Mustang Newsletter

Greetings!

Thank you for a great week! Please see important information for the week ahead:

• OUR SCHOOL SGC NEEDS YOU!!! It is time for the election of new members to our School Governance Council. The School Governance Council has both parent/guardian and teacher positions open for election.
  
  Our School Governance Council (SGC) plays a critical role in the success of our school. The SGC works with school leadership and the community to help determine the long-term direction of the school, design innovative solutions to increase academic achievement, and serve as school ambassadors to the local community. CANDIDACY DECLARATION LINK:

  Elections - Fulton County School System
  
  

• 🎪✨ Come One, Come All! ✨🎪 Come one, come all! Exceptional Children’s Week, March 2nd –6th, will bring the excitement of “A Carnival of Strengths: Every Child Shines!” to our schools as we celebrate the incredible talents, perseverance, and contributions of our students with disabilities. This week is designed to spark joy, build awareness, and strengthen inclusive school communities through engaging daily themes, colorful celebrations, and opportunities for students to share what makes them shine. From strength walls and kindness chains to recognition moments that honor student accomplishments, this is our chance to intentionally affirm every learner and reinforce that their strengths make our schools stronger.

Chromebook Rollout: Grades 3–5

As part of our ongoing efforts to modernize instructional technology, students in Grades 3–5 will soon receive brand-new Chromebooks. These updated devices are designed to fully support daily instructional needs, offering:

💻 Fast start-up times
🔋 Long-lasting battery life
🔐 Secure access to web-based learning tools

Over the next few days, Chromebooks will be deployed strategically and efficiently to ensure no disruption to instructional time. Students will log in using their district credentials and will have immediate access to district-approved applications, including Microsoft 365 through ClassLink.

We are excited to enhance the learning experience with reliable, secure, and student-friendly technology that supports academic success every day.

Optional Device Protection Plan

Families of students may still choose to purchase the optional Device Protection Plan for the remainder of the school year.

• Cost: $20 for the rest of the year
• The plan is optional but strongly recommended.
• Without coverage, families are responsible for the full cost of repairs, which can range from $30 to $270, with total loss fees up to $450 depending on the device.

Families can purchase the protection plan by:

• Calling the Technology Support Center at 470‑254‑HELP, or

Submitting a technology support ticket through the district ticket system

Join us for the District Federal Programs Stakeholder Input Meeting. There are two convenient virtual session options available. Please use the provided links to join the session that works best for you. We look forward to seeing you there!

🚨 CALLING ALL PROFESSIONALS! 🚨

Lawyers • Doctors • Pilots • Nail Technicians • Makeup Artists • Barbers • Flight Attendants • Chefs • DJs • Rappers • Engineers • Caterers • Actors & Actresses • Government Officials • Stylists • Cosmetologists • Realtors • Bankers • Designers • Gamers • Sales Associates • Professional Athletes • Estheticians • Entrepreneurs • Dentists • Dental Hygienists • Medical Assistants — and ALL other professionals!

✨ You’re Invited! ✨

We are excited to invite you to participate in our 2025–2026 Career Day at Cliftondale!

This is a wonderful opportunity to:
🎤 Share your career journey
💡 Inspire and motivate students
📚 Provide real-world insight into your profession
🌟 Help shape the future by exposing students to diverse career paths

Your story, experiences, and advice could spark a dream and make a lasting impact on a student’s future.

Student safety is our top priority in Fulton County Schools and at Cliftondale Elementary School. We take the responsibility of maintaining a safe and secure learning environment very seriously for all students and staff.

We need your support. Recently, we have experienced an increase in incidents involving physical aggression among students. This behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated at Cliftondale. We ask that you speak with your child about appropriate behavior both on campus and on the school bus.

Students who engage in behaviors that violate the Fulton County Schools Code of Conduct will receive consequences as outlined in the Code.

Thank you for your partnership as we work together to ensure a safe and respectful learning environment for all.

A very special thank you to the many families who supported our PTA’s Father Daughter Dance! It was absolutely beautiful and such a joyful evening. Each year, it brings me so much happiness to see the incredible outfits! You all truly outdid yourselves in the very best way!

We are especially grateful to the many moms and staff members who volunteered their time to assist with decorations, setup, cleanup, and serving our guests. We truly could not have done it without you. Your support and dedication made the evening extra special.

And a BIG thank you to our amazing PTA for creating such a memorable experience for our families. Your hard work does not go unnoticed!

