PARKER WEEKLY BULLETIN

Good Afternoon Parker Families,

Change for Change

It was a great week to be at Parker Middle School. The students really demonstrated their proactive compassion through our school wide fundraiser to benefit the Jimmy Fund and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Our "Change for Change" drive allowed the opportunity for each child to make a positive difference in the fight against childhood cancer. The money raised will undoubtedly help the Jimmy Fund in its noble mission, but just as importantly. this drive empowered our students. It showed them that each individual can make a positive difference and that collectively we can create change. We had a friendly competition between teams to see who could rise the most to benefit the Jimmy Fund. The Explorers, a fifth-grade team comprised with students in Mr. Conley, Ms. Merrill, Ms. Baillargeon, and Ms. Devito classes, pulled out a narrow victory and earned an extra recess. I am so proud of our staff and students!

After School Clubs and Activities Being Tuesday October 15

We are excited to get our after-school clubs and activities started for the year. A wide range of clubs and activities are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 2:40-3:40. Late buses are available for transport home. Parent pick up will be out back as usual. Please see below for the activities brochure and how to register your child. We encourage all students to participate! There is a club or interest for everyone!

October Art Activities - Sketchbook Spectacular

Ms. Ashley Norman, one of our incredible art educators, is sharing this month's art prompts. She has created this calendar to encourage students to express themselves and develop their creativity. All students are encouraged to participate and share their creations. Please see attached flyer.

Social Emotional Learning

Next week we will continue with our social emotional curriculum during our SEL block on Wednesdays. The fifth grade will begin their unit on bullying with an introductory lesson while our sixth-grade classes will continue their activity on If America was a Village focused on celebrating our diversity and common humanity.

Have a great week everyone. Please reach out if you need support.

Warm Regards,

Josh

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Monday, October 14th - No School - Columbus Day

Thursday, October 17th - Picture RETAKE Day

Monday, October 21st through Friday, October 25th - PTO Scholastic Bookfair

Thursday, October 31st - Costumes for a Cause - see attachment below for details

ENJOY 10% OFF your order!

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EXPIRES: July 31, 2025

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Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card! More about the Smilesafe program here.

We are excited to announce our 8th annual "Costumes for a Cause" event on Halloween, Thursday, October 31st, 2024. Students are invited to wear costumes to school and for this fun Parker tradition. This year we would like to donate to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue. Please see attachment below for more details and event rules.

Our after-school programs will start on Tuesday, October 15th. The Activity Fee is $50 per student. To pay PLEASE CLICK ON LINK My School Bucks or send in cash or checks made payable to Chelmsford Public Schools and turn into your child's homeroom teacher. The activity fee allows students to take full advantage of any clubs they wish to attend. The after-school activities run from 2:40-3:40 on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday throughout the year. Students also have the option of taking a late bus home. The routes are posted in the school and will not be posted publicly. We will work with students and the drivers to be sure students take the correct bus home. Since we only have 8 late buses, for both McCarthy and Parker the stops tend to be more spread out than the “regular” bus runs. After activities, students who are not taking a bus will exit the school into the Crooked Spring Road lot and can be picked up there.

See Clubs & Activities Brochure here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10fSdKRgUuamin-mEgMJbeLrUcsHo7dLMiSVEMC6RtLU/edit?usp=sharing

Want to stay active after school? Join us for fitness club! Some of the activities include an intro to fitness with a focus on proper technique and form, an intro to yoga/mindfulness/ stretching, time with the cardio equipment, fitness related games and more! If interested, please complete each section of the form for your child to be considered for joining. If registering more than 1 child, please complete an additional form. We have a max capacity of 20 students at a time in the fitness room. We will try to accommodate as many students as possible by offering 2 days a week (Wednesday and Thursday) for half a year.

We will break into 4 groups- Group A-D.

Group A will attend on Wednesdays October-January.

Group B will attend on Thursday October- January.

Group C will attend Wednesday February- May.

Group D will attend Thursday February-May.

Assigned groups will be posted in the cafe the week before clubs start!

Please complete the form by October 11th!

https://forms.gle/fwksyP7VZTt3Eykn9

Thank you!

Yearbooks are on sale! Please visit Yearbook Forever to purchase your yearbook now! No books will be available for sale in June...don't miss out on capturing this year's memories!

Happy Friday Parker Families!

Parker PTO has some exciting activities planned for the month of October! We are looking for parent volunteers to help with some amazing school events this month. Please see information and sign up links below:

📆 PTO Meeting Thursday, October 10th @ 6:30 in McCarthy Library: Join us for the first PTO meeting of the school year! Parker & McCarthy PTOs work collaboratively to provide community building activities, provide enrichment programs for our students and families and support our teachers. We encourage any middle school parent/guardian to join us to learn about upcoming events and activities throughout the school year.

📚 Scholastic Book Fair October 21st-October 25th: The Scholastic Book Fair will be coming to Parker library. Students will have the ability to shop during school hours. Each year we ask parents to help staff the fair during school hours so students can shop. Volunteer responsibilities include running cash registers, stocking shelves and helping students purchase items. Please click the link to volunteer for the book fair: Scholastic Book Fair Volunteer Sign Up

🎃 Pizza, Paperbacks and Pumpkins Wednesday, October 23rd 5:30-7:00pm

This event is Parker FAVORITE!!!! Each year, Parker students and staff are invited to enter a free pumpkin carving contest. Families are invited to view the pumpkins aglow in the courtyard, stop in the library to shop our Scholastic book fair and visit the cafeteria to purchase a slice of pizza. Each year we ask parents to help volunteer to run the event. Volunteer responsibilities include putting pumpkins in the courtyard, staffing the pizza table and staffing the book fair. Please click the link to volunteer: Pizza, Paperbacks and Pumpkins Volunteer Sign Up

🦁 👕 Parker Pride Wear Sale: The Parker Pride Wear Store is open! The sale will run October 4th - October 14th. Orders will be completed and delivered in early November. We have some new items this year including: friendship bracelets, quote of the day t-shirts available in all team colors, crop sweatshirts AND Ozzie Superfan apparel. All orders can be placed online via the following link: Parker Middle School Apparel 2024 Fall

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Parker PTO at PTOParker@gmail.com. As always, thank you for your continued support of our school!

All are welcome to sign up for an audition! Please be sure to note the time commitment before taking an audition slot however.

Parker Drama presents: "Wizard of Oz" youth edition. Auditions will take place after school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday October 15-17. For more information on how to sign up for an audition, how to access google classroom, and time commitment, please see this flyer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Zfp_EMHPlbcuTs-nymwRrRgVi2i3yq_92J7RlszLho/edit?usp=sharing

Water bottles are a very popular item with our students. Almost every student in the building brings a water bottle to school. We have water filling stations located throughout the building. It is highly recommended that students label their water bottles. Either with initials on the bottom using a permanent marker, a special sticker, or any unique marker so the student can identify their water bottle. Thank you for your help.

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

Click on the link below to view the October Lunch Menu:

https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/webmenus2/#/view?id=66eac84ee96f1e8a8e33475a&siteCode=3370

Email: robinsond@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://parker.chelmsfordschools.org/
Location: 75 Graniteville Road
Phone: 978-251-5133