Center Stage October 2026
The first couple of months of school have flown by, and we are starting to see cooler temperatures. Please remember to dress your child in layers and send a jacket, as students go outside for fresh air during recess whenever possible. With the change in weather, chapped lips are also becoming more common. Students are welcome to bring chapstick or Vaseline to use during the day so they stay comfortable and can focus on learning.
As a friendly reminder, students should not be bringing candy to school for snacks or in their lunch boxes.
As always feel free to contact my office with any questions or concerns.
Center School is excited to participate in this year’s Mayflower Marathon Food Drive, sponsored by Rock 102, to benefit the Open Pantry of Greater Springfield!
Beginning Monday, November 9, we invite families who are able to send in non-perishable food items to support this wonderful cause. Non-perishable items are foods that do not require refrigeration, such as canned vegetables, soups, pasta, rice, cereal, peanut butter, and other shelf-stable foods.
To help us keep track of donations, we ask families to count the items at home and include a note with the total number when sending them to school. This will make our school-wide tallying much easier!
To add a little friendly competition, we’ll be holding a classroom food drive challenge! The classroom that collects the most donated items will earn a pizza party! 🍕
We may also be looking for a few parent volunteers to help deliver our collected donations on Tuesday, November 24. If you are interested in lending a hand, please stay tuned for more information!
Thank you for helping our Cardinals come together to support families in need throughout our community!
Following our district's October 22 Parent & Caregiver Internet Safety Webinar with Scott Driscoll, we are sharing a Family Internet Safety Guide, which highlights practical tips and resources from the evening. The guide offers important information about popular apps, privacy settings, online gaming, group chats, and artificial intelligence. It also includes conversation starters to help families build trust, encourage responsible online choices, and ensure children know they can turn to a trusted adult when something goes wrong. We encourage families to review this resource and continue these important conversations at home.
We have noticed a number of cars pulling over during morning carline to watch children walk up the esplanade and enter the building. While we understand wanting to make sure your child gets inside safely, we kindly ask that you keep moving after drop-off to help prevent backups. We have several staff members stationed along the esplanade and at the entrances to ensure students make it into the building safely.
We are also working on some plans to help improve the flow of our afternoon carline, especially as we approach the colder weather. In the meantime, families who have carline tags can help speed up the process by hanging them from their rearview mirror or visor at pickup. This makes it easier for our staff to quickly identify your child and keep the line moving.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we continue working to make arrival and dismissal as safe and efficient as possible!
Notes from the Counselor’s Corner: October is National Bullying Prevention Month
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness and promote kindness, inclusion, and safety for all of our children. According to the research, approximately 1 in 5 students experiences bullying, which can impact a child’s academic success, emotional well-being, and sense of belonging at school.
Families play a very important role in prevention by encouraging empathy, talking openly with children about their experiences, and helping them recognize how to respond when they see someone being treated unkindly. Remind your child that everyone deserves to feel safe and included, and that telling a trusted adult about bullying is always the right thing to do.
For more information and helpful tips about bullying prevention, please check out these resources:
Together, we can help create a school community where every child feels safe, supported, and valued.
Thank you for partnering with us to make kindness a priority!
Warmly,
Katie Irizarry, LICSW
School Adjustment Counselor
kirizarry@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
413-565-4290 x6200
Our daily attendance rate so far this year is 97%!
This means that on an average school day, nearly 97 out of every 100 students are in school and ready to learn. Strong attendance helps students stay connected to their learning, their teachers, and their classmates. Thank you, families, for helping us get the year off to a strong start!
Attending school regularly helps children feel positive about school and about themselves. Building this habit early teaches them that arriving on time and attending every day is important. Over time, strong attendance becomes a habit that supports success throughout their education.
We kindly ask that families avoid scheduling vacations during the school year whenever possible, as time away from class can be disruptive to the learning process. When students miss school, they may feel stressed or overwhelmed trying to catch up, which can affect both their learning and their confidence.
DID YOU KNOW?
Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
Students can still fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks.
Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
Center School
Email: avillamaino@longmeadow.k12.ma.us
Website: https://ctr.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/
Location: 837 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, MA 01106 USA
Phone: (413) 565-4290