Now… Mother Son Dance on deck! 😊

Just a reminder that March 16th is a student holiday. We will welcome all students back to school on March 17th

🎓 Calling All Class of 2026 Graduates! 🎓

We proudly welcome you back for one final walk down the halls of Cliftondale Elementary School—where your journey began. Join us as we celebrate your accomplishments and cheer you on as you take your next steps forward.

We can’t wait to see you back at Cliftondale! 💙💛

MARCH 2026

• January 12th-March 3rd: 2026-2027 PK Lottery Registration 📌
• March 9th-13th: Math Sprit Week
• March 12th-13th: School Math Bee
• March 13th: St. Patrick's Day Dance
• March 16th: Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• March 17th: Spring Picture Day
• March 20th: 9 Week Progress Reports Posted in Parent Portal
• March 24th: Title I Parent Input Meeting
• March 26th: Title I Parent Input Meeting

APRIL

• April 6th-10th: Spring Break
• April 16th: Art Show - Time: TBA
• April 17th PTA Events - Mother Son Dance
• April 21: Field Day: Grades TBD
• April 22nd: Field Day: Grades TBD
• April 23rd: PK Transition Meeting
• April 23rd: Drama Performance - Time: TBA
• April 27th: Drama Cast Celebration
• 📌April 29th - GMAS - ELA Part 1
• 📌April 30th: GMAS - ELA Part 2
• 📌May 1st: GMAS - ELA Part 3

MAY 2026

• May 4th-8th: Teacher Appreciation Week
• 📌May 5th: GMAS - Math Part 1
• 📌May 6th: GMAS - Math Part 2
• 📌May 7th: GMAS - Sci Part 1 & Part 2
• May 8th: Senior Walk at 8:30
• May 13th: Semester 2 Awards - PK & KINDER
• May14th: Semester 2 Awards - 1ST & 2ND
  -5th Grade: 6:00 pm at Westlake HS
• May 15th: Semester 2 Awards - 3RD & 4TH
• May 20th: 5th Grade Walk

• May 21st: Last Day of School - Enjoy your summer!

📄 2025–2026 School-Family Compact & Parent-Family Engagement Plans

Please take a moment to review Cliftondale Elementary’s 2025–2026 School-Family Compact and Parent-Family Engagement Plan (PFEP), as well as Fulton County Schools’ Parent-Family Engagement Plan.

Parents, school staff, and students partnered together to jointly develop the School-Family Compact and PFEP. Input was gathered through annual surveys, feedback forms, and spring input meetings. The School-Family Compact explains how families and teachers will work together to ensure all students reach grade-level standards at Cliftondale Elementary School.

🔹 Need Help or a Printed Copy?

If you have questions about Title I, need assistance with completing the digital acknowledgment, or would like a printed copy of any documents, please contact our Parent Liaison:

Ms. Hope Render
📞 470-254-3040
📧 renderhh@fultonschools.org

ANNUAL TITLE I TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP: Many thanks to the families that attended our Technology Workshop. If you missed it, the full presentation is attached for you here. Please use the link below to review the Title I presentation from Tuesday. Please make sure to complete the evaluation link at the end of the presentation. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
https://bit.ly/Evaluation_FE

Distraction-Free Education Act

House Bill 340 | Fulton County Schools

In alignment with Georgia’s new Distraction-Free Education Act (House Bill 340), all Fulton County elementary and middle school students (Grades K–8) are prohibited from using or accessing personal electronic devices during the school day.

Prohibited Devices Include (but are not limited to): Cell phones, Smartwatches, Laptops, Tablets, E-readers, Smart glasses, Headphones, Any device with wireless communication, messaging, internet access, gaming, video recording, or social media capabilities. These devices must remain powered off and stored away during school hours, including classroom time, lunch, recess, and transitions. We appreciate your support in helping us create a focused, distraction-free learning environment for all students.

Although breakfast and lunch is free for all students, students may purchases extra food portions or snacks. As we are a cashless school, students should not bring cash to school for these purchases. All funds must be added online through MySchoolBucks. Parents should visit MySchoolBucks

to add funds to their child's account in order for students to purchase ice cream, snacks, or extra food portions during lunch.

Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a safe and efficient cafeteria experience!
FCS School Nutrition

All families are required to log in to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal and verify emergency contacts and household information through the “Census Update” feature. This ensures schools can contact you quickly in case of an emergency. Each student must have at least one emergency contact who is not a parent or guardian.

To read Board Policy - JGFC Emergency Release of Students and Dismissal Precautions, CLICK HERE

Scan the QRCode on the flyer or CLICK HERE to enroll your child(ren).

📧cliftondale@apecprep.com

📲470-701-4973

Cliftondale remains a uniform school, and we will continue to encourage all students to wear our school uniform Monday - Thursday.

