As we close the chapter on an incredible school year and look ahead to an exciting new beginning, I want to thank each of you for your partnership, support, and commitment to our students. Next year marks an important milestone as we bring together students, staff, and families from both schools into one PK-5 learning community. Our theme and motto for the 2026-2027 school year is #OneTeamForKids, a reminder that when we work together, we create the very best opportunities for every child.
This year, our students accomplished so much. We are proud to celebrate outstanding academic growth in both reading and math as demonstrated through our DIBELS and NWEA assessment results. Our students, teachers, and families worked incredibly hard, and the growth we saw across grade levels is something worth celebrating. As we head into summer, I encourage all families to continue supporting learning at home by reading with your child every day and working together to practice math facts. Even 15-20 minutes of reading each day and 10 minutes of math facts can make a tremendous difference and help students return to school ready for a strong start.
As we prepare for our transition into one PK-5 building, I want to thank you in advance for your patience and grace. While we have worked diligently to plan for a smooth opening, we know there will be a learning curve for all of us, especially during the first week of school and during dismissal procedures. We ask families to extend patience to one another and to our staff as we learn new routines together. The good news is that we are excited to begin the year fully staffed in every core classroom. We are currently in the hiring process for one remaining special education teaching position and look forward to welcoming that team member soon.
Finally, I would like to extend a special shout-out and heartfelt thank you to all of the teachers and staff from both LCIS and LCES. Their dedication throughout the school year has been remarkable, and their efforts over the past several days and weeks packing, organizing, and preparing our building for consolidation have been nothing short of extraordinary. Their commitment to students and families continues to make our schools special places to learn and grow.
We are excited to welcome families to LCES for Orientation Conferences on Wednesday, August 5. Information for student registration will be shared mid-July. Until then, we wish you a safe, restful, and enjoyable summer.
Together, we are stronger. Together, we are #OneTeamForKids.
Para traducir al español, desplácese hasta el final y haga clic en la bandera
Dear Panther Families and Guardians,
What an exciting last full week of school we had at LCES! Our students enjoyed so many special end-of-year celebrations, including K-2 Field Day, Teddy Bear Picnics, the HOWLs Cotton Candy Reward, and Glow Parties to celebrate DIBELS reading growth and achievement. It has been wonderful to see so much joy, laughter, and pride as our students celebrated a year of learning and hard work together.
As we head into our final two days of school next week, we look forward to celebrating our students during our end-of-year recognition events on Monday. Our PK Graduation will take place at 11:30, followed by our K-2 Awards Celebrations at 1:30. Both events will occur in the gym, please sign in at the front office to attend. We hope families are able to join us as we recognize the accomplishments and growth of our students.
Please note that the last day of school is Tuesday, June 16. While this school year has flown by, we are grateful for the partnership, support, and encouragement our families have provided throughout the year. Thank you for helping make this a successful and memorable school year for our students and staff.
We look forward to finishing the year strong and celebrating together during these final days! Go Panthers!
We would like to make you aware that we have had confirmed cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth in our Pre-K and K class. The illness is usually not serious, but it is very contagious. It is a common illness that usually causes fever, mouth sores, and skin rash. There is no exclusion required for Hand, Foot and Mouth if your child does not have any other symptoms. However, if your child has a fever, blisters, is drooling uncontrollably, or is not able to take part in usual activities. Then we would need parents to keep them home. For more information on this, please visit:
Attendance Pizza Challenge: Congratulations to our June 8th- June 11th pizza attendance challenge winner! We hope your family enjoys some delicious pizza and thank you for having zero absences for the last week of school! Remember to use the attendance tracking calendar at home with your student to help your student keep on track for all of the fun challenges and prizes we have regarding attendance this year.Our next pizza attendance challenge begins on Monday, June 15th and ends on June 16th! See details in the fliers section below!
HOWLs Q4 Challenge: Congratulations to the winner of our quarter 4 HOWLs challenge! We are so proud of all of the HOWL dollars that these friends earned and we had a great time enjoying cotton candy and extra recess together!
The Center Specifics
Dear Center Families,
WOW! What fun was had on our Teddy Bear Picnic days. We had so many families and smiles join in on this event. Popsicles, play time, and those beautiful mountains in the backdrop were an awesome sight during these last few days of school.
Monday is our preschool celebration at 11:30. We will start in the LCES gym. Families please enter through the main LCES entrance and sign in. We are trying to get as accurate of numbers as possible for lunch that day. Please let your child’s teacher know if your child will go home with you after our celebration or if they will remain at school.
