CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

It is hard to believe, but next week closes out the month of May and the calendar flips to June! As a reminder, Monday, May 29th is Memorial Day. Each year Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. This federal holiday is observed annually on the last Monday in May. On this day, many people will visit cemeteries, memorials, and attend ceremonies to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. Our schools will be closed on Monday in honor of this day. The Town of Chelmsford partners with the Merrimack Valley Vietnam Veterans, Inc. (MVVV) to host a parade. This will be the first year the parade has happened since the pandemic in 2020. Please see the Town Manager’s Newsletter for more information about the parade and program following.

This past week, middle school students from McCarthy and Parker Schools participated in the Kendall M. Wallace Regional Knowledge Bowl. The knowledge bowl is an annual event named in honor of Kendall Wallace who served as the Editor Emeritus at the Lowell Sun Newspaper for 50 years, rising from reporter to publisher. He played a significant role in the newspaper’s operations and community involvement for many years. The Knowledge Bowl was established for the purpose of engaging students from area middle schools in a challenging academic competition – a Jeopardy-like format. Each team participates in five rounds of questions consisting of math, toss-up, current events, bonus round, and rapid-fire round. The second day of the competition was remarkably close with Chelmsford and Lowell battling it out to the end. I am pleased to announce that the Chelmsford team prevailed as the winners of the event. Congratulations to the students, coaches, and schools for this hard-earned win. There will be a future celebration for the student participants in the next few weeks.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the twenty-two (22) Chelmsford High School seniors who earned the Seal of Biliteracy. The MA DESE Seal of Biliteracy is an award granted by state-approved school districts that recognize high school graduates who attain high-functioning and academic levels of proficiency in English and at least one other world language – through reading, writing, listening, and speaking – by graduation. Of the twenty-two students, four of the seniors – Maria Eduarda, Lima Galdino da Silva, Ananya Sripathi, and Lea Bosch – earned the Seal of Biliteracy in two languages! Congratulations to all our students for this amazing accomplishment. Please visit our website to view all the recipients of the seal.

The concerts, awards, and end-of-year celebrations continue and are highlighted below this week. Please enjoy viewing these highlights and enjoy your long weekend.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• View complete athletics schedules here.

• No School - Memorial Day, 5/29, All Day

• Senior Prom, 5/30, 6:00 p.m.

• Senior Prom After Party, 5/30, 11:00 p.m.

• CHIPS Touch-A-Truck, 5/31, 8:15 a.m.

• Byam Field Day, 6/1, All Day

• Parker MS Field Day, 6/1, All Day

• South Row, 6/1, 6:00 p.m.

• Senior Banquet, 6/1, 6:00 p.m

• CHIPS PTO, 6/1, 6:30 p.m.

• Chelmsford All-Sports Boosters Monthly Meeting, 6/1, 7:00 p.m.

• Graduation Rehearsal/Yearbook Signing/Senior BBQ, 6/2, All Day

• SAT, 6/3, 8:30 a.m.

• Kindergarten, "Meet the Bus" Event, 6/3, 11:00 a.m.

• CHS Graduation, 6/3, 4:00 p.m.

• CHS Junior Cotillion, 6/10, 6:00 p.m.

The Chelmsford High School All-Sports Boosters Club is awarding 15 scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each – including $2,000 each to the top-scoring males and females – to graduating senior student-athletes. The deadline to apply for the scholarships is Thursday, June 1. Application eligibility requirements include:

• Chelmsford High School graduating senior
• Student-athlete, student-trainer or student-manager
• Minimum 3.0-grade point average
• A letter of acceptance into a college, university, post-secondary, accredited trade school, or military academy must accompany the application

Please visit our website for more information and to Download the application now.

Seniors Maria Eduarda Lima Galdino da Silva, Ananya Sripathi, and Lea Bosch each earned the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Seal of Biliteracy in two languages and led 22 Chelmsford High School seniors to similar honors, the CHS World Languages Department announced last week. The DESE Seal of Biliteracy is an award granted by state-approved school districts that recognize high school graduates who attain high-functioning and academic levels of proficiency in English and at least one other world language – through reading, writing, listening, and speaking – by graduation. Students who received a score of six in all four categories earned the Seal of Biliteracy. Please visit our website to read more about the Seal of Biliteracy.

