Clemens Crossing Cougar Comments
September 21, 2018 - Volume 40, Issue 4
Clemens Crossing Elementary School
Sonia Hurd, Assistant Principal
Website: cces.hcpss.org
Location: 10320 Quarterstaff Road, Columbia, MD, United States
Phone: 410-313-6866
Facebook: facebook.com/ClemensCrossingElementary
Twitter: @hcpss_cces
Events Coming Up
September
- 26 - In-School Banking, 9:00 a.m.
- 26 - PTA Committee Chair Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 27 - Fall Individual Portraits
October
- 3 - Three-hour Early Dismissal - School closes at 12:45 p.m.
- 5 - 3rd Grade to Howard County Conservancy
- 8 - Flu Clinic
- 9 - Interim Reports Issued
- 10 - PTA Meeting
- 12 - 3rd grade to Ellicott City
- 15 - PTA Read-a-Thon begins
- 17 - PTA Restaurant Night - Chick-fil-a
- 19 - Schools Closed - Professional Work Day
- 24 - PTA Room Parent Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 26 - In-School Banking, 9:00 a.m.
- 31 - Halloween Parade, 2:45 p.m.
To subscribe to the CCES calendar on your smartphone, electronic device, or email system click the +Google Calendar icon in the bottom right-hand corner to add our calendar to your personal device. By subscribing to the calendar, school events and activities will always be up-to-date.
From School Administration
Attendance is key to suCCESs!
Over the past three years, Clemens Crossing Elementary has maintained a 95-96% attendance rate. While this is good overall, a 5% schoolwide absence rate at CCES represents over 5,000 days missed by our students.
The state of Maryland considers chronic absenteeism at 10% or 18 days of school. To stay on track in school, students need to be present every day. Missing 18 or more days of school in a year puts a child’s high school graduation at risk according to AbsencesAddUp.org, a national chronic absenteeism prevention campaign. Being absent for just two days every month of the school year can put a child behind academically. Students with regular attendance are more likely to read well by third grade and score higher on tests. They also tend to be more engaged in school and feel better about themselves.
Put your child on the path to success with these attendance strategies.
Make school a priority. Every absence (excused or not), can impact a child’s academic achievement. Talk to your child about how important their education is. Make daily routines for homework and waking up on time for school.
Maintain communication with teachers and keep an eye on your child’s academic progress.
If your child seems disconnected from school or is prone to skipping class, try signing him or her up for an after-school activity. A report by the University of Minnesota found that students in an after-school program attended 18 more days of school and missed nine fewer days than their peers.
Make a plan. If your schedule or transportation situation makes getting your child to school a challenge, ask for assistance. Make a carpool or transportation plan with other parents or family members.
Report In. Know your school’s attendance policies. If an absence or early dismissal is unavoidable, contact your school. If your family’s religious observances fall on school days, let teachers know early in the year which days your child will miss.
The Maryland State Department of Education has defined full and partial day attendance as follows:
- A student is counted present for a full day if the student is in attendance for four hours or more of the school day.
- A student is counted present for half day if the student is in attendance for at least two hours of the school day, but less than four hours.
- A student scheduled for less than a full day is to be counted present based on the amount of time he/she is scheduled.
A note from the parent must be submitted to the school within two school days of the student’s return, indicating the date and reason for tardiness or absence from a regular school session. A doctor’s certificate is required in cases of long-term absence due to illness. A note should also be submitted to request early dismissal or exclusion from activities (e.g. physical education). Chronic absences are referred to our Student Services Team at CCES.
Carefully weigh sick days. If your child is sick, they should stay home. Students should be fever free for 24 hours. If the doctor or nurse recommends that your child stay home, find out exactly how long and on what conditions he or she can return to class (for example, after 24 hours of antibiotics). Before keeping your children home, make sure they aren’t faking symptoms. Regularly feigning sickness may be a sign that your child is anxious about facing a challenge at school.
Schedule wisely. Know your school’s calendar, and arrange doctor and dentist appointments after school, on weekends, or during holiday breaks, if possible. Resist the urge to schedule vacations when students will miss school. This gives students the impression that school is not a priority.
We hope this helps you and your family plan to make every school day count.
CCES Continues Educational Partnership with First National Bank
CCES teamed up with First National Bank to provide banking opportunities for our students.
In-School Banking takes place once a month on the last Wednesday of each month. You can find all of the dates on our school calendar.
Our first In-School Banking date for the school year is September 26 between 9:00-9:30 a.m. in the Cafeteria.
Students can start banking at any time during the year. Please find a letter from First National Bank below. In addition, the In-School Banking form is required to open an account with First National Bank.
Howard County G/T Program Parent Academy
HCPSS families interested in the Gifted and Talented (G/T) Program are invited to come to
Howard High School to learn about the advanced-level offerings available through the G/T Education Program and how their students can become involved.
