Clemens Crossing Cougar Comments
January 31, 2020 - Volume 41, Issue 20
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
February
- 1 - Black History Month Begins
- 3 - School Counselor's Week
- 3 - Report Cards Issued
- 4 - Schools and Offices Closed: ELECTION DAY
- 4 - PTA Restaurant Night - Modern Market, 5:00 p.m.
- 5 - PTA Bake Sale - CCES Cafeteria, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (snowdate Feb. 12)
- 12 - PTA Meet and Greet for incoming Swansfield ES Families, 6:30 p.m.
- 12 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 12 - PTA Restaurant Night - Chick-fil-a (Johns Hopkins Road)
- 13 - Elementary Schools Close 3-hours Early: 12:45p.m. Parent/Teacher Conferences, (Math)
- 14 - Spirit Day: Valentine's Day - Wear Red!
- 14 - Elementary Schools Close 3-hours Early: 12:45p.m.Parent/Teacher Conferences, (Math)
- 17 - Schools and Offices Closed: President's Day
- 25 - Vision & Hearing Screening
- 26 - In-School Banking, 9:00 a.m.
- 27 - CCES School Play: Aladdin Kids - (held at Wilde Lake Middle School), 6:30 p.m.
March
- 6 - 3rd Quarter Interim Reports Issued
- 6 - 1st Grade Field Trip to Toby's, 9:30 a.m.
- 11 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- 13 - Class Picture Day
- 13 - PTA International Night, 6:30 p.m.
- 18 - Cultural Arts During School: Author Visit - Duncan Tonatiuh (during Related Arts)
- 18 - Restaurant Night - On the Boarder
- 19 - Boy's Night Out, 6:30 p.m. (Grades 3-5)
- 20 - World Down Syndrome Day
- 25 - In-School Banking Day
- 25 - Maryland Day
- 26 - Cultural Arts During School: Andes Manta - Music from the Andes Mountains
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
We hope you enjoyed the final winter concert this month. Our Orchestra and Band students did a fantastic job under the direction of Ms. DeSantis.
Please be sure to sign-up for a Math Conference. The conference scheduling window is now open. Information about the February conferences is in this newsletter in the "Information Worth Repeating" section below. We look forward to connecting and sharing your child's mathematics progress.
We have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. We will reschedule the Makers Faire very soon. We have to coordinate with quite a few organizations and individuals in order to run a successful event. We hope you can join us on Friday night for our PTA Family Fit Night. That event helps support our PTA School of Excellence initiative. In early March, we will be hosting our annual International Night. More information about that will be in next week's newsletter. Hopefully, we can get through the third quarter with few weather-related interruptions.
Thank you very much for your continued support and partnership.
Mr. Cosentino, Principal
Mrs. Hurd, Assistant Principal
New Information
National School Counseling Week
The special week honoring school counselors provided recognition for school counselors who implement comprehensive school counseling programs. We are fortunate to have school counselors in each of our schools throughout Howard County. At Clemens Crossing, our school counselor, Mrs. Rogers, is a vital part of our school and Student Services team. She actively engages in helping students examine their abilities, strengths, interests, and talents. She helps to partner with parents as they encounter the challenges of raising children in today's world. She also provides support for teachers to help them meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of our students. Please join us in thanking Mrs. Rogers for her dedication to our students and community.
Health Guidelines to Help Prevent and Limit the Spread of Flu and Flu-Like Illnesses
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu activity typically peaks between December and February and can continue into May. School custodians do a wonderful job of keeping our schools clean, but the spread of flu and other illnesses in a school building is a concern for all parents and school staff.
With concerns of the flu spreading each year and recent concerns on the coronavirus, here are recommendations and information on Influenza-Like Illnesses (ILI) and the 2019 Novel Coronavirus to help prevent and avoid spreading infections.
Influenza-Like Illness (ILI)
Influenza and ILI viruses are spread through the air by coughing or sneezing. Here are a few recommendations to help prevent the spread of ILI:
- Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues or the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand, when a tissue is unavailable.
- Get a flu vaccine. To help prevent flu and reduce its impact, everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated every year.
- Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms include fever (100 ˚F or greater), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
- Do not send children to school if they are sick. A child who is determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.
- Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil). Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.
If your child exhibits symptoms associated with influenza, such as a fever (100 ºF or higher), consult your primary care physician for evaluation. Infants, toddlers, seniors, pregnant women, and people with certain underlying health conditions are at increased risk of severe illness or complications from influenza, and should consult with their primary care physician if they develop symptoms of influenza.
For more information on influenza, please check the HCPSS flu prevention web page and Maryland Department of Health website.
Coronavirus
The CDC provides guidelines on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
According to the CDC, if you were in Wuhan within 14 days and feel sick or have had close contact with someone who has recently traveled from this area and is showing symptoms of fever, cough or difficulty breathing, you should:
- Seek medical care right away. Before you go to a doctor’s office or emergency room, call ahead and tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms.
- Avoid contact with others.
- Not travel while sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve, not your hands, when coughing or sneezing.
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to avoid spreading the virus to others. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
This is an evolving situation, and HCPSS will follow the guidance of the CDC and Howard County Health Department who will continue to provide updated information as it becomes available.
Winter MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) Assessment
The Winter MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) Assessment will be administered between February 4 and March 1 in Grades 1-5.
We use MAP scores to measure and monitor student progress and inform instructional decision-making. After the administration of the Fall MAP Assessments, teachers met with students to review their MAP scores and they established academic goals. Teachers will meet with students again to celebrate growth and establish new goals after the Winter Assessment. We encourage each student to do his or her best on MAP, and we look forward to sharing the information with parents when we issue third-quarter report cards.
Here are the scheduled dates and times for the MAP Assessment:
- 1st Grade Reading: February 10th at 9:30
- 1st Grade Math: February 5th at 1:05
- 2nd Grade Reading: February 5th at 9:30
- 2nd Grade Math: February 10th at 12:05
- 3rd Grade Reading: February 18th at 1:20
- 3rd Grade Math: February 6th and 7th at 9:15
- 4th Grade Reading: February 10th at 2:05
- 4th Grade Math: February 11th at 9:15
- 5th Grade Reading: February 24th at 10:35
- 5th Grade Math: February 26th at 10:35
Information Worth Repeating
PTA Bake Sale
CCES PTA is hosting a bake sale to benefit our neighbors at Bryant Woods. Come out and watch the Boy Scouts' Pinewood Derby and enjoy some baked goods Wednesday, Feb 5, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria (Snow date Feb 12.) Proceeds will go towards a BWES pantry.
Thank you for all of your support and commitment to our communities! If you are interested in baking or volunteering, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044CA8A72AA20-ptabake
Register for Parent/Teacher Conferences in February NOW
- Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for February 13 and 14.
- Conferences will be with your child's Math Teacher.
- In order to schedule conferences, you will need to login to HCPSS Connect.
- HCPSS Connect will open to schedule your conferences on Thursday, January 30.
- Conference scheduling will be open until Tuesday, February 11.
- The directions for parent conference registration linked here from the HCPSS website. You can also download the directions from the icon below.
- If you have any questions, please call the front office at 410-313-6866.
- Please note: This is the second of two conference periods for the school year.
Cougar Feedback
PTA Restaurant Night - Modern Market Eatery
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2020, 05:00 PM
6181 Old Dobbin Ln., Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21045
PTA Restaurant Night at Chick-fil-a Johns Hopkins Road
Please tell the cashier you are with Clemens Crossing Elementary School