| The Howard County Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission encourages all eligible Elementary School students to participate in its annual poster contest, recognizing the importance of racial equality and the fight against injustice. (Middle School and High School students are eligible to enter the essay and oratory contest.) The theme for this year’s contest is: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For contest rules, submission guidelines and the writeable contest application form, CLICK HERE, or go to https://www.howardcountymd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zIYvhD_dW0A%3d&portalid=0. Applications must be received by 10/30/20. Winners will also be featured in the HopeWorks magazine and on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission website. |
2020-2021 PTA Reflections Program
The PTA Reflections Program is a wonderful opportunity for students to enjoy and share their artistic talents by creating original artwork that reflects on this year’s theme, “I Matter Because…” Students can choose to take a picture, write a poem or story, create a piece of visual art, choreograph a dance, compose a song, or produce a film that shares their ideas of who they are and how they view the world around them. Entries will be selected to advance to the county, state, or even national level. Details for getting started can be found on the PTA website at https://cespta.net/programs/
Important Forms
- Student Entry Form
- Summary Rules
- Category Rules: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, Special Artist Division, Visual Arts
Note the new rule changes for this year:
- Dance Choreography and Film Production entries must be submitted in AVI or MP4 format.
- Music Composition entries must be submitted in MP3 or WAV format.
- Photography and Visual Arts entries must be submitted in JPEG, JPG or PNG format.
- Literature and scores as required for Music Compositions must be submitted in PDF format.
Entries are due by Monday, November 30, 2020 (Please email Meng Zhu & Jodie Wang at cespta.reflections@cespta.net to submit the filled-out student entry form and artwork).
Free Vaccine Clinics for Students
Immunizations are required by state law to attend school, including virtually, and are vital for children’s overall health and wellness. HCPSS Health Services continues to partner with the Howard County Health Department and the Maryland Partnership for Prevention to offer several free immunization clinics for any student who may need them.
Google Meet Expectations
To ensure a positive, productive and enjoyable learning experience for all participants, it is important that all students and parents/guardians adhere to these Google Meet Expectations.
Free Student Meals
The food services program during the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year will consist of free Grab-and-Go meals served Monday through Friday from 8-9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at all schools except Burleigh Manor Middle School and Hammond High School. Meals are free for all students through December.
Update Your Family File
It is time to update your child’s emergency contact information in HCPSS Connect! This is the most important step as we prepare for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Your Family file needs to be updated every school year.
Families that update and complete their Family File will be able to view teacher assignments for the upcoming school year beginning September 4, 2020.
Having this information is critical to use for emergency information and early closings. Parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child, and can do so by logging in to HCPSS Connect and selecting the Family File tab and then clicking on Family File.
HCPSS uses Family File for parents/guardians to complete emergency information. Parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child.
Here are directions for the updating the Family file: HCPSS Connect Parent Access.pdf
Once logged in, parents/guardians will be asked to provide or update the following information:
- Student information
- Parent/guardian contact
- Emergency contacts
- Medical information
- Arrival/dismissal procedures
- Media release (photo approval)
- Data confidentiality
- PTA/PTSA directory
Changes of address may not be made through Family File. If you have recently moved, please contact CES Mattia_Lambiotte@hcpss.org OR Amy_Stevens@hcpss.org as soon as possible as we need to update your address in our files as well.
Parents who have forgotten their login credentials for Family File may click the “Forgot Password” link on the sign in page. Please complete the Family File through HCPSS Connect!
Upcoming Important Dates
Dates with a “*” will be virtual and google/login codes will be sent separately.
August: 26:
7 pm – Howard County Special Education Advisory Committee (SECAC) Parent Support Group. Click here to register.*
September 2:
10 am: Kindergarten and New Student Orientation*
2: Back to School Night for grades K through 2*
6:00 PM – Grade K
6:30 PM – Grade 1
7:00 PM – Grade 2
3: Back to School Night for grades 3 through 5*
6:00 PM – Grade 3
6:30 PM – Grade 4
7:00 PM – Grade 5
8: First day of school*
12: 7 pm – PTA meeting (tentative)
29: 7 pm – Virtual Trivia (tentative)*
October
27: Virtual Bingo (tentative)*
We are looking for volunteers
We are looking for volunteers to help with the following:
- Spirit Wear – work with the vendor to purchase CES Spirit Wear and offer spirit wear for sale to CES families.
- Spanish translation – we are looking for someone to assist us with some translation needs.
We are also looking for a volunteer who is able to donate accounting services to assist with
filing our annual tax statement. The PTA spends about $1,600 annually on accounting services. We’d like to use those funds for other purposes if we can find someone who can donate their time and accounting expertise.
Email cesptapresident@gmail.com if you are able to help.
2020-2021 School Supply List
Our revised 2020-21 school supply list is completed…please click to the link here.
The PTA has arranged from the School Tool Box to provide pre packaged “boxes” for each grade. These boxes are customizable (remove what you already have) and are offered at a discount. They will also ship directly to your home.
Simply go to: https://www.schooltoolbox.com/school-supplies/school/list-boxes/?schoolId=45165and customize/order your box.
Important information for back to school
Don’t forget to update your Family File through CANVAS.
Please pay particular attention to the screen titled “PTA/PTSA School Directory Information Verification“. This information is provided to CES by Central Office for our school directory. If data is incorrect in your Family File, it will be incorrectly reflected in the school directory. Don’t forget to update your Family File through CANVAS.
