On Wednesday, our elementary-level students celebrated Wacky Wednesday! We saw mismatched shoes, socks, outfits, and as you'll see in one of these pictures, a pretty outstanding shirt and tie combo!



We saw some football players, some soccer players, and more at CES for sports day!




We are ready to start registration for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library!
Need an introduction to the Imagination Library? https://www.camdenschools.org/article/1264512
Families residing in the Camden Central School District can sign up in one of two ways.
1. Use our online form located at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScu4Lm-qCGfXefP-3v7h0Xua1FHCKdX5IRi-edg3zrmhmSu-Q/viewform
2. Use our paper form located at https://5il.co/2681j. You can mail the form to the address included on the form, or bring it to the Camden CSD Administrative Offices during regular business hours.
Registered children will receive one free book per month through the mail from birth until age 5.
If you have questions, please contact Patti Ferretti, our Family School Navigator, at pferretti@camdencsd.org or at 315-224-2616.

Members of our Camden CSD staff, including the CES Intervention team, are attending today's National Reading League conference in Syracuse!

Camden Elementary School recently recognized its Cougars With Character award winners for September! Congratulations to all and keep up the good work!




We are just a few short days away from our homecoming festival! Will we see you out and about on Saturday, October 7th for our Roaring Twenties-themed celebration?
The Copper Wire Run is still accepting entries, and the Craft and Vendor Fair is still taking prospective vendor applications for a few more days as well!
Spectator/Shopper admission is free for each event listed here. There is a small charge to participate as a craft fair vendor, or to run in the Copper Wire Run events.
Follow the Camden Homecoming Festival on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/camdenhomecoming!

CES kindergarteners had a great day Wednesday on their apple picking field trip! The weather was perfect and they all got plenty of apples to bring home. The kids enjoyed a wagon ride, picking apples in the orchard and were even complimented on their excellent behavior from the staff at Behlings. Make sure you've check those backpacks for apples, just in case!


We are excited to announce that the Camden Central School District will be affiliated with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library!
We joined representatives from the Genesis Group, Ready 4 Kindergarten, and more for a press conference to celebrate the re-launch of this exciting program in Oneida and Herkimer Counties. We are one of two charter partners for the regional re-launch alongside the Utica City School District.
This program is one of the largest book-gifting programs on the planet, with over 200 million books distributed to date. It offers delivery of free age-appropriate books to registered children on a monthly basis. To be eligible, the child must be signed up, under five years old and reside in a participating area, which will soon include our School District! Sign-up information will be coming very soon.
Read more here: https://www.camdenschools.org/article/1264512

Got Camden Spirit?
Spirit week is next week, and we would love to feature your students participating in the week's events whether it's theme days, the parade, or this Saturday's CHS homecoming dance. Staff members can get in on the fun too!
Feel free to submit any Spirit Week pictures to the email address listed in the graphic, and you just might see them featured here next week!
Need help keeping track of it all? We get it. Check out https://www.camdenschools.org/page/homecoming-2023 for more information on Homecoming and Spirit Week events!

We had a great time meeting our next generation of students during our first meeting of the "Look at Me, I'm 3!" program for the 2023-24 school year! Our new members read a story with Mr. Ferretti, did a themed craft based on "We Are In A Book" by Mo Willems, did a mindfulness activity with Mrs. Gloude and finished out the night with a snack!
This program is a great informal introduction to the school environment for students old enough to attend pre-K next year. To be eligible for this free and optional program for the 2023-24 season, a child must reach their third birthday on or before December 1st, 2023.
Interested? It's not too late to join us for the next session! Contact Patti Ferretti at pferretti@camdencsd.org to get started. We also encourage you to fill out the District's Early Childhood Census form if you have not done so already for any child residing in district from birth to five years of age.
https://www.camdenschools.org/page/early-childhood-census






The Camden Elementary School Spirit Week schedule is hot off the press!

Connected Community Schools recently hosted a Back to School haircut event at Camden Elementary School! Thanks to area barbers and stylists Angel Croy, Michael Merritt, Josiah Hatch, and Jessica Vanslyke for coming in to take care of our students!

Today, we would like to introduce you to Camden Elementary School third grade teacher Garrett Janes! Garrett is a graduate of Rome Free Academy and SUNY Potsdam. His favorite part about being an educator is making connections with students. “There is nothing greater than showing interest in their lives and helping them excel in what makes them happy,” he said. He says he has been truly overwhelmed by the generosity of his new colleagues and credits them for a seamless transition into the District. When he’s not teaching, Garrett loves spending time with his wife and daughter and enjoys cycling and skiing with them.

It's as good of a time as any to remind you that Camden Elementary School's Open House is tonight, Thursday, September 21st!
CMS will host theirs a week from today.

Today, we would like to introduce you to Camden Elementary School third grade teacher Garrett Janes!
Garrett is a graduate of Rome Free Academy and SUNY Potsdam. His favorite part about being an educator is making connections with students.
“There is nothing greater than showing interest in their lives and helping them excel in what makes them happy,” he said.
He says he has been truly overwhelmed by the generosity of his new colleagues and credits them for a seamless transition into the District.
When he’s not teaching, Garrett loves spending time with his wife and daughter and enjoys cycling and skiing with them.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be introducing you to many of our new staff members here at Camden! There's no better way to start than with a returning CHS graduate, Mara Stone '19!
Mara is back as a second grade teacher with us after attending school in Camden! She attended college at LeMoyne. Her favorite part about the job is making a difference in students’ lives at Camden Elementary School.
“Getting to work with kids has always been a goal of mine," she said. "Now that I am finally doing it I feel I am right where I belong.”
She says she has appreciated being immediately welcomed as part of the team and not just as a new person.
When Mara isn’t at the front of the classroom, she is spending time with friends and family, watching the Buffalo Bills, and snowmobiling.
Welcome home, Miss Stone!

The Look at Me, I'm Three! program is back for a second year at Camden! If your child will be three years old on or before December 1st, 2023, bring them to our monthly meetings for awesome child development opportunities designed to help them feel comfortable at school, while preparing them to start Pre-K in Fall 2024!
Our first meeting of the 2023-24 season will be on Wednesday, September 27th, beginning at 5:30 PM! See the flyer for more details.
RSVP to Patti Ferretti at pferretti@camdencsd.org, and contact her if you have any questions!

Camden Families! A reminder that the long-running Box Tops for Education program has gone digital!
The Box Tops for Education program allows our schools to earn a small amount of money per participating product purchase, and that additional funding adds up! It can be used to further enrich the student experience. Get the app, select your school building, and start earning with your paper or online receipts today!
Camden Middle School, Camden Elementary School, and McConnellsville Elementary School are all listed as participating schools!

The Camden Homecoming Festival is just a few weeks away! Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086281531192 for information as it becomes available!

