Centennial Blue Jays

Greetings, Blue Jay Families!

We have made it to the third trimester! Families, you should have received students' report cards last week in their backpacks. We are so proud of all of our kiddos and of the progress they've made this school year! Even though there are no spring conferences planned, you are always welcome to communicate with your kiddo's teacher with any questions. Please check with Ms Deb if you need help connecting with the teacher.

A quick note about testing: Our third-, fourth- and fifth-graders will soon be starting their state testing. You can help by making sure your student gets a good night sleep, has a good breakfast, and arrives at school on time. Click here for some great tips for how to prepare your child for testing. If you would like to opt your student out of state testing, please click here to download a form and be sure to return it quickly. Forms are also available at school.

Also coming up, we will soon be asking all families to complete the annual review process to make sure your student's information is up-to-date. And those of you who may have little ones starting school in the fall (kiddos who have turned 5 on or before Sept. 1), mark your calendar for our spring Kindergarten Welcome Night on May 7 from 5:30 to 6:30. Registration for those students will begin in May.

In the meantime, have a great April!

Don Hakala, Principal

Calli Dean, Assistant Principal

April 1: Dental Treatments continue

April 1-17: Grades K-1 Learn to Ride Bikes continues

April 7: PTO Meeting (6 p.m., snacks, childcare provided)

April 10: Early Release (12:30), Flock Friday

April 17: Family Game Night (6:30–8 p.m.)

April 18: Bottle Drop (9-11 a.m.), or bring your blue bags to game night!

April 18-24: Silent Auction

April 19: Centennial Day at Ems Stadium (gametime is 1:05)

April 24: Early Release (12:30), Flock Friday

Week of May 4: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 9: PTO Plant Sale

Families, we hope you will all join us at Emeralds Stadium on Sunday, April 19, at 1:05 p.m. for Centennial Day at the Ems! With all of their reading in the last month, our students have all earned two tickets to an Ems game! The vouchers should be coming home this week with students. You need to follow these instructions to redeem the vouchers online, or you can also bring them to the box office. Either way, you'll want to do that ahead of time to make sure there are actually tickets available. The box office is open on nongame days, Tues-Fri, 9 am-5 pm. and extended hours on game days.

We do have a small number of extra tickets available upon request, first come, first serve. Please call the office if you have any questions.

What a fabulous Read-a-Thon we had! We didn't *quite* make our minutes goal, but our kiddos still read a TON. The top class for reading time was Mrs. Drago's, with 17, 543 minutes. The top class for fundraising was Ms. Lefferts', raising more than $2300. Thank. you, families, for encouraging our kids to read and for helping support our fantastic PTO!

The top readers by grade were:-

• K: Caedmon England – Thorpe
• 1: Amelia Forney – Ward
• 2: Parker Waite – Ketchum & Gavin Waite – Whisler
• 3: Caspian England – Tunnell
• 4: Eva Crabtree – Lefferts
• 5: Gemma May – Mowery

Congratulations to all! Tons of fun was had at the Glow party and the Taco party! Hope everyone enjoyed the Stef Soto book and reading together as a school.

Congratulations to our March Super Students, who were acknowledged for their positivity: JamesDean, Oliver LR, Silas, Mariia, Madalynn, Moises, Torin, Reese, Elaina, Jazlynn, Audrey, Calvin Br, Carter LC, Vernon, Bobby, Trey, Sazrit, Porter, Riley, Annie, Lachlan, Hayley, Olive R, Shawn, Tempe, Aislynn, River, Arya W, Annabell, Ember, Declan W, and Angel PP. Keep up the great work, kids!

We had a great month in March working on our POSITIVITY.

INTEGRITY is the character trait for the month for April. Integrity means doing the right thing when nobody is looking. It is about being honest, keeping your promises, treating others with kindness, even when it is difficult, and taking ownership of your actions. Having integrity shows people what your heart is really like. If you have a strong character, then people know that they can trust you. That’s important for any and every relationship you have. Trust is a hard thing to earn, but by doing what’s right at all times, you’ll have trust with everyone around you.

Families, you can help us by encouraging your kiddos to show integrity at home!

We LOVE volunteers at Centennial! Parents are welcome and encouraged to come and help in their students' class(es) or at special events. Please do check with the teacher about days/times that might be best. There may also be projects you can help with outside of school. Community members are also welcome. We currently have volunteers helping teachers with tasks, helping with reading groups, helping tidy the lost & found, and helping Ms. Hodgin shelve books - a neverending task! It takes a village!

For everyone's safety, all school volunteers need to be registered and undergo a background check. If you're not sure if you're still current, please ask Ms. Deb.

Our website is a solid place to look for information such as menus. Facebook will be your best bet for quick updates and photos. We also frequently send information via email, so be sure to check your email frequently. Many teachers use the SeeSaw app to communicate via phone. Your child's teacher will send you an invitation to join their classroom SeeSaw community, and it's a great way to communicate directly with the teacher. And Ms. Deb is always available for questions!

Centennial has an outstanding PTO! We really appreciate all they do to support our staff and students at CES! We would love to have you participate with this group. Meetings are generally held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Child care is always available, and they offer a light meal. You can visit their new website at www.cespto.org.

How to support our school:

• You can always get blue bags from the school office. This is an easy way to support the PTO through donations of bottles and cans. Just bring the bag to the Springfield Bottle Drop Redemption Center, scan the PTO bar code, and toss your bag.
• Stay tuned for more information on how to purchase Blue Jay gear for the whole family!
• Watch for upcoming fundraisers, and in the meantime, volunteer!

Email: deb.jolda@springfield.k12.or.us
Website: centennial.springfield.k12.or.us
Location: 1315 Aspen Street, Springfield, OR, USA
Phone: 541-744-6383
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentennialBlueJays

CALL US - 541-744-6383. We are always happy to help!