Chelsea Intermediate School
January Newsletter 2026
Dear Chelsea Families,
We hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season! May your Winter Break be full of family, friends, and lots of fun! When we return to school on January 6, it will officially be a new calendar year. We have many things to look forward to during the upcoming months of 2026!
The new year will bring a new season of after school clubs, as well as another round of Lunch Bunch for all grade levels. We are very happy to provide these opportunities that enable our Tigers to connect over their personal interests.
In January, we will kick off another year of the Kids’ Heart Challenge! The Kids’ Heart Challenge is a national educational and fundraising program to benefit the American Heart Association. It emphasizes a healthy lifestyle while empowering students to give back through a community service initiative.
January will also bring the DARE program for all our fifth graders. This program, led by Officer Tom Mineo, teaches our students how to withstand pressures and make healthy, responsible choices when it comes to drugs and alcohol.
During the week of February 23, Chelsea will be hosting our spring Scholastic Book Fair. We will be inviting all families to a special STEAM and Family Book Fair Night on Thursday, February 26. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
Last but not least, we will be welcoming author Cynthia Lord to Chelsea on May 6. Each grade level will be reading aloud one of her novels in preparation for our visit. Mrs. Lord will be talking with students about her books, as well as the writing process from brainstorming ideas to getting a book published.
There are so many exciting things on the horizon for our Tigers. We can’t wait for the events of the upcoming months!
Sincerely,
Rachel Newcomb
Principal
Paula Paymaster
Assistant Principal
Ricky Innocenti
Dean of Students
Dear Families,
Regular school attendance supports your child’s well-being and learning. However, there may be times when staying home is the healthier choice – for your child and the school community.
Here are some quick tips to help decide when to keep your child home.
It may be okay to go to school if:
• Your child has a runny nose or occasional cough with no other symptoms.
• Your child has a mild stomachache but has not thrown up or had diarrhea.
• Your child has a mild rash and no other symptoms.
• Your child has mild eye drainage without fever, eye pain, or redness.
• Your child has a mild sore throat and can drink and eat normally.
Keep your child at home if:
• Your child has a temperature of 100°F or higher.
• Your child has taken a fever reducing medication in the past 24 hours due to a fever.
• Your child has vomited or had diarrhea more than twice in the last 24 hours.
• Your child has symptoms that prevent them from comfortably participating in school, such as a productive or persistent cough, very tired, body aches, or loss of appetite.
We finished 2025 with almost 14,000 books checked out from the library!
During the month of December, students went on a scavenger hunt in the library to learn how to find books by their call number or genre. We talked about finding a healthy media balance and being responsible when using media. We also had some holiday fun!
The library has a Theme Section that changes monthly to highlight special subjects. January’s theme shelf will include books about winter.
Don’t Forget the Bluestem Challenge is still going on! Your child can keep track of all the Bluestem books they’ve read using the Beanstack app!
Parents are welcome to volunteer in the library with advance notice. Please contact Ms. Fracassi at tfracassi@fsd157c.org to learn more!
In December, we had fun bowling!
Students learned the 3-step approach and how to aim for the pocket during our bowling unit. They also practiced scoring the “old-fashioned way” with paper and pencil as they learned about strikes, spares, and even turkeys! We wrapped up the unit with a winter-themed cosmic bowling day.
Looking ahead to 2026:
We have some exciting activities coming up in January, including Dance and Jump Rope.
Our annual Kids Heart Challenge (Jump Rope for Heart) kicks off in January with a presentation from the American Heart Association. Be on the lookout for our new “Save the Date” card and parent letter, which will include information about online resources, how to participate in donations, and our Parents in PE Jump Rope Event.
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 would 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 their stage. We embrace the process in music: making mistakes, trying again, and growing with every note and rhythm we create. Music class is a place where students can explore, express themselves, and discover the joy of making music together.
Here’s what our 3rd through 5th grade musicians have been working on so far this quarter:
3rd Grade
Third graders have been diving into rhythm! We're learning to analyze, read, write, and perform 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, students are developing their inner sense of beat and rhythm while having lots of fun making music together.
4th Grade
Fourth graders are right in the middle of one of their absolute favorite music units, Recorder Karate. They’ve been sharpening their rhythmic skills, learning to read notes on the treble clef staff, and practicing with a lot of excitement. Students love working toward their next “belt,” and you can really see their confidence grow each time they master a new song. It’s been such a fun and rewarding unit for them.
5th Grade
Fifth grade musicians are taking it to the next level. After reviewing advanced rhythms and studying musical form, students are now deep into their winter-themed composition projects. Each student has selected a winter video clip and is creating original 3-part music to bring their scene to life. Using classroom instruments, they’re drawing inspiration from their own ideas and experiences to design the perfect soundtrack. Every composition is fully notated and performed for the class, giving students a fun and meaningful way to showcase their creativity and musical understanding.
