Superintendent's Weekly Updates

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🎉 Scroll to read information and news from the school district, our individual schools, and information from our community partners! 🎉

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• District Updates
• Athletic Department Updates
• Extended Learning Updates
• Early Learning Center Updates
• Hooks School Updates
• Kelly School Updates
• Sokolowski School Updates
• Clark Ave. Middle School Updates
• Wright Science & Technology Academy Updates
• Chelsea High School Updates
• Chelsea Opportunity Academy Updates

Thank you to Senator Sal DiDomenico and the DiDomenico Foundation for donating toys this week at the Mary C. Burke Elementary Complex and the Early Learning Center! These thoughtful and considerate donations will help ensure that CPS families will enjoy a joyful holiday season. We are appreciative of all you do for our schools and community!

In case you missed it, check out Chelsea High School's "Rumors" as recorded by Chelsea Community Cable TV! Congratulations to all the cast and crew on a great performance.

Applications for the annual CPS Pre-K Lottery for the 2026-27 school year will be available starting on Monday, January 5, at the Chelsea Public Schools Parent Information Center.

Families of children who will be 3 or 4 by August 31, 2026 can enter the lottery for consideration for a spot in one of the district's Pre-K programs (half-day or extended day). Limited spots at the John Silber Early Learning Center are available for next school.

For more information about the lottery, visit our website or see the images below.

December Break starts next week! A reminder of our upcoming schedule:

🔹 Tuesday, December 23rd: Early Release Day

🔹 December 24th - January 2nd: December Break

🔹 Monday, January 5th: Students return to school

Congrats to the Boys Basketball team, coached by Cesar Castro, Armani Cheek, and JC Sanchez along with Jay Rivera and Terrance Kennedy, for the programs first win against Everett in 37 years!!!!

Here's the go-ahead three pointer from Roify Otanez with 7 seconds left in the game.

Check out our upcoming games below.

Aiden Rivas -Indoor Track

Thiah Young -Girls Basketball

Aly Perez -Indoor Track

Axel Quintanilla Hernandez -Wrestling

Margi Valerio -Cheerleading

Israa Kohli -Girls Basketball

This week, students in the FKO/CPS enrichment program at the Complex had a blast building catapults during a hands-on engineering challenge. Using simple materials, students designed, tested, and tweaked their creations, cheering as they launched and comparing what worked best. The room was full of excitement as students experimented, problem-solved, and learned through playful trial and error.

The boys can be seen here in the most recent game action.

BMS Chess Club is playing against each other and planning out for the new year!

BMS Yoga Club is practicing partner poses to make different letters!

BMS Craft Club is doing some fun crafts with yarn!!

In the Yearbook Committee at the Clark Avenue with Ms. Waxman and Ms. Metsky students have been using incredible teamwork and getting down to brass-tax to do some photo editing, writing, marketing, and theme preparation!

In the Expressive Art Club with Ms. Kenney and Ms. Kay, students are completing their oyster shell ornaments that will be distributed to officers of the Chelsea Police Department and the elderly next week!

Students at our monthly after school Theatre Workshop hosted by open library had a lot of fun reading and acting out a short play about a fairy tale.

Updates from after school clubs at the Wright middle school.

On Thursday December 18th the ELC welcomed the Chelsea High School Jazz Band, Cantare, Orchestra, and Concert Band for a sing-along spectacular. Each of the four high school groups performed beautifully, leading different winter and holiday songs for the young students at the ELC to sing along with. They performed classics like Dreidel, Dreidel Dreidel and Jingle Bells as well as some of the students' newer favorite songs like Golden and All I Want for Christmas is You.

Special Thanks to:

Shannon Chick, Ali You, and Dana Sheridan for preparing and organising the high school musicians! They were WONDERFUL! I could not have done it without you!

Pete Pappavaselio for organizational support, video editing and "Operation Elf". You made movie magic!

Carolyn Mills for donating student winter artwork for the show.

CHS and ELC Buildings and Grounds and Custodians for helping move instruments and stands!

Mike Stellato and June Sherburn for emergency last minute support with copying and hair ties!

The ELC first grade students made their musical debut playing boomwhackers.

A big thank you to the Berkowitz Schools Artists for their winter artwork!

Mrs. Margo, our principal, shared a beautiful elf story video, and Mrs. Siva’s musical featured students from other schools playing instruments and singing—it was magical!

ELC Administrators and the social work team organize gifts for students at their annual giving tree.

Ms. Shyla's kindergarten classroom had a week full of holiday fun with cookie decorating, a sing-a-long, and decorating holiday trees!

