Charlotte Central School: ‘The heart of the community’

Charlotte Central School recently held its 2022-2023 school year Open House for the community. Many families and caregivers participated in the event and were able to connect with the various educational teams.

One guest said the school “feels like the heart of our community and the children are our hope for the future.” That sentiment will be a mantra to sustain the school community this year.

Throughout the school there have been many displays of learning, from cursive to concept maps; perception scales to graphing and reading strategies; from identifying examples of direct and indirect characterization in a novel to identifying cell parts and function — and even a unit on failure and success. In addition to the learning, Charlotte Central School students dressed up and smiled brightly for picture day, and families began to trickle in for parent conferences.

Earlier in September the school practiced a fire drill, and the entire school was masterful at listening to directions and learning what to do if a fire alarm goes off in school.

October is Fire Safety Month and Charlotte Central School will be working with the local fire department to provide additional learning for staying safe at school and home.

Additional routines, such as bus safety and securing the building in a lockdown will be practiced in the coming weeks. Whenever possible, the practices are announced ahead of time to teachers, and instruction is given to students in a manner that is developmentally appropriate.

Students have recently participated in bus evacuation drills. Dianna Fletcher, Charlotte Central School lead bus driver, led each class through the drill and discussed overall bus safety with them. Students will also review universal expectations for behavior on buses, including the ways in which they take care of themselves, others and place while on the bus.

The first lockdown drill of the year was also held recently. During the drill, teachers led students through developmentally appropriate conversations about what it means to stay safe during one of these drills. The intention was for the experience to be a low-pressure learning opportunity, and every classroom did an excellent job following directions.

Basketball coaches needed
Charlotte Central School has open positions for the upcoming basketball season. The Girls B team (6th-8th grade) and the Boys B Team (6th-8th grade) have coaching vacancies. The season officially begins Nov. 14 and runs through the middle of February. There are no practices during the school vacations. Charlotte Central School hopes to find enthusiastic coaches who are willing to teach and guide middle schoolers into becoming better basketball players, as well as teaching life skills of being part of a team. Anyone interested in learning more about the position can contact athletic director Nicky Elderton.