Center Connection

Dear Center School Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and enjoyed time together with friends and family. We are so excited to welcome our students and staff back next week for the new school year. Our first day of school for students in grades one through five will be Wednesday, August 26th. Kindergarten students will begin on August 27th and Pre-School will start on August 28th. Kindergarten families should have received a separate communication sharing which orientation session your child has been scheduled for, the orientation will take place on August 26th (please note these are 1/2 day orientations with no bussing). Pre-School students and families will have their orientation on Thursday, August 27th. Our Back to School Night for grades 1-5 will be on September 17th from 6:00-8:00pm. I will include additional information regarding Back to School Night in my next newsletter.

Before the year gets rolling we are hoping to see our students and families at our PTO's Welcome Back Ice Cream Social on the field behind Center from 3:30-5:00pm on Monday, August 24th. Please note this is not a drop off event.

I believe that strong communication is key to successful family partnerships. Similar to last year, you can expect a weekly S'more Newsletter from me each Monday at 6:00am (Beginning 8/31/26). Those newsletters are also posted afterwards on our Center Website for easy reference. I am so excited to continue building our partnerships and trust with the Center community and I know we will accomplish great things together this year.

This year I also will be looking for two new individuals to join our School Council as family representatives. This is a two year commitment and we meet Monthly, typically the last Wednesday of the month at 3:30pm. If you are interested in joining, please email me at kcoppinger@nrsd.net. If more than two individuals express interest we will hold an election for the seats. We value having family voices and are grateful for those who are willing to join.

I am so excited for the year ahead and hope everyone enjoys these last few weeks of summer.

In partnership,

Kerryann

New Student Building Tour: August 20th 5:00pm

Back to School Ice Cream Party: August 24th 3:30-5:00pm

First Day of School (Grades 1-5): August 26th

Kindergarten Orientation: August 26th (9:00-11:00 and 12:30-2:30 by assignment)

First Day of Kindergarten: August 27th

Pre-School Orientation: August 27th

First Day of Pre-School: August 28th

No School: September 1st (Election Day)

No School: September 7th (Labor Day)

PTO Meeting: September 16th (7:30pm Center Library)

Back to School Night Grades 1-5: September 17 (6:00-8:00pm)

Early Release: September 18th (K-5 Dismissal 12:15; PK Dismissal 11:15)

Coffee Hour with Mrs. Coppinger: September 25th (9:00am)

School Council: September 30th (3:30pm)

Annual Pasta Summer: October 1 (5-7pm)

Picture Day: October 2

No School: October 12 (Indigenous People Day)

Outdoor Classroom (Grade 5): October 19-23

PTO Meeting: October 21 (Center Library 7:30pm)

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

Follow Our Events by subscribing to The Center School Calendar.

Pre-School

Kindergarten

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Financial Assistance is available. Please email kcoppinger@nrsd.net for any assistance requests.

Returning Student Registration was sent to all returning families on Tuesday, August 11th. If you received an email prompting you to complete the Returning Student Registration for your child please complete it by September 11. 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.

Rye Daily: Assistant Principal

Patricia Toohig-Cardone: Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator (Center PK-K)

Tina Rusak: Director of Nursing

Meagan Sanko: Special Education Coordinator for Stow (Center 1-5)

Colinda Samarjian: Grade One Teacher

Lyssa McGrath: Grade Three Teacher

Maura Moran: Librarian

Amy Keough: Kindergarten Teacher

Kristin Lambert: Multi-Lingual Learner Teacher

Emory Ward: Literacy Coach

Stacey Southard: Horizon K-2 Specialized Program Teacher

Kate Burke: Early Rise 3-5 Specialized Program Teacher

Evelyn Cubero: School Adjustment Counselor with the Specialized Programs

Kelly Davis: BCBA

Samantha Gastonguay: Occupational Therapist

Lisa Osgood: Part-Time Secretary

Ana Cagnoni: Kindergarten Instructional Assistant

Brionni Spinazolla: Early Rise RBT

Jake Wardwell: Horizon IA

Charles Lockney: Lunch Monitor

Kelly Devlin: School Psychologist (Splitting her time between Hale and Center)

Hello Center School Families!

