South Row's Home Link
Week(s) of: February 14th, 2022 & February 28th, 2022
Message from Mrs. Gilbert & Mr. Ramalho
This newsletter contains information and updates for the next two week due to our school vacation week coming up. Please take a look so you can see the many exciting things going on at South Row.
We are looking forward to our next Officer High Five Friday on February 18th. Additionally, the Science Fair submissions are in full swing and we want to continue to encourage students to consider participating. Information about the Science Fair can be found below.
We just completed our first Empathy Push Week. This initiative focused on students recognizing empathy in their classmates. Students awarded one another Pride Tickets when they were observed showing empathy. We are so proud of our students for recognizing and exhibiting this important PRIDE value.
Please be sure to read the Nurse's Corner for important health and safety updates.
Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy school vacation week!! (Week of 2/21-2/25)
Respectfully,
Terri and Jayson
Week at a Glance: Week of February 14th
MONDAY (2.14.22)
- Red, White, and Pink School Spirit Day
- Happy Valentines Day
TUESDAY (2.15.22)
- Therapy Dog Visit to South Row (Tice, Rigby, Frasca, Bullock, Krauch )
WEDNESDAY (2.16.22)
Pool Testing
Thursday (2.17.22)
No events
Friday (2.18.22)
- Grade 4 students visit Center School for Concert by Grade 5
- Officer High Five Friday
- COVID-19 Kit Distribution for students signed up
Week of February 21st- 25th - School Vacation
- Science Fair Projects due February 25th
Week at a Glance - Week of February 28th
MONDAY (2.28.22)
- No events
TUESDAY (3.1.22)
- First Day of Women's History Month
WEDNESDAY (3.2.22)
Pool Testing
Thursday (3.3.22)
Early Release Day - Teacher Professional Development
Reminders for Early Release Days:
- Students are dismissed at 11:45am
- Car dismissals should adhere to the following times
- Last names A-G- 11:40-11:45am
- Last names H-N- 11:45-11:50am
- Last names O-Z- 11:50-11:55am
- Please communicate any changes to your child's dismissal plans to their respective teacher, Mrs. O'Neill (oneilld@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) and Mrs. Sepe (sepek@chelmsford.k12.ma.us). Be sure to also discuss with your child.
- NO Lunch is served
- Students will either have specials or recess (rotates every half day).
- Snack time may be adjusted and/or not occur depending on your child(ren)'s schedule.
- Extended Day will be open until 6:00pm for students signed up on Thursdays. Please provide your child a lunch
Friday (3.4.22)
- No events
Looking ahead
- February School Vacation - February 21st-25th
- Science Fair Projects due - February 25th
- Early Release Day - Teacher Professional Development - Thursday, March 3rd - Students dismissed at 11:45am
- Book Fair - Week of March 7th-11th
- Book Fair "Family Shopping Night" - March 9th
- Science Fair Videos Available for viewing, Friday, March 11th
- Student Grade Level Meetings w/ Mrs. Gilbert & Mr. Ramalho - Monday, March 14th
- K Curious Creatures Enrichment Program, Tuesday, March 15th
- Therapy Dog Visit - Tuesday, March 15th - (Duncan, Sbordy, Patriquin, Krasnovsky Stagnone) - subject to change
- Happy St. Patrick's Day, Thursday, March 17th
- Choralfest, Performing Arts Center - Saturday, March 19th, 8:00am-3:00pm
- Gr. 2 Wingmasters Enrichment (rescheduled), Monday, March 21st
CPS K-12 Youth Art Month Exhibit: The Chelmsford Library is hosting our K-12 art show through the month of March. Families are welcome to visit at any point after March 4 to see the student artwork. The McCarthy Meeting Room (where the hanging artwork will be) will be open to the public on Mondays through Thursdays from 9:30 am – 8:15 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 am – 4:45 pm, and on Sundays from 1pm – 4:45 pm. We hope you can check it out!
Reminders/ Updates for the Week
Science Fair Update/Reminder: Please read this update/reminder on the South Row Virtual Science Fair. Information is also included below.
Scholastic Book Fair 2022: Mark your calendars the South Row Scholastic Book Fair will be back IN PERSON March 7-11!! This year’s theme is “Books Bring Us Together.” Children will have the opportunity to shop the fair during their regularly scheduled library block. The Book Fair Committee is actively seeking volunteers to help set-up, run, and break down the fair. Please consider helping out using the link below or email
southrowbookfair@gmail.com. Additional details below! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4dafaa29aaffcf8-2022MCAS Dates: Grade 3 and 4 students will be taking the MCAS this year. The ELA MCAS will be held the week of April 11th and the Math MCAS will be held the week of May 9th. Students will participate in two days of both ELA and Math testing during those weeks. Specific dates will be shared at a later date.
International Festival "Around the World" Photos: There will be a slideshow shared during the festival featuring photographs of South Row family travels in the United States or abroad. If you are interested in sharing a photograph for the slideshow, please email: internationalfestivalsouthrow@gmail.com. During vacation week could be a great time to look for some photos! =)
Upcoming Spirit Days
- Kindness Matters Day - Monday, March 7th
- Chelmsford/South Row Spirit Day - Friday, March 11th
- Culture Spirit Day, Friday, March 25th
Kind Acts
Valentine's Day Cards: Your child(ren)'s classroom teacher will provide more information on this kind act and how it will be handled in their respective classroom!
