Hello South Row Families!

Thank you so much for your participation in Curriculum Night as well as our first PTO meeting. It was so nice to see everyone and it gave me another opportunity to enjoy the community spirit at South Row! Next week we will be kicking off our "Start with Hello Week". More information on this initiative can be found in the newsletter below.

Respectfully,

Terri

Monday 9/20:

• Start with Hello Week begins!
• Transition back to Open Recess - more details below
  
  

Tuesday 9/21

• No events

Wednesday 9/22:

• Early Release Day - 11:45AM (Teacher Professional Development)

**Car Pick Up Times on Early Release Days**

1. Last names A-G- 11:40-11:45am
2. Last names H-N- 11:45-11:50am
3. Last names O-Z- 11:50-11:55am

Thursday 9/23:

• No events

Friday 9/24:

• Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day

Saturday 9/25:

• Garden Committee: Courtyard Clean Up @9:00AM. If you are interested in joining the garden committee and taking part of the clean up contact Mrs. Gilbert gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us and Mr. Ramalho at ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Ice Cream Social/ Truck: Will be held on Tuesday, September 28 from 4:30-7. Rain date September 29. Please see more information below in the PTO corner.

Start with Hello Week - THIS WEEK: South Row will be hosting "Start with Hello Week" as our Kind Act for the month of September. We will celebrate this week. The purpose of start with hello week is to continue to create a socially inclusive environment for students. We will discuss the power of saying hello, being friendly to all, and of course, being kind. Teachers and staff members will engage students in activities, discussions, and lessons that focus on inclusiveness and being welcoming to all. Please check out the Introduction letter below.

Early Release Day Information: Our first early release day of the year is this Wednesday, September 22nd for teacher professional development. Official student dismissal is at 11:45AM. If you are picking up your child by car, please use the times listed above. Additionally, it is CRITICAL that you inform the school with any changes to your child's dismissal method if is changing for the half day. Please be sure to email your child's teacher, Mrs. O'Neill (oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and Mrs. Sepe (sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) with dismissal changes. Please be sure to discuss with your child how they are getting home as well (regardless if it is changing or not). As it is our first half day of the year, please be patient with us at dismissal time. Please expect possible bus delays and a slightly slower car line. Thank you for your partnership and support.

In Need of a Parent Leader for Walk to School Day: We are looking for a parent/guardian to take the lead on organizing our Walk to School Days this year. Walk to School Day has been a long standing South Row tradition, where students are encouraged to walk to school once a month. The parent who has previously been the leader of these events child has moved on to McCarthy. However, he provided us materials, documents, and information to keep it going. Are you interested in taking on this responsibility to help keep Walk to Schools going this year? Contact Mr. Ramalho at ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us to learn more. Thanks for your consideration!

Change in Dismissal Plans: As a reminder, if there is a CHANGE to your child's dismissal on a given day, please EMAIL the classroom teacher, Mrs. O'Neill, and Mrs. Sepe. We do ask that families try to be as consistent as possible with dismissal.

****Please contact the school as early as possible for dismissal changes (before 2:00) so we can make sure your student gets where they need to go at the end of the day!!

Interested in Substituting in CPS?: The Chelmsford Public Schools is looking for substitutes in our school. If you are interested, consider applying through school spring by clicking on this link. If you have any questions and/or would like to substitute at South Row, reach out to Mrs. Gilbert and Mr. Ramalho for more information.

Curriculum Night Admin Recording: Please click on this link to view the recording of the administrative report in the event you have not had a chance to watch yet.

Lunch: At this time students will not be able to get a second lunch. We will let you know if/when this changes. Also, please look at the lunch menu with your students so they understand their options for the week.

Helpful Lunch Tip: If you DO NOT want your child getting a lunch at school on a given day, please be sure to communicate it with them. It is important that families have a discussion with their child on their individual lunch plans. We recommend doing this before school daily. Our teachers do take lunch counts daily which our Food Services team depends on as they prepare food prior to lunch. If children change their minds and/or get in the lunch line when they didnt in fact "order a lunch", it can cause a domino effect and impact future lunch periods. Thanks for your support with having a lunch plan with your child. As a reminder, school lunch is free this year.

Recess Updates:

• Beginning the WEEK we will transition back to an open recess format. This will allow students access to all recess areas daily (playground, playpad, basketball court, wall ball, and field) and provide opportunities to interact with students from other classes.

• All kindergarten students will be using the playground and playpad area as we transition to this concept. Kindergarten students are also not allowed to use the monkey bars.
• Indoor recess will still be held in classroom communities where students will remain masked.
• As a reminder, students are not required to wear masks during recess (outdoors) but are welcome to if they would like.
• All recess aides will be actively supervising students within their recess zones. There will still be one main recess aide assigned to each classroom for indoor recess and as a point of contact.

Pool Testing/Test and Stay: If you are interested in opting into either of these testing protocols please click on this link to complete the consent form: LINK

Photos on Social Media/Website: We try to take lots of pictures throughout the year and include them on our home link, website, facebook, and twitter account. If you would like to OPT your child out of being in pictures, please email Terri Gilbert (gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and Jayson Ramalho (ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) by October 1st, 2021.

