Edward Cosentino, Principal

Jaime Gittleson, 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

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March

• 12 - Daylight Savings starts
• 14 - Pi Day - School spirit day
• 15 - Schools close 3 hours early, 12:45 p.m. Professional Work and Wellness day
• 16 - CCES Parent University, Session 3, 7:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria
• 17 - St. Patrick's Day
• 23 - CCES Parent University, Session 4, 7:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria
• 24 - Maryland Day - School spirit day
• 24 - International Night, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
• 24 - PTA Book Fair starts and continues through March 30
• 30 - Baseball Day - School spirit day
• 31 - Schools close 3 hours early, 12:45 p.m. Professional Workday
• 31 - End of 3rd quarter

To subscribe to the CCES calendar on your smartphone, electronic device, or email system use the calendar ID sqspkjkbr6v6arss44js3n21eg@group.calendar.google.com.

MSDE Report Card Released This Week

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) released the annual school accountability measure this past week. This is the third time MSDE has issued the School Report Card star ratings. MSDE skipped the accountability measures for the previous two years due to the pandemic.

The Report Card was created in alignment with ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) – a federal accountability standard initiated in 2015. The MSDE School Report Card considers multiple data points before ultimately assigning a star ranking (1-5) for every school in the state.

The Report Card provides broad insights into 4 categories of school measures…

• Academic Achievement
• Academic Progress
• English Language Proficiency
• School Quality and Student Success

Overall school performance is determined by a formulaic combination of these four categories.
The combination of points, assigned by the state in each category, results in a percentage that is then associated with a school’s star ranking.

• 75-100% = 5 Stars
• 60-74% = 4 Stars
• 45-59% = 3 Stars
• 30-44% = 2 Stars
• >30% = 1 Star

Clemens Crossing Elementary School earned a 66.5% and was thus designated as a 4-star school by MSDE on the 2021-22 School Report Card. The 66.5% percent rate placed CCES in the 62nd percentile among all elementary schools in Maryland.

The information ascertained from the Maryland Accountability Program is a snapshot of the dedicated efforts put forth every day by our staff to enhance an environment conducive to teaching and learning at Clemens Crossing. As with other data points, we will be intentional with how we use this information to build upon successes and address areas needing improvement. We are close to a 5-Star rating. This gives us a great opportunity to improve and grow as a school and community of learners in the coming years.

More information about the Every Student Succeeds Act is located on the HCPSS website.
For additional details about Clemens Crossing's Report Card, and report cards from other schools/districts throughout the state if interested, please visit http://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/.

Please look for the Measures That Matter information that we publish that help to support our annual star rankings.

Students in fourth and fifth grade will get individual student results for last year's MCAP before Spring Break.

We visit your child’s classroom to deliver lessons to support their personal/social and academic development. Here is a preview of topics we are discussing this month. Mrs. Rogers teaches lessons for Kindergarten, first, third, and fifth grades, and Mrs. Braxton-Cheek teaches lessons for second and fourth grades. We encourage you to discuss these topics with your child.

MARCH

Kindergarten - Career Ideas

First - Self-Control

Second - Respect

Third - What’s Your Career Type?

Fourth - Test-Taking Strategies

Fifth - Career Explorer

Order by March 31st, 2023

It’s time to order this year’s Yearbook! $20 per book. It is a beautiful memento of the year at CCES. Flyers will come home from school this week and you can order online here: https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/search/YB25084

The Book Fair is coming! It will be open in the Media Center on Friday, March 24th from 5:30-7 PM and Monday-Thursday, March 27th-30th from 4-7 PM. This is a big fundraiser for the PTA and a lot of fun, so please shop and support CCES! Also, if you are able to volunteer at the fair or help with set up/take down, please sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4faea62ba6ff2-cces2#/

At the book fair, there will be opportunities to shop for books and gifts and also to buy books to donate to your child's classroom. You can also buy gift cards for your child's teacher at the fair! If you are interested in making a general donation for books, you can do so in the CCES Educator E-Wallet. We will select books to donate directly to the school. E-Wallet:

https://shop.scholastic.com/ewallet/fund?lang=en_US&walletId=c69d5c40-9c6c-4ba6-9f01-e54500efac93

More information about eWallet:

https://players.brightcove.net/1543299976/Eyj59PHsg_default/index.html?videoId=6275847261001

We looking forward to seeing you there!

The Clemens Crossing Talent Show is back in 2023, and we can't wait to see our students shine! Student stars will showcase their talents on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 7:00 pm, at Clemens Crossing. The dress rehearsal will take place on Thursday, April 13th at 6:00 pm.

We would love to see all kinds of talents represented: playing a musical instrument, singing a song, dancing a Tik Tok dance, telling great jokes, solving a Rubik's cube, reciting poetry, acting, hula hoop tricks, karate demonstrations, sports tricks, juggling, magic tricks or anything else that our students would like to share. We would love a couple of student volunteers to help out during the show as well. Parent volunteers needed to for behind the scenes duties

Check out all the details and the sign up here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GKOPVWDfNvfl5gGlWwOlPU7HsLIK0pC7O7SYTF7fsA/edit?ts=64061a9d

Half Day Camps on Wednesday, March 15

*Students will report directly to class at dismissal. Pick up/Sign out will be from the front of the school at 4:00pm

Magnus Chess

https://chessacademy.com/products/clemens-crossing-school-break-camp

Magnus Chess Academy (Silver Knights) has taught chess to 100,000+ children including national champions! A great camp for everyone from brand new beginners to tournament players. Activities include learning the rules, openings, tactics, strategy, endgames, playing games and outdoor breaks. Students will have two lessons and a bunch of practice games each day. All equipment provided.