The Melting Pot Club hosted the 2023 International Lunch at the Chelmsford High School Learning Commons on May 19, a celebration of different cultures through the power of food. The Japanese-themed celebration featured live music and dancing performances in different cultures and was attended by students, faculty, and staff. Please visit our website to view the gallery of pictures for the event.

7:19 News presents its Spring 2023 Newscast. Join freshman Nathan Hay and junior Brinley Williamson as they discuss different student-run clubs and recent events.

CHS and McCarthy students participated in an end-of-the-year showcase for PLTW schools in Massachusetts where students shared their applied learning projects with Industry Professionals and got valuable feedback on their work. Seniors also had a signing ceremony and Commissioner Riley gave a motivational speech to all PLTW students.

Chelmsford girls’ lacrosse coach Ashley Rokas has long awaited the kind of renaissance her Lions squad is experiencing this season. For years, she felt as though lacrosse sat on the back burner as players favored soccer, softball, and field hockey.“When I first started [coaching], lacrosse was nobody’s No. 1 sport,” Rokas said. “I knew I needed to change that.” For the 13-3 Lions, change has arrived. Led by a focused and motivated group of 11 seniors — eight of whom are committed to playing lacrosse collegiately — seventh-ranked Chelmsford has redefined itself as a lacrosse-first team and a formidable Division 1 opponent. The Lions are currently sixth in the MIAA’s power rankings and on Monday, they clinched a Merrimack Valley Conference title with a 10-9 victory over Central Catholic. Please visit the Boston Globe link to read more about the CHS Girls' Lacrosse Team.

Chelmsford High School celebrated five more student-athletes who signed national letters of intent (NLI) or committed to NCAA Division III Colleges.

Congratulations:

• Julia Williams (Ice Hockey, University of Massachusetts)
• Manny Marshall (Lacrosse, Endicott College)
• Zach Brown (Baseball, Dean College)
• Ryan Clark (Football, Western New England University)
• Caleb Stuart (Baseball, Gordon College)

VIEW GALLERY: Chelmsford High School NLI Signing Day-Wednesday, Nov. 9

VIEW GALLERY: Chelmsford High School Division III Commitment Day-Thursday, Jan. 5

Please visit our website to view more pictures from the 2023 Center Elementary School Arts and Culture Night–May 24, 2023.

NRT, the bus company of Chelmsford Public Schools, will host ‘Meet the Bus’ on Saturday, June 3 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at 27 Katrina Road in Chelmsford, for incoming kindergarten students to Chelmsford elementary schools.

‘Meet the Bus’ will cover:

• Meeting bus drivers
• Learning about bus safety
• Practice school bus rides
• Other games and activities

For more information, view the attached flyer or contact event coordinator Michelle Perez.

Chelmsford Community Education’s Summer 2023 Programming is now Open for Registration! Chelmsford Community Education’s Summer programming begins on Wednesday, July 5th. New Classes are added weekly. Visit ChelmsfordCommunityEd.com for our full list of programming and like us on Facebook (Chelmsford Community Education) for new class announcements as they happen.

Chelmsford Public Schools has partnered with Paper to provide unlimited access to trained tutors so every student can ask questions, work through problems, and grow their confidence—at no cost to families.

Paper is an online, on-demand tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether they’re stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions for their writing, there will always be experts available online to assist students one-on-one in all subject areas and in more than four languages. See Paper FAQs to learn more.

Please use the following link to access the K-12 CPS Family and Student Handbook and CHS Handbook Addendum for the 2022/23 School Year.

The CPS Health Services Department is committed to providing evidence-based/ best practice holistic nursing care to the unique, culturally diverse students of Chelmsford Public Schools. In collaboration with all stakeholders, we advocate for their safety and healthcare needs. We are dedicated professionals who are committed to bridging health care with education and making a positive impact on the present and future wellness of Chelmsford’s school community. Please visit the Health Services page on the website for all your health services needs.

The Chelmsford Public Schools utilizes School Spring to advertise job postings and the online application process. To apply for any of our positions, please visit our website.

The mission of the Chelmsford Public Schools is to educate, engage, prepare, and empower well-rounded and knowledgeable learners who PERSEVERE through challenges, demonstrate RESPECT and INTEGRITY in their words and actions, are DEDICATED to their community, and display EMPATHY as global citizens while discovering and pursuing their full potential.

Email: information@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://chelmsfordschools.org
Location: 230 North Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 251-5100
Facebook: facebook.com/chelmsfordpublicschools
Twitter: @ChelmsfordPS