The summer of 2022 went by quickly for students and families of Chelsea Public Schools. After leaving school with energy and gusto in June, kids returned to school buildings this week for the Back to School events organized by the district and the Family Liaisons at each school.
On Monday, August 22, the Early Learning Center welcomed Pre-K, Kindergarten, and first grade students into their building to receive backpacks, school supplies, and benefit for a variety of community resources. A little later in the afternoon, the four elementary schools from the Mary C. Burke Elementary Complex (Berkowitz, Hooks, Kelly, Sokolowski) opened their doors to a crowd that rose into the thousands.
Family Liaisons from each CPS school welcomed community organizations such as Chelsea Community Connections, La Colaborativa, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, and many more to provide information about their programs to families. City of Chelsea departments such as the Fire Department, Recreation, Public Health, and more attended to spread the word about how their department support the residents of Chelsea.
Donations were provided by many of the organizations to get families excited about returning to school. Healthy Chelsea brought their renown “smoothie bike” to give cool refreshments for kids. Chelsea firefighters handed out toy helmets to kids that turned into trick-or-treat like devices, overflowing with school supplies by the end of the event. There was even a COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for kids and families.
Back to School events at the CPS middle schools (Clark Avenue Middle School, Browne Middle School, and the Wright Science & Technology Academy) will occur on Wednesday, August 24, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the respective schools. The final CPS Back to School event will be for Chelsea High School, Chelsea Opportunity Academy, and Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy students on Friday, August 26, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Chelsea High School.
The first day of school for grades 1-12 is Wednesday, August 31, and the first day of school for pre-K and Kindergarten students is Wednesday, September 7.