Our uniform consists of:
Top: Navy blue, yellow/gold, or white
Bottom: Khaki or navy blue

Uniforms and other school spirit wear are available through our online spirit store:
https://www.cliftondalestore.com/

Thank you for your continued support in helping us promote school pride and a sense of community!

• NO RESTAURANT FOOD IN THE CAFETERIA: Parents, please be reminded that outside restaurant food is not permitted in our school’s cafeteria. You are always welcome to enjoy lunch with your child, and you may either purchase a meal from our cafeteria or bring a lunch from home. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and consistent environment for all students.
  
  

• BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS: Parents, family members and friends are not allowed to bring in cakes, balloon bouquets, flowers, goodie bags, gifts, pizza, or any other type of treat to celebrate a student birthday. Teachers are not allowed to celebrate birthdays in the class with a party or a snack either. Rather, parents may purchase a Smart Celebrations Package from the cafeteria. This can be done to student birthdays and/or any other classroom celebrations. Smart Celebration packets should be purchased in the cafeteria at least (2) days in advance. Please contact our Nutrition Manager, Ms. Curry at curryd1@fultonschools.org
  
  

• VISITORS ATTIRE: Visitors are asked to dress appropriately while on school property, in a manner that is tasteful, safe, and suitable for the school environment. Clothing or accessories that are distracting, unsafe, or contrary to maintaining a positive school atmosphere are not permitted. This includes unusual or disruptive styles, garments with inappropriate messages, and clothing—such as dresses, shorts, skirts, or tops—that is excessively short, tight, or revealing. Thank you for helping us maintain a respectful and safe environment for all students.

• Please be alert at all times! We have students exiting vehicles, parents and students crossing the street, and staff supporting students as they exit their vehicle. Please be attentive to all mustangs.
• Please do not park in the car rider loop. The car rider loop is for quick drop offs only. If you would like to exit your vehicle and escort your child into the school, please park in a nearby visitors parking space. Parents may escort students to class up until 7:35 am daily.
• For morning drop-off, parents are expected to ONLY use the car rider loop where staff members are monitoring students. Parents SHOULD NOT release students from their vehicles in the parking lot.
• Parents SHOULD NOT park along any red curb.
• Parents SHOULD NOT pass other vehicles in the car rider line or while in the school parking lot.
• Please have your student ready to exit from the passenger side of the vehicle. This means, make sure his/her bookbag and other belongs are ready and easily accessible. This speeds up the process tremendously!
• For car rider drop off & pickup, please pull all the way forward to cone #1.
• Help your student learn his/her car rider number for afternoon pickup.
• Please be patient!

• SCHOOL HOURS are 7:40 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. Our school front office is opened 7:00 am - 3:30 pm daily.
• MORNING ARRIVAL PROCEDURES: Morning arrival for students is 7:10 am-7:40 am. Students arriving after 7:40 am will be marked tardy as the instructional daily begins promptly at 7:40 am. ** Students should not be dropped off prior to 7:10 am as we do not offer before school care.
  📌IMPORTANT - Visiting parents may accompany their children to class during the first week of school (August 4-8, 2025) only. This measure is to ensure the safety of all students and staff. All visiting parents will be required to exit the building using the front office entrance no later than 7:35 am.
  

• BREAKFAST/LUNCH: Breakfast and lunch are completely free for all Cliftondale students. Breakfast is available for all students 7:10 am - 7:40 am. Although breakfast and lunch are free, students may purchase extra portions or snacks. Parents should visit My School Bucks to add money to their child's account in order for your student to purchase snacks and extra food portions. During school hours, students may not have restaurant food in any FCS cafeteria at any given time.
  

• SCHOOL FUNDS: We are now a 100% cashless organization. All funds collected at Cliftondale ES for student activities and school sponsored events are accepted only through Fulton County Schools Online School Payments.
• SCHOOL UNIFORMS: Cliftondale remains a uniform school, and we will continue to encourage all students to wear our school uniform. Our uniform consists of a navy blue, yellow/gold, or white top with khaki or navy bottoms. Uniforms and other school spirit wear are available through our online spirit store Home | Cliftondale Store
  

• DISMISSAL: Parents can check students out early anytime up until 2:00 pm. If you wish to check your student out early, please report to our front office with identification. Our students will only be released a bus rider, car rider, afterschool, or van. If your child is a car rider, you must join the car rider line. It will be long as we many of our students are car riders, and we thank you for your patience and your cooperation.
  