Fun Friday Disney theme in Miss. Cantone's classroom.

Friends from room 307 Am and Pm classes getting in that holiday spirit!

Congratulations to ELC educator Daniela Turpin! This week she received a citation from State Representative Judith Garcia for being one of the recipients of the Latino SHINE Educator Awards!

Students researched and studied the history of gingerbread including its ingredients, where it came from, who invented it and more. They then took those lessons and wrote paragraphs about what they learned. All this work culminated in a family event to celebrate the holidays where their writing was on display and students were able to build their own gingerbread houses!

What an awesome way to integrate learning and writing into a celebration of the holidays!

Our first grade students have been learning about animals and how they survive in their environments. As part of this unit, students learned about an animal that uses camouflage to blend into its surroundings. They created colorful fact cards that shared facts about their animal, including how camouflage helps it stay safe. We are so proud of the hard work and excitement our first graders showed during this project!

In Read and Write Together, 3rd graders are wrapping up our Rediscovering Thanksgiving unit. We are using Book Creator to make books about what really happened at the first Thanksgiving. Students spent time researching facts from different sources and are using these true facts for our books!

This past week Hooks had a successful and fun Winter Concert! The concert consisted of: 1st and 2nd grade, and 3rd and 4th grade combined Chorus. The kids had so much fun and are so proud of their hard work!

4th graders are learning in science with Ms. Bobo about potential and kinetic energy, and how energy is transferred.

Students from K319 are working in groups to define the types of energy and illustrate some real-world examples of each! I heard them using academic vocabulary, as Ms. Bobo asked them some really thought-provoking questions.

Kelly School demonstrates the Holiday Spirit!

Students and families enjoyed festive music led by Music teacher Andrea Wivchar.

This week 8th grade students from the Clark traveled to CHS to have focus groups with CHS students. In addition to the conversations students toured the building and met staff.

Students at the Clark Avenue Middle School participated in a Student Solve event. A group of students worked with a mentor from a local company and two educators at our school to brainstorm, conductor research, and discuss ideas to a challenge. We are proud of their efforts!

Clark staff celebrated a Blizzard of Kindness at the Clark. Staff wrote notes of appreciation to each other and enjoyed home baked cookies at lunch!

On December 12th, 2025, Jazmye Mejia won The Hippocratic Halo Award from Mr. Ruggiero. The Hippocratic Halo Award is given to a student who displays consistent excellence in science, as well as leadership, collaboration and is academically daring

To help students understand slope in linear relationships, the 8th grade math classes took a "field trip" to the stairwell! They had to find the rise and run and calculate the slope of the stairs, measuring the steps in inches, just as they do in construction. This active experience has truly been helpful in enabling students to connect with and retain the information.

Spirit Week - celebrated these themes:

Twin Day

Culture Day

Dress like your middle school days/Dress like a teacher

WSTA staff packaged hygiene care kits for families as a small gesture while wishing everyone a Happy Holiday.

We couldn’t do PTC without you. ..thank you for always stepping up!

For one Chelsea High School student, an aspiring career in journalism is in her future.

Zeynab, a CHS senior, recently had the opportunity to visit the WBZ-TV News Room to learn more about the journalistic field. She toured areas like the control room and newsroom floor, observing all the components of a newscast. She also had a chance to meet news anchors and speak to them about their journeys in the field.

Early College students at CHS and CVLA students attended a Job Shadow day at Staples Headquarters in Framingham on Thursday, December 11, 2025. It was a day of learning about a variety of career paths in business: Product Development and Design, Merchandising and Design, Business Operations and more. Students were able to network with industry professionals and learn about their career journey. Special thanks to Junior Achievement for organizing this awesome opportunity and Staples for Hosting and sharing all about your business!

CHS School Counselors hosted two application and admissions support sessions this week for the Class of 2026. On Tuesday, December 16, students who still needed to apply to Salem State University completed their applications with the support of an SSU admissions representative in preparation for the On-the-Spot Admissions event at CHS on January 9.

On Wednesday, December 17, students interested in North Shore Community College learned about selective admissions programs and completed applications for regular admissions, receiving their admissions decisions on the spot.

For upcoming events with the CHS counselors, please see the attached flier!

This week, COA students spent time repotting plants to give out as gifts over the holiday break during Community Meeting. Students in science practiced observing changes in chemical reactions, really focusing on the importance of careful observations. Staff also spent time this week in Huddle discussing support systems for students, and would also like to wish everyone a happy holiday season!