Clemens Crossing Cougar Comments
May 1, 2020 - Volume 41, Issue 33
Clemens Crossing Elementary School
Sonia Hurd, Assistant Principal
Website: cces.hcpss.org
Location: 10320 Quarterstaff Road, Columbia, MD, United States
Phone: 410-294-8129
Facebook: facebook.com/ClemensCrossingElementary
Twitter: @hcpss_cces
Important Dates
- Early May - Report Cards will be available through Family File.
From School Administration
This week, we embarked on our first full week of distance learning. Students have been doing a fantastic job adjusting to this new platform and delivery model. As of today, we are unsure if we will resume school on May 18 or continue with this remote learning model until the end of the school year. Either way, we are ready through June.
It was a huge task to get to this point. Going from our traditional school and delivery model to virtual online learning required a tremendous amount of coordination and planning between our Central Office support staff and our incredible CCES teachers. While I know this current learning model cannot replace traditional school, I hope it provides students with meaningful and engaging learning opportunities.
Over the next several weeks, please be sure to read Canvas announcements from your child’s teachers. They will direct you to important information. I included sample daily students' schedules below to help you organize your day. As students progress through their activities, teacher, support staff, and administrators will be monitoring students' progress in LexiaCore and DreamBox. The information is incredible to see!
Next week, is our annual Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. Traditionally, it is an amazing week in school for our staff and teachers. This year, our PTA is coordinating the week so it can be memorable for our staff. Please see the section below from our PTA. Additionally, you can do any of the following and email pictures, videos, or letters to your teachers. Here are some ideas:
- Make a sidewalk chalk drawing or message
- Type a thank you letter
- Send a video of your child saying thank you in sign language
- Let your child practice using Canvas inbox to send a funny joke to a staff member
- Record your child singing a favorite song or playing an instrument
- Take a picture of something beautiful you find outside. Send it along to brighten someone’s day!
- Send an inspirational quote.
- Parents - a word of encouragement from you would be much appreciated!
Please take care of our incredible teachers next week! Even for the most technologically savvy teacher, it has been an incredible learning curve to accomplish this new learning environment. There have been countless Google Meet meetings, online modules to learn the digital media platforms, and hours of trial and error to get Canvas pages published with the appropriate content for our students. As a principal, I couldn't be more proud of our teachers and staff for their accomplishments!
Now that distance learning is in full gear, I want to share that planning for the 2020-21 school year is in full swing. Two weeks ago, a group of teachers, Mrs. Hurd, and I interviewed over 40 teachers who are currently teaching in the Howard County Public School System. Due to fluctuations in enrollment at their current schools, they are considered involuntary transfers or surplus teachers. The interview committee was very impressed with the incredible people we interviewed during that process. We have four classroom teacher vacancies in addition to a two-day a week art teacher and a two-day a week music teacher vacancies. This brings our art and music allocations up to 1.4 teachers per subject. Mr. Schmitt and Mrs. Ritchie will have teacher partners in their subjects. We gave our recommendations to Human Resources and we are waiting to see who we will have to fill our teaching vacancies for next year. Another area we are in the process of planning is team to team (and school to school) articulation and class groupings for the fall. Part of that process is to get input from you, the parents of our students. Please take the time to complete the form. You can find that form below embedded in this smore.com newsletter. We use that information as we group students. It is also useful in August to help teachers learn about your child. Finally, we are in the early stages of planning for transitions for our students going to Wilde Lake Middle School and Bryant Woods Elementary School. Please watch for information about virtual orientations for Wilde Lake MS and Bryant Woods ES. We are also planning to have a virtual orientation for incoming students from Swansfield Elementary School.
Yes, that is a lot of information! I hope this information is helpful for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ecosentino@hcpss.org or call me at 410-294-8129. Thank you for your continued support!
Mr. Cosentino, Principal
NEW INFORMATION
Are You Moving?
If you have moved or are moving soon, please notify us as soon as possible.
We are available to assist you with transitioning to your child's new school. Whether it be another HCPSS school, private school, or to a school out of the HCPSS district, we are here to help. If you are transferring to another HCPSS school, our registrars will partner to make the transition as smooth as possible.
If you have an address change, bring your new residency documents to the front office and we will update your address in the system. If you have any questions, call Jennifer Aballo, our Registrar.
May 1st is National Principal's Day
Happy National Principal’s Day, Mr. Cosentino!
We appreciate your commitment to lead our young people at Clemens Crossing.
You support and guide our staff which results in a productive learning environment for all students. Thank you for being approachable and always having your door open.
