South Row's Home Link
Week of: February 23rd, 2026
Message from the Principals
Hello everyone,
Wishing you a restful, fun-filled vacation week. As a reminder, we will be having an ALICE drill the week we get back and teachers have prepared students this past week. Safety is always at the forefront of our minds and these drills help us feel prepared. Click here to review information on ALICE that is shared with students.
Our Science Fair will be on Wednesday February 25th from 6:30 to 8:00. Even if your student is not presenting please consider stopping by. It is quite an event and the wide variety of displays and experiments are a tribute to the creativity of our students.
Respectfully,
Terri and Jayson
Week at a Glance: Week of February 16th
Today, Friday, February 13th
- Science Fair Registration Closes
Saturday, February 14th
- South Row Grade 1 Featured on WBZ News (Weather Segment) at 7:30 am and 8:30 am
Monday, February 16th- Friday, February 20th
- No School - February Vacation
- Mon. Feb. 16th, 6-8 pm: Family Skate Night at Roller Kingdom Skate Night Tickets
Week at a Glance: Week of February 23rd
Monday, February 23rd
- ALICE Drill will take place at some point this week. (see information below)
Tuesday, February 24th
- No events
Wednesday, February 25th
- South Row Science Fair, 6:30-8:00 PM
Thursday, February 26th
- Theme Song Thursday
- South Row Science Fair (SNOW DATE), 6:30- 8:00 PM
Friday, February 27th
- Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day
Looking ahead...
Monday, March 2nd
- Kindness Matters Day
- Student Council, 3:30-4:15pm
- School Council, 5:30pm, Conference Room
- PTO Board, 6:30pm, Conference Room
- PTO, 7:00pm, Lab
Tuesday, March 3rd
- Try it Tuesday
Wednesday, March 4th
- Youth Art Exhibit Open House, Chelmsford Public Library, 5:00-6:30pm
Friday, March 6th
- School Spirit Day - Favorite Book Character Day
Saturday, March 7th
- Instrument Test Drive for Incoming Grade 5 Students to Middle School, 9-11am, CHS
Sunday, March 8th
- Daylight Savings Time starts
Tuesday, March 10th
- End of Term 2 Grades 1-4
Wednesday, March 11th
- Early Release Day - students dismissed at 11:45am - teacher professional development
- Book Buddies, Bullock and Duncan/ Rigby & Webber
Thursday, March 13th
- Teacher Preview Day for Book Fair, Library
- Boston Symphony Hall Grade 4 Field Trip, leaving at 9:30am
Monday, March 16th
- Book Fair weeks begins (students visit book fair on Library days)
- Placement Letter and Input Form Sent to Grades 1-3 families for SY26/27 from Principals
Tuesday, March 17th
- School Spirit Day - Green, Orange and White Day
Wednesday, March 18th
- Scholastic Book Fair Family Night and Game Night
Thursday, March 19th
- Grade 1 Enrichment - Professor Bugman
Friday, March 20th
- School Spirit Day - Chelmsford/South Row
Wednesday, March 25th
- Grades Available on X2 Grades 1-4
Friday, March 27th
- Tentative Whole School Reward
Monday, March 30th
- Family Input into SY26/27 Placement Process Due to Principals via google form
Tuesday, March 31st
- Try it Tuesday
An Important Message from Mrs. Brown
Dear Families,
Please make sure your child brings or wears sneakers on the days they have Physical Education. Boots and other non-athletic shoes are not safe for running or participating in activities in the gymnasium. Students who do not have appropriate footwear will need to sit out for safety reasons.
Thank you so much for your support in helping your child be prepared and ready to participate!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Brown
Physical Education Teacher
Weekly Reminders and Updates
Science Fair: Registration is now open for our annual Science Fair that will be held on February 25th from 6:30 to 8:00. The snow date is February 26th.
Coats!!: Students will be outside for recess most days throughout the winter months. Please make sure to send your child in with a coat as the temperatures are falling rapidly.
