LCES Panther Cub Communication #27
February 23rd -26th, 2026
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LCES Families,
Finally a snowy, winter week here in Leadville! We are looking forward to Monday and celebrating the 100th day of school at LCES! See the flier below in the important dates section for more information and we are excited to celebrate the fact that we are ‘100 days brighter!’.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 4 for an Informational Open House here at LCES beginning in the cafeteria at 6pm. The purpose of the evening is to learn more about school consolidation for next year, hear important updates, and ask questions or share feedback. We will be offering school tours of our learning spaces to familiarize yourself with the new classroom arrangements. Interpretation will be available and we hope to see you there!
The Center Mail Month is happening NOW! See the PK section below for more information and we welcome letters for any student in preschool. There’s a blue mailbox to drop letters into at the entrance of The Center and the main front office can also accept letters. Writing letters to a preschool student would be a fun way to spend a weekend afternoon teaching your student about kindness and letter writing.
Happy Friday and have a fantastic weekend!
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 (flier here)
March 4: Consolidation Family Information Night and School Tours (flier here) 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: This upcoming week is the last week for the February reading challenge. Friendly reminder, 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!
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
To make changes to after-school arrangements, the front office must be contacted by 2:30 PM if you plan to pick up your student before 3:35 PM.
LCES Project Dream Information
Raquel Contreras
LCES Site Supervisor
719-293-5363
rcontreras@lakecountyschools.net
The Center Specifics
Dear Center Families,
The mail is rolling in, how fun! Room 137 and 135 visited the Post Office this week. The second round of field trips will be on Wednesday February 25. Here is that schedule.
10:00-10:30 Room 133
10:30-11:00 Room 131
11:00-11:30 Room 130
Monday February 23 marks 100 days in school! LCES is hosting a spirit day, wear a collection of 100 things or dress like you are 100 years old.
Our classrooms will be finishing up their Plants domain next week. To celebrate the end of this unit next week, we will be exploring and tasting a variety fruits and veggies. We are sure this will be fun and yummy!
Enjoy your weekend, stay warm!
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.
Please remember school starts at 9:00, if your child will be dropped off after 9:30 please call the front office (719-486-6890) or Marissa (719-427-7075), so we can make sure we include them in meal counts for the day.
We have seen an increase in illness in preschool over the last week. To help during this cold and flu season focus on proper handwashing with your preschooler at home. We follow the “How Sick is Too Sick” guidelines for illness, your child could be sent home for symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, throwing up, not able to participate in daily activities, etc. Children can be at school if they have been symptom free for 24 hours without medication. If you need to call your child in for the day please call the front office (719-486-6890) or Marissa (719-427-7075),
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. Here is part two from the article that was shared last week titled “Passing the Torch” from the Devereux Center for Resilient Children focusing on strategies to instill kindness in younger children.
- Teach empathy. Helping children understand and share the feelings of others is fundamental to kindness. Ask questions that prompt them to consider the perspectives of their peers, such as “How do you think your friend felt when that happened?” Encourage them to actively listen and respond with empathy.
- Encourage acts of kindness. Promote small acts of kindness within the classroom and at home. This could be as simple as sharing toys, helping with chores, or saying something nice to a friend. Recognize and praise these acts to reinforce the importance of kindness.
- Foster inclusivity. Teach children the value of inclusivity by embracing diversity. Celebrate differences and encourage friendships with children from various backgrounds. Help them ot understand that kindness extends beyond familiar circles, promoting a sense of belonging for everyone.
- Set clear expectations. Establish clear expectations for behavior, emphasizing kindness as a non-negotiable value. Consistently reinforce the importance of treating others with respect and empathy. Establishing these expectations early on helps children internalize the concept of kindness as an integral part of their identity.
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
