Weekly Bulletin

Hello Parker Community:

We had a whirlwind of a week at Parker Middle School this week! The PTO ran two fantastic events with the Scholastic Book Fair running all week and the Pizza, Pumpkins, and Paperbacks taking place on Wednesday. The Book Fair was a resounding success thanks to the tremendous participation of parent volunteers who helped to set up, run the fair, and break down at its conclusion. It was heartening to see so many of our students enthusiastic and passionate about getting new reading material. The Pizza, Pumpkins, and Paperbacks event was so fantastic! This was my first time taking part of this great Parker tradition and was I impressed. We had continuous waves of students and their families enjoying the book fair, perusing the carved pumpkins, and eating some pizza. What a great community event. I feel so fortunate to be a part of such a supportive and active community. I would be remiss if I didn't give a special thank you to Alysun Kenney who has worked tirelessly along with our PTO to create these wonderful opportunities for our families.

Halloween and Costumes for a Cause

As we all know Tuesday is Halloween. We look forward to the entire community coming to school in costume if they so desire. This is a friendly reminder that costumes should not include masks that cover the face, fake weapons of any kind, or be inflatable. We are asking all those who come in costume to consider bringing in a dollar to contribute to a worthy cause. Dr. Bobby Lyons worked as a Dean at CHS for years and his young son Declan was recently diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing aggressive treatment. We truly appreciate any donation to help this family in need.

Second Step

We are continuing with our social emotional learning curriculum this coming week with grade five focusing on emotion management and grade 6 focusing on bullying. Please see a description below of the topic and an activity to engage with your child.

Grade 5: Lesson 9: What Can I Change?

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will practice identifying things that a person can or can’t change in a recurring situation that causes them to feel a strong emotion. Then they will focus on the things that can be changed to recommend something the person could think or do differently to manage their emotions in the future.

Try This at Home

Ask your child if there’s anything coming up at school that makes them feel a strong emotion, like nervous, frustrated, or stressed. Ask them what they could think or do differently to make the situation easier to handle.

Grade 6: Lesson 10: Responding to Online Bullying

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will use what they know about in-person bullying to compare it to online bullying. They’ll learn and apply different strategies for responding to online bullying in a safe and healthy way.

Question

Tell your child your thoughts on how social media has changed since you were in school. Ask your child about their thoughts on the benefits and disadvantages of social media in the world today.

Have a fantastic weekend! Enjoy this last gasp of summer!

IMPORTANT DATES:

Tuesday, October 31st - Costumes for a Cause - See details below

Friday, November 3rd - Term 1 Ends

Tuesday, November 7th - No School (Prof. Day)
Friday, November 10th - No School (Veteran's Day )
Wednesday, November 15th - Early Release,dismissal @11:10

Friday, November 17th - Picture Retake Day

Wednesday, November 22nd - Early Release,dismissal @11:10
Thursday, November 23rd and Friday, November 24th-No School-HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Monday - November 27th - School Reopens

We are excited to announce our 7th annual "Costumes for a Cause" event on Halloween, Tuesday, October 31st, 2023. This year we would like to donate to Bobby Lyons and Family. Bobby Lyons is a part of our Chelmsford Public School family as a former Dean at CHS. Please see attachment below for more details.

Our after-school programs will start on Tuesday, October 17th. The Activity Fee is $50 per student. PLEASE CLICK ON LINK My School Bucks or send in cash or check made payable to Chelmsford Public Schools and turn into your child's homeroom teacher. The activity fee allows students to take full advantage of any clubs they wish to attend. The after-school activities run from 2:40-3:40 on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday throughout the year. Students also have the option of taking a late bus home. The routes are posted in the school and will not be posted publicly. We will work with students and the drivers to be sure students take the correct bus home. Since we only have 8 late buses, for both McCarthy and Parker the stops tend to be more spread out than the “regular” bus runs. After activities, students who are not taking a bus will exit the school into the Crooked Spring Road lot and can be picked up there. Please see the attachments below for details and descriptions

Tuesday - October 31st

ASL- Ms. Fitzgibbon - Virtual please email - fitzgibbonsm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us for google classroom

Art Club - Ms. Annunziata-Room 4 - Grade 6 today

Book Club-Ms. Beaudoin-Room 125

Drama Club-Ms. Robertson/Mr. Chase/Ms. Sparks - Room 230

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy GRADE 6 TEAMS - Cowboys v Dolphins, Colts v Seahawks, Bucs v Ravens-please check google classroom eqahczd

Homework Club-Ms. Larrabee/Ms. Morse - Library

Jazz Band-Mr. Linsner-Band Room

Running Club-Mr. Felzani/Ms. Figucia/Ms. Baker-Meet in the Cafeteria

Stand-Up Parker - Ms. Cranney - Room 110

Wednesday - November 1st

Fitness Room-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy-Grade 5 Teams, Packers v 49ers, Bills v. Bengals, Chiefs v Eagles, please check google classroom rea36u2

Homework Club-Ms. Larrabee/Ms. Morse - Library

Yoga Club/Mindfulness-Ms. MacAllister-Room 123

Thursday - November 2nd

Art Club - Ms. Annunziata-Room 4 - Grade 5 today

Drama Club-Ms. Robertson/Mr. Chase/Ms. Sparks - Room 230

Festival Band - Mr. Linsner - Band Room

Festival Orchestra - Ms. Tiano - Room 8

Fitness Room-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

Game Club - Ms. Baker - Room 217

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy- Please check google classroom rea36u2

Jewelry Making - Ms. Lagou-Statholopoulos - Room 240

Friday - November 3rd

Select Chorus - before school at 7:25 a.m. in Room 230 w/ Ms. Robertson (Chorus Room)

A SUPER HUGE thank you to all the parents/guardians who volunteered to staff our Scholastic Book Fair throughout the week and sell pizza and water at our annual Pizza, Paperbacks and Pumpkins event on Wednesday night — we couldn't hold these events for the kids without your help!

Next year we hope to see LOADS more carved pumpkins aglow in the courtyard!

Don't forget to come to joint Harrington/Parker the Battle of the Boos Truck-or-Treat event on Sunday, October 29th from 2:00-4:00pm is our Battle of the Boos in the Harrington Parking lot with FREE trick-or-treating for everyone!

Upcoming Events:

• Tuesday, November 7th Dine-to-Donate (lunch or dinner) at The Establishment

Though there is NO SCHOOL on this day, you can still support Parker by dining at, or getting take-out from, The Establishment in North Chelmsford.

• Sunday, December 3rd from 10:00am-2:00pm Parker Craft Fair in the Gym and Cafeteria

Parker PTO will be hosting its 3rd annual Craft Fair. We will have over 45 local vendors including some of our very own students! Start your holiday shopping early, support local vendors and support our school. Don't forget to stop by our gift wrapping table to have our Chelmsford High School students wrap those holiday gifts!

If you'd like to participate as a vendor please sign up: https://givebutter.com/jt6Axk. Adult vendors are $30 a table space and student vendors $10 a table space.

To report a Student Absent:

Email: ParkerAttendance@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Please Send Email: Prior to 9am on the day of the absence. Please Include: Child’s name, Grade, and Reason for absence. We encourage you to use the email option when reporting an absence, dismissal, etc. for efficiency.

**PLEASE READ**

We will continue to send automated emails home when students are absent. You will receive the email whether you notified the school or not. In order for an absence to be marked as "Excused", families will need to provide medical documentation.

Thank you for your understanding.

Email: robinsond@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://parker.chelmsfordschools.org/
Location: 75 Graniteville Road
Phone: 978-251-5133