Family Resources: Please use the Family Resources link to fill out our form if your family would benefit from assistance. We offer a variety of resources throughout the year.
ALICE DRILL - After Vacation
We will be having an ALICE DRILL the week after vacation (The Week of February 23rd). Please click the slides below to prepare students for the drill.
2026 MCAS Dates (Grades 3 and 4)
MCAS Dates
ELA - 4/8 and 4/9 (grade 3)
ELA - 4/14 and 4/15 (grade 4)
Makeup will be ongoing through the 17th
Math - 5/6 and 5/7 (grade 3)
Math - 5/13 and 5/14 (grade 4)
Makeups will be ongoing through the 22nd
South Row's Annual Science Fair
Registration Link
Save the Date - South Row's Scholastic Book Fair!
Save the date! South Row’s Scholastic Book Fair will be held March 16th - 20th.
Students will have an opportunity to shop the fair during their regularly scheduled library block or join us for Family Shopping and Game Night on Wednesday, March 18th. More details to come after the February break!
2026 Scholastic Book Fair Challenge and Kind Act
Each year the Book Fair committee partners with an organization that can benefit from brand new books. This year we chose The Wish Project, specifically their BITS Bags program. Basic Items for Toddler Success (BITS) bags are put together year-round at Wish and shared with their partner agencies. These bags are given to many children in the Merrimack Valley who may experience developmental delays due to a lack of simple toys & books to stimulate them.
At the fair you’ll have the opportunity to round up your total to help us buy them books OR you can buy books from the fair to donate when you shop at Family Shopping & Game Night.
We are once again offering a friendly competition between classes. As South Row’s Kind Act for March we will be collecting additional items for the BITS bags. Each class that collects 25 or more items will be entered to win $200 worth of books for their classroom! We’ll pick 3 winners.
Items requested for the bags are:
- Bubbles (approx. 4oz)
- Crayons
- Coloring Books
- Beach ball or other ball
- Rubber ducks (large enough to not be a choking hazard)
- Sidewalk Chalk
Participation is optional. Donations can be sent in with your student anytime from March 2 – March 13.
Thank you!
From the Book Fair Team
southrowbookfair@gmail.com
Recess Expectations in the Winter
- Students are expected to wear coats, hats, gloves, and boots to school in the winter months!
Students will not need to put on snow pants to go outside. However, if students wear boots, they will be able to go in the snow. You will be able to:
Walk around in the snow
Run in the snow
Build a snowman
Make tracks through the snow
Play follow the leader
If students wear boots, they will NOT be allowed to:
Throw snow / Kick snow
Throw snowballs
Get pants wet
If students forget snow boots, they will be able to go outside but will only be able to play on the blacktop area and not in the field or snow-covered areas.
In the News & Events
Jazz Brunch Invitation from Town DEI Committee
Parker Middle School Building Project Information
Save the Date: Multicultural Festival 2026!
PTO Corner
PTO Corner
Happy February break to all of you! We hope you have some great things planned, even if it's just relaxing for a bit. We have some fun activities to keep you busy over the break. As always, thank you for your continued support of the South Row PTO. You are how we are able to bring amazing enrichment opportunities to our students and we could not do it without you! Thank you!
Here's a look at what's coming up!
- Sat. Feb. 14th, 2pm: Harlem Globetrotters at Tsongas Center Globetrotters Tickets
- Mon. Feb. 16th, 6-8pm: Family Skate Night at Roller Kingdom Skate Night Tickets
- Tues. Feb. 17th, 11:30-8:00: Dine-to-Donate at Evviva Trattoria, Westford, MA
- Mon. Mar 2 - Fri. Mar. 6th: Community Read-In Week Sign up to Read
- Sat. Mar. 7th, 6:05pm: UMass Lowell River Hawks vs. BU Terriers at Tsongas Center River Hawks tickets
If you have any questions about any upcoming events, don't hesitate to reach out to us! southrowpto@gmail.com
- South Row PTO Board
Reminders from the PTO
Harlem Globetrotters
Roller Kingdom Family Skate Night
Skate night is back! Please plan to join other South Row families at our skate night, exclusive to our school. We'll be there on Monday, February 16th from 6-8pm at Roller Kingdom in Tyngsboro. Bring your own skates or take advantage of their rentals (skates or blades).