You guide the students academic success and set a positive tone for the entire school.
You are an active member in the community and are always willing to lend a helping hand.
You are a visible leader and your hard work does not go unnoticed.
The Clemens Crossing community is very appreciative of what you have accomplished and
we look forward to your continued success. Thank you for all you do, Mr. C!
Staff Appreciation Week: May 4-8, 2020
Though we will not be back in school for Staff Appreciation Week this year, the PTA would still like to celebrate our awesome staff. This year the PTA will be purchasing eGift Cards for all staff members. In addition, you may use the Staff Appreciation Template provided to help your children say “thank you” to the ENTIRE CCES staff. Please print the paper, have your child color and fill out the form, then take a picture of their work and email it to Mr. Cosentino (edward_cosentino@hcpss.org) so that it can be shared with our staff over Facebook.
(Your child may also create their own thank you card for the ENTIRE staff if they do not want to use the form or you are unable to print it.) We ask that the thank yous be e-mailed on the following schedule: Monday-Kindergarten, Tuesday-1st Grade, Wednesday-2nd Grade, Thursday-3rd Grade, and Friday-4th and 5th Grades. As always, participation in Staff Appreciation Week is not mandatory. The room parents will be contacting you about celebrating individuals.
CCES PTA Staff Appreciate Committee
INFORMATION WORTH REPEATING
Mrs. Rogers' Office Hours
Dear CCES Students and Families,
I hope you are doing well. I have been thinking about you and missing you! I look forward to reconnecting with you!
I will have office hours available daily from 9:30am - 11:30am and from 12:00pm - 1:00pm starting Tuesday, April 14th. I will be scheduling appointments to meet during that time.
We can meet virtually (I’d love to see you) or on the phone. Please use this link to request your appointment. Click here to schedule a time with Mrs. Rogers
The School Counseling Department will also be making announcements and posting college, career, and our class lessons on Canvas in the upcoming weeks.
I look forward to talking with you in the upcoming days and weeks. Please know that I am still here to talk with you. Stay safe and well.
Fondly,
Mrs. Rogers
School Counselor
Dr. Eng's Office Hours
Hello CCES Parents and Teachers,
Our school psychologist, Dr. Eng, will be holding office hours on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2:00pm - 3:30pm.
If you need to reach him, you can schedule a time to access my services by clicking on the link below.
When you click on the link, you will be taken to a google calendar with the available time slots. Please click on the time slots entitled Dr. Eng Office Hours to choose a time to meet. Please type in the following information in the description box and click the SAVE button at the bottom of the page.
Counseling Connections
Free Meal Services Extended Through May 15
HCPSS will continue to provide free Grab-N-Go meals to anyone age 18 and under and/or any HCPSS student, regardless of age, throughout state-mandated school closures, extended through May 15. Participants will be given a Grab-N-Go snack, lunch and dinner for that day, as well as a Grab-N-Go breakfast for the following day. Friday distributions at school-based locations only also will include meals to sustain children through the weekend. Participants are encouraged to bring a bag to carry home meals each day. Children do not need to be present; parents/guardians may pick up meals for their child(ren). There is no application, enrollment, or fees to participate in this program. More information, including a list of meal distribution locations, is provided online.
New Chromebook Requests
If you requested a Chromebook already, those computers have been shipped and should have already arrived. Please be sure to follow the instructions from Mr. Cosentino's individualized email earlier this week.
Here are the new procedures to request a Chromebook:
- Parent logs in to HCPSS Connect (https://www.hcpss.org/connect/)
- From the left menu, the last choice, click on “Student Technology”, then choose “Student Technology” near the top center of the screen
- On the HCPSS Student Technology screen, use the drop-down arrows to indicate the Technology Requested for each student. Changes are saved immediately.
- If a device has already been issued, it will appear in the inventory list.
- The request list will be synced with the distribution team by 8:00 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and devices will be shipped shortly thereafter. If a student already has a device issued, the request will not be processed.
Device Return Procedures
Kindergarten Registration
Parents/guardians of new incoming students and those entering Kindergarten in the 2020-2021 school year (who are not already enrolled) are able to begin the enrollment process online, followed by completion of the registration process with the registrars when schools reopen. Online registration is not required and parents may elect to complete the full registration in person at the time of reopening.
Once school buildings reopen, parents will be contacted to complete the registration at the child’s school. Parents or legal guardians must visit their child’s school and provide proof of parental relationship and any other documents not provided during the online registration process.