Our last day of school is Tuesday June 16. We will not have programming on Wednesday or Thursday.
Thank you for a great year, we could not do this work without your children and your partnership.
Enjoy your weekend, we will see you for one more Monday!
Please remember preschool celebration is on Monday June 15 from 1130 to 12:30. We are trying to get an estimated count of students who will be staying for lunch. Please let your teacher know if you plan on taking your child after celebrations. The last day of school will be Tuesday June 16th.
Have a great weekend!
If you have any questions, please free to contact me:
Para traducir al español, desplácese hasta el final y haga clic en la bandera
Dear Panther Families and Guardians,
As we head into the final days of the school year, I want to thank all of our students, staff, and families for a wonderful last few days and weeks of school. It is hard to believe that we have only six days of school remaining! The end of the year is always filled with excitement, celebrations, and special activities, and we are looking forward to making the most of every moment with our students.
This Tuesday, our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students will enjoy Field Day and our Teddy Bear Picnic. Please be sure to review the flyer below for additional information and reminders. Our Preschool students will have their own special celebrations on Wednesday and Thursday, including a Teddy Bear Picnic, Movie Day, and Park Days.
Please mark your calendars for our end-of-year celebrations on Monday, June 15. Preschool Graduation will begin at 11:30 a.m. Later that afternoon, we will celebrate our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students during our K-2 Awards Celebration. Doors will open at 1:10 p.m., and the ceremony will begin at 1:30 in the gym. We will start by recognizing students for Specials Awards and Attendance Awards, followed by classroom celebrations and awards with teachers.
Finally, a reminder that our last day of school is Tuesday, June 16. Thank you for your partnership, support, and encouragement throughout the school year. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with your children each day and look forward to celebrating a successful finish to the school year together.
The end of the school year is fast approaching. We want to ensure that your student’s leftover medication is safely returned to your home. Any medication must go home with a parent or guardian. Please plan to pick up the medication at school no later than June 19th. Any medications left after the last day of school will be disposed of properly. Medication is not kept over the summer for the following school year.
Thank you for your help. Enjoy the summer.
Colleen Nielsen, RN
cnielsen@lakecountyschools.net
719-293-0975
LCES Important Dates (PK – 2nd)
June 9- K-2 Field Day and Teddy Bear Picnic (flier below)
June 15- K-2 Dollar Day (flier below)
June 15- K-2 Specials & Classroom Awards, beginning the gym at 1:30
May Reading Challenge: Thank you to everyone who participated in our May reading challenge, Pooh’s forest is full of reading logs. Great reading, Panthers! Congratulations to our reading challenge basket winners!
May HOWL (Habit of Work & Learning) Focus: Creativity
For the month of May, we are celebrating the HOWL of creativity. Creativity means, “I can think of new and interesting ways to tackle projects and challenges.” The Student of the Month for each crew will be announced at our next community meeting on May 28th. If your student is chosen by their teacher, we will reach out at the beginning of that week to let you know!
Attendance
Attendance Pizza Challenge: Congratulations to our May 26th- June 4th pizza attendance challenge winner! We hope your family enjoys some delicious pizza and thank you for having zero absences for the last 2 weeks of school! Remember to use the attendance tracking calendar at home with your student to help your student keep on track for all of the fun challenges and prizes we have regarding attendance this year.Our next pizza attendance challenge begins on Monday, June 8th and ends on June 11th! See details in the fliers section below!
HOWLs Q4 Challenge: Our quarter 4 HOWLs challenge is almost over! Your student will try to earn as many HOWL Dollars as they can for the chance to earn cotton candy and extra recess with the principals at the end of the quarter! The top six HOWL dollar earners in each class will win. If your student wins, we will send home a paper parent communication in their backpack. You will also receive a text message from the front office. Students can earn HOWL Dollars by showing any of our HOWLs to any staff member in the school.
Friday June 5th: Final Day of Project Dream & Firefighter Field Day at CMC!
For our final day of Project Dream this year we are going to CMC in the afternoon for a special event hosted by Colorado Mountain College and Leadville Lake County Fire Rescue. Students will engage in fun, hands-on activities while learning about fire safety. The activity will be open to the public at 3:00 pm. See attached flyer. Here are some important details:
Pickup will be from the CMC campus between 3:00-3:30 pm.
If your student typically takes the bus home in the afternoon, routes will begin at 3:30 pm after parent pickup is complete.
