South Row's Home Link

Hello everyone,

We hope you are doing well with our 2026 Boot Camp. For those students and families that have already mastered these skills, please consider designing your own challenge to inspire independence with your child. You will thank yourselves later!

We look forward to kicking off South Row's Kindness Challenge this coming week and hope to encourage spreading kindness like confetti through our school and home kindness trackers as well as inspirational quotes and challenges. Please review more information below!

Also, for those of your with third or fourth graders, please see the 2026 MCAS dates below.

Respectfully,

Terri and Jayson

Monday

Happy Great Kindness Challenge Week! - Kindness Matters Shirt Day

• Today’s Challenge for School: Sit with a different classmate at lunch

• Today’s Challenge for Home: Help clean up after dinner

Tuesday

• Today’s Challenge for School: Play with someone different at recess

• Today’s Challenge for Home: Facetime or call a family member who you may not live with

Wednesday

• Today’s Challenge for School: Give 5 compliments to 5 different people throughout the day

• Today’s Challenge for Home: Tell someone who you live with that you love them

Thursday

• Today’s Challenge for School: Make at least five people smile throughout the day

• Today’s Challenge for Home: Give someone at home a compliment

Friday

• Today’s Challenge for School: If you notice someone who seems sad or upset, talk to them and try to cheer them up.

• Today’s Challenge for Home: Write or draw a thank you note to someone special at home

Monday, January 26th

• South Row Kindness Challenge Week begins
• Students are encouraged to wear kindness shirts to kick off the week! (Send photos to Dr. Ramalho)

Tuesday, January 27th

• Try it Tuesday - Olive Slices
• Incoming Kindergarten Registration, Central Office all day [info here]
• Gr. 3 and 4 SEL Survey

Wednesday, January 28th

• Incoming Kindergarten Registration, Central Office all day [info here]
• Kindergarten Enrichment (Mike Bent - Magician)

Thursday, January 29th

• No events

Friday, January 30th

• No events

Saturday, January 31st

• 2nd Annual Crafternoon with Tiny Tile Mosaics, 1-3pm

Monday, February 2nd

• Student Grade Level Meetings w/Mrs. Gilbert & Dr. Ramalho
• School Council, 5:30pm, VIRTUAL
• PTO Board Meeting, 6:30OPM, VIRTUAL
• PTO Meeting, 7:00PM, VIRTUAL

Tuesday, February 3rd

• Grade 3 Plimoth Patuxet Enrichment Program
• Spotlight on South Row at School Committee, 6:00pm

Wednesday, February 4th

• Global Play Day

• Thursday, February 5th

• Early Release Day - Staff Professional Development - Students dismissed at 11:45am

• Reminders for Early Release Days:

  • Students are dismissed at 11:45am
  • Car dismissals should adhere to the following times
  1. Last names A-G- 11:40-11:45am
  2. Last names H-N- 11:45-11:50am
  3. Last names O-Z- 11:50-11:55am
• Please communicate any changes to your child's dismissal plans to their respective teacher, Mrs. O'Neill (oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and Mrs. Sepe (sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us). Be sure to also discuss with your child.
• Lunch is available for take home ONLY through online ordering ( see Food Services section below in this newsletter)
• Students will either have specials or recess (rotates every half day).
• Snack time may be adjusted and/or not occur depending on your child(ren)'s schedule.
• Extended Day will be open until 6:00pm for students signed up on THURSDAY. Please provide your child a lunch.
• Please anticipate possible delays with buses as they navigate an early release schedule.
• Book Buddies (Duncan & Bullock & Rigby and Webber)

Saturday, February 7th

• Choralfest at CHS, 9:00-3:00pm

Tuesday, February 10th

• Grade 1 Enrichment Program (WBZ Meteorologist Visit)

Thursday, February 12th

• Grade 4 Enrichment Program (Discovery Museum- Lights & Lasers)

Friday, February 13th

• Red, White, and Pink Spirit Day
• Gr. 4 Trip to Performing Arts Center (5th Grade Performances), 9:30-10:45 am

