Lester Park School Newsletter - #2
August 22, 2024
Hello from the Office
We know you have lots of questions and we will do our best to answer them in this newsletter. We will send out a newsletter every Thursday afternoon, as well as separate emails if there are important updates that we want you to know about ASAP.
FYI...Some of you may receive this email even though we have disenrolled your child. Families who have moved to another state, or their children will now be going to a private school, will continue to receive our emails through Sept 3rd. The reason has to do with how these type of disenrollments work in Infinite Campus.
Due to the high workload this time of year, emails work better than phone calls. If you do call, please leave a voicemail. We aren't always at our desk, or we could be on another line.
Thank you and we can't wait to see all of our students and families next week!!
Senior Lester Park Admin Asst
Aug 23...Teacher assignments posted on Infinite Campus (more info below)
Aug 27...District-wide Staff Development - Schools are closed until 1pm
Aug 28...K-5th Grade Open House (more info below)
Sept 3...First day of school for 1st-5th Graders
Sept 5...First day of school for Kindergartners
Sept 3-4...Individual Family Meet&Greet with Kindergarten Teachers
Sept 9...First day of school for Preschool
(lots of more important dates to be posted soon)
Lester Park Calendar HERE
2024-25 District Calendar can be found HERE
(PD=professional development/NO SCHOOL for students)
Yesterday you received an email from me (Tracy Thompson) around 11am. It mentioned about the bussing issues in Infinite Campus. Transportation Dept is still working on them and they hope to have them done by the end of today, or for sure early tomorrow morning. The information needs to sync with Infinite Campus which happens at midnight. So the 50 or so I sent them should be viewable on the parent portal tomorrow or Saturday. Please email me if you do not see it. I will try to check my emails this weekend, but I also need a mental break from this week.
If you have not checked your child's bussing yet, I cannot stress enough to please do it ASAP. We were just told that any that are sent after tomorrow (Aug 23), will likely not have bussing the first week of school.
- If your child is in K-5th grade...please email Tracy Thompson or email@example.com
- If your child is in Preschool...email firstname.lastname@example.org
At the Open House, teachers will have a list of bus information for any of their students who will ride the bus. If you see an error, please stop in the office on your way out.
Open House (K-5th Grades only)
This open house is for families with a student registered at Lester Park School for the 2024-25 school year in K-5th grade.
Please try to come only during your designated time:
4:00-4:30pm Last names starting with A-I
4:30-5:00pm Last names starting with J-Q
5:00-5:30pm Last names starting with R-Z
We understand that schedules may be challenging in the evening. Please try to attend during your designated time slot unless absolutely necessary. This will allow all families the opportunity to speak with the classroom teacher. If your family fits multiple time slots, please select the one that works best for you.
- Parents will not be allowed to classrooms prior to 4pm (unless you are on the PTA Board or Lester Park Foundation).
- Plan on extra time to find a place to park, and possibly walking a couple of blocks. We have A LOT of families coming.
- Teachers will provide a few forms from the office for parents to fill out and send back by the first day of school. These are IMPORTANT!
- K-5th grade students may bring their school supplies with them.
- If your child is a busser, be sure to check with the teacher if the bus stop is correct. If not, stop in the office on your way out.
If you are unable to attend the Open House, please email your child's teacher once you find out who the teacher is. Supplies may be dropped off in the school office before Aug 27 if you are unable to attend the Open House.
Due to privacy laws, we are unable to provide the name of your child's teacher over the phone or in an email. So, please make sure you are able to log into the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus prior to next Friday.
While we are on the subject of teachers, we would like to introduce our new teachers:
Grade 4 - Deb Showalter. She replaced retired Cindy Jamar.
Grade 3 - Tanya Hallgren. She replaced retired Gwen Sorbo.
Grade 2 - Mary Irvine. She is an additional teacher for our large 2nd grade group.
Resource Teacher - Claire Nielsen. She replaced retired Dana Abrahamson.
Social Worker - Heather Rappana. She is replacing Shane Erickson and Kristin Bauerkemper, both worked part time at Lester Park School.
Our Music Specialist has a new last name. Hallie Simon married earlier this month and is now Hallie Miller! Congratulations Hallie!!
Parent Portal of Infinite Campus
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 email@example.com
* 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.
