Welcome! Every parent or guardian at the Center School is automatically a member of the PTA. We encourage you to attend our monthly PTA meetings and to get involved as a parent volunteer. If you have any questions, suggestions, or want to be more involved, please email centerschoolpta@gmail.com and check out For Families page.
2023 – 2024 PTA Executive Board
Co-presidents: David Marshall & Rebecca Wallace-Segal
Vice-president: Ariel Devine and Hilary Hotchkiss
Treasurer: Kurt Eldridge
Co-secretaries: Sarah Courtemanche and Josh Weinberger
For General PTA questions please email centerschoolpta@gmail.com.
To reach the treasurers, please email centerschoolptatreasurer@gmail.com.
2023 PTA Meetings
We currently have three PTA meetings scheduled for in-person. These meetings are being hosted in conjunction with school events and are on Thursday evenings. The other meeting will be hosted on ZOOM. The ZOOM meetings all take place on Monday evenings at 6:00 pm. A notification with the dial-in information will be sent out prior to each meeting date.
September 28 (in-person prior to Advisory Night)
October 23
November 13
December 14 (in-person prior to TACS Show)
January 22
February 26
March 14 (in-person prior to TACS Show)
April 15
May 20
June 10
Dear families,
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year at the Center School! As PTA co-presidents, we want to extend a warm welcome (and welcome back!) to all of you. We are looking forward to a great school year ahead for us all. We are grateful to the teachers and staff who have been preparing to welcome our middle schoolers back into the classroom.
By now, you should have already received an email from the school with your child’s homeroom assignment, time of arrival for the first day, school year calendar and school supply list. Here are a few highlights as we prepare for the new school year.
School Year Start
Please carefully review the letter from Mr. O’Reilly mentioned above for details on what the beginning of this school year will look like. The first day of school for all new students will be on Thursday, September 7. The first day of school for all students will be on Friday, September 8. A list of school holiday closures and important dates was included in the email from the school. As a reminder, Rosh Hashanah falls on the weekend this year which means that schools will not close for this holiday. School will be closed Monday, September 25 for Yom Kippur.
September starts slowly with the children spending a lot of time “writing and thinking.” This is a great way for children to get used to being back in school and for the teachers to get to know your children. They will also participate in an advisory day where all the advisors organize a fun outing! Advisors may plan something that requires money. If that’s the case, you will receive a note or email from your child’s advisor.
Back-to-School Night (in-person!)
On Thursday, September 28 there will be the first parent meeting of the year. You will meet the Center School teachers and hear about the curriculum for the year.
Communications
Information for parents will be communicated throughout the school year via email by our PTA Secretaries, Sarah Courtemanche and Josh Weinberger. Communications about academics will primarily be between teachers and students. Your children will need to have an email address and they will need to get in the habit of checking their email. If you have not sent Ms. Berkery an email address for your child, please do so as soon as you can. Giving information directly to the children encourages accountability. That said, sometimes they need a reminder to share information with parents. It’s great to get into the habit of asking your child about school communications. If you have any questions regarding academics, your child’s advisor is your first point of contact. Feel free to reach out to them directly.
Fundraising
There are a number of PTA fundraisers held throughout the year including an annual pledge drive and annual auction. The students also take part in fundraising for the all-school trip. Those fundraisers are managed by the school. More information on all fundraising events will be provided at back-to-school night in September.
School Events
The Center School has four big school events that require parent volunteers to set up and clean up. These include two all school performances called “TACS shows” (one on December 14th, one on March 21st); the Auction Potluck in March; and the Eighth Grade Show in June. All parents are expected to help at your child’s advisory’s assigned event. If you have a conflict and can’t make your volunteer shift, then please find another parent to switch with you. Also, please notify your Advisory Parent of the switch. The Volunteer Schedule will be distributed at September’s back-so-school night.
Auction/Potluck Dinner & Curriculum Fair
The annual Auction/Potluck Dinner is held on Thursday, March 7, 2024. It is preceded by the Curriculum Fair. Curriculum Fair starts around 3:45 pm and it’s an opportunity for children to showcase what they are learning. Parents will have the chance to view student work and hear from the students what they have learned throughout the year.
PTA Meetings
PTA meetings will be held on a monthly basis in the evenings. We will announce the meeting dates soon. Once published, the schedule will be posted on the school website, http://www.thecenterschool.org. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend these monthly meetings. In addition, we will host a Q&A for all new families on Thursday, September 14 at 6:00pm via zoom (link will be sent at a later date).
After School
The Manhattan Youth After School Fall schedule is set to begin September 18. Registration for these classes will open soon. Please be on the lookout for further information from Program Director, Adler Bruno.
We wish everyone the best of luck as we begin this new school year, and we look forward to seeing you on September 28 for back-to-school night.
Please feel free to email us at centerschoolpta@gmail.com with any questions.
David Marshall & Rebecca Wallace-Segall
PTA Co-Presidents
Agendas and minutes can be found here.
The PTA organizes several fundraisers throughout the year. Please learn more by clicking here.
-THE CENTER SCHOOL- 