Byam Newsletter

October 27-29- Grade 3 Garrison House Field Trip
October 29- School Council Meeting
October 30- Grade 4 Pumpkin Store
October 31- Kindergarten Halloween Parade
November 4- No School- Full Day Professional Development
November 5- School Picture Re-takes

Next week we encourage students and staff to take part in any or all of the Byam Fall Spirit Week Theme Days! Favorite socks, Crazy Hair or Hat Day, Favorite Sports Team Day, Orange/Black Halloween Attire, and Pajama Day!

All our students enjoyed a great presentation from the Bionic Project this past Tuesday. Thank you to our BSA for this wonderful experience for all our Byam students.

It was great seeing all our student costumes this past Sunday at the Byam Boo Bash! Thank you to our BSA for another great Boo Bash.

Next week we will be conducting our first ALICE drill of the school year. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. This is a research based, options-based protocol that is non-sequential to respond to a dangerous individual at school.

To prepare for this drill we will be presenting each grade level with a social story to explain the on Monday, and then follow up with an ALICE video created by the district in collaboration with the Chelmsford Police Department. We've used this process to introduce ALICE to our students since our initial implementation and have been pleased how our students and staff respond when conducting the drill. We have collaborated with the Chelmsford Police and Fire Departments on this drill to ensure that it is a developmentally appropriate experience.

After we conduct the drill, we will send a communication to inform you when it has occurred. Should you have any questions about ALICE or about this drill, either leading up to the drill or after you have been able to debrief with your child, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Halloween is an exciting time or year for elementary students. Our kindergarteners will be participating in our annual tradition of our Halloween parade for the staff and students at Byam. Our staff will also be having a friendly costume contest where students will be voting. We ask that candy and food items not be sent in to distribute as it is prohibited by our wellness policy.

The holidays are right around the corner! Resources for holiday support are now available. Any families who can benefit from additional support should reach out to Lyndsey O’Neil, School Counselor, via email at oneill@chelmsford.k12.ma.us. A few local Chelmsford community programs generously provide help for the holidays and Lyndsey O’Neil can help coordinate this with any family in need.

Forms for Beacon Santa (Due 10/31) and the Santa Fund (11/8) are attached below and paper copies are available in the main office at Byam. Mr. Fredette or Mrs. Dolan can sign any forms that require a staff member signature. Please note the individual deadlines for form submissions as they are approaching soon. The Salvation Army form will open starting October 1st. Please note the QR code will not work before October 1st and they will only be taking the first 600 families.

Third Grade Students:

Massachusetts state law and Chelmsford Public School District policy requires all 3rd grade students have a current physical on file. A current physical is one dated 8/26/24 or later. If you currently have a third grade student, please send a copy to me either by e-mail, fax or hard copy dropped off/mailed/sent to school with your student.

Thank you!

Nurse Pappo

Did your child forget their library book? Please don’t wait to return it!

Students select a book every time they come to library class, and they are due at the next library class. If they forget their book on library day, they put a book “on hold,” and I save it for them for several days (until the day before their next class). They can drop their book off anytime, and I will happily deliver their new book to their classroom. It will be due on library day.

Classes can earn ROARS for returning books before I send reminder notices. So please remind your child to bring their book back. Don’t wait!

As always, thank you for your support of Byam’s library program.

I enthusiastically welcome volunteers in the Library to help check books in and out, assist with shelving, and other easy-to-learn tasks. You may come during your child’s library class or during a different class - whichever works best for your schedule. Some volunteers come weekly, some monthly, and some come once or twice a year. Please email me at driscollb@chelmsford.k12.ma.us and I will share our volunteer calendar with you, so you can select dates. Please note that some classes will have more opportunities to come in than others, depending on how many volunteers sign up. I look forward to hearing from you!

Betsey Driscoll, Byam School Librarian

October Lunch Menu

BSA Information

SAVE THE DATES:

10/24 Dining for Dollars - Panera Westford
11/07 UML Hockey Byam Night

DINING FOR DOLLARS TONIGHT

Don't feel like cooking? Head over to Panera in Westford on Friday October 24th from 4-8pm for our Dining for Dollars event! Bring in your flyer, mention this fundraiser or enter the code FUND4U on the app/ Kiosk and 20% of your order will come back to the BSA. Thanks for your support & enjoy! 🍽️

📆 Friday October 24th, 2025

⏰4-8pm

📍2 Cornerstone Square, Westford, MA

UML HOCKEY BYAM NIGHT

All Byam Elementary School students, family, & friends! We invite you to join us for this special offer brought to you by the BSA as the River Hawks do battle with their Hockey East rivals, the New Hampshire Wildcats!

Come show support as a portion of each ticket sold will be donated back to the BYAM School to fund future events and end of year festivities!

Listed ticket price includes all additional fees, and all tickets will be delivered via email.

🗓️Friday, November 7th @ 7:15 PM

📍Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell

🏒UNH Wildcats @ UML River Hawks

LINK for tickets: https://www.gofevo.com/event/BYAM1107

JOIN THE BSA "VIP" LIST

The BSA struggles with trying to keep you informed without flooding your inbox. We understand some don't have the bandwidth to know more, while others are looking to get more involved...but don't know where to start. If you are one of those people looking to know more please take a moment to fill out this form. This does not lock you into anything but helps us filter our "extra" communication more directly to people looking to be more involved with the BSA!

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No-cost Registration for Byam Events:

*Financial concerns should never stand in the way of families participating in school events. If you are interested in any Byam activities please contact Lyndsey O’Neil, our school counselor, to register at no cost: oneill@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Want to get involved?

Here are some openings the BSA is currently seeking help on, reach out the bsa.chelmsford@gmail.com if you are interested in any of these positions!

We welcome more building substitutes!

We have a number of Byam School community members we are an integral part of our Byam School workday community as Byam substitutes. We are always looking for more substitutes to add to this great group! If you would like to learn more information about the flexibility of substituting at Byam School, email or call Carolyn Quinn at quinncm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us or phone 978-251-5144.

Stay Connected to the Byam School Association, Click on the Live links below for more...

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