Michelle Leader - Principal

Jaime Gittleson - Assistant Principal

Website: cces.hcpss.org
Location: 10320 Quarterstaff Road, Columbia, MD, USA
Phone: (410) 313-6866
Facebook: facebook.com/ClemensCrossingElementary
Twitter: @hcpss_cces

For another language, click "Translate Newsletter" tab and select the language of choice in the upper right-hand corner.

Spanish

Para otros idiomas, haga clic en Traducir Newsletter y elija el idioma que prefiera.

Korean

다른 언어의 경우 뉴스 레터 번역을 클릭하고 원하는 언어를 선택합니다.

Chinese

对于其他语言，请单击翻译新闻通讯，然后选择所需的语言。

Urdu

دوسری زبانوں کے لئے ، نیوزلیٹر کا ترجمہ کریں پر کلک کریں اور اپنی پسند کی زبان کا انتخاب کریں۔

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! We hope you are enjoying the summer and making wonderful memories with family and friends. We are so excited to welcome you back to school in a few weeks. We thought this would be a good time to send out some information and updates to our school community so you can begin to plan for a suCCESsful school year. Please take the time to review the information in this summer newsletter. The information will help you as you plan for the upcoming school year.

For those of you who are new, The Cougar Comments school newsletter will be published weekly throughout the school year through email and social media. Be sure to look for this newsletter on Friday mornings at 7:00 a.m. in your email inbox starting in September. Please be sure not to mark emails from CCES or HCPSS as junk or spam. We find out that a number of people get blocked from all CCES and HCPSS communication when you mark the email as spam or junk. In addition to important school information, our PTA has a section in the weekly newsletter. They do not publish their own newsletter, so please be sure to look for PTA information in each newsletter. If you ever miss an issue of the newsletter or need to review a previous issue, all Cougar Comments will be available on the main page of the CCES website. We hope you find the information helpful. Additionally, be sure to follow CCES on Facebook and Twitter. We often post information and reminders on social media in addition to fun posts sharing what's going on in our school.

We hope you enjoy the next few weeks of summer, and we look forward to seeing you next month. If we can help in any way, please reach out to us by email or call us at 410-313-6866.

Mrs. Leader, Principal

Mrs. Gittleson, Assistant Principal

For a complete list of dates and events visit cces.hcpss.org/calendar.

August

• 13 - Maryland Tax Free Week starts
• 23 - Class Assignments open in Family File
• 24 - Open House - Kindergarten (Last Names A-L) 2:30 - 3:15 p.m.
• 25 - Open House - Kindergarten (Last Names M-Z) 10:00 - 10:45 a.m.
• 25 - Open House - First and Second Grades, 11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
  
• 25 - Open House - Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades , 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
• 28 - First Day of School
• 29 - Gifted & Talented Information Session, 6:00-6:30 p.m.
• 29 - Back-to-School Night for Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades at 6:30 p.m.

September

• 4 - Labor Day - Schools and Offices closed
• 5 - Back-to-School Night for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade at 6:30 p.m.
• 8 - PTA Welcome Back Family Picnic, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
• 13 - PTA Kick-Off Meeting, 6:30 p.m. social and 7:00 meeting
• 15 - National Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month begins
• 15 - Rosh Hashanah - Schools and Offices Closed
• 21 - Fall Individual Picture Day
• 25 - Yom Kippur - Schools and Offices closed

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

There will be no printed 2023-2024 calendars. Staff, students, and families may add our online calendar to their own mobile/online calendar by

1. Going to https://www.hcpss.org/calendar/
2. Scrolling down to Subscribing to a Calendar
3. Right-clicking on the calendar you wish to subscribe to
4. Selecting Copy Link Location/Address/Shortcut
5. Adding to your calendar of choice (See your calendar for specifics on adding a new calendar)

You also may view and/or download printable PDFs of the full calendar and/or important dates only. Updates to the PDFs will be noted on the HCPSS calendar page.

