LCES Panther Cub Communication #22
January 19th – 22nd, 2026
Para traducir al español, desplácese hasta el final y haga clic en la bandera
LCES Families,
It’s been a beautiful week here at LCES, with sunny blue skies, eager to learn students, and fun activities. This week, on Thursday our students participated in Panther Day during specials, completing a fun snowflake craft. Many smiles and laughter from all!
See the message below from Mrs. Ayers for the ongoing American Heart Association challenge. More than $1,500 has been earned so far and we are incredibly proud and grateful for the support.
Friendly reminder to 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.
We wish you a wonderful weekend ahead and look forward to another great week!
Go Panthers,
Brandi Lovely, PK-2 Principal
LCES Important Dates (PK – 2nd)
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: Hello Lake County Elementary School Families – We’re midway through Kids Heart Challenge and our students are learning how to keep their hearts healthy and about life-saving skills at school.
We need your family’s help at home – Click here: http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=12402&pg=company&company_id=526659 or download the free AHA Schools App to join our school’s service project and see updates for student and class rankings including all the ways your student can get involved!
Complete Finn’s Mission together at home then share your page with friends and family to spread lifesaving skills and support your fundraising goals.
🎟️ Raise $25 = score discounted Switchbacks Soccer tickets! 🏀 Raise $50 = unlock discounted Nuggets tickets and an exclusive on-court experience! ✨
Thank you for being part of our school’s service project with the American Heart Association. Students aren’t just having fun and earning rewards – they’re building leadership skills and learning how to protect their hearts! Our school also receives equipment for PE or recess, and we can apply for wellness grants.
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:
Congratulations to our Jan 5th- Jan 15th 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. See details about our next pizza attendance challenge in the fliers section below!
January Attendance Challenge: We are halfway through our 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!
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 on March 26th! 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. The HOWL that we are focusing on for January is craftsmanship and we are excited to see you all at our community meeting celebrating this HOWL on January 29th!
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,
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
Hello Families,
The weather has been super nice this week. Hopefully we get some snow soon! Wishing you all 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.”
