Clearspring Howl

Each Sunday night the Husky Howl will be sent out to the Clearspring Community. Our goal with the howl is to keep you as informed as possible with events at school and around the community. We also seek to connect and share not just the celebrations of our students but our families. Please make sure to take time each Sunday to review the howl so you are ready for the week ahead. We also try to share information as soon as we get it as we know how hectic life can get during the school year. If there is anything you think that could make the Howl even better, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Graber with your ideas.

Tonight's Howl has back to school information, upcoming event dates and some fun ideas to get ready for the new school year. We hope to see many of you for our Open House on Thursday starting at 2:00pm. Students can see their classrooms, meet their teachers and pick up backpacks if you had communicated with Mr. Bock.

The button above 🔼 will bring you to our Family/Community Handbook which covers a myriad of topics you may have questions about. Please take the time to review the information. Below are some highlights:

• 🚌 Arrival
• Clearspring welcomes students into the building at 8:40. There is no school provided supervision before 8:40am. Students line up outside of classrooms until the 8:50 bell when teacher welcome them into the classroom for breakfast and unpacking. Our day starts at 9:00am. All students entering Clearspring after 9:00am will need to be signed into the office by an adult.
• 🚗 Dismissal
• Dismissal Begins at 3:25.
• All Walkers will be dismissed through the front doors and should meet parents at the flag pole. Parents please do not come to the front doors, you will be asked to move to the flagpole.
• 🧁 Student Birthdays
• Student birthdays are celebrated on the morning announcements and by the classroom teacher. Students receive a birthday pencil from the office and a birthday book from the Media Center. Parents may not send in any food treats to celebrate a student’s birthday.

• 💡School Cash Online - Field Trip Payments
• mcpsmd.Schoolcashonline.com is where you will be able to pay for any fieldtrip fees
• 🍎 Cafeteria Accounts
• You can send in a check, cash or add money to your student's cafeteria account at myschoolbucks.com.
• 📱 Personal Mobile Devices
• Phones are prohibited to be used during the entire school day at the elementary level. If a phone is observed being used students will receive a warning, for a 2nd offense the phone will be sent to the office to be collected by the student at the end of the day, for a 3rd offense the phone will be sent to the office and will be need to be collected by an adult.

Our school-wide Open House will be on Thursday, August 21st from 2:00-3:15. This event is open to all students and their families to pop by and visit their new classrooms and teachers. As a reminder, Kindergarteners are more than welcome to come and visit all the K classrooms, but they will not have their official teacher assignment until the end of transition day on Monday, August 25th.

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ONLY Kindergarten AND Center for Enriched Studies 4th Grade students' first day of school is Monday, August 25th.

Students will arrive and dismiss from Clearspring the way they do each day, whether by bus, walker, or car rider. We highly recommend you send them to school the way they will go to school everyday on transition day, as there will be extra adult support during transportation to make it as positive an experience as possible. (You are welcome to drive to school to watch them get off the bus, if that's their mode of transportation.)

During Transition Day, students will have the opportunity to meet all of their teachers, including having time in all specials classes. They will explore the school building with added adult support so that when the rest of the students start school on Tuesday our new Clearspring students will have a familiarity with where to go and how to navigate the day.

Steps to Complete for MCPS Volunteers

1. Volunteer Form

   Complete the MCPS Parent/Guardian and Community Volunteer Form. These forms serve as an introduction of yourself, your interests and availability in volunteering, and some important reminders about volunteers in schools.

2. Online Training

   Complete the mandatory online Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training. This training is required for any volunteer who regularly supports schools, chaperones a field trip, etc. and is available in multiple languages. When the course is completed, a report is created to serve as proof of satisfying the training requirement.

3. Contact School

   Contact the school(s) where you wish to serve and provide them with a copy of the following:

   • Appropriate MCPS Parent/Guardian and Community Volunteer Form
   • Your online course grade sheet that will show 100% for completing the online Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect Training.

The MCPS Student Code of Conduct is being revised for the 2025–2026 school year. Changes include making behavior rules easier to understand and establishing a standard process across the district to investigate incidents. This document outlines expectations for student behavior and the consequences for violating various policies, regulations, and rules. The focus is on helping students learn from mistakes, repair har, and rebuild trust. Learn more.

Donation request

The health room is looking for donations of gently used sweatpants size 5t-8/10 and new socks and underwear. If you've done some summer cleaning and are able to donate any sweatpants or have the opportunity to throw an extra pair of socks into your shopping cart, the Clearspring Health Room would really appreciate it.

Medication/Treatment Orders from your Health Care Provider

The medication/treatment authorization form(s) specific to your child's health/medication needs must be renewed at the beginning of each school year.

Maryland regulation dictates that we determine expiration dates as follows: (1) one year from the dispensing date on the pharmacy label or, (2) the expiration date on the medication package, whichever comes first.

To ensure your child's medication/treatment needs are met at the start of the school year submit medications/supplies, and completed forms to the health room on or after Friday, August 22, 2025. Please contact the health room in advance to ensure availability of School Health staff. Please be sure to include the appropriate medication forms, MCPS 525-13 (for oral medications, creams or inhalers) or the MCPS 525-14 (for epinephrine auto injectors, (treatment of anaphylaxis).

School health staff will review physician orders/medications. It is the parent/guardian responsibility to ensure that medications/orders are compliant with state regulation. Please do not send your child to school with medications. Per MCPS regulations, it is the parent/guardian responsibility to deliver physician orders/medications directly to School Health staff.

Thank you for your cooperation!

FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE MEALS SYSTEM (FARMS) APPLICATIONS Apply online NOW so students receive free meals on the first day of school! Households meeting identified federal income standards are eligible for free school meals. MCPS encourages all families who may be eligible, to apply. To receive this benefit, a new FARMS application must be completed every school year. Please submit the online FARMS application through www.MySchoolApps.com. Students not newly qualified for free meals will be charged the following meal prices. Only one application is needed for all students in a household.

Meal prices: Breakfast—$1.30; Lunch—$2.55 (Elementary), $2.80 (Middle and High) Students who qualify for reduced-price meals will receive meals at no charge!

Students use their MCPS ID number when receiving a meal, so confidentiality is maintained and no child is overtly identified as receiving free or reduced-price meals. Funds can continue to be added to student meal accounts at no charge by bringing cash or checks directly to the school cafeteria managers. There will be an increase in the transaction fee from $1.95 to $2.49 per transaction associated when adding funds to student meal accounts using the online My School Bucks software. For more information and How-To videos, visit the Division of Food and Nutrition Services (DFNS) website: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/foodand-nutrition/meal-payments/#FARMS MORE INFO HOW TO VIDEOS

WHAT: Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity-based positive youth development program. We teach life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. The program aims to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness. Completing a 5K on November 23rd gives them a tangible opportunity to apply everything they have learned. Each participant receives a program t-shirt, water bottle, entry to the GOTR 5K, and a finisher medal.

WHO: The program is open to girls in 3rd-5th grade.

WHERE: Clearspring Elementary School 9930 Moyer Road Damascus, MD 20872

WHEN: Tuesday and Wednesday 3:30 - 4:45pm

The team will meet twice per week for eight weeks, starting the week of September 28th and ending on November 23rd.

COST: $210.00

FINANCIAL AID: The online registration process includes the fee reduction approval process. Simply answer the financial aid questions during registration, and the computer will determine your eligibility and adjust the fee accordingly.

HOW: Register here to sign up by October 2nd. Space is limited.

QUESTIONS? Visit www.girlsontherunofmoco.org or call 301-881-3801 for more information.

These materials are neither sponsored nor endorsed