September 3, 2026

September 3, 2026

Hello Central Middle School Families,

Today, our Central Middle School Rangers participated in their first lockdown drill of the school year. We were grateful to have Kent County Sheriff’s Deputies Jim Svoboda and Joey Saladino, along with Forest Hills Public Schools Director of Safety and Security Ryan Kimball, with us to support and observe the drill.

We conduct these drills because we have a responsibility to be prepared. While we certainly hope we never need to use these procedures in a real emergency, practicing helps our students and staff understand what to do and allows us to continually evaluate and improve our safety protocols. We take this work incredibly seriously because, ultimately, our goal is simple: we want every student and staff member to return home safely to their families every single day.

At the same time, we recognize that lockdown drills are a reactive part of school safety. Much of the most important work we do to keep our school safe is proactive and happens every day. That is why our CMS vision of seeing, hearing, and caring for every student, every day is so important. We believe that knowing our students, building strong relationships, creating a sense of belonging, and making sure students know there are adults who care about them are all essential parts of creating a safe school.

We know that conversations and drills related to school safety can be difficult, and we approach them with care and compassion. We will continue to do everything we can to create a school where students feel both safe and known. We value relationships. We value safety. Most importantly, we value your child.

If you have questions about the safety protocols and practices we have in place at CMS or throughout FHPS, please contact me directly at jsimon@fhps.net or (616) 493-8750. I am always happy to talk with any parent or family who has questions or concerns.

Go Rangers!

Jeff Simon
Proud Principal of Central Middle School
jsimon@fhps.net - (616) 493-8750

September 4 Labor Day Break, No school for students

September 7 Labor Day Break, No school for students

September 15 Tech Showcase - 7th grade

September 21 2 hour Early Release Day

September 22-25 Adventure Point Field Trips

September 25 Picture Retakes

Hello Central Middle School Families,

At Central Middle School, we believe that promoting education and building community extends

outside of the classroom. To support our students and celebrate their hard work, our Rangers will

participate in a variety of activities, including a field trip to the 3 Mile Project (with lunch included),

guest speakers, house team-building events at Adventure Point (with lunch included), career events in downtown GR, and additional activities throughout the year. Each of these middle school-focused

activities has a cost for materials, entry fees, and transportation. These experiences foster a positive culture and provide time for connection and fun for our hard-working students.

Instead of each experience having a separate cost or fundraising as a school, we ask for a one-

time $50.00 donation from each student to cover these expenses. This will help defray the costs of the upcoming events. Please note that the 8th-grade end-of-year trip to Michigan’s Adventure is not included in this one-time donation. Payment can be turned in to the Main Office by September 3. We accept cash, checks made payable to “Central Middle School,” or a credit/debit card through Efunds. For eFunds, click the link below →pay for optional fees→ create an account.

Link to pay via eFunds: https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56719/

We are looking forward to a great year and providing these special opportunities for our CMS

students.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Annual Family Donation (suggested amount: $50)

Your generosity helps create opportunities that enrich student life, support teachers, and strengthen our school community.

Please donate by October 9.

https://tinyurl.com/cmsptodonation

Seeking Volunteers to make copies for teachers and cover the front desk during office staff meetings. Must have FHPS Volunteer Consent Form 2026-27 School Year on file.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EACA628A5FBC61-65532757-office

As you saw in the message shared with the Central community earlier this week, Deputy Jim Svoboda will be retiring from the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, and Deputy Joey Saladino will be joining us as our new School Resource Officer.

Please join us in welcoming Deputy Saladino to the Central Middle School team! He brings extensive experience with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office and a strong commitment to building positive relationships with students, staff, and families. We are excited to have him joining the Rangers and look forward to getting to know him throughout the school year.

Welcome to Central, Joey!

On September 15, our 7th grade students will be experiencing a career fair revolving around careers in technology. This event gives students the opportunity to explore a variety of interactive, hands-on exhibits designed to introduce them to careers and opportunities in technology. You can find more information about this event at https://www.techweekgr.com/2026-events/student-tech-showcase.

Do you want to have access to the same information as your student? You can become an observer on Canvas! In order to do so, click here and follow the instructions.

Canvas is your #1 resource for accessing "all things" connected to your students class. This includes notes, study materials, assignments, due dates, etc. If you are wondering what your student is learning in class and what is expected of them, this is your first stop for information.

We would like to send an extra special "thank you" the way of the Meemic Foundation and Agent Brian O'Neil. This week, the Meemic Foundation provided CMS with a generous grant that will go towards enhancing the academic experiences for our students at CMS.

Thank you, Mr. O'Neil, and thank you, Meemic Foundation.

Middle School Girls’ Softball: Would your student (in 7th or 8th grade) be interested in playing middle school girls’ softball in the spring of 2027? If so, there is an interest form to note your student's level of interest in softball. Additional information will be shared later, but right now they’re gathering information on interest level. Complete the Google form for middle school softball if you have a student who might be interested in playing this spring.

MAP testing will continue this week with the math test. Here is the schedule:

Wednesday, September 9 - Math MAP Test

Thursday, September 10 - Math MAP Test

Scores will be sent home following the completion of all testing.

Show off your FHC pride with some swag from the FHC Swag Store!

We are committed to open communication and believe consistent, clear communication builds trust, strengthens relationships, and helps every student thrive. To support with this, FHPS offers a variety of communication streams to keep you up to date on community events, your students learning and academic progress, daily logistics, behavior and support, and safety/emergency situations.

With this in mind... Have you checked your access to PowerSchool yet? Please confirm that you can, and if not, we will be available on the evening of August 24 to help you out.

Parents can now report students absent using PowerSchool Parent Portal! This feature

can be used to report an absence for the current day or to schedule future planned

absences. Please note that this cannot be used to report absences that occurred on

previous school days.

Whether it is as a front office volunteer or guest speaker in the classroom, we love to have parents support us at CMS.

If you envision yourself being a volunteer here at CMS, you can streamline your process now by completing the FHPS/FHC volunteer form. If you have multiple students in multiple schools on the Central side of the district, you only need to complete this one time. This is a security measure that FHPS has in place to ensure that those that are engaging with our students are safe to do so.

*Note: This form is not necessary for everyone. For example, if you are going to be a guest speaker in our PLTW classes, you would fill this out. If you are coming in to pick up a sick child, you do not need to have this completed.

Please read this letter from our District Nurses regarding a NEW Medication Consent Form for the 2026-2027 school year. Be sure to work with your physician over the next few weeks to ensure that your student, if needed, can be supported with medications starting on the first day of school!

Please reach out if you have any questions.

OK2SAY is the student safety program that allows students to confidentially report tips on potential harm or criminal activities directed at students, school employees, and schools. It uses a comprehensive communication system to facilitate tip sharing among students, parents, school personnel, community mental health service programs, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and law enforcement officials about harmful behaviors that threaten to disrupt the learning environment.