Lexington Elementary will be hosting a community outreach event on Feb. 29th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in our learning center in which locally-known speaker Marty Murphy will be presenting "Finding Normal."  Marty Murphy is an adult with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Marty attended public school in central Illinois where she was born and raised and has gone on to live a wildly entertaining and successful life. 
 
Marty has been featured in the Autism Spectrum Quarterly magazine, she has presented at the Autism Society of America Conference and keynoted for the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Developmental Disabilities.
 
 Marty delivers a humorous and energetic message, providing the audience a unique, personal look into the world of autism. With amazing insight she shares the emotional impact of living with autism and how she has found her “Normal”.
 
This presentation will be open to the public and will be free of charge.  Food and drink will be provided.  Childcare services will also be offered by the high school "Key Club" for any parents that attend the presentation. 
 
Please join us for what we hope is an educational, enlightening, and entertaining evening as we learn first hand about a disorder that is affecting more and more of our students and families.

If you have any questions, please call 309-365-2741.

Submitted by: Paul Deters, Elementary Principal

Dear Minutemen Parents & Grandparents:

The junior class of Lexington High School is asking for your assistance with this year’s After-Prom.  After-Prom is a safe, fun, alcohol free event for all high school students after prom is over.  Last year almost 130 students took part in After-Prom and enjoyed food, entertainment, and prizes.  The Lexington High School junior class is making plans for the 2012 After-Prom which will be held at Lexington High School in April.

We are seeking donations from any one who would like to support the young people of our community by partnering with us to make this event possible.  After-Prom is not a school sponsored event, so we must rely on outside sources for funding.  We would greatly appreciate your help.  A monetary contribution, gift certificate, or any other type of donation will help defray the costs of rentals, food, and prizes.  We hope you will consider assisting our class to create a memorable and safe event for all the students of Lexington High School.

If you choose to make a donation, please make your check payable to Lexington Booster Club – After-Prom.   The Lexington Booster Club is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

 Donation can be mailed to the following address:           Lexington Booster Club – After-Prom

                                                                                                c/o Jody Nettles

                                                                                                605 N East Street

                                                                                                Lexington, IL 61753

If you have any questions regarding this event, or how you can help, please contact Jody Nettles at (309) 365-8290, (217) 737-3198 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for supporting the students of Lexington High School!

Today, Lexington Elementary was honored by the Illinois State Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Christopher Koch at a ceremony at Sugar Creek Elementary School.  The ceremony was honoring local schools in McLean and Livingston Counties and Lexington Elementary was honored for winning an Academic Excellence Award.  Across the state, 438 schools earned the Academic Excellence Award for 2011.  To earn an Academic Excellence Award, Lexington Elementary has continued to meet Adequate Yearly Progress as required by No Child Left Behind and 90 percent of our students have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for the three most recent years.  Lexington Elementary has actually won this award for the past 6 years in a row!!!!

I am so very proud to see the Lexington Elementary staff get the praise and honor it deserves for their hard work and dedication!  Their commitment to our students and their desire for student learning continue to make Lexington Elementary one of the best schools in the state!

Submitted by: Paul Deters, Lexington Elementary Principal

Smile Illinois, a highly acclaimed on-site dental care program is coming to Lexington School on March 19th and 20^th, 2012.  This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to receive preventative dental care. The team of licensed dentists and hygienists will set up a mini-dental office in our building. Participating students will receive cleanings and fluoride treatments. Sealants and x-rays are also offered, when applicable. All students up through the age of 18 are eligible to participate.

The Smile Illinois program accepts private dental insurance. The program also offers subsidized fees for those who choose to pay for the preventative care. For students without private insurance and lacking sufficient funds for the subsidized fee, Smile Illinois provides generous grant-assistance. NO CHILD IS EVER TURNED AWAY for lack of resources. Medicaid and “All Kids Insurance” will cover this service 100%.

Every student who participates will receive a new toothbrush and a dental “report card” to take home. Please note that the Smile Illinois program satisfies the State mandated exams for students in Kindergarten, 2^nd, and 6^th grades. Permission slips have been sent home with students. If you did not receive one, please call the school office.

You can learn more about Smile Programs by going to the website: www.mobiledentists.com or call the school and ask to speak to Nurse Pam at 309-365-2741.

