Superintendent's Weekly Updates

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🎉 Scroll to read information and news from the school district, our individual schools, and information from our community partners! 🎉

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• District Updates
• Extended Learning Updates
• Early Learning Center Updates
• Berkowitz School Updates
• Hooks School Updates
• Kelly School Updates
• Sokolowski School Updates
• Browne Middle School Updates
• Morris H. Seigal Clark Ave. Updates
• Wright Science Academy Updates
• Chelsea High School Updates
• Chelsea Opportunity Academy Updates
• Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy Updates

The sounds of holiday music were heard throughout the district last week! Check out the video below with clips from concerts at the Berkowitz School, Hooks School, Williams School, Kelly School, at the ELC (with CHS students too!) and from the Boston Children's Chorus after school program. More pictures can been seen in each school's newsletter section too!

For the eighth year, the MCB Complex Library was transformed into a Holiday Shop for families earlier this week. Our Holiday Shop team organized hundreds of donations of toys and clothing from staff members and the community, making it possible for 65 families to select gifts for more than 125 elementary-age children.

We would like to extend a very special thank you to the many staff members, families and friends who donated to the Holiday Shop, and to everyone who volunteered their time to help out. Special thanks to the union members of Teamsters Local 25 for their continued support and generous donations of toys!

Students at the MCB Elementary Complex participated in the Hour of Code during the month of December! The Hour of Code is a global movement that introduces millions of students to computer science during Computer Science Education Week. Why computer science? Computer science is foundational. Every 21st century student should have the opportunity to learn how to create technology. Computer science is changing every industry on the planet. Students participated by programming Ozobot robots, creating code for Unruly Splats, coding a dance party on Hour of Code site, and more! Find more information and activities on the site: https://hourofcode.com/us

District Staff celebrated the holiday season with merry festivities. At Central Office, outgoing Chief Finance Officer Monica Lamboy was surprised with a Chelsea Clock to honor her service with Chelsea Public Schools.

CPS wishes its entire community a Happy Holidays! Students will be on Winter Break through New Year's Day, and will return to school on Thursday, January 2nd.

CPS elementary and middle school students who sing in CPS' after school program with Boston Children's Chorus sang in a special holiday concert for family and friends. The program is representative of all areas of the district, with performing arts students at Chelsea High School working with students in the program too.

Congratulations on the wonderful performance!

Students at the Complex have had a busy and creative time in our after school sessions! They’ve been crafting their own stories, creating unique bracelets, practicing mindfulness and calmness techniques, and flexing their engineering skills with a variety of materials. We’re proud of their hard work and growth, and we can’t wait to see what they’ll create next!

Highlights:

-The elementary BCC program performed beautifully in their Winter Concert!

-The soccer club has been practicing their shooting skills and are becoming better soccer players everyday! Their learning good sportsmanship through small scrimmages.

-Stem arts and crafts had to put their engineering skills to the test to come up with a way to fit their entire body through just one small piece of paper. They got creative and learned that cutting zig zags into the paper creates a long chain wide enough to step their entire body through!

- Stem arts and crafts also got into the holiday spirit this week and made gingerbread people traps! They used popsicles sticks and model magic to put the traps together

The Wright is seeing major investment from students in the extended learning opportunities being offered throughout the school.

Highlights:

“Student Council” - WSTA Student Council members were hard at work packaging up our candy grams. Candy got delivered and fun was had by all!

“Comix League” - Students have been working on their designs for their comics. Getting creative with their ideas.

“Art” - Students have been working on Tessellation Designs.

“Intramurals” - Several members of the WSTA intramural boys and girls teams tried out for, and made the middle school travel team. The boys ⅚ grade team from the WSTA is undefeated through 7 weeks of competition.

“Boys Basketball” - The boys were working hard this week during practice. Great team players this year!

The Browne has witnessed some innovative Extended Learning opportunities this year from running to fantasy adventures and is in the initial process of establishing their very own Student Government.

HIghlights:

“Sole Train Running Club”- Celebrating the upcoming break with a holiday scavenger hunt around the school.

