Dear CPS Community,

As we enter the month of November, crisp weather and beautiful colors radiating from the change of foliage abound. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I hope everyone has a chance to get outside this fall and enjoy the great weather - Winter will before you know it! Congratulations to our CHS Field Hockey, Soccer, and Football teams for advancing to the MIAA Fall Championships. Also, the CHS Theatre Guild’s production of Pippin is just a few weeks away. Information on ticket sales may be found in the newsletter below. Please come out and support our students at these great events.

There are some important COVID-19 updates to share with you this week, as well as information on upcoming flu clinics for students later this month. First, children ages 5-11 are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine! The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was authorized by the CDC for use in children ages 5-11 on November 2, 2021. The Pfizer pediatric vaccine contains a third of the vaccine dose that has been used to safely vaccinate millions of individuals 12 years of age and older. Children 5-11 years old will receive two vaccines, three weeks apart. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. We encourage you to vaccinate your child(ren) to protect against the COVID-19 virus and to help keep our school community healthy and safe. Parents may schedule appointments through your child’s health care provider. Further, appointments at additional sites are available and may be found by accessing: https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/. For individuals who are unable to use VaxFinder, or have difficulty accessing the internet, the COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Line is available by calling 211. Second, our district is working with Remedium Pharmacy in Chelmsford to offer students in grades 5-12 flu shots at school next Friday, November 12th. More information about registering for flu shots will be sent out via ConnectEd and through the schools once it becomes available.

As a reminder, members of the school committee and administration will be holding our second public visioning session with consultants from Dore & Whitter Architects next Tuesday, November 9th at 6:00 p.m. at the Chelmsford Elks Club. Please join us to review current facility condition information and updates pertaining to plans for our future school needs. As always, your input and ideas are valuable and will help shape our decision-making process for our schools. I look forward to seeing you next week.

This weekend we change our clocks back one hour for daylight savings. Also, Thursday, November 11th we observe Veterans Day - there is no school that day. This day is held on the anniversary the fighting ended in World War I, on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. Please take time to honor those that have served in our armed forces for their sacrifices. Have a great weekend.

Yours truly,

Jay Lang, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

• View complete athletics schedules here

• Center/McCarthy Disposal Day Fundraiser, 11/6, 8:00 a.m.

• School Visioning Session #2 - Chelmsford Elks, 11/9, 6:00 p.m.

• Chelmsford Integrated Preschool Family Night, 11/10, 6:00 p.m.

• No School - Veteran's Day, 11/11 - All Day

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.