Principal's Corner & Newsletter

February 2026

Hi Lenart Families,

As we enter February, we are excited about the many upcoming events that bring our Lenart community together. These moments give us valuable opportunities to collaborate, connect, and strengthen the partnerships that support our students. We look forward to seeing you at these events and continuing to build a strong, welcoming school community together.

As a reminder, please be mindful when parking in the surrounding neighborhood. Recently, we have seen an increase in concerns from community members related to traffic, blocked driveways, and vehicles being damaged. We ask for your partnership in helping us be respectful neighbors by following parking guidelines, driving cautiously, and remaining aware of our shared spaces. Your support helps us maintain positive relationships with our neighbors and reflects the values of care and respect we strive to model for our students.

This week, we are excited to begin our OST programs. Students who were accepted into these programs have received letters with additional details. For all other after-school events, including family engagement nights, students must be supervised by a parent or guardian. If your child is not enrolled in an OST program, please continue to pick them up at 2:45 pm or consider enrolling them in our fee-based after-school partnership with STBU. To ensure student safety, students are not able to remain on campus unsupervised, as there is no staff available to provide supervision. Thank you for your understanding and partnership in keeping our students safe.

Please ensure you have paid school fees and graduation fees. If you have any questions, please see Clerk Fleming in the main office between 7:15am-3:00pm. School Fees are past due. Click here to pay now. Waivers are available for those in need. 

With appreciation, 

Principal Adams 🦁💛

🗓️ Upcoming Dates

February 2nd- Groundhogs Day

February 4th- 100th day of school 

February 6th- Progress Reports go home | City Science Fair

February 10th - LSC Meeting; LLP Meeting

February 12th- Humanities Night- February 12th 4-6pm | All families invited to attend! 

February 16th- No School- Presidents Day

February 17th- Professional Development for all Lenart Staff | No School for students

February 18th & 19th - Dental visit for students

February 20th- Spring Picture Day | Spring Picture Day ID: EVTBD4MGB

February 21st - Greater Chicago K-12 Chess Championship

February 24th - LSC Candidate Forum (Auditorium)

February 26th - Parent Book Club (Virtual) 

February 27th- Black History Month Assembly |  LLP Winter Ball 5:30-7:30pm 

National Counselor Appreciation Week: 1st week of February (2/2-2/6)- We appreciate you Ms. Daley! 

LSC 

Thank you to all those who submitted their documents to run for the LSC. You can find information about each candidate on the LSC bulletin board. A letter went home earlier this week about the LSC forum. 

LSC Candidate Forum- February 24th, Lenart Auditorium at 3:30pm

LSC Election- Report Card Pick Up on March 18th

LSC Student Election- March 19th 

 

🚨MOY Testing

Reports went home with students on Friday. If you need another copy of the score report, please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher. 

🦁Lion Culture | Gifted Updates- Ms. Martin | 📚Intervention Updates- Ms. Reyes

We are excited to share Homeroom Highlights that offer a glimpse into our students’ daily experiences. Please view the video attached! 

The Lion’s Lowdown went home in your child’s backpack. 

🌟Humanities Night

Families, join us Thursday February 12th from 4pm-6pm for a night of activities that invite us to explore history, express creativity and share through storytelling. Also, students who participate in genius hour will be sharing their passion projects at the top of the evening. Meet us in the Lenart auditorium! Parents are welcome to enter beginning at 3:45pm. Programming will begin at 4pm sharp and the 1st floor auditorium doors will remain closed while students are presenting. Families that arrive late will be directed to the balcony in order to not disrupt student presentations. All students must be accompanied by a parent. All students should be picked up at 2:45pm unless a teacher shares that they will be responsible for your child during the set up or your child is enrolled in STBU. Thank you for your understanding.

🏁Academic Competitions

NHD- Students presented their presentations on January 30th at the school level to judges and families during our NHD showcase. 

Project Soapbox- Our students completed their projects and presentations. We are so proud of them! 

Science Fair- All of Lenart's participants are advancing to the City Science Fair. Please see Ms. Doyle’s email for more information. 

Spelling Bee- Congratulations to Leah in 8th grade who will now take an online test to qualify for the next level. 

CJML- Students have their Math competition this upcoming weekend! Good luck!  

📋Attendance Team

Family Attendance Needs Survey

We invite all families to complete our attendance survey to help us better understand what supports students need to get to school each day and arrive on time. Your feedback will guide how we strengthen routines, remove barriers, and provide meaningful resources for our community. Together, your voice helps us create a welcoming and supportive school experience where every child can thrive. Congrats to Ms. Smith’s 6th grade homeroom for the January win. Next month students will have the opportunity to compete again for highest attendance percentage for homeroom. 

📚Parent Book Club- Thank you to those parents and grandparents that showed up to our first Parent Book Book Meeting on Thursday, February 29th! We engaged in great conversation (and laughs) as we discussed Chapter 1 of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. The next Parent Book Club meeting is on Thursday, February 26th at 5:00 pm virtually. Please meet us online to discuss Part 2 (Chapter 2, 3, and 4) of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ynt-owpp-hoo 

📋Amazon Wishlists

Want to support our teachers? Here are their Amazon Wishlists. 

♥️OST Programs 

OST begins Monday, February 2nd and ends on May 1st. We are so proud to offer a diverse range of After School Programming to our K-8th grade students. This year we have partnered with many different programs to bring something special for our students. Questions, please contact AP Stewart [email protected].

