The Center Mile

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Wow, it has been a full month since my last Center Mile update, which is a testament to how busy the Springtime is in school! It often feels like Spring gets underway and you get into the routine, only to face a new transition as summer descends. There will be an end-of-year Center Mile in June as we usher in the summer and look forward to new beginnings next Fall.

As we wind down our school year, our students will be naturally reflecting on their school year experiences and also looking ahead to new ones, whether that means beginning a new chapter at Hale in sixth grade, moving upstairs from Grade 3 to Grade 4, or anticipating a new opportunity in school next year with a different teacher and classmates. This is a reflective, transitional time of year, which can bring forth many emotions in both kids and adults. There are so many fun things going on, but it's also exhausting, so a range of emotions is the norm!

Please read on for updates regarding our district's new K-5 Literacy curriculum, our Center School end-of-year activities, all the awesomeness the PTO has brought to our community this Spring, and more!

Thank you for your partnership and time as we continue through the brave world of May!

Fondly,

Lenore Zavalick

Principal

Last week, our Literacy Committee met for a final time and worked as a team to choose our new curriculum for grades K-5 across the district. The decision was made to implement EL/Imagine Learning, and the process of becoming trained and building knowledge and skills about the curriculum is underway.

Teachers will receive their first exposure and training by the curriculum representatives this Friday during the early release PD. There is an option for summer training as part of our NRSD Summer Academy PD for teachers, and there will be additional training for all staff when we return to school in August and prepare for the next school year. Our Instructional Assistants will receive training at that time as well.

We are very excited about our choice, the knowledge-building approach it offers students, and the high quality materials that accompany this curriculum. Students will be exposed to engaging and relevant curriculum that upholds the literacy mission we have adopted in our district. Not only will students build content knowledge in each module and unit, they will also write in the content area as part of the synthesis of this knowledge and what they are learning.

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to discuss the curriculum further.

• May 20-May 22: Incoming Kindergarten Screening at Center
• Friday, May 24: Red, White, and Blue Spirit Day!
• Friday, May 24: Memorial Day All School Meeting: 9-9:30
• Monday, May 27: Memorial Day - No School
• Wednesday, May 29: Grades 4 and 5 Band Concert at Hale, 7-8 pm
• Wednesday, June 5: PTO End-of-Year picnic, 5-7 pm
• Thursday, June 6: Grades K-2 Field Day, 12:30-2:30 pm (rain date - Monday 6/10)
• Tuesday, June 11: Grades 3-5 Field Day, 12:30-2:30 pm (rain date - Wednesday 6/12)
• Wednesday, June 12: Grade 5 Moving On Ceremony, 9-10:30 am
• Thursday, June 13: Last Day of School for PreK
• Friday, June 14: Last Day of School, dismissal at 11:30 am
  
  

Due to the number of sections we will have per grade level, as well as the retirement of our beloved Grade 3 teacher, Mrs. Zuckerman, we have some teacher movement occurring next year at Center. Chris Stowe, currently in Grade 2, will move to Grade 1 next year. Jillian Blajda, currently a fifth grade teacher, will move to Grade 3 next year. Both Mr. Stowe and Ms. Blajda are very excited for new adventures in a new grade level!

Please see the table below for more specific information regarding the number of students per each grade level, and the number of class sections for each grade level.

Kindergarten: 72 students/4 sections

Grade 1: 76 students/4 sections

Grade 2: 72 students/4 sections (-1 class section)

Grade 3: 86 students/4 sections

Grade 4: 69 students/3 sections (-1 class section)

Grade 5: 71 students/3 sections (-1 class section)

We have three new staff members who will round out the year here at Center! First, we just brought on board a new Instructional Assistant in our LEAP program, Elizabeth Smith. We also have a new School Psychologist who joined us last month, Julie DeWalt, as well as a new .6 Speech and Language Pathologist, Julie Leyshon. Ms. DeWalt and Ms. Leyshon will be here through June 14. Ms. Smith will as well, and plans to return next Fall. Welcome to our new staff!

A reminder that the yearly DESE-published report card for Center can be found under the Family Resources tab of our website: https://center.nrsd.net/.

This report card is published for every school statewide, and encompasses several categories of information about Center, such as the demographics of our staff, our MCAS scores from the previous year, and our school accountability targets. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all about this report card.

We will round out the school year with our Spring installment of the STAR screeners in Literacy and Math for students. The testing window opens on Monday, May 20, for grades 1-5.

Kindergarten students have already completed their Spring literacy screening. If your child fell below benchmark for their Literacy screening in Kindergarten, you will receive/have received a phone call from their teacher informing you of this. Teachers of students in Grades 1-5 who were below benchmark in the Spring will not phone families as they did for the last two testing windows. Our Spring window for Grades 1-5 closes later than for Kindergarteners.

Feel free to contact me if you need any clarification regarding STAR assessments and screeners.

Per the Center School handbook, they are not allowed to be used for any purpose other than a time-telling device during the school day in our building. This requires the watch to be put on "school zone" mode, which disables the aforementioned features and makes it only a time-telling device. Additionally, students are encouraged to keep the watches in their backpacks during the day, and they can be put back on once students arrive home or get in their parent's' cars. If students feel unsure about leaving watches in backpacks, teachers can hold them until dismissal.

The possibility of a student being filmed, or even recorded, during the school day poses a safety and privacy issue for all. We want all students to feel safe and secure at school, and know they are able to connect in real time with trusted staff if needed. School is a place we value to ensure this level of safety, as well as a place to reduce anxiety for all of our children. In addition to this, the onset of students taking the MCAS assessments creates another layer of care we need to take as a school community with regards to devices.

Some students and families have expressed a desire to have the watch for safety purposes, or to allow students to communicate with them in case of an emergency. Please be assured that we are working harder than we ever have before to ensure student safety - we have additional cameras in and around our building this year, the Raptor system for visitor entry, and our Safety Committee meets monthly and works closely every day with our law enforcement officials in Stow. Our staff is trained and up-to-date in crisis management and response. I work with district level staff regularly to ensure Center is aligned with all schools in the district when it comes to safety.

Be on the lookout for my email communicating the Panorama survey results that students took this year in grades 3-5 on Tuesday, May 28. I will reflect on the growth we have seen this year based on the student data, as well as areas in which we still need to sharpen our focus and work. These surveys are an important tool for us as educators to use when learning how our students are feeling emotionally and as learners, how they regard themselves as students, and how we can continue to improve as a staff to meet their needs.

The monthly clean out of the Lost and Found has been effective in keeping things under control, as well as maintaining the clean look in our lobby. The next Lost and Found clean out will occur on Monday, June 3. Thank you!