• BUS RIDERS/BUS STOP INFORMATION - During Open House, parents can verify their child’s bus assignment and bus stop times. All stop times are approximate times. If you have questions pertaining your child’s assigned stop or assigned bus, please contact FCS Transportation Department at 470-254-6060.

• TRANSPORTATION CHANGES: Please keep in mind that changes in transportation must be in writing and shared with your child’s homeroom teacher and the front office staff. Please do not depend on teacher e-mail or Dojo messages as some teachers do not have an opportunity to check e-mail/Dojo during the school day.
  

• BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS: Parents, family members and friends are not allowed to bring in cakes, balloon bouquets, flowers, goodie bags, gifts, pizza, or any other type of treat to celebrate a student birthday. Teachers are not allowed to celebrate birthdays in the class with a party or a snack either. Rather, parents may purchase a Smart Celebrations Package from the cafeteria. This can be done to student birthdays and/or any other classroom celebrations. Smart Celebration packets should be purchased in the cafeteria at least (2) days in advance. Please contact our Nutrition Manager, Ms. Curry at curryd1@fultonschools.org
  

• CLIFTONDALE'S 2025-2026 FAMILY HANDBOOK - Cliftondale’s 2025–2026 Family Handbook provides a wealth of information for parents about Cliftondale Elementary and our school-wide expectations. We encourage all families to review it thoroughly. Printed copies will be distributed to all students during the first week of school. An electronic version will also be accessible at all times on our school’s website and included in our weekly newsletter.

• 🆕STUDENT DEVICE PROTECTION PLAN: Each student in Fulton County Schools (FCS) is issued a school-owned device to support learning in and out of the classroom. This year, we are switching to charging full price for damaged and lost devices, as opposed to the reduced fees that we have previously charged. To help families avoid unexpected repair or replacement costs, we offer an Optional Student Device Protection Plan that provides affordable coverage throughout the school year.

Are you registered for your Campus Parent Portal Account? If not, REGISTER TODAY! Everything you need as a parent is contained in the parent portal. You can monitor your student's grades throughout the school year, review your child's schedule, download progress reports and report cards, update your contact information, register other students within your household, withdrawal your student and so much more! If you already have an account, you do not need to register again. New users should click the link provided to register: Parent Portal Registration

*Please note, if you DO NOT have an email address on file, you will be unable to register via the provided link. Please call the school and ask for our Data Clerk, Ms. Allen.

"Here Comes The Bus App" is a free, easy-to-use website and app that enables you to see the location of your child’s school bus on a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer. This way, you know when the bus is near your stop, so you can send your child out at just the right time. No more worrying about whether your child has missed the bus! If you have questions or concerns regarding your child's assigned bus or bus stop, please contact FCS Transportation Department at 470-254-6060 OR contact our supervisor:

Cheowana Henderson, Supervisor
Hendersonc1@fultonschools.org

Charisse Weigner, Special Needs Supervisor
weignerc@fultonschools.org

• The app will request a school code, which is 87428
• How do you access your student's student ID number? Parents may access their child's student ID number from the parent portal in Infinite Campus.
  
• If you add your child and the bus number or bus stop is incorrect, please contact our supervisor, Ms. Henderson
• If you add your child and their is no bus route displayed, please contact our supervisor, Ms. Henderson.

School safety remains a top priority for us in Fulton County Schools. We take maintaining a safe and secure learning environment very serious. I expect all Cliftondale students, parents and staff members act in a manner that keeps everyone safe. I strongly encourage all parents to review the Code of Conduct, and speak with your child about his/her behavior. When incidence of misconduct arise, consequences will be assigned based on the infraction as detailed within the Code of Conduct.

Each member of the Fulton County Board of Education sponsors a monthly meeting open to all members of the community. The sessions provide an opportunity for direct contact with community members and give board members a chance to listen to local issues and concerns.

Principal: Mrs. Canty- cantya@fultonschools.org

Assistant Principal: Mrs. Long- longt@fultonschools.org

Curriculum Support Teacher: Yazmin Hicks- hicksz@fultonschools.org

School Counselor: Sara Porter - porters5@fultonschools.org

504 Coordinator/MTSS - Tanya Hall- hallt5@fultonschools.org

Instructional Support Teacher: Dr. Shabo- shabog@fultonschools.org

Literacy Coach: Mrs. Kalista- kalista@fultonschools.org
Literacy Coach: Ms. Johnson- johnsonkr1@fultonschools.org

Math Coach: Mrs. Everett - everettba@fultonschools.org

Parent Liaison: Ms. Render- renderhh@fultonschools.org

School Social Worker: Dr. Carver- carvera@fultonschools.org
APEC Afterschool Enrichment - cliftondale@apecprep.com