Hello and welcome to CNS families new and returning!
July is the start of a new academic year, though if you're like me, you're still in summer mode, possibly even enjoying the expanded summer programming at CNS this year.
As we gear up for fall, we're excited to share the 2023-2024 academic calendar, available on the CNS Family Portal (password loveschool). The Family Handbook is still going through its annual revisions and will be released in August. Please be on the lookout for emails from Rachel Daniels, CNS Director, regarding required paperwork for the start of school.
We're entering into the 2023-2024 school year with so much momentum; CNS is fully enrolled with waitlists for every program--despite our expanded program offerings. We're also coming off two record fundraising years, putting us in an excellent position to act on our long term plans for the school.
This year, the CNS board has some big goals. We want to execute on many of the opportunities identified by last year's long term planning committee, including expanding our space to welcome more students and meet the need of the growing population of preschoolers in Guilford. We also aim to offer more programming options that will maximize the full use of our space. We’ll be rethinking what it means to be a member of the cooperative, and also the benefits of cooperative membership.
None of the above will be possible without the active participation of all of you, our cooperative members. Each of you have unique skills and passions; we welcome any ideas you have for applying your expertise to our school. CNS would not be where it is today for our children without the special skills dedicated by our past members.
We hope you will join us in our work to improve the school for the generations of students to come, and for our local community.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Garzi
President, CNS Board
PS. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Caitlin and I’m the president of the board this year. My daughter, Jane, is starting in the 3s program in the fall & my son, Robby, graduated last year and will be heading to Calvin Leete. We have so many dedicated board members steering the school; you can read about all our board memberson the websiteand you will be hearing from each member individually as the school year goes on.
CNS Highlights
Private Facebook Group
Each year CNS creates a private Facebook group for members to informally connect with each other.
Supplies Needed!
Looking for a concrete way to support CNS?
The school is in need of the following supplies to support Nature K. If you purchase anything, please mail or deliver it to the school and notify the director.
Upcoming Dates
Sept. 5 & 6: Meet & Greets
Sept. 7 & 8: The first days of school
Sept. 16: Guilford Parade
July 24: Book club Monday, July 24 at 7:00pm. Email to join.
Member Spotlight: Liz Kelly
This month we would like to spotlight Liz Kelly.
Liz's dedication to CNS has played out in her thoughtful engagement with staff and her prolific work hiring many of the current teachers and aides at CNS.
Liz served as board president for two years; this year, she is assuming the role of Secretary where she will continue to provide critical support to the school & the board, offering continuity and training to the new president & vice president.
Liz is the owner of Guilford's Mother Luna, which offers supportive programming for new mothers and their young children. Her son, Sam, is entering Nature K and her son Ben attends Melissa Jones.
Classroom Corner
Summer program is in full swing! The summer started with flower painting and stamping; last week children learned about pollinators and made dough bees out of turmeric and other ingredients.
Announcements
We're Hiring!
Please email Rachel Daniels if interested.
Board Meeting Minutes
June board meeting minutes are available here. Going forward, all meeting minutes will be posted on the Family Portal.
Newsletter Idea or Suggestion?
Email theboard@guilfordcns.org