Volume 10, Issue 12 February 15, 2008
February 18 – President's Day. Schools and offices closed.
February 25 – Math Meeting at CLES 6:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria.
February 29 – Interim reports sent home.
March 11 – CLES Science Fair 6:30 p.m.
March 17-24 – Spring Break. Schools reopen March 25.
April 4 – Concert Band plays at Frederick Keys Opening Day game.
April 17 – Howard County Elementary Jazz Festival
May 19 – Spring Band Concert
May 12 – Ho County Elementary Concert Band Festival (tentative)

Band Week “D” Volunteer Week 4

From Dr. Hu and Ms. White - Wow! The last two weeks have certainly been busy ones at CLES. As always, parent-teacher conferences were well-attended and much information was shared. Our new, automated Pick A Time system was very successful. Thank you to Mrs. Daniels, our teachers' secretary, who organized it for us and handled the few “bugs” that are inherent in any new system. Thank you, also, to Jennifer Garner and her Staff Appreciation Committee for providing a delicious dinner for staff members who conducted evening conferences on Thursday evening.

The Book Fair was also a huge success. The children were certainly excited about shopping for new books. We saw some pretty excited adults, too! A big thank you to Michele Jackson, Michele Parisi and their committee for organizing this annual event. Thanks to Greta Joseph for organizing the ice cream rest stop. That, also, was a huge success. Please note the featured readers, including several staff members, in the article appearing below.

As you can see, there are no “winter doldrums” at CLES! Our school and community continue to work hard, learn a lot, and have lots of fun. Please enjoy your long weekend.

Attention Parents of Concert Band Students – Field trip permission forms for the Frederick Keys game on April 4th are being sent home today. Please return all forms to Mr. Owens as soon as possible. Thank you.

Jump for Heart –Students will participate in the jump rope activity during his/her regularly scheduled Physical Education class the week of February 25th-29th.. All students will learn and participate in fun jumping activities regardless of whether they choose to do the fundraising activity or not. Pledges should be turned in to Mr. Pusloskie by February 22nd... Thank you in advance for your support.

Art Department - Our Art Department is in need of small clean plastic yogurt cups. Please drop off any you may have to the Art Room. Thank you!

Summer Opportunities for Advanced Level Learners - The Summer Institutes for Talent Development are now accepting registrations for summer courses. Courses offered are for advanced level learners entering grades 2-12 in the areas of Technology, Science, Language Arts, Fine Arts, and Mathematics. These are interest-based, hands-on enrichment opportunities. For more information download the Summer Institutes for Talent Development Brochures at http://www.hcpss.org/summer. Classes are filling fast so register soon!

BMMS GT Program – On April 10th at 7:00 p.m. Mr. David Lee, GT Resource Teacher, will be hosting a meeting for parents of current fifth graders who are interested in learning more about the BMMS GT program. He will be presenting an overview of the GT program as well as advice on how to determine if this program is a best fit for your child.

CLES Summer Band Camp – The 6th Annual CLES Summer Band Camp will be held from July 21st through August 1, 2008 at BMMS. The directors of the camp are Frank Owens and Richard Lucas (Waverly ES). The camp is open to all band students with at least one year of experience. All profits from the camp go to support the band program at CLES. Camp brochures have been sent home. For further information, please contact Frank Owens at frank-owens@hcpss.org.

From the PTA . . .
How to win a prize at Dolphin Dollars/Book Swap! - Come by Dolphin Dollars/Book Swap for your chance to earn a prize! To participate bring in at least $1 to deposit in your DD account, or a gently used age-appropriate book to swap. You will get to roll a die (2 chances if you participate in both). If you get a "6" you can pick a prize from the treasure box! We are in the cafeteria every Friday from 8:33-8:45. For more information check out the CLES website or karlavea@verizon.net.

PTA Family Fun Night/Scholastic Book Fair is a Success! - The Scholastic Reading Road Trip and ice cream rest stop was a big success with over 300 students, parents and CLES staff attending the Tuesday night event, which featured guest readers Stephen Gibson, BMMS principal, and Peter Glademans, Thunder Soccer Club Boys U-11 coach. Special thanks to our own Dr. Joanne Winters, Mrs. Maley, Mrs. Leela Collins, and Ms. Rosalind Fowler who also read aloud to students and their siblings; and to Ann Marie and Veronica Krahe, Amy Clemens, Lisa, Charles and Thomas Regnante, Roxanne Bell, Patricia Baker, Michelle Berry and Joanne Jackson for volunteering their time and/or materials for ice cream distribution. The five varieties of Edy's Grand ice cream treats were provided as a gift to the PTA courtesy of Dreyers Grand Ice Cream Company of Laurel, Maryland. Thank you Dreyers Grand! Our students loved the new flavors. Greta Joseph, PTA Social Comm. Chair.

