Hello Families,

We hope your week, not just Valentine's Day, was filled with love. It's what makes the world go 'round!

School vacation is a great time to recharge and for students and families to reset and get ready for the last few months of school. We are through with our assessment period and focusing on content and growth for all of our students based on the results! Nightly reading with your child is a great way for you to support all the work they are doing at school. If you are interested in supporting your student in a more specific way at home, please reach out to your child's teacher.

We are looking forward to our Science Fair coming up on February 28th. If you would like to be a judge for this fun event please reach out to the main office, Jayson or myself.

Additionally, we anxiously await the annual Book Fair coming up the week of March 13th. A charitable Coin Drive will be paired with this event beginning on February 27th. You can find more information about the Book Fair and Coin Drive below.

Enjoy vacation week!

Respectfully,

Terri and Jayson

Monday February 20th - Friday, February 24th

• No School - School Vacation Week - Enjoy!

Monday, February 27th

• Welcome Back to School!
• All for Books Coin Collection begins

Tuesday, February 28th

• South Row Science Fair, 6:30-8:30 PM ( see information below!)

Wednesday, March 1st

• South Row Science Fair (snow date)

Thursday, March 2nd

• Early Release Day - Students Dismissed at 11:45 AM

• Reminders for Early Release Days:

  • Students are dismissed at 11:45am
  • Car dismissals should adhere to the following times
  1. Last names A-G- 11:40-11:45am
  2. Last names H-N- 11:45-11:50am
  3. Last names O-Z- 11:50-11:55am
• Please communicate any changes to your child's dismissal plans to their respective teacher, Mrs. O'Neill (oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and Mrs. Sepe (sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us). Be sure to also discuss with your child.
• Lunch is available for take home ONLY through online ordering
• Students will either have specials or recess (rotates every half day).
• Snack time may be adjusted and/or not occur depending on your child(ren)'s schedule.
• Extended Day will be open until 6:00 pm for students signed up on THURSDAY. Please provide your child a lunch.
• Please anticipate possible delays with buses as they navigate an early release schedule

• Quick Clicks - Family Photographs, 1:30-4:30pm, Gym

Friday, March 3rd

• No events

Monday, March 6th

• Student Grade Level Meetings
• Kindness Matters Spirit Day
• Student Council Group A Meeting, 3:30-4:15PM
• School Council Meeting, 5:30pm
• PTO Board Meeting, 6:30PM
• PTO Meeting, 7:00PM

Tuesday, March 7th

• Spotlight on South Row School Committee Presentation, 6:00pm ~ tune in!

Wednesday, March 8th

• Holi
• Walk to School Day

Friday, March 10th

• Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day
• All for Books Coin Collection Ends

Monday, March 13th

• Book Fair Week begins through Friday, March 17th (student shopping during library)
• Community Read in Week begins

Tuesday, March 14th

• FoodPlay Enrichment Program (whole school)
• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)

Wednesday, March 15th

• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)
• Family Book Fair Shopping & Book-O Game Night, 6:00-8:00pm

Thursday, March 16th

• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)

Friday, March 17th

• Last Day of Book Fair
• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)
• Happy St. Patricks Day
• Green, White, and Orange School Spirit Day

Wednesday, March 22nd

• Beginning of Ramadan
• Grades Available on X2 - Grades 1-4

Friday, March 24th

• Workout School Spirit Day

Friday, March 31st

• Multicultural School Spirit Day

Saturday, April 1st

• Multicultural Festival (formally named International Festival), 1-3:30PM @ South Row

We have been focusing on nutrition during our Grade Level Meetings and will continue to in March during Nutrition Month. At the March meeting we will be offering a small bite size fruit or vegetable sample for students to try. We will also be doing this as part of our school wide enrichment with Foodplay on March 14th. Our hope is to continue these sampling opportunities periodically for the rest of the year as a way to promote healthy eating. Our nurse is aware of all food allergies and we will follow these guidelines for students with known allergies. Now would be a good time to update the nurse if she is unaware of a food allergy or your child has a new food allergy. If you would like to opt out of this opportunity for your child please click here.

MCAS DATES: Grade 3 and 4 families, please review the dates carefully below.

ELA MCAS -

• April 10th and 11th - grade 3
• April 12th and 13th - grade 4

Math MCAS –

• May 15th and 16th - grade 4
• May 17th and 18th - grade 3

ELA Make-ups – 4/14 and week of 4/24

Math Make-ups - 5/19 and week of 5/22

All for Books Coin Drive: South Row is participating in a coin drive called “All for Books,” in conjunction with our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair. Your small change can make a big difference! The goal of this coin drive is to purchase as many books as possible for this year’s charity, The Paul Center. Each class will receive a canister to fill with coins and small bills. For each canister filled, they will earn an entry to win one of three certificates for $200 worth of Scholastic books for their classroom! Donating is completely optional, but if you wish to contribute, please send the donation to school with your child in a bag labeled “All for Books” anytime between February 27 and March 10. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to southrowbookfair@gmail.com.

