Hello Families,

Our Family Feud game show on Friday was a huge hit. Students earned this school wide reward by working hard and meeting expectations at school!

March is Nutrition Month and with that we will continue to promote variety and healthy food choices at school. Our Grade Level Meeting on Monday will feature a story about a picky eater as well as an activity where students can create their own "my plate". We will also have snap peas for sampling. More information on food sampling is below.

Additionally, March is Music in our Schools month. Please see information below from Mrs. Cooper on ways to promote music both at home and in our school.

Enjoy your weekend and the growing daylight we relish in this time of year!

Respectfully,

Terri and Jayson

Monday, March 6th

• Student Grade Level Meetings
• Kindness Matters Spirit Day - students encouraged to wear kindness shirts
• Student Council Group A Meeting, 3:30-4:15PM
• School Council Meeting, 5:30pm
• PTO Board Meeting, 6:30PM
• PTO Meeting, 7:00PM

Tuesday, March 7th

• School Committee Presentation - Spotlight on South Row, 6:00pm ~ Click here to tune in!

Wednesday, March 8th

• Walk to School Day

Thursday, March 9th

• No events

Friday, March 10th

• Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day
• All for Books Coin Collection Ends

Monday, March 13th

• Book Fair Week begins through Friday, March 17th (student shopping during library)
• Community Read in Week begins

Tuesday, March 14th

• FoodPlay Enrichment Program (whole school)
• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)

Wednesday, March 15th

• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)
• Family Book Fair Shopping & Book-O Game Night, 6:00-8:00pm

Thursday, March 16th

• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)

Friday, March 17th

• Last Day of Book Fair
• Book Fair continues (student shopping during library)
• Green, White, and Orange School Spirit Day

Wednesday, March 22nd

• Grades Available on X2 - Grades 1-4

Friday, March 24th

• Workout School Spirit Day

Friday, March 31st

• Multicultural School Spirit Day

Saturday, April 1st

• Multicultural Festival (formally named International Festival), 1-3:30PM @ South Row

Grade Level Meetings -Nutrition & Food Sampling: We have been focusing on nutrition during our Grade Level Meetings and will continue to in March during Nutrition Month. At the March meeting we will be offering a small bite size fruit or vegetable sample for students to try. We will also be doing this as part of our school wide enrichment with Foodplay on March 14th. Our hope is to continue these sampling opportunities periodically for the rest of the year as a way to promote healthy eating. Our nurse is aware of all food allergies and we will follow these guidelines for students with known allergies. Now would be a good time to update the nurse if she is unaware of a food allergy or your child has a new food allergy. If you would like to opt out of this opportunity for your child please click here.

A Note from Mrs. Cooper in the Music Room:

For more than 30 years, March has been officially designated by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) for the observance of Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®), the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation.

The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children – and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have access to music. Please be on the lookout on Twitter and Instagram for more MIOSM updates! @SouthRowMusic ~Mrs. Cooper

iReady Challenge: Our School wide iReady Challenge will kick off on Monday March 6th and will run through March 24th. The grade level with the most minutes in Reading will earn a reward and likewise the grade level with the most minutes in Math will win a reward. We will track school wide minutes on the lobby bulletin board and report out grade level totals weekly. Students are encouraged to complete their minutes during school, but can also bank minutes at home.

MCAS DATES:

ELA MCAS -

• April 10th and 11th - grade 3
• April 12th and 13th - grade 4

Math MCAS –

• May 15th and 16th - grade 4
• May 17th and 18th - grade 3

ELA Make-ups – 4/14 and week of 4/24

Math Make-ups - 5/19 and week of 5/22

“All for Books” Coin Drive Update

Our “All for Books” Coin Drive began this week and will continue through March 10th. We’ve heard that many classes are very close to filling their canisters already! Each class that fills a canister will be entered into a drawing for $200 worth of Scholastic books for their classroom.