March:
Book Drive: When we return from February break we will be hosting a Book Drive to support UpWithBooks, www.upwithbooks.org, a local non-profit here in Chelmsford. The book drive will take place from February 28 (M) - March 9 (Wed). UpWithBooks provides books to children in poverty and promotes reading & literacy. Please consider supporting this organization by donating GENTLY used children's books. The 3 classes that collect the most books will win Scholastic Dollars for their class to use at the book fair!
Book Fair
We will kick off our countdown to book fair when we return from February break by hosting a Book Drive February 28 (M) - March 9 (Wed) to support UpWithBooks, www.upwithbooks.org, a local non-profit here in Chelmsford. They provide books to children in poverty and promote reading & literacy. Please consider supporting this organization by sending in GENTLY used children's books. The 3 classes that collect the most books will win Scholastic Dollars for their class to use at the book fair!
The South Row Scholastic Book Fair is back, IN PERSON, March 7-11! Children will have the opportunity to shop the fair during their regularly scheduled library time, after school on 3/9 with their family, or online. Flyers coming home following February break with ALL the info you need. In the meantime, please consider helping the book fair committee by volunteering to set-up, run, and break down the fair using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4dafaa29aaffcf8-2022. Parents will only be allowed in the building during school hours if they are signed up to volunteer. All volunteers should be CORI'd at the front office at least 1 week prior to volunteering. This year's theme is "Books Bring Us Together". In that spirit we are partnering with UpWithBooks, a local non-profit, to hold a gently used book drive Feb 28- March 9. We will also purchase new books with funds from those that choose to "round-up" their book fair purchase." Families can also support the school and staff directly by purchasing them Scholastic Gift Cards.
Nurses Corner
Dear South Row Families,
At home Test Kits
If your student was absent when we handed out the test kits on 2/7, I have their kit in the health office. They can come see me for pick up if they have not already!
Reminders about recent changes to our Covid response:
Our district has transitioned from the Test and Stay program to weekly at-home rapid antigen tests for all interested students and staff.
We have discontinued contact tracing and the Test and Stay program.
Pool Testing will continue. Pool testing is available for vaccinated and unvaccinated students. If your student is already enrolled in pool testing you do not need to sign up again.
Students and staff may opt-in to receive at-home rapid antigen test kits regardless of vaccination status, even if they do not participate in pool testing.
Students who have tested positive for Covid should wait 90 days to participate in pool testing and weekly at home screening.
We will reassess the seating in the cafeteria after February recess.
Please check the Covid Dashboard on the CPS website for our current tally of weekly Covid Cases.
Important Links:
Student and Staff Opt In/Register for At Home Antigen Testing Program
Third Grade Physicals
All third grade students are required to submit a current physical exam. If you have not already done so, please submit a copy of your student’s physical dated January 1, 2021 or later.
Please see Dr. Lang’s letter for additional information regarding Rapid At-Home Covid Testing if you are interested.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions.
Warmly,
Nurse V.
Science Fair 2022
The 2022 Virtual Science Fair is fast approaching. Here are some quick reminders pertaining to the event.
The registration deadline for the Virtual Fair is Friday, February 18th, 2022. Please register by clicking on the 2022 South Row Science Fair Student Registration link.
Project submissions are due Friday, February 25th, 2022
Please click on this link to view how to add the science fair classroom to your child's profile. The classroom code is lphexi3 (first letter is a lower case L). All projects should be videoed and uploaded using Google Classwork.
We are also excited to share that CodeWiz has donated some classes and gift certificates. We will hold a raffle for all the submitted videos to distribute the generous CodWiz donation. Additionally, we hope to provide participants the opportunity to display science fair project boards in the hallway leading up to the book fair during the week of March 7th-11th. More information on this possible opportunity and drop off of projects will be shared in the coming weeks.
Should you want to review more detailed information on the Science Fair please click on this link.
We are looking forward to seeing many presentations.
Should you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to southrowsciencefair@gmail.com. A special thank you to Rick Cockley (South Row Parent/School Council member) for organizing this event.
SAVE THE DATE - MORE INFO COMING SOON!
February 8th, 2022 School Committee Meeting
Grade 1 Meteorologist Visit
PTO Corner
February PTO Meeting
If you missed our PTO meeting on Monday, you can view the recording here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sQuXXPtDy1e3ULNYgVJQ3otXw8wQ_Mjo/view
Help Wanted
There are a few roles that we are seeking volunteers for:
Board Positions
Our May meeting with Board elections will be here before you know it! Each Board position (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) are elected annually, so if any position interests you, don't hesitate to reach out to southrowpto@gmail.com to learn more.
Engineering Day
Every year the 3rd graders enjoy a special day of STEM activities - Engineering Day. If you are interested in helping out, please contact your 3rd grade teacher or Denille Ruth at denille.ruth@gmail.com.
Food Services
SOUTH ROW'S PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Please send photos to Mr. Ramalho (ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us) to be featured in our Home Link newsletter!
100th Day
Kindness Matters
South Row kiddos showing kindness!
Pride Shout Outs
Cinquain Poems
Door Decorating Fun
Check out the amazing doors of South Row!
From the art room...
School spirit!
Thank you South Row PTO!
Winter Walking Tips from Chelmsford Municipal Safety
Contact the South Row Administrative Team!
Principal
Mr. Jayson Ramalho, M.Ed.
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
- Mr. Jayson Ramalho, Assistant Principal: ramalhoj@chelmsford.k12.ma.us, 978-251-5177 ext. 3
- Mrs. Shannon Vandevoordt, School Nurse: vandevoordts@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