Clemens Crossing Cougar Comments
December 3, 2021 - Volume 43, Issue 15
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
Important Upcoming Dates and Events
December
- 7 - Nothing Bundt Cakes Fundraiser - JUST ADDED
- 8 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 14 - PTA Restaurant Day - Chick-Fil-A (Johns Hopkins Road location).
- 15 - School Closes 3 Hours Early for a Professional Work Day
- 23 - Winter Break Begins
January
- 3 - School reopens
- 20 - Winter Chorus Concert
To subscribe to the CCES calendar on your smartphone, electronic device, or email system use the calendar ID sqspkjkbr6v6arss44js3n21eg@group.calendar.google.com.
From SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving break with their family. During this time of year,
we often reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. I have not shared this recently, but I am so grateful to be part of such an amazing, welcoming school community. Your kindness and acceptance, coupled with your support and love for Clemens Crossing Elementary School, make me one lucky principal. That was clearly illustrated during Thanksgiving Week when we received so many kind words of thankfulness and encouragement.
December is here and it is gearing up to be a fun and magical month filled with hope, love, and traditions. Please know you can always reach out to your child's teacher or me for anything you need or any questions you might have along the way. I can be reached via email at ecosentino@hcpss.org or by phone at 410-313-6866.
Mr. Cosentino, Principal
NEW INFORMATION
DIBELS Home Report for Parents
Today, our Kindergarten through Grade 5 students (except those who have Special Education IEP Goals for Reading) will be bringing home a notice with the title: Screener for Students with Reading Difficulties. In accordance with Maryland's Ready to Read Act (2019), COMAR (2021), and the HCPSS Board of Education, CCES Kindergarten through Grade 5 students were screened for specific reading foundational skills. The letter explains this screener more in-depth. Please note that the DIBELS Screener is one point of data among many that are collected to assess a child's reading skills. The DIBELS screener is different from the MAP Assessment. If your child is identified as a student who will receive supplemental instruction, it is noted on the letter. The length of time of supplemental instruction will be determined by your child's successful demonstration of the skills being addressed.
More information is available at this link.
Please reach out to your child's teacher with questions.
Changes to COVID Contact Tracing Procedures
This message is to remind families of a change to HCPSS contact tracing procedures (Links to an external site.).
In an effort to increase efficiency at notifying families, and to ease the burden on school nurses, health assistants and other school staff who had been handling contact tracing, HCPSS has contracted with Ameridial to manage contact tracing.
If your child is identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you will receive a phone call and follow-up email from Ameridial. Parents/guardians who do not answer the call will be left a voicemail and provided with a return call number. Please do not return the call to our school. We ask that you return the call to Ameridial at 888-984-3953, which will provide you with the necessary information.
Additionally, if your child tests positive for COVID-19, please call Ameridial at 888-984-3953 to begin the contact tracing process. Ameridial is available to take calls from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Calls received outside of those times will be directed to a voicemail.
Ameridial deploys a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant infrastructure to protect student’s/family’s medical records and other personal health information. Details on Ameridial’s privacy policy (Links to an external site.) can be found online.
More information on HCPSS contact tracing and additional health and safety details (Links to an external site.) can be found online.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Volunteering and Vaccination Verification
We will resume volunteering at Clemens Crossing starting in January. In order to volunteer, individuals are required to show proof of full vaccination at least five school days in advance:
- Volunteers and chaperones who interact with students, and parents/guardians who are conducting classroom observations
- Current HCPSS students will not be permitted to visit a school that is not their own during the school day for field trips and volunteer opportunities. However, HCPSS students going to another school as part of their academic schedule, including students who go to ARL or another school for academic requirements, would not be required to provide proof of vaccination.
- Professional individuals or groups who come into the school during the school day to provide enhancements and support to instruction such as musical performers and guest speakers.
Use the PinPoint Vaccine Check platform to verify your vaccination status. The following information will be required during the process:
- The school(s) you will enter during the school day during the 2021-2022 school year. You should only use this platform once. If you need to enter an additional school later in the year, please notify school_volunteers@hcpss.org.
- CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card: Uploading your COVID-19 vaccination card is not a requirement of the PinPoint system. If you experience issues uploading your card, please select the “I do not have my card” option and proceed with the VaccineCheck verification process.
- Vaccination dose date(s):
- If you do not know the date(s) you received the vaccine, you will still be able to verify your vaccination status by providing additional information.
- If you got vaccinated in Maryland, consider accessing Maryland MyIR to view your “Certification of COVID-19 Vaccination” document which includes your dose dates.
- Photo: The platform will ask you to upload a photo of yourself for your digital vaccine card. This is optional.
- Registration Number: The platform will provide you with a registration number at the end of the process. Please write down or screenshot the number so you can use it if you wish to download your digital vaccine card once available, which is optional. Receiving your digital vaccine card is not a requirement for entry to the school.
If you have questions about how to use the platform, please contact PinPoint’s support team by emailing hcpss@pinpoint.us or calling 888-750-2247.
INFORMATION WORTH REPEATING
ATTENTION ALL 4th and 5th GRADE SPELLERS!
The CCES Spelling Bee is back for all fourth and fifth grade students who want to participate. The Spelling Bee will be online this year, so if you are interested, please let Mrs. Register know. You can do this by sending a canvas message to her or by letting your homeroom teacher know. The deadline for signing up is December 10th. Happy Spelling!
Reporting Absences
Absence Notes
All students are required to have a note explaining why they were absent. Please send an email to your child's teacher as well as ccesabsence@hcpss.org.