Center Connection

Dear Center School Families,

Thank you to everyone who contributed, supported and joined us for our second annual Pasta Dinner. It was so fun to see everyone together and continuing to build our partnerships with the community. We had a great turn out and the money raised went directly back to the SPTO to help support the cost of our fifth grade Outdoor Classroom bus cost. We hope you enjoyed the night as much as we did!

As we move into October we need your partnership in keeping our learning environment focused, clean, and safe! We kindly ask that all personal toys, Pokeman Cards and squishies remain at home. While we love seeing the things our students enjoy, the wide variety of toys coming into school has recently led to challenges, distractions, accidental popping, and messes, particularly on our school buses. We have had a few that have been lost causing students to become frustrated as well. If your child requires a fidget as a designated tool to support their learning or sensory needs, please let us know; we are more than happy to partner with you and provide appropriate, school-approved options but we ask that those who are bringing them as toys please keep them at home. Thank you for working together with us to keep our classrooms and buses running smoothly!

In partnership,

Kerryann

No School: October 12 (Indigenous People Day)

Outdoor Classroom (Grade 5): October 19-23

Early Dismissal: October 23 (K-5 Dismissal 12:15; PK Dismissal 11:15)

SPTO Trunk or Treat: October 24 5:30-7:30 (NEW DATE)

School Council: October 28 (3:30)

Center School Sprints (More info to come, PTO Family Event during the day): October 29

Early Release: November 2 (K-5 Dismissal 12:15; PK Dismissal 11:15)

No School: November 3

Caregiver Conferences: November 2 (1:00-3:00 and 5:30-8:00pm); November 3 (8:30-3:00pm)

No School: November 11

PTO Meeting: November 17 (7:30pm in the Center Library)

School Council: November 18 (3:30pm)

Picture Retakes: November 23

No School: November 25-27

Early Release: December 9 (K-5 Dismissal 12:15; PK Dismissal 11:15)

Follow Our Events by subscribing to The Center School Calendar.

Grades 4 & 5 - Coding Club: This club is designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore and practice logic and coding concepts using district-approved platforms like Kodable, Code.org and Microsoft Makecode.

Meeting Days- Tuesdays 01/12; 01/19; 01/26; 02/02; 02/09

Time: 7:45 am - 8:25 am

Maximum Enrollment: 10 students

Date/Time: Weekly Meetings: Tuesdays from 7:45 am to 8:25am

Grade 3- Typing Club: This club is designed to provide a space for 3rd and 4th grade students to develop their typing and digital literacy skills

Meeting Days: Tuesdays 11/03; 11/17; 11/24; 12/01; 12/08

Time: 7:45 am - 8:25 am

Maximum Enrollment: 10 students

Returning Student Registration was sent to all returning families. If you received an email prompting you to complete the Returning Student Registration for your child please complete it as soon as possible. If you have any questions please reach out to Kirsten Gallagher at kgallagher@nrsd.net. We thank you in advance for getting this back to school task completed.

Please take a look at the link below if you family could benefit from any community support resources.

English

Español - Spanish

Português - Portuguese

Kreyòl Ayisyen - Haitian Creole

The Nashoba Associated Boards of Health has released their 2026 Vaccine Clinic Schedule. Vaccines offered include Flu, COVID, and RSV. Vaccines will be available for ages 6 months and up. The registration processes are different this year depending on the pharmacy administering the clinic. Please see the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health website for specifics.

Upcoming clinics in our community include:

• Bolton: Nashoba Regional High School, Wednesday, September 30, 2026
  
• Lancaster: Thayer Memorial Library, Tuesday, October 20, 2026
• Stow: Pompo Community Center, Saturday, October 24, 2026

Hi Center School Families!

This week in the Library Grades 4 and 5 played Musical Books so they could have an opportunity to discover books they might not find on the shelf otherwise. Ask your child if they checked out a book from the Musical Selections!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Maura Moran

mmoran@nrsd.net

Reporting Absences, Late Arrivals or Early Dismissals
All student absences, late arrivals, and early dismissals should be entered through PickUp Patrol as we did last year. This allows the school office, health office, and classroom teacher to access the information directly.

• Absences (Please enter as soon as you know of an upcoming absence, the sooner the better)

• Late arrivals

• Any changes to dismissal plans ( Plan Changes need to be made before 12pm on regular days, 10am on Early Release Days)
  
  

Using this program ensures that the school office, your child’s teacher, the health office, and the dismissal team all have the same, up-to-date information each day. Families can access PickUp Patrol through the mobile app or the website dashboard.

To ensure a smooth and timely start to the school day for all our students, please remember that morning drop-off starts at 8:25am and concludes promptly at 8:35 AM in the back of the school (Entrance via Hartley Road (Red Arrow)).

Students arriving after this time must be brought to the FRONT door and signed in at the main office and will be marked tardy (Blue Arrow).

When entering the drop-off loop, please drive all the way forward to where the furthest adult is stationed before stopping. To keep traffic moving efficiently, students should begin unloading if they are positioned anywhere in the circle, stretching from the first individual all the way back to where Nurse Audra stands. Please do not pass cars, we appreciate your patience in prioritizing student safety.

If the line is backed up onto Hartley Road please go up to Hale and loop around to join the line, do not try to go left. Parent Pick Up begins at 3:05pm in the same location.

Please indicate in your Pick Up Patrol Plan who is picking up.

Please use the backdrop-off circle (Hartley Rd. entrance) for dismissal and make sure your child’s colored paper is clearly visible so we can quickly identify which class your child is in.

Caregivers may pull up and remain in the car while we bring your child to you. Once a staff member brings your child to the car, it is the caregiver’s responsibility to securely buckle your child into their car seat. We ask that you please be mindful of everyone's time in the pick up line and secure your child into the car before having them share about their day to help us get all students dismissed in a timey manner.

For everyone’s safety:

• Please do not pass cars that are still buckling their children.

• Please wait until a staff member instructs you to pull forward.

• We will bring approximately 4 children out at a time. Once those 4 cars have safely finished buckling, we will have the next 4 cars pull forward.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to make dismissal safe, smooth, and efficient for everyone!

Have fundraising ideas that you’d like to see come to the Stow PTO? We’d love for you to bring them! We are looking to fill the position of Fundraising Chair for the Stow PTO.

A voting member of the board, the Fundraising Chair oversees the committees that raise money for Center and Hale, ensuring the Parent Teacher Organization has the funds needed for STEAM programming, field trips, teacher appreciation, classroom needs, and so many other things!

If interested, please send an email to board@stowmapto.org for additional information before Wednesday 10/14. After this date, interest for nomination will be closed. Thank you for volunteering!

Apply here to become a lunch monitor at Center. This is a great way to help out our school. Hours are from 11:15am-1:00pm Monday-Friday. We would be so grateful for your willingness to join our team!

Substitutes play a critical role in helping our school succeed and Center School needs more of them! If you have the flexibility in your schedule or know someone who does, it is an incredible way to support our school community. Please reach out with any questions.

Apply Here

We appreciate your help in growing our substitute pool!