Chelsea Intermediate School

Dear Chelsea Families,

An important opportunity to provide feedback regarding your family’s experience at Chelsea Intermediate School is happening right now! The Illinois 5Essentials survey is currently open and will remain open through March 13.

We hope that all Chelsea families will take the time to participate in the survey and share your thoughts on important indicators of school effectiveness. To take the survey please click HERE.

We appreciate your willingness to take time out of your busy day and share your thoughts about our school. We always strive to be our very best, and your feedback helps us to do just that.

Thanks, as always, for your support and partnership. We are looking forward to a marvelous March!

Sincerely,

Rachel Newcomb

Principal

Paula Paymaster

Assistant Principal

Ricky Innocenti

Dean of Students

We will be administering the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) to all Chelsea students during the weeks of March 16 and 23. The ELA assessment will take place on March 18 and 19, while the math assessment will be administered on March 24, 25, and 26.

Fifth graders will also take the Illinois Science Assessment on April 14, 15, and 16.

Spring is almost here!

As trees and flowers begin to blossom, you may notice you or your child are sneezing, rubbing the eyes a lot, or feeling congested. Pollen or other environmental allergens may be the culprit! To help your child feel their best during the school days, please make sure any prescribed allergy medications are taken before school if recommended by their doctor.

Beyond the basics, here are a few more tricks to try to keep allergies at bay:

Wash hands/face and change clothes after outdoor play.
Monitor the pollen count and close windows on high pollen count days.
Run a saline nasal rinse before bedtime to clear out allergens.
Wipe down pets after they've been outside.
Encourage drinking extra water to thin mucous and clear congestion.

If your child needs allergy support during the school day, please contact the school nurse!

Looking for ideas to keep your third, fourth and fifth graders active over spring break? You’ve come to the right place! The Chelsea Special Education Teachers have put together a list of fun-filled “boredom busters” that will keep you well equipped when you hear, “I’m bored,” over Spring Break.

Music in Our Schools Month

The National Association for Music Education raises awareness of the importance of music in our schools. Every March is Music in Our Schools Month. Use this time to share music with your children at home, too.

· Attend a musical at a local children's theatre and/or introduce your kids to the world of musical theatre by listening to a soundtrack or watching a musical movie.

· Put on music from different genres and hold a dance party at home.

· Attend a family music class that introduces young ones to harmonicas, tambourines, maracas, and drums. If your kids are older, a family drumming circle can be fun.

Youth Art Month

The National Art Education Association began Youth Art Month in 1961 to encourage everyone to support all school art programs. You can also encourage creativity through artwork at home during the month of March.

· If the weather is nice, let your kids try creative outdoor painting and display their artwork when they're finished.

· Visit a local art museum or gallery and discuss what piece of artwork is each family member's favorite.

· Check out books on drawing from the library. Compare anime or classic comic strips and practice your drawing skills.

National Nutrition Month

This is the perfect time to teach your children about healthy eating habits. Use health and nutrition printables to help your kids learn about eating vegetables, taking good care of themselves, and more.

· Host a fruit and vegetable taste test by cutting up colorful produce and trying each piece to see which is each person's favorite.

· Explore ethnic cuisine by cooking a special meal from another culture together.

· Ask your kids to draw their favorite fruit or vegetable to create a gallery of healthy foods. Hang up the art in the kitchen or use it to inspire your next grocery store trip.

Women's History Month

Both boys and girls can benefit from learning about Women's History Month. Encourage kids to understand the various roles women have played throughout history.

· Do science experiments that illustrate the principles discovered or researched by female scientists.

· Create a scrapbook that celebrates all the women in your family's lineage with photos and journaling about how they have contributed to both your family and society.

· Research how women lived 100 years ago, including how they dressed, what sort of jobs they held or roles they played in society, and what they legally were and were not able to do. Discuss how women's lives differ today.

American Red Cross Month

Help kids understand the rich history and the importance of the American Red Cross while also teaching them how to keep both themselves and others safe.

· Teach young children important safety tips, such as how to call 911, how to avoid dog bites, and how to get out of a house that's on fire.

· Enroll a teen in a Red Cross babysitting course to prepare for babysitting jobs.

· Learn about what the American Red Cross does in the U.S. and make a family donation to support a cause.

