Dear CNS Families,
Our Spring Picnic, coming up on April 27 (rain date April 28), is more than just a picnic. It’s also our CNS annual meeting. The annual meeting is a CNS tradition and part of our By Laws. At the annual meeting, the whole community votes on changes to the By Laws proposed by the board and new members of the board whose terms start July 1.
On April 27, the following community members are on the slate for board representation.
Taryn Doran - President
Johnny Fendt - Vice President
Elizabeth Chilton - Secretary
Caitlin Garzi (me) - Publicity
Ashley Schildwater - Community
Changes to the bylaws up for a vote are visible here.
The board president is also responsible for sharing an annual report with the school during the annual meeting. This is typically in the form of a speech made at the event, but this year I’ve created a written report that you can read in advance of our meeting. Inside you will find our top accomplishments for the year. I am so proud of the work we have done, and grateful for all our CNS community members who contributed.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Garzi
CNS Board President
What's New
Save The Dates
April 27th from 10:30-12:30: CNS Spring Picnic at Jacob’s Beach (rain date April 28th)
April 30th at 9:00: School-wide recycled art show at the art studio (to the left of the building beyond the fence)
May 5th 9:30: Toddlers/all welcome to Spring Parent Coffee
June 1st: Little Folks Fair
The Great Give
Get ready to give! On May 1-2, visit thegreatgive.org and make a donation to CNS as part of the Greater New Haven Great Give. All giving will end at 8:00PM on May 2, so make sure to get your gift in on time. Our goal of $3,000 would furnish our new classroom with cubbies!
Star Awards
The Guilford Fund For Education (GFFE) is sponsoring the STAR Awards for Teacher Appreciation Week. STAR Awards are the perfect gift for our amazing CNS teachers!
Certificates feature a personalized message from your student and are delivered directly to any Guilford school, or other applicable Guilford location. To ensure delivery, all Star Award orders for Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10) are due by May 4. Funds raised through STAR Awards will contribute to future GFFE grants for our students and schools.
Little Folks Fair Sign Up is Open
The annual Little Folks Fair is Saturday, June 1 this year from 11am-4pm.
All families, including preK 2 families, must send one parent to the fair to volunteer. If you have a known conflict such as a wedding or travel, there are other opportunities for you to meet this commitment. Please email Amy Johnson if so.
Co-op members must be there early to help set up and may leave when the green is fully tidy, with the exclusion of Set Up Clean Up Crew which works different hours.
Those who signed up for LFF booth chair co-op participation roles, the role description indicates that you must send two parents to LFF. The LFF chairs will assess how necessary that is as we get closer to the event.
Some folks signed up for LFF additional support as part of their co-op participation role and will send two parents to the fair as part of that role.
Family Spotlight: The Blochs
Jenna and Kris are parents to Henry, Ruby, and Jack. Henry (age 6) attended CNS last year. He had 4s with Mrs. Cruz, and Nature school with Mrs. Cruz and Mrs. Souvlis. Ruby (age 4) is in her second year at CNS - this year she is in Nature school with Mrs. Cruz and 4s with Mrs. Krischtschun. Jack turns 1 in May!
Kris is a senior director of Medicare Strategy at Elevance Health, formerly Anthem, and serves on the CNS board as treasurer. Jenna is a former middle school science teacher and is now home full time caring for their kids. Jenna grew up in Guilford and Kris grew up in Oklahoma. They met in college in Boston and lived there for 17 years. They moved back to Guilford in 2022!
Ruby loves to use her CNS cooking skills to help in the kitchen. Henry and Ruby stay busy during the week participating in several different activities and sports. As a family they love traveling, watching OKC Thunder basketball games, and getting outside to play, hike, bike, swim, and help our Papi in his garden.
Classroom Corner
Teaching Beyond the Square
The month of April was all about loose parts at CNS! We had a special visit from Teaching Beyond the Square. They brought their loose parts trailer from NYC and the children and teachers "shopped" for parts, and then spent time creating and exploring the materials. We were able to collect so many fun loose parts to keep at school!
Loose Parts Playground
Out back we now have a Loose Parts Playground! This area allows children to build with large open-ended materials. This is a great opportunity for gross motor development, collaboration with peers, problem solving, and of course fun. Many of those loose parts are recycled and reused materials, a perfect way to celebrate Earth Day every day.
Upcoming Events
CNS Co-op Participation Survey
We want to know how the participation model is working for you! Let us know by taking this survey.
Purchase CNS T-Shirts
All new CNS 3 & 4 students will receive a free t-shirt from the school. Adults should order their t-shirts online (they are needed for community events such as Little Folks Fair.
Questions or need financial support? Email Agata Rzucidlo.