A big thank you to the CLES community for your support of this year's Book Fair. The school is now full of brand new books and twisty erasers. Your monetary gifts to $ One $ for Books are also appreciated. We would like to recognize the efforts of the CLES Media staff: Ms. Leela Collins, Mrs. Nanette Schryer & Mrs. Robin Lauren. Their dedication to promoting reading to our students is valuable long after the Book Fair ends. Thanks also to our Book Fair volunteers: Kristi Harris, Kathy Davis, Seema Parekh, Patti Demme, Sue Cooper, Terri Chiu, Joanne Jackson, Megan Roth, Kim Metz, Rosemary Crumley, Stephanie Gertler, Sharon Wilson, Alice Haupt, Susy Benevides, Jane Fisher, Amy Clemens, Jun Lai, Linda Latham, Beth Grable, Maureen Wallenhorst, Sori Meredith, Tracy Rudamanski, Michele Alyaian & Cristina Valdez. Their donation of time is the only way an event like this can succeed. We hope everyone enjoyed taking the Reading Road Trip this year and we appreciate your support of the CLES PTA and for the life-long activity that is... reading. - Michele Jackson & Michele Parisi, Book Fair Co-Chairs

Science Fair Deadline Extended! - The Science Fair registration has been extended until Tuesday, February 19th. The fifth annual CLES Science Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 11th at 6:30pm. Students can work alone or in teams of up to 3 people. Team members do not have to be in the same grade, but projects should be age appropriate for everyone in the group. Registration forms and guidelines are available off the CLES PTA website at http://www.clespta.org/ScienceFair/.Please contact Leslie Stroud at thestrouds@comcast.net with any questions or comments.

LAST CHANCE for Mini K.I.D.S. and Kinder K.I.D.S.!!! The last day to register for both Mini and Kinder K.I.D.S. is Friday, February 22. Registration forms are due by 3:00 PM that day. Parents will be notified by email by Wednesday, February 27 of which day your child was assigned. (If I need to switch a child to balance gender or numbers, I will call you. I will only switch those students who were flexible to be in either class.) A roster of each day's class will be emailed to every parent.
If you need a registration form, they can be downloaded from the K.I.D.S. website, www.kidsdrama.org, or can be requested by emailing Ms. Brouillet at sbrouillet@hcpss.org.

Li'l Dolphins Swimming Right Along – Playgroups for future CLES students have been meeting. One group has been meeting pretty consistently on Friday mornings. Another group is meeting on Tues. or Thurs. and there are others interested in meeting in the evenings or weekends (this group needs a “leader”). Please contact either Bonnie Sorak at bsorak@juno.com or 410-465-0427 or Bridgett Littlefield at bridgetl@verizon.net or 410-465-2069.

COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS OF MARYLAND - PARENT INFORMATION NIGHTS - The College Savings Plans of Maryland now offers more options from the State of Maryland to help make it easier than ever to save for college. The Maryland Prepaid College Trust Allows you to lock in tomorrow's tuition at today's cost and offers the security of a Maryland Legislative Guarantee. The Maryland College Investment Plan offers 13 different investment portfolios managed by T. Rowe Price. Both plans are affordable, flexible, and offer great State and federal tax benefits! To find out more, plan to attend one of the Parent Information Nights, presented by Howard County Public Schools and the College Savings Plans of MD. All presentations are scheduled to begin
at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, February 19…Glenwood Middle School, 2680 Route 97, Glenwood, 21738
Wednesday, February 20…Hammond Middle School, 8110 Aladdin Drive, Laurel 20723
Thursday, February 21…Clarksville Middle School, 6535 S. Trotter Road, Clarksville, 21029
Wednesday, February 27…Patapsco Middle School, 8885 Old Frederick Road, Ellicott City, 21043
Tuesday, March 4…Elkridge Landing Middle School, 7085 Montgomery Road, Elkridge, 21075
Thursday, March 6…Patuxent Valley Middle School, 9151 Volmerhausen Road, Jessup, 20794
For more information, go to www.collegesavingsmd.org (click on”Events”) or 1-888-4MD-GRAD (option#5).

THE HOWARD COUNTY AUTISM SOCIETY - The Howard County Autism Society and AMC Theatres at Columbia Mall will be offering movie showings for families with special needs. There will be no trailers, the volume will be kept down and the lights will be kept up. Children are encouraged to take sensory breaks and all families and friends with special needs are welcome. All showings will start at 9:30 a.m. Doors open at 8:45 a.m. The cost is $6 per person. The upcoming schedule is as follows: February 23…"The Spiderwick Chronicles” - March 29…”Horton Hears a Who” - April 12 “Nim's Island”

HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY - On March 5, 2008, at 7 p.m., Dr. Diane Schumacher, Director of Athletics at Howard Community College, will be giving a talk entitled "Parenting Your Young Athlete." The talk grew out of her research on how parents involve themselves in their children's onfield performance for an article published in a peer-reviewed journal. Schumacher has had a successful career in fast pitch softball and subsequent academic postings in coaching. In addition, she has been inducted into the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame. An excellent speaker, Dr. Schumacher's talk promises an entertaining and inspiring evening. This program, part of the "Choose Civility" project, will take place at Central Library in Columbia. Registration will take place after February 20 online at www.hclibrary.org or by phoning (410) 313-7860.


Brochures Available - On the circular rack in the front hallway you may find these brochures:
Cub Scouting – It's Fun at Every Turn! Get Connected with Girl Scouts
Rec & Parks Music, Movement, Dance & Spring Break Camps Camp Oasis-Summer Camp Info.
Rec & Parks Creative Arts, Drama, Cooking, Preschool & More
Rec & Parks Preschool, Dance, Arts, Music, Cooking & More – Summer Camps