Centennial Blue Jays

Greetings, Blue Jay Families!

We hope everyone has had a great start to the school year!

We are so thankful for all of you who came to visit our Open House and Curriculum Night. In response to requests, click here for a link to the Curriculum slideshow that we presented. We also shared some data about the recent diagnostics that our students took. Click this link to see the data showing where our students started the year in math and reading. We are looking forward to making a lot of growth!

As always, October is a busy month. Our character trait is RESPECTFUL, so it's a great time to remind your students to be respectful to all adults at school AND to other students. We will again have a Spirit Week the last week of the month, so stay tuned for more details about that.

We want to remind everyone how important it is to stay in communication with your student's teachers. If you need help connecting using the SeeSaw app, Ms Deb can help. You can also always send an email to a teacher - check out the Staff Directory on our website.

Remember, if you have any questions, you can always call our office and speak with Ms. Deb. Our office is open until 4 p.m. each day. Have a great month!

Don Hakala, Principal

Calli Dean, Assistant Principal

Oct. 3: Jog-A-Thon

Oct. 6: Safety Week Starts

Oct. 7: All Jog-A-Thon packets are due back

Oct. 8: Walk & Roll to School Day

Oct. 10: No School

Oct. 13: School Store Opens

Oct. 16: Picture Day

Oct. 16: 4th Grade Field Trip to Bauman's Tree Farm

Oct. 21: Kinders Field Trip to Northern Lights Tree Farm

Oct. 24: Early Release (12:30 p.m.)

Oct. 24: Trunk or Treat (5 p.m.)

Families, our superfun Jog-A-Thon event, our school's biggest fundraiser, is coming up on Friday, Oct. 3, rain or shine! Students will receive their free Blue Jay t-shirts from PTO that morning so they can all wear them!

Here's the schedule if you'd like to come watch. Visitors are welcome but must check in with an ID in the office first, or watch through the fence. Students will have 25 minutes to walk, run or jog around the track, with a maximum of 20 laps.

• 5th: 10:15 – 10:45
• 4th: 11:00 – 11:30
• 1st: 11:45 – 12:15
• 2nd: 12:30 – 1:00
• K: 1:15 – 1:45
• 3rd: 2:00 – 2:30

Packets went home in students backpacks last week. Students can take all week to collect pledges. Teachers will keep track of the number of laps each student complete and share with families after the event in case anyone is pledging by the lap.

All packets should be returned the following week. All students who participate and return a packet get a prize, donations or no. There will be other prizes for laps run, donations raised, and classroom totals. Pledges can also be made online at https://www.cespto.org/jog.

Interested in volunteering? Contact the PTO or sign up here.

**Remember, anyone working with students will first need to register as a volunteer on the district website.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, students who walk, ride bikes or scooters, or take the bus to school will be eligible for cool prizes! Students should be sure to let their teachers know how they came to school. Students on bikes should be sure to walk them on the sidewalks and be careful with cars and students on foot.

Our Student Store is opening on Oct. 13! The store offers a variety of fun school supplies plus a few fidget items. Each item is 50 cents. Blue Jay Bucks that are earned for positive behaviors are worth 5 cents each. Students can spend their Blue Jay Bucks or bring some change from home. The store, run by some of our 4th grade students, is open daily from 8:25-8:35 until the end of the school year for grades 1-5. (Kinders have special times to come.) Students who aren't able to get in on a given day because the line is too long will have plenty of other chances to get to the store.

Picture day packets are going home this week. Families can pre-order online - you can search for our school or use our Picture Day ID: EVTRJZKD4. You can also send your student(s) back with the packet and payment (exact cash please, or check) on Picture Day. All orders after Picture Day will have to be made online.

• If your child is sick or otherwise absent on Picture Day (or you just didn't like their picture), Retake Day will be Nov. 20.

**Fourth-grade families, the photographers have promised to stick around till the fourth-graders get back from their field trip!

Centennial students are off to a strong start! Students are working hard at following the Centennial expectations of being Safe, Respectful, Responsible, and Kind. Blue Jay bucks are being used to recognize students across all grade levels who are great examples of following the Blue Jay Way!

Our Super Student focus for October is Respect. Students show they are respectful every day by following directions, listening to their teacher, and having a quiet voice in the classroom so everyone can learn. Respect applies to both adults and fellow students! You can help us by reinforcing this at home.

Our website has a lot of great information on it. For example, you know those flyers that you see in your email that we often send out via Peachjar? Did you know that you can always access the current Peachjar flyers under the News and Events tab on our website? On a phone, go to centennial.springfield.k12.or.us, tap on the hamburger menu (three lines) in the upper right, then tap the + sign next to News & Events, then select Peachjar flyers.

The staff directory is under the "Our School" tab. You can get to menus, transportation, ParentVue, and health info under the Families & Community tab. And of course, you can always get to the newsletter archive from the News area.

With our first field trip coming up, it's important to note that any chaperones will need to be registered volunteers who have gone through the background check.

Please use this link from the district website to access the online form. If you were signed up to volunteer last year, you do not need to reapply. Check with Ms Deb if you have any questions.

Be sure to download the the 25-26 academic calendar. You can also pick one up in the office.

Early release days are scheduled 1–2 Fridays per month. They are NOT every other week. Please make a note of these days on your personal calendar.

Please note that parent-teacher conferences will again take place the week of Fall Break this year. There will be no school that week. Parent teacher conferences will be scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov. 25–26).

We take school attendance very seriously and we pack a lot into every minute of the day. Please try to be sure your student arrives at school before 8:35. Students who arrive late will miss out on valuable learning time and may disrupt the class. Please also try to schedule appointments outside of school hours.

If your student will be absent, please let us know by calling the office or emailing Deb before 9 a.m. if possible. We will again be making phone calls to check up on students who we haven't heard from.

Please let us know if we can help you with tips on how to get your kids to school on time!

Please keep students who are sick and exhibiting any serious symptoms home. Please follow these general guidelines. Generally speaking, students with the following symptoms should stay home: fever higher than 100.4, uncontrolled cough, diarrhea or vomiting.

Student medications at school: If your child needs to take medication at school, please know that ANY medication, including over-the-counter meds like cough drops and lotion, must be checked in with our health aide.

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!