Mustang Newsletter

Happy Friday!

It was another great week of teaching and learning at the VERY BEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in all of Fulton County Schools!!!!! Please review our updates for the week ahead.

• 🚩🚩🚩MORNING ARRIVAL....SCHOOL STARTS AT 7:40 AM: We have a significant number of tardy students in our school. Since the second week of the school year, we have recorded over 200 instances of tardiness—an alarming figure for such a short period of just two weeks. 🚩🚩🚩 We kindly request that you ensure your child arrives at school on time each day. Timeliness is crucial for your student's success and helps foster a positive learning environment. Thank you for your cooperation and support in this matter.
  
  
• FAMILY BINGO NIGHT!!! We are excited to announce our upcoming family BINGO Night taking place on August 28th. Additional information is included on the flyer below. We look forward to seeing you there!
  
  

• EMERGENCY CONTACT UPDATE: Parents/Guardians, we have experienced several situations where we needed to reach families, but the phone numbers on file were invalid. It is critical that the enrolling guardian updates all contact information through the Parent Portal. This is of the utmost importance for the safety and well-being of our students. We greatly appreciate your prompt attention and cooperation.

• STUDENT SUCCESS SKILLS: Student Success Skills (SSS) are a set of standards that will be taught to all Fulton County School students throughout the year, The standards include six of the following skills: Sense of Belonging, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Competence, Collaborative Problem Solving, and Reflective Learning Strategies. Teaching these skills will support students in creating a foundation for managing emotions, healthy relationships, understanding and empathizing with others, being responsible and safe, and learning to cope with difficult life situation. To find more information about SSS, review the SSS Parent Packet.

SSS Parent Packet (English)

SSS Parent Packet (Spanish)

• 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.
  
  What the plan covers: Accidental damage, Loss or theft, and Device replacement or repair without disruption to your student’s learning.
  
  Parents/Guardians who would like to purchase the Optional Device Protection Plan for their student’s Fulton County issued device can do so by completing the Online Registration Census Update found in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. A Parent Portal account is required to sign up for the Optional Protection Plan. Once parents/guardians have completed the Census Update, the fees will show in their Parent Portal Account, and they are able to pay for them there.

• 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.
  

• BREAKFAST/LUNCH: 📌 We’re excited to share that breakfast and lunch are completely free for all Cliftondale students this school year! 🍽 Breakfast Hours: 7:10 AM – 7:40 AM

  Please note: Students arriving after 7:40 AM may not have access to breakfast, so we encourage timely arrival to ensure they start the day with a nutritious meal.

• During school hours, students may not have restaurant food in any FCS cafeteria at any given time.
  

• DISMISSAL: Parents can check students out early anytime up until 2:00 pm.

• 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 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!

We’re excited to kick off the school year with a fun-filled Family Bingo Night and you’re invited!

🗓 Event: Family Bingo Night

🎉 What: A night of games, laughter, and connection

📅 BINGO Cards Available: Now through August 22nd

🔗 How to Purchase: Cliftondale ES

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to connect with our school community.
We can’t wait to see you

AUGUST 2025

• August 4th : First Day of School
• August 2nd: APEC Community Back 2 School Bash 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
• August 28th: Family BINGO Night 5:00 pm-7:00 pm

SEPTEMBER 2025

• September 1st: Labor Day - School Closed/No School for Students and Staff
• September 5th: Mustang of the Month at 8:30 am
• September 12th: Grandparents Day Brunch - (For prepaid guests only)
• September 12th: 4.5 Week Progress Report (Viewable in Parent Portal)
• September 16th: Annual Title I Meeting at 5:30 PM
  Curriculum Night immediately following the Title I Meeting

OCTOBER

• October: Conference Month
• October 8th: Fall Picture Day
• October 10th: 9-Week Progress Report (Viewable in Parent Portal)
• October 13th-17th: Fall Break - School Closed/No School for Students and Staff
• October 22nd-31st: Boosterthon Fundraiser
  
• October 23rd-31st: Red Ribbon Week
• October 20th: District 4 Community Meeting - Cliftondale ES at 5:30 pm
• October 30th: Trunk or Treat and Math Event
• October 31st: Boosterthon Color Run

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

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.

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

As part of Board Policy AEA on the Instructional Calendar, two consecutive instructional calendars should be available to the public at any given time. To ensure this, the Strategy and Governance department has begun the annual process of convening the Calendar Steering Committee. The committee will review the calendar parameters and stakeholder feedback and propose any updates to the parameters along with a draft of the 2027–2028 instructional calendar for Board consideration.

Community Feedback will be collected through a ThoughtExchange from August 8th to September 5th. The ThoughtExchange is live and can be shared with staff, parents, and the school community via the link or QR code. Please share the flyer or QR code below with stakeholders.

ThoughtExchange: https://tejoin.com/scroll/372728629

Flyer for ThoughtExchange Participation: TE Flyer

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!

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