Dear CNS Families,
Since 1956, Community Nursery School has transformed the green into an imaginative play space for children and families. We will showcase many interactive booths that feature games, activities, animal encounters, rides, process art, and much more! Every year we work hard to evolve and engage our children! New this year will be CNS gear printed on demand and an “Adopt a Pet” (a.k.a. stuffy) booth! The most incredible part of the Little Folks Fair is that it is planned and put on completely by parent volunteers (you!). This is just another amazing way that CNS brings our school and community together. This year is so special as we are celebrating Community Nursery School's 70th year!
All proceeds benefit Community Nursery School. The event is the school's primary fundraiser and fully supports our financial aid program as well as many special programs throughout the school year. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do so using the link below. We couldn’t do it without you!
Amy Johnson & Chrissy Toner, 2025 Little Folks Fair Directors
What’s New
Spread the Word - The Great Give is May 7-8
The Great Give is just around the corner! Held May 7 and May 8, this 36-hour online giving event supports many local nonprofits, including CNS. Please mark your calendars and share the event with your family, friends, businesses, and employers!
This year, The Great Give is extremely important to CNS because it will be kicking off our Capital Campaign to raise funds for our new classroom. This will be the first Capital Campaign for CNS, making it even more special and important, and we are asking for 100% community involvement.
Teachers will be providing gifts to families who raise the most funds, and board members have already been busy taking advantage of matching opportunities that their employers offer.
You can help us have a successful Great Give by doing the following:
Share the event! The CNS Great Give fundraising page, where you can donate and find more information about the campaign, is linked below. Each time you share, you can place your child's name in a box (located at the top of the stairs) to enter a raffle. Email the event to family, friends, coworkers, and/or take a flyer to hang at your favorite coffee shop or put in your neighbors' mailbox.
Look into matching opportunities that your employer may have
Frequently visit The CNS facebook page on days leading up to The Great Give to see reminders and ways your community is getting involved.
Stop by our coffee station on May 7 after drop off to donate and attend the raffle drawing!
CNS’s New Building Update
As many of you may have seen, we had some big excavators on our property recently! As part of the planning for our new building, we were required to designate a secondary location for a backup septic system. The sanitarium has approved our plans, and we’re now awaiting final approval from the town, which we expect in the coming weeks.
Next step: breaking ground! We’re so excited to see this vision coming to life and are incredibly grateful for your continued support—none of this would be possible without you!
Taryn Doran-Kelly, CNS Board President
Spring Painting Clean Up May 17
Despite the rainy weekend, we had a very successful work party in early April. Thank you so much for everyone's efforts and hard work! We worked hard to do some general spring cleaning such as making sure flower beds are cleared of leaves and weeds. Additionally we patched the art studio's leaky roof, prepped surfaces for painting, and moved the sugar shack to give the kids some more playground space.
Unfortunately, we were not able to paint the surfaces that we prepped, so we are having another spring cleaning and painting party on May 17th (rain date May 18th). There will be plenty of other things to do in addition to painting, so come join us for the fun! As a reminder, all families must send one parent to one school clean up per year, equal to four hours of work. You can sign up for the spring painting clean-up at the link below
Mark Your Calendars for the CNS Spring Picnic
Please join us for the CNS Spring Picnic! This is a great chance to enjoy the warmer weather and our awesome CNS community, plus it serves as our annual meeting. Pizza, snacks, and drinks will be served. If you haven’t yet RSVPed, please do so using the link below. If you have any questions, you can email Christina Daly at christinabullard@gmail.com.
CNS Spring Picnic
When: Saturday, May 3rd @ 12PM-2PM
Where: Bittner Park
It’s Tick Season - Tips for Tick Bite Prevention
With warmer weather comes ticks, and we suggest that checking your child should be part of your every day routine. Tick bite prevention starts with sending your child to school prepared:
Wear light colored clothes.
Tuck pants into socks.
Use insect repellent.
Tick checks after school are recommended:
Examine clothing and gear for ticks
Put clothes in dryer on high for 10 minutes to kill ticks.
Do a full body check for ticks, paying attention to in and around hair, under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, the backs of the knees, between the legs, and around the waist.
Order Your CNS T-shirts for the Little Folks Fair
If you do not already have one, please remember to order your CNS T-shirts for the Little Folks Fair! Everyone volunteering at the fair is required to wear a CNS shirt, and the deadline to order is May 7th. Please reach out to Agata at agatarzucidlo@gmail.com with any questions.
Family Spotlight
The Caviolas
Hello from the Caviola Family!
We’re Jon and Caitlin, proud parents to our two sons, Remy (3) and Jules (9 months). Remy is currently enrolled in PreK 2’s and Outdoor Explorers with Ms. Sullivan, and we’re so excited for him to move up to PreK 3’s in September!
Jon and I moved to Guilford from our hometown of Greenwich, CT in 2016, and we love living on the Shoreline. Together we run our own small business, Eastwoods Organics, where we grow and sell rare and ornamental trees, fresh eggs, maple syrup, and other seasonal homemade products. As a family, we love spending time in our vegetable garden, tending our flock of thirty chickens, and hiking local trails. Our happy place (besides our backyard) is St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick, where we visit every summer.
We’re so grateful to be part of this lovely community and look forward to many happy years at CNS!”
Classroom Corner
These last few months of school are so wonderful because we have watched children grow into such great friends. Building and maintaining friendships is such an important part of the learning that takes place at CNS. This past month we have spent a lot of time talking about ways to enter play, how to speak with one another about play choices, and even how to decline an invitation to play. Talk to your children about how they ask friends to play at school, if they sometimes like to play alone, or how they navigate play choices.
Rachel Daniels, CNS Director