WINTER/SPRING OST DETAILS:

Dates: February 2nd, 2026 - May 1st, 2026

Times: 2:45p-4:00p

Dismissal: Door 1

 

Mondays

Smart Art led by CPS Vendor

Books and Board Games led by Ms. Martin

Chicago Junior Mathematics League (CJML) led by Ms. C. Smith

Choir led by Mr. Bravo

 

Tuesdays

Chess Scholars led by Ms. Daley and CPS Vendor

Broadway led by Mr. O'Connor

Let's Code It led by CPS Vendor

 

Thursdays

Student Voice Committee led by Mr. McCabe (bi-weekly)

Rainbow Club led by Mrs. Daley (has been moved to meet during the school day)

🏁Sports- Mr. Givens, Sports Liaison 

Winter Sports are in full swing!. Coaches will continue to share game schedules and times as they frequently adjust based on standings and schools. 

Practice Schedule

Mondays

5th-8th Co-ed Cheerleading led by Mr. Bass and Ms. Syra

7th-8th Boys Basketball led by Mr. Carl (ends on Feb. 4th)

 Tuesdays

5th-6th Boys/Girls Basketball led by Mr. Carl and Ms. Rivera 

 Wednesdays

5th-8th Co-ed Cheerleading led by Mr. Bass and Ms. Syra

7th-8th Boys Basketball led by Mr. Carl (ends on Feb. 4th)

 Thursdays

5th-8th Co-ed Cheerleading led by Mr. Bass and Ms. Syra

Busy weekend! Come out and support our Lenart Student-Athletes!

Boys Basketball:

Our Lenart 7th/8th boys basketball team has a game this Saturday, January 31st, 12pm vs Green Elementary at Englewood STEM High School (6835 S Normal Blvd, Chicago, IL 60621, USA). 

Lenart Cheerleading:

Our Lenart 5th-8th grade cheer team has been practicing very hard and it’s time to see them live in-person! Come on out and support our amazing team! Please read the details below from Coach Bass as it pertains to important spectator information.

Date: Saturday, January 31st

Time: 3pm (Cheer team performance at 3:51pm)

Location: UIC Forum- 1213 S. Halsted st. Chicago, IL 60607

Parking:

Spectators will have to pay $10 for parking.

There are 3 parking lots – Maxwell St, Lot 5, and Lot 6

Lot 5 (Roosevelt & Morgan – 2 Blocks from the Forum)

Street parking is also available.

 

Competition Viewing:

Spectators are only allowed to watch teams within their participating team’s division. We are in the large division so we are only allowed to stay in the viewing area during the large division time frame. Once the competition concludes, Ms. Syra and I will go over how the competition went, do our team break, and all athletes will be released to parents and guardians. Athletes should remain with the team until the last team in our division performs.

Bag Policy:

UIC has strict guidelines on bags, since it is a college campus. For that reason I recommend playing it safe and purchasing an affordable clear vinyl bag from Amazon to comply. Along with the bag policy, I’ve also attached the link to a bag that’s cheap, functional and has good reviews for you all to purchase.

https://a.co/d/b9Md2Lc 

Bag Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SYuEQmNwJWPXVvWEUALW2Ovnr4-ln036Z2kMQLp5z-A/edit?usp=sharing 

*All parents are responsible for dropping off and picking up their child*

SOMETHING TO BUILD UPON (TUITION-BASED)

The fee-based after school program will continue throughout the school with our partner- STBU! Please contact Tania Muhammad with any questions. Email- [email protected] | Website link

 

💙Counselor- Ms. Daley

All classroom teachers are implementing our SEL curriculum weekly called Second Step. MS is continuing their weekly sessions with Success Bound activities with Counselor Daley. Additionally, I push into classrooms for 4-5 weeks in grades K-5 to implement counseling lessons with students throughout the year. We also are offering other SEL resources to students. We have mini groups that take place during the day called SS Grin as well as partner programs like Act and Adapt. Want more information? Please reach out to Ms. Daley.  

The January SEL Newsletter is now online. Make a resolution to focus on your mental health this year with Erika’s Lighthouse Mental Health Recharge Tool. We shared it with all staff to use in classrooms and for our own mental health. Try it for yourself and with your children at home or anywhere on your phone. It’s an easy way to take a mental health break anytime, anywhere.

 

⛔Safety Reminder

Please help us keep our students safe by avoiding double parking, refraining from entering the staff parking lot, and keeping traffic flowing smoothly during arrival and dismissal. You should pull all the way over during arrival and dismissal to ensure traffic runs smoothly. Whenever you need to enter the building, use Door 1, sign in with Mr. Carl, and check in with Ms. Fleming for next steps. This procedure is in place to ensure the safety of our students, as we cannot allow anyone to walk through the building without following this process. 

📵Cell phones

For student safety, students are not permitted to use cell phones, Apple watches, or other tech devices during the school day nor during early arrival or after school. Cell phones should be put away and turned off during the day. Classroom teachers will inform you if they are collecting cell phones vs. if students should leave them turned off in their bookbags. The school is not responsible for any lost or stolen personal items.  

🫑Healthy CPS 

We are a healthy CPS school which means we celebrate with fun instead of treats. For student birthdays, please do not send cupcakes/cake. You are welcome to send goodie bags with items for students to take home. Doordash orders and uber eats are prohibited for students. This poses a safety and allergy risk for students. We also want to ensure we are prioritizing instruction instead of locating students, delivery drivers, and the name on the order.