I am so proud of the growth in each student, note by note and beat by beat. Be sure to ask your musician what they’re working on in class, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever have questions. Thank you for supporting music education at Chelsea!
Moving right along in STEM! Students are building their collaboration and problem-solving skills every day, and the learning doesn’t have to stop over break!
Encourage your child to stay curious by trying STEM challenges at home:
· Follow step-by-step directions to assemble a new toy or product.
· Compare different brands of the same item to see which performs best.
· Safely explore how things work by examining the inside of broken appliances (with adult supervision).
No matter what you do over winter break, keep wondering, keep exploring, and keep asking how and why. Stay curious!
Third graders measured time and distance to calculate the speed of their air powered dragsters, then put their engineering skills to the test by redesigning their cars to make them even faster. Way to go, third graders!
Students became true engineers as they designed and tested their own parachutes. Using rip cords, they explored whether long or short strings would help a parachute fall more slowly. Great job, young scientists!
Fourth graders kicked off the quarter with hands-on product testing. Students compared Pampers, Huggies, and Luvs to determine which diaper performed the best. Each group tested either which brand held the most liquid without leaking or which held the most liquid while remaining dry to the touch. Huggies was the overall winner!
Next, students explored the pH levels of common foods to classify them as acids, neutrals, or bases. They even researched different candies to identify which were strong or weak acids. With this new understanding, students created persuasive campaigns encouraging others to take care of their teeth—because acids can have a big impact on dental health!
Another exciting challenge involved solving the mystery of the “Spilled Powder on the Hickory Creek Bridge.” Students built a database of known powders by making observations, testing pH, and performing vinegar reaction tests. They then used their evidence to identify the mystery substance.
Donations for STEM room: Small scraps of wood or dowel rods, cardboard tubes, wire, hobby switches, playdoh, pipe cleaners, craft supplies, etc.
Happy New Year to all our families! It’s hard to believe we’ve already stepped into 2026. This year is sure to be filled with creativity, learning, fun, and—of course—ART!
Our 2nd-quarter artists have been working incredibly hard, exploring new skills through a series of boot camps and skill-building activities designed to help them grow and blossom. Boot camps are focused class sessions where students dive into a specific medium to strengthen their abilities. All grade levels completed drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture boot camps, learning proper tool use, technique, material care, and clean-up routines. Their progress has been amazing—students’ confidence and skills have truly flourished, and I am so proud of the artists they are becoming.
In addition to boot camps, students have been hard at work on their W.O.W. Projects (Wonder • Original • Works). For these projects, each student develops an original idea from start to finish. They choose their medium and tools, sketch out their plan, explain their process, and share their inspiration. After conferencing with me for approval, they get to bring their vision to life. The results have been nothing short of incredible—unique, thoughtful works that showcase their creativity and apply the skills learned throughout the quarter.
Thank you for your continued support of our art program! Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see what’s happening in the Studio and to enjoy the amazing artwork our students are creating.
Bienvenido, 2026! Quarter 2 ends on January 16th. Students who are currently in Spanish will start STEM on January 20th (no school on January 19th). Students will finish their quarter in Spanish with describing preferences of food, weather and activities. Students who had Quarter 2 Art will be starting Spanish on Jan. 20th. 3rd grade students will start learning Spanish basics (greetings, introductions, common courtesy, farewells) along with numbers 0-20. 4th and 5th grade students will review and continue building on their knowledge of the basics. 4th and 5th grade students will practice asking and answering questions about themselves. As the quarter continues, students will continue developing their Spanish vocabulary to describe their daily lives.
Students starting Spanish mid-January: if possible, please donate the following for our shared materials:
- 3rd graders: a black Expo marker
- 4th graders: regular pencil (not mechanical)
- 5th graders: colored pencils
January Dates to Remember
January 5 - No School - Teacher Institute Day
January 6 - School Resumes
January 6 - Hot Lunch (Athletic Boosters)
January 8 - Theme Thursday - New Year's Resolution
January 8 - Education Foundation Meeting at 9:30am
January 8 - 23 - Fastbridge Assessment
January 13 - Hot Lunch (FSP)
January 13 - FSP General Meeting at 9:30am
January 15 - Theme Thursday - Hawaiian Day
January 16 - End of Quarter 2 - Quarter 2 Celebration
January 19 - Holiday - No School
January 20 - Hot Lunch (Education Foundation)
January 20 - Board of Education Meeting at 7:00pm
January 20 - 23 - Q2 Roar Store
January 22 - Theme Thursday - Favorite Color
January 22 - 2nd Grade Step Up Day
January 23 - FSP Smoothie Day
January 27 - Hot Lunch (FSP)
January 29 - Theme Thursday - Stripes Day
January 30 - Fourth Grade Field Trip to Emagine Theater
