Hello Families,

The first week of our iReady Challenge ended with school wide Reading minutes at 23,500 and math at 24,150. Students are diligently working on not only completing minutes but also passing lessons! Half way through the challenges Kindergarten leads in both Reading and Math with grade 4 closely in second place.

Our registrations for the Multicultural Festival are beginning to roll in. We are so looking forward to this event on Saturday April 5th. Please see below for more information and the link to register.

Additionally, as communicated in separate cover, family input into the SY25-26 placement process is due March 31st, 2025. Here is the link to provide input (also included below).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Respectfully,

Terri and Jayson =)

Monday, March 31st

• Placement input due from families

Tuesday, April 1st

• Early Release Day - Teacher Professional Development - students dismissed at 11:45am
• Our PTO in conjunction with Dr. Lang will be providing lunch for all staff today from Zesty's in Chelmsford. They will be ordering pizza, gluten free pizza, and garden salad.

• Reminders for Early Release Days:

  • Students are dismissed at 11:45am
  • Car dismissals should adhere to the following times
  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
• Please communicate any changes to your child's dismissal plans to their respective teacher, Mrs. O'Neill (oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and Mrs. Sepe (sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us). Be sure to also discuss with your child.
• Lunch is available for take home ONLY through online ordering ( see Food Services section below in this newsletter)
• Students will either have specials or recess (rotates every half day).
• Snack time may be adjusted and/or not occur depending on your child(ren)'s schedule.
• Extended Day will be open until 6:00pm for students signed up on TUESDAY. Please provide your child a lunch.
• Please anticipate possible delays with buses as they navigate an early release schedule.
• Book Buddies Duncan/Bullock in the Cafe

Wednesday, April 2nd

• Para Educator Appreciation Day - Thank you to our Support Staff!

Thursday, April 3rd

• Animal Adventures Gr. 4 Enrichment Program

Friday, April 4th

• School Librarian Appreciation Day - Thank you Ms. Hamm
• Multicultural School Spirit Day - This is a great opportunity to celebrate the diversity in our South Row community. We encourage students and staff to dress in attire representing where their family originated or clothing representing their culture(s).

Saturday, April 5th

• Multicultural Festival, 1:00-3:00pm - Mark your calendars!

Monday, April 7th

• Kindness Matters Day - Students and staff encouraged to wear kindness shirts and/or complete kind act
• MCAS - Grade 3 - ELA
• Student Council, 3:30-4:15pm
• School Council, 5:30pm, Conference Room
• PTO Board Meeting, 6:30pm, Conference Room
• PTO Meeting, 7:00pm, Lab

Tuesday, April 8th

• MCAS - Grade 3 - ELA
• Try it Tuesday
• Curious Creatures Kindergarten Enrichment
• Grade 4 Field Trip to the Performing Art Center, Internet Safety Speaker

Wednesday, April 9th

• MCAS - Grade 4- ELA
• Wingmasters Enrichment Program (Grade 2)

Thursday, April 10th

• MCAS - Grade 4 - ELA

Friday, April 11th

• "Its Spring" Walk to School Day
• MCAS Make Up (also will carry over to the following week as needed)

Monday, April 12th

• Student Grade Level Meetings w/ Mrs. Gilbert & Mr. Ramalho

Friday, April 18th

• No School - Good Friday

Monday, April 21st - Friday, April 25th - No School - April Vacation

• School Bus Drivers Appreciation Day, 4/22, Thank you Bus Drivers!
• Administrative Professionals Day, 4/23 - Thank you Mrs. O'Neill and Mrs. Sepe!

Monday, April 28th

• Welcome Back to School!

Looking ahead: Our next registration for our rising kindergarten students will be May 7th from 9:00AM-6:00PM at our Central Office.

MCAS Dates: MCAS testing for grades 3 and 4 are as follows:

ELA

• Grade 3 - April 7th and 8th
• Grade 4 - April 9th and 10th

Math

• Grade 4 - May 12th and 13th
• Grade 3 - May 14th and 15th

March is Youth Art Month! That means it’s ART SHOW SEASON!

The Chelmsford Public Library is now hosting the District Wide Art Show. This show will be up throughout the month of March. Ten South Row students have artwork on display!

March 17th is the opening day for the https://massarted.com/youth-art-month/’s Virtual Exhibit. There will be student artwork from all over the state of Massachusetts on view through April. Ten South Row students will have artwork displayed!

