CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

I hope you had a great holiday recess and a smooth transition back to school in 2022! We observed our first “snow day” of the school year today, I hope you got outside and enjoyed the snow. The roads were very slippery this morning, the weather is going to challenge us this winter as we have limited staff and contractors to prepare our schools for the arrival of students and staff on inclement weather days. Local communities have had trouble securing sufficient plow drivers, making for potentially difficult commutes for our staff trying to get to Chelmsford from neighboring communities. We are also experiencing significant staff shortages due to illness, and our substitute coverage is very thin this year due to COVID concerns. Given these factors, it is likely we will have more full days off (snow days) from school this winter, as opposed to delayed openings. When possible, I will try and make the call the evening before a storm when forecasts and staffing will clearly present problems for the opening of schools.

Although we are in a new year with renewed enthusiasm, we are still navigating the ever-changing COVID response protocols in our schools. Over the holiday recess, school districts were notified about changes in quarantining protocols from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that were adopted by the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). I wrote to you at the beginning of the week about these changes to protocols and how they were being implemented in our schools. We will continue to inform families and staff about adjustments made at the schools to keep everyone in our school community healthy and safe. I appreciate how flexible and patient everyone continues to be while we approach the second half of the school year.

I hope you enjoy a glimpse of some great things happening throughout our district in this week’s newsletter.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Next week:

• View complete athletics schedules here

• CHSAA Scholarship Applications for CHS Seniors Due, 1/10, by 11:59 p.m.

• Early Release, 1/11, All Schools

• Middlesex Community College Dual Enrollment Workshop, 1/13, 9:00 a.m.

• Save the Date: Kindergarten Registration, 1/26 & 1/27, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Kindergarten registration for the 2022-23 academic year is open! Please register for an appointment using the following appointment link.

WHEN:

• Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Chelmsford Public Schools Central Administration Office, 230 North Road, North Chelmsford, MA.

For more information and what documents you will need, please visit our registration page on our website.

Calling all CHS Seniors and Alumni! The 2021-22 CHS Alumni Association Scholarship applications are now available for current students and alumni who plan to further their education. This year, there are over 110 scholarships offered for Seniors and 20 scholarships available for Alumni. To find out more about how to apply for scholarships, please visit the CHSAA website.

And just like that, we’re back! We hope your holidays were restful and relaxing, but we’re ready to get back to learning What are you looking forward to in 2022. Use this link to access everything you need to know about Paper tutoring services.

The Chelmsford Community Education Winter-Spring 2022 catalog is out, and it has a program for you: Archery, Street Hockey, Reiki Genealogy Interviewing Skills for Teens, and much, much more! Please see our course offerings catalog. Sign up today!

Five CHS seniors, Meghan Haynes, William Lambert, Josie Lee, Avery Marr, and Daniel Jeong, were selected to display their artwork at the Hello There! Art Exhibit, part of the Fourth Annual Greater Lowell Regional Art Show, at the Loading Dock Gallery Jan. 5-30, 2022. The Hello There! show was created to reintroduce young artists and their work to one another following nearly two years of isolation caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. “Created with a focus on hands-on education and collaboration, this show explores the hard-learned truth that contact is a basic human need,” a statement from The Loading Dock Gallery website read. “Hello There! invites us to engage, compare, communicate.” For more information about our CHS students, please visit our website.

Thanks to Harrington Elementary School second-graders, nearly 350 pairs of hands around the Merrimack Valley will be warmer this winter. The second graders at Harrington collected and donated 349 pairs of gloves and mittens to The Wish Project, an agency that provides basic needs and critical, immediate assistance to residents of the Merrimack Valley, on Thursday, Dec. 23. To read more about this donation, please visit our website.

Contest Rules:

1. Snowman must be built between Dec. 17, 2021, and Feb. 17, 2022.
2. Entries accepted for Chelmsford residents only – Picture must be appropriate for posting.
3. Entries will be available for viewing/voting on our Facebook page as soon as time permits. One winner will be determined by the most 'likes' given by midnight on Feb. 17, 2022.
4. A prize will be awarded.

Submissions:

• More than one submission is allowed.
• The submission must include an address for verification.
• Entries submitted by email only to commed@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
• The deadline for entries is midnight on Feb. 17, 2022. The winner will be announced on Facebook by noon on Feb. 18, 2022.

For more information, contact Chelmsford Community Education at commed@chelmsford.k12.ma.us or visit ChelmsfordCommunityEd.com

File attachments:
Chelmsford CommEd Snowman 2022 Contest.pdf

Eligible CHS students can enroll in Dual Enrollment courses approved by a local partnering college while they are still attending Chelmsford High School. Credit for these courses applies both to Chelmsford High School and Middlesex Community College transcripts. Registrations are due in Emerson House by the end of the day, Friday, Jan. 28. For more information about Dual Enrollment, please visit our information page on our website.

Travel Opportunities for students:

There are two open spots on the April 2022 trip to Costa Rica! Explorica now requires that all travelers need to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to attend. If you are interested, please reach out to Ms. Gauthier (gauthiersu@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and review the information on our website.

French and Spanish exchange programs:

Our French and Spanish exchange programs will begin in the Fall of 2022. CHS will be hosting Spanish students in October of 2022, and French students in November of 2022, then traveling to Europe during the February vacation of 2023. Both exchanges will have informational meetings in January. The Spanish exchange informational meeting will be held on January 12 @ 6:30 pm in the CHS Career Center. For more information on the Spanish exchange, please contact Jess Nollet, World Language Coordinator (nolletj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us). The French exchange informational meeting will be held on January 19th at 6 pm in the CHS Career Center. For more information, please contact Mairin Chagnon (chagnonm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us). All information is currently up on the World Language website as well. Any student who will be in grades 9-12 next year at CHS and is enrolled in French or Spanish is welcome and encouraged to participate in this experience!

Ecuador & Galapagos Islands, April 2023

The World Language and Science Departments are co-sponsoring a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands during the April vacation of 2023! This trip is open to any 9-12th grader enrolled in CHS next year. There will be an informational meeting on Wednesday, January 26th at 7 PM in the CHS Learning Commons. Please email Linda Tanini (taninil@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) for more information!

Informational Presentations:

French exchange slide

Spanish exchange slide

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