Lexington Community School District #7 will hold it’s Preschool Screening Jan. 31, and Feb.1, 2012.  This will be held at the Lexington Community Center.  Call the Elementary Office at 309-365-2741, 9:00-4:00 p.m. beginning Jan. 19, 2012 to schedule an appointment.  This is a learning check-up that focuses on development of fine and gross motor skills, concept and communication skills, as well as vision and hearing.  Screening is for all children 3, 4 and 5 years of age after Sept. 1.  All Kindergarten-aged children are encouraged to attend.  All children screened will receive a book.  Children are encouraged to bring a small, stuffed animal with them to the screening.

The State of Illinois has issued a new requirement for school children. Please read carefully because this may affect your child. This new requirement will go into effect for the 2012-13 school year. Up until now, the state required children to have 4 or more doses of DTap/DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) before entering kindergarten, with a Td (tetanus) booster required before freshman year of high school. This has changed!

In addition to the 4 doses required for Kindergarten, a Tdap booster is needed for all students in grades 6th-12th.

The rule now says

• Any child entering sixth grade shall show proof of receiving one dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) vaccine regardless of the interval since the last DTaP, DT or Td dose.
• Students entering grades 7 through 12 who have not already received Tdap are required to receive 1 Tdap dose regardless of the interval since the last DTaP, DT or Td dose. 

If you are unsure whether your child has received the Tdap booster, please contact your child’s healthcare provider or the school nurse. We would strongly suggest that you don’t wait until too long before checking into this matter. As you know, doctor’s offices get very busy by mid-summer causing difficulty in getting an appointment for your child before school starts.

Support the Lexington Minutemen with a Minutemen car magnet!  Magnets are 6" in diameter and are $5 each. 

Magnets can be purchased in the Elementary Office (checks payable to Lexington PTO). Please click here to view a magnet!

It's time for the Winter version of Lexington Minutemen Spiritwear!  Orders and payment are due to the Elementary Office by Friday, November 18.  Please click here for an order form!

Parents of Lexington High School Students,

Many of you received a letter in the mail from Parchment telling you to request your student’s transcripts through their website, www.parchment.com.  The letter was signed, Guidance Staff at Lexington High School.  Please be aware that I did not send this letter, nor did I approve its content.  The Parchment Company sent this letter without consent of anyone at Lexington High School. 

Please be aware that if a LHS student needs to send their transcripts to a college they should fill out the paper request in the high school office.  If you or your student has already created an account there is no harm done, however, please be aware that transcripts cannot be sent until the paper request is filled out and submitted to the High School office. 

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.      

Mrs. White

Guidance Counselor

LJHS/LHS

Students in grades 5-12 will benefit from a private donation which allowed for the purchase of 32 Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch eReaders. The Barnes and Noble Nook is a convenient, portable reading device.  It is the size of a paperback and capable of holding hundreds of books. A student can highlight sections of text, and unfamiliar words can be instantly defined using the onboard dictionary. We are excited to see our students advance their reading skills while incorporating the evolving world of technology!

The chance to use this device is a privilege that we are able to provide to students provided they use extra caution and responsibility. For this reason, we require a signature from a parent or guardian and the student before a Nook can be issued. Students in grades 5-12 with positive school behavior who have demonstrated appropriate use of school books, materials, and other school property are eligible for this program. They may download a User Agreement from the school website found in the Documents section and be eligible to borrow a Nook when the form has been completed and returned. A document showing the book titles loaded on the Nooks is also available in the Documents section.

Students in grades 5-12 who own their own eReaders will be allowed to bring them to school to use for reading assignments after they have completed a User Agreement and obtained parental permission. This document is also available on the school website in the documents section in the Library folder.

The Library has a new look! Please stop by and “check it out” next time you are in the building! Mrs. Leake obtained some new comfy furniture (free from the State Farm Warehouse) and it has been added to provide areas where students from all grades can enjoy reading, studying and working on assignments throughout the school day.

Our theme in the Library is “Dive Into Reading” and students are doing just that! Students in grades 1-12 may check out 2 books for 2 weeks. Kindergarten students may check out 1 book for 2 weeks.

This year elementary students may return their books on any day of the week rather than having to wait until their “Library Day”.

Each classroom now has a new basket available for students to return their books in. The high school students have the opportunity to return or renew their books in a new Book Drop. Of course, students may always return them in the Library, too.