Dear Center Community,

We wrapped up another busy and exciting week here at school, filled with learning, enrichment, and community spirit!

Our Kindergarten students had a special treat with a visit from Animal Adventures. The children were delighted to meet and learn about a variety of animals up close—thank you to our amazing PTO for providing this wonderful enrichment opportunity!

Our third grade teachers did a fantastic job guiding our school committee through the writing process, and several third grade authors wowed them with their writing pieces . We all learned a great deal—not just about writing, but also about honored traditions, peregrine falcons, and penguins!

Wednesday, we kept the "Prince Spaghetti Day" spirit alive with our annual Ziti Supper, and it was a wonderful evening of great food and even better company. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the many parent and staff volunteers, the generous community businesses who donated, and especially to our incredible fourth grade students, who provided professional-level service with warm smiles.

As we look ahead, please continue to check the school calendar and read weekly updates carefully—we have many exciting events coming up that you won’t want to miss!

Art Show on Wednesday

Wednesday, May 7th is our Palettes and Pages night. Please join us from 5:00 - 6:30 and enjoy Center students' art work and shop for some books as well.

Fourth Grade Finale

The fourth grade finale will be held on Friday, June 13th from 12:30 - 1:00. Families will begin seating in the cafeteria at 12:15. Students will be treated to lunch and entertainment following the ceremony. Only volunteers who signed up to assist with the activities will be allowed to stay. Due to limited capacity in the gymnasium, siblings at Center will not be allowed to attend the ceremony.

Math and Reading Interventionists

Our math and reading interventionists will be finishing their word with Center students on May 23rd. Many thanks to Ms. May, Ms. Thakur, Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Cakounes for the efforts and support provided to our students.

Placement

If you would like to provide input regarding placement, you must do so by May 5th for it to be considered. Please see more information and a link below.

Don't forget to let "Your Kind Shine" on Monday!

Enjoy the weekend,

Warm Regards,

Dianna and Donna

Dear Chelmsford Families,

Our district values your feedback! We are currently surveying The Chelmsford Public Schools families in order to gain insight into your perception of our school and district's effectiveness. We also want to better understand barriers to families accessing our schools and programs. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.

To administer these surveys, we have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our 2025 Family Survey as we did in 2023 and 2024 as well. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses anonymous. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and district as good as they can be.

You may complete the survey online between Thursday May 1st and Friday June 13th using a computer, tablet, or smartphone by visiting the website below: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/chelmsfordma/family25/surveys

If you have multiple CPS school-aged children, please feel free to fill out multiple surveys to represent each individual child’s experience. The first question on the survey will be a dropdown to select which school you are filling the survey out for.

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact your building Principal.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Please press the links for Restorative Practices Parent and Caregiver Presentation recording from April 16th as well as a Padlet for parents that Pathways to Restorative Communities created.

• Presentation link

• Padlet link

A reminder from Mrs. Engdahl:

The Center School Book Fair here! The book fair will continue through May 7th during student library classes. Families are also welcome to visit the book fair during Palettes and Pages (art show and book fair) on May 7th from 5pm-6:30pm. To learn more about the book fair, click here.

Thank you for your support!

Happy Reading,

Meaghan Engdahl, Librarian

engdahlm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Our placement process for the upcoming 2025--2026 school year is beginning and will take place over several weeks. This process is truly a team effort that involves input from school personnel and student data gathered over time. We put great care into the decisions that are made. All information is reviewed by the present grade level teachers, reading teachers, special education teachers, counselors, principals and other appropriate personnel so that we can be confident that classroom make ups are conducive to learning.

When creating classrooms, it is important that we are mindful of the needs of our students across grade levels. Individual classes need to strike the delicate balance between overall range of abilities, learning styles, special needs, conduct and appropriate combinations of students. Final lists are reviewed very carefully to ensure we have used our collective professional judgment to place each child appropriately in a well-balanced class. Our goal at Center is to provide a learning environment that meets the needs of the whole child and placement is a key factor in realizing this goal. Your input in the process is gladly accepted.

If you feel that there is additional information of which we should be aware in placing your child for next year, please complete the following form by Monday, May 5, 2025. Please submit this to the principal even if you have discussed your preferences or concerns with the teacher or shared the same preference in a previous year. Please keep in mind that we are unable to honor requests for individual teachers, or input received after May 5, 2025. Submissions containing such requests will not be considered. Please note, parent placement requests are not guaranteed as there are many variables that go into student placement.

Thank you for your involvement and continued partnership in your child's education at Center.