Parents are encouraged to stay after 3:00 pm and experience the activities with their students!
We had a great time celebrating the transition to Kindergarten this week. On Wednesday our rising Kindergarteners took an in school field trip to a kindergarten classroom and participated in crew with one of our kindergarten teachers. There were smiles all around during this fun event! The fun continued with our Kindergarten Transition family fun night on Thursday evening. We hope you were able to attend and enjoyed the activities.
Next week we will host a Teddy Bear Picnic and Pajama/Movie Day for each classroom, here is that schedule.
Wednesday June 10
Teddy Bear Picnics 11:15-12:45: Rooms 130, 131, and 137
Movie Day: Rooms 133 and 135
Thursday June 11
Teddy Bear Picnic 11:15-12:45: Rooms 133 and 135
Movie Day: Rooms 130, 131, and 137
We would love if families would like to join your child on our playground and Teddy Bear picnic adventure. You may order an adult sack lunch for $5.00 from our cafeteria, please reach out to your child’s teacher or Marissa by June 8 at 1:00pm if you need a lunch ordered. Picnics begin at 12:15.
We will also be hosting an end of preschool celebration in our Lake County Elementary School gym on Monday June 15 at 11:30. Please enter the main LCES doors and sign in with Zee at the front office. Preschool will meet you in the gym at 11:30.
Reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions regarding the end of the year events. We are excited to celebrate such an amazing year with these fun activities.
Returning families, please be sure to follow the process to accept your child’s spot for next year and schedule a June orientation.
Para traducir al español, desplácese hasta el final y haga clic en la bandera
Dear Panther Families and Guardians,
What a fun and joyful week at LCES! On Thursday, our K-2 students gathered for a wonderful community meeting celebrating the HOWL of Creativity, led by our amazing Specials team. Students were recognized for the HOWL of creativity, we are so proud of their hard work and imagination!
We also had some very special visitors from the high school on Thursday as characters from Frozen stopped by to visit our elementary students. There were lots of smiles, waves, and plenty of Elsa, Anna, and Olaf hugs throughout the building! A big thank you to the LCHS students for bringing so much excitement and magic to our day. If you are looking for a fun family activity this weekend, be sure to check out the Frozen performance at LCHS!
Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome our incoming kindergarten students and families to our Kindergarten Ice Cream Social next Thursday from 6:00–7:00 PM at LCES. Families will have the opportunity to meet kindergarten teachers, enjoy some ice cream, and prepare a transition bag to help students get ready for a great start to school.
As we head into the final weeks of the school year, our building continues to be filled with positivity, learning, and celebration. Thank you for your continued support and partnership, we are grateful for such an incredible school community!
May Reading Challenge: Thank you to everyone who participated in our May reading challenge, Pooh’s forest is full of reading logs. Great reading, Panthers!
May HOWL (Habit of Work & Learning) Focus: Creativity
For the month of May, we are celebrating the HOWL of creativity. Creativity means, “I can think of new and interesting ways to tackle projects and challenges.” The Student of the Month for each crew will be announced at our next community meeting on May 28th. If your student is chosen by their teacher, we will reach out at the beginning of that week to let you know!
Attendance
Attendance Pizza Challenge: We have 3 pizza attendance challenges left this year! Our next pizza attendance challenge ends on June 4th. See details in the fliers section below!
May Attendance Challenge: We have completed our monthly attendance challenge! The class with the best attendance percentage for the whole month was Mrs. Luna’s crew! They will receive an extra recess at the end of the month. 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!
HOWLs Q4 Challenge: Our quarter 4 HOWLs challenge is well underway! Your student will try to earn as many HOWL Dollars as they can for the chance to earn cotton candy and extra recess with the principals at the end of the quarter! The top six HOWL dollar earners in each class will win. If your student wins, we will send home a paper parent communication in their backpack. You will also receive a text message from the front office. Students can earn HOWL Dollars by showing any of our HOWLs to any staff member in the school.
Project Dream is going to the Butterfly Pavilion this Friday, May 15th! Here are some important details:
Normal morning transportation will be provided.
We will be departing schools by 9:00 am and returning at 4:30 pm.
Due to our late return, we are asking parents to please pick their students up from their school at 4:30 pm.
No afternoon transportation will be provided.
Students will not be allowed to visit the gift shop or purchase snacks.
No Project Dream on Monday May 25th for Memorial Day
Friday June 5th: Final Day of Project Dream & Firefighter Field Day at CMC!
