Centennial Connection June 2, 2024

Dear Centennial PS Families -

The week started with torrential rain, a cancelled track meet and 13 classrooms, and ended with beautiful weather, a PA Day, and 2 more portables on the school yard. It has been a busy week!

Congratulations to all of the athletes who participated in the Regional Track & Field meet at the Invista Centre. The athletes represented the school so well and achieved many personal bests! There are several students who are moving on to the District Finals on June 4th and we wish them well! A huge shout out to all of the volunteer coaches who have spent many recess and lunch breaks and after school hours practicing and preparing students for the meet. Way to go athletes and coaches. Thank you to all families who have supported and cheered on the team!

On Thursday after school another portable classroom was delivered, and on Friday the final portable was put in place. We are grateful to the LDSB for providing these additional classrooms (that all match!) for Centennial PS. We are growing and will need all of these spaces for next year. There is still work that needs to be completed including the skirting, porches and stairs, and the electrical hook up. These rooms will be ready for September.

We have started to review some of our emergency procedures this past week. Students heard the alarm while remaining in their classes while educators reminded students of evacuation procedures. The next day we rang the bell again and all classes exited. Next week we will have an unannounced fire drill. Everyone has been doing a great job of exiting the building quietly and quickly, and remaining in their designated evacuation areas. Well done Centennial students!

There have been many field trips this year, and there are more to come! We are grateful for the support from Kingston Transit for providing transportation for many of the trips. For those requiring a charter/school bus, we have the opportunity to use Bingo funds. Thank you Play! Gaming and Entertainment Centre for your support as well.

Once again, the LDSB is participating in the Kingston Pride Parade on Saturday, June 15th. All staff, students, and families are encouraged and welcome to join in on the parade and celebrations. For those interested in joining, please see the infographic below. All welcome!

Friday was a PA Day and staff at Centennial PS were bus working on Term 2 Achievement Reports. Gathering information, evaluating data, and writing reports is a process whereby educators identify student achievement, set next steps, and provide communications to parents and guardians. Reports will go home on Wednesday June 26th.

Monday June 3rd is the final School Council meeting of the year. All parents and guardians are welcome to attend. The meeting provides information and updates about the school, and those attending have the opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions. All welcome! The meeting starts at 6:30pm and is maximum 90 minutes in length. Should you require childcare, please email no later than Sunday to indicate that you need childcare. The School Council email address is: councilcentennialps@gmail.com

Enjoy this beautiful weather and have a wonderful Sunday! See you tomorrow!

-Deborah Thompson, Principal & Centennial PS Staff

June is Natoinal Indigenous History Month, Pride Month, and Brain Injury Month

June 3 - School Council - 6:30pm

June 3 - Lalonde/Sharpe & Evans/ElHaj Kinders to the library

June 4 - District Track & Field

June 5 - Welcome to Kindergarten for students new in Sept 2024

June 7 - Calvin Fun Day for Grade 6 students

June 10 - Grade 5/6 Blair & 6 Girard to the Queen's Observatory

June 10 - Farndon/Aylesworth Kinder to Pumphouse Museum

June 11 - Grade 6s to Calvin Park

June 12 - CPS Junior Track & Field (Grade 4-6)

June 12 - Lalonde/Sharpe & Evans/ElHaj Kinders on City Bus trip

June 13 - CPS Primary Track & Field (Grade 1-3)

June 14 - Rain date for CPS Track & Field if needed

June 18 - Lalonde/Sharpe & Evans/ElHaj to Lake Ontario Park

June 19 - School Celebration of Dance

June 20 - Raindate: School Celebration of Dance

June 20 - School Council Family Barbecue

June 21 - National Indigenous People's Day - various classes to City Park

June 21 - Fruition Farm Trip - Joannette, Beardall, Hetherington

June 21 - Primary Water Day

June 24 - Kindergarten Celebration (PM)

June 25 - Kindergarten Celebration raindate

June 25 - City Park Trip for Joannette, Beardall & Hetherington classes

June 26 - Byers Grade 4 class to Wolfe Island (sometime this week weather dependent)

June 25 - Grade 6 Celebration (after school)

June 26 - Report cards go home

June 28 - PA Day

Please help us spread the word! The parking lot is for staff only. Parents/guardians are welcome to park in designated locations on Norman Rogers and on neighbouring streets. Please help to keep all students, staff and families safe by ensuring the parking lot remains for staff only, including at drop off and pick up. Thank you for your help!

We have had some "near misses". Please DO NOT enter the bus lane or the staff parking lot, and please do not use the exit as an entrance. Parking is available on neighbouring streets. Thank you for your help!

Once again this year we are using LunchBox to provide families with some options for hot lunch, should they wish to participate. Orders are due by NOON on Sunday for orders being delivered the following week.

Just a reminder that should buses be cancelled, hot lunches are also cancelled and credit will be provided to account.

LunchBox is looking at more varied choices for hot lunches moving forward, and those will be reflected in the menu options, if it is possible.