It finally feels like SPRING! and our adventurous kids are getting outside, playing sports, having fun and sometimes getting injured, sunburned or having allergy symptoms.

Please review these important reminders for the remainder of the school year and enjoy the warmer weather!

Injuries

* When an injury occurs (concussions, fractures, sprains, stitches, etc.), please notify the nurse and keep your student home until they are cleared by a health care provider to return to school.

* When your student returns to school, please send a doctor's note to the nurse. Students who come to school with casts, stitches, slings or splints will not be able to participate in PE or outdoor recess without a doctor's note. Parent/guardian wishes may not supersede medical orders.

* The full injury policy can be found on the district website: https://chelmsfordschools.org/departments/health-services/health-policies/

Sun Safety

Please apply sunscreen in the morning before school. Sunscreen may not be sent to school with students. Students may wear hats and sunglasses at recess to protect skin and eyes from sun and pollen. Here is some helpful information about sun safety from the American Academy of Pediatrics: https://www.healthychildren.org sun safety

Seasonal Allergies

If your child has hay fever or seasonal allergy symptoms, please read these helpful tips from Harvard Medical School for managing symptoms this spring: https://www.health.harvard.edu allergies





Rose Remmetter Felzani, MSN, RN

May

• Thursday, May 1-7 Book Fair

• Saturday, May 3: Recycle Day, 8:00-12:00

• Monday, May 5: Be Kind Spirit Wear day

• Tuesday, May 6: National Nurse Appreciation Day

• Wednesday, May 7: Palettes and Pages 5-6:30 PM

• Monday May 12th, 4th Grade– Session 1

• Tuesday May 13th, 4th Grade– Session 2

• Wednesday May 14th , 3rd Grade – Session 1

• Thursday May 15th, 3rd Grade – Session 2

• Monday, May 12: Roller Kingdom

• Wednesday, May 14:K Parent Orientation 6:30-7:00

• Friday, May 16: Chelmsford Spirit Day

• Monday, May 19, 4th grade trip to the State House TBConfirmed

• Monday, May 19- May 28, Kindergarten Screening; 9-12

• Wednesday, May 21, Kindergarten Screening 9-12

• Wednesday, May 21, CSPTO mtg Center Library, 6:30-7:30

• Thursday, May 22: Center Family Sing Along, 6PM

• Thursday, May 22, Kindergarten Screening 9-12

• Friday, May 23, Kindergarten Screening 9-12

• Monday, May 26: No School - Memorial Day

• Wednesday, May 28: Kindergarten Screening 9-12

• Friday, May 30: co-president’s meeting, 9:15-10:15

• Friday, May 30: Unified Field Day TBC

• June

  • Monday, June 2: Be Kind Spirit Wear day

  • Tuesday, June 3: Term 2 Gr K, End of marking period

  • Tuesday, June 3: Term 3, Gr 1-4 End of marking period

  • Wednesday, June 4, CSPTO mtg Center Library, 6:30-7:30, if needed

  • Friday, June 6: CPS Senior walk through at 2 PM

  • Thursday, June 12: Field Day , rain date Friday, June 16th

  • Friday, June 13: 4th Grade Finale - 11-3

  • Friday, June 13: T3, Gr K-4 Teacher deadline for posting grades

  • Friday, June 13: Educator signs summative evaluation report and adds response, if any within 5 school days of receipt

  • Monday, June 16: Field Day Rain Date.

  • Tuesday, June 17th- Last day of school-1/2 day for students

  • Wednesday, June 18th- Last day of school-staff

  • Wednesday, June 18: Gr K-4, Grades available for parent/guardian

  • Thursday, June 19: No School - Juneteenth

This year, students across the Commonwealth will be taking The Next- Generation MCAS for our annual standardized state testing. All students in Chelmsford will be taking the computer-based assessment using Chromebooks. Please mark your calendars for the important dates below. We strongly encourage all students to be present and on time these days. If your child is sick, we will have make-up sessions so that they are able to take the assessments when they are able to show their personal best work.

Chelmsford is fortunate to have access to iReady to support student learning. Students have access to this learning tool at home. Please reach out to your teacher if you have difficulty logging on. There is much research to support enhanced student achievement on MCAS when using this valuable tool. Please press here for more information.

Math MCAS TESTING:

Grade 4:

Monday May 12th, 4th Grade– Session 1

Tuesday May 13th, 4th Grade– Session 2

Grade 3:

Wednesday May 14th , 3rd Grade – Session 1

Thursday May 15th, 3rd Grade – Session 2

Links:

http://i-readycentral.com/familycenter/

https://www.curriculumassociates.com/research-and-efficacy