All of the coins and small bills that are collected will be used to purchase books for this year’s charity, The Paul Center. Donating is completely optional, but if you wish to contribute, please send the donation to school with your child in a bag labeled “All for Books” anytime between now and March 10. Your small change can make a big difference!

If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to southrowbookfair@gmail.com.

Fourth Grade Activities: Thank you to all who attended our meeting on 2-8. Notes from this meeting as well as those from our previous meeting in October are linked on the PTO website or you can click here. The "Ride to School in a Police Cruiser" raffle to benefit 4th Grade Activities is on-going the entire month of February. It is also linked on the PTO homepage. SAVE THE DATE: The special "4th Grade ONLY" movie night is tentatively scheduled for Friday May 12 at 6:45. More details will be communicated soon.

Looking ahead (Early Release Day Change): Due to town elections, the school committee voted on a calendar change for the April early release day originally scheduled for Thursday, April 13th. This early release day has now been moved to Tuesday, April 4th. Please update your calendars accordingly. Click here for the updated district calendar.

Our Scholastic Book Fair will be running from March 13-17th. Students will have an opportunity to shop for books during their regularly scheduled library time and families are invited to shop and play BOOKO (book fair bingo) during Family Shopping and Game Night on March 15th from 6-8pm!

The Book Fair Committee is looking for volunteers to assist student shoppers during the Book Fair, as well as help out during Family Shopping and Game Night. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4dafaa29aaffcf8-2023/30215525#/. All volunteers must have a valid CORI.

Our annual Scholastic Book Fair is a much-loved South Row event and we look forward to another successful year of being able to support literacy in our community! More information about the Book Fair and Family Shopping and Game Night can be found in the flyer below and will also be sent home with students next week.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to the Book Fair Committee at southrowbookfair@gmail.com.

• The Multicultural Festival was formally called the International Festival, and we look forward to this year's event, which will take place on April 1st from 1-3:30pm!
• Take a peak at the save-the-date information for this year's event, Event Flyer, and Registration Form!

Wow, it's another new month which means we have another opportunity to gather together and learn more about what's happening at South Row. We hope you can join us for our next PTO meeting on Monday March 6 at 7:00pm in the Cafeteria. We'll talk about events, what's happening at the school committee level and hear about upcoming volunteer opportunities. Can't wait to see you all there!

Have you ever wanted to share your love of reading with children? We are looking for members of our community to join us as a Community Reader during the week of March 13-17th. We are looking to fill spaces for all 21 classes to have someone read to their class. You can show children that reading matters to you and THEIR interest in reading matters to you too!

If you live or work in Chelmsford and can spare a small portion of your day that week during that week, please fill out the Google form below to let Ashley (our coordinator) know your availability. She will be matching people up with different classrooms, depending on availability. Please note that while parents can read too they will NOT be in their own kid's classroom Please fill out this form--> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScq9UEpKQcfWmox1GGy_R2TDRIJ8_pjfDQLM4vWMqPwcZvrUA/viewform

Please find below:

• Tentative Breakfast & Lunch Menu
• Breakfast Sign Up Information
• Early Release Day Lunch Sign Up Information
• Direct Link to Food Services webpage

Dear Parents and Families --

Reminder CPS Nutrition has initiated online breakfast ordering for elementary students beginning after the holiday break. This initiative is to help manage food waste and due to labor shortages.

Orders must be placed the Wednesday prior to the week you are selecting.

If you are having difficulty setting up an account, please reach out to contacts below and we will gladly assist you.

Nancy Antolini, Director of Nutrition Services

• Email: antolinin@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Holley Ready, School Nutrition Office Manager

• Email: readyh@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
• (978) 251-5111 ext: 5641

Thank you- School Nutrition

Set Up Your Account Now

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-breakfast online ordering
2. Scroll to day/week you are selecting breakfast (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
8. Place order

Mrs. Terri Gilbert

Principal

gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Mr. Jayson Ramalho, M.Ed.

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
• Mr. Jayson Ramalho, Assistant Principal: ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 3
• Mrs. Shannon Vandevoordt, School Nurse: vandevoordts@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