CORI Forms: As a reminder, if you are looking to engage in potential volunteer opportunities, you must complete a CORI form in person with our main office staff. Feel free to come to the building Monday-Friday between 10-2 to complete this with either Debbie or Kim.

This week as part of morning arrival we will be reviewing bus expectations with students before they get off the bus.

We kindly ask families (who have bus riders) to join us in reinforce our passport expectations at home, while also reminding students to wear their masks at all times on the bus.

Please see the Bus Passport image below! It will also be added to each one of our busses for students to see as a visual reminder.

Dear South Row Community,

We are excited to announce our first kindness initiative for the 2021/2022 school year. During the week of September 20th - 24th we will be participating in Start with Hello Week. Each year in September, thousands of schools and youth organizations nationwide participate in Start With Hello Week to celebrate the amazing work of educators, students, and community members in building socially inclusive learning environments for all students. Start with Hello Week is an initiative we have had great success with in the past at South Row.

Start with Hello Week is designed to teach students the skills they need to create a culture of inclusion, connectedness, kindness, and positive relationships. We want all students and staff at South Row Elementary School to feel welcome, included and appreciated. One of the main components of Start with Hello Week is to greet each other with a smile (even if it is a smile with your eyes) and positive message. Staff and students will participate in many activities which will promote greeting one another, developing positive relationships, and inclusiveness activities which will engage all members of South Row. It is our goal to instill kindness into our community and be sure that all members of our community feel welcome, valued, and appreciated.

It is our hope and goal from arrival to dismissal students are having positive experiences at South Row. We are confident that this week will continue to highlight what an amazing building the South Row Elementary School already is. We are really excited for this initiative and we hope that you will have the opportunity to ask your children about the activities that they are participating in. Should you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this initiative feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Ms. Terri Gilbert, Principal

Mr. Jayson Ramalho, Assistant Principal

Dear South Row Families,

Test and Stay:

If you have not already done so, please consider signing up for our Test and Stay program!! Test and Stay is the only way to keep your student in school despite an in school Covid exposure. I suggest signing up ahead of time just in case! Here is the link to the consent form: https://forms.gle/79Hv4twPifgrriM57

Returning to school after illness:

If your child is absent because of fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath/ difficulty breathing, or muscle aches you must consult a doctor prior to your child returning to school. These are “stand alone symptoms” meaning if your child has ONE of these symptoms they need either a negative Covid test or a note from a doctor stating they may return to school.

Symptoms such as headache, nasal congestion/runny nose, sore throat, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, or fatigue alone do not require testing or a note but if your student has two symptoms from this list then you must contact a doctor for a test or note. For example if your child has diarrhea and vomiting, you must consult a doctor and provide documentation before they can return to school.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

Warmly,

Nurse V.

Student and Business Directories

The PTO will once again be having two online school directories. You can sign up for either or both directories in one form, which can be found at tinyurl.com/srdirectory21-22. Please fill out the form by Monday, September 27.

The student directory will be available for families only on a password-protected page of our website. The password will be shared with all families when the directory goes live in a few weeks. In order for your child to be included in the directory, you must opt in by filling out the directory form.

We will also offer a service to the entrepreneurs in our school community. If any parent has a business that they would like to list, you can also enter that information on the directory form. The business directory will be available on our website without password protection. We encourage everyone to look here when in need of a service so that you can help out other South Row families.

Ice Cream Social

Mark your calendars - the Ice Cream Social is back!!! We will be doing it a bit differently this year, and holding it outside. We will have an ice cream truck in the back parking lot by the playground on Tuesday, September 28 from 4:30-7. Drop by any time in that timeframe to buy an ice cream from the truck and play on the playground with your friends. Rain date September 29.

PTO Meeting

If you missed Monday's PTO meeting, you can view the recording on our meetings page.

No-Brainer Fundraiser

We know that baking. peddling fruit, and other typical fundraising activities aren't everyone's cup of tea. Here is a simple, no-frills way to support the PTO! You will still receive notice of other fundraisers, as we can't remove individuals from our distribution, but you can feel free to ignore/recycle them to your heart's content! This is a tax-deductible donation, and you may request a receipt from the main office.

To participate in the No-Brainer Fundraiser, please visit tinyurl.com/srptonobrainer.

Please send photos to Mr. Ramalho (ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) to be featured in our Home Link newsletter!

Mrs. Terri Gilbert

Principal

gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Mr. Jayson Ramalho, M.Ed.

Assistant Principal

ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Email: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.chelmsford.k12.ma.us/Domain/15
Location: 250 Boston Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: 978-251-5177
Facebook: facebook.com/SouthRowElementary
Twitter: @CPSSouthRow

• Mrs. Terri Gilbert, Principal: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 4
• Mr. Jayson Ramalho, Assistant Principal: ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 3
• Mrs. Shannon Vandevoordt, School Nurse: vandevoordts@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext.2
• Mrs. Debbie O'Neill, Secretary: oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext. 0
• Mrs. Kim Sepe, School Clerk: sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext.0
• Absentee Line: 978-251-5177 ext. 1