Centennial Information
Email: deb.jolda@springfield.k12.or.us
Website: centennial.springfield.k12.or.us
Location: 1315 Aspen Street, Springfield, OR, USA
Phone: 541-744-6383
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentennialBlueJays
Greetings, Blue Jay Families!
I hope all of our families have had a chance to recover from last month's Icemaggedon. We are still having trouble with our phone lines as a result, and we appreciate your patience. Please use SeeSaw to communicate with your child's teacher or email Ms Deb at deb.jolda@springfield.k12.or.us.
Your kiddo might come home this month talking about filling buckets. Here's what that's about. February’s focus is on kindness and respecting others by being bucket-fillers versus bucket-drainers. We will use read-aloud books and modeling examples to explain these ideas to students, and they will be able to earn special pink Blue Jay Bucks for a chance to win special prizes. You can help us by talking about it at home, too.
Let the bucket filling begin!
Don Hakala, Principal
The district has released an updated calendar in the aftermath of the unprecedented ice storm last month. Feb 19 is now a school day, and Feb 23, April 13 and April 26 are all now full days. Download the updated calendar at: www.springfield.k12.or.us/calendar.
We hope all of our families are at least in the process of recovering from that crazy ice storm.
- Martin Luther King Jr.: It is our understanding that the district is working on rescheduling the event. We are thankful to all the students and classes who participated in the art contest.
- 4th Grade Swim Lessons: The second week has been rescheduled for March 18-21.
- PTO SPLASH Family Swim: This is being rescheduled. Stay tuned for more info!
January Super Students: Congratulations to our January Super Students: Ariella, Ashton, Noah P, Emberlynn, Lennix, Ariyella, Zoie, Natalie, Camila, Rogue, Hawkins, Eli M, Gunnar, Annabell, Harper, Kian, Thomas, Liam V, Sophia A-L, River, Jayden N, Nathaniel, Sophie S, Aiden A, Logan, Katilaya, Lane, Lio, John P, Brooklyn, Melina, Liam W and Jenai.
Talented and Gifted (TAG) Testing
Winter 2023-24 TAG identification is right around the corner and we are beginning to take referrals for our program. The SPS Talented and Gifted program assesses through district-wide tests and classroom work samples whether or not your student is at the 95%ile or above in the areas of Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies or Intellectual giftedness. The 95%ile means that if your student was in a line of 100 students, they would know more than the first 95 students in line. These students are at the top of their class, and typically above most students at their entire grade level at school and require more advanced work to meet them at their rate and level of learning, keeping them challenged.
Teachers, families and specialists can all refer students for identification if they feel they meet the criteria. Students must be referred for screening no later than February 14, in order for TAG contacts to be able to gather data for the upcoming testing session. If you would like to refer your child, please reach out to your child’s teacher for information on where your child is at academically and to start the referral process.
After you refer them for screening, the teacher will share with you the parent questionnaire, along with our preponderance of evidence form to begin filling out for your student. This will happen after the initial referral deadline of Feb. 9th. At this time the teacher will begin gathering together the work samples and testing data in a TAG referral file. If your family has any more information to add to the files, please share them with your child’s teacher when you return the questionnaire. All of this data will be used to create a “preponderance” of evidence in order to determine if the student will/will not qualify for the TAG program in one or more areas.
Please reach out to your child’s teacher or our TAG coordinator, Karen Tunnell, karen.tunnell@springfield.k12.or.us, with any questions about the identification process.
This month we are also teaching students about flexibility. Families can help by working on this at home as well, by modeling flexible behavior and talking through unexpected situations.
Many of us have trouble switching gears. But being able and willing to adapt and change as situations call for it is a skill that will help your kids throughout their lives. Flexible thinking is creative thinking. In the face of an unexpected challenge, it’s helpful to quickly problem-solve a solution or workaround. When it’s hard to come up with an answer that pleases everybody, that’s when compromise comes into play. As the Rolling Stones said, "You can't always get what you want...."
We are still seeing an awful lot of students coming into school late. Many are just a few minutes late, which should be easy to solve. Some are an hour or more late nearly every day. We need to work on this!
Being on time is an important life-long skill to develop. Being even a few minutes late can be embarrassing to a kiddo, as well as disruptive to the class. Some classes have morning meetings, for example, to set the tone for the day. Students who are chronically late may be missing out on important instruction or information.
Here are some tips for getting out the door on time:
1. Figure out a morning routine and stick to it.
2. Do as much the night before as possible. Whether it's packing up backpacks, making lunches, or laying out clothes.
3. Get the nighttime routine down, too, to make sure kids are getting enough sleep.
Still chronically late despite all of your efforts? Try to figure out the underlying reason. Is your student trying to avoid something, or someone, at school? Remember, you can always work with your child's teacher to solve these kinds of problems.
Thank you for caring!
Keep reading those books and practicing! School battles have begun and will continue until a winning team emerges. Congratulations to all of the teams participating! The winning team from our school will go on to compete in the regional tournament in March. Coaches can find resources and info at https://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org.
Willamalane: Upcoming no-school day classes
Doodle for Google Contest: This year's contest is "what the next 25 years might be like." It's open to grades K-12. More info at doodle4google.com. Entries taken until March 14.
LaCrosse Clinics: Students in grades 3-8 can sign up for upcoming "try-it-out" clinics through KidSports.
5th Grade Boys Basketball League: Deadline for registration is Feb. 23 through Willamalane.
