Hello Families,

We have our annual Pumpkin Fair this Saturday. We hope you will consider stopping by to enjoy the beautiful weather, crafts, treats and one another. All students and staff that would like to attend are being offered a "5 free tickets" coupon to use for certain carnival games at the event.

The month of October is our annual Coat Drive. We truly appreciate any clean, well cared for coats and jackets you would like to donate to help our local community. There is a collection box in the lobby.

We completed our long distance evacuation drill on Wednesday with the help of the Chelmsford Police Department. Students were briefed about safety protocols and successfully evacuated off campus to locations used in the event of an emergency.

As for our Fall Reading Challenge, students read just under 40,000 minutes in two weeks with grade 1 surging into the lead at the end winning the challenge and a reward.

Respectfully,

Terri and Jayson =)

We will be conducting an ALICE drill this coming week. Please review this letter to learn about the drill and this link to view family resources related to this safety drill.

Saturday, October 19th

• Pumpkin Fair, 11:00am-3:00pm, South Row

Week of October 21st - We will conduct an ALICE drill at some point this week. More information to follow.

Monday, October 21st

• No events

Tuesday, October 22nd

• No events

Wednesday, October 23rd

• 4th Grade Activities Meeting, 6:30pm, Cafeteria

Thursday, October 24th

• Early Release Day - Students dismissed at 11:45am - Teacher Professional Development

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

Friday, October 25th

• South Row/Chelmsford School Spirit Day

Tuesday, October 29th

• Playful Engineers, Grade 2 Enrichment Program at Aldersgate Church
• Playful Engineers Family Night, 6-7pm, Aldersgate Church

Thursday, October 31st

• Orange and Black Spirit Day

Monday, November 4th

• Kindness Matters Day (Students encouraged to wear kindness shirts and/or complete kind act)
• Student Grade Level Meetings w/ Mrs. Gilbert & Mr. Ramalho
• Student Council Meeting, 3:30-4:15pm, Location:TBD
• School Council Meeting, 5:30pm, Conference Room
• PTO Board Meeting, 6:30pm, Conference Room
• PTO Meeting, 7:00pm, Lab

Tuesday, November 5th

• No School - Election Day (Teacher Professional Development)

Wednesday, November 6th

• Picture Retake Day

Friday, November 8th

• Favorite Book Character Spirit Day

Monday, November 11th

• No School - Veteran's Day

Tuesday, November 12th

• Try it Tuesday

Wednesday, November 13th

• Grade 4 Enrichment - Archeology -Whole Grade Presentation, in Cafeteria
• Grade 4 Enrichment - Archeology Workshops - Tice & Lewis

Thursday, November 14th

• Grade 4 Enrichment - Archeology Workshops, Semenza, Kellerman, and Duncan

Friday, November 15th

• PTO Movie Night, 6:30pm

Monday, November 18th

• Gr. 4 Art Enrichment Program (Zoom) in Cafeteria

Wednesday, November 20th

• Early Release Day - Parent/Caregiver Conferences - Students dismissed at 11:45am
• Gr. 2 Len Cabral Enrichment Program, 9:45am

Friday, November 22nd

• Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day

Tuesday, November 26th

• End of Term 1 - Grades 1-4

Wednesday, November 27th

• Early Release Day - Students Dismissed at 11:45am

Thursday, November 28th

• No School - Thanksgiving Break

Friday, November 29th

• No School - Thanksgiving Break

Try it Tuesday: South Row will be hosting Try it Tuesday once a month this year beginning on November 12th. This initiative is meant to encourage trying new and healthy foods and promote nutrition. Food services will be providing samples to all students who would like to participate. No ingredients will be added beyond the fruit or veggie being served. If you would like to OPT OUT your child from this experience, please click on this link.

Snacks: Please remember to send your child in with a snack. The school has a very limited supply that gets depleted quickly and it is not to every students liking.

4th Grade Activities Meeting: Grade 4 Families - The grade 4 Team will be hosting a “kick off” to grade 4 activities on Wednesday, October 23rd from 6:30-7:15 in the South Row cafeteria.

Items to be discussed: T-shirts, memory book, class gift, field day and fundraisers. We will need volunteers to take the lead on organizing these events. If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like to help, please email Shannon Semenza at semenzas@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Dear South Row Families,

Unfortunately we are seeing a fair number of cases of conjunctivitis here at South Row. Here is some information to help your student (and the rest of your family) to avoid conjunctivitis. You can find the full article here. As a reminder, students can return to school 24 hours after starting prescribed antibiotics.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Pinkeye?

Besides the telltale red or pink color that gives pinkeye its name, eye discomfort is a common symptom. Kids might say that it feels like there's sand in the eye. Often, there's some discharge from the eye, and pain and swelling of the conjunctiva. Some kids have swollen eyelids or sensitivity to bright light. Pinkeye can affect one or both eyes.

In cases of allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness and watery eyes are common symptoms.

Is Pinkeye Contagious?

Pinkeye is contagious if it's caused by bacteria or a virus:

• Pinkeye that's caused by bacteria can spread to others as soon as symptoms appear and for as long as there's discharge from the eye — or until 24 hours after antibiotics are started.

• Pinkeye that's caused by a virus is generally contagious before symptoms appear and can remain so as long as the symptoms last.

Allergic conjunctivitis and irritant conjunctivitis are not contagious.

A child can get pinkeye by touching an infected person or something an infected person has touched, such as a used tissue. In the summertime, pinkeye can spread when kids swim in contaminated water or share contaminated towels. It also can spread through coughing and sneezing.

Also, someone who has pinkeye in one eye can spread it to the other eye by rubbing or touching the infected eye, then touching the other eye.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

Warmly,

Nurse V.

vandevoordts@chelmsford. k12.ma.us

URGENT NEEDS! We are seeking an Interim PTO Secretary for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year.

Responsibilities include:

- recording and presenting minutes of all general membership and board meetings

- writing correspondence, as needed

- maintaining records of all meetings as permanent records of the organization

- performing other duties as designated

Interested in joining our crew? We'd love to have you! Contact the current board by email at: southrowpto@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