Centennial Connection June 15, 2025

Dear Centennial PS Families -

This week especially we want to say a HUGE thank you to the incredible parents, guardians and families at Centennial Public School, who make this a great place to be! Many thanks to all of the volunteers for organizing and hosting the School Council Barbecue and Fun Fair last week, and for providing a delicious and well-timed coffee break for staff on Thursday. WOW! You have spoiled us and we are so grateful! Thank you! Thank you!

Could we ask for your help please? Dogs and pets are not allowed on school property at any time. In the last week or so there have been animals brought onto the school yard at drop off and pick up. Please do not bring pets onto school property. If you are walking your child to school with a pet, please remain on the sidewalk with your pet, rather than walking onto the tarmac. Thank you for your help with this!

The month of June is Pride Month and it was great to have students and families participate in the Kingston Pride Parade yesterday! On Friday we celebrated with Rainbow Day with many staff and students demonstrating their support for the creation of a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and feels safe and supported.

As we think towards summer, families sometimes ask what they can do to support student learning and to avoid the "summer slide". Our suggestion is to continue the great routines already established such as reading every night. In the summer maybe that means reading outside after supper, or sharing a good book together with a parent/guardian reading one chapter aloud and the student reading the next one. Don't have time for a chapter book? How about reading a joke book? Having students help with home tasks such as cooking and baking also keeps them on track for calculating recipes and amounts. For more great ideas feel free to check out the Learn at Home website.

Students will be continuing to engage in end of year assessments this week, as educators finalize evaluations and complete Achievement Reports. These reports will be going home on Wednesday June 25th and will provide information about a student's progress and achievement in the second half of the year (from February to June). As always, you are welcome to reach out to your child's teacher or educator team with any questions about progress and next steps.

We continue to develop class lists for next year.. This information will be available for families on the first day of school which is Wednesday September 3rd. Please mark your calendar that Tuesday September 2nd is a PA Day. As well, a reminder to families who have students moving to a new school, that you must apply for transportation. You can complete the transportation application on the TriBoard Transportation website. Be sure to state that it is "new transportation for September 2025". Students returning to Centennial PS who take a regular bus and who have not moved, do not need to reapply for transportation for the next school year.

Today is Father's Day and we celebrate all of the dads and father figures in our school and community. We wish you a very happy day ahead!

Thank you as always to the Centennial community. Our school would not be what it is without you! Have a wonderful weekend!

-Deborah Thompson, Principal and Centennial PS Staff

Monday June 16 - Harvard Volleyball workshop for Girls Volleyball Team

Monday June 16 - Tie Dye workshop for Murphy Grade 1

Tuesday June 17 - Beardall Grade 2 to City Splash Pad

Wednesday June 18 - Byers Gr 4 Penpals trip to Splash Pad & Marine Museum

Wednesday June 18 - Cahill Gr 5, Girard Gr 5/6 and Hawkes Gr 6 to Lake Ontario Park

Thursday June 19th - Travers Gr 4 Penpals trip to Splash Pad & Marine Museum

Thursday June 19th - Primary Track & Field (first block of the day - 905-1045am)

Friday June 20th - Calvin Fun Day @ Centennial for Grade 6 Students (first 2 blocks)

Friday June 20th - Evans, Murphy and Funnell-Kononuk outdoor fun day (last block)

Monday June 23 - Kindergarten Celebration for all Kinder classes & families - 2pm outdoors

Monday June 23 - Rosser/Bambrick Grade 3/4 to Museum and Splashpad

Tuesday June 24 - Kindergarten Celebration Raindate - 2pm

Tuesday June 24 - Byers Gr 4 Year End Class Book Celebration with families 1:45pm

Wednesday June 25 - Term 2 Achievement Reports & Communications of Learning go home

Wednesday June 25 - Evans Grade 1 celebration 2pm

Wednesday June 25 - Grade 6 Celebration 4:30pm in the gym (for Grade 6 students & families only please)

Thursday June 26th - Last day of school for students

Friday June 27th - PA Day

Wednesday September 3rd - 1st day of school for 2025-2026

Ministry and Board Resources for Math and Literacy

There are many resources available designed to support your student’s learning in math and literacy, offering engaging activities that can make learning fun and effective for students and families. Visit Limestone’s Online Learning Resources and Tutoring webpage to learn more.

Ticks have been found on school property and in the neighbouring parks and green spaces. Families are encouraged to become familiar with how to protect against tick-born illness by understanding what ticks are and how to remove them if found. Please see more information below.

Families interested in following the hard work of our School Council, please follow the link to their Facebook Page.

