Weekly Bulletin

Hello Parker families,

We had a fantastic week at Parker Middle School. The students are working hard, making connections, and having fun. The students are well into their established routines in their classes. One routine we would love to see established at home is nightly silent reading. Reading silently and without distraction every day for at least 20 minutes will benefit your child's vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and comprehension. Your child should select something to read based on their interests so that they view reading as a pleasure rather than a chore. Whether it is fiction, nonfiction, a graphic novel, or a magazine, reading enriches and broadens one's perspective and knowledge. Luckily, we will be having our Scholastic Book Fair this week at Parker which will allow our students the opportunity to choose a great selection. We also have the Pumpkins, Pizza, and Paperbacks extravaganza on Wednesday October 25 from 5-7 pm. We hope to see you there as this will be a great community building event. Start carving those pumpkins!

iReady Diagnostic Results (see below)

Please find attached instructions on how to access your child's iReady diagnostic results in both Reading and Math. These diagnostic results are one metric we use to assess the skills of our students. The iReady program than sets up a My Path program of lessons to meet the student where they are and help them to build their skills and competency. We have set as a goal to work on iReady lessons for 45 minutes a week in both math and reading. Teachers will set aside time in school and may also assign iReady for some lessons to be done at home as well. This program is complementary to our curriculum and allows students to earn success, skills, and confidence as learners.

Second Step

We are continuing our Social Emotional Learning curriculum units in Second Step. Please see below the lessons to be covered this coming week along with an activity you may engage in with your child. Helping to process what they are learning and helping them make connections to your shared experience can be very powerful.

Grade 5 - Emotion Management

Lesson 7: What Is Stress?

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will identify signs of stress, situations that can cause them to feel stress, and strategies they can use to manage feelings of stress.

Try This at Home

Ask your child what their body feels like when they’re stressed and what things cause them to feel stress. Share your own experiences with stress and what you do to manage it.

Grade 6 - Recognizing Bullying and Harassment

Lesson 9: Recognizing Bullying

Summary

This week’s lesson will help your child understand the difference between bullying and joking around, and that joking can escalate and become bullying. Helping students understand when joking becomes bullying can reduce negative impacts on others.

Question

Tell your child about a time you witnessed or experienced bullying. Describe how this made you feel and ask your child what they might have felt.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

IMPORTANT DATES:

Monday, October 23rd thru Friday October 27th - Scholastic Book Fair

Wednesday, October 25-Pizza, Pumpkins & Paperbacks (see PTO Message below)

Tuesday, October 31st - Costumes for a Cause - more info. to follow-Halloween

We are excited to announce our 7th annual "Costumes for a Cause" event on Halloween, Tuesday, October 31st, 2023. This year we would like to donate to Bobby Lyons and Family. Bobby Lyons is a part of our Chelmsford Public School family as a former Dean at CHS. Please see attachment below for more details.

Our after-school programs will start on Tuesday, October 17th. The Activity Fee is $50 per student. PLEASE CLICK ON LINK My School Bucks or send in cash or check made payable to Chelmsford Public Schools and turn into your child's homeroom teacher. The activity fee allows students to take full advantage of any clubs they wish to attend. The after-school activities run from 2:40-3:40 on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday throughout the year. 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 students take the correct bus home. Since we only have 8 late buses, for both McCarthy and Parker 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 into the Crooked Spring Road lot and can be picked up there. Please see the attachments below for details and descriptions

Tuesday - October 24th

Art Club - Ms. Annunziata-Room 4 - Grade 6 today

Book Club-Ms. Beaudoin-Room 125

Drama Club-Ms. Robertson/Mr. Chase/Ms. Sparks - Room 230

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy GRADE 5 TEAMS - Chiefs v Bills, Bengals v Packers, 49ers v Eagles -please check google classroom rea36u2

Homework Club-Ms. Larrabee/Ms. Morse - Library

Jazz Club-Mr. Linsner-Band Room

Running Club-Mr. Felzani/Ms. Figucia/Ms. Baker-Meet in the Cafeteria

Wednesday - October 25th

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy-GRADE 6 TEAMS - Seahawks v Bucs, Colts v Cowboys, Dolphins v Ravens-please check google classroom eqahczd

Homework Club-Ms. Larrabee/Ms. Morse - Library

Yoga Club/Mindfulness-Ms. MacAllister-Room 123

Thursday - October 26th

Art Club - Ms. Annunziata-Room 4 - Grade 5 today

Drama Club-Ms. Robertson/Mr. Chase/Ms. Sparks - Room 230

Festival Band - Mr. Linsner - Band Room

Festival Orchestra - Ms. Tiano - Room 8

Fitness Room-Ms. Wilson-in the Fitness Room

Game Club - Ms. Baker - Room 217

Intramurals-GYM-Mr. Sullivan/Ms. Clark/Mr. McCarthy GRADE 5 TEAMS - Bengals v 49ers, Packers v Chiefs, Bills v Eagles-please check google classroom rea36u2

Jewelry Making - Ms. Lagou-Statholopoulos - Room 240

Friday - October 27th

Select Chorus - before school at 7:25 a.m. in Room 230 w/ Ms. Robertson (Chorus Room)

The Scholastic Book Fair This traditional book fair will be held during school hours for students Monday-Friday, October 23rd-October 27th. Students will have the opportunity to visit the book fair during their ELA. Books can be purchased using: cash, checks (made payable to Parker PTO) and Ewallet Funds. For more information, check out our book fair homepage here: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/parkermiddleschool

Pizza, Paperbacks and Pumpkins Wednesday, October 25th 5:00-7:00 p.m. Spend the evening shopping at our Scholastic Book Fair, eating pizza in the cafeteria and view pumpkins aglow in the courtyard. You won't want to miss this Parker Middle School tradition! Pre-order a pizza meal deal (one pizza, salad, 4 waters and 4 cookies) here: https://givebutter.com/TjqemI Pre-ordered meal deals must be submitted by Monday, October 23rd at 5:00 p.m. In addition to the pizza meal deal, pizza by the slice and water will be available for purchase.

Pumpkin Carving Contest: All students are welcome to enter our pumpkin carving contest. Prizes and trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Simply carve a pumpkin and drop it off to school on Wednesday, October 25th 8:00 a.m-3:00 p.m. PTO will provide tea lights and set them out in the courtyard before the start of the Pizza, Paperbacks and Pumpkins event at 5:00 p.m. Please ensure that pumpkins are suitable for younger viewers. Pumpkin carvings may not have weapons or graphic images.

Battle of the Boos trunk decorating contest on Sunday, October 29th 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. If you love Halloween and decorating, this is the event for you! This event will be held at the Harrington Elementary parking lot. Register to enter the Harrington/Parker annual trunk decorating contest here: Battle of the Boos Trunk Decorating $15 registration fee to enter the contest. Prizes awarded for 1st-3rd place. Donations of snack sized candy and non-food items (pencils, tatoos, fidgets, stickers) being collected in the main lobby at Parker and Harrington. FREE trick or treating for all!

If you have any questions, please reach out to: PTOparker@gmail.com

As always, thank you for your continued support of our school!

Parker PTO

To report a Student Absent:

Email: ParkerAttendance@chelmsford.k12.ma.us

Please Send Email: Prior to 9am on the day of the absence. Please Include: Child’s name, Grade, and Reason for absence. We encourage you to use the email option when reporting an absence, dismissal, etc. for efficiency.

**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.

Email: robinsond@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://parker.chelmsfordschools.org/
Location: 75 Graniteville Road
Phone: 978-251-5133