To create an account and order hot lunches, use the guide below and linked here: Get The Guide

Due to the prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergies, we do ask that all parents refrain from sending products that may contain nuts to school, even if there is not a specific nut allergy in your child's classroom. We appreciate your efforts and support to ensure that all of our students are safe at school. If your child has any allergies or medical conditions of which the school is not aware, please inform your child's teacher immediately, so that we can ensure that we have all of the information required to keep children safe at school. If in doubt about ingredients, please do not send to school. Thank you for your help to keep all students safe!

All school supplies that students need for their learning and work will be provided by Centennial Public School. Sometimes students prefer to have their own pencil case with pencils/markers, but it is not a requirement.

Students do need to come to school with:

- Indoor, non-marking athletic type of shoes

- Water bottle with child's name clearly marked (we have bottle filling stations, not fountains)

- Nut-free snacks and lunch

Please label all items!

Sometimes students want to bring items to school to show friends, or have things stored in backpacks that need to remain at home. This is just a reminder that students should not bring the following items to school:

- items of value (sentimental or monetary)

- any kind of weapon (for example, a Swiss Army knife)

- any kind of toy that could be a replica weapon (for example, a toy gun)

- electronics of any kind

- jewelry

- make-up

- anything scented

- anything with nuts (please ensure all lunches and snacks are nut-free)

- toys, stuffies, Pokemon cards

Thank you for keeping these items at home. Sometimes a quick check of a backpack can ensure that treasures do not come to school. Thank you for understanding that we are not responsible for lost, broken or stolen personal items.

School Day is an online platform that families can use for providing permission and payment for school events.

Each returning family has a School Day account that you would have used last year. The user name and password you used last year continues to be active for this year.

Families new to Centennial will receive a paper information sheet this week with a unique user name and password (which you can change). Please keep this information handy as we use School Day for various permission forms, school trips, consents and payments.

Returning families who are not sure of their School Day information can contact the school office and a new form can be sent home to you.

Please note that we are not able to accept verbal or written permission generally and that School Day is to be used. Cash and cheques cannot be accepted at the school due to safe money handling procedures and as such, the much more secure method of School Day is used.

This platform may be new to some families (and to us too!) and we are here to work through the process together. Don't hesitate to reach out to the office if you are experiencing any challenges.

Some students may bring a cell phone to school as a way to communicate with parents before the school day begins and after the school day ends. When students bring a cell phone to school they place it in the lockbox that each teacher (grade 3/4 to 6) has in their classroom and it remains locked for the day.

Should a student need to make contact with home throughout the day, they are welcome to let their teacher know and the school can either contact home or the student can use the phone in the main office.

We have devices at school such as ipads and chromebooks that are available for student learning, and as such, cell phones are not needed during the school day. At recess students play and have time for social interaction face to face.

Please see the link below for more information and to self identify, if you wish.

https://ldsb.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9U2iaUl9GIFILb0

Do you need a way to label your things that stay labelled? Do you need a way to show what's yours? Need a way to label your child's things so they don't get lost or mixed up? Support Centennial Public School Council by purchasing through the link. The school receives 20% of your purchase! All funds raised go to support School Council initiatives including student activities. Thank you!

http://www.oliverslabels.com/Centennial

Want to look spiffy and show off your pride in being a Centennial PS Comet? Check out all of the clothing and accessories available at the Centennial Public School e-store at: https://specialtytrophies.ca/centennialps/

Please use the Safe Arrival system to report your child's absence; do not call the school to report an absence. If you child is going to be absent from learning, please ensure you use the Safe Arrival system to report the absence. There is a new function in Safe Arrival if your child is going to be late.

How to report your absence:

1. Toll-free telephone

• Call 1-855-257-9349 toll-free to report an absence using the automated phone system.

2. School Messenger App

• Use your mobile device to download and install the free SchoolMessenger blue app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, the SchoolMessenger website portal, or from within the LDSB mobile app.
• The first time you use the app, you must select Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
• Select Attendance, then select Report an Absence and follow the prompts.

3. SchoolMessenger SafeArrival Website Portal

• Visit the SchoolMessenger website portal.
• The first time you use the app, you must select Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
• Select Attendance, then Report an Absence and follow the prompts.

Stay Up To Date! Please check the following regularly...

Centennial PS Twitter https://twitter.com/centennial_ldsb?lang=en

Centennial PS Website https://centennial.limestone.on.ca/

LDSB Website https://www.limestone.on.ca/

LDSB Twitter https://twitter.com/LimestoneDSB

LDSB Facebook https://tinyurl.com/wbhjtku

LDSB Instagram https://instagram.com/limestonedsb?igshid=1epyma6c0g5qd

"We treat others the way we want to be treated"

"Show Up! Stand Up! Never Give Up!"

Email: cente@limestone.on.ca
Website: https://centennial.limestone.on.ca
Location: 120 Norman Rogers Dr, Kingston, ON K7M 2R2
Phone: 613.546.5517
Twitter: @Centennial_LDSB