Center Connection

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe we are moving into the second half of the year. Thank you to everyone who made Center's Got Talent such a fun event! Please make sure you look through all sections of this week's newsletter as I have included important updates from our Nurse, SPTO, and some reminders for morning arrival.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share our upcoming MCAS testing dates with families. We are excited to give our students an opportunity to show their growth. We ask that you take a look at the dates below and try to ensure your child is at school and on time for their testing days. We greatly appreciate your partnership.

Grade 3 MCAS Dates

ELA Session 1: 3/24

ELA Session 2: 3/31

Math Session 1: 5/4

Math Session 2: 5/11

Grade 4 MCAS Dates

ELA Session 1: 3/25

ELA Session 2: 4/1

Math Session 1: 5/1

Math Session 2: 5/8

Grade 5 MCAS Dates

ELA Session 1: 3/26

ELA Session 2: 4/13

Math Session 1: 4/30

Math Session 2: 5/7

STE Session 1: 5/14

STE Session 2: 5/18

ELA Session 1 Make Ups: 3/30

ELA Session 2 Make Ups: 4/14

Math Session 1 Make Ups: 5/5

Math Session 2 Make Ups: 5/12

STE Session 1 Make Ups: 5/19

STE Session 2 Make Ups: 5/20

In partnership,

Kerryann

January 28: School Council (3:30)

January 29: Spelling Bee (Grades 3-5) (9:00am)

January 30: Spelling Bee Snow Date (Grades 3-5) (1:30pm)

January 30: Band Concert (6pm)

February 6: Early Release (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15 K-5 Dismissal)

February 6: Make Up Snow Date for Band Concert (6pm)

February 10: PTO 7pm Virtually

February 12: Coffee Hour with Mrs. Coppinger (9am)

February 12: Listening Session with Mrs. Coppinger (4pm)

February 16-20: No School

February 25: School Council (3:30)

March 5: Early Release: Spring Conferences and Evening Conferences (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15 K-5 Dismissal)

March 10:PTO 7pm Virtually

March 13: Early Release: Spring Conferences (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15 K-5 Dismissal)

Follow Our Events by subscribing to The Center School Calendar.

To ensure a smooth and timely start to the school day for all our students, please remember that morning drop-off concludes promptly at 8:35 AM. Students arriving after this time must be signed in at the main office and will be marked tardy.

When entering the drop-off loop, please drive all the way forward to where Mrs. Ruggerio is stationed before stopping. To keep traffic moving efficiently, students should begin unloading if they are positioned anywhere in the circle, stretching from Mrs. Ruggerio all the way back to Nurse Audra. When cars wait to pull up further instead of unloading when they have a safe opening, it creates significant congestion and delays for the families behind you. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us keep the line moving safely and quickly!

Due to an increase in the number of reported cases of Covid-19 at Center I wanted to share some further information and increase your awareness about the virus.

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory viral infection that is diagnosed by obtaining a nasal

swab in a medical office or through an at-home test. Common symptoms of COVID-19

include:

 Fever

 Cough

 Sore Throat

 Head and/or Body Aches

 Nausea and vomiting

Please monitor your child and follow up with your child's primary medical provider if your child

exhibits these symptoms.

If your child is diagnosed with COVID-19, please alert the Health Office by emailing Nurse

Audra at amaria@nrsd.net or calling 978-461-0009. It helps me in tracking illness and

absences.

Although isolation for a set amount of time is no longer needed, please remember that people

who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 should remain home until symptoms start to improve

AND their temperature is less than 100.0 F for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing

medications (e.g., Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, etc.).

Ways to prevent contracting or spreading contagious respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19

include:

 Regular handwashing

 Coughing into your sleeve or a tissue instead of your hands

 Wearing a mask

 Seeking medical attention for testing and, if diagnosed, staying home until symptoms

improve AND you have been fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications

 Regular sleep, healthy eating, and hydrating throughout the day

To help prevent the spread and prevention of Covid-19 at school we continue to encourage

frequent hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, the cleaning and

disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces or objects, and by encouraging the children to cover

coughs and sneezes.

Thank you for doing your part in promoting a healthy school environment for all of our children

at The Center School.

Nurse Audra

Bio Buddies is a PTO-sponsored after school enrichment program meeting twice a month on Wednesdays from 3:15-4:15 PM. As members of the Nashoba High School Green Team, our goal is to empower kids to protect the environment through nature-based education. This program combines fun and hands-on activities, with engaging kid-friendly lessons on topics such as plastic pollution, ecosystems, and threats to our oceans. We have an attendance cap of 20 students from grades K-3, after which point anyone who signs up will be added to a waitlist. Spots are given out on a first-come first-served basis, and interested families can start registering with this form.

**This program takes place during after-school hours, and a school nurse will not be onsite. For safety and liability reasons, activity leaders are not able to administer medications, including EpiPens, or provide medical treatment. If a medical emergency occurs, 911 will be contacted immediately. Some activities may be held outdoors in the spring, which can increase the possibility of bee stings or allergic reactions. Please keep this in mind when deciding whether this program is a good fit for your child. In the absence of a nurse, all medical emergencies will be handled by calling emergency services.**

Program Dates (first and third Wednesday of the month):

February 25, March 4th and 18th, April 1st and 15th, May 6th and 20th

Families that get a spot in the program will be contacted and given a Nashoba Extracurricular form to complete and return in order to participate. Additionally, families will be responsible to click- "other" in Pick Up Patrol and make a comment that they are attending Bio Buddies for each session date.

Sign Up Form

The cut off time for changes in Pick Up Patrol is 12:00pm. Please get any changes entered as early as possible.

Reporting Absences, Late Arrivals or Early Dismissals
All student absences, late arrivals, and early dismissals should now be entered through PickUp Patrol. This allows the school office, health office, and classroom teacher to access the information directly.

• Absences (Please enter as soon as you know of an upcoming absence. It helps us a lot when they are in prior to the day starting).

• Late arrivals

• Any changes to dismissal plans (before 12pm)
  
  

Using this program ensures that the school office, your child’s teacher, the health office, and the dismissal team all have the same, up-to-date information each day. Families can access PickUp Patrol through the mobile app or the website dashboard.

Registration for Kindergarten for the 2026-2027 school year will be shared with families in the next few weeks. If you are new to Stow or have not completed a census please send your contact information to Kirsten Gallagher, Administrative Assistant - Center School kgallagher@nrsd.net.

Substitutes play a critical role in helping our school succeed and Center School needs more of them! If you have the flexibility in your schedule or know someone who does, it is an incredible way to support our school community. Please reach out with any questions.

Apply Here

We appreciate your help in growing our substitute pool!

If you are looking for a way to help support your child's school experience please consider applying to be a lunch monitor. The lunch monitor is a paid position that works 2.5 hours as day, (11:00-1:30) 5 days a week. If you are interested please apply here. Filling this position helps make our school be the best it can be!