Centennial Family Update - Jan 26-29

CENTENNIAL FAMILY UPDATE: JAN 26-29

CENTENNIAL CHEERING ON QUEEN'S @ the Hockey Game!

WEEK AHEAD

Monday, January 26

• Let’s Talk Science - Kinder B
• Bring a Book: Students can bring a book for the Book Swap on Wednesday

Tuesday, January 27

• Family Literacy Day: What will your family do today to re-inforce literacy learning together? See some ideas in the newsletter
• READ MY SHIRT DAY! Students can wear a shirt with sayings, numbers or letters (school-appropriate of course!)
• Superintendent Blackburn school visit @ Centennial

Wednesday, January 28

• Literacy Day Activity: Bring a flashlight to school for a class read-in
• LUNCH IS READY: Greek Bento Box
• Let’s Talk Science-Farndon

Thursday, January 29

• Farndon to Agnes Etherington Art Museum
• Dental Fluoride Treatment - for the students signed up
• Lalonde and Funnell - Health Unit visit - hand-washing & puppet show

Friday, January 30

• PA Day - no school for students!

LITERACY WEEK @ CENTENNIAL!!

Family Literacy Day 2026

Family Literacy Day takes place every January 27th to raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

Since 1999, schools, libraries, literacy organizations and other community groups across the country have taken part in the initiative. ABC creates free learning and promotional resources for anyone that wants to get involved.

Family Literacy First aims to bring parents and children together to practice family literacy through free online resources. The program offers resources in different languages, including English, French, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, and Arabic, so families can learn together in their first language, or practice a second or third language. Resources include stories, games, and activities that you can engage in with your child to build literacy skills, grow confidence and offer connection time with your child. See the RESOURCES PAGE HERE

Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development, improving a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well.

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT MY STUDENT AT HOME? CHECK OUT THESE FAMILY RESOURCES!

• At-Home Resources Hub
• Kindergarten
• 1st Grade
• 2nd Grade
• 3rd Grade
• 4th Grade
• 5th Grade
• Adolescent Learners

Family Literacy Engagement Ideas:

• Plan a Day Trip: Go online together to find fun (and free) places to go in your city for your next family day trip.
• Sing it to Me: Play a song and then pause it. Ask your family to sing the next line – do they know it?
• Pop-up Kitchen: Follow a recipe together – a yummy way to practice math and reading.
• Aqua Adventure: Visit an aquarium (or aquarium store) to learn about nature and the environment (see cool fish too!)
• #TTYL: Keep in touch with teens and impress them with your amazing texting skills (like using popular hashtags while using full sentences.)
• Weekend Hike: Enjoy the great outdoors and learn about nature – why not make it a scavenger hunt!
• Shop Till you Drop: Shopping together can be fun if you’re prepared (no really.) Write a list together of what you need and take turns finding the items on your list.
• Hopscotch Count: Make a giant hopscotch calculator, ask math questions and hop to the answers!
• Reverso Story: Tell your favourite story, backwards – start with the ending. Can your family guess the story?
• Library Passport: Use your library card at the library as your passport to travel the world. Where will you go and what will you learn?
• FGN: Start an FGN (Family Game Night) with your family and friends, and switch houses each week.
• Picture Maker: Make pictures out of modelling clay to go with your story. Get inspired by Family Literacy Day Honourary Chair Barbara Reid (have you seen what she can do with modeling clay? WOW!)
• Tell it 2 Me: Write a secret message with numbers and do math to solve it.
• Animal Walk: Read street names and think of animals that begin with the same first letter of each street.
• Eat Your Words: Play with your food and write words with alphabet cereal and soup (we like cookie letters too!)
• Story Switch-A-Roo: Take turns reading a bedtime story together, kids and adults each read one sentence at a time.
• WOW Palindromes: Find words that are spelled the same way forwards and backwards. How many can you find? (Some to get your started: wow, mom, dad, radar.)
• Abracadabra: Find cool card tricks from the library or by going online with your family. Practice and show your friends – can they figure out the tricks?
• Word Dynamo: Say a word and ask kids to say a new word that begins with the last letter of the word you just said (apple, eat, tidy, yawn.)
• Watch a Book: Read a book then watch the movie together. Talk about which version you liked the best.

UPCOMING CONSTRUCTION ON NORMAN ROGERS DRIVE

The City of Kingston has launched a Get Involved Page to provide information on the upcoming construction on Norman Rogers Drive. The page can be reached at the following link:https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/norman-rogers-drive-improvements.

The project website includes a general overview of the project scope, as well as maps to show existing and proposed conditions.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Registration forKindergarten in Limestone is now open! If your student was born in 2022, now is the time to register your new student to start school this September.

Kindergarten is a wonderful new world of learning and growing and a very exciting time for both you and your student. We learn how to read, how to write and we make so many new friends. Our educator teams of a teacher and early childhood educator, help us along the way. You can feel confident your child will be cared for within safe and inclusive environments. Discover Kindergarten in Limestone and learn more about our Kindergarten program, resources, and tips to help your new student prepare for school.

Centennial School Council Update:

Family Games and Crafts Night

Save the date for February 12th!  The school council will be hosting a Family Games and Crafts  Night from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Centennial PS gym.  A variety of games will be available, and families are also welcome to bring their own.  There will also be free fun crafts for families to make!

