CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

We had a smooth transition back from April vacation and there is a lot of activity set to occur in the schools as we progress into the final months of the school year. I cannot believe it will be May when we return to school next week. Our COVID-19 numbers remain low – this is good news. If you look at the COVID Dashboard this week, please remember it is reporting two (2) weeks of data as we do not report COVID positive cases over school vacation periods. End-of-year event planning is in-process; schools will begin messaging and sharing transition announcements, documents, and plans for next year, including kindergarten orientations, move-up transition meetings, and summer requirements in the coming weeks. There is a lot happening in the district, I do not want you to miss important information. Please be on the lookout for communications from your school, so you do not miss any exciting opportunities to gather or learn about summer activities and the 2022/23 school year transition planning.

This week’s newsletter is packed with many highlights and events that occurred over the past two weeks. I hope you can set aside time to enjoy the highlights of happenings in our schools. Enjoy the weekend – it looks like we are in for pleasant weather.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Next week:

• View complete athletics schedules here

• School Committee Meeting, 5/3, 6:00 p.m.
• South Row Elementary Family Kindergarten Orientation, 5/4, 6:00 p.m.
• Center Elementary Family Kindergarten Orientation, 5/4, 6:30 p.m.
• South Row Elementary "Fitness for a Cure", 5/5, 7:55 a.m.
• Byam Elementary Family Kindergarten Orientation, 5/5, 6:00 p.m.
• Harrington Elementary Family Kindergarten Orientation, 5/5, 7:00 p.m.
• Chelmsford Booster Club Open Meeting 5/5, 7:00 p.m.

For two weeks, the CHIPS hallway was transformed into outer space! Staff and students had a blast learning about the planets, stars, and solar system.

Chelmsford Public Schools was named among the Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for the 10th straight year, the Foundation announced Monday. In its 23rd year, NAMM’s Best Communities for Music Education award program recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community leaders who have made music education part of a well-rounded education. Designations are made to districts and schools that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education. To read more about this designation, please visit our website.

The South Row Elementary School International Festival was held Saturday, Apr. 9, following a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The event celebrated the school’s diversity with food, performances, traditions, and displays. Please see the slide show of our event on our website.

Our CHS students' civics classes are back to touring the statehouse in person. The students had a chance to view the rules of discussion for a session during their tour.

Students from Chelmsford High School participated in a chemistry competition hosted by the University of Massachusetts - Lowell (UML) on blank. There were nine teams from three schools; CHS, Salem HS, and Stoneham HS. Students had a full tour of the Olney Building at UML including their various Chemistry labs and associated equipment. Thank you to Ms. Collins from CHS for organizing and executing a memorable event!

The following Chelmsford students placed 1st and 3rd:

• 1st: Emma Taylor, Divya Sambasivan, Prateek Motagi, Dean Allen, David Barber, Bradley Glasfurd, Neel Verma, and Arjun Lingala.

• 3rd: Mahijith Chava, Jennica Hamm, Dennis Johnson, Abhi Nisankararao, Sara Perkins, Jennifer Su, Jackson Uttecht

Senior Ganesh Danke and junior Rishi Ajmera will represent Chelmsford High School at the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) International Career Development Conference at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Saturday through Tuesday, Apr. 23-26. Both Mr. Danke and Mr. Ajmera advanced to the ICDC after stellar showings at the DECA State Career Development Conference in Boston on Mar. 10-12 as well as the Massachusetts DECA District 5 Conference in early January. In competition, DECA students are presented with situations and issues in their field of expertise which might involve a 100-question multiple-choice exam followed by a role play and/or presentation, for which students have limited time to prepare. Common situations involve a potential investor, customer, or supplier and how the student would react to a given business scenario. To read more about this event, please visit our website.

Six seniors were recently honored as Chelmsford High School named its Lions Pride/Rotary Student of the Month recipients for the month of March, announced CHS Principal Stephen Murray. Seniors Ganesh Danke and Julia Pitts were named from the Emerson House while Adam Lizine and Sara Silva were honored from the Hawthorne House, and Sofia Balan and Chloe Molinari from the Whittier House. To read more about our CHS March Students of the Month, please visit our website.

Ivy Watts, a former All-American student-athlete turned mental health advocate, spoke to Chelmsford High School students in two waves on Thursday, Apr. 28. A 2015 graduate of the University of New Haven, Ms. Watts was an All-American Track and Field standout and a top 30 finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year, yet kept her struggles with anxiety, depression, and self-worth hidden. After seeking help, she has become one of the most sought-after mental health empowerment speakers in the country. Ms. Watts went on to receive her master’s degree in public health from Boston University and is mental health first aid certified. She has spoken to more than 10,000 students and 5,000 coaches and administrators. To learn more about Ms. Watts, please visit our website.

Chelmsford High School (CHS) Ecology students teamed up with the Town of Chelmsford to tidy up the grounds of CHS over April break in honor of Earth Day. Earth Day is celebrated yearly, as a time set aside time to celebrate the Earth, learn about the environment, and promote conservation. It was a lot of work, fun, and learning at the same time!

Using our capital skills grant, a new greenhouse has been assembled at CHS and 15 wireless trail cameras will be placed around MCC, CHS, and Parker to document local wildlife as part of a college study opportunity.

Chelmsford High School will be partnering with the San Estanislao de Kostka school in Málaga, Spain, for a student exchange program. This exchange will occur in the 2022-23 school year. We will need Chelmsford families to host Spanish exchange students in September of 2022, and our CHS students will travel to Spain from February 15-26, 2023 during the vacation week. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Ms. Nollet at nolletj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us or visit our website.

Welcome to Summer with Chelmsford Community Education! We are happy to be able to provide quality summer programming for your children (and a few for you grown-ups) with a variety of options to support any schedule. With full-day, half-day, and weekly care and enrichment programs for all age ranges, we have something educational, entertaining, and just plain fun for everyone! Please use the following link to sign up!

Welcome back CHS students! As you shift from vacation to study mode remember you have your own tutoring service in Paper Learning. Live editing, solutions to math problems, AND MORE are a mere live chat away! Log on to Paper through your student CLEVER account. To learn more about PAPER, please visit our website.

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