LCES Panther Cub Communication #21
January 12th – 15th, 2026
Para traducir al español, desplácese hasta el final y haga clic en la bandera
LCES Families,
Welcome back! I hope you and your family had a restful and enjoyable winter break. It has been wonderful to see our students return to school, and the excitement in the building has been contagious.
I am happy to share that our first week back was calm, quiet, and very successful. Students quickly picked up classroom routines and expectations, and they did a fantastic job transitioning back into learning. Our staff has truly enjoyed welcoming everyone back and feeling the positive energy throughout the school.
As we move through the winter months, please remember to send your child to school each day with appropriate winter clothing, including coats, hats, gloves, and boots each day. We aim to ensure students are comfortable and able to enjoy outdoor time safely. If you child is still in need of winter clothing, please reach out to the front office.
I would also like to remind families about our bus lane in front of the building, in the lower parking lot. During normal school hours, this lane is for school buses only. For everyone’s safety, please do not travel through the bus lane and be sure to use slow speeds when driving through the parking lot. Thank you for your cooperation.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We are excited for the weeks ahead and all the learning to come in semester two here at LCES!
See you on Monday,
Brandi Lovely, PK-2 Principal
LCES Important Dates (PK – 2nd)
January 15: K-2 Panther Day during Specials- “Winter Wonderland”
January 22: K-2 Dollar Day
January 29: K-2 Community Meeting at 8:00am led by 2nd grade, celebrating the HOWL of Craftsmanship
Helpful Link: Lake County School District Calendar
K-2 Specifics
American Heart Association Challenge: We’ve officially launched Kids Heart Challenge – let’s build healthy hearts together at school and at home!
We hope your family will join us by getting involved today – Click Here: http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=12402&pg=company&company_id=526659 to access our school’s page – or download the AHA Schools app – sign up today!
- Help kids with special hearts by making a donation to the American Heart Association and/or sharing your page with friends and family
- Complete Finn’s Mission to learn Hands-Only CPR and earn your Lifesaver cape!
You can visit our school page anytime to see student and class rankings and how your student can be involved in the fun activities we have for this year!
Every student who raises $50 will qualify to purchase discounted tickets and get a special ON COURT experience with the Denver Nuggets! Every Student who raises $25 will have a special opportunity to attend a Colorado Springs Switchbacks game!
Raise $25 = score discounted Colorado Springs Switchbacks tickets! Raise $50 = unlock discounted Nuggets tickets and an exclusive on-court experience!
Thank you for helping our students learn healthy habits and life-saving skills!
ACCESS Testing: Beginning Monday, January 12 and continuing through the first week of February, all multilingual students will be assessed using an assessment called “ACCESS”. Students will be assessed in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. If you have any questions about this assessment, please reach out Ms. Fishman, our English Language Development teacher at sfishman@lakecountyschools.net. Please encourage your child to do their very best. We look forward to seeing how much students are growing in their language skills!
IXL: IXL is research based and proven to have a strong impact on student academic achievement. We encourage you to support your child in using this platform at home. Please reach out if you have any questions about how to login and thank you for reading to your child or using IXL.
Interested in more literacy resources? Check out this website from CDE: https://www.readlearnleadco.org/
January Panther HOWL (Habit of Work & Learning) Focus: Craftsmanship
For the month of January, we will celebrating the HOWL of Craftsmanship. Very soon each crew teacher will choose a student of the month for our January community meeting. Craftsmanship means, I can reflect on and revise my work by accepting feedback. I take ownership of my learning, my actions, and my mistakes. The Student of the Month for each crew will be announced at our next community meeting on January 29th. If your student is chosen by their teacher, we will reach out at the beginning of that week to let you know!
Attendance:
Semester 1 Attendance Challenge:We are so proud of the 53 students who earned the opportunity to go ice skating on Thursday at Huck Finn Ice Rink, what an exciting and well-deserved celebration! These students qualified for this special reward by missing one day or less during semester one, and it was wonderful to see them enjoy the experience together. Thank you to our families for continuing to prioritize regular attendance and supporting your child’s education each day. Your partnership truly makes a difference!
January Attendance Challenge: We have started our next monthly attendance challenge! The class with the best attendance percentage for the whole month will receive an extra recess with Ms. Rapke. Please try to send your student to school every day, unless they are too sick. We appreciate your help in reaching our 94% attendance goal!
