CHIPS Weekly Update

Hello CHIPS Families,

Here at CHIPS, one of the things we work on with all students is increasing independence in their daily routine. Teachers and staff provide support and scaffolding as needed, with the goal being able to fade adult support around things like arrival/dismissal routines, snack time, etc. Here are a few things things families can do to help with this:

• Make sure all of your child's belongings (coat, snack bag, etc) are labeled with their name. We encourage children to pack and unpack their own backpacks, and this helps when mix ups happen.
• Send child friendly snack containers. While we provide adult assistance, it sets children up for success if their snacks are packed in containers they can open and close independently.
• Practice at home! Encourage your children to do things like dress and undress by themselves whenever possible.

I've included a link below to an article on Building Independence in preschoolers.

The Chelmsford Public School District has implemented a new visitor management and screening service at every school building. The system is called Visitor Aware, and it is designed to ensure that only safe visitors are allowed access to our buildings. Visitor Aware provides an additional layer of security for your children by validating the identities of anyone entering the premises, determining if they are a potential threat, and keeping accurate records of all school visits.

Visitors are required to have a valid state issued identification card, such as a driver’s license, to check in to ensure the accuracy of the information provided. Valid identification is also used to ensure that the person checking in is the same as the ID holder. The identification card must be non-expired and contain a picture of the visitor.

Visitor Aware is a great addition to our already well secured buildings, and will further assist us in keeping all schools as safe as possible.

• September 18- NO SCHOOL Professional Development
• October 8 & 9- School Pictures- More Information to come
• October 14- NO SCHOOL Columbus Day

As we move into the fall months, please inform the nurse if your child has or will be starting any new seasonal allergy medications or routines. This may help determine when your child simply has the sniffles from the environment, has a pesky cough that may require the use of an inhaler ~ or ~ the start of a new virus. Speaking of viruses, please review our 'When to Stay Home From School" guidelines. As always, please discuss with your family doctor further specific health concerns. If you are a family in need of a pediatrician for your child, reach out to Nurse Kristen Lynch personally.

We recommend children do not come to school if they appear to be ill. We advise to keep your child home if he/she has a sore throat, severe cold, rash, fever, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Your child needs to stay home if he/she has any of the following:

• Strep Throat: If strep throat is suspected and the child either has had a negative throat culture or has been on antibiotics and fever free for a full 24 hours.
• A fever over 100: May return to school when he/she is fever free for 24 hours without medication (e.g. Tylenol or Advil).
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea: May return to school 24 hours after his/her last vomiting and/or diarrhea episode.
• Red or pink itchy eyes with crusty and or green/yellow drainage: May return to school the day after treatment for 24 hours or has no further eye discharge.
• Head Lice or nits (eggs): The nurse will assess the student for the presence of head lice or nits. If head lice or nits are detected, the nurse will contact the parent/guardian and provide education on lice treatment. Based on the discretion of the school nurse, some situations may warrant a dismissal from school
• A rash of unknown cause: May require to MD clearance at the discretion of the school nurse.

If a child is too ill to remain in school the nurse will call parent/guardian and/or emergency contact numbers for dismissal. Please provide updated emergency contacts numbers, if you have not already done so.

Parents/guardians are required to notify the school if your child contracts any contagious diseases (e.g. Chicken Pox, Strep Throat, Whooping Cough, Fifth’s Disease, Conjunctivitis, Scabies, Impetigo, Ringworm or Head Lice, etc.). If a child has been absent due to a communicable disease, a physician’s release may be required before returning to school.

Please use our absence line (978-251-5188 Option 0) or our attendance email (chipsattendance@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) to report your child's absence from school and be sure to state the reason for the absence (illness, appointment, travel, etc). If your child is out due to illness, please let us know the nature of the illness (fever, vomiting, cough, etc.).

Nurse Kristen can be reached by calling the CHIPS main number (978-251-5188) and selecting option 3 or by emailing lynchk@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Our CHIPS Little Free Library- such a fun way to help foster a love of reading in our preschoolers! Feel free to stop by with your child and borrow a book! Please remember to return the book when you are finished:) If you have books at home that you would like to donate, please put them in the Little Library or send them into CHIPS with your child. Thank you!!

Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for our first PTO meeting, either in person or virtually! We hope that you'll consider getting involved with the CHIPS PTO. Our next meeting will be on Monday, 10/21 at 6:30pm. As always, there will be a link for those who would like to attend virtually. The meeting link is below.

Email: mcguirkm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://chelmsfordschools.org
Location: 170 Dalton Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: (978)251-5188