This is a free event.  All students must be accompanied by an adult.  

Please note that the Family Mosaic Night originally planned for February will be postponed to a later date.

School Council Meetings

The next School Council meeting is scheduled for February 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Centennial PS.  All Centennial parents and caregivers are welcome.  Please email us at ldsbcentennialpscouncil@gmail.com in advance if you require childcare.

School Council Request: Containers needed for winter sowing of native plants in preparation for the May eco-fair:

Large plastic containers are needed for a School Council project, examples are 2L pop bottles, vinegar bottles, or clear plastic boxes with lids (not the type that holds fruit or salad greens). No bottles that held toxic chemicals such as cleaning fluids. Containers that have been cleaned thoroughly can be brought to the office.

Learn more about winter sowing: https://www.rbg.ca/winter-sowing-part-one/

Reminder About Parking Areas
As the weather changes, more families may choose to drive to and from school. Please remember that stopping in school bus loading zones or no-stopping areas can result in high parking fines. Bylaw encourages families to respect posted signage and use alternative locations for pick-up and drop-off.

Bus Cancellation Day Reminders:

• Families can choose to drop their child off to school, but should not arrive before 8:50 when supervision begins on the school yard. If you arrive before that time adults should stay with their student until 8:50
• If you drop off, you must also pick your student up by 3:25. Please avoid picking your student up between 3:00-3:25 as this presents significant challenges at a very busy time of day. Plan for delays as we locate your student during this time.
• Students who do not typically take the bus will be dismissed as they normally are onto the school yard.
• Students who typically take the bus will be gathered in the gym and dismissed to their adult out the front door.
• Please submit an absence for your student if they are staying home.
• Communicate your end-of-day plan to your child or classroom staff to help facilitate a smooth dismissal.

CENTENNIAL SCHOOL EXPECTATIONS - Slides for Family reference to review with your students.

How Can I get Information From the School?

LDSB schools and school board use School Messenger to send key messages, alerts, and general communication to families. Winston uses this platform and will continue to use our Centennial Family Update to provide updates to families. These newsletters are where we will share school-specific information and highlights of student work and events in the building and is generated on our school website.

SchoolMessenger App: Download the SchoolMessenger App to stay connected. Use your mobile device to download and install the free SchoolMessenger blue app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, the SchoolMessenger website portal, or from within the LDSB mobile app. *New families will be able to create their account after the first day of attendance.

The first time you use the app, you must select Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account.

Ontario Ministry of Education Human Development and Sexual Health Information

As part of LDSB's commitment to ongoing transparency and communication with families, please follow the link to Form 325-D on the LDSB website. It outlines the Human Development and Sexual Health curriculum expectations for Grades 1-8.  Families can request to have their child or children exempted from instruction related to Human Development and Sexual Health expectations by completing and returning an exemption form for each child (Form 325-B) five school days before the start of instruction. Prior to instruction, your child's classroom teacher will inform parents/guardians when the expectations related to the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations in Strand D will be covered. For a more detailed overview of this process, please refer to Administrative Procedure 325: Exemption From Human Development and Sexual Health Instruction (listed under the Policies and Procedures section of the LDSB website), or contact the school. 

Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations by Grade

Please find below a list of Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations by Grade as outlined in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Health and Physical Education, 2019. The Ministry of Education provides additional information about Human Development and Sexual Health on its website at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/health.html

Human Development and Sexual Health Expectations by Grade

Request for Exemption from Instruction in Human Development & Sexual Health

Classroom teachers will be sending home a letter (Form 235-A). Form 325-A is a formal notification to families indicating when instruction related to Human Development and Sexual Health will occur.

School Mental Health Ontario Resources

School Mental Health Ontario offers a variety of free resources for educators, students, and families. To stay updated with the latest information, resources, and research, families can visit the SMHO website. Simply scroll to the bottom of the page, click on "Connect with Us," and enter your contact information.

Upcoming Dates

January

• Friday, January 30 - PA Day

February

• Monday, February 16 - Family Day Holiday

March

• Monday, March 16 - Friday, March 20 - March Break Holiday

April

• Friday, April 3 - Good Friday Holiday
• Monday, April 6 - Easter Monday Holiday
• Friday, April 17 - PA Day

May

• Monday, May 18 - Victoria Day Holiday
• Friday, May 29 - PA Day

June

• Friday, June 26 - PA Day

Ministry and Board Resources for Math and Literacy

There are many resources available designed to support your children’s learning in math and literacy, offering engaging activities that can make learning fun and effective for students and families. Visit Limestone’s Online Learning Resources and Tutoring webpage to learn more. 

Attendance Matters!
We continue to emphasize the importance of regular attendance when students are healthy enough to attend. We will continue regular reach-outs for these families with regular absenteeism to develop plans to support.

KLF&A Public Health Childhood Illnesses and Exclusion
Unsure when to keep your child home when they are unwell? The KFL&A Public Health guidelines have changed and include different symptoms since Covid. Vomiting and diarrhea remain 48 hours symptom free. Other childhood illness exclusions can be found here:

https://www.kflaph.ca/en/health-topics/common-childhood-illnesses.aspx

School Day Schedule

2025-2026 LDSB School Year Calendar

A PDF version of the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar is available online.