Also, any questions or ideas please contact the School Council using their updated email address:

ldsbcentennialpscouncil@gmail.com

8:50-9:05am - Supervision on yard

9:05-10:45am – 100 minute block of learning

10:45-11:25am – Recess & Nutrition Break

11:25-1:05pm – 100 minute block of learning

1:05-1:45pm – Recess & Nutrition Break

1:45-3:25pm – 100 minute block of learning

3:25pm - Dismissal

Families are reminded that items of value (monetary and sentimental) are to be left at home. As well, toys, costumes, masks, anything that could be used as a weapon, make up and anything scented should not be coming to school. Thank you for your help with this!

Click Here for a list of KFL&A exclusions. As a reminder, children should stay home until they have no fever and their symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if they have gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and/or diarrhea). Once symptoms start improving, they are encouraged to return to school, if they are well enough to do so.

Just a reminder that if you are bringing your child to school or picking up, that there is no parking on the north side of Norman Rogers Drive. Last week we were out reminding parents and guardians of this. Cars that are parked on the north side are subject to a ticket and we don't want you to get one! Please park on the south side of Norman Rogers to the east or west of the school. There is no parking in front of the school as that is a bus loading zone.

The parking lot is for staff only. Please do not drive into or through the parking lot. Walkers are encouraged not to walk through the parking lot, for safety reasons.

There are many places to park on neighbouring streets that only take a few moments to walk to the school from. Thank you for your help with this important safety matter.

We will be working hard to promote regular attendance, at Centennial and all across the Limestone District School Board. We will be sharing information about how to set up healthy habits and we will be reaching out to families as attendance concerns arise. We want to work with you to promote regular attendance at school. If there is a way we can help you, please let us know!

We have experienced significant growth in our school population, including staff. As such, we are kindly requesting that parents and guardians do not park in the school parking lot at any time during the hours of 8am and 4pm.. We have some part time staff who arrive at various times throughout the day and they need to be able to park and get into the school to begin teaching on time. Please note that there is one entrance and one exit to the parking lot to ensure safety and flow of traffic.

Please also do not park directly in front of the school as that is a bus loading zone. There are parking spaces available along Norman Rogers drive to the east and west of the school, and along a number of side streets close to the school.

Thank you for helping to ensure that students can arrive safely to school. There are crossing guards on both Johnson Street and Norman Rogers Drive to help families cross these busy road ways. We appreciate their hard work!

Students go outside for 2 recess breaks, and sometimes are outside with their class for various learning activities. Students are encouraged to wear sunscreen during the warmer months, and have a sun hat outdoors.

We go outside for recess rain or shine and as such, students should come to school prepared to go outside even if it is lightly raining. In the event of heavy rain we will remain indoors, but we try to be outside for recess whenever possible.

Students have the opportunity to eat twice during the day at school. Lunches and snacks must be nut free please. This includes no peanut butter or nutella, or any kind of granola bar with nuts in it.

A reminder that Centennial participates in "Boomerang Lunch" which means that everything a child brings to school in their lunch bag, is returned home at the end of the day. In this way, parents/guardians can easily see what a child has or hasn't eaten in a day. Wrappers, containers, etc., will be sent home.

School Board Policy states that participation on school sports teams (both elementary and secondary) is conditional on obtaining at least the basic student accident insurance coverage for the student or proof of external private coverage through your family plan. The cost of basic coverage is approximately $17.00 per year. This covers the student while attending school during the school day. The time spent by students participating in school-sponsored teams is considered part of the school day, even if the games and/or practices are held outside of the regular school hours. It is recommended that all parents consider this program. Visit www.insuremykids.com to get this inexpensive and highly recommended insurance.

Students will have 2 recesses and 2 nutrition breaks. Recess is outside on a particular yard (we will flip/flop the space each day so students in Grades 1-6 have the opportunity to play on both parts of the yard each day). All staff will be wearing safety vests so they are easily recognizable. Nutrition breaks happen in classrooms.

We have several students with life-threatening allergies. A reminder that our school is nut aware: please ensure that your child's snacks and lunch do not contain any nut products. Classroom teachers will communicate any additional food allergies that families will need to be aware of. Thank you for your support in keeping all of our 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 and stuffies

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.

Students are to come onto the school yard between 8:50am and 9:05am each morning. Families are reminded that they are not to arrive earlier than 8:50am as there is no supervision on the yard before that time. Parents/guardians who drive students must park on the street as there is no/limited parking in the school parking lot. Please note that there is no entrance on the west side of the school. That is for pedestrians only.

Student pick up happens at the exterior doors of the school at 3:25pm.

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. If your child will be late, please report a full day absence and then we will sign them in when they arrive. You cannot indicate a half day absence.

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