Dear CNS Families,
As some of you may know, this coming year is Community Nursery School’s 70th Birthday! It is incredible to look back at our deep history of providing quality education to children, and it is such a privilege to be a part of its future.
The Board is excited to announce that the vision of a new school house is finally coming to fruition - we have partnered with Porticoni Industries and will break ground next month!
This new school house will allow CNS to expand our nature school programming, welcome more families into our community, and continue the legacy of our founders. Our administration has already secured over $100,000 in donations and grants to jumpstart this exciting project. In addition, we are launching a Capital Campaign to raise funds from the broader Shoreline Community.
In light of these exciting activities, we are looking to form three new committees to support work related to our 70th anniversary, Capital Campaign, and New School Building. If you would like to be involved in any of these committees please fill out this form. Current families, alumni, and community members are welcome to join any committee.
I am personally so grateful that you have chosen to be part of CNS and for everything you bring to our school community. I’m looking forward to celebrating this milestone year with all of you and showing just how much we “Love School!”
Taryn Doran-Kelly, CNS Board President
What’s New
Be a Part of the CNS Spring Grounds Clean-Up
CNS’s spring grounds clean-up will be happening April 5, and we need your help! Three times a year, families organize to rake or blow leaves, remove vines from the fence, and otherwise tidy up the grounds. As a licensed facility, CNS must maintain a certain standard of cleanliness on our school grounds, and your participation saves us thousands a year in landscaping fees.
All families must send one parent to one school clean up per year, equal to four hours of work. If you are unable to make a clean up, there are tasks that can be done on alternate days. You can sign up for the spring clean-up at the link below!
Maple Sugaring at CNS!
Thanks to a generous grant from the Guilford Fund for Education, CNS will be tapping trees, collecting sap, and making maple syrup this year!
The Nature Kindergarten class has been hard at work learning more about maple trees and how maple syrup is made. An expert on maple sugaring from the Yale School of the Environment spent a morning with the class, answering questions about tapping and maple syrup production, and helping the class tap four trees around the CNS campus. The class will begin to check the buckets daily and collect and store the sap until they’re ready to boil it down into maple syrup.
In addition to tapping CNS trees, we’re excited to offer the chance for CNS families to tap trees at home. The school has enough supplies to lend 1 bucket, cover, and spile to any CNS family that is interested in sharing in this experience at home. If you’d like to participate, please fill out this form and supplies will be sent home with your CNS student. Tapping supplies will be loaned out for 1-2 weeks (depending on the weather). The sap that you collect each day should be stored in your refrigerator and then brought to CNS at the end of the week to add to our weekly sugaring boil.
We’re looking forward to the next steps in this maple syrup adventure!
Enroll Now for Summer Sessions
It’s time to enroll your child in summer sessions at CNS! There are still openings, especially in the full-week sessions, but spots are filling up fast. Fill out the applicable summer enrollment form below to get started. Full-week sessions are open to any child up to 8 years old who has completed a year of PreK3s, and there are also sessions for nature programming, art & artist exploration, and a theater program.
Last year, CNS summer program students were able to apply for financial aid courtesy of a $2,000 grant awarded by the Youth Advisory Grant committee (advised by The Guilford Foundation). We encourage families who need support to apply.
Upcoming Parent Literacy Workshop with Dr. Jen Scoggin
This year CNS is working with Dr. Jen Scoggin, a literacy consultant and author, to develop our literacy curriculum. The second of three workshops with Dr. Scoggin will be held virtually on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30 pm (Google Meet link to come).
In this session, we will explore various routines and purposes for reading aloud with your child, highlighting what you can do to prepare your reader for future success with understanding stories and informational text. In addition, we will talk about the vital connection between reading and writing and some tips for supporting early engagement with writing.
Family Spotlight
The Fritch-Stalsburgs
Chuck Fritch and Brittany Stalsburg are parents to Della (4s, Mrs. Cruz) and Dylan (toddlers), as well as a CNS alum, Dean (age 6, in Kindergarten at Cox). Brittany and Chuck met in New York where they lived until Dean was 6 months old, at which time they moved back to Connecticut to be closer to family and have more space. They found the CNS community in 2019, when Dean began the toddlers classes. Enamored by CNS's welcoming, friendly, and inclusive vibe, Brittany and Chuck have been active parent volunteers as all 3 kids have gone through the program. Brittany served on the Board and also directed the Little Folks Fair in 2023. Outside of CNS, Brittany runs a market research consultancy and Chuck manages an AirBNB property. They are also involved in local non-profits including the Community Dining Room and Lasagna Love. As a family, they love traveling (Chuck is from California!) spending time at their beach house in East Haven, and taking advantage of all the fun activities and events on the CT Shoreline.
Classroom Corner
This month the three year old classes put on their Winter Art Show. This special exhibit of winter related art has been an event at CNS for years! The children created process art and filled the barn with their creations. Children engaging in process art learn to explore different materials and express themselves without conforming to a specific outcome or product. This is a great way to build confidence in children as they see the value that lies in creating. Thank you to our teachers for facilitating this wonderful event and our families for supporting our little artists!
Rachel Daniels, CNS Director
