Hello Families,

Thank you so much for your support with our Math Fact Challenge. Students have logged 9,670 minutes so far practicing their math facts.

We are enjoying watching the schoolwide Pride Ticket Reward of Door Decorating get underway and look forward to some Chelmsford VIPs helping us with the judging.

Our second Therapy Dog visit was a huge success. Students thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these lovable animals!!

Terri

MONDAY (1.24.22)

• The Great Kindness Challenge begins!
• Be Kind/Kindness Matters shirts day! - Send photos to Mr. Ramalho!
• Student Council Meeting (Duncan/Tice), 12:30pm, Gym
• Fourth Grade Activities Meeting, 6:30pm, Virtual

TUESDAY (1.25.22)

• No events

WEDNESDAY (1.26.22)

• Rising Kindergarten Registration, 9am-6pm, Central Office

• Pool Testing

• Student Council Meeting (Mathews/Driscoll), 12:30pm, Gym

Thursday (1.27.22)

• Rising Kindergarten Registration, 9am-6pm, Central Office

Friday (1.28.22)

• School Spirit Day - Sports Day!

• Rising Kindergarten Registration (for Rising Kindergarten families): Wednesday, January 26th and Thursday, January 27th 9:00am-6:00pm.
• Current Kindergarten Parent/Teacher Conferences, Week of January 31st
• Tentative February Grade Level Meetings, Monday, February 7th (date subject to change)
• International Festival Committee Meeting, Monday, February 7th, Virtual, link coming soon
• School Council Meeting, Monday, February 7th, Virtual, link coming soon
• PTO Meeting, Monday, February 7th, Virtual, link coming soon
• Early Release Day - Teacher Professional Development, Wednesday, February 9th, students dismissed beginning at 11:45am
• February Therapy Dog Visit -Tuesday 2/15 - Tice, Rigby, Frasca, Bullock, and Krauch (subject to change)
• Science Fair Registration deadline February 18th (details below)
• February School Vacation (No School) - February 21st-25th
  
• Science Fair Projects due - February 25th

Student Grade Level Meetings: This week students got to watch a virtual grade level meeting this month which was focused on dedication and kindness. We hope you will ask your child about the content covered this month. We hope to be back to in-person grade level meetings in the coming months.

Outdoor Recess Reminders: We continue to do our best to get students outside for recess as long as conditions and temperatures are safe for students. As a reminder, please be sure your child has a jacket, gloves, and a hat for outdoor recess in the winter months. Also, if there is snow on the ground, students must have boots on to walk on any snow covered area. Additionally, we recommend if your child brings in boots they also have sneakers, especially on days where your child has PE.

Fun challenges under way this month at South Row....

• Door Decorating Challenge: As a schoolwide reward for reaching our mid-year goal with Pride Tickets, we are hosting a month long Door Decorating Challenge. Students and teachers will work together to come up with a plan based around the theme of PRIDE. We encourage classes to be as creative as they like. If you are interested in donating materials to be used for decorating please contact your child's teacher directly. Door judging will take place in the coming weeks. More info to come!

• Math Fact Challenge: On Monday, January 10th we are kicking off our Math Fact Challenge. This schoolwide challenge is similar to the Reading challenge we hosted in the Fall. Each student will be sent home with one sheet of snowflakes. One snowflake should be filled out and sent back each time the student practices their Math facts for 10 minutes. Students can get additional snowflake sheets as needed. The grade level that achieves the most minutes by February 4th will get a prize. Thank you for supporting your student with this schoolwide challenge!!

• The Great Kindness Challenge: The Great Kindness Challenge will take place this week at South Row!. We will kick off the week with an added "Kindness Shirt" spirit day on Monday the 24th. There will be kindness challenges each day as part of morning announcements and suggestions on kind acts students can engage in outside of school. Students will get a "surprise" as part of this challenge at the end of the week. We are looking forward to a wonderful week promoting kindness. Please check out the slideshow and introduction video below for more information. We also included some ideas for kind acts for students grades K-4.

• South Row/Chelmsford Spirit Day, Friday, February 4th
• Kindness Matters Day, Monday, February 7th
• Red, White, and Pink Day, Monday, February 14th

January: The Great Kindness Challenge Week ( 1.24.22-1.28.22)

Please check out the video and slideshow link below!

Our school council is excited to share information about our upcoming Virtual Science Fair. Please click on the link to view information pertaining to this special event. The document includes all logistics, registration information, and more event specific details. Thank you in advance for taking the time to review the information and discuss it with your child(ren) to see if they are interested in participating.

Should you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to southrowsciencefair@gmail.com. A special thank you to Rick Cockley (South Row Parent/School Council member) for organizing this event.