Youth Art Month 2025 - Massachusetts Art Education Association

The Statewide Youth Art Month exhibit is virtual again this year. Teachers of artists in grades preK-12 are invited to participate in this year’s virtual Youth Art Month exhibit. MAEA members of students in grades 9-12 may also exhibit work in the Massachusetts Amazing Emerging Artists Recognitions exhibit, which is a juried exhibit for massarted.com. Here is the direct link to the virtual show.

Recurring Reminders:

• Smartphones and Smart Watches: We strongly discourage sending your child to school with smart phones or watches. If your child brings either of these devices to school the expectation is that they are turned off and in their backpack.
• Snacks: Please remember to send your child in with a snack. The school has a very limited supply that gets depleted quickly and it is not to every students liking.

• PE Reminder: Please help your child to remember to bring sneakers when they have Phys Ed. Snow boots are great for recess, but unsafe for the gymnasium. Also on PE days, I would suggest students wear T-shirts or layers so they can take their long sleeve off when they get hot. Thank you!

• IIQ Help Desk Tickets: Some families have been using an unmonitored email for support with accessing the Aspen Family Portal. Instead, please use the incident IQ request form located on the CPS website under the parent drop down menu. Here is the direct link: https://chelmsford.incidentiq.com/guest/TKHNDKXH/parent-support#top .

Your child(ren) may have shared that staff were wearing some interesting outfits this week. We had an underground (secret) staff spirit week. Check out some of the fun that our staff (and students) had!

South Row Community Outreach - Box Tops Sweepstakes

South Row PTO was awarded $20,000 to use within the school and we NEED your input! We are putting together a steering committee to help us determine how to use the funds. Interested in joining? We're looking for parents from all grade levels to help us with this committee. Join by clicking HERE.

Can't commit to the committee, but still want to provide ideas for how the money could be spent? Fill out our survey HERE!

2025-2026 PTO Board elections coming up

Monday, April 7th is our next PTO Meeting at 7pm in the Tech Lab and online via our Google meet link. We are accepting nominations for the PTO Board for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. All positions have the opportunity to be co-run. If you are interested in PTO, but unsure of what it entails, come to our meeting and chat with the current board members, or send an email to southrowpto@gmail.com to ask any questions you have! We're happy to chat about what we do!

Official PTO Board elections for the 2025-2026 year will be on May 5, 2025. We hope you can make it!

Dine-to-Donate

Make lunch, dinner, and dessert easy on the last half-day of school for the year - head to Zesty's and Little Z's at the Chelmsford Center location and mention South Row PTO!

Hannaford Helps Schools

Grocery shopping at Hannaford can benefit South Row PTO! Shop qualified products at Hannaford and receive a printout which allows you to scan the QR code, enter South Row PTO as the recipient, and South Row PTO will earn School Dollars! Yay!

We will be offering a virtual option for those that would like to join the monthly PTO meeting but can't make it in person. Please use this link to join the meeting virtually.

We welcome you to check out ou Connections Calendar and provide feedback using this link.

Please click on the "button" below to access resources and supports available. Do not hesitate to reach out to any support team member with any questions you may have.

**Please note: We continuously update the button below with new resources as they arise.

The City of Lowell Recreation Department is working on an initiative to provide swimming opportunities for children ages 0-18 with special needs. As they work to build out this program, they need YOUR help. If you are the parent/guardian of a child/children with special needs, please take a few minutes to complete this survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfX0VaSL0mIMGnXosEfncvEWX_0sRuGnrqF40-x907BPoAiQ/viewform

This section is comprised of the following items pertaining to food services

• Website
• Breakfast Information
• Tentative Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Dear Parents and Families --

To better estimate the demand for lunches on half days, CPS Nutrition utilizes online lunch ordering for HALF DAYS ONLY.

2024-2025 CPS Upcoming Half Day/Early Release dates

● 4/1/25

If you would like your child to have lunch on future half days, the online ordering is open for you to go ahead and select those dates. Set Up Your Account Now

Directions to set up your account and order: 1. URL Link: family.onlineordering.linq.com

2. Sign up now: Email, create password.

3. School District: Chelmsford Public Schools

4. Student ID: This can be found on x2- Child’s student ID number

5. Last Name: (You can also search and add siblings/family members at this time). Once this is completed, the student's name should appear on the page.

How to order meals

1. School Menu-select online lunch ordering (all schools)

2. Scroll to week of half day/early release date (top right of page)

3. Find date, select meal option

4. Add item to cart/Select Add to order

5. Click on shopping cart icon at top right of page

6. Click Check out

7. Select pick up location: Elementary pick-up location classroom. Middle/high school pick up location cafeteria.

8. Place order

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