March 2022
Centennial Stars Newsletter
Dear Centennial Families,
Our school is about to take part in a special, community wide shared reading event called One Book One School. For our younger students, reading professionals recommend reading material out loud that is beyond a student's own reading level. We also believe that you can and should continue reading chapter books with your older students, even when they are able to read by themselves. We have selected a title that can be followed and understood and enjoyed by younger students, but will still captivate older students. We will share the title of the book and some additional digital resources with you in an email that will be sent out on Sunday, April 10, 2022. Until then, the title remains top secret!
On Monday, April 11th, we will hold a special assembly introducing the book. This will also be a school wide pajama day. After the assembly, each student will receive their own copy of the book to read and keep. These books were purchased by the Student Council using funds raised during the October Pumpkin Fund Run. Thank you for your generous donations.
In school, your student will participate in a number of activities in all of the school settings during these three weeks. Generally, you will be asked to read about 15 minutes each night beginning on Monday April 11, 2022 and ending on April 29, 2022. We will also be partnering with our Booster Club during this time as they host a Read-A-Thon. More information to come on that!
Thank you in advance for taking some time at home to participate in this special reading event. We are so excited to get reading!
Mrs. Ritter and the entire Centennial Staff
From the Library: Battle of the Books
Our Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students have been participating in a reading competition called Battle of the Books (aka BoB). This reading competition encourages students to read genres that they might not select on their own, increases reading comprehension and provides a great opportunity for them to work as a team.
Students have spent the month of February completing practice rounds which has helped prepare them for the final rounds of the BoB competition. The BoB Finals will take place in the library on Monday, March 14th. We will email a zoom link to the teams participating in the Finals so family members can tune in to watch the final competition. This email will be sent home on Friday, March 11th.
Here is the timeline for the rest of our competition.
• Feb. 28th - March 4th: The Playoffs ~ students will answer 20 questions. Top scoring teams will move on to the Semi-Finals.
• March 7th - 11th: Semi-Finals ~ students will answer another set of 20 questions. Top scoring teams will move on to the Finals
• Monday, March 14th: FINALS ~ Top scoring 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade teams will battle for the finals. We will have a winner at each grade level. The winning teams will receive a medal and will win a “traveling trophy” that stays in their classroom for the rest of the school year.
All participants will receive a ribbon for participating in the competition. I am so proud of how hard students have worked on reading and it’s been exciting to watch them grow as a team!
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming!!
The Scholastic Spring Book Fair will be at Centennial from March 28th through April 1st in the school library during Parent/Teacher Conference week and it will be in-person!
The proceeds from this fair will purchase many new books for our school library. Teachers will sign up for a time slot to give students an opportunity to shop at the book fair during the school day. Book fair flyers will be sent home the week before the fair as well as additional information and book fair hours.
The Book Fair is a great way to support your Centennial Library!
Conference Week March 29 – April 1
Online Parent-Teacher Conference sign up will start for families on March 10 through March 23rd. Sign-ups are done via Skyward Family Access. If at any time you need help scheduling, please call the front office. Monday, March 28th will be a normal school day 8:00-2:15 p.m. Conferences will take place starting Tuesday, March 29 - April 1. School hours during conference week will be 8:00 a.m.-11:05 a.m. Grab n’ Go lunches will be served.
Spring Break
No school the week of April 4-8
Volunteer Update
We are continuing to pause volunteers in the building until after Spring Break. Thank you for your continued patience. We know many of you are anxious to start volunteering again!
Kindergarten Registration for Fall 2022
Beginning on Monday, March 7 families can begin registering their students for the next school year.
• Pick up a packet from the front office during the normal school day between 8:30-3:00.
• Online Registration is available via the OSD website OR you can sign into Skyward Family Access and use the “New Student Enrollment” tab.
• Paper registration can be returned to the office during regular school hours for kindergarten and any child that is new who will be entering Centennial in grades 1-5 in the fall.
• Taste of Kindergarten and Screening will be held on June 8. Parents can sign up for their choice of orientation times when they return the registration packet to the school office or we get notification that the online registration is done and we have all necessary documents.
Mask Update
As of March 12th, 2022, we are anticipating the indoor masks mandate will be lifted. Due to federal mandates, students will still be required to wear masks on school buses. Several students and staff members will continue to wear masks. We will spend time talking with students about this personal choice and emphasizing kindness toward all. This is a family choice and unkind or bullying behavior for personal choice will not be tolerated. Please look for more information around masking updates from the district office as more details are shared.
Walk ‘n’ Roll
Hey Centennial Stars, it’s time to Walk N Roll to School! Intercity Transit’s Walk N Roll program invites all students and families to join Centennial in celebrating the start of spring with a morning walk or roll on March 9th!
Remember to look left, right and left again before crossing the street, making eye contact with drivers of oncoming vehicles to make sure they see you!
Students who walk or roll to school get a prize!
Centennial is Walking N Rolling to school all year long! Save the dates.
March 9
April 13
May 13 National Bike to School Day
June 8
Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Information
Look for information from Washington Middle School to come out before Spring Break. They will be doing online registration for electives, which will be due by April 15th. Again, more information to come later this month.
Fifth
There is a general meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, March 8 @ 7:00: Meeting Link
Upcoming Events
2/28 BOB Playoffs Begin
3/5 Countdown to Kindergarten – Informational Parent Zoom Meeting sponsored by OSD @ 10:00
3/7 Kinder registration for the 2022/23 school year is open (paper or online)
3/7 BOB Semi-Finals Begin
3/8 Booster Club Meeting via zoom, 7:00
3/9 Walk ‘n’ Roll to school
3/11 Spring Conference Sign Ups Begin
3/14 BOB Finals!!
3/15 Vision/Hearing Screening (all grades but 4th)
3/29-4/1 Spring Conferences – Early Dismissal at 11:05 a.m.
Numbers to Remember:
Attendance Line (24 hr) 360-596-8303
School Main Office 360-596-8300
School Nurse 360-596-8308
Transportation Department 360-596-7700
Families, when calling the attendance line to leave a voice message about your child’s illness, please indicate whether your child has the flu, a fever, cold/cough, etc. When calling about appointments be specific, if it is a dentist appointment, medical appointment or a therapy appointment. Calling to say you have an appointment only, will not be an excused absence.
OSD 2019-20 Notice of Nondiscrimination
The Olympia School District will provide equal educational opportunity and treatment for all students in all aspects of the academic and activities program without discrimination based on race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, honorably-discharged veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. The district will provide equal access to school facilities to the Boy Scouts of America and all other designated youth groups listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society. District programs will be free from sexual harassment. Auxiliary aids and services will be provided upon request to individuals with disabilities.
The following people have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies, reports of alleged sexual harassment, concerns about compliance, and/or grievance procedures:
- Autumn Lara, Executive Director of Elementary Education, [email protected] (360)596-8534
- Ken Turcotte, Section 504 and ADA Coordinator, [email protected], (360) 596-7530
- Pat Cusack, Director of College and Career Readiness, [email protected], (360) 596-6102
- Scott Niemann, Title IX Officer and Affirmative Action Officer and Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator, [email protected], (360) 596-6185. All four individuals may also be contacted at 111 Bethel Street N.E., Olympia, WA, 98506.