Mustang Newsletter

Greetings Mustang Families!

I hope you are enjoying a restful and joyful summer! A special welcome to all of our new families—it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to the best elementary school in South Fulton County! I am so excited to have students back in the building and overjoyed to be returning to Cliftondale Elementary School as the Proud Principal!

At Cliftondale, we are deeply committed to fostering a culture of learning where we prioritize Excellence in Education for Each Student, Every Day. Our unwavering focus is on elevating student achievement while maintaining high academic expectations for all learners. We are proud to have an exceptional team of educators who work tirelessly to design engaging, standards-aligned instruction that not only meets academic benchmarks but also sparks curiosity and creativity. Our instructional approach balances rigorous academics with enriching extracurricular opportunities, ensuring every child receives a well-rounded educational experience.

Beyond academics, we place a strong emphasis on creating a safe, nurturing, and inclusive environment where every student can thrive. We believe that a positive school culture and climate are essential to student success, and we celebrate both individual and collective growth throughout the year. We are also committed to building strong partnerships with our parents and the broader community. Your collaboration, encouragement, and involvement are key to helping us realize our shared vision for student growth and school success. Together, we will continue to make Cliftondale Elementary School a place where every child is supported, challenged, and celebrated.

Welcome back, and we look forward to a phenomenal year ahead!

Mrs. Canty

JULY 2025

• July 26th: First Day Fulton Back-2-School Pep Rally
• July 29th: Homeroom Teacher Assignments posted in the Parent Portal for fully enrolled students.
• July 31st: Cliftondale's Open House - 3:00 pm-5:00 pm

AUGUST 2025

• August 4th : First Day of School
• August 2nd: APEC Community Back 2 School Bash 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

SEPTEMBER 2025

• September 1st: Labor Day - School Closed/No School for Students
• 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 15th: Annual Title I Meeting at 5:30 PM
  Curriculum Night immediately following the Title I Meeting

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

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

📧cliftondale@apecprep.com

📲470-701-4973

This event is open to APEC families who are currently registered, actively attending, or interested in learning more about our programs. Students and families are invited to join us as we prepare for the new school year. To secure your spot, be sure to register in advance. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO ATTEND

Provided within this newsletter is important back to school information for Fulton County Schools and Cliftondale Elementary School. These items will help you as you prepare yourself and your student(s) for the school year ahead. Please review these items at your leisure. I also encourage you to visit our school website frequently as current and upcoming school happenings will be posted there. An additional source of information is Class Dojo. Teachers will connect you to their class and our school story during open house on July 31st.

• 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.

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!

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.

Dear FCS Families,

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
• Device replacement or repair without disruption to your student’s learning
  
  

Enrolling in the plan gives families peace of mind and helps ensure that students have uninterrupted access to the technology they need.

How to enroll:

You may sign up for the Optional Device Protection Plan during the Online Census Verification process in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

For more information, including plan details and coverage terms, please download the FCS Student Device Handbook.

If you have questions about the protection plan or how to access the parent portal, please contact your child’s school for assistance.

Thank you for supporting your student’s success.

Sincerely,
Fulton County Schools

RISING 2ND GRADE PARENTS: In Fulton County Schools, all students entering 2nd grade, 7th grade, and 10th grade will be required to submit proof of residency prior to the start of their enrollment in the aforementioned grades. All proofs of residency must be provided with the parent(s)/ guardian(s) name and address.

Utility Proof- Please provide a copy of your most recent utility bill

• Electric monthly statement; OR
• Water monthly statement
  
  **Gas bills are not accepted in Fulton County Schools
  
  

Residence Proof: - Please provide a copy of (1) of the items provided below:

• Home Mortgage Bill;
• Home Sale Contract;
• current Apartment/House Lease
• Section Eight/HUD Housing Document; OR
• Current HOA Bill

**Residency verification must be completed prior to August 4, 2025. Parent/guardians may provide the (2) proofs of residency from the approved list as detailed above to our school Data Clerk, Ms. Allen at allenk3@fultonschools.org OR in-person via our front office. Please make sure to include each student's first and last names with the residency documents. Parents may review the full policy by clicking the provided link: http://go.boarddocs.com/ga/fcss/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=9TZHPX4902EC

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.

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