Centennial Summer Newsletter
July 10th, 2025
A NOTE FROM PRINCIPAL STEWART
Dear Centennial Parents,
I hope you're enjoying a summer filled with rest, fun, and special memories! These moments with your children are precious and seem to fly by all too quickly. As my own son returns home from college and my daughter stays busy with high school activities, I’m reminded just how quickly time passes and how meaningful these summer memories truly are.
Summer is also a wonderful time to work on the non-academic skills that build confidence and independence in our students—skills like tying shoes, opening lunch containers, or getting in and out of the car without assistance. These small milestones go a long way in helping children feel capable and ready for school success.
Here at Centennial, our front office is already in full swing, preparing for the upcoming year. I’m thrilled to share that we are fully staffed for 2025—a milestone not many campuses can celebrate right now. Hiring the very best educators is one of the most important parts of my role as a principal. Every child deserves an excellent education, and that starts with having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. The strong home-school partnership we have at Centennial is a major reason we’re able to attract and retain such high-caliber staff. Thank you for the many ways you support our school community.
One especially meaningful way parents support our staff is by serving as substitutes on campus. When teachers are out for training, family emergencies, or illness, having trusted and familiar faces in the classroom makes a big difference. We’ve been fortunate to have many parents—and even grandparents—step into this role. If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a substitute teacher in Plano ISD, please visit https://www.pisd.edu/Page/5529. If you decide to apply, feel free to email me directly, and I’ll be happy to help move your application through the process.
We are also excited to welcome a new Assistant Principal to our team—Ms. Rebekah Sutton. Please be sure to say hello and introduce your family to her as the school year begins!
We can’t wait to welcome back our returning Comets and meet our newest ones this August. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer and all the memories still to be made.
Warmly,
Sara Stewart
Principal, Centennial Elementary
IMPORTANT DATES
- 25-26 Annual registration for returning students and Kindergarten students who have already enrolled is available now in Skyward Family Access.
- Complete/update your child's emergency information in Skyward Family Access - https://www.pisd.edu/annualregistration
- Register for an account here - https://parentportal.pisd.edu/SubmitPortalRegistration
- Need help? - https://www.pisd.edu/FamilyAccessHelp
August 5 - Student Schedules/Teacher Assignments released in Skyward Family Access. You must complete/update your child's emergency information in Skyward Family Access to access this info.
August 8 - 10 - Tax Free Weekend - Click here for more details.
August 8 - Sign-up Centennial: 7:15 am - 10 am
August 8 - Meet The Teacher Grades 1-5: 7:40 - 8:40 am
August 8 - Kindergarten "Kinder Kamp": 8:40 - 9:40 am
August 12 - ⭐First Day of School: Front doors will open at 7:25 am. Parents can walk their children to their classroom on the first day of school only.
- August 13 - Second Day of School: Students walk to class by themselves. We have adults prepared to assist students in getting to class.
- August 15 - PTA Welcome Meeting/Newcomer Coffee: Please join us at 8 am in the cafeteria for a general PTA meeting where we will go over upcoming events and how parents can get involved. Membership is not required to attend this meeting.
SKYWARD FAMILY ACCESS
Plano ISD uses Skyward Family Access to enroll and maintain student records.
- Register for an account here - https://parentportal.pisd.edu/SubmitPortalRegistration
- Need help? - https://www.pisd.edu/FamilyAccessHelp
STUDENT SCHEDULES
Schedules will be released through Skyward - https://portal.pisd.edu/p/portal on August 5th for all students enrolled in Plano ISD. Released schedules will display all courses a student is taking and not just the homeroom course. For campuses that are still finishing the hiring/onboarding processes for some of their teachers, the schedule information that parents receive may not be final. Additionally, some elementary campuses may not have yet finalized the full schedules for students in departmentalized grade levels.
Please keep in mind:
- Schedules accessed through Skyward Family Access are preliminary only. Due to enrollment fluctuation and resultant staffing shifts, teacher assignments may change between now and the first day of school.
- Schedules will show multiple teachers and include all content areas. This information is also preliminary because the balancing of classes is an ongoing process as student enrollment continues.
- At Centennial, Kindergarten students are initially assigned to homeroom class alphabetically by last name. Students will receive their permanent homeroom assignment after school has started. This process will be fully explained at the "Meet the Teacher" event on Friday, August 9th at 8:40 a.m. in the library.
Enrollment:
If you know of a new Centennial student or incoming kinder student, please ask them if they have enrolled. Please have them visit the pisd.edu/enrollment and enroll.
Registration:
Annual registration for returning students and kindergarten students who have already enrolled is available now in Skyward Family Access. Student schedules will be release on August 5th district wide.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
2025-26 READING LOGS & CHALLENGES
Welcome to the wonderful world of reading! For the 40 Book Challenge you may use books located at the Centennial Library or the Plano Public Library. Fill out the attached form and turn it in to the Librarian by Friday April 10, 2026 by 3:00pm.
Late logs WILL NOT be accepted. The summary should be one or two sentences in the student’s own handwriting.
Summary Examples:
Good – “A boy and his dad write postcards to each other while the boy is at summer camp” Poor – “I really like this book.” “This book is good”
2025-26 Centennial Elementary Reading Challenges
To keep kids motivated, Centennial students can participate in one or more of our fun reading challenges:
40 Book Challenge – A yearlong challenge that encourages students to read a wide variety of books
25-26 LITTLE MAVERICKS READING LIST
The 25-26 Little Mavericks Reading List is a recommended reading list of graphic novels designed for children in grades K-5.
These books were selected by public and school librarians who are members of the Texas Library Association’s Children’s Round Table, which promotes services to children and young people.
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25-26 TEXAS BLUEBONNETS BOOK LIST
25-26 Texas Bluebonnets Book List is one of the most distinguished children’s literature lists in the country.
This prestigious list is composed of titles from creative, talented and diverse authors. The titles on the list offer students in third through sixth grades quality fiction and nonfiction literature to be read for pleasure.
The primary goals of the TBA list are to introduce children to a variety of quality books, develop critical reading skills, and honor and encourage authors.
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25-26 2X2 READING LIST
These beautifully illustrated, often humorous and instructive volumes are the best of recent books meant for children 2 years old to grade two. Librarians serving on the Texas Library Association Children’s Round Table 2X2 Committee read hundreds of books before narrowing the list to these selected 20.
The 25-26 2x2 Reading List can be read to small children, as well as read by young readers. The list was developed to give parents, caregivers and teachers a curated list of quality books. These are excellent books for reading during story time at the library or school, at bedtime with a parent or grandparent or for fun at any time.
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Centennial Elementary website: https://www.pisd.edu/centennial
Centennial Elementary facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentennialPISD/
Centennial PTA website: https://centennialpta.membershiptoolkit.com/
Centennial PTA facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentennialElementaryPTA
Centennial PTA instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centennialelementarypta
2609 Ventura Dr, Plano, TX 75093
(469) 752-0700