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August 20, 2018

Dear Central Families,

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. I also hope you are relaxed, recharged and ready to start a new school year. I am so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. I welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education, and I look forward to working with you and your children.

All signs point to a productive school year. Our skilled and devoted staff are already planning and preparing for your child(ren). Our enthusiastic office team is registering new families, ordering needed materials and updating student files. Our hard working and conscientious custodians have spent the entire summer thoroughly cleaning the facility. Also, our much-appreciated PTO team is gearing up to welcome families, provide volunteer opportunities, and offer exciting events and programs for our families. We are indeed a loving and caring community with the common goals of nurturing responsible, caring students and promoting high-level learning.

New Staff

Each year brings positive change. This includes a few additions to our staff. We are delighted to welcome Dakota Jenkins, as our new Kindergarten teacher, Jamie Lovell, our new 2nd grade teacher, Karen Crews moved to 1st Grade, Jenn Slippy, our new school counselor, Chris Wagner, our new part-time vice principal, and several new classroom assistants, Lynette Murasky, Lindsay Favrot, and Ashley Grover. We will be adding more positions very soon. Central is growing. We now have four Kindergarten classrooms and four 1st grade classrooms.

Facilities Update

If you drove past the school or utilized our outdoor playing spaces this summer, you may have noticed numerous maintenance and construction projects. First, there is a new bus zone in back of our school now. The intersection at 2nd and “I” street is now a 4-Way stop to ensure our students are stay safe. Our staff parking lot has been resurfaced, and the old bus zone has been turned into a 15 minute parent parking zone. Parents are to use this parking zone to park and walk students up to the school or to pick up their child from the class lines. Finally, the fence around our school playground field has been removed so our students can now play on the grass.

Please remind your children to walk on the sidewalk and the designated crosswalks. Always wait for the crossing guard to walk them across.

Parents, please do not allow your children to exit the vehicle in the street. Please use our drop-off zone or park in the parent parking zone or our new 2nd Street 15 minute parking zone.

New Programs Update

We are excited to announce that we earned a grant to provide our school with a FoodCorp Rep who will work with our school community to promote healthy eating and the importance of nutrition in regard to learning. Ms. Julia Felton graduated from Michigan State University and earned a degree in Horticulture. Ms. Felton will be teaching lessons on nutrition, conducting school-wide taste tests, hosting family night cooking classes, and helping our 3rd graders to complete a greenhouse project with our LHS Agriculture program. These are just a few of the exciting experiences that Ms. Felton will provide our children.

In addition, our district will be enhancing our already established STEM program at Central. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. All students participate in these content areas during the school day and we also have after school programs that promote STEM involvement. This year we will be introducing coding for our intermediate grades and our primary teachers will be receiving support in STEM lesson planning.

Student Placement

A great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2018-19 school year. Careful consideration was given in regard to student learning styles, skills, and personalities. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities.

Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping him or her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff works hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Central Elementary staff are eagerly looking forward to enriching your child’s life. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group, and teacher.

CLASS ROSTERS WILL BE POSTED FRIDAY, AUGUST 24TH, at 4:00 pm

As your principal, I believe parents are truly an extension to our learning environment. You are your child’s greatest teacher. Thank you for making it a priority that your child reads 20 minutes a day. This is the foundation to all learning. I also can’t stress enough how important it is for you to share your appreciation for the experiences you feel support your child’s educational journey in addition to areas you are concerned about. Please call the school to schedule an appointment to visit with me if you have any concerns. Together, I know we will make this school year one of growth and achievement for all children.

School Mission:

“Central School will be a place that supports mistake making, laughter sharing, independence building, and brain stretching. A place everyone matters!” To love, to care, and to serve!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Suzy Mayes

Important Dates:

• August 24th---Classroom visitation from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
• August 27th---First day of school. Arrive at 8:40 pm School starts at 9:00 am
• September 3rd----No School Labor Day