We are looking forward to this fun virtual event!

Dear South Row Families,

Please review the below information on communicating positive cases to the Health Office. I also included the CPS COVID-19 Health Protocols below as well.

Stay healthy and well!

Nurse V

Due to the recent surge in Covid related illness, the health office is experiencing a higher than usual volume of calls, emails, and test related inquiries as well as office visits and covid testing procedures. Please note that the nurse may not be able to reply as quickly as has been past practice. We appreciate your support and cooperation as we navigate these challenging times.

If you are leaving a phone message or email (email is the preferred method of communication) because your child has tested positive, please include the following:

• Name of child
• Grade of child
  
• Date of symptom onset (if no symptoms were experienced, please note the date the test was taken)
  
• Date of testing, type of test performed (home, PCR or antigen).
• If the positive test was obtained from a home test, if possible, please schedule a PCR lab test to confirm.
• Date the last time your child was present in school
  
• Does your child attend school activities or sports and list the activity or team
  
• Is your child vaccinated? ( you may elect not to share this information, if so, please indicate that you elect not to share.) If your child is vaccinated and the school does not have a copy of the vaccine cared, please upload the card using this link below.

Important Links:

*Please note, you must be logged into your student's CPS Lions Google Account to access these links for the Vaccination Card Upload and the Consent for Pooled Testing and/or Test and Stay.

Vaccination Card Upload: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdLg4x9m0cWBTH3YZ35ExGgt2QsPWnHY5cNarNmpRoNkTyMfQ/viewform

Consent form for Pooled Testing and/or Test and Stay: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfSHazJ4EQvmKRfes5QkMmCdcjOjrqpTlecVxPd6PXMlmLZA/viewform

CPS Covid-19 Health and Safety Protocol : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C4T8zAWpE5uXf_OLkpG85L8GyiZ-a15lQKpabcbtZdY/edit?usp=sharing

Hello Parents and Caregivers:

While we might expect rates of anxiety in children to rise during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a look at data in this area highlights that individual differences in children and families need to be considered when deciding who might need assistance coping (e.g., age, exposure to COVID-19 stressors, etc.). Some children have experienced elevated anxiety while other children have not experienced much of an increase in anxiety during the pandemic. It varies between children and families so increased anxiety may or may not be a concern for your child, yet it is helpful to know the signs of anxiety in children as well as interventions that have been shown to help. (JAMA Pediatrics; November 2021; Volume 175, Number 11).

Below is a link from the National Association of School Psychologists that provides information for parents on Anxiety. Often, it is not easy to identify Anxiety in children or it may be mistaken for another problem, such as attention deficits, difficulties with learning, or lack of motivation. Left unidentified and untreated, it can worsen over time, causing more problems into adolescence and adulthood. Parents and teachers can be major sources of support for anxious children, helping to reduce the negative effects of anxiety and encouraging progress. (Huberty, T.J. 2022). Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like additional information or support.

Dr. Linda Rich NCSP

South Row School Counselor

https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-health/mental-health-disorders/anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders-in-children-information-for-parents

Be on the Lookout...

We are hoping to have an outdoor social event with sledding, snowperson making, and cocoa at some point this Winter. As this will be very weather dependent, we will likely not have a long lead time for this event, so be sure to keep an eye on Homelinks, our website, and our social media. Fingers crossed for well-timed snow!

Enrichments

A HUGE thanks goes out to our enrichment team of Martha Crannell, Priscila Keliher, and Lindsay Moran! A lot of the programs we used to use for enrichments have closed down or changed formats during the pandemic, so a lot of ground work had to be done this year to get us back to the enrichment activities we were used to. These ladies are crushing it! Check out this video Priscila put together of this week's virtual program for K and 1 from Jack Hartmann

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JvjTFPV7BLSNRuKE9

Help Wanted

There are a few roles that we are seeking volunteers for:

Bylaw Review Committee

Our bylaws state that every 5 years, we must conduct a bylaw review, and this is the year. This involves a committee reading the bylaws, and if necessary, proposing amendments that will be voted on at a PTO meeting. The committee MUST consist of at least 3 people, including one member of the Board and one staff member and one parent, neither of whom may be current members of the Board. The time commitment could be as little as one meeting, depending on how many proposed changes are found upon review.

Board Positions

Our May meeting with Board elections will be here before you know it! Each Board position (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) are elected annually, so if any position interests you, don't hesitate to reach out to southrowpto@gmail.com to learn more.

This week the kindergarten and first grade classes enjoyed a Jack Hartmann concert. The students were particularly surprised when he called their teachers’ names and talked about South Row. It was a lot of fun! Enjoy the video below!

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