ALICE Drill: During the week of February 27th South Row will be conducting an ALICE drill. More details will be sent to families under separate cover. Teachers and students are fully prepared for this drill.

Fourth Grade Activities: Thank you to all who attended our meeting on 2-8. Notes from this meeting as well as those from our previous meeting in October are linked on the PTO website or you can click here. The "Ride to School in a Police Cruiser" raffle to benefit 4th Grade Activities is on-going the entire month of February. It is also linked on the PTO homepage. SAVE THE DATE: The special "4th Grade ONLY" movie night is tentatively scheduled for Friday May 12 at 6:45. More details will be communicated soon.

Looking ahead (Early Release Day Change): Due to town elections, the school committee voted on a calendar change for the April early release day originally scheduled for Thursday, April 13th. This early release day has now been moved to Tuesday, April 4th. Please update your calendars accordingly. Click here for the updated district calendar.

Dear South Row Families,

I hope everyone has a wonderful February Vacation!

As some of you have likely heard, the stomach bug has made its way to South Row. We had several students absent due to vomiting with and without fever this week. We increased cleaning and sanitation practices in affected classrooms and encouraged hand washing to the students. Hopefully February vacation will slow that spread. Please encourage your students to practice good hand hygiene at home and at school.

Please email me over break if your student tests positive for Covid. Here is a link to the current protocol for your reference. CPS COVID Health Protocols

Warmly,

Nurse V.

Our School Council is excited to share information about our upcoming IN-PERSON Science Fair. Please click on the button below for more information.

A special thank you to Rick Cockley (South Row Parent/School Council member) for organizing this event.

• The Multicultural Festival was formally called the International Festival, and we look forward to this year's event, which will take place on April 1st from 1-3:30pm!
• Take a peak at the save-the-date information for this year's event, Event Flyer, and Registration Form!

HELP STILL NEEDED - We are in need of someone to coordinate the Staff Appreciation Luncheon. You WILL have help. You WILL have fun. And you WILL love seeing the teacher's excitement and appreciation. It will take place the first week of May during the week.

Amazon Wish List - Charity Lists (amazon.com) Thank you to everyone who has already made a purchase from it.

Have you reserved your time for a photo "Quick Click" with Farmhouse Photography? Here's the link in case you need it. https://Farmhouse.as.me/SouthRow

Please find below:

• Tentative Lunch Menu
• Direct Link to Food Services webpage

Dear Parents and Families --

Reminder CPS Nutrition has initiated online breakfast ordering for elementary students beginning after the holiday break. This initiative is to help manage food waste and due to labor shortages.

Orders must be placed the Wednesday prior to the week you are selecting.

If you are having difficulty setting up an account, please reach out to contacts below and we will gladly assist you.

Nancy Antolini, Director of Nutrition Services

• Email: antolinin@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Holley Ready, School Nutrition Office Manager

• Email: readyh@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
• (978) 251-5111 ext: 5641

Thank you- School Nutrition

Set Up Your Account Now

Directions to set up your account and order:

1. URL Link: family.onlineordering.linq.com
2. Sign up now: Email, create password.
3. School District: Chelmsford Public Schools
4. Student ID: This can be found on x2- Child’s student ID number
5. Last Name: (You can also search and add siblings/family members at this time). Once this is completed, student’s name should appear on page.

How to order meals

1. School Menu-breakfast online ordering
2. Scroll to day/week you are selecting breakfast (top right of page)
3. Find date, select meal option
4. Add item to cart/Select Add to order
5. Click on shopping cart icon at top right of page
6. Click Check out
7. Select pick up location: Elementary pick-up location classroom
8. Place order

Mrs. Terri Gilbert

Principal

gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Mr. Jayson Ramalho, M.Ed.

Assistant Principal

ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Email: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.chelmsford.k12.ma.us/Domain/15
Location: 250 Boston Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: 978-251-5177
Facebook: facebook.com/SouthRowElementary
Twitter: @CPSSouthRow

• Mrs. Terri Gilbert, Principal: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 4
• Mr. Jayson Ramalho, Assistant Principal: ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 3
• Mrs. Shannon Vandevoordt, School Nurse: vandevoordts@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext.2
• Mrs. Debbie O'Neill, Secretary: oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext. 0
• Mrs. Kim Sepe, School Clerk: sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext.0
• Absentee Line: 978-251-5177 ext. 1