“Intramurals” - Several members of the BMS intramural boys and girls teams tried out for, and made the middle school travel team.

At the Clark we have been leaning into student voice and trying to create new opportunities that spark interest and have some new ideas on the horizon.

Highlights:

“Intramurals” - Several members of the CAMS intramural boys and girls teams tried out for, and made the middle school travel team.

With over 15 active programs running and a brand new partnership with REACH, CHS is proud of our Extended Learning environment and are constantly impressed by student voice in the entire process. Our vision is to continue to create experiences that propel our students toward chasing a dream they are proud of, whether it be gardening or debating with intention.

Highlights:

The Interact Program embraced the holiday spirit by volunteering at Chelsea’s annual tree lighting, where students braved the weather to spread cheer and give back to their community. If you’re interested in joining Interact or learning about other community volunteer opportunities, reach out to merrye@chelseaschools.com or floresa@chelseaschools.com.

Additionally, our Newcomer English Language Development program has been a welcoming space for new students to build connections, develop their English skills, and engage in fun, interactive tasks.

Both programs are great ways to get involved, grow, and make a difference!

Since October, a total of 58 students have attended Cosmetology Club!

Throughout the past few weeks, we have practiced painting/ filing nails, braiding, and have utilized various forms of hot tools like curling irons, wave wands, straighteners, and blow dryers. A special highlight has been welcoming staff visitors, including a special guest appearance by ELC student Zoe Whitney (Ms. Whitney’s daughter!) When we return from break, we will be creating our own sugar scrubs for our fundraiser. Stay tuned!!

Launching REACH this year comes with a high level of pride, we are so excited by the new programming, team and student faces we are seeing throughout the program this year.

REACH has had a successful week building community not only within REACH, but also supporting student REACH athletes. Take a peek into the day of the life of a REACH student. We are actively recruiting, come join the fun.

The ELC hosted students from Chelsea High School for the yearly Winter Sing-Along. Students from the High School Jazz Band, Orchestra, Concert band and Cantare performed winter and holiday songs while ELC students sang along!

All aboard the Polar Express! First graders took a trip to the North Pole complete with PJs, train tickets, hot cocoa, and a surprise box of bells at the door!

Mrs. Maddie and Miss Ana’s class had so much fun decorating “gingerbread houses"

Room 407 December Fun!

Students had a week full of fun spirited projects and events.

Caminos Room 347 had fun this month completing STEM projects making holiday figures with shapes, gingerbread ornaments and a fun maze for our class pet Felipe!

Principal DiBiasio spreads holiday cheer with the ELC coaches and the MLE Lead Teacher.

The Berkowitz School welcomed family and friends for its annual Winter Concert on Tuesday! Congratulations to all the students and staff for a putting together a beautiful concert!

Beautiful singing was on display at the Hooks School Winter Concert on Wednesday! Congratulations to all involved on a wonderful concert in front of family and friends.

Students in second grade got to go to the Harvard Museum of Natural History this past week! Students go to explore and learn about different types of insects and animals. They even got to draw and touch a hissing cockroach!

Third grade began to explore division. Students worked together to solve word problems using different strategies.

Students in 102 Read to Grow have been working to improve their read comprehension skills by making connections to texts. We read aloud Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale and students jotted down their connections. Then students learned how to play dreidel! What a fun way to head into winter break!

Students in 305 wrapped up their natural disaster unit by writing a fictional narrative from a first person point of view. They worked hard to use previously obtained evidence from multiple texts and create a realistic, fictional story about a young person experiencing a natural disaster. After students were finished with their stories they created their own book covers to showcase their narratives.

Our last school assembly of the calendar year took place today! We gathered as a school community and celebrated our students of the month! It's always great to see students supporting each other and the families being proud of their little ones!

Our second edition of our "Hooks Today" News Program featuring our 3rd Grade Students includes:

• This weekend's Weather Report.
• Learning in the Classroom segment: Pilgrims and Wampanoags.
• Who's Who in the Hooks: Interview with our Staff of The Month, Ms. Dobbins and Ms. Batic!
• And much more!

