PARKER WEEKLY BULLETIN

Good afternoon Parker Families:

It was such a fun week to be a Parker Middle School student! The students were so excited for Halloween and demonstrated some great creativity and ingenuity with their costumes. Our Costumes for a Cause fundraiser to benefit the Chelmsford based Newhouse Wildlife Refuge was extremely successful with students and staff raising $750 for this great organization all in the form of largely one-dollar donations. Again, this shows the power of the individual in creating positive change. I am so proud of our school community!

Term one has just been completed and students and their families can expect to see their report cards in X2 next Friday November 8. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have specific questions about their grade. There will be the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher on November 20 as this will be the first of two conference days. Sign-ups for these conferences will be coming soon. Our goal is to continue to develop the skills in our students so that they can be independent and inquisitive problem solvers. One way in which a student can readily improve their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills is through regular outside reading. I encourage you to instill a regular schedule where your child reads for at least twenty minutes daily. It can make such a huge difference!

Social Emotional Learning through Second Step

We will continue our units on recognizing bullying and harassment in grade five and Goal Setting in Grade six. Please see a quick summary of next week's lesson and a conversation starter to use with your child.

Grade 5: Responding to Bullying and Harassment

Lesson 3: Responding to Online Bullying

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will use what they know about in-person bullying to compare it to online bullying. They’ll learn and apply different strategies for responding to online bullying in a safe and healthy way.

Question: Tell your child your thoughts on how social media has changed since you were in school. Ask your child about their thoughts on the benefits and disadvantages of social media in the world today.

Grade 6 - Problem Solving and Goal Setting

Making Goals Specific

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to identify and set achievable goals by making them specific.

Question: Ask your child to tell you about a specific goal they’re interested in working toward and what makes it specific.

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

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Tuesday, November 5th-Full Day Professional Development Day-No school for students

Monday, November 11th-No School-Veterans Day

Wednesday, November 20th-Early Release Day, dismissal at 11:10 Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, November 27th-Early Release Day, dismissal at 11:10

Thursday & Friday, November 28th & 29th-No School-Happy Thanksgiving!

Check out our talented young artists here at Parker Middle School. Click here: www.instagram.com/chelmsford_middle_school_art

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

Tuesday - November 5th

No School - Full Day Professional Day

Wednesday - November 6th

Book Club - Ms. Beaudoin - Room 125

Game Club - Ms. Baker - Library

Dungeons & Dragons - Ms. Engel - Room PC4-GRADE 6 TODAY ONLY

Fitness Club - Ms. Fitzgerald - Fitness Room

Power Hour - Ms. Panneton - Room 213B - NEW CLUB, See description on Brochure in link above

Thursday - November 7th

Art Club - Ms. Annunziata-Room 4-Grade 5-Group 5A TODAY

Drama Club - Ms. Robertson - Room 230

Fitness Club - Ms. Currier - Fitness Room

Intramurals - Mr. McCarthy - Grade 6 TODAY

Stand-Up Parker - Ms. Weinbeck - Conference Room 5

Friday - November 8th

Select Chorus - Ms. Robertson-Chorus Room 230 at 7:20 a.m.

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! Side note: Walsworth also sends emails to Parker families with order information . They are legitimate emails.

ENJOY 10% OFF your order!

CODE: F202410OFF

EXPIRES: July 31, 2025

Redeem Now

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

Dear Parker Families,

Please send in non-glass, non-breakable storage containers and/or water bottles with your students. We've had several instances of broken glass, creating a safety issue. Plastic or aluminum is preferred.

~Thank you for your help.

Happy Friday Parker Families!

Thank you to all that have participated in our recent PTO events! Parker PTO is working on creating community building events for our students and families. Check out a few upcoming activities below:

♻️E Waste and Junk Day Recycle- November 2nd (8am-12pm): Center Elementary School and McCarthy Middle School PTOs are partnering to help you get rid of junk items that aren't easily disposed of in the trash (appliances, furniture, lawn equipment, grills (no propane), TVs, etc). This is a great way to support our schools--just drive through, donate a small fee & then leave your junk! Please click the link for more information including volunteer opportunities: 2024 E Waste and Junk Day Recycle Information

🗓️ PTO Meeting Thursday, November 14th @ 6:30 in McCarthy Library: Join us for our monthly PTO meeting! 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.

🏒Riverhawks Hockey -November 9th @ 6:05 PM: UML Riverhawks will be hosting Chelmsford Middle School night Saturday, November 9th. Puck drop is at 6:05 P.M. Meet all your middle school friends at the Tsongas for a great night of hockey. Tickets are $15 each. Click link to order tickets: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Parkermccarthymiddle5

❄️☃️ Parker Craft Fair- Sunday, December 8th 10:00 am-2:00 pm: Parker PTO is proud to present our 4th Annual Craft Fair on Sunday, December 8th 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM. Stop by our school and shop local vendors. This is a GREAT opportunity to get a jump start on your holiday shopping and support local businesses. Adult and student vendors are welcome to join the fun. Table spaces are $30 + one raffle donation for adult vendors and $10 + one raffle donation for student vendors. Click link to sign up: 2024 Parker Middle School Craft Fair

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!

Parker PTO

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

● 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