IMPORTANT - BLENDED LEARNING FORM
Each school year, parents must fill out a new online Blended Learning Agreement. This allows their child/children to have full access to Duluth Public Schools Digital Resources (Chromebook, tablet, curriculum online programs and testing, etc.). More information here: https://www.isd709.org/academics/digital-innovation
Below is the link. You do NOT need to enter your child's school email.
See below on how to look up your child's Student ID #
* If your child participated in the EXCEL/ESY this summer, then you will have already filled out the 2024-25 form.
How do I find out my child's Student ID # (Lunch #)?
* Log into Infinite Campus:
* Click on your child's picture
* Their Student ID # is under their small picture.
2024-25 School Supply List
Free & Reduced Lunches
Thanks to the Minnesota Legislation, student lunches will be free permanently! Breakfast is also free.
HOWEVER...we still need parents/guardians to fill out the Application for Educational Benefits, formally known as the free and reduced lunch form. The school district, as well as Lester Park School, receives additional funding based on our percentage of qualifying students. So please fill out this application via the parent portal of Infinite Campus. If you need a hardcopy, we have them in our front vestibule in the information tower.
More information can be found here: https://www.isd709.org/families/child-nutrition
Volunteers needed for Kindergarten and 1st grade lunches
We are looking for some volunteers to help with kindergarten and 1st grade lunches the first few weeks of school. You can help every day or just a few days a week. Timeframe is 10:35-11:30.
Tasks would be opening up milk cartons, handing out napkins & utensils, helping students find their assigned tables, etc.
You will need to fill out a mini-background check ahead of time. The online form is HERE. These need to be done every year in order to volunteer at our school.
If you are interested, please email firstname.lastname@example.org. Thank you!
- 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 an orange "visitor" sticker" if they are coming into the building. (stickers may change to badges this school year)
- Parents sign in/out their child in the yellow book if they are coming in late or returning to school.
Kindergartners start school on Sept 5th
Kindergartners will start 2 days later than 1st-5th grades. This is to allow Kindergarten teachers to meet with each family separately on Sept 3 & 4. Kindergarten families will receive a letter and email from their teacher at some point over the next several days. The letter and email will provide a signup link.
Parent Portal, Infinite Campus, ParentSquare
We have received a lot of questions about what these 3 are and how they work together. Below will hopefully help explain the difference
Program containing the database with all our student and guardian information, schedules, bussing, etc.
Parent/Guardian access to Infinite Campus and how they view their child's information, as well as change their own contact information.
The communication system our school district uses to send emails and phone calls to families, and families can respond back in a secure way. It uses the contact information set up in Infinite Campus. ParentSquare syncs with Infinite Campus every night, so any updates will go into effect the following day.
Click HERE for more information on ParentSquare
Click HERE for instructions on signing up for ParentSquare
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lester Park School have a Family Handbook?
We sure do! It is here: Handbook for Lester Park Families
Does the School District have a Family Handbook?
Yep they do! It is here: Family/Student Handbook
Who do I contact about a charge on my child's lunch account?
Who do I contact about my child's immunizations showing up as non-compliant?
If your child is going into kindergarten, or you are a new family, the nurses will be entering them in the next few weeks. They don't start back to school until next week and have 2 days of training. If they are missing any, you will receive an email later in September.
Why can't I see my child's email and password in Infinite Campus?
This is likely because you haven't filled out the Blended Learning form. Scroll up in this newsletter for more information.
What do I need to do if we moved over the summer?
Email Tracy Thompson or email@example.com
How do I change my phone #?
Parents can change their phone #s and emails in the Parent Portal.
Will I still receive messages from the school and teacher if I do not have a ParentSquare account?
Yes, as long as your contact information is correct in Infinite Campus.
How do I volunteer in my child's classroom?
This information is on our website HERE
Who should I let know about a Health Concern?
The teacher and our nurse, firstname.lastname@example.org.
Optional Keyzone Piano Lessons available again
During the time your child is at Keyzone they can have piano lessons!
- 9 sessions - $225.00
- Students register through Community Education by clicking HERE.
- Families will be contacted by the instructor to set up a time that will work for you!
- Lists of books used by families will be provided before the first lesson.
- Supply fee for first books will be $20.00. Repeat students pay a $10 book fee.
- Payment is for lessons that meet on Tuesdays during the 9-week session. The instructor will assign a specific lesson time after registration. Unfortunately, alternate days of the week are not available and missed lessons cannot be made up.