Weekly Bulletin

Good afternoon Parker Community,

It was a fun and busy week at Parker. Much of the week was centered around the Math MCAS for both grades 5 and 6. The students took the assessment very seriously and worked very hard. We are proud of their efforts! Any student who missed one or both of the sessions will make up the test on Thursday May 16 and/or Friday May 17. the fifth grade has one more round of MCAS with the science portion on Tuesday May 14 and Wednesday May 15.

Fifth Grade Social

Our Student Council hosted an amazing fifth grade social after school today. The students were treated to games, a DJ, and shaved ice. It was fantastic to see the kids having fun with their friends. So many new friendships and connections have been made this year that will last through high school. They have really come together as a class. Our sixth grade social will take place next Friday May 17 from 2:45-4.

Scheduling

Scheduling for the 2024-2025 school year is underway. Please see below for a quick update:

Grade 5

All fifth-grade students will be automatically enrolled in the same Arts Block course that they are currently enrolled in this year. This is the most efficient way to schedule as the vast majority of the students stay with their choice of orchestra or band or chorus or art/music. Please reach out to me if you would like to make a switch and I will make that correction. Please include the student's name, current arts block class, and the class they would prefer for next year.

Grade 6

Sixth grade students will be hearing from Dr. Parks, the McCarthy Middle School Principal, within the next few weeks. The scheduling process is just getting under way. Math level placement, elective choices, and choice of world language will all be reviewed.

Chelmsford Public Schools Family Survey - IMPORTANT

Our district values your feedback! We are currently surveying The Chelmsford Public Schools families in order to gain insight into your perception of our school and district's effectiveness. We also want to better understand barriers to families accessing our schools and programs. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.

To administer these surveys, we have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our 2024 Family Survey as we did in 2023 as well. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses anonymous. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and district as good as they can be.

You may complete the survey online between Wednesday May 8th until Friday June 14th using a computer, tablet, or smartphone by visiting the website below:

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/chelmsfordma/family24/surveys

If you have multiple CPS school-aged children, please feel free to fill out multiple surveys to represent each individual child’s experience. The first question on the survey will be a dropdown to select which school you are filling the survey out for.

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact your building Principal.

Thank you in advance for your time.

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

Warm regards,

Josh

IMPORTANT DATES:

Friday, May 17th - Grade 6 Spring Social

Monday, May 20th to Friday, May 24th - Spirit Week - See Flyer Below

Monday, May 27th - No School - Memorial Day

Wednesday, June 12th - Last day of school

Please note the last day for LATE BUSES and CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES is THURSDAY, May 23rd. Thank you.

The 5th Grade "Spring Fling" Social next Friday, May 10th from 2:45 to 4:00 p.m. See permission slip here for more details 6th Grade "Spring Fling" Social Permission Slip

Our wonderful PTO has done it again! If you haven't heard about the Book Vending Machine in our main lobby, please encourage your students to check it out! (see picture below). Tons of great titles and lots of different genres. Tokens are $2.00 each.

Tuesday, May 14th - Grade 5 Science - Session 1

Wednesday, May 15th - Grade 5 Science - Session 2

Tuesday - May 14th

Art Club – Ms. Annuziata – Room 4 – GRADE 6

Book Club – Ms. Beaudoin – Room 125

Homework Club-Ms. Larrabee&Ms. Morse-Library

Intramurals – Mr. McCarthy/Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark-Grade 6

Running Club - Mr. Felzani, Ms. Baker-meet in the Cafeteria

Stand-Up Parker – Ms. Cranney - Room 110

Wednesday - May 15th

Fitness Room (Health & Wellness)-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

Intramurals-Clark, McCarthy & Sullivan - GYM - Grade 5

Homework Club-Ms. Larrabee/Ms. Morse - Library

Jewelry Making Club - Ms. Annunziata - Room 4

Thursday - May 16th

Art Club - Ms. Annunziata - Room 4 - GRADE 5

Festival Orchestra - Ms. Tiano - Room 4

Fitness Room(Health & Wellness)-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

Game Club - Ms. Baker - Library

Intramurals-Clark, McCarthy&Sullivan - GYM - Grade 5

Best Buddies google classroom (code: gdxp5eo). Please make sure your child is enrolled as a member through Best Buddies - students not enrolled as a member will not be able to participate in the next event.

This is the link to register to walk and join our team (come with a family member or friends family- we don't do transportation) or alternatively people can choose to donate to the Parker Team!

https://www.bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org/boston/supporting/#parker

Join Me In Support Of Best Buddies

Help me create a more inclusive community for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by supporting Best Buddies www.bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org

Saturday, May 11th - Best Buddies Walk. More details to follow. Make sure you are on the Remind app or subscribed to texts! Each student attending will have their own transportation. In the meantime you can register here: https://bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org/centralmass - Be sure to register your child as an existing team: Parker Middle School

June Event - To be announced

Download the remind app for announcements and reminders of activities or simply follow the image below:

Parker PTO Update:

Our Middle School community has had a busy year! Thank you to all who have participated in events throughout the year! We have a few more fun activities coming your way before summer break! Check out the highlights below:

🎤 The Lions' Middle School Showboat will be Saturday, May 18th at the CHS Performing Arts Center (PAC). You won't want to miss this amazing talent show starring our very own middle school students grades 5-8! Tickets will be on sale soon. Contact Showboat Director and parent, Karyn Crouthamel at lionsmiddleschoolsshowboat@gmail.com

👟 Lace up those sneakers! The 2024 Parker Pride Run is on Sunday, May 19th @ 9am. Click the link below to register. Registration includes: swag bag, drinks and snacks at finish line and raffle tickets. Prizes awarded for top three finishers for various grade levels and adults. Click link to register for the event:

https://runsignup.com/Race/MA/Chelmsford/ParkerPrideRun

📅 Thinking of getting more involved? Attending a PTO meeting is a great way to start! Come join the conversation about enrichment, fundraising, teacher appreciation and more at the Parker & McCarthy PTO meeting Thursday, May 23rd @ 5:30 in the McCarthy library. All are welcome to attend. Board positions are available for the 2024/2025 school year.

🍔 Grab your friends and meet on the outside patio on Wednesday, May 29th @ Tavern in the Square Lowell to celebrate an amazing school year! The Tavern in the Square Lowell is generously donating 15% of all dine in, take out and alcohol sales to Parker and McCarthy. Just mention that you are dining to support Chelmsford Middle Schools! Proceeds raised will go to support our book vending machine and free lending library.

🏆 Looking for a fun family activity? Check out Glory, Boston's first professional ultimate frisbee team. Glory offers fun for all ages including: Nightshirt beer garden, lawn games, halftime contests, food trucks, School of Rock Musicfest, and of course amazing ultimate frisbee! Games are played at Hormel Stadium in Medford, Ma. Glory is generously donating 20% of proceeds to Chelmsford PTO when you use code: CHELMSFORD24 Tickets can be purchased at: https://shop.bostonglory.com/collections/tickets

Game Dates: May 17th, June 2nd, June 8th and June 22nd

If you have any questions, please reach out to: ptoparker@gmail.com

As always, thank you for your continued support of our Parker Middle School community!

To report a Student Absent:

Email: ParkerAttendance@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Please Send Email: Prior to 9am on the day of the absence. Please Include: Child’s name, Grade, and Reason for absence. We encourage you to use the email option when reporting an absence, dismissal, etc. for efficiency.

**PLEASE READ**

We will continue to send automated emails home when students are absent. You will receive the email whether you notified the school or not. In order for an absence to be marked as "Excused", families will need to provide medical documentation.

Thank you for your understanding.

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