Telegraph photo by GRACE PECCI Charlotte Avenue Elementary School kindergarteners sing songs in the school’s gymnasium. Registration for kindergarten in the Nashua School District begins Thursday.

NASHUA – School District officials are encouraging parents to sign their children up for kindergarten.

Registration begins Thursday, at which time parents will have the opportunity to sign their children up for kindergarten in one of Nashua’s 12 elementary schools: Amherst Street Elementary, Bicentennial Elementary, Birch Hill Elementary, Broad Street Elementary, Charlotte Avenue Elementary, Dr. Norman W. Crisp Elementary, Fairgrounds Elementary, Ledge Street Elementary, Main Dunstable Elementary, Mount Pleasant Elementary, New Searles Elementary and Sunset Heights Elementary.

Parents will be able to visit their neighborhood schools and drop off completed registration packets. Parents who are unsure which school their child should attend can visit the Nashua School District’s website, where they can find a school lookup engine under the “For Parents” section and enter their street name.

To be eligible for kindergarten, a student must turn 5 years old by Sept. 30. To ensure a smooth registration process, school officials are asking that parents complete their registration as soon as possible. To complete registration, parents can download a registration packet at http://www.nashua.edu/Nashua/Media/PDF-files/For%20Parents/Registration/English-Kindergarten.pdf. They can also pick up a registration packet at their neighborhood school from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. These packets are offered in Spanish and Portuguese as well.

Parents need to complete and sign the forms before returning them to the office. Along with the registration packet, parents also need to bring immunization records for their child, an original birth certificate or passport (raised seal), proof of residency through two different recent utility bills or a current lease or mortgage agreement in a parent’s name. They should also bring any appropriate legal paperwork. Children also need to have a physical examination within year of enrollment.

Parents who choose to visit their neighborhood school to drop off registration packets Thursday can visit the schools at the following times:

* 3:30-5:30 p.m. for Amherst Street, Broad Street, Dr. Norman W. Crisp, Fairgrounds, Ledge Street and Mount Pleasant; and

* 4-6 p.m. for Bicentennial, Birch Hill, Charlotte Avenue, Main Dunstable, New Searles and Sunset Heights.

Otherwise, parents can drop off their forms to their schools from from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday. A child’s parent or legal guardian is the only one who can register his/her child for school.

Though school officials do not anticipate over enrollment for the 2019-20 school year, if this occurs in kindergarten classrooms, student reassignments to different schools may be required. This is why officials are urging for parents to register their children as soon as possible.

Grace Pecci may be contacted at 594-1243 or gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.