Monday, February 16th- Friday, February 20th

• No School - February Vacation

Wednesday, February 25th

• South Row Science Fair, 6:30-8:00 PM

Thursday, February 26th

• South Row Science Fair (SNOW DATE), 6:30- 8:00 PM

Friday, February 27th

• Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day

New Year's Boot Camp: Starting on January 20th and running through January 30th students will participate in a school wide home/school challenge. Please check backpacks on Friday for either a paper backpack or paper coat which students will use over the next two weeks to keep track of their at home morning successes at either putting on and zipping/buttoning coats (kindergarten) or successfully packing their backpack (grades 1 to 4). For grades 1 to 4 the expectations on what students need to pack may vary slightly. Each colored paper backpack or coat will allow you to understand the expectations and give you a place to keep track of how your student (and you!) are doing each day. Good luck!

Science Fair: Registration is now open for our annual Science Fair that will be held on February 25th from 6:30 to 8:00. The snow date is February 26th. For more information you can use this link and to register use this link.

Multicultural Festival Planning: We are in the early stages of planning our annual Multicultural Festival which will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 on Saturday April 4th. If you are interested in helping out in anyway please reach out to Terri or Jayson. Our next planning meeting is scheduled for Monday February 9th at 3:45. All are welcome to attend!

Coats!!: Students will be outside for recess most days throughout the winter months. Please make sure to send your child in with a coat as the temperatures are falling rapidly.

Family Resources: Please use the Family Resources link to fill out our form if your family would benefit from assistance. We offer a variety of resources throughout the year.

ELA - 4/8 and 4/9 (grade 3)

ELA - 4/14 and 4/15 (grade 4)

Makeup will be ongoing through the 17th

Math - 5/6 and 5/7 (grade 3)

Math - 5/13 and 5/14 (grade 4)

Makeups will be ongoing through the 22nd

Hello South Row Families,

Our School Council is excited to share information about our upcoming Science Fair scheduled for Wednesday, February 25th from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Please click on the link to view information pertaining to this special event. The document includes all logistics and event-specific details. Additionally, click here for the link to the 2026 Science Fair Registration.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to review the information and discuss it with your child(ren) to see if they are interested in participating. If you or your child(ren) are interested in seeing what the event looks like, please click here to watch a video from a past event.

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to southrowsciencefair@gmail.com.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Gilbert & Dr. Ramalho

• Students are expected to wear coats, hats, gloves, and boots to school in the winter months!

• Students will not need to put on snow pants to go outside. However, if students wear boots, they will be able to go in the snow. You will be able to:

• Walk around in the snow

• Run in the snow

• Build a snowman

• Make tracks through the snow

• Play follow the leader

• If students wear boots, they will NOT be allowed to:

• Throw snow / Kick snow

• Throw snowballs

• Get pants wet

• If students forget snow boots, they will be able to go outside but will only be able to play on the blacktop area and not in the field or snow-covered areas.

Hello South Row Families,

I am writing with a follow-up regarding school health screenings. All required health screenings have now been completed at South Row.

Families of students who did not pass the vision or hearing screening were notified via email (sent to the parent/guardian email addresses listed in Aspen/X2), and a letter was also sent home in students’ backpacks. If you did not receive an email or letter, your child passed the required screenings for their grade level. If you have any questions about your child’s screening results, please feel free to reach out at any time.

Third Grade Families:
A notice was sent home this week regarding the need for an updated physical exam. Chelmsford Public Schools requires a current physical exam on file for all students in Kindergarten, 3rd grade, 6th grade, and 9th grade. Physical exams may be sent to the health office via backpack, email, or fax. My email address and fax number are included below for your convenience.

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting student health,

Nurse Martin

Email: martinh@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Fax: 978-256-9475

We have a lot of fun coming up in the next few weeks! We hope you can join us for fun and community!

