Weekly Bulletin

Week of September 11, 2023

MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL BLAGG

Hello Parker Families,

We had another fun and eventful week at Parker. Although it sure was hot! The students have started to settle into routines and are gradually learning how to navigate the building. I have been so impressed with the kindness and generosity demonstrated by our students in meeting new friends and looking out for one another. We are stressing the importance of creating a supportive community where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. Please find below a few updates with more specifics regarding the Open House schedule coming this week.

Bus Transportation - As one might expect we have had some growing pains as we are working out the kinks of the new busing procedures. There have been some mitigating factors that contributed to some delays, but we are confident that things are steadily improving! We had over 350 students register for the bus in the two weeks prior to the start of school which impacted the routes significantly. We had to navigate road construction, traffic accidents, and a bus breakdown which all resulted in buses being late. Students were also learning new exit routes from the schools to finding their specific bus. We are indebted to Dr. Lang, Dr. Hirsch, Peter Brekalis, the head of transportation, and Joanna Johnson - Collins from central office in being on site at both middle schools to assist with this transition. If a bus is running significantly late, we will send out a connect-ed message to parents/guardians via email.

Dress Code - At Parker Middle School we follow the district dress code. In general terms, students are free to wear clothes of their choosing as long as the clothes do not depict any offensive language or images. At our school assemblies we stressed the prohibition of wearing hats and hoods in school. Students are welcome to wear hats on the bus and on their way into the building but are expected to put them in their locker for the day. They may wear them on the way out at dismissal. Hooded sweatshirts are permitted in school as long as the hoods stay down off their heads. This is important so we can identify all the people in our building in an emergency. We thank you in advance for your support on our dress code.

Upcoming fundraiser - The Day of Awesomeness fundraiser will kick off on Monday September 11th with grade level assemblies. Students will be eligible to win prizes through their initial efforts without cost to parents. All funds raised through this joint Parker/McCarthy PTO fundraiser will directly benefit our students and programming. The end of the fundraiser will culminate with a Day of Awesomeness in October where students will have some fantastic fun activities to enjoy. Regular communication will be forthcoming so keep your eyes out for updates!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

Warm regards,

Josh

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SEPTEMBER

IMPORTANT DATES:

Monday, September 11th-Parker PTO Mtg-@McCarthy Library

Tuesday, September 12th-Grade 5 Open House-6-7:30 P.M.

Tuesday, September 19th-Grade 6 Open House-6-7:30 P.M.

Wednesday, September 20th-Early Release-dismissal @11:10

Thursday, September 28th-School Picture Day~Watch for email from O'Connor Studios

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CLUBS & ACTIVITIES

INFORMATION COMING SOON ABOUT CLUBS & ACTIVITIES - 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. Clubs will begin in October.

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BUS REGISTRATION INFORMATION

All students are required to register every year if they would like to ride the bus, even if they do not need to pay a fee. If all students register to ride the bus, the district has more accurate student/rider data, therefore bus routes may be established with better efficiency and on-time performance. The determination of a fee or no fee is based on the grade of the student and the mileage between home and school. Please click link for more information on bus registration. https://chelmsfordschools.org/departments/transportation/

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ATTENDANCE

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.

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CHROMEBOOK SLEEVES FOR SALE

Hello Parents/Guardians,

I hope you are all doing well and slowly easing back into the school year routine. The Class of 2024 will be selling Chromebook sleeves for the start of the academic year! We had sent out a preorder form to be filled out by parents over the summer. Those sleeves are ready to be picked up. If you have preordered Chromebook sleeves, please have your child come to the main office (or stop by our table at Open House on Tuesday evening) with either $20 in cash or check made out to Chelmsford High School.

However, if you did not preorder Chromebook sleeves, do not worry. We are going to be pre-selling Chromebook sleeves during the 5th Grade Open House at Parker Middle School on Tuesday, 9/12! If you are interested in purchasing, the sleeves will be sold for $20. We are accepting cash or check made out to Chelmsford High School. We are beyond thankful for your interest in buying a Chromebook sleeve to support our senior class and cannot wait for your children to get one of these amazing sleeves to protect their Chromebooks. Thank you so much for your support and time, I wish you all an amazing rest of your day.

With gratitude,

Sherry Guo

Class of 2024 Vice President

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FROM PARKER PTO

Parker PTO has some exciting activities coming up this month! We will be looking for parent volunteers to help with our some amazing school events. Be on the lookout for a volunteer sign up in the upcoming weeks! Please save the following dates:

Monday, September 11th: Parker/McCarthy PTO meeting at 7:00 pm at McCarthy library. With the 2023 realignment of our middle schools, the PTO at both schools will join forces and hold one joint meeting each month. Together we will collaborate to plan and execute some joint events and fundraisers. We will also work to keep each other apprised of other school-specific happenings. We encourage any middle school parent/guardian to join us and let us know how you think we can make this transition even better for our students and their families!

Monday, September 11th: Power of Purpose (POP!) student fundraiser. Be on the lookout for information regarding this fundraiser and the Golden Ticket!

Wednesday, October 11th: Day of Awesomeness! Students will be participating in a one of a kind obstacle course with their classmates. More details to follow along with volunteer opportunities!