Weekly Bulletin

Hello Parker Families,

Welcome back from winter break! I hope that you all had time to spend with family and friends while enjoying a well-deserved rest. The kids returned to school ready to learn and full of excitement in seeing their friends again. It is fair to expect an uptick in work in the next few weeks with term 2 closing in two weeks on January 19. It will be important for students to make up any missed assignments and to seek extra help if needed.

Second Step

We continued our social emotional curriculum this week with fifth grade students continuing their unit on Empathy and Kindness and our sixth grade students starting a unit on Thoughts and Emotions. Please find below a brief description of this week's lesson and an extension activity for your family.

Grade 5: Empathy and Kindness

A Different Point of View

Summary

In this lesson, your child will practice building empathy for different groups affected by a community problem. Learning more about each group’s point of view will help them find solutions that can work better for everyone.

Try This at Home

With your child, think about a problem in your community and make a list together of what you could do to learn more about someone else’s point of view. If possible, try out one of your strategies.

Grade 6: Thoughts and Emotions

What Emotions Tell You

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to recognize the kind of information their emotions can give them in different situations and how that information can be useful.

Question

Ask your child what type of emotions they felt today. Tell them the emotions you felt. What information did they get from those emotions? What did your emotions tell you?

Fifth Grade Social - Friday January 12

We are excited to host a grade five social on Friday right after school from 2:40 - 4 pm. This is a great opportunity for our students to get together, play games, listen to music, snack, and have tons of fun! Please see information below with further details. The sixth-grade social will take place on Friday January 19. We hope to see your child there!

I hope that you all have a great weekend. I hope we get some snow so we can ski, snowshoe, and go sledding! Please reach out if you need support.

Warm Regards,

Josh

IMPORTANT DATES:

Tuesday, January 9th - Early Release Day - dismissal at 11:10 a.m.

Friday, January 12-5th Grade Social 2:40-4:00 p.m.

Monday, January 15th - No School - MLK Day

Friday, January 19th - 6th Grade Social 2:40-4:00 p.m.

Friday, January 19th - Term 2 Ends

Permission slips were sent home with your student today. See attachment for details.

5th Grade Social Permission Slip

Order your 2024 Parker School Yearbook today and help your student remember the year forever. For ordering information click on link: www.yearbookforever.com

Dear Parent/ Guardian:

Massachusetts General Law c. 71, s. 57 requires all publicly enrolled students in grades 5 through 9 to receive annual postural screening for scoliosis. Postural screening is essential as your child is going through his/her most rapid rate of growth during 5th- 9th grade. During this time, early detection of a spinal curvature can create opportunities for the easiest treatment to correct the growth of the spine. Not recognizing the problem until the child is fully grown can lead to serious complications as an adult, such as pain and even difficulty breathing, which may only be corrected by surgery.

Generally, these screens are part of your child’s annual physical examination with their pediatrician. However, if you would like for our school nurse to complete this important examination, please notify your school nurse in writing no later than February 2nd.

Please call your school nurse¹s office with any questions.

Sincerely,

Chelmsford Public School Nurses

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.

Tuesday - January 9th

No Clubs - Early Release Day, dismissal at 11:10 a.m.

Wednesday - January 10th

Fitness Room (Health & Wellness)-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

INTRAMURALS GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy-Check Google Classroom

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

Jewelry Making Club - Ms. Annunziata - Room 4

Yoga Club/Mindfulness-Ms. MacAllister-Room 123

Thursday - January 4th

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 (Health & Wellness)-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

Game Club - Ms. Baker - Library

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy-Check Google Classroom

Happy New Year Parker Parents!

We hope everyone had a wonderful December break with family and friends. PTO has some fun friends and family events happening in the upcoming months.

PTO Meeting: Join the Parker and McCarthy PTO members on Wednesday, January 10th @ 7:00 PM in the McCarthy library. Learn about volunteer opportunities, enrichment activities coming up for our students, teacher appreciation activities and recent purchases for our school. Share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas to make our school the best possible place to learn. All are welcome to attend, light refreshments will be served.

Calendar Raffle: This year Parker and McCarthy PTOs will be collaborating to create an awesome calendar raffle with amazing prizes. Sales will begin in February with names drawn every day in March. More information to follow in the upcoming weeks.

UML River Hawks Hockey Game: UML Riverhawks will be hosting Chelmsford Middle School night Friday, February 9th. Puck drop is at 7:15 P.M. Meet all your middle school friends at the Tsongas for a great night of hockey. Tickets are $10 each. Click link to purchase tickets: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Parkermiddle4

Harlem Globetrotters: Join Middle School families as we watch the Harlem Globetrotters at the Tsongas Center in Lowell on Monday, February 12th at 7 p.m.! Be prepared to see amazing basketball talent mixed in with crazy comedy, great choreography, and audience participation - great family friendly entertainment! Tickets can be purchased via the following link:

https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Parkermccarthymiddle?r=8

Giving this as a holiday gift? Reach out to PTOparker@gmail.com for a gift bag filled w/basketball filled trinkets. Gift bags are first come, first serve...we have 18 in total up for grabs.

Middle School Night at Fenway Park: Join Chelmsford Middle School Families at Fenway Park on Thursday, May 30th @ 7:00 P.M. to see the Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers. Tickets are $40 each and can be purchased via the following link: https://givebutter.com/gMsmi9 Tickets will be "tossed" to your MLB Ballpark App closer to the game day. Please write down which email address you use to order these tickets as that is the email address we'll use to "toss" you your tickets. Giving this as a holiday gift? Reach out to PTOparker@gmail.com for a gift bag filled w/baseball filled trinkets. Gift bags are first come, first serve...we have 18 in total up for grabs.

If you have any questions, please reach out to: PTOparker@gmail.com

As always, thank you for your continued support of our Parker Middle School community!

Reminder to Parker Families - BRRR!!! Cold weather is rolling in....Parker students will still be going outside for recess/outside break. Please remember to BUNDLE UP, warm coats, hats and gloves are recommended.

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