then change the absence on their part. This will cause two attendance alerts at some point IF you have the notification feature turned on
If your child is late to school (excused or unexcused), please note that we need to mark them out for the whole day, then check them in at the time they entered the school. This will cause two attendance alerts at some point IF you have the notification feature turned on.

More Attendance tips can be found in the next section.

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 your child is absent, or going to be absent, be sure to leave a reason. If no reason is given, it will be marked as an Unexcused Absence.
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.