PLEASE NOTE! The calendar is subject to change. The online calendar reflects the most recent version.

Calendars in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean

Calendario en español

西班牙语日历

스페인어로 된 달력

Please help us plan for the 23-24 School Year by providing feedback and input about our current car loop and arrival/dismissal procedures. We want to be proactive in enhancing our current procedures to ensure the safest and most efficient process for our community. Please complete this form by Friday, July 28th. You can view our current arrival and dismissal procedures here. Thank you for your input!

Temporary Employee Positions

We are looking for caring and compassionate individuals to assist students with disabilities who require direct adult supervision throughout the school day. The position works under the daily supervision of the school administration and the direction of a special education teacher and/or a classroom teacher. Some experience working with children or individuals with disabilities preferred. Below, please are details regarding the position.

• Temporary Employee (TE) positions are with Social Service Consultants, Ltd.

• Compensation is $15.00 per hour

• The hours are 9:15 AM – 3:45 PM Monday-Friday.

To apply, please email Robert Tencher at Rtencher@gmail.com to request an application packet. Please specify the school you are interested in. You can also apply using this link. Please contact Jaime Gittleson at Jaime_Gittleson@hcpss.org or at 410-313-6866 when you have completed all parts of the application.

This annual Howard County Library System program will help incoming kindergartners ease into school with stories and activities, including boarding a real school bus. Registration is required. Each session lasts one hour. Check the HCLS website to register and for additional details.

Summer Reading Lists

As part of the A+ Partnership with the Howard County Library System, summer reading lists developed by HCPSS library media specialists and Howard County Library System Children’s Instruction and Research staff are available for students in all grade levels. Books included are just a sampling of what students may enjoy reading during the summer. Students are encouraged to check out other books by the authors included as well as explore additional book topics at the library.

Recommended lists for all grade levels are available both in schools and online. Don’t forget to sign up for the library system’s Summer Reading Program online or at your nearest branch.

A+ Student Card

All HCPSS students receive an A+ Student Card account number at the beginning of the school year. With it, they have access to all HCLS eContent by using their account number to login via hcpss.me. Using their A+ Student Card, students can place holds and check out physical materials, as well as take advantage of all the library’s digital resources.

The supply list for the 2023-24 school year can be found on the main page of our school's website (link has been corrected).

We encourage you to drop off your school supplies during Open House on August 24/25. Please be sure to clearly label your child's supplies with his/her name.

Listed below are the many ways to stay informed at Clemens Crossing Elementary School.

Twitter

• Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hcpss_cces
• We use Twitter to inform, celebrate, and engage our community.
• Twitter is used to share what is going on in our school, our community, and throughout the Howard County Public School System.
• Turn on notifications to get information the second it is tweeted.
• We live-stream our concerts on Periscope through Twitter.

Facebook

• Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ClemensCrossingElementary
• We have found that Facebook is the social media most used by our parents so we are now on Facebook, too!
• Our Facebook page is updated automatically from our Twitter feed.
• Please use Facebook to share the good news from CCES with your friends and families.

Instagram

• We use Instagram periodically. We do post pictures and information there.

Website

• Our website, cces.hcpss.org, is updated regularly.
• Important news and information is located on the main page of the site including an archive of our weekly newsletter, Cougar Comments.
• Staff information and email is located under the "Our Staff" tab.
• A subscribable google calendar is located on the "Calendar" tab.

Email

• Email is our main form of communication.
• You will receive news and information automatically to the email address you provide in your Family File. We will not inundate your inbox with email. Look for the weekly Cougar Comments on Friday mornings.
• If you would like email sent to different email addresses, update your email in Family File with the email address you prefer.
• You can subscribe additional email addresses by visiting the HCPSS News site here. http://www.hcpss.org/hcpss-news/
• Weekly announcements, important information and updates, and more will primarily be sent through email.
• You also have the opportunity to opt-in for text messaging