LCES Panther Cub Communication #26
February 16th – 19th, 2026
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LCES Families,
LCES was buzzing with fun and excitement this week as it’s always special for students to show their friendship during our Valentine’s celebrations. Enjoy a few pictures and student smiles to warm your hearts!
PK Families: If you are in need of your 2025 tax statement for child care payments, please reach out to Marissa Martinez directly at mamartinez@lakecountyschools.net or 719-486-6927. Please expect up to a week to receive the document, once the request is received. Thanks!
K-2 Families: The February reading challenge is happening now! Come check out “Pooh’s Forest” in the hallway across from the music room and return those reading logs to Ms. Mulcey for a special prize. Let us know if you are in need of any reading books at home, we have plenty. Happy reading, Panthers!
Enjoy your weekend and see you on Monday,
Brandi Lovely, PK-2 Principal
LCES Important Dates (PK – 2nd)
February 23: 100th day of School! (flier here)
February 26: K-2 Community Meeting at 8:00am led by 1st grade, celebrating the HOWL of Compassion
March 2-5: Dr. Seuss Spirit Week (more information coming soon)
March 3: Consolidation Family Information Night and School Tours (flier coming soon) 6:00pm, LCES Cafeteria
March 5: K-2 Panther Day during specials and K-2 Dollar Day
March 9-13: Spring Break, NO SCHOOL
Helpful Link: Lake County School District Calendar
K-2 Specifics
February Reading Log: Please read with and encourage your child to read each day and color in one block for every 10 minutes of reading. We encourage you to read with your child in your home language and please reach out if you need more books at home. Happy Reading!
IXL: Congratulations to Addie Kupfer for our IXL challenge pizza gift certificate winner! Addie completed almost 2 hours of IXL skills practice over the past two weekends and we are proud and thankful for her accomplishment! Congrats, Addie! Remember, 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/
February Panther HOWL (Habit of Work & Learning) Focus: Compassion
For the month of February, we will celebrating the HOWL of Compassion. Compassion means, “I care for and help others, my community, and the world around me.” The Student of the Month for each crew will be announced at our next community meeting on February 26th. 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: Our next pizza attendance challenge ends next Thursday, February 26th! See details in the fliers section below!
February Attendance Challenge: We have started a new monthly attendance challenge! The class with the best attendance percentage for the whole month 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!
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 on May 20th! We will be checking attendance from Jan 5th-April 30th to see who qualifies. Families will be notified if your student has earned this opportunity the week of May 4th. Students may opt out of attending if parents so choose (Opt out deadline: May 6th). As the event gets closer, we will share more details so check this section regularly for updates! Please note LCIS is doing an attendance reward at this Rockies game as well so please look for specific information from LCIS in their parent communication as the criteria is slightly different between schools. 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!
HOWLs Challenge: We are excited to announce our quarter 3 HOWLs challenge! Your student will try to earn as many HOWL Dollars as they can by March 23rd for the chance to tie dye a t-shirt with the principals at the end of the quarter! The top four 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.
K-2 Project Dream
LCES Project Dream Information
Raquel Contreras
LCES Site Supervisor
719-293-5363
rcontreras@lakecountyschools.net
The Center Specifics
Dear Center Families,
Today was filled with fun, smiles, and excitement as classrooms celebrated Valentine’s Day.
Mail month is about to begin! It has been so fun to see all the mailboxes coming into our program. We will start with our mail delivery program on Monday. The large Center mailbox will be in our vestibule for you to use stamp free. You can also give mail to your child’s bus monitor. If mailing through the mail, please use the following address:
The Center
Attention- (your child’s name and Room #)
130 West 12th Street
Leadville, CO 80461
Classrooms will be taking a field trip to the Post Office to learn a little bit about mail and where it comes from. The schedule is noted below:
Thursday February 19,2026
10:00-10:30 Room 137
10:30-11:00 Room 135
Wednesday February 25, 2026
10:00-10:30 Room 133
10:30-11:00 Room 131
11:00-11:30 Room 130
Families are welcome to join your child for this field trip. We ask that you meet us at the Post Office for the visit. Reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend! Happy Valentine’s Day
Tanya Lenhard, Director
719-486-6928 (work); 719-293-1055 (cell)
tdlenhard@lakecountyschools.net
From the Assistant Director
Hello Families,
Do you need your 2025 Tax Statement for child care payments, please reach out to me directly, I will complete and get these to you within a week of the request.
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
February is a good time to focus on the idea of kindness. This also goes along well with our Mail Month theme, notes and letters are an act of kindness that our preschoolers can easily connect with. The article “Passing the Torch” from the Devereux Center for Resilient Children shares several effective ways to instill the value of kindness in younger children.
- Lead by example. Children are keen observers and they learn a great deal by watching the actions of the adults around them. Demonstrating kindness through your own actions sets a powerful example. Whether it’s helping a neighbor, showing gratitude, or offering a kind word, children are more likely to emulate behaviors they see consistently.
- Read and discuss stories of kindness. Storytelling is a powerful tool for conveying values to children. Choose books that emphasize kindness, empathy, and compassion. After reading, engage children in a discussion about the characters’ actions and the impact of kindness on others. This not only reinforces the concept, but also encourages critical thinking.
- Practice gratitude. Gratitude is closely linked to kindness. Encourage children to express gratitude for the people and things around them. Create a daily routine where you share what you are thankful for, and invite children to do the same. This helps them develop an appreciation for the positive aspects of life and fosters a kinder outlook.
We will continue with the rest of the provided strategies from this article in next week’s bulletin.
Article can be found here: https://centerforresilientchildren.org/dcrcblog-torchofkindness/
Menus
Menus can be found in your child’s yellow folder at the end of each month or in our main entrance vestibules!
Fliers