State Representative - and Kelly Caminos alumna - Judith Garcia visited 4th graders in K301-K302 who had written letters to her about “things we want our elected officials to know matter to our community.” They connected over favorite Kelly teachers in common, talked about some community issues, and heard Rep. Garcia reflect on what being bilingual has meant for her life. She shared contact information with her young constituents and their families, and even signed some autographs!

Representative Garcia’s path to success began at the Kelly School — and our students’ is beginning now!

Congratulations to all the students in the Kelly School on a wonderful Winter Concert! Last Thursday morning, family and friends attended a beautiful performance that included songs from the 3rd grade chorus and 4th grade chorus as well as the musical talents of the Kelly drum ensemble and a special clarinet duet. The song, Mi Burrito Sabanero was also a BIG hit!

Ms. Vivian and Señor José got into the holiday spirit by dressing as Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Second graders decorated holiday cookies on the last day of school before vacation.

First Graders won the privilege to compete in the Minute to Win it competition. They had a race to roll up wrapping paper with their feet!

The Kelly and Hooks Schools collaborated on an ACCESS information session for parents. Nancy, Kelly and Esteban presented and Johnny ran the zoom session.

The 2nd graders from the Kelly School visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History to explore the museum collections and participate in a special program about insects.

What a great week for the Sokolowski community! A combination of learning, awards, fun, and culture made for an enriching experience for the students. We wish you all Happy Holidays!

Congratulations to all our Browne Middle School students who played in the Williams School Winter Concert on Wednesday night!

Bo came by to spread some holiday cheer and wish all our Bulldogs and our Chelsea Public Schools community Happy Pawlidays and a Happy New Year!

Multilingual Learners from Mr. Lyman and Ms. Waxman's 8th Grade Civics Class practiced researching different rights from the Bill of Rights and creating posters displaying the history and significance of these different rights.

On Wednesday night, Wright Science & Technology Academy students participated in the Williams School Concert! Congratulations to all our students!

Civics students explored student rights with Mr. Myers, diving into constitutional protections and rights in school. With nearly 30 questions per class, Mr. Myers did not disappoint—a fantastic learning experience!

Eight Grade students and teachers hosted a Potluck as a nice way to send everyone off for the December break.

Learning Center Students read and watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with Ms. Jabir.

Students and Families enjoyed cookie decorating and hot chocolate while watching the holiday classic "Elf"

Administration provided a nice breakfast to all staff on their traveling cart with some wonderful Jazz music to wish everyone a great break!

Thank you to Senator Sal DiDomenico for dropping off toys last week to support the toy drive organized by a member of the CHS senior class!

Thank you to all our families who attended CHS' Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday!

YFM works on building food and nutrition curriculum and celebrates together before the new year.

Support our young parenting/expecting students by donating either to their diaper/essentials drive, or a Holiday Toy Drive.

Please see the link below for the most recent edition of the CHS Family Newsletter:

• CHS Family/Community Newsletter

COA staff and students celebrated our Jolly Week by hosting a gingerbread house competition, wrapping gifts for students, and dressing up to show holiday spirit!

CVLA wishes the CPS community Happy Holidays and a Wonderful 2025! Our holiday card shows some of the amazing adventures we have had this year at escape rooms and Hale Reservation.

We had two Class of 2024 alumni students visit CVLA this week and give advice to our current 12th graders.

Pictured are current 12th graders Melina and Christina and Class of 2024 graduate Ashly Lopez, who will be attending BHCC this spring for Psychology and Criminal Justice.

Class of 2024 alumni Nicole Riscanevo shared words of wisdom with our Class of 2025. Nicole is a freshman at Salem State University and is majoring in Social Work with minors in theater arts and dance. Nicole's words of advice were to manage time effectively, try new things at college, get to know your professors and don't be afraid to ask for help!

We wish Nicole, Ashly and all of our students, staff members and our families a wonderful holiday break. We are proud of you!

Chelsea Public Schools is a gateway school system that welcomes and educates ALL students.

Email: superintendent@chelseaschools.com