September 2,2025

"We will be practicing an ALICE Emergency Response Drill during the last week of October. Dr. Parks will send a message after the practice is completed."

IMPORTANT DATES:

October

Term 1 Ends Friday October 31 Halloween ( Trick or Treat )

Costumes for a Cause event. All students and staff to wear a costume to school, and donate $1 dollar to Project 300 Friday Oct 31

November

Daylight Savings-Turn Clocks Back 1 Hour Sunday November 2

Term 2 Begins Monday November 3

No School Tuesday November 4

Recycling Day Saturday Nov 8 ( 8am-12pm )

Picture Retakes Monday November 10

No School Veterans Day Tuesday November 11

Virtual PTO Meeting Nov 13th ( 6:30 )

Early Release Elem. & M.S. Wednesday November 19 @ 11:00 am

Early Release Wednesday November 26 @ 11:00 am Thanksgiving Break Begins

No School Thursday & Friday November 27-28 Thanksgiving Break

December

Parker Craft Fair Sunday December 7 ( 9:00- 2:00 )

On Friday, October 31st, we will host our 3rd Annual "Costumes for a Cause event." We invite (and encourage) all students and staff to wear a costume to school, and donate 1 dollar to Project 300. With 100% participation, we could raise over $900 for our annual food drive. This is a fun and easy way to enjoy the holiday season and celebrate as a school community, while supporting our friends and neighbors in need.

*Additional rules and guidance on what is/is not appropriate for costumes here*

Happy Friday McCarthy Families! McCarthy PTO has some exciting activities planned for the 2025/2026 school year! Check out a few upcoming activities below:

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.

We held our first meeting of the year in our McCarthy Library. It was well attended, and gave our new Assistant Principal, Chris Cowan, an opportunity to meet several of our supportive parents and families.

Moving forward, PTO meetings will be held virtually until May. We are hopeful that this will be more convenient for our families and teachers, and will help boost attendance and participation.

Meeting links will be shared out via newsletters and emails prior to the meeting. Upcoming events, activities and additional information can also be found on the new PTO website: https://pto.chelmsfordschools.org/mccarthy-pto/

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to McCarthy PTO at PTO.McCarthy@gmail.com As always, thank you for your continued support of our school community!

SchoolPictureRetakeDaySchedule

McCarthy: retakes Monday, November 10

Retake Picture Day ID: EVTGSV8QN

McCarthy families: picture packages were delivered to the school last week and sent home with students. If you have not received your order please check your students backpack.

There is no requirement to pre-order. Answers to many frequently asked questions can be found in the online Lifetouch help center: https://lifetouch.my.site.com/helpcenter/s/topic/0TO6R000000sYVUWA2/k12-school-photography. If you miss the order window you can use your student's ID, found in x2, to access your student's digital proof and order prints online.

For specific questions or help, please email the CoCS VP of Photo Contracts at cpsphotoinfo@gmail.com

Thank you for your support,

Council of Chelmsford Schools

Health Office Update

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children in the U.S. Early and regular dental care is important to children’s overall health and well being. Below is a list of some of the local dentists who take MassHealth. Please reach out to the health office if we can assist you in finding dental and/or primary care for your child.

Local Dental Providers who accept MassHealth

Dental Dreams, Wood St, Lowell, MA 978-458-5544

Lowell Community Health Center, 161 Jackson St., Lowell MA 978-937-9700

Perfect Dental, Chelmsford, 65A Drum Hill Rd., Chelmsford, MA 978-770-2308

Simply Dental Of Lowell, 155 Market St, Lowell, MA 978-344-1911

REMINDER:

Students are required to have a current physical on file with the health office, per Massachusetts state law. The specific requirement can be found HERE. Physicals can be sent in with your student, faxed or emailed. We are here for any questions or concerns. Thank you!

Your Nurses,

Nurse Maeghan and Nurse Clancy

hughesm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

clancyr@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

F: 978-256-9230

Your school nurses are here to support students and families throughout the school year. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. Remember to send in all rescue medications with MD orders and parents consent so we can keep students safe. Forms are available HERE. Please also take time to review the district health policy, individual health affects community health. It’s a shared duty. Please update us with any health changes. We hope for a healthy year for all students and families!

