CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

Tuesday marked the 100th day of school and is looked at as a symbolic celebration of students' academic and personal achievements at this point of the school year. The 100th-day milestone is often eagerly anticipated with many fun and engaging activities for our elementary students who enjoy dressing up and participating in activities geared around the event. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures in the newsletter below of students celebrating in their classrooms this week.

On Wednesday, Governor Baker and DESE Commissioner Riley announced the statewide indoor mask mandate in schools would not be extended beyond February 28, 2022. This action was taken by the Governor after consulting with his medical advisors, with high vaccination rates and widespread availability of COVID-19 testing for school personnel and students cited in support of the decision. This decision at the state level returns the matter of indoor masking to the local level. In Chelmsford, our local board of health currently recommends masking while indoors, however does not require masking while indoors. At the outset of the pandemic, our school committee enacted Policy EBCFA – Face Coverings requiring students and staff to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth in K - 12 school buildings. The policy is enacted until rescinded by the vote of the school committee. The school committee will be convening Monday, February 14, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. to review and consider the current policy given the Governor’s recent decision not to extend the statewide mask mandate beyond February 28, 2022. The meeting will be live-streamed by Chelmsford Telemedia for interested community members to access and watch.

The matter of face coverings in schools is not without controversy. We are a divided community with some members desiring to maintain our current policy requiring masks be worn while inside schools, while others desire to make mask wearing a personal choice and optional. As a community, we will work through whatever changes are ahead as we have done throughout the pandemic. We will continue to provide a healthy and safe environment for our students and staff in the Chelmsford Public Schools. We have implemented a tied mitigation strategy with robust at-home and in-school COVID testing options available to all students and staff who wish to participate. Our good hygiene practices of handwashing/sanitizing, increased cleaning measures in the schools, HVAC upgrades to our facilities, and cooperation of students and staff reporting illness and staying home when sick will remain critical components of our work throughout the remainder of the school year.

We have a nice turn of weather this weekend with temperatures in the 50s beginning today and into Saturday. It is a welcomed change from the incredible ice storm last Friday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Next week:

• View complete athletics schedules here

• ICHSA A Cappellla Competition, 2/13, All Day

• McCarthy Spirit Week, 2/14-2/18, See Calendar for Events

• School Committee Meeting, 2/14, 6:00 p.m.

• Byam Virtual Bandingo, 2/16, 6:30 p.m.

It’s a new term, and Paper Learning is here for academic support. Three months into our partnership, here are the numbers:

• More than 1,000 students are active in nearly 2,400 sessions.
• The average student session rating is 4.4 out of 5!

Log on to Paper through your student CLEVER account.

Ten musicians representing Chelmsford High School’s Band, Orchestra, and Chorus have been selected to participate in the 2022 Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) All-State Ensemble, the Association announced on Feb. 3. Junior Sarah Buliszak (flute) and sophomores Keya Upadhyay (flute) and Kyle Pinto (trombone) were each named to the All-State Ensemble for the second straight year. Also achieving All-State status were seniors Keira Comtois (chorus), Doug Desmarais (chorus), Daniel Schiefen (trombone), and Nick La Cava (snare drum); juniors Kaitlyn Kaminuma (violin) and Sarah Roch (mallets); and sophomore Cynthia Lu. For more information about CHS musicians, please visit our website.

Two of our CHS A Capella groups "The Thursdays" and "The Crescendos" will be competing in the Quarterfinals this Sunday, February 13th in the ICHSA Varsity Vocals Competition. Good Luck to All!

Five members of the Massachusetts CPA group visited CHS accounting students and other business classes such as the Entrepreneurship course. They shared their expertise In an interactive question and answer small group format. They discussed working in the accounting field.

The World Language Department will be running its Spanish and French exchange programs next year! In the Fall of 2022, we will host Spanish students and French students in Chelmsford. During February vacation in 2023, our CHS students will travel to Spain and France to visit their exchange partners for 10 days. This is an incredible opportunity to improve world language skills and knowledge of the Spanish and French-speaking world. Any student enrolled in a French or Spanish class may enroll in this opportunity. For more information, including trip itineraries and prices, please visit our website.

The CHS Career Exploration Breakfast will be held on March 15, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. This breakfast offers CHS juniors the opportunity to select two careers of interest and spend time with a professional in that field. Speakers share their interests, educational background, and what skills are needed to perform their jobs to give juniors career awareness and support them in planning their futures. We are looking for professionals in the following careers to volunteer their time to share their experiences with our CHS juniors. If you are interested, please contact Alexandrea Cunningham at: cunninghamalex@chelmsford.k12.ma.us.

The Chelmsford Public Schools utilizes School Spring to advertise job postings and the online application process. To apply for any of our positions, please visit our website.

The mission of the Chelmsford Public Schools is to educate, engage, prepare, and empower well-rounded and knowledgeable learners who PERSEVERE through challenges, demonstrate RESPECT and INTEGRITY in their words and actions, are DEDICATED to their community, and display EMPATHY as global citizens while discovering and pursuing their full potential.

Email: information@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://chelmsfordschools.org
Location: 230 North Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 251-5100
Facebook: facebook.com/chelmsfordpublicschools
Twitter: @ChelmsfordPS