- Sat. Jan. 31st, 1-3pm: Crafternoon with Tiny Tiles Mosaics at S.Row Cafeteria Buy Tiles HERE

- Sat. Feb. 14th, 2pm: Harlem Globetrotters at Tsongas Center Globetrotters Tickets

- Mon. Feb. 16th, 6-8pm: Family Skate Night at Roller Kingdom Skate Night Tickets

- Mon. Mar 2 - Fri. Mar. 6th: Community Read-In Week Sign up to Read

- Sat. Mar. 7th, 6:05pm: UMass Lowell River Hawks vs. BU Terriers at Tsongas Center River Hawks tickets

If you have any questions about any upcoming events, don't hesitate to reach out to us! southrowpto@gmail.com

2nd Annual Crafternoon with Tiny Tile Mosaics

We are hosting our 2nd annual Crafternoon on Saturday, January 31st from 1-3pm. This year Tiny Tile Mosaics will be here with beautiful tiles to create your own specially designed drink coaster. A portion of the sales from these coasters will benefit the South Row PTO. You can order yours HERE.

There will also be many FREE crafts available for making, so whether you stay the afternoon and make a coaster or come for the free activities, we hope you will join us! There will be light refreshments sold as well. We are thankful to the Chelmsford High School National Honor Society for helping with the event. We hope to see you there!

Harlem Globetrotters

LAST DATE to order tickets is February 7th, so grab yours now for a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the family! The Harlem Globetrotters' 100 Year Tour is coming to the Tsongas Center February 14th! Grab your tickets today and a portion of the sales will also benefit South Row PTO! Tickets are limited, so if you're interested, grab your tickets now HERE!

Roller Kingdom Family Skate Night

Skate night is back! Please plan to join other South Row families at our skate night, exclusive to our school. We'll be there on Monday, February 16th from 6-8pm at Roller Kingdom in Tyngsboro. Bring your own or take advantage of their rentals (skates or blades). Reserve your spot today for a lower price than at the door. $5 if you bring your own skates, $8 if you need to rent. SouthRowSkateNight Plan to get dinner from the concession stand and the PTO gets back a percentage of the food sales. Hope to see you there!

Community Read-In

Our annual town-wide Community Read-In event is coming up, March 2-6th at CHIPS, Byam, Center, Harrington, South Row, and Parker. We are always looking for volunteers to read to classrooms across the district. If you choose to participate, you will not be placed in a classroom with your own student(s), but rather sharing a love of literacy with others within our wider community. If interested, please fill out the form HERE and a liaison will connect with you to let you know where you're placed for the week. Sign up to read once, twice, or even MORE! Show your Chelmsford pride by reading to our students!

Seeking Treasurer

Our wonderful South Row PTO Treasurer, Courtner Cooper, is looking for a shadow to take over for her next year. Courtney's youngest will be off to middle school and we will miss her immensely, but she wants to help a new member shadow this year to get a lay of the land. Curious what a Treasurer does? Reach out to Courtney at southrowtreasurer@gmail.com or southrowpto@gmail.com with any questions!

Next PTO Meeting

Our next PTO meeting will be all virtual. We look forward to connecting with you, sharing what's been going on in the past month, and what's to come! Join us at 7pm using the meeting link provided in the Home Link newsletter.

Want to stay up-to-date with it all?

Add our PTO event calendar, meeting schedule, and the CPS district calendars to keep it all on the go!

Add the PTO Events Calendar

Add the PTO Meeting Schedule

We will be offering a virtual option for those that would like to join the monthly PTO meeting but can't make it in person. Please use this link to join the meeting virtually.

Please click on the "button" below to access resources and supports available. Do not hesitate to reach out to any support team member with any questions you may have.

**Please note: We continuously update the button below with new resources as they arise.

This section is comprised of the following items pertaining to food services

• Website
• Breakfast Information
• Tentative Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Mrs. Terri Gilbert

Principal

gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Dr. Jayson A. Ramalho

Assistant Principal

ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Email: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.chelmsford.k12.ma.us/Domain/15
Location: 250 Boston Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: 978-251-5177
Facebook: facebook.com/SouthRowElementary
Twitter: @CPSSouthRow

• Mrs. Terri Gilbert, Principal: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 4
• Dr. Jayson A. Ramalho, Assistant Principal: ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 3
• Mrs. Heather Martin, School Nurse: martinh@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext.2
• Mrs. Debbie O'Neill, Secretary: oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext. 0
• Mrs. Kim Sepe, School Clerk: sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177, ext.0
• Absentee Line: 978-251-5177 ext. 1