Miss Cohen and Mr. McKenzie would like to invite interested fourth and fifth grade students to sign up for one of two performing ensembles offered at Center School for the ‘26-’27 school year.

PLEASE NOTE: Students are unable to join both Band and Chorus concurrently, as the ensembles rehearse at the same time. (FYI - Once they get to the Middle School, they should be able to participate in both Band and Chorus if they want.)

Please feel free to contact ncohen@nrsd.net or gmckenzie@nrsd.net with any questions. See you soon!

BAND (with Mr. McKenzie):

Band at Center School is an elective for E day specials for fourth and fifth grade students. Students in band rehearse as a large group during their Related Arts time on E days. As of now, the plan is that small-group lessons (by instrument type and grade level) will take place before school (7:45-8:25) for all instruments (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and percussion).

Percussion students who are in their first year will focus exclusively on the bell kit/xylophone. Students taking their second year of percussion will begin to add in other percussion instruments such as snare drum, bass drum, and timpani (which are school-owned) in addition to the bell kit.

Both the 4th Grade and 5th Grade Bands will have evening concerts at Center School in January and May. The 5th Grade Band will also participate in the adjudicated Along the Great Road Music Festival in the Spring.

Students that would like to join band in fifth grade are welcome to do so! Fifth grade students who were either not in Band last year or will be switching instruments should indicate that in the comment section at the bottom of the sign-up form.

Fourth Grade Band Sign-Up

Fifth Grade Band Sign-Up

Sign-ups should be completed as soon as possible - preferably by Thursday, August 27th. E Day Full Band classes will start on Wednesday, September 2nd. Before-school lessons will start the week of September 8th for first-year players while second-year players will start their before-school lessons during the week of October 5th. A schedule will be sent out once school starts.

It is highly recommended that families rent an instrument from David French - preferably by Tuesday, September 1st. Instruments will then be delivered to the school and handed out to students during their before-school lessons. If you are planning to get an instrument from an alternate source (such as from another family member), you should contact Greg McKenzie (gmckenzie@nrsd.net) for advice, but note that we DO NOT RECOMMEND purchasing an instrument from non-music sites such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc. (These tend to be very low-quality instruments that cause extra frustration for students.) If you have serious financial concerns, again you can contact Mr. McKenzie.

CHORUS (with Miss Cohen):

Chorus at Center School is an elective for E day specials for fourth and fifth grade students. Students in chorus rehearse during their Related Arts time on E days. Students will not miss recess, academics, or other Related Arts classes if they take Chorus, and there is no outside-of-school commitment except for concerts.

Students that were not in chorus last year are welcome to join in fifth grade!

There will be three concert opportunities for students this year in chorus: two evening concerts at Center (January/May) and the district-wide Nashoba Sings! concert (date TBD, usually late January). Chorus students in both 4th and 5th grade are invited to participate in the adjudicated Along the Great Road Music Festival in the Spring. All concert details will be finalized and communicated no later than mid-September. Please feel free to contact ncohen@nrsd.net with any questions. I look forward to singing with your students this year!

Fourth Grade Chorus Sign-Up

Fifth Grade Chorus Sign-Up

When to Keep Your Child Home from School:

• If your child is unable to participate fully in school activities because of illness

• When your child has a contagious condition or a rash with an unknown cause

• When your child has had a fever of 100°F or more within the last 24 hours when not taking fever-reducing medications

• If your child has had vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours or is unable to eat normally

• If your child has been diagnosed with strep throat and has not been taking antibiotic medication or at least 24 hours

• If your child has red/pink eyes with drainage

• If your child has chicken pox, he or she must stay home until all lesions have scabbed over

Please contact the school nurse when:

• Your child's health status has changed

• Your child has had a recent serious illness, injury, surgery or hospitalization

• Your child has been diagnosed with a contagious condition such as: strep throat, chicken pox, whooping cough, head lice, scabies, flu, Coxsackie virus

• Your child cannot participate fully in Physical Education or recess

• There are family changes or other concerns that may affect your child in school

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.

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!