March is National Reading Month! Chelsea’s library has something for everyone to celebrate reading, including chapter books, nonfiction books, audiobooks, and graphic novels.

In March the library’s theme shelf celebrates Women’s History Month and St. Patrick’s Day. Special monthly themed books are on a special shelf all month and can be accessed online using Destiny Discover from every student’s Classlink page.

Students had fun with puzzles in the library last month!

We finished February with almost 19,000 check-outs this school year!

The Bluestem Reading Challenge is still going! In February, we finished reading the 2nd half of Escape at 10,000 Feet by Tom Sullivan.

What to know about the Bluestem Reading Challenge at Chelsea:

● Participation is optional.

● After reading 4 titles, students are eligible to take part in voting for the book they believe should be the Bluestem award winner. We will read 4 books during library.

● If your child chooses to participate, they will be rewarded for every 4 books they read on this year’s Bluestem nominee list.

● Upon completion of 18 books, your student will be invited to the Bluestem Bash in the spring (details TBD).

● Chelsea’s library has copies of each book available. Public libraries in our area also have copies available.

● You and your child are encouraged to look at the list together to choose which Bluestem nominated books your child will read this year.

● Tracking progress is easy using the Beanstack app on your child’s laptop!

Parents are welcome to volunteer in the library. Please contact Ms. Fracassi to learn more.

Tara Fracassi

Chelsea Intermediate School Librarian

tfracassi@fsd157c.org

In February, students worked on building their cardiovascular endurance by participating in our jump rope unit. They learned over a dozen jump variations, including the double bounce, single bounce, and crisscross jump.

We also kicked off our Kids Heart Challenge event with the American Heart Association. In the days leading up to our Jump Event, students were encouraged to take part in heart-healthy challenges such as drinking water instead of sugary drinks, getting 60 minutes of physical activity each day, and practicing kindness toward others. During PE, we discussed how these positive habits contribute to strong heart health.

Students also had the opportunity to raise lifesaving donations to support research through the American Heart Association. Chelsea did an amazing job and has already raised over $17,500! The event was filled with heart-healthy jump rope skills, fun contests, and raffles.

KEEP SAVING BOX TOPS for EDUCATION!

**Many food labels have started using box tops that need to be scanned. If you would like to continue to support our school, you need to download the Box Tops for Education app. Make sure you select Chelsea Intermediate School before you begin scanning your box tops!**

At Chelsea, we believe every student is a musician, and our music room is a place where creativity takes center stage. We celebrate the learning process in music by making mistakes, trying again, and growing with each note and rhythm. Music class is a welcoming space where students explore, express themselves, and experience the joy of making music together.

Here is a look at what our 3rd through 5th grade musicians have been working on this quarter:

Olympic Music Exploration
During the third quarter, all music classes explored the rich musical history of the Olympic Games through opening ceremony performances from around the world. Students analyzed how music, movement, and visuals work together to represent culture, unity, and national pride on a global stage. To bring this learning to life, we also held our first annual Music Winter Olympic Games in class, where students participated in fun, collaborative musical challenges that celebrated teamwork, creativity, and musicianship.

3rd Grade
Third graders have been focusing on rhythm. Students are learning to analyze, read, write, and perform rhythmic patterns using eighth notes, quarter notes and rests, half notes and rests, and whole notes and rests. Through singing games, movement activities, and percussion instruments, they are strengthening their sense of beat while having fun making music together.

4th Grade
Fourth graders are in the midst of one of their favorite units, Recorder Karate. They are building rhythmic accuracy, learning to read notes on the treble clef staff, and practicing with enthusiasm. As students work toward earning their next belt, their confidence continues to grow with each new song they master. It has been an exciting and rewarding experience for everyone.

5th Grade
Fifth grade musicians are taking their learning to the next level. After reviewing advanced rhythms and exploring musical form, students are now engaged in composition projects. This provides an engaging way to showcase both creativity and musical understanding.

I am incredibly proud of our students’ growth, note by note and beat by beat. Be sure to ask your musician about what they are learning in class, and please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Thank you for your continued support of music education at Chelsea.

There’s been a lot of excitement in STEM this third quarter!