KidzArt Half Day Workshop March 15th

REGISTER HERE

KidzArt is proud to partner with the PTA to bring you another exciting half day workshop! Students will work with a variety of mediums and complete several projects. Each workshop will be different, so join us for one or all! All materials are included. This program is open to CCES students only.

Spring After School Activities

iCook After School -

This spring, our chefs-in-training will learn how to make delicious and nutritious recipes inspired by international cuisine. We will travel across the globe to learn about cuisine and traditions of Europe, Southeast Asia, Central America, and beyond. We will learn about fresh herbs and vegetables, and how they enhance the aroma and flavors of our dishes. We will master cooking safety, slicing, dicing, chopping, folding, baking, zesting, mixing, and more! All ingredients and supplies will be provided!

Mondays starting March 27

https://www.icookafterschool.com/events/clemens-crossing-mondays

Cooking Class - Wednesdays starting March 22

https://www.icookafterschool.com/events/clemens-crossing-wednesdays

Abrakadoodle Art - Tuesdays starting April 11

Excitement is in the air as spring returns. Join Abrakadoodle as we use different mediums to create beautiful spring inspired art! Space is limited, so register today!!!

https://www.abrakadoodle.com/md-howard-county-register/

Clemens Crossing's International Night is back! On Friday, March 24th, we will celebrate the amazing diversity that we enjoy at our school. The event begins at 6:30 pm featuring country tables, and at 7:15 pm we will enjoy a special presentation by Prakriti Dance!

We are looking for volunteers to host country tables during the event. Country table hosts will receive half of a cafeteria table-sized space to display any items you would like to bring to represent your country - a trifold with facts, books, artifacts, and, of course, some food to share! If you'd like to bring something small to give away to students, like temporary tattoos, stickers, toothpick flags, coloring pages, paper fans or easy crafts, that would be wonderful!

We have space for approximately 18-20 different countries. We would love to see multiple families team up to represent a single country/region, and we may be able to provide additional table space for teams. Please help us make this another amazing and fun event by sharing your culture with us.

If you are interested, please sign up as a country table host and indicate your country: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4BA8A72CA2F49-international2

Once you sign up, we will reach out to you with additional details and answer any questions you might have.

Country table hosts are asked to arrive at 6:00 pm to set up. We are also looking for a few volunteers to assist with set up and clean up - if you are able to help with that, please sign up below, and THANK YOU!

If you have any questions, please contact us directly at culturalarts@clemenscrossingpta.org.

Thanks!
Risa Carlson, Agartha Larbi, and Suzanne Papailiou

Hi! We are a group of fifth graders trying to make a difference for the people at Grassroots. We are asking for donations in order to help those in need. These items can be purchased and then brought into school and put in the box in your grade-level. Thank you so much for your support!

Items Needed:

Pillows, queen sheet sets, plungers, broom/dustpan sets, Swiffers, plastic hangers, extension cords, cups, fabric softeners, aluminum foil, floor lamps, trash bags, dinnerware sets, gift cards to Target/Walmart, and cash/coins. To make an online donation click here.

Thank you again!

-Laura C., Sophia H., Ryan L., Sam M., and Mrs. Register

Counting down the days to Spring Break? Read away the long days of March with our March Madness 15 Minute 21-Day Read Aloud Challenge! Look for the green Challenge Recording Sheet in your student's backpack. Read aloud with your student for any 21 days between now and the end of Spring Break. Record it on the Challenge Sheet and return it to Mrs. Greene in the Media Center by April 12. We will then send home a special certificate to celebrate! Thank you for taking the Challenge, and Keep Reading!

My name is Mr. Allen, and I am a 4th-grade teacher at Clemens Crossing! I will host an after-school program for you to attend called Parent University. Parent University is designed to help you, the parent, help your child at Clemens Crossing and in their time in the Howard County Public School System. During the sessions, I will be able to provide you with resources that will allow your child to receive the best education possible here at Clemens Crossing. These sessions will take place in February and March in the Clemens Crossing cafeteria.

Session 3 (March 16th, 2023, 7 pm-8 pm) - Digging Deeper into Math Standards - This session will allow you to take a look at the math common core standards that your child is and will be working on.

Session 4 (March 23rd, 2023, 7 pm-8 pm)- The Importance of English Language Arts - This session will develop your understanding of the English Language Arts common core standards that your child is and will be working on.

Don’t miss these sessions, as they will be essential to giving your child the best possible education. Please fill out this survey to RSVP for the sessions. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at dale_allen@hcpss.org.

Thank you so much!

Mr. Allen

We need lots of volunteers to assist with all of our marvelous PTA activities this spring! There are myriad ways to be involved. Can you give some of your time? Please consider where you could pitch in for a couple of hours. Here are some possibilities - you could

• Volunteer one night at the Book Fair (3/24-3/30)
• Host a country table at International Night (3/24) or help with set up / clean up
• Help behind the scenes at the Talent Show (4/14)
• Baked some goodies for the bake sales at Talent Show and/or the Science Fair
• Help celebrate our amazing CCES teachers and staff during Staff Appreciation Week (May 1-5) by donating gift cards/cash (more details coming soon)
• Help get the things prepped & ready for the Science Fair (5/3) or help on the night of the event (more details coming soon); or

Help the team prepare for Spring Carnival (5/12) - or volunteer on the day!