The Cougar Connection

We have had a wonderful past few weeks at Cougar Elementary, and I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us for our Kindergarten Make and Take Night. It was fantastic to see so many families engaging in our school community. A special shout-out goes to our dedicated Kindergarten teachers for putting together such valuable resources to help you support your young learners at home. Partnering with you is at the heart of what we do!

As we move further into the school year, I want to reaffirm our commitment to maintaining a safe, welcoming, and positive learning environment for every child who walks through our doors. Our staff works tirelessly to ensure Cougar Elementary is a place where students feel secure, respected, and excited to learn every single day.

To help our students bring their best selves to school, we also need your support with a couple of key habits at home: getting enough rest and managing screen time. Studies consistently show that excessive screen time—especially right before bed—disrupts sleep quality and makes it harder for children to focus and regulate their emotions during the day. By setting consistent bedtime routines and limiting screen use in the evenings, you give your child the tools they need to arrive refreshed, ready to learn, and ready to be professional Cougars every day.

Lastly, we encourage you to read information below related to our upcoming PTO sponsored Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 23rd!

Thank you for your continued partnership, trust, and dedication to our school community.

To view our updated Parent/Student Handbook, please click HERE.

You can also access this throughout our website by hovering over "Families" and clicking on the handbook. If you have any questions, please let us know!

Monday, October 12th - No School for students (Indigenous People Day/Columbus Day - Professional Development Day for staff)

Tuesday, October 13th - CES/MPES PTO Meeting - 6:00pm

Thursday, October 15th - Breakfast with the Superintendent (pre-order tickets needed)

Thursday, October 15th - Hispanic Heritage Month Spirit Day (see info below)

Wednesday, October 21st - End of 1st Quarter

Friday, October 23rd - PTO Sponsored Trunk or Treat!

Wednesday, October 28th - First Quarter Grades Posted

Thursday, October 29th - STEM Night!

Friday, October 30th - Dress like your favorite book character day

🎃 The Little Cougars PTO is excited to host a Trunk or Treat on October 23rd starting at 5:30pm! See information on the flyers below!

If you are interested in signing up to decorate your car, please use the link below! We need some cars!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtW_f3v4iW7unPyQCu8aXWpgXldr4W6RqmaVYTdfdhxYk5mw/viewform?usp=header

Next meeting - Tuesday. October 13th at 6pm in the Manassas Park Elementary Cafeteria

Virtual Link - https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/264815720537175?p=J0fKq5FIHGgbrvUEg7

Meeting ID: 264 815 720 537 175 Passcode: Z9hr3hS2

Connect with The Little Cougars PTO on social media or email us at:

📧 President.littlecougarpto@gmail.com

📧 Treasurer.littlecougarpto@gmail.com

Let’s make it a great year for our Little Cougars! 🐾🖤💛

The Children's Science Center will be bringing their Family Science Night activities to Cougar. This fun, engaging event is free for our students and families.

Every Day Counts in PreK! 🚌📚

Regular, on-time attendance is an important part of your child’s success in PreK! Each day, children are learning new routines, building relationships, practicing important skills, and developing a strong foundation for kindergarten. Arriving on time helps your child start the day calmly and ensures they don’t miss valuable learning experiences. Please make every effort to have your child at school and ready to learn each day, on time. We know that occasional absences happen, but consistent attendance makes a big difference!

Growing Readers & Independent Learners 📖✨

Small moments at home make a BIG difference! Make reading together part of your family’s nightly routine. Reading for 10–15 minutes can help build vocabulary, listening skills, comprehension, and a love of learning. You can also help your child become more independent by giving them opportunities to practice everyday tasks on their own. Encourage your child to wash their hands, put on their shoes and coat, clean up toys, open containers, and manage their belongings. It may take a little longer at first, but these everyday routines build confidence, independence, and skills your child will use throughout their school day

Skip cooking and support Manassas Park students at the same time! Join the Manassas Park Education Foundation (BELL) for a Dining Night at The All American Steakhouse at Manassas Park City Hall on Monday, October 12, from 4:00–9:00 p.m. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit BELL and help support scholarships, teacher grants, literacy, basic-needs initiatives, and other opportunities for MPCS students. Bring the family, meet up with friends, or enjoy dinner with colleagues!

Support Manassas Park students and enjoy Krispy Kreme! Throughout October, you can purchase a Digital Dozens certificate for $17 and redeem it for one dozen Original Glazed® doughnuts at participating Krispy Kreme locations. For every dozen purchased, $8.50 comes back to the Manassas Park Education Foundation (BELL) to support scholarships, teacher grants, and other programs for students. Because the fundraiser is completely digital, you can also help simply by sharing the fundraiser graphic and link with friends, family, and on social media!

Monthly Estimation Station!
Our students are putting their estimation skills to the test with our monthly Estimation Challenge! Each month, students make their best guess about how many items are in a mystery container while using math strategies and reasoning to make an estimate. Last month, we had a jar filled with 910 Goldfish, and our closest guess was just 1 away at 911!🎉This month, students are estimating a jar filled with candy corn and pumpkins. We’ll introduce a new challenge each month and celebrate our closest guessers!

Try it at home! Encourage your child to practice estimation in everyday life. How many pieces of cereal are in the box? How many steps does it take to walk to the mailbox? How many toys are in a bin? Making and checking estimates is a fun way to build math thinking anywhere!

Make a difference in our students' lives while keeping total control over your schedule! Cougar Elementary is actively looking for passionate, reliable substitute teachers to join our vibrant school community.

Whether you are a certified educator, a recent graduate, a retired professional, or a parent looking to give back, substituting offers the perfect blend of purpose and flexibility.

Why Join Our Team?

• Ultimate Flexibility: Choose the days, half-days, and grade levels that work best for your lifestyle.

• Supportive Environment: We provide ready-to-use lesson plans, welcoming staff, and an active administrative support team to ensure your day runs smoothly.

• Competitive Pay: Earn competitive daily rates while building valuable professional connections.

• Direct Impact: Be the reassuring, engaging presence our students need when their regular teacher is away.

Help us keep our classrooms thriving! Apply today through our district portal at the link below!

https://jobs.redroverk12.com/org/mpark?search=substitute

Please join us on October 15 as we celebrate the closing of Hispanic Heritage Month!

Since September 15, we’ve been learning through our morning announcements about the different cultures and traditions of Spanish-speaking countries. This month gives us a chance to honor and appreciate the diversity of the Hispanic community.

You don’t have to be Hispanic to celebrate! If you have a Hispanic family member, friend, or loved one, join us in celebrating them and their culture. ❤️

Please see the flyers below for all the details. We can’t wait to see all the beautiful colors and traditional attire representing your countries and cultures! 🌎

We are creating a STEM Recycling Station! We are asking families to help us collect clean, reusable materials that can be used for hands-on STEM activities throughout the school year. We are looking for:

• Grocery bags

• Plastic bottles (water bottles/soda bottles)

• Cardboard boxes
• Paper towel and toilet paper rolls

These simple materials can become amazing tools for young engineers and inventors! Students will use them to build models, test ideas, create solutions, and practice important STEM skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

If you have any of these items at home, please consider sending them to school for our STEM Recycling Station. It is located in our front office. Thank you for helping us turn everyday items into opportunities for learning and innovation!

PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW WHEN YOUR CHILD IS ABSENT:

1. You must call or send an email to notify the school of your child’s absence. A note MUST be sent in with your child when they return for the absence to be excused.

   • Call the front office by 9:30am (703) 392-1317

   • Send an email to the absence email address by 9:30am (CESattendance@mpark.net)

2. If we do not receive a phone call or email letting us know the student will not be attending that day, you will receive a call from the automated system notifying you of your student’s absence.

3. Parents must contact the school within one three days from the date of the absence, explaining the absence

4. It is the student's responsibility to make up all missed assignments within a reasonable amount of time. Assignments that are not made up will be reflected in the student's grades.

5. When a student misses three or more consecutive days of school due to illness, a parent/guardian is encouraged to call the teacher and request class assignments.

EXCUSED ABSENCES:

The following are the only legitimate excuses for absences from school:

1. Personal illness
2. Death of a family member
3. Medical or dental appointment
4. Court appearances
5. Observance of religious holiday

The following may be excused by the principal with written permission:

1. Illness of a family member
2. Emergencies
3. Trips/activities which enhance or extend the student’s education

If the parent has not informed the school with a written excuse of the student's absence, the absence will be unexcused.

UNEXCUSED ABSENCES:

If a student is absent from school for any reason other than listed above even with a parent’s note, the absence is unexcused unless approved by the principal in advance (Pre-Arranged Absence Form).

If the parent has not informed the school with a written excuse of the student's absence within three days of the absence, the absence will be unexcused.

If a student misses school with more than five unexcused absences, the parents/guardians will be contacted in order to set up a meeting to discuss an attendance plan.