-Nurse Clancy and Nurse Maeghan

hughesm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

clancyr@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

P: 978-251-5122 x2

F: 978-256-9230

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, student’s name should appear on 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

Early Release Date

Wednesday, November 19th

Thursday, December 11th

Tuesday, January 13th

Thursday, February 5th

Wednesday, March 11th

Tuesday, April 7th

Lunch/Cafeteria Reminder:

Our school is considered to be "nut aware" and not nut free. Although nuts are allowed, no students are permitted to share food in the building. It is also considered best practice not to have students bring in shelled peanuts for the safety of others. It is important for students to understand that if they are bringing in nut products, they cannot share them regardless of whether the other student is allergic or not. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that no student experiences an anaphylactic response and we can help prevent those events together.

While we have these discussions with students throughout the day, it would be helpful and appreciated if you would address this at home as well.

Email: mccarthy_attendance@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Please Send Email: Prior to 9am on the day of the absence (same as current voicemail option) Please Include: Child’s name, Grade, and Reason for absence.

We encourage you to use the email option when reporting an absence, dismissal, etc. Parents are still free to use the phone system to report absences, but you are encouraged to use email for greater office efficiency.

If you prefer, you can certainly call the attendance line prior to 9:00am, at 978-251-5122, please press 1.

**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.

McCarthy Middle School

Attendance Matters

For an absence to be “excused” families need to provide medical documentation. This includes dismissals from the health office, unless your school nurse is requiring the dismissal based on the “Illness Policy” (ie: temperature over 100, vomiting, etc.) set by the Chelmsford School District or nursing judgment based on concerning symptoms that require further assessment or monitoring. Any absences over 3 days require medical documentation to be considered excused.

We want to remind families of the Chromebook damage and loss fee structure. If a device is damaged or lost, our ticketing system will notify you directly.

Tiered Device Repair Costs

• $50: Broken hinge kits, keys/keyboards, exterior housing, trackpad, or camera
• $100: Screen replacement, or multiple $50-tier items (e.g., hinge + keyboard)
• $150: Motherboard damage (e.g., broken port, spill) or a combination of screen + $50-tier damage
• $300: Loss/theft, or multiple damages across tiers (e.g., screen + hinges + keyboard)

Thank you for your attention and support as we work together to ensure responsible and safe use of technology in our schools.

Sincerely,
Bill Silver, Director, ICTS
silverb@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

I've invited you to fill out a form:McCarthy Family Resources

McCarthy wants to offer support and assistance to your family if you are in need. Please complete this form if your family would benefit from our resources that we offer.

With the resources available, we will do our best to meet the needs of all families.

If you do not feel comfortable completing this form, please contact our school counselors, 978-251-5122

Moya Charig Covers students A-G @ charigm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us ext.7478

Elyse Seero Covers students H-N @ seeroe@chelmsford.k12.ma.us ext.7465

Jessica Weaver Covers students O-Z @ weaverj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us ext. 7477

They will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Our after-school programs are starting on Tuesday, October 14th! Please see the list of clubs & activities that we will offer this year. The Activity Card fee is $50 per student. This year, we will be collecting fees using the "MySchoolBucks" platform. This is the same program that handles our bus registration and payment. Please see attached registration information if you do not already have an account.

The $50 dollar activity fee allows students to take full advantage of any clubs they wish to attend. The after-school activities run from 2:30-3:30 on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday throughout the year. All 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 kids take the correct bus home. Since we only have 8 late buses, 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 through the main lobby and can be picked up there.

*Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions, or if we can assist with an activity card for your child.

TERM 1 Aug. 26 – Oct. 31

TERM 2 Nov. 3 – Jan. 23

TERM 3 Jan. 26 – April 3

Term 4 April 6 – June 18

• Front Doors open @ 7:55 a.m.
• Warning Bell to go to class @ 8:08 a.m.
• First Period bell rings @ 8:10 a.m. (students should be in First period Class at this time)
  

• Dismissal is @ 2:30 p.m.

• Arrival Time: Arrival time for students at the McCarthy Middle School is 8:10 a.m. There is no supervision for students before that time.Students are not allowed in the building before 7:55 .

Email: mannioni@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Website: https://mccarthy.chelmsfordschools.org/
Location: 250 North Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: 978-251-5122