March 17-24 – SPRING BREAK.  Schools reopen March 25^th. Have a safe and restful Spring Break!

March 27 & 28 – Class Pictures & Individual Spring Pictures.  See below.

April 4 – Concert Band performs National Anthem at Frederick Keys Opening Day game.

April 17 – Howard County Elementary Jazz Festival at Howard High

May 1 – SAVE THE DATE – Parent Volunteer Luncheon.  Details at a later date.

May 12 - Ho. Co. Elementary Band Festival, Howard HS

May 19 - CLES Spring Band Concert at CHS 7:00 p.m.

May 20 – CLES Strings Spring Concert at CHS at 7:00 p.m.
May 23 - Concert Band and Jazz Ensembles perform at Baltimore's Inner Harbor  11 am

June 3 - CLES Jazz Concert   7 pm at CLES

From Dr. Hu and Ms. White

We wish to begin with a “Thank You” to the many parent volunteers who assisted with last week's kindergarten registration.  At this point, we have registered 80 new kindergarten students.  We also wish to thank the many parent volunteers who helped during the Hearing and Vision screening, which lasted three days.  Many thanks to the parents who supported the Book Fair and Science Fair; both events drew huge crowds and provided our children with a unique experience.  Even more unique was the PTA-sponsored Cultural Arts event, a performance by Brazilian storyteller, Antonio Rocha.  His authentic stories from different continents conveyed a strong message of appreciating the diversity and commonality that we all share.  

A huge “Thank You” goes to our technology team, Mr. Mike Kilberg and Mr. Peter Parlette, for their painstaking effort in producing podcasts of our students' work.  These can be viewed through a special link, as explained later in this newsletter, or through the PTA web site.  Mr. Jamie Travers and Mr. Patrick Caughy, our team of art teachers, are working hard in assembling students' artwork for the Columbia Mall show.  Our students' display panel will be located near the hall where Bun Penny was formerly located.  Thank you, Mr. Travers and Mr. Caughy, for your dedicated efforts to showcase our students' artwork. 

At this mid-point of a school year, we wish to remind everyone of our  Bully Prevention program.  Any reported bullying incidents will be followed up by the administration.  Students have been informed that the best prevention to bullying is to make an immediate report to adults in school or to parents.  It takes everyone's effort to ensure that CLES is a safe learning environment for all students. 

From time to time, parents wish to observe their children in class.  To allow teachers to focus on teaching, it is advised that parents contact the teacher before visiting the class.  In addition, students are not to be dismissed from classroom areas.  They are to be escorted to the front office for dismissal at all times.  Thank you, parents, for your understanding and cooperation.

We are busy preparing for the 2008 Maryland School Assessments.  Reading assessments will be conducted on April 1st and 2nd, while math assessments will be on April 7th and 8th.  Please help by having your children attend school on those days and be ready for this important annual event.  Thank you for your effort and attention to this matter.

We want to thank Nicholas Benavides for representing CLES at tonight's County level Spelling Bee contest at Howard High School.  Wholeheartedly, we wish him the best of luck!

New Website & Podcast at CLES – CLES has a new technology website and podcast available.  The site address is http://web.mac.com/clestech/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html.  There is a username and password needed to access this site and some of its content.  The username is:  cles and the password is: dolphins.  The site will contain work done by the amazing students at Centennial Lane Elementary School.  You may also access the link for this site through Mr. Kilberg's or Mr. Parlette's homepage on http://www.clespta.org.  Currently on the site you will find fifth grade special talents projects, second grade special talents projects and first grade winter sense poems.  Coming soon to the website are fourth grade virtual postcards, third grade special talents, and kindergarten silly sentences.  Please check back periodically to see if something new has been placed on the site.  Thank you and enjoy.

Standardized Testing Reminders - The dates for state standardized testing are fast approaching.  They are:

MSA Reading                         April 1 and 2 (AM)                 Grades 3, 4, 5

MSA Math                              April 8 and 9 (AM)                                Grades 3, 4, 5

SAT 10                                   April 21, 22, 23 (AM)                           Grade 2

MSA Science                        April 28, May 5                                     Gr. 5 (Kirwan)

                (On line)                 April 29, May 6                                     Gr. 5 (Aragon)

                                                April 30, May 7                                     Gr. 5 (Clark)

                                                May 1, May 8                                         Gr. 5 (Guy)

                                                May 2, May 9                                         Gr. 5 (Lawson)

Please be sure that your children are present, on time, and well rested for these testing sessions.  We want them to be ready to “show what they know.”  Test make-ups will be extremely limited.

Class Pictures & Individual Spring Pictures - On March 27^th, grades K-2 will have their classroom pictures taken and each student will also have an individual spring portrait taken.  On March 28^th, grades 3-5 will have their pictures taken.  In order for your child to receive a class picture, you must fill out the order form and return it with your check on the scheduled picture day.  All students will have a spring portrait taken; no preordering is necessary.  The spring portrait package will be sent home for parents to preview and make the decision whether to purchase or not.  Please look for the classroom order envelopes to be sent home with all children on Tuesday, March 26^th.  

