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

• 17 - St. Patrick's Day
• 21 - Shake Shack Restaurant 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

April

• 1-10 - Spring Break - Schools Closed
• 11 - School Reopens
• 12 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
• 14 - Talent Show, 6:30 p.m.
• 21 - Schools closed for students - Professional Learning Day
• 28 - 5th grade Battle of the Books

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

We recently celebrated the recipient of the HCPSS Staff Excellence Award for Clemens Crossing Elementary. This award recognizes exemplary performance by individuals as having consistently excelled in their positions and demonstrated a strong commitment to the mission, vision, and values of the system. One individual from each of the 77 schools/centers will be selected, along with one individual from each of the six Central Office divisions, for a total of 83 HCPSS Staff Excellence recipients.

I am pleased to share that the 2023 HCPSS Staff Excellence Award winner is Mr. Dale Allen. Mr. Allen deserves of this award because he is a dynamic leader and teacher who is student-focused. His positive energy is contagious, and he is willing to do anything to ensure student success. Congratulations, Mr. Allen.

Great job CCES. As of today, we have 90 survey responses! If you have not completed the IEES survey, please do that now.

As part of our school improvement process, we ask families to provide input about their equity priorities at our school. Please use the links below to complete the HCPSS Indicators of Educational Equity Survey by May 12th. We will use your input, along with other school data, to refine our school improvement plan for next year. Your voice is important for the process of school improvement, and we truly hope every family will complete this survey.

This survey is anonymous and available in multiple languages. If you have children at more than one school, please complete one survey per school.

• English survey
• Spanish survey
• Chinese survey
• Korean survey

Home report PDFs for the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Winter testing are now available in HCPSS Connect. The assessment was given to students in grades 1-5 in reading and mathematics. Reports can be viewed/downloaded by Parents/guardians by taking the following steps:

1. Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy
2. Select More Options from the left panel
3. Select Report Cards from the menu
4. Near the top of the page, select MAP_2023_Winter

Additional details on MAP testing and how to interpret the report can be found online.

Looking to shake up your lunch or dinner plans? CCES would love for you to eat out at Shake Shack (Columbia Mall) Tuesday, March 21 to support our restaurant fundraiser. Shake Shack will donate 25% to CCES from sales that day (flier must be presented or online code used). It's warming up outside, so why not enjoy a shake? Thanks for your support!

Save the date! Spring Carnival is on May 12th this year! 5:00 pm-8:00 pm on the blacktop. This year’s theme is Pirates and Mermaids! There will be so much fun for the whole family!

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

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

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

Medication & Sharps Disposal Event: Free. The next safe and convenient drive-thru medication & sharps disposal event will be held on Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Wilde Lake Village Center Parking lot near the Swim Center. HC DrugFree is accepting prescription and over-the-counter medications, sharps (needles, syringes, EpiPens, etc.), vapes, inhalers, veterinary medication and more. Medication will be guarded/transported by Howard County Police. We are in need of Teen and Adult, and medically trained adult volunteers! Groups encouraged to volunteer. Learn more or sign up to volunteer here at https://hcdrugfree.org/drug-take-back-day-1/ Members of HC DrugFree’s Teen Advisory Council (TAC) can earn community service hours for volunteering. If your student is interested in joining TAC, please visit https://hcdrugfree.org/teen-advisory-council/ to learn more and download an application.

Free Parenting Classes (open to grandparents too): Free. Guiding Good Choices is an evidence-based, interactive prevention program that provides families with the skills and knowledge to reduce the risk that their children will use drugs and alcohol or engage in other dangerous behaviors. Howard County parents, guardians and grandparents will learn how to encourage your child to adopt healthy attitudes and behaviors, how to communicate more effectively, how to build a relationship of trust, and much more! Classes will be held Tuesdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. via Zoom. Learn more or register: https://hcdrugfree.org/2023/02/guiding-good-choices-free-classes-for-parents-2/

Senior Week: Staying Safe in Ocean City: Free. Howard County high school seniors and their families welcome. HC DrugFree is NOT encouraging teens to vacation without their parents or adult supervision. However, if they do, it is our hope that by providing this program, Howard County teens attending Senior Week will have additional information to make wise decisions and keep themselves and each other safe. Please join us via Zoom on Tuesday, April 25 at 7p.m. Registration is required. Links may not be shared. HC DrugFree in partnership with the Ocean City Police Department and Howard County Collaborative PTSA Parent Education Group. Learn more or register: https://hcdrugfree.org/senior-week/

8th–12th Grade Teen Advisory Council: Free. HC DrugFree's Teen Advisory Council is open to all Howard County students in grades 8 through 12. This is a great opportunity to help prepare younger students for success in high school while allowing older students to develop their leadership and mentoring skills. The registration form is available at https://hcdrugfree.org/teen-advisory-council/ and community service hours are available. Email your registration form to admin@hcdrugfree.org or mail a hard copy the office. Meetings are on Zoom from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. To register for the Monday, April 17 meeting or any upcoming meeting, click on the TAC Registration link next to the meeting date https://hcdrugfree.org/teen-advisory-council/

Know What’s Happening in Howard County: Sign up for HC DrugFree’s newsletter at https://hcdrugfree.org/enews-signup/ or follow us on social media to get updates on events as well as information to keep your family safe and informed: Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn