Lester Park School Newsletter - #8
October 9, 2025
Oct 14...Teacher Conference sign-ups sent out
Oct 16-17...NO SCHOOL (MEA Break)
Oct 21...PTA Movie Night...SCREENagers
Oct 22...Lockdown Drill ("Secure" drill)
Oct 24...Halloween PTA dance (see flyer further below)
Week of Oct 27...Teacher Conferences and Book Fair
Nov 3... NO SCHOOL (District-Wide Staff Development Day)
Nov 5...Picture Retake Day (Morning Only)
Nov 13...4th/5th Grade Concert (Morning Only - more info to come)
Nov 19...Lockdown Drill
Nov 21...Grandparents'/Special Friends' Day (Morning Only - more info to come)
Nov 27-28...NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)
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
If you do not "need" to use the Handicap Door Buttons, please don't. Two of our Handicap door motors are failing from usage. We can help them work longer by pulling or pushing the doors open and not relying on the electric door.
When the motor fails not only does it cost our school district money to fix, but also handicap individuals will be without the use of the electric door until it is fixed. Thank you for understanding.
Today (or possibly tomorrow), census forms will go home with students. This is an opportunity to make sure parent/guardian contact information is correct in our system.
If there is an incorrect phone # or email, you can correct it. Just log into the Parent Portal and choose "MORE" then "FAMILY INFORMATION". This will let you see contact information for the whole family. You can make your changes here.
If you do correct the error, do not return the form to school. Also, you do not need to return the form if everything is correct.
If you are having problems making the changes, please write the correct information on the form and return it to the school office. Please note that the school office cannot make phone # and email changes. Therefore we have to send the forms to the school district offices and they will make the changes, which could take weeks depending on how many schools send in their corrections.
School Pictures are Ready!
View and order at https://shop.jostenspix.com/login
- LESTER PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- Event Code: FE26725
- Also Needed: Infinite Campus Student ID
Picture Retake day is the morning of Wednesday, Nov 5. If you want your child's picture to be retaken, please be sure to let your child's teacher know. Only students who need their picture retaken will see the photographer that morning.
Thank you for supporting Lester Park Elementary!
Thank you for your energy, excitement, and generous support of the students and teachers at Lester Park Elementary! We will always remember hearing the UMD Pep band play while the kids ran in the beautiful fall weather and watching the mascots and members of the UMD Dance team cheer them on! You can see pictures on the school Facebook page here.
As of today, we raised $32,546 toward our $40,000 goal. This money will be used to support enriching activities (for example, Battle of the Books, Lego and Spanish club, etc.), field trip transportation, pod furniture, outdoor field and garden maintenance, and needed supplies/activities requested by teachers.
This effort is 100% volunteer run by the Lester Park Elementary School Foundation, a non-profit organization of volunteer parents and school staff. Click here to share any feedback about this effort. We are enormously grateful here at Lester Park for such a fantastic and supportive group who truly help so many visions and dreams come true here at school!
Questions, ideas, and new members are always welcome. Email us at lesterparkfoundation@gmail.com
Understanding E-Bike Rules
Electric-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) are a fast-growing way to travel! To keep everyone safe and clarify where you can ride, state law classifies e-bikes and gives them the same rights and responsibilities as traditional bicycles, with a few important distinctions.
Key Restrictions and Requirements
- Minimum Age: A person must be at least 15 years old to operate an electric-assisted bicycle.
- Maximum Power: A legal e-bike motor cannot have a power output of more than 750 watts and must have fully operable pedals.
- Modifications Prohibited: You are not allowed to modify the e-bike to bypass the speed limit control.
- Alerting Others: On mixed-use trails, all bikers (e-bike and traditional) must alert pedestrians of their approach with a bell or their voice before passing.
E-Bikes as Bicycles
For the most part, an e-bike is treated just like a traditional bicycle. This means:
- Same Rights as Cars: E-bike riders have the same rights and duties as a driver of a car (except for the "Stop-as-Yield" rule).
- No License Needed: You do not need a driver's license, registration, or insurance to operate a legal e-bike.
- Where to Ride: You can generally operate an e-bike in the same manner as a regular bicycle, including on the shoulder of a roadway, in a bicycle lane, and on a bicycle route.
Rules of the Road for E-Scooters
With more people riding motorized foot scooters (often called e-scooters) for quick trips, it's a great time to brush up on the rules! State law clarifies how and where these vehicles can be operated, generally treating them similarly to bicycles.
Here are a few key things to remember from the law:
Important Requirements & Prohibitions
- Lights at Night: If you ride when vehicle lights are legally required (such as after sunset or when visibility is poor), your e-scooter must be equipped with a headlight and a taillight.
- No Passengers: E-scooters are designed for one—you cannot carry any passengers.
Age and Headgear:
- No one under the age of 12 can operate a motorized foot scooter.
- If you're under 18, you must wear properly fitted and fastened protective headgear (a helmet).
Where Can You Ride?
- Sidewalks are mostly off-limits! You can't operate a motorized foot scooter on a sidewalk, except when you need to enter or leave an adjacent property.
- Ride Right on Roadways: When you're on a roadway, you must ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge, similar to bicycling.
- Bicycle Paths are Often OK: You can operate an e-scooter on a bicycle path, lane, trail, or bikeway, unless the local authority has specifically prohibited it.
The Left Turn Exception
When preparing for a left turn from a roadway, the law requires you to take a specific action: you must stop and dismount at the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, and then complete the turn on foot, following the rules for pedestrians.
Knowing these simple rules helps everyone—riders, drivers, and pedestrians—share our streets safely!
Thank you so much to those who have become members, came to our September meeting, and have signed up or already volunteered! It's so great to see so many familiar and new faces in the school and helping out.
October is a busy month with a lot happening in the last two weeks!
Screenagers Elementary School Age Edition viewing will be on 10/21 at 5:30pm in the Media Center! The movie is 56 minutes long with conversation to follow. This film is an updated edition with the latest research, expert insights and advice, specifically tailored for the students, parents, and educators of elementary schools to help them better navigate this digital age.
Halloween Dance is October 24th 6pm-8pm in the gym/cafeteria area
Lauralloons will be twisting up balloons and the DJ will be playing your favorite tunes! Hope to see you all there - costumes welcome and encouraged. All students must have an adult chaperone, please do not drop students off.
Book Fair!! October 27th - October 31st
Students will be attending/shopping the book fair during their already scheduled Media time. We will also host two evening nights for parents and families to explore the fair on Tuesday, the 28th, and Thursday, the 30th from 3:00pm-6:00pm in the media center. We are still looking for volunteers - especially during conferences!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4DADAF29AAF9C52-58705408-book#/
eWallet information will become available on 10/6. Remember that if you have previous eWallet funds you must transfer those funds into this new book fair or your student will not show up in our system. This is a frequent mistake - if your student does not spend the entirety of the eWallet it is moved to a gift card in your scholastic account - you must resubmit it to this Book Fair in order for us to utilize those funds. Any questions, please reach out! https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/lesterparkelementaryschool
Teacher Meals! October 28th and 30th
The teachers will be working very long hours during the last week of October. Help us show our support by bringing some meals and treats for them for those long nights.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD29AAF58-58379321-copy#/
Phew! October is jam-packed with fun and don't forget that it is rounded off by a day off of school on Monday November 3rd! Hopefully all the candy will be out of everyone's system by then.
A few things to look for in November:
Picture retake day 11/5
Grandparents day 11/21
*PBIS meeting for parents with Jordan Fleek - date coming soon!
I also wanted to give a big THANK YOU to everyone for supporting the school through the Fun Run this year that the Lester Park Foundation, our partner parent-run organization, put on. Thank you to all who gave, shared, or volunteered today - what a great turn out and a beautiful day to celebrate Lester Park! There is still time to give and try to reach our goal: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/lester-park-fun-run-fundraiser
Lastly, the two members who won our raffle from our Membership meeting! Congratulations to Danielle Erjavec for winning front row seats to the 1st grade concert and Kristen Nelson for winning parking at grandparents day! Thank you for attending our meeting and being a voice in our school community.
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 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.
Back during the COVID days, Lester Park families struggled to connect with other Lester Park families. There was a great idea to create an electronic Lester Park Family Directory so students could contact their classmates and friends. The PTA has continued this electronic directory each year since then. This form is voluntary, and you can provide as much or as little contact information as you like.
Based off who fills out the form below, the Lester Park PTA will create a public Google Doc that will be made electronically available to members of the Lester Park Elementary School family community. The Lester Park PTA is not the source of the information, and therefore has no control over its accuracy. This directory is not being created by ISD 709, Lester Park Elementary or any of its representatives, and is a volunteer effort by the Lester Park PTA.
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.
ABOUT US
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