CPS Superintendent's Update

Dear CPS Community,

"May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside." This Irish proverb is fitting on the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day celebrated this Sunday, March 17th to end the week. This annual event dawned with all things green, is all about being Irish and celebrating light as only the Irish know how. Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, enjoying beverages, and a whole lot of green. For those of you celebrating this weekend, I hope you are filled with a warm traditional meal of corn beef and cabbage and enjoy your gatherings with friends and family. Who knows, you may see a leprechaun and find a pot of gold!

Equally exciting for next week is Spring, (or vernal) Equinox, happening on March 19th at 11:09 p.m. This astronomical event is the official beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere. This event occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north. It is called the “celestial” equator because it is an imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. Imagine standing on the equator; the Sun would pass directly overhead on its way north, with the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere receiving equal amounts of sunlight. This time of year brings a sense of renewal with additional sunlight each day. It has always been a pleasant welcome to the drive home with the brighter skies this time of year brings.

Monday is the start of the spring sports season at Chelmsford High School (CHS), and the Lions are positioned to do well this season in hopes of bringing home some titles. Our student athletes are excited to start the season and to participate in outside competitions after a long winter indoors. Now that spring is here with warmer and sunnier days, I encourage you to attend a game or two to cheer on our players. You may view the CHS spring athletic schedule using the following link.

Please enjoy this week’s highlights. “Erin Go Bragh!”

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• Athletics Schedule
• St. Patrick's Day, 3/17, All Day
• Spring Sports Begin, 3/18, After School
• Chelmsford Council of Schools Meeting, 3/20, 7:00 p.m.
• Rock and Roll Bingo, 3/22, 7:00 p.m.
• MMEA All-State Concert, 3/23, TBD

SEPAC Meeting

Wednesday, March 27th at 7:00pm.

Meeting will be virtual. Link to follow.

Chelmsford Public Schools hosted acclaimed performer John Morello, who presented his one-man show, “Dirt,” on Tuesday, March 12 for the students at the Parker and McCarthy Middle Schools as well as a for the community the same evening. For 20 years, Mr. Morello has been traveling the country to perform his one-man show that focuses on mental health, self-esteem and the decisions kids are faced with every day. He is a dynamic, funny and poignant performer who speaks to the issues facing our kids as they navigate coming of age. The Parker and McCarthy PTOs have graciously sponsored this worthy performance. Is was a powerful performance that could serves as an entry point into discussing the many issues adolescents face today. Please visit our website to lean more about the performance.

Students at Chelmsford High School spent the week of March 11-15 participating in the annual House Olympics. This year’s events included dodgeball, robot racing, basketball, Family Feud, disc golf, a school wide clean-up, hockey, listening lunches and an art competition. Please visit our website to view the gallery of picture from this event.

March is Youth Art Month and a plethora of art created by K-12 Chelmsford Public Schools students is currently on display at Chelmsford Public Library. A reception for the exhibit, which features artwork hanging in the library lobby and McCarthy Meeting Room, as well as three-dimensional work in the children’s room and the display case, was held on March 6. The work will remain on exhibit through the end of the month. All are welcomed to stop by for a viewing. Please visit our website to view the gallery of pictures for this event.

On Saturday, March 2, 2024, our Science Team attended the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad, hosted by the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition. Students compete in 23 events that include earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering and is designed to increase a student’s interest in STEM fields and provide recognition for outstanding achievement in team events. The top teams can advance from Regional to State to National levels.

64 schools attended this Olympiad. Chelmsford placed 46th overall and did very well in two of the events:

• In the Science Quiz Bowl Event - Anisha Dantam, Hasya Karthik and Jayden Pacheco placed 8th.
• In the Optics Event – Nazaret Aghazaryan and Sohan Mayani placed 3rd and received a bronze medal !

Student Team Members include: Nazaret Aghazaryan, Agastya Bhatlapenumarthy, Anisha Dantam, Nhu Duong, Anika Gurijala, Reya Kannan, Hasya Karthik, Soham Mayani, Alden Mondoth, Jayden Pacheco, Samhitha Pai, Daksh Santhosh, Freya Shah, Ayaan Srivastava and Luyao Zeng. Our Team Advisor is Axel Martinez.

CHS freshman Lukas Harrington’s artwork is featured on the cover of the spring 2024 issue of the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal. You may access the entire journal using the following link.

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