For our final day of Project Dream this year we are going to CMC in the afternoon for a special event hosted by Colorado Mountain College and Leadville Lake County Fire Rescue. Students will engage in fun, hands-on activities while learning about fire safety. The activity will be open to the public at 3:00 pm. See attached flyer. Here are some important details:
Pickup will be from the CMC campus between 3:00-3:30 pm.
If your student typically takes the bus home in the afternoon, routes will begin at 3:30 pm after parent pickup is complete.
Parents are encouraged to stay after 3:00 pm and experience the activities with their students!
I hope everyone is doing well as the summer season approaches. We have just 3 weeks left in our school year. Please take a moment to check your child’s cubby and/or yellow folder for fliers regarding our end of the year events. Our last day of programming will be June 16. Please note that this is a Tuesday. We will host our end of the year celebration for Preschool on Monday June 15 at 11:30 in the Lake County Elementary School gym.
For our returning preschool families, we have sent out acceptance letters for next year. Please reach out if you have not yet received this. We ask that you take a moment to use the QR code included in the letter to accept your child’s offered spot and to schedule your orientation in June. If you have not yet submitted an application for next year, please do this ASAP. Reach out if you have any questions, we are here to provide support.
The Colorado weather continues to be a little tricky! Please continue to send a jacket for your child, we want to get outside as much as possible despite the wind or cooler temperatures. We also ask that families continue to send water bottles and backpacks for the next few weeks. This ensures we can easily send your child’s belongings home and that they can be hydrated throughout a busy day.
June Tuition has been posted to your child’s account. This will be our final month for this school year. The due date is June 5th, 2026. If you have any questions about your tuition for the month please reach out to me.
Please remember when signing your child in and out, please make sure to include the time and print or your signature must be legible.
Have a great weekend!
If you have any questions, please free to contact me:
Menus can be found in your child’s yellow folder at the end of each month or in our main entrance vestibules!
Fliers
Mental Health Matters This May
May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a great time to check in on your student’s emotional well-being. Stress, anxiety, and end-of-year transitions can impact how students feel and perform. The School-Based Health Centers through Elevated Community Health are here to support students with a safe, supportive space and access to care right on campus.
Looking ahead to summer, select School-Based Health Centers will remain open, so students can continue receiving care even when school is out.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 970-710-5049.
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La salud mental es importante este mayo
Mayo es el Mes de la Concientización sobre la Salud Mental, un buen momento para reflexionar sobre el bienestar emocional de su estudiante. El estrés, la ansiedad y las transiciones de fin de año pueden afectar cómo se sienten y se desempeñan los estudiantes. Los Centros de Salud Escolar a través de Elevated Community Health están aquí para apoyar a los estudiantes con un espacio seguro y acceso a servicios directamente en la escuela.
Pensando en el verano, algunos Centros de Salud Escolar permanecerán abiertos, para que los estudiantes puedan seguir recibiendo atención incluso cuando no haya clases.
Para más información o para programar una cita, llame al 970-710-5049.
Opening night for DISNEY’S FROZEN is one week away! Tickets are already selling fast so make sure to secure yours soon! You can buy tickets here. Adult tickets are $12, senior tickets are $10, and child/student tickets are $8. Ticket prices will be $4 more at the door and we only will be able to take cash or check. Performances are May 28-30.
Rockies Rock Summer Camp – Enrollment Open!
Join Get Outdoors Leadville for an unforgettable summer of outdoor adventure, confidence-building, and connection with nature.
Enroll by April 16th (requests processed by 4/23).
Questions or need help signing up? Visit our Open House on April 9th, 5–7 PM at the Get Outdoors Leadville building (next to Climax Building at CMC, 901 US-24, Room 219).
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Campamento de Verano Rockies Rock – ¡Inscripciones Abiertas!
Únete a Get Outdoors Leadville para un verano inolvidable de aventuras al aire libre, desarrollo de confianza y conexión con la naturaleza.
Inscríbete antes del 16 de abril (las solicitudes se procesarán antes del 23/4).
¿Tienes preguntas o necesitas ayuda para inscribirte? Visita nuestra Casa Abierta el 9 de abril, de 5 a 7 PM en el edificio de Get Outdoors Leadville (junto al edificio Climax en CMC, 901 US-24, salón 219).
January 26th - 29th, 2026 a strong connection between home and school. See the message below from Mrs. Ayers for the ongoing American Heart Association...
