September 2,2025

IMPORTANT DATES:

School Pictures/ Life touch Monday Sept 22

PTO Meeting Thursday, October 9th @ 6:30 in McCarthy Library:

No School Columbus Day October 13

Early Release Thursday October 23 @ 11:00am

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

Daylight Savings-Turn Clocks Back 1 Hour Sunday November 2

Term 2 Begins Monday November 3

No School Tuesday November 4

No School Veterans Day Tuesday November 11

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

Registerforthe2025-26SchoolBus

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As our schools reopen, this is a final reminder that all students riding the school bus must be registered regardless if a fee is required.

Register Now

Please keep in mind the following:

• All riders must be registered online.
• INCOMPLETE REGISTRATION: Anyone who has received an e-mail message regarding an incomplete bus registration and/or has not completed the registration will not receive a bus pass or be on the driver’s passenger roster.
• ALTERNATE ADDRESS: Any student using an alternate address must contact the transportation department immediately. All riders' addresses are automatically reset to the home address each year. Alternate addresses must be for all 5 days of the week.
• FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Anyone who has chosen the 'seeking financial assistance' option during registration must apply and be approved for the free and reduced lunch program.

For more information, contact the Transportation Office at 978-251-5100 or by e-mail at brekalisp@chelmsford.k12.ma.us.

Q: Will my child be permitted to ride other buses throughout the school year? A: Students must ride only on their assigned bus. Bus swapping or riding to a friend’s house is not permitted.

• 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.

Student Drop Off Procedure (same as last year)

Student Drop Off Procedure

The middle school students in grades 5-8 will continue to ride the same buses to and from school. 7th & 8th graders will be dropped off at McCarthy beginning at 8:00am, and the buses will continue to Parker. At dismissal, beginning at 2:30pm, students will board the buses at McCarthy, and then will travel to pick up the 5th & 6th graders at Parker.

Overview:

Morning Drop Off

• Students can be dropped off beginning at 8:00am using the large lot located off of Old Westford Road (near the turf field/skate park). All cars will enter and exit from Old Westford Road. Students will use the walkway and enter the school near the library.

• No vehicles will be allowed to enter through the North Road entrance as the buses will be utilizing the front of the school along with the driveway in front of the Police Station.

• Buses will enter off of North Road and will drop students off in front of the school and will exit onto Old Westford Road.

• Students who walk or ride bikes, etc., can enter through the main entrance. There is a bike rack located on the left side of the school closest to the staff parking area.

Afternoon Dismissal

• At 2:30pm, students being picked up will exit the building and can be picked up in the rear lot off of Old Westford Road (near the turf field/skate park).

• No vehicles will be allowed to enter through the North Road entrance as the buses will be utilizing the front of the school along with the driveway in front of the Police Station.

• All students who ride buses will board the buses in front of the school and along the Police Station side of the building. Buses will depart for Parker using the Old Westford Road exit.

WHEN BUSES ARE READY TO DEPART - PARENT TRAFFIC WILL BE HALTED SO ALL BUSES CAN EXIT. WE WILL HAVE STAFF MEMBERS ASSISTING IN ALL LOCATIONS DURING DISMISSAL.

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

Mean Girls Jr. auditions are after school Sept 23 & 25. Call backs on the 30th. Sign up on google classroom. Classroom code is at 4 corners on the drama board.

Select chorus auditions are after school Tuesday, Oct. 14 AND Oct 21.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the above.

Jodi Richardson

7-8 Choral Director/Musical Director--McCarthy Middle School

5-6 Choral assistant—Parker Middle School

Chelmsford Public Schools

Health Office Update

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

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

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, September 17th

Thursday, October 23rd

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.

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.

TERM 1 Aug. 26 – Oct. 31

TERM 2 Nov. 3 – Jan. 23

TERM 3 Jan. 26 – April 3

Term 4 April 6 – June 18

Email: mannioni@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

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