Happy New Year Central Families!
It is difficult to believe that we are in January 2026! We trust that you have enjoyed some relaxation and family filled time over the holiday break. We look forward to hearing student voices and laughter in our hallways again.
As for many families, December was a busy month at Central Public School.
Students competed in the volleyball tournament at LCVI. They represented our school with determination and displayed sportsmanship throughout. A huge thank you to our coaches Madame Shelley & Ms. Sheriff.
We learned about Bus Safety through the annual bus presentations. While we have a limited number of student using buses to get to school daily, all students ride the bus for class trips etc. so the safety reminders are an important part of our education practice each year.
Our holiday concert was an evening filled with celebration for the season and reminded us all that we can come together in peace and harmony as a community to share in the joy of hearing children voices share in song. An enormous thank you to all who attended the show. Thank you to Mr. Cotton and Ms. Melina for their musical leadership and to all staff that are part of the decoration, set up and organisation of the show.
EQAO results were released by the Ministry of Education. Students in grades 3 & 6 at Central performed extremely well on the assessment achieving above the board and provincial level in all domains. All families of students that wrote the assessment have received their individual results. We are so proud of the perseverance and determination shown by our students.
Our annual holiday shopping brought a buzz of excitement as students were given the opportunity to choose a gift for a loved one. We thanks all the "elves" who wrapped and assisted with purchases. A thank you to Ms. Campeau for all her organisation.
Over the holiday break, our hallways on both floors received a fresh coat of paint which was badly needed after the summer work. Additionally our air conditioning was hooked up and should serve us well when we enter the warmer months. Further, the plant dept installed a mechanised basketball net over the stage which will replace the old one that had to be removed each time the stage was needed. We look forward to making good use of the renovations at the school.
We look forward to a great month ahead of consolidating and putting into practice our learning from before the Holiday break as we head towards report card time at the end of term 1. Please note that 30th January is a PD day with no school for students. This day provides the opportunity for teachers to review assessments and evaluations as they prepare for report card writing and the start of term 2.
We look forward to continuing our learning together,
H. Barrett & Central Team
SAC
We appreciate all that our School Advisory Council does for our school. Our next meeting is January, 13th 2026.
Current updates from SAC...
Thank you to all who purchased Holiday greenery this year. The hallways smelled so festive on delivery day! Thank you to our volunteers who checked off orders and cleaned up at the end of delivery.
Wilton cheese fundraiser raised funds for our school again this year. We thank all who ordered. The cheese fundraiser raised approx. $500 to support learning initiatives at CPS. Thank you to the volunteers who made this work, we appreciate you.
SAC is continuing to support the building of the arts programming within our school. We are planning to invite artists from our community to classrooms to share their talents with students as we continue to educate in all areas of the curriculum. We are planning hands-on type learning in all areas of the arts. If you have ideas or connections please reach out to the school via email. We look forward to the Arts opportunities for our students.
Bingo raises monies to support our school. They need volunteers to ensure that our shifts are covered each week. If you can commit to a two hour shift once a month please reach out to Zoe Bradley to get more details.
Drop by for a coffee and a chat at Central Perk (front of school) the first Monday of each month. Huge thank you to The Elm Cafe for their generosity in supporting this event all year.
Hot Lunch orders on SchoolDay
Hot lunch orders are now on School Day.
You can order cheese pizza on Tuesday for $4 & Chicken tenders on Thursday for $7.
Orders are available online until March Break.
Orders need to be placed by Sunday evening before the upcoming hot lunch day.
Attendance Matters
Regular attendance at school is vital for student success both academically and socially. Students thrive on routine. We know that cold and flu season is upon us and with that comes absences from school. We monitor attendance as part od our ongoing school data; please reach out if you are experiencing difficulty getting your child to school. There are resources to assist available.
If you are planning an extended vacation please let your child's teacher and/or the office know.
Mental Health Resources for Youth and Families
We continue to work together to build an awareness amongst our student population with regards to feeling a sense of belonging and to resources available in our community should they need to reach out.
How Do I Report An Absence?
Please use the Safe Arrival system to report your child's absence; if you need to call to report an absence, please call 1-855-257-9349 (see instructions below)
If your child will be late, please report a full day absence and then we will sign them in when they arrive.
Computerized call outs occur around 9:30 for students absent with no reported absence in our system. This call out system is a mandatory safety feature to ensure you know your child is not at school and can follow up as needed. For this reason, if your child is late, it is important that they stop into the office so that Mrs. Thompson can change their absence to 'Late' so that you don't receive an unnecessary and worrisome phone call that your child is not at school
How to report your absence:
1. Toll-free telephone
- Call 1-855-257-9349 toll-free to report an absence using the automated phone system.
2. School Messenger App
- 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.
- 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, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
- Select Attendance, then select Report an Absence and follow the prompts.
3. SchoolMessenger SafeArrival Website Portal
- Visit the SchoolMessenger website portal.
- 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, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
- Select Attendance, then Report an Absence and follow the prompts.