Clemens Crossing Cougar Comments
October 5, 2018 - Volume 40, Issue 6
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
October
- 8 - Flu Clinic
- 9 - Interim Report Cards Issued
- 10 - PTA Meeting 7:00p.m.
- 12 - 3rd Grade: Ellicott City Day Activity
- 15 - PTA Read-a-Thon Begins
- 17 - PTA Restaurant Night - Chick-fil-a All Day 6:00a.m. to 10:00p.m.
- 19 - Schools Closed - Professional Work Day
- 24 - PTA Room Parent Meeting, Media Center 7:00 p.m.
- 31 - In-School Banking, 9:00a.m.
- 31 - Halloween Parade 2:45p.m.
November
- 1 - National American Indian Heritage Month Begins
- 2 - PTA Bingo Night 7:00 p.m.
For a complete list of dates and events visit cces.hcpss.org/calendar.
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
CCES PTA Recognized as National PTA School of Excellence
Clemens Crossing Elementary School was recently named a National PTA School of Excellence for the 2018 -2020 school years. We were recognized by Superintendent Michael J. Martirano and the Howard County Board of Education this past week at the Board of Education meeting.
National PTA’s School of Excellence Program supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools that work to improve the educational experience and school environment for every child. As a National PTA School of Excellence at Clemens Crossing, families feel welcomed and empowered to support student success. The PTA is a key partner for continuous school improvements. The School of Excellence Program provides guidance to assist our school to engage families in school decision-making and help our school build inclusive policies related to education, health, safety or the arts.
Becoming a National PTA School of Excellence began with the joint commitment of the PTA and our administrative team to work together to welcome all families, communicate effectively, support student success, speak up for every child, share power, and collaborate with the community. Our school has successfully mastered these commitments and we applaud everyone for doing so.
The path to excellence is a journey, not a destination, and we encourage your continued participation toward our goals as this distinction places our PTA in the running to become a Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award recipient which recognizes success in integrating family-school partnerships. We are extremely proud of the work that we have done to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being of all students.
Thank you for your commitment to our school community. Thank you for helping us reach this noteworthy milestone for our school and community.
Volunteers Needed for The Great Pumpkin Run - October 25, 2018
Interim Reports
As your child receives his/her first quarter interim progress report on Tuesday, October 9, we encourage you to review the feedback with him/her. Consider asking him/her what they believe he/she is doing well and what areas may require a little more effort. Set some goals and develop a plan for how he/she may reach that goal. Praise him/her for the persistence shown in school thus far.
November: Native American Heritage Month
Thank you to those who contributed to our first display, and please be sure to stop by the front lobby to see our collection celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s already time to start thinking about our next display, which will be for Native American Heritage Month in November. We are once again encouraging the community to participate by sending in anything that represents this culture. You may begin sending in your items as soon as possible. Please be sure to label with your child’s name and homeroom so we may return it. Thanks in advance!
Cultural Awareness Schedule 18-19
- Dec: Holidays Around the World
- Jan/Feb: Black History Month through 2/15
- Feb: Black History (cont)/CCES 40th
- March: Women's History Month
- March: Youth Art Month
- April: Arab American Heritage Month
- May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
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.
7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m., G/T Education Program Overview Presentation – Auditorium
8:05p.m. – 8:30p.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!!
New Families Welcoming Committee
Are you new to the Clemens Crossing area? The New Families Welcoming Committee is here to help and answer any questions you might have! The Committee can pair you with a more established Clemens Crossing family to help you get to know the area or we can help to arrange a playdate for your child with a child in the same class. Please feel free to contact the Committee at lochlannboyle@hotmail.com.
We will have a New Families Welcome Playdate at the Clemens Playground on Saturday, October 6th at 10:00a.m. Come and meet other new families! We'll also bring a recent K-5 CCES graduate to answer any questions your kids might have. Coffee and donuts will be provided (and if your child doesn't like coffee, we'll have water too).
Please mark your calendars for CCES PTA’s first restaurant event at Chick-Fil-A (10975 Johns Hopkins Rd) on October 17, 2018 between 6:00 am and 10:00p.m. (that’s all day!)
Chick-Fil-A will contribute a percentage of the money raised that day to the CCES PTA which will be used to fund the fun PTA events throughout the year. You can dine-in, carry-out, or use the drive through! No flier is necessary, but BEFORE you order, you must advise them that you are there for CCES’ Spirit Day so CCES will get credit.
Please help us spread the word to your family and friends and we look forward to seeing you there!
Every student that enrolls will get a role in the play. On the evening of the final performance, the students get to celebrate by having a cast party after the performance.
Registration for 4th and 5th graders will begin Monday, October 8th and registration will be open to 3rd grade (if there are openings) starting Monday, October 22nd.
The deadline for registration will be Wednesday, November 14th.
Rehearsals will be on Wednesdays after school starting November 28th. The dress rehearsals and performances will be held at Wilde Lake Middle School this year. The dress rehearsals will be in the evening at 6pm. The performances will be held in the evenings on 1/24/19 and 1/25/19.
Stay tuned to Cougar Comments for more information and to register once registration begins! For more information, contact Jennifer Molinari at joshandjasek12@gmail.com
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!
Amazon Smile
Amazon will donate a percentage of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to CCES!
Simply go to smile.amazon.com and select Clemens Crossing Elementary School as your charity or click on the link https://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1199209. The same products and prices are available through this portal but every purchase you make will deliver .5% of the purchase price to the CCES PTA to help fund our programs. Only purchases at smile.amazon.com (not www.amazon.com ) support charity.
SEND IN THOSE BOX TOPS!
Remember to cut them out and send them in with your child. Each grade level has a collection bin -- the more Box Tops your grade brings in, the more cash your child's class receives!
Box Tops are collected all year-round.