Discounted pricing ends today, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13th! Reserve your spot today for a lower price than at the door.
Prepay for tickets now: $5 if you bring your own skates, $8 if you need to rent.
Pay at the door: $7 if you bring your own skates, $10 to rent skates.
Plan to get dinner from the concession stand and the PTO gets back a percentage of the food sales. Hope to see you there!
Dine-to-Donate at Evviva Trattoria
Chelmsford Community Read In
Our annual town-wide Community Read-In event is coming up, March 2-6th at CHIPS, Byam, Center, Harrington, South Row, and Parker. We are always looking for volunteers to read to classrooms across the district. If you choose to participate, please know you will not be placed in a classroom with your own student(s), but rather sharing a love of literacy with others within our wider community.
If interested, please fill out the form HERE and as the event grows nearer, a liaison will connect with you to let you know where you're placed for the week. Sign up to read once, twice, or even MORE! Show your Chelmsford pride by reading to our students!
UMASS Lowell River Hawks vs. BU Terriers
Our next South Row Night at the UML River Hawks is coming up Saturday, March 7th at 6:05pm at the Tsongas Center! Come and represent South Row in your Chelmsford gear or rock your red, white, and blue for UML! Grab a friend and come hang to support our local college team! Tickets are available for purchase:
Seeking Treasurer
Seeking Shadows for Upcoming Events
Ever wondered what goes into making our South Row PTO events happen? Want to help out, but aren't sure where to start? We're currently looking for shadows for each of our upcoming events as parents will be moving up with their children. We'd love to share what we know to keep these South Row School traditions alive for years to come! Interested in learning more about an event? Email us at southrowpto@gmail.com or chat with a Board member today! We'd love to have you!
Senior Scholarship from SRPTO
Know a graduating senior this year? South Row PTO offers a $1,000 scholarship to a former South Row Elementary School student every year. Please pass this information along to any seniors you may know who once attended South Row! Interested applicants must apply by Friday, April 15th, 2026. Scholarship Application
Next PTO Meeting
Our next PTO meeting will be happening MONDAY, MARCH 2nd in person in the South Row Technology Lab, 7pm. We look forward to connecting with you, sharing what's been going on in the past month, and what's to come!
Can't make it in person? Join us using the meeting link provided in the Home Link newsletter.
Want to stay up to date with it all?
Add our PTO event calendar, meeting schedule, and the CPS district calendars to keep it all on the go!
PTO Virtual Meeting Link
Virtual PTO Meeting Link
We will be offering a virtual option for those that would like to join the monthly PTO meeting but can't make it in person. Please use this link to join the meeting virtually.
Connections Calendar
Parent Resources and Support
Parent Resources and Support Button
**Please note: We continuously update the button below with new resources as they arise.
Food Services Corner
This section is comprised of the following items pertaining to food services
- Website
- Breakfast Information
- Tentative Breakfast/Lunch Menus
Tentative Breakfast and Lunch Menus
SOUTH ROW'S PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Pride Shout Outs
Poetry Fun!
Importance of Attendance
PAST NEWSLETTER CORNER
Contact the South Row Administrative Team!
Principal
Dr. Jayson A. Ramalho
Assistant Principal
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
Contact the Main Office Staff
- Mrs. Terri Gilbert, Principal: gilbertt@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 4
- Dr. Jayson A. Ramalho, Assistant Principal: ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 3
- Mrs. Heather Martin, School Nurse: martinh@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