The evening will begin with an overview of G/T Education Program offerings at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. These overviews will be presented by both G/T staff and Howard County students.
Following the General Session, parents and community members will have an opportunity to meet by school level for a question and answer session.
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., G/T Education Program Overview Presentation – Auditorium
8:05 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Question and Answer Sessions:
- Elementary G/T Program Offerings: Auditorium
- Middle G/T Program Offerings: Classroom F124
- High School G/T and AP Courses: Classroom F126
For more information, please email hcpssgtac@gmail.com or alyson_tommins@hcpss.org or call 410-313‐6800.
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2018, 07:00 PM
8700 Old Annapolis Rd Ellicott City, MD
Don't Delay, Join Your PTA
After trying a lot of different fundraisers over the years, the CCES PTA’s major fundraiser is a direct donation program (and later in the fall, a Read-a-thon). Rather than sell candles or other merchandise, we ask each family to contribute $50 (or whatever you can afford) in addition to their membership dues to support the programs we sponsor throughout the year.
Our PTA membership rates are $15 for a family and $10 for an individual.
Consider all the programs your PTA brings to the school -- Cultural Arts assemblies, after-school classes, field trip support, the Science Fair, International Night, Visiting Author, after-school classes, Talent Show, Spring Carnival, etc., etc., etc., and support your PTA!
You can sign up online at http://clemenscrossingpta.org/family-membership/
Or, you can print the membership form attached below, and write a check payable to CCES PTA.
Send the form and check back to school with your child.
Thank you so much!!
Clemens Crossing Apparel
The CCES Spirit Wear Sale is open and will continue through October 1. Purchases made will be delivered to school the week of October 22nd and distributed soon after. Flyers will go home in the first day folders. All orders must be placed online.
You can choose a unisex t-shirt, long-sleeved t-shirt, or ladies t-shirt with a special 40th Anniversary logo in Navy or a traditional CCES logo in grey. Better yet, why not order one item with each design! Traditional designs are also available on a light blue tie-dye t-shirt, a hoodie, and a cinch bag. Prices range from $11-$24. Check out the site, select Clemens Crossing ES, select items to add to your shopping cart and order what you’d like.
PTA Kickoff Meeting and Dinner
Clemens Crossing Elementary School Media Center.
Please come and share your knowledge and ideas!
Monday, Sep 17, 2018, 06:30 PM
Clemens Crossing Elementary School, Quarterstaff Road, Columbia, MD, USA
Giant Food A+ Rewards
Clemens Crossing Elementary earns cash every time you shop at Giant Food Grocery Stores and use your Giant card. In fact, CCES earned $4,900 for our school last year from this program. Money earned helps to pay for online subscriptions such as iXL.
The A+ Rewards program starts September 7 and runs through March 16. CCES will automatically start earning money from your purchases once the program begins on September 7.
All you need to do is register your Giant Food Card and designate CCES as your school of choice (school ID: 01008) through Giant's A+ School Rewards Program.
Follow the steps below to register your card and designate CCES as your school today:
- Visit Giant Food's website https://giantfood.com/
- You will need to register your Giant Food Card and login to your Giant Food account.
- Click Savings next to the Giant logo. Another menu will pop-up then click Rewards and Programs.
- Click Register Now under the A+ Give Back to Local Schools.
- From there, search for CCES or enter our ID number 01008 to link your card to our school.
NOTE: If you registered your Giant card last year it is suggested to check your account to make sure your card is properly linked.
Don't forget to encourage your friends and family members to register their cards for CCES too!
Destination Imagination
Are you interested in becoming a parent volunteer manager for one of our Destination Imagination teams at CCES? Is your child interested in joining one of our teams? Destination Imagination is a fun, hands-on system of learning that fosters students' creativity, courage, and curiosity through open-ended academic challenges in the fields of STEM, fine arts, and service learning. The challenges for the current DI season can be found here:
https://www.destinationimagination.org/challenge-program/2018-19-challenge-previews/
Managers will run weekly meetings with their team of students (between 4 and 7) and work towards performing a season-long challenge at the regional tournament in February. Students in grades K-2 will participate in a developmental "Rising Stars" team, and students in grades 3-5 will participate on a competitive team.
If you are interested in being a team manager or if your child is interested in participating, please email Chris McDonald at r.christopher.mcdonald@gmail.com.
Clemens Crossing PTA Family Mentoring Program
If you are new to Clemens Crossing and would like to be paired with a more established Clemens Crossing family, please contact the Family Mentoring Committee at lochlannboyle@hotmail.com. The Committee will arrange a playdate for your child with a child in the same class and will help your family adjust to the school and the area.
We are also looking for established Clemens Crossing families willing to mentor a new family. Volunteers are needed for every grade and every class, so please contact the Family Mentoring Committee at lochlannboyle@hotmail.com if you would like to participate.
Thank you for your help!