September 2,2025

IMPORTANT DATES:

7th Grade Open House Tuesday Sept. 9 @ 6pm

Early Release Wednesday Sept 17 @ 11am

8th Grade Open House Thursday Sept 18 @ 6pm

School Pictures/ Life touch Monday Sept 22

Each year, the schools hold an open house for families to visit and learn more about what students are learning at school. Please mark your calendars with these dates to visit your child's school!

• 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.

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.

McMelody (acapella group) auditions are before school 7:15 AM Sept. 9 OR 10 for individuals

before school 7:15 AM Sept 11 ALL see Mrs R for music

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

Parents please check your child's backpacks for the Opening Day Packets for their sign-offs,to be returned.

If you need help accessing the X2 Family Portal, please contact CPS Technology here.

Welcome Back!

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

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-isolation-and-exposure-guidance-for-children-and-staff-in-child-care-k-12-out-of-school-time-ost-and-recreational-campprogram-settings

Gina Clancy - clancyg@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Meaghan Hughes - hughesm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

McCarthy PTO is working hard to create community building events for our students, families and staff members. Check out a few upcoming activities below:

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!

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

DATES :

Sept 17

Oct 23

Nov 19

Dec 11

Jan 13

Feb 5

March 11

April 7

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