Clearspring Howl

We are so excited to kick off another amazing school year at Clearspring Elementary! Transition Day is Monday for our Kindergarten students and our Center for Enriched Studies 4th graders, and the official first day for everyone else is Tuesday.

As we get ready for the year ahead, we encourage our Huskies to get a good night’s sleep, set some goals, and come prepared to meet new friends and create memorable experiences. At Clearspring, we know that the Husky pack sticks together—supporting, encouraging, and celebrating one another every step of the way.

We can’t wait to see our students back next week and are looking forward to a fantastic year together!

• You can send in a check, cash or add money to your student's cafeteria account at myschoolbucks.com.

Please be patient the first week of school with transportation. We will always notify you with an alert if a bus route is running very late at dismissal.

If you have any issues with transportation please call the Clarksburg Bus Depot at 240-740-4720

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.

• 🍎 Cafeteria Accounts
• You can send in a check, cash or add money to your student's cafeteria account at myschoolbucks.com.

• 🧁 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

• 📱 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.

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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.

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

Thank you to our Amazing PTA for a delicious lunch from Noodles & Co. It was the perfect way to end our week after working hard to get all of our classrooms and spaces set up for the new school year.

September 16 - Jimmie Cone Spirit Night 5pm-10pm

October 6-10 - Book Fair

October 14 - Q1 PTA MEETING

October 26 - Trunk or Treat