November 3,2025

McCarthy Middle School will be completing the school-based program called SB-SBIRT on March 23rd with all 7th graders. The acronym SB-SBIRT stands for: School Based - Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Services. SBIRT-is a public health model for identifying and addressing substance use and related risks. The goal is to identify students who may need extra support and connect them with the resources they may need to thrive. Together, schools and parents CAN make a difference for the youth in our community.

Please learn more about this screening HERE.

Just a reminder to have your licence with you when dismissing your student and entering the building for meetings.

Thank You

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uZYZcM-tEq9n4ZQiJzGxsigPmWn8ymIGuY0YdyMx68s/edit?usp=sharing

March

Rock In Roll Bingo - Friday March 20 @ 7pm Chelmsford Elks

April

Early Release Tuesday April 7 @ 11:00 am

PTO Meeting Thursday April 9 @ 6:30

April Recess April 20-24

School Re-opens Monday April 27

Email: mccarthy_attendance@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Please Send Email: Prior to 9am on the day of the absence (same as current voicemail option) Please Include: Child’s name, Grade, and Reason for absence.

We encourage you to use the email option when reporting an absence, dismissal, etc. Parents are still free to use the phone system to report absences, but you are encouraged to use email for greater office efficiency.

If you prefer, you can certainly call the attendance line prior to 9:00am, at 978-251-5122, please press 1.

**PLEASE READ**

We will continue to send automated emails home when students are absent. You will receive the email whether you notified the school or not. In order for an absence to be marked as "Excused", families will need to provide medical documentation.

Thank you for your understanding.

McCarthy Middle School

Attendance Matters

For an absence to be “excused” families need to provide medical documentation. This includes dismissals from the health office, unless your school nurse is requiring the dismissal based on the “Illness Policy” (ie: temperature over 100, vomiting, etc.) set by the Chelmsford School District or nursing judgment based on concerning symptoms that require further assessment or monitoring. Any absences over 3 days require medical documentation to be considered excused.

Happy Friday McCarthy Families! McCarthy PTO has some exciting activities planned for the 2025/2026 school year! Check out a few upcoming activities below:

Lions' Middle School Showboat May 16th You won't want to miss this amazing talent show starring our very own middle school students grades 5-8! The Chelmsford Middle School Showboat talent show is happening on Saturday, May 16th at the CHS Performing Arts Center (PAC), with two shows. Fifth and sixth grade will take the stage from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and seventh and eighth grade will perform from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets link will be available soon! Auditions will happen April 1st- April 9th. Auditions Signup is now OPEN! Click link for more information and to sign up: https://tinyurl.com/showboataudtitions Contact Showboat Director and parent, Karyn Crouthamel at lionsmiddleschoolsshowboat@gmail.com

Rock & Roll Bingo: Friday, March 20th 7-11pm Join your friends for this 21+ event for a night of singing, dancing, bingo, raffle baskets and 50/50 as we raise money to support enrichment programs for our school. There’s still time to join the fun! A few tables are still available, and single tickets are now open too — so you can grab a whole table (10 of your closest friends) OR a few seats even if you don’t have a full group. Click links to purchase a ticket and to volunteer at the event!

🎟️ TicketLink: https://form.jotform.com/McCarthyPTO/RockRollBingoMar2026

🙌 Volunteer Sign-Up Link: https://signup.com/go/ejgmxUu

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to McCarthy PTO at PTO.McCarthy@gmail.com As always, thank you for your continued support of our school community!

Meeting links will be shared out via newsletters and emails prior to the meeting. Upcoming events, activities and additional information can also be found on the new PTO website: https://pto.chelmsfordschools.org/mccarthy-pto/

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-select online lunch ordering (all schools)
2. Scroll to week of half day/early release date (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. Middle/high school pick up location cafeteria.
8. Place order

Wednesday, March 11th

Tuesday, April 7th

Lunch/Cafeteria Reminder:

Our school is considered to be "nut aware" and not nut free. Although nuts are allowed, no students are permitted to share food in the building. It is also considered best practice not to have students bring in shelled peanuts for the safety of others. It is important for students to understand that if they are bringing in nut products, they cannot share them regardless of whether the other student is allergic or not. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that no student experiences an anaphylactic response and we can help prevent those events together.

While we have these discussions with students throughout the day, it would be helpful and appreciated if you would address this at home as well.

Q: Will my child be assigned to a particular bus?

A: Yes. Bus assignments are published on the school website. Individual student bus assignments are available in the X2 Family Portal.

Q: Will my child be permitted to ride other buses throughout the school year?

A: NO Students must ride only on their assigned bus. Bus swapping or riding to a friend’s house is not permitted.

Winter viruses are on the rise. Please take time to review the district health policy, individual health affects community health.

Please remember to send in all rescue medications with MD orders and parents consent so we can keep students safe. Forms are available HERE. Please update us with any health changes.

-Nurse Clancy and Nurse Maeghan

hughesm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

clancyr@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

P: 978-251-5122 x2

F: 978-256-9230

REMINDER:

Students are required to have a current physical on file with the health office, per Massachusetts state law. The specific requirement can be found HERE. Physicals can be sent in with your student, faxed or emailed. We are here for any questions or concerns. Thank you!

Your Nurses,

Nurse Maeghan and Nurse Clancy

hughesm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

clancyr@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

F: 978-256-9230

We want to remind families of the Chromebook damage and loss fee structure. If a device is damaged or lost, our ticketing system will notify you directly.

Tiered Device Repair Costs

• $50: Broken hinge kits, keys/keyboards, exterior housing, trackpad, or camera
• $100: Screen replacement, or multiple $50-tier items (e.g., hinge + keyboard)
• $150: Motherboard damage (e.g., broken port, spill) or a combination of screen + $50-tier damage
• $300: Loss/theft, or multiple damages across tiers (e.g., screen + hinges + keyboard)

Thank you for your attention and support as we work together to ensure responsible and safe use of technology in our schools.

Sincerely,
Bill Silver, Director, ICTS
silverb@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Moya Charig Covers students A-G @ charigm@chelmsford.k12.ma.us ext.7478

Elyse Seero Covers students H-N @ seeroe@chelmsford.k12.ma.us ext.7465

Jessica Weaver Covers students O-Z @ weaverj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us ext. 7477

They will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Our after-school programs are starting on Tuesday, October 14th! Please see the list of clubs & activities that we will offer this year. The Activity Card fee is $50 per student. This year, we will be collecting fees using the "MySchoolBucks" platform. This is the same program that handles our bus registration and payment. Please see attached registration information if you do not already have an account.

The $50 dollar activity fee allows students to take full advantage of any clubs they wish to attend. The after-school activities run from 2:30-3:30 on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday throughout the year. All students also have the option of taking a late bus home. The routes are posted in the school and will not be posted publicly. We will work with students and the drivers to be sure kids take the correct bus home. Since we only have 8 late buses, the stops tend to be more spread out than the “regular” bus runs. After activities, students who are not taking a bus will exit the school through the main lobby and can be picked up there.

*Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions, or if we can assist with an activity card for your child.

TERM 1 Aug. 26 – Oct. 31

TERM 2 Nov. 3 – Jan. 23

TERM 3 Jan. 27 – April 9⭐

Term 4 April 10 – June 16

• Front Doors open @ 7:55 a.m.
• Warning Bell to go to class @ 8:08 a.m.
• First Period bell rings @ 8:10 a.m. (students should be in First period Class at this time)
  

• Dismissal is @ 2:30 p.m.

• Arrival Time: Arrival time for students at the McCarthy Middle School is 8:10 a.m. There is no supervision for students before that time.Students are not allowed in the building before 7:55 .