Center Connection

Dear Families,

We packed an awful lot into the short week we had last week. We are very grateful to our families who were able to show up and support our students at our recent events. We have such a wonderful community! Our band students did a fantastic job on stage Friday night showing off their new instrumental skills. A shoutout to Mr. McKenzie, our Band Director for his hard work in getting the students ready.

Last week we also had our School Spelling Bee. All of our finalists did a fantastic job and we are so proud of their hard work! Congratulations to our Spelling Bee Finalist Abeera Tarar! Abeera will now take the online regional qualifier to see if she qualifies for the Scripps Regional Bee. Another big congratulations to our runner up of the Bee Charlie Paparisto, such wonderful accomplishments.

Another huge accomplishment we are excited to share out is that our fantastic Center Music Educator, Naomi Cohen, is presenting a clinic at the 2026 Massachusetts Music Educators Association All State Conference this year. This is a huge honor, musicians and music education professionals have to submit their sessions months in advance and sessions are approved by the MMEA Executive Board of Directors. There are limited spaces for the two-day conference. Ms. Cohen's session is a product of her recent Master's work at Michigan State University. Congratulations Ms. Cohen!

In closing, I’d like to mention that I’ve received several calls this week regarding our safety measures. I want to offer my personal assurance that our protocols are robust and frequently practiced by our team. To maintain the integrity of these protocols, we do not distribute them widely, but we remain fully committed to providing a secure environment for every student. Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

In partnership,

Kerryann

This week looks like we will be able to play outside each day for recess. Woohoo! Please remember to send your child in with snow gear so they can play in the snow. If you need assistance in getting snow gear please reach out to Mrs. Coppinger.

February 6: Early Release (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15 K-5 Dismissal)

February 9: Pick A Time will open at 7:00pm for conference sign.

February 10: PTO 7pm Virtually

February 12: Coffee Hour with Mrs. Coppinger (9:00)

February 12: Listening Session with Mrs. Coppinger (4pm)

February 16-20: No School

February 25: School Council (3:30)

February 27: Pick A Time Closes at 7:00am for conference sign up

March 5: Early Release: Spring Conferences and Evening Conferences (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15 K-5 Dismissal)

March 10:PTO 7pm Virtually

March 13: Early Release: Spring Conferences (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15 K-5 Dismissal)

March 19: Incoming 2026-2027 Kindergarten Information Night (6:00pm) (More information to come)

March 25: School Council (3:30)

March 26: Coffee Hour with Mrs. Coppinger (9:00)

March 27: No School (Professional Learning)

April 10: Coffee Hour with Mrs. Coppinger (9:00)

April 10: Early Release (11:15am Pre-School Dismissal; 12:15-K-5 Dismissal)

April 14: PTO (7pm)

April 15: Listening Session with Mrs. Coppinger (4pm)

April 20-24: No School Spring Break

April 29: School Council (3:30)

Follow Our Events by subscribing to The Center School Calendar.

To ensure a smooth and timely start to the school day for all our students, please remember that morning drop-off concludes promptly at 8:35 AM. Students arriving after this time must be signed in at the main office and will be marked tardy.

When entering the drop-off loop, please drive all the way forward to where Mrs. Ruggerio is stationed before stopping. To keep traffic moving efficiently, students should begin unloading if they are positioned anywhere in the circle, stretching from Mrs. Ruggerio all the way back to Nurse Audra. When cars wait to pull up further instead of unloading when they have a safe opening, it creates significant congestion and delays for the families behind you. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us keep the line moving safely and quickly!

Due to an increase in the number of reported cases of Covid-19 at Center I wanted to share some further information and increase your awareness about the virus.

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory viral infection that is diagnosed by obtaining a nasal

swab in a medical office or through an at-home test. Common symptoms of COVID-19

include:

 Fever

 Cough

 Sore Throat

 Head and/or Body Aches

 Nausea and vomiting

Please monitor your child and follow up with your child's primary medical provider if your child

exhibits these symptoms.

If your child is diagnosed with COVID-19, please alert the Health Office by emailing Nurse

Audra at amaria@nrsd.net or calling 978-461-0009. It helps me in tracking illness and

absences.

Although isolation for a set amount of time is no longer needed, please remember that people

who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 should remain home until symptoms start to improve

AND their temperature is less than 100.0 F for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing

medications (e.g., Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, etc.).

Ways to prevent contracting or spreading contagious respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19

include:

 Regular handwashing

 Coughing into your sleeve or a tissue instead of your hands

 Wearing a mask

 Seeking medical attention for testing and, if diagnosed, staying home until symptoms

improve AND you have been fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications

 Regular sleep, healthy eating, and hydrating throughout the day

To help prevent the spread and prevention of Covid-19 at school we continue to encourage

frequent hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, the cleaning and

disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces or objects, and by encouraging the children to cover

coughs and sneezes.

Thank you for doing your part in promoting a healthy school environment for all of our children

at The Center School.

Nurse Audra

We ask that you take a look at the dates below and try to ensure your child is at school and on time for their testing days. We greatly appreciate your partnership.

Grade 3 MCAS Dates

ELA Session 1: 3/24

ELA Session 2: 3/31

Math Session 1: 5/4

Math Session 2: 5/11

Grade 4 MCAS Dates

ELA Session 1: 3/25

ELA Session 2: 4/1

Math Session 1: 5/1

Math Session 2: 5/8

Grade 5 MCAS Dates

ELA Session 1: 3/26

ELA Session 2: 4/13

Math Session 1: 4/30

Math Session 2: 5/7

STE Session 1: 5/14

STE Session 2: 5/18

ELA Session 1 Make Ups: 3/30

ELA Session 2 Make Ups: 4/14

Math Session 1 Make Ups: 5/5

Math Session 2 Make Ups: 5/12

STE Session 1 Make Ups: 5/19

STE Session 2 Make Ups: 5/20

The cut off time for changes in Pick Up Patrol is 12:00pm. Please get any changes entered as early as possible.

Reporting Absences, Late Arrivals or Early Dismissals
All student absences, late arrivals, and early dismissals should now be entered through PickUp Patrol. 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. It helps us a lot when they are in prior to the day starting).

• Late arrivals

• Any changes to dismissal plans (before 12pm)
  
  

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.

Registration for Kindergarten for the 2026-2027 school year will be shared with families in the next few weeks. If you are new to Stow or have not completed a census please send your contact information to Kirsten Gallagher, Administrative Assistant - Center School kgallagher@nrsd.net.

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!

If you are looking for a way to help support your child's school experience please consider applying to be a lunch monitor. The lunch monitor is a paid position that works 2.5 hours as day, (11:00-1:30) 5 days a week. If you are interested please apply here. Filling this position helps make our school be the best it can be!