CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

We had a short 4-day week in CPS as schools will be closed tomorrow, Friday, April 7th. There is one more full week of school prior to April vacation. Our high school students finished their ELA MCAS testing and our elementary and middle school students will begin their ELA MCAS testing next week. As a reminder, please review the shared testing schedules from the schools to keep up-to-date with any scheduling changes that may impact your child. Families can help their child(ren) prepare for testing by making sure they have enough sleep, eat properly, and are at school on time each day. In order to allay concerns for students, teachers have reviewed the testing conditions through practice, providing them with testing strategies and have reassured students they are prepared for the test from all their learning throughout the school year. MCAS is only one measure of academic performance, our schools have multiple measures to assess what students have learned and continue to learn in our schools. If you have any questions about MCAS testing, please reach out to your child’s principal.

The month of April marked a few notable awareness events including World Autism Month and National Assistant Principals Week. Every April, World Autism Month is celebrated beginning with the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd. This year marks the 16th annual World Autism Awareness Day. Throughout the month, there is a focus on sharing stories and providing opportunities to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism to help foster worldwide support. Supporters are asked to stand together to make a difference for people on the spectrum throughout the world. Concurrently, April 3rd – 7th is National Assistant Principals Week. This weeklong celebration is a tribute to the unsung heroes in our education system. Our dedicated Assistant Principals work tirelessly to encourage our teachers, motivate students, support their principal, and face many unpredictable challenges each day to create a positive learning community. Our Assistant Principals play a crucial role, and this week is a dedicated time to recognize them for their hard work and commitment to our schools, students, and profession. Please join me in celebrating our incredible Chelmsford Public School leaders!

We will be opening up our second round of Kindergarten Registration on April 27th from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. If you have not registered your child for the upcoming 2023/24 school year, please be sure to make an appointment to register. All registration appointments are held at our Central Administration Offices located at 230 North Road. For more information and required documents, please visit the registration page on our website.

I hope you enjoy this week’s highlights below. For everyone celebrating holidays this month, please enjoy your festivities.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• View complete athletics schedules here.

• SAT Registration Deadline, 4/7, All Day

• No School, 4/7, All Day

• School Committee, 4/11, 6:00 p.m.

• College Loans and Financing Options, 4/12, 6:30 p.m.

• Parker Middle School PTO Virtual Meeting, 4/12, 6:00 p.m.

• Byam BSA Meeting, 4/12, 7:00 p.m.

Chelmsford Public Schools has added a third Kindergarten registration day on Thursday, Apr. 27 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Kindergarten registration for the 2023-24 academic year must be made by appointment. RESERVE YOUR APPOINTMENT HERE. All appointments will be held at our Central Office Building at 230 North Road. Please visit our website for additional information and registration paperwork and requirements.

Seniors Arjun Lingala and Prateek Motagi advanced to the semifinal and led the Chelmsford High School Speech and Debate Team to a third-place showing at the Massachusetts Speech and Debate League (MSDL) state final Mar. 24-25 at Acton-Boxborough H.S. The stellar finish marked the first time CHS received a Sweepstakes Award, presented to the top five schools. Seventeen CHS students participated in the MSDL state final, signifying CHS’s largest contingent ever. Mr. Lingala and Mr. Motagi competed in the Public Forum Varsity division, for which the topic was ‘Resolved: The Republic of India Should Sign the Artemis Accords.’ Mr. Lingala and Mr. Motagi argued affirmatively. The final results can be found using the following link: View Full Results. To read more about the CHS Speech and Debate team, please visit our website.

Members of the CHS Speech and Debate Team help organize and host the MA State Speech and Debate Finals, run by the Massachusetts Speech and Debate League. Roughly 375 competitors, judges, coaches, and tournament support staff participated in the tournament. A special congratulations to CHS Speech and Debate member, Sophia Roy, who won 1st Place in Informative Speaking and 3rd Place in Declamation Speaking.

Little do most Chelmsford High School students realize, but one of the most promising young violinists in the country roams the same hallways as them. This summer, she’s going on tour. Senior Kaitlyn Kaminuma will be hitting New York, Dallas, San Diego, and other cities across North America throughout the month of July – including a tour-opening performance at the palatial new Groton Hill Music Center – with the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). Ms. Kaminuma was one of 109 student musicians nationwide selected to the NYO-USA on Mar. 7, a program for elite musicians aged 16-19, following three summers of training and performing with the NYO2, Carnegie Hall’s program for musicians aged 14-17. To learn more about Kaitlyn, please visit our website.

The Parker Middle School PTO Scholarship is open to any Chelmsford resident high school graduating senior who attended Parker Middle School and will be attending a two- or four-year college or university. Please attach a personal letter describing your experiences at the Parker Middle School and how they influenced your high school years. Please return this application, a personal letter, a resume, and your transcript by April 21, 2023. Students are responsible for submitting all required forms. The CHS Guidance office will not send transcripts. Any applications submitted without all requested forms will not be considered in the voting process. Applications should be e-mailed to ptoparker@gmail.com. You may find the application using the following link.

The Council of Chelmsford Schools will award two scholarships, in the amount of $1,000 each, to two graduating Chelmsford High School Seniors, who plan to attend a two- or four-year college in the fall of 2023. The Council will also award $100 to each of the Chelmsford Public Schools staff members who inspire the recipient’s essays. Please use the following link to access the application. The deadline to apply is April 24, 2023.

Twenty-four students from Center, Harrington, McCarthy, and Parker participated in the MMEA-ND Treble Chorus Festival which featured singers in grades 4-6 across the northeast region of the state in North Andover on Saturday 4/1.

Chelmsford Community Education’s Summer 2023 Programming is now Open for Registration! Chelmsford Community Education’s Summer programming begins on Wednesday, July 5th. New Classes are added weekly. Visit ChelmsfordCommunityEd.com for our full list of programming and like us on Facebook (Chelmsford Community Education) for new class announcements as they happen.

Chelmsford Public Schools has partnered with Paper to provide unlimited access to trained tutors so every student can ask questions, work through problems, and grow their confidence—at no cost to families.

Paper is an online, on-demand tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether they’re stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions for their writing, there will always be experts available online to assist students one-on-one in all subject areas and in more than four languages. See Paper FAQs to learn more.

Please use the following link to access the K-12 CPS Family and Student Handbook and CHS Handbook Addendum for the 2022/23 School Year.

The CPS Health Services Department is committed to providing evidence-based/ best practice holistic nursing care to the unique, culturally diverse students of Chelmsford Public Schools. In collaboration with all stakeholders, we advocate for their safety and healthcare needs. We are dedicated professionals who are committed to bridging health care with education and making a positive impact on the present and future wellness of Chelmsford’s school community. Please visit the Health Services page on the website for all your health services needs.

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