CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

Welcome to Spring! The Spring season officially began on Tuesday, March 19th at 11:06 p.m. Legend has it the only time you can successfully balance an egg upright is on the Vernal Equinox due to the Earth’s position relative to the sun. This myth is due to the idea that since the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth, the gravitational pull is equalized. Therefore, the egg can stand on its end without falling over. This myth has been debunked given it is possible to balance a raw egg upright on a day other than the equinox! Either way, it is difficult no matter when you try to do balance one.

Next Thursday, March 28th at 7:00 p.m. the School Committee and I will be holding an informational session on the Parker Middle School Building Project. This informational session will be held at the McCarthy Middle School Auditorium at 250 North Road. The session will be recorded and aired later for those unable to attend who are interested in hearing more about the school building project. On December 13, 2023, the Town of Chelmsford was accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s eligibility period, the first significant step toward receiving funding for a building project focused on the Parker Middle School. Chelmsford’s 270-day eligibility period will commence on April 1, 2024, and conclude on December 27, 2024. During this time, the Town must complete several preliminary requirements, the first being completion of the Initial Compliance Certification, followed by the formation of a School Building Committee. The informational session is an opportunity to provide interested parents, students, staff and community members with an overview of information, the timeline of the eligibility period, and the financial request of the Town to support the feasibility study at the April 29th Annual Town Meeting. I invite you to join us next week at this meeting to learn more about the project. Please see our webpage designated to provide information on this project and the eligibility period commences.

Beginning Tuesday, March 26th Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) testing begins with the ELA assessment at Chelmsford High School. In the following weeks, our grades 3 – 8 students will begin their testing window for ELA. MCAS measures critical skills students need for success in the 21st century: deeper understanding; knowledge application; synthesizing; and writing. Most students will take the test on a computer reflecting the digital world we live in today. MCAS helps the Commonwealth of Massachusetts identify schools and districts that need additional support and provides schools with the necessary information on how students are performing compared to the identified learning standards for each grade and grade spans. The next-generation MCAS reports your child's scores in new categories that better show whether your child is meeting expectations in their grade level. State test scores are just one piece of a student's academic picture, but they are important information. Schools use a variety of assessment information including social emotional learning coupled with educator professional judgement when supporting students in school. Please be sure you have marked your calendars with the dates your child(ren) will be assessed and be sure they have a good night’s rest and nutritious breakfast on their designated testing dates. If you have any questions about MCAS testing, please contact your child’s school directly.

As a reminder, there is no school next Friday, March 29th. For those of you celebrating, please enjoy your Easter long weekend with your friends and families.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• Athletics Schedule
• Rock and Roll Bingo, 3/22, 7:00 p.m.
• MMEA All-State Concert, 3/23, TBD
• Byam School Hootenanny Talent Show, 3/23, 6:00 p.m.
• School Committee Meeting, 3/26, 6:00 p.m.
• Parker MS School Building Project Meeting, 3/28, 7:00 p.m.
• No School, 3/29, All Day

SEPAC Meeting

Wednesday, March 27th at 7:00pm.

Meeting will be virtual. Link to follow.

Legendary Chelmsford High School football coach Tom Caito passed away over the weekend. Mr. Caito coached at CHS from 1979-1995, before moving on to be the head coach at Merrimack College. Upon hearing of the loss, former colleagues, players, sports journalists and opposing coaches, as well as many others, shared their condolences via social media. Please visit our website to read more about the tributes for Coach Caito.

Four CHS students (2 Juniors & 2 Seniors) participated at the Club Richelieu of Lowell's annual Concours Oratoire on February 6th. This is a competition is for High School students who are studying French. The topic of this year's competition was "if you could live/study in a Francophone country, which would you choose and why?" Each student received a cash prize. Jennifer Yu, a junior, won 1st place, Brendan Keough took 2nd place, Cedric Estinfil and Nathan Nguyen took 3rd and 4th places, respectively. Having won the local competition, Jennifer was then able to compete in the regional concours. On March 16th, Jennifer and her family traveled to Salem MA to compete at the Regionals. She represented CHS and Club Richelieu's Lowell chapter against other high school students from the Club Chapters of Nashua, Manchester, Providence, and Salem. She did not win the Regionals; however, she got a certificate of accomplishment from the Salem Chapter, as well as a boost in confidence with stepping out of her comfort zone to participate in such an event. These students current and former French teachers are very proud of all their Francophile students!

CHS students: from left to right - Nathan Nguyen; Cedric Estinfil; Brendan Keough; and Jennifer Yu.

Chelmsford High School‘s two a cappella groups, The Thursdays and The Crescendos, both advanced to the International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA) Northeast Semifinal, which will be held at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on March 24. The groups have been busy preparing for the event, holding several rehearsals to fine tune their sets. Please visit our website to view the gallery of pictures.

The CHIPS/Community Education playground recently received a playground communication board through a grant from the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. CHIPS teacher Mary Ellen Forty wrote the grant. The Flutie Foundations states that "Play is a critical part of children’s development. Individuals with autism and other developmental delays commonly experience social deficits, which inhibit their ability to communicate effectively with others. Visual aids support a wide range of learners, including verbal, neuro-typical peers and promote inclusion of people with differing abilities. These communication boards will support individuals in initiating conversations with peers, navigating social situations, and expressing themselves." This is a wonderful addition to our school's playground area.

Byam Art Night is Thursday, May 9th, 5:00-7:00pm!

Suggested time slots are K-2 5:00-6:00pm, and 3rd-4th 6:00-7:00pm, but please stop by anytime that works for your family. Every single child will have artwork displayed!

• View K-4 Artwork in the halls!
• Glow Gallery in the Art room!
• Complete an Art Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win a gift certificate!
• Check out the Scholastic Book Fair outside!

Make plans to celebrate the end of the school year: Take the family out to the ballgame! Your kids can join fellow students from both McCarthy and Parker to enjoy watching the Boston Red Sox play the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, May 30th at 7:10pm. Tickets are $40 per person with a portion of the proceeds benefiting both PTOs. Tickets are expected to sell out like last year so act fast to get in on the action! See the directions to get your tickets for this event.

Go to: https://givebutter.com/gMsmi9 to place your order.

Or, use the QR code below on the attached flyer.

Print out our flyer as your reminder!

NOTE: Tickets will be emailed to your MLB app directly in May!

Please see our list of open positions at the Chelmsford Public Schools. We would love for you to join our team.

Chelmsford High School has a cashless system for admittance to its regular season home athletic events. To get your tickets, CHS has partnered with GoFan.co, a digital, cashless ticketing app used by more than 10,000 schools, for fast and convenient payments for regular season home games. CHS fans are encouraged to download the GoFan app. For Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association postseason tournaments, the MIAA also utilizes GoFan.co as its own ticketing system. Visit the MIAA Ticket Information page.

The mission of the Chelmsford Public Schools is to educate, engage, prepare, and empower well-rounded and knowledgeable learners who PERSEVERE through challenges, demonstrate RESPECT and INTEGRITY in their words and actions, are DEDICATED to their community, and display EMPATHY as global citizens while discovering and pursuing their full potential.

Email: information@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Website: https://chelmsfordschools.org
Location: 230 North Road, Chelmsford, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 251-5100
Facebook: facebook.com/chelmsfordpublicschools
Twitter: @ChelmsfordPS