Hello Families,

During the week of September 16-20th, South Row, along with hundreds of schools and youth organizations across the United States will participate in Start With Hello Week and teach students the skills they need to create a culture of inclusion and connectedness, and encourage them to reach out to and include those who may be dealing with chronic social isolation. Please ask your child about this positive initiative. More information can be found below.

Respectfully,

Terri and Jayson =)

Monday, September 16th

• Start with Hello Week
• Admin Check-In on Expectations w/ Grades 2-4 Students (Review Bus, Recess, and Lunch)

Tuesday, September 17th

• No events

Wednesday, September 18th

• Bus Evacuation - during arrival
• Early Release Day - 11:45am - Staff Professional Development
• Wear Green - Students and Staff are encouraged to to show commitment to empathy, kindness and inclusivity (Optional as part of Start with Hello Week)
  

• 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 WEDNESDAY. Please provide your child a lunch.
• Please anticipate possible delays with buses as they navigate an early release schedule.

Thursday, September 19th

• Curriculum Night (Open House)
• 5 – 5:25 pm: Principal/Assistant Principal Presentation- Cafeteria (3 and 4 families)
  
• 5:30 – 6:15pm: Grades 3 and 4 Teacher Presentations
• 6:15 – 7:00 pm: Specialists/ Reading/ support providers available in classrooms/offices
• 7 – 7:25pm: Principal/ Assistant Principal Presentation- Cafeteria (K, 1, and 2 families- same as the admin first presentation )
• 7:30 – 8:15pm: Grades K, 1, and 2 Teacher Presentations

Friday, September 20th

• No events

Monday, September 23rd

• No events

Tuesday, September 24th

• Ice Cream Social, 4:30pm-6:30pm @South Row

Wednesday, September 25th

• No events

Thursday, September 26th

• No events

Friday, September 27th

• Chelmsford/South Row School Spirit Day
• High Five Friday w/ Chelmsford Police Department

Monday, September 30th

• No events

Curriculum Night (Open House): Curriculum Night: Curriculum Night will take place on Thursday, September 19th

• 5 – 5:25 pm: Principal/Assistant Principal Presentation- Cafeteria (3 and 4 families)
• 5:30 – 6:15pm: Grades 3 and 4 Teacher Presentations
• 6:15 – 7:00 pm: Specialists/ Reading/ support providers available in classrooms/offices
• 7 – 7:25pm: Principal/ Assistant Principal Presentation- Cafeteria (K, 1, and 2 families- same as the admin first presentation )
• 7:30 – 8:15pm: Grades K, 1, and 2 Teacher Presentations

Visiting the Building: If you are volunteering and/or visiting the building, please expect to present your photo ID. The Chelmsford Public School District has implemented a new visitor management and screening service at every school building. The system is called Visitor Aware, and it is designed to ensure that only safe visitors are allowed access to our buildings. Visitor Aware provides an additional layer of security for your children by validating the identities of anyone entering the premises, determining if they are a potential threat, and keeping accurate records of all school visits.

Visitors are required to have a valid state issued identification card, such as a driver’s license, to check in to ensure the accuracy of the information provided. Valid identification is also used to ensure that the person checking in is the same as the ID holder. The identification card must be non-expired and contain a picture of the visitor.

Volunteering: If you are interested in volunteering in our school (should an opportunity present itself) please be sure to contact Mrs. O'Neill or Mrs. Sepe to make an appointment to fill out a CORI form. All volunteers must have a CORI on file to volunteer.

Library Volunteers: Our wonderful librarian Mrs. Hamm is looking for volunteers during library times. Would you like to assist in the library during your child’s class? If so, contact Mrs. Hamm at hammm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us. We appreciate the help.

Message from Mrs. C in the Art Room:

Hi There Families and Guardians,

The Art room is looking for the following items, if anyone would be interested in donating:

1. Baby Wipes

2. Dawn Spray

3. Q-tips

4. Cheap paper plates

5. Micro rags/cloths

6. Small squeegees

7. Sponges

8. Magic eraser sponges

9. Tissues

Thanks so much!!

Mrs. C.

We wanted to take a moment to remind all families of our arrival and dismissal protocols within the car loop for the safety of students, staff, and community members.

All cars should enter the car loop on Mill Road and take left out of the parking lot towards Boston Road (see above image) unless directed differently by staff. These procedures have been determined by our school based incident management team in collaboration with the Chelmsford Police Department. It is essential that all members of the community adhere to these traffic patterns for the safety of all members of our community and not enter or exit from different directions.

Dismissal Reminders:

• We have been noticing that cars exiting out of the loop and taking a right towards Mill Rd. Although we recognize this may be a convenience factor to get to your next destination, we kindly ask that all community members adhere to the traffic pattern as described above for safety on our campus.
• We will be placing cones out in the parking lot to support families in adhering to process during high traffic times. At the end of dismissal when all students are in cars, cones will be removed and access in both directions will be granted.
• Please do not exit the car loop until directed by staff and please be sure to listen to requests/direction by staff when in the car loop to ensure a safe and orderly dismissal. This is for the safety of students and staff.
• When exiting the car loop after you have your child, you MUST follow the traffic pattern and not turn around in the parking lot if you are in the final line approaching the loop. This is highly dangerous to students moving within the loop and support staff leaving for the day.
• Please be advised that the Chelmsford Police Department will be on sight sporadically to monitor.
• We appreciate families in adhering to our arrival and dismissal protocols and adhering to these reminders.

