August 21, 2026

August 21, 2026

Hello Central Middle School Families,

School starts on Wednesday and we cannot wait! We also hope to see everyone at our orientation and curriculum night on Monday. More information below.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend.

Go Rangers!

Jeff Simon
Proud Principal of Central Middle School
jsimon@fhps.net - (616) 493-8750

This year, CMS will be holding our Student Orientation and Family Curriculum Night concurrently. If you have not done so yet, please put the afternoon and early evening of August 24 on your calendar.

Here is what you can expect:

Parking and building entrances: You can park in any lot around the building. The two entrances that we will be using will be our athletic entrance (southwest corner) and our main entrance (north side of the building).

Upon Arrival: There will be signs in our building telling you where to go regardless of the door you entered.

Schedule from 4:00 - 5:30:

ACE: 4:00 - 4:10 (get student schedule)

1st hour: 4:13 - 4:23

2nd hour: 4:26 - 4:36

3rd hour 4:39-4:49

4th hour 4:52 - 5:02

5th hour 5:05 - 5:15

6th hour: 5:18 - 5:28

Parents and students will circulate according to the student's schedule. For example, during the first period block of time for curriculum night (4:13 - 4:23), you will go to the teacher who is listed on your students schedule for first period.

An additional formatting of the schedule can be seen below.

August 24 Student Orientation/Curriculum Night 3:30 - 6:30

August 25 Open House Make-up - School will be open from 3:00 - 4:00 for exploration (pictures will not be taken)

August 26 First Day of School - Pictures taken for those who were unable to attend curriculum night

August 26 Girls Volleyball tryouts 3:00

August 27 Cross Country Meeting 3:00

September 4 Labor Day Break, No school for students

September 7 Labor Day Break, No school for students

Hello Central Middle School Families,

At Central Middle School, we believe that promoting education and building community extends

outside of the classroom. To support our students and celebrate their hard work, our Rangers will

participate in a variety of activities, including a field trip to the 3 Mile Project (with lunch included),

guest speakers, house team-building events at Adventure Point (with lunch included), career events in downtown GR, and additional activities throughout the year. Each of these middle school-focused

activities has a cost for materials, entry fees, and transportation. These experiences foster a positive culture and provide time for connection and fun for our hard-working students.

Instead of each experience having a separate cost or fundraising as a school, we ask for a one-

time $50.00 donation from each student to cover these expenses. This will help defray the costs of the upcoming events. Please note that the 8th-grade end-of-year trip to Michigan’s Adventure is not included in this one-time donation. Payment can be turned in at orientation on August 24 or at the Main Office by September 3. We accept cash, checks made payable to “Central Middle School,” or a credit/debit card through Efunds. For eFunds, click the link below →pay for optional fees→ create an account.

Link to pay via eFunds: https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56719/

We are looking forward to a great year and providing these special opportunities for our CMS

students.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Finalized schedules will be provided to you and your student during our orientation and curriculum night on Monday, August 24.

You can find our school materials list on our brand new district website. If you haven't checked it out yet, take a minute or two to do so. You can also find the list at this link.

We are committed to open communication and believe consistent, clear communication builds trust, strengthens relationships, and helps every student thrive. To support with this, FHPS offers a variety of communication streams to keep you up to date on community events, your students learning and academic progress, daily logistics, behavior and support, and safety/emergency situations.

With this in mind... Have you checked your access to PowerSchool yet? Please confirm that you can, and if not, we will be available on the evening of August 24 to help you out.

Here in FHPS, we strive to ensure that your voice as a family member is heard. To support with this, we want to share with you how to best communicate when you have questions, comments, or concerns. To view our district communications guidance, click here.

Our ultimate goal is to connect two parties together who are the closest to any issue that arises.

Parents can now report students absent using PowerSchool Parent Portal! This feature

can be used to report an absence for the current day or to schedule future planned

absences. Please note that this cannot be used to report absences that occurred on

previous school days.

Many of you are most likely aware of the recent statewide mandate preventing electronic communication devices from being in classroom spaces. Here in FHPS, we have been fortunate to live in a community that has understood the value of this for the past many years, and have supported our current cell phone policy.

School is less than two weeks away, and many of our students have probably found engagement and enjoyment with a cellular device over summer. Please start having conversations with your students now about the expectations that both CMS and FHPS have for these devices.

As a reminder, here is our cell phone policy that you can find in our middle school handbook:

Although meals are free, qualifying families should still apply for free or reduced price meals. These applications are critical in determining the funding our school receives from a variety of State and Federal Supplemental programs, including, but not limited to: Instructional Supports, non-Instructional services, professional learning for staff, parent and community engagement supplies and activities, and technology. Your family may also receive benefits outside of school such as reduced fees for activities, discounted internet service, and more.

Whether it is as a front office volunteer or guest speaker in the classroom, we love to have parents support us at CMS.

If you envision yourself being a volunteer here at CMS, you can streamline your process now by completing the FHPS/FHC volunteer form. If you have multiple students in multiple schools on the Central side of the district, you only need to complete this one time. This is a security measure that FHPS has in place to ensure that those that are engaging with our students are safe to do so.

*Note: This form is not necessary for everyone. For example, if you are going to be a guest speaker in our PLTW classes, you would fill this out. If you are coming in to pick up a sick child, you do not need to have this completed.

Starting within the first couple of days of school, CMS athletics officially begin. We start our seasons off with girls' volleyball and coed cross country. If your student is interested in participating, a physical must be completed on or after April 15, 2026. Your student will not be able to participate without this documentation. Please plan accordingly.

All registrations, fees, and forms are submitted through Final Forms.

Forest Hills Public Schools is providing student medical insurance coverage for any student injured at school or during a school related activity including athletics.

Click here for more information.

Please read this letter from our District Nurses regarding a NEW Medication Consent Form for the 2026-2027 school year. Be sure to work with your physician over the next few weeks to ensure that your student, if needed, can be supported with medications starting on the first day of school!

Please reach out if you have any questions.

OK2SAY is the student safety program that allows students to confidentially report tips on potential harm or criminal activities directed at students, school employees, and schools. It uses a comprehensive communication system to facilitate tip sharing among students, parents, school personnel, community mental health service programs, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and law enforcement officials about harmful behaviors that threaten to disrupt the learning environment.