Dear Center Community,

What a beautiful end to the week and February! So nice to get the students outside to enjoy the warmish weather.

Be sure to let your "Kind Shine" on Monday

Staff Updates:

Erica Johnson and Nicole Carlson are now both out on parental leave. Ms. Johnson will be returning in May and Ms. Carlson in August. We wish them and their growing families well. We are fortunate that Ms. Ann Sevigny and Ms. Savannah Baker will be providing coverage and we will continue to post for both positions .

Taste of Chelmsford Raffle Tickets Now On Sale

It's the final day to buy tickets!

This February, tickets for the Taste of Chelmsford Calendar Raffle are on sale for $25, with only 1,000 tickets available! We're raffling off over $6,000 worth of prizes from Chelmsford-area restaurants and small businesses. Drawings will take place every day in March, and each ticket can win multiple times! Purchase multiple tickets to increase your chances of winning

See prize details and purchase your raffle tickets today at: www.tasteofchelmsford.com

Center Chirps

• March is National Nutrition Month, and we are eating through the alphabet. You will see tastings of different fruits/vegetables daily at Center for students to try!

Enjoy the weekend.

Warm Regards,

Dianna and Donna

Chelmsford Public Schools - 4th-Grade Instrument Test Drive

Saturday, March 1st from 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM at Chelmsford High School

Fourth-grade musicians, the annual instrument test drive is coming up on March 1st!

This is an excellent opportunity to try the band and orchestra instruments to help you make an informed decision when selecting your fifth-grade class.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions about fifth-grade music class options.

Mr. McGillicuddy

mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

The following students' art work was selected for 4th grade programs, yearbook, and t-shirt! Go Lions!!!

The cold/flu season is upon us at Chelmsford Public Schools. We want to keep your children and our teachers healthy. Here are some ways we can work together to decrease the spread of illness.

• Wash hands frequently, especially before eating. If handwashing is not available, use hand sanitizer instead.

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or cough into sleeve not your hand. If you can't control when/where you cough/sneeze, wear a mask instead.
• Keep your child home when sick (Symptoms such as fever cough, sore throat, bad headache, body aches, or chills)

• Keep your child home with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher. Your child can return to school after their temp is < 100 for 24 hours without any fever reducing medicine AND when your child is feeling well enough to participate in normal activities.

• Keep your child home from school if they have vomiting and/or diarrhea. Your child can return to school 24 hours after his/her last vomiting and/or diarrhea episode and they are feeling well enough to participate in normal activities.

Any symptoms that persist or worsen should be evaluated by a primary care physician. Please notify our offices if your student is diagnosed with the flu by their doctor.

In addition to academics, we know students are very busy with sports and activities. Please do not send your student to school sick! This is for your child’s benefit and for the benefit of other students, teammates, and staff.

**** It is not too late to get the Flu Vaccine****

On Thursday, March 6th we will have a Pajama Day for students and staff to celebrate National School Breakfast Week. The nutrition department will serve a “breakfast for lunch” on the menu that day.

This year, students across the Commonwealth will be taking The Next- Generation MCAS for our annual standardized state testing. All students in Chelmsford will be taking the computer-based assessment using Chromebooks. Please mark your calendars for the important dates below. We strongly encourage all students to be present and on time these days. If your child is sick, we will have make-up sessions so that they are able to take the assessments when they are able to show their personal best work.

Chelmsford is fortunate to have access to iReady to support student learning. Students have access to this learning tool at home. Please reach out to your teacher if you have difficulty logging on. There is much research to support enhanced student achievement on MCAS when using this valuable tool. Please press here for more information.

ELA MCAS TESTING:

Grade 3

Monday, April 7th, 3rd Grade – Session 1

Tuesday, April 8th, 3rd Grade– Session 2

Grade 4:

Wednesday, April 9th, 4th Grade – Session 1

Thursday April 10th, 4th Grade– Session 2

Math MCAS TESTING:

Grade 4:

Monday May 12th, 4th Grade– Session 1

Tuesday May 13th, 4th Grade– Session 2

Grade 3:

Wednesday May 14th , 3rd Grade – Session 1

Thursday May 15th, 3rd Grade – Session 2

Links:

http://i-readycentral.com/familycenter/

https://www.curriculumassociates.com/research-and-efficacy

March

• Saturday, March 1: Grade 4 Instrument Test Drive, 9-11

• Monday, March 3: Be Kind Spirit Wear day

• March 3- 7: Community Read-In -to be confirmed

• Wednesday, March 5, Annual K-12 Youth Art Month Exhibit Reception, CPL 5-6 PM

• Tuesday, March 11: Gr 1-4 Term 2 End of Marking period

• Wednesday, March 12: Half day/Professional day

• Wednesday, March 12: Science Fair; 6:30-8:00

• Friday, March 14: Chelmsford Spirit Day

• Wednesday, March 19, CSPTO mtg Center Library, 6:30-7:30

• Friday, March 21: World Down Syndrome Day

• Friday, March 21: Gr 1-4 T2 Teacher deadline for posting grades

• Wednesday, March 26: Gr 1-4 T2 Grades available online for parent/guardian

April

• TBD- Square One Art - PTO

• Tuesday, April 1: World Autism Day

• Tuesday, April 1: Half day/Professional day

• Wednesday, April 2: 6-6:45 Center Sing Along

• Monday, April 4: Be Kind Spirit Wear day

• Monday, April 7: 3rd Gr MCAS

• Tuesday, April 8: 3rd GR MCAS

• Tuesday, April 8: 4th Gr Digital Health & Safety presentation at CHS, 9:30

• Wednesday, April 9:4th GR MCAS

• Wednesday, April 9: Assistant Principal Appreciation Day

• Thursday, April 10: 4th GR MCAS

• Friday, April 11: Chelmsford Spirit Day

• April 18 - 25: April Recess

• Monday, April 22: Earth Day

• Monday, April 22: School Bus Drivers Appreciation Day

• Wednesday, April 30: Ziti Supper

At Center School, there are a number of free and reduced cost programs and donations, offered throughout the year, for example, free backpacks and school supplies, gift cards, holiday support, Thanksgiving meals etc. If these resources would be helpful, please fill out the attached 2 question form This information is confidential and will remain exclusively with the administration. You will not need to provide any additional documentation and we will reach out as options arise. Please contact Mrs. Fulreader if you have any questions.

https://forms.gle/zotYEnqVWCjcuuii8

This year, and moving forward, Massachusetts is offering all school lunch and breakfast at no charge to students. This does not automatically make families eligible for any other benefits. We strongly encourage families that feel they are eligible for transportation or extended day reduced tuition to fill out the online free and reduced meal application. The links can be found below. https://cpsnutrition.com/index.php?sid=1478035692058&page=lunchapps

If you do qualify for benefits you most likely will be eligible for SNAP benefits. https://www.mass.gov/snap-benefits-formerly-food-stamps

Some examples of SNAP benefits are discounts on gas, electric utilities and internet services.

Please visit our school nutrition website at https://cpsnutrition.com/index.php?sid=1478035692058 for more information about our program and also a link to the free and reduced lunch application.