CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

February is flying by with vacation week upon us. Beginning at the end of today, our schools will be closed for winter vacation and will reopen Monday, February 26th. Once we return, we will be closing out the month of February and turning our calendars to March, but not without an extra special day on February 29th. You guessed it, 2024 is a leap year giving us 29 days this month. Beyond an extra day, February also brought with it our first full no school day for what we believed was going to be a significant snowstorm. Tuesday’s weather did not pan out as expected for most school districts in the Commonwealth, leaving most of us with dry roads and no snow removal.

February 15th was National School Resource Officer (SRO) Appreciation Day. SROs Becky Tyros, Dan Sullivan, and Ashley Rokas bridge the gap in our schools as liaisons between the school community and law enforcement. They serve our students and families by providing informal counseling, mentoring, education, and law enforcement roles to support our entire district. SROs have a diverse role and are invaluable, essential members of the education community in the pursuit of maintaining safe schools and protecting students. We are fortunate to have this partnership with the Chelmsford Police Department (CPD) and very much appreciate the continued collaboration with CPD in support of our schools. Please join me in acknowledging the dedication and impact our SROs make each day in our schools.

The schools have been busy with lots of learning and fun activities leading up to vacation. Please ask you child(ren) about some of the exciting things they have been participating in this week. I wish everyone a very restful and fun-filled vacation week.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• Athletics Schedule
• School Vacation Week, 2/19 -2/23, All Day
• President's Day, 2/19, All Day
• Changing Minds: Stories Over Stigma Speaker, 2/20, 6:30 p.m.
• School Committee Meeting, 2/27, 6:00 p.m
• McCarthy Gr. 7 Black Light Dance, 3/1, 7:00 p.m.
• METG Preliminary Round, 3/2, All Day

Ms. Vitale's Dual Enrollment Intro to Statistics classes' made their way to Gillette Stadium to tour the stadium learning about the amount of work, people, and money that go into maintaining both the field and structure. Students met with Dan Schulman, senior communications manager for the New England Revolution, who spoke to them about the various ways statistics play an important role in the organization. Dan spoke about how the organization uses technology to collect data such as heart rate, speed, and recovery time from players and then analyzes this information to develop individualized training programs. He shared how various departments analyze data about their reach via television and social media as well as how marketing uses this information to create materials. Additionally, Dan shared his personal journey telling telling students that he was a journalism major who was not the best math student. He gave personal insight to students about keeping themselves open to exploring opportunities that they may not normally go for and are outside of their comfort zones. He never thought he'd be using math in his career like he does today instilling that opportunities are endless. It was wonderful for students to see how the concepts learned in the classroom hold great value outside of the classroom in the workforce.

Students in art teacher Allison Gover’s Studio 3, Honors and AP Art classes at Chelmsford High School recently had the opportunity to do something incredibly special for children all the way around the globe. Participating in The Memory Project, a youth arts organization that promotes intercultural understanding and kindness between children around the world, the students were matched with children from Syria, for whom they created portraits. Those portraits were then delivered to the children. Please visit our website to read more about the Memory Project.

Students in art teacher Tim Richard’s Introduction to Photography course at CHS are showing off their talents using the skills learned in class to take incredible pictures. Please use the following link to view the full gallery of pictures.

Numerous students will be representing Chelmsford Public Schools in three upcoming Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) festivals. Please see the details below for these events.

All-State Festival

Three Chelmsford High School students have been selected for this year’s MMEA All State Festival, including one musician who is first chair for his instrument. “This will be such an exciting opportunity for these young musicians as they rehearse with peers from across the state, learn from world-class conductors, and perform at Boston’s Symphony Hall.

Treble Choir Festivals

Several students from Center Elementary, Harrington Elementary and Parker Middle Schools will be participating in the upcoming MMEA-Northeast District Treble Choir Festival and the MMEA All State Treble Choir Festival (each for students in grades 4-6).

Please visit our website to see more about the participant in these events.

Congratulations to The Crescendos who placed second in the International Championship of High School A Cappella Quarterfinal round and will advance to the Semifinals in Worcester next month. Maya Belmonte, Sahithi Chaturvedula and Lindsay Monke also took home the award for Outstanding Choreography. The Thursdays placed third and will move on to the Wild Card round for Semifinals consideration.

The Grade 7 Blacklight Dance is back and better than ever! Set your calendars for Friday March 1st, 7-9pm Tickets are $10 and include water and a glow stick. Additional snacks available at $1 each. Tickets on sale now through the QR code or by using the following link. Tickets will be sold until February 29th. They will NOT be sold at the door. Questions or if you’d like to volunteer, please contact Katie at katherinepouliot@yahoo.com

Please see the following events for Black History Month co-sponsered by the Chelmsford Center for the Arts and the Town of Chelmsford Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion COmmittee.

The CHS School Counseling Department would like to send a friendly reminder to seniors and the families of seniors about the importance of scholarships. Town of Chelmsford Scholarships and the are still available. The deadline is March 15th. For more information, including application deadlines, please refer to the handout provided; it contains all the necessary details to help you navigate the application process smoothly. Remember, scholarships can make a significant difference in your educational journey! Please take advantage of the opportunity to apply, and don't hesitate to reach out to your school counselor for support.

Make plans to celebrate the end of the school year: Take the family out to the ballgame! Your kids can join fellow students from both McCarthy and Parker to enjoy watching the Boston Red Sox play the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, May 30th at 7:10pm. Tickets are $40 per person with a portion of the proceeds benefiting both PTOs. Tickets are expected to sell out like last year so act fast to get in on the action! See the directions to get your tickets for this event.

Go to: https://givebutter.com/gMsmi9 to place your order.

Or, use the QR code below on the attached flyer.

Print out our flyer as your reminder!

NOTE: Tickets will be emailed to your MLB app directly in May!

Chelmsford Community Education is seeking a long-term substitute childcare supervisor. To learn more and apply, please see the job posting using the following link.

Chelmsford High School has a cashless system for admittance to its regular season home athletic events. To get your tickets, CHS has partnered with GoFan.co, a digital, cashless ticketing app used by more than 10,000 schools, for fast and convenient payments for regular season home games. CHS fans are encouraged to download the GoFan app. For Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association postseason tournaments, the MIAA also utilizes GoFan.co as its own ticketing system. Visit the MIAA Ticket Information page.

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