Also look for details about our back-to-school-after-break pizza attendance challenge in the fliers section below!
Semester 2 Attendance Challenge:
The semester 2 attendance challenge is here! This semester, K-2 students who have 1 or fewer absences will have the opportunity to attend a Rockies baseball game in Denver at Coors Field! More details to follow. In the meantime, make sure your student is present at school every day as long as they are healthy in order to earn this opportunity! We are so excited for this special event!
K-2 Project Dream
Project Dream Calendar Updates
- See our updated calendar on the LCES Project Dream Information website.
- A reminder, there will not be a Friday program on December 19th.
- There will not be a Winter Break Camp Hosted by Get Outdoors Leadville! this year.
- Project Dream will be hosting a regular Friday program on January 9th, as we have cancelled our staff training.
Friday Programs
Fridays with Project Dream still have open enrollment. Please contact your school’s Site Supervisor for registration information. We’ve had great field trips this Fall, including trips to the Denver Zoo and Museum of Nature and Science! This winter will feature more trips to community pools, outdoor recreation sites, and museums.
LCES Project Dream Information
Raquel Contreras
LCES Site Supervisor
719-293-5363
rcontreras@lakecountyschools.net
The Center Specifics
Dear Center Families,
Welcome back! It has been great to see our classrooms busy and filled with play and smiles after the long break. We are looking forward to the second half of the year.
Our local Child Care Coalition is looking for some input from families in our community to better understand barriers to child care access. Here is a link to their survey.
The information from these surveys will support ongoing work related to child care in our community including the development of a strategic plan. We hope that you can take a few minutes to complete this survey, your voice will help tell the story.
Have a great weekend, we will see you Monday!
Tanya Lenhard, Director
719-486-6928 (work); 719-293-1055 (cell)
tdlenhard@lakecountyschools.net
From the Assistant Director
I hope you all had a great Winter Break, it was so nice to have all our kids back to school this week. Jumped right back into learning, lots of smiles to go around.
Does your child need any winter clothing, please reach out to me. We still have some items to give out.
Have a great weekend
If you have any questions, please free to contact me:
Marissa Martinez
Assistant Preschool Director
719-486-6927
mamartinez@lakecountyschools.net
Family Engagement Corner
We would like to share a couple of resources for families.
First, LEAP is a program that helps eligible Colorado families pay a portion of their heating costs. A flier for more information is attached or you can go to cdhs.colorado.gov/LEAP for more information. LEAP brochures and applications are also available in the Parent Corner near the Preschool Entrance.
Next, is the Connect for Health Colorado health insurance program. Enrollment is open from November 1- January 15. Connect 4 Health is the state’s official health insurance marketplace where you can:
- Enroll in quality coverage; Enrollment is open from November 1-January 15
- Get free help from local and certified experts
- Apply for financial help
You can visit the Parent Corner in the preschool entrance for a brochure, we have also attaching a flier to this bulletin or you can visit ConnectforHealthCO.com
Menus
Menus can be found in your child’s yellow folder at the end of each month or in our main entrance vestibules!
Fliers
Back to School? We’ve Got You!
Coming back after the holidays can take some adjusting for parents and students alike! The School-Based Health Center is here to support your physical and emotional well-being. Not enrolled yet? No worries. Enrollment is open year-round!
Visit Lake County SBHC Enrollment (English), Lake County SBHC Enrollment (Spanish) to enroll and School Based Health Centers – Elevated Community Health to learn more.
Call (970) 710 – 5049 to schedule your appointment today!
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¿De regreso a clases? ¡Estamos aquí para ayudarte!
Volver después de las vacaciones puede requerir un período de adaptación tanto para padres como para estudiantes. El Centro de Salud Escolar está aquí para apoyar su bienestar físico y emocional. ¿Aún no están inscritos? ¡No hay problema! La inscripción está abierta todo el año.
Visita Inscripción al SBHC del Condado de Lake (Inglés), Inscripción al SBHC del Condado de Lake (Español) para inscribirte y Centros de Salud Escolar – Elevated Community Health para obtener más información.
Llama al (970) 710-5049 para programar tu cita hoy mismo.”