Our fifth graders kicked things off with a deep dive into Biomimicry, exploring how nature inspires innovation. They discovered that leaves have influenced the design of many products thanks to their waterproof and stain resistant qualities. Next, students put their creativity to the test by engineering ski slopes and roller coasters, applying principles of physics and design. Finally, they took on the Pringles Challenge designing and testing different packaging materials to see which best protected a chip. The lightest unbroken chip package will soon be mailed out for the ultimate test! After that, the fifth graders demonstrated how a balloon powered car travels across 3 types of surfaces, learning about potential energy, kinetic energy, thrust and friction.

Fourth graders have been busy experimenting with liquids and powders to explore how physical and chemical changes can occur when materials are combined. Next, they turned into product testers, comparing three brands of diapers to see which could hold the most liquid without leaking and which stayed driest to the touch. After careful testing and observation, Huggies came out on top! Next up is pH testing and how acids in foods and candies affect our dental health.

The third graders kicked off their first project with a hands-on exploration of Maglev Cars. Students experimented with magnetic poles to discover which poles attract and which ones repel, helping them understand the science behind magnetic levitation. After testing their initial car designs, they moved into the redesign phase adding weight, adjusting wing shapes, and even creating sails to find ways to make their cars travel faster and more smoothly. It was an exciting blend of creativity, problem-solving, and scientific discovery! The next project was to design and engineer an areodynamic Air Powered Dragstaer Racecar. Students measured time and distance to calculate the speed of their incredible vehicles.

STEM technology empowers students to explore tools like Sphero BOLTs, Ozobots, coding, keyboarding, and Makey Makey, helping them build creativity and problem-solving skills.

A new month is here, and somehow it has arrived faster than expected! Time really does fly when we’re busy creating in the art room. Third quarter has been full of learning, experimenting, and lots of artistic fun through our boot camps. Boot camps are focused learning days where artists explore a specific skill or medium—giving them time to practice, take creative risks, play, make mistakes, and learn from the process. Our students have been working incredibly hard and creating some truly fantastic artwork, and there is still so much exciting art-making ahead!

Be sure to keep an eye on Instagram to follow along with all the #TigerArt fun happening in the art room.

Art is about so much more than the finished piece—it’s also about the thinking, experimenting, and conversations that happen along the way. Talking with your student about their artwork can help them reflect, build confidence, and feel proud of their creative choices. If you’re looking for ways to start those conversations at home, try asking questions like these:

Ask rather than assume

“Tell me about what you made.”
“What’s the story behind this?”
“Which piece would you like to display?”

Talk about the process

“Why did you choose those colors or shapes?”
“What part did you enjoy the most?”
“How did you feel while you were creating?”

Looking at artwork

“What do you notice?”
“How does this artwork make you feel?”
“What do you think happened before or after this moment?”
“What would you title this artwork, and why?”

As the weather begins to warm up, encourage your student to take their creativity outdoors—drawing from observation or creating sculptures with natural materials are great ways to explore art in a new setting. You’ll also find a spring art challenge included below that your student can complete at home. Be sure to send me photos of their creations—I love seeing what they make!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our art program.

Happy March! Quarter 3 has been moving along quickly. So far in Spanish class, students have been learning basic conversational phrases. Students learned how to describe the weather and what clothing they would wear. We finished the month of February learning about animals.

Quarter 3 will end on March 21st. As the quarter continues, students will continue developing their Spanish vocabulary to describe their daily lives., including reviewing numbers and learning to tell time in Spanish.

Vocabulary themes will include:

Introductions, greetings, farewells
Weather, seasons and clothing
Numbers, telling time, giving age, counting
Calendar: days of the week, dates months of the year
The Spanish alphabet
Geography
Sports
Animals

Students in Spanish 3rd Quarter: if possible, please donate the following for our shared materials:

black chisel-tip Expo markers
regular pencils (not mechanical)
erasers
colored pencils

Here are the new themes for March and April. A hard copy of this flyer was sent home with your Chelsea Tiger as well.

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Theme Thursday March April 2026.pdf

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Has your child had a special event or accomplishment outside of school? A performance, competition, or recital? If you would like to have your child's team, troupe, or company celebrated at school, please fill out the form linked below. We are happy to celebrate with you!

We will do our best to be timely in our recognition, but please know there may be a slight delay due to the volume of requests on any given school day.

In addition to appearing below, this "Family Shoutout” link will be posted on the Chelsea webpage so that you can access it at any time. We look forward to celebrating your child’s wonderful accomplishments with our Chelsea learning community!

Chelsea Family Shoutouts