Dear South Row Community,

We are excited to announce our first kindness initiative for the 2024/25 school year. During the week of September 16th-20th, we will be participating in Start with Hello Week. Each year in September, thousands of schools and youth organizations nationwide participate in Start With Hello Week to celebrate the amazing work of educators, students, and community members in building socially inclusive learning environments for all students. Start with Hello Week is an initiative we have had great success with in the past at South Row.

Start with Hello Week is designed to teach students the skills they need to create a culture of inclusion, connectedness, kindness, and positive relationships. We want all students and staff at South Row Elementary School to feel welcome, included, and appreciated. One of the main components of Start with Hello Week is to greet each other with a smile and a positive message. Staff and students will participate in many activities that will promote greeting one another, developing positive relationships, and inclusiveness activities that will engage all members of South Row. Our goal is to instill kindness into our community and be sure that all members of our community feel welcome, valued, and appreciated.

It is our hope and goal that from arrival to dismissal, students are having positive experiences at South Row. We are confident that this week will continue to highlight what an amazing building the South Row Elementary School already is. We are excited about this initiative, and we hope that you will have the opportunity to ask your children about the activities that they are participating in. Should you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this initiative, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Ms. Terri Gilbert, Principal

Mr. Jayson Ramalho, Assistant Principal

Please consider volunteering to help serve ice cream at the upcoming Ice Cream Social on September 24th.

Below is a link and QR Code to the signup sheet.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45A5AF2CA6F4C25-51315261-2024.

Thanks! South Row PTO

Dear South Row Families,

Welcome back! Hopefully you will not be hearing too much from me this year! I have copied a few important policies below. You can also find this information on the CPS website linked here.

We recommend children not come to school if they appear to be ill. We advise you to keep your child home if he/she has a sore throat, severe cold, rash, fever, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Your child needs to stay home if he/she has any of the following:

• Strep Throat: If strep throat is suspected and the child either has had a negative throat culture or has been on antibiotics and fever free for a full 24 hours.

• A fever over 100: May return to school when he/she is fever free for 24 hours without medication (e.g. Tylenol or Advil).

• Vomiting and/or diarrhea: May return to school 24 hours after his/her last vomiting and/or diarrhea episode.

• Red or pink itchy eyes with crusty and or green/yellow drainage: May return to school the day after treatment for 24 hours or has no further eye discharge.

• Head Lice or nits (eggs): The nurse will assess the student for the presence of head lice or nits. If head lice or nits are detected, the nurse will contact the parent/guardian and provide education on lice treatment. Based on the discretion of the school nurse, some situations may warrant a dismissal from school

• A rash of unknown cause: May require MD clearance at the discretion of the school nurse.

If a child is too ill to remain in school the nurse will call parent/guardian and/or emergency contact numbers for dismissal. The student should not place the call from a school phone or mobile phone.

Parents/guardians are required to notify the school if your child contracts any contagious diseases (e.g. Chicken Pox, Strep Throat, Whooping Cough, Fifth’s Disease, Conjunctivitis, Scabies, Impetigo, Ringworm or Head Lice, etc.). If a child has been absent due to a communicable disease, a physician’s release may be required before returning to school.

Here is the school’s injury policy:

It is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility to notify the school nurse of all surgeries, injuries (i.e., concussions, fractures, sprains, stitches, etc.) When a student has sustained a concussion outside of school activities, parents shall notify the school nurse. Guidelines regarding injuries and non-participation in physical education (P.E.) classes and recess are as followed:

1. Students with casts, stitches, or splints may not participate in Physical Education class or outdoor recess without written consent from both the parent/guardian and the attending physician.

*All injury notes from the doctor should include the type of injury, any limitations or allowance to participate in such activities and the date the child may return to full physical activities. Parent/guardian wishes may not supersede this medical prescription.

1. Students need a subsequent doctor’s note when it is safe to resume normal activity in P.E. and/or recess.

2. Some specified P.E. activities may also require non-participation for the safety of the student and others.

3. If a student comes to school with a cane, crutches, wheelchair or an assistive device a doctor’s note is required. If applicable, the doctor’s note needs to indicate if the student can or cannot use stairs. An example of this would be a student with the need to wear a brace that would immobilize a knee.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Warmly,

Nurse V.

Vandevoordts@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Our South Row Ice Cream Social is coming up Tuesday, Sept. 24th and we hope you can stop by for this FREE event! We need some volunteers to make this all go smoothly.

Check out the sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45A5AF2CA6F4C25-51315261-2024

"The Pumpkin Fair is a HUGE community event and wouldn't be able to happen without our amazing planning committee. We are still looking for a few more volunteers who are willing to help with the planning stages of the event. If you would like to know more, please email Liz, the committee chairperson at elizcern@gmail.com."

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.

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.

For the upcoming half day Wednesday 9/18/24 orders must be received by Friday 9/13/24.

2024-2025 CPS Upcoming Half Day/Early Release dates

● 9/18/24

● 10/24/24

● 11/20/24 (Elem & MS Only)

● 11/27/24

● 12/12/24

● 1/14/25

● 2/6/25

● 3/12/25

● 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