String Students & Families Information - Get out your pens and mark your calendars! The CLES Strings Spring Concert will take place on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at the Centennial High School auditorium.  I am pleased to announce that we will again be sharing the stage with the Burleigh Manor Orchestras under the direction of Mrs. Kathryn Cammarata.  I am sure that the evening will be filled with beautiful music and lots of fun!

Students will need to report to the CHS Choral Room NO LATER THAN 6:30 for tuning and warm up.  The concert will begin promptly at 7:00pm.  I will post additional information on the CLES website and send home a hard copy as more details come available.

Please email me with any questions or concerns regarding our upcoming Spring Concert.  Musically, Sari O'Bryan

Food Drive – We have received a letter from the Community Action Council of Howard County regarding our recent food drive.  “We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks for your contribution to the success of our 16^th Annual Harvest for the Hungry – “Kids Helping Kids” food drive.  We commend the organizational efforts of the staff, students, and families of CLES for the successful collection of 271 pounds of non-perishable items to the Ho Co Food Bank.  We are pleased to list you among the supporters of our nonprofit activities assisting low-income households in Ho Co.  This is a tribute to your concern and awareness of the social problems in our community.  I can assure you that the primary beneficiaries of these programs are children and other persons unable to provide for themselves.  Your contribution will make a difference and serve as an example for others to follow.”  Good job, CLES!!

From the PTA . . .

Thank You from the Science Fair Committee - The fifth annual CLES Science Fair was a huge success. We had 115 students present 87 projects. We would like to thank the staff of the after-school care for allowing us to set up early.  A very special thanks goes to the Science Fair volunteers and Project Reviewers.  Without their hard work, the event would not have been possible. So be sure to thank Rich Stroud, Liz and Dave Frommer, Mark Matties, Joanne Jackson, Matt Goodman, John Heslin, Rich Davis, Karen Mickenberg, Mike Nussbaum, Yuanhong Du, Kris Singleton, Jean Schroeder, Joel Silverstein, Bill and Terri Chiu, Sriram Padmanabhan,  Thomas Clark, Steve Maher, Dan Breedlove, and Ruwani Gunawardane  when you see them. Finally, thanks to the many students who jumped in and helped to set-up and clean-up, you are the real reason that CLES is a blue ribbon school. 

 We apologize to any student who didn't have their name on the feedback form. A small computer glitch resulted in teams of two and three students to only list the first name. Any student who finished their project, but was unable to attend the fair should contact Leslie Stroud at 410-313-9499 or thestrouds@comcast.net.   

Cultural Arts – On March 7, 2008, the CLES PTA treated students to a Cultural Arts performance by Brazilian storyteller Antonio Rocha (pronounced Ha' sha). Jungle Tales featured a combination of storytelling and mime to take us into the jungles of Africa and South America while exploring the universal themes of brotherhood, the power of a dream and preservation of nature. As follow up to this event, please discuss these themes with your children.  Antonio told us that “relationships are built upon stories” during his presentation of one general tale and two additional tales, each geared toward our younger or older students.  While building upon your relationship with your child, ask about what the chicken said to the crocodile at the watering hole one “hotter than hot” African day. Also, for K-2nd graders, ask them about who helped the turtle travel to the cloud party: for 3rd, 4th, or 5th graders, ask him/her why the macaw and snake would not show the lost boy the way out of the jungle.

The PTA has purchased the Jungle Tales DVD for the Media Center.  It includes the story of Chicken and Crocodile, two additional tales and a pantomime performance, Turbulence, which is Antonio, the pilot's interpretation of fear of flying, which were not performed at CLES. Instructions on how to ‘mime' like Antonio Rocha conclude the DVD. Teachers may check out the DVD for use with their classes. 

Cultural Arts performances are made possible by your membership in the PTA and patronage of PTA fundraisers. Many thanks to the parents and teachers who have already demonstrated their support for the PTA and the programs it brings to our students. The next opportunity to support the PTA's efforts to provide events such as this one will be during the Market Day “Pie Month”.  Watch for the flier coming soon to your child's take-home folder.

School Supply Program - Want more time in the sun, at the pool, on the beach, maybe just relaxing with your feet up, or just knowing there are fewer lines on your to-do list this summer?

Well, the PTA is here to help!  Let us be your personal shopper for your child's school supplies.  It's simple!  Supplies are competitively priced and name branded where possible.  Just fill out the order form (extra forms in school entryway) and return it with payment to CLES by March 21st.  We'll deliver the ‘08/'09 school supplies to your child's classroom in early June in a manageable carrier box for them to bring home.  You'll rest assured that all your child's supplies for the fall are ready, stored in one place and as a bonus, you receive a  sheet of 30 labels with your child's name on to make labeling the supplies easy. All you'll need to do after that is enjoy your summer !

Please note:  We've extended the deadline for school supply orders to give you ‘last minute' folks an extra week after the break to turn in your order forms.  Orders due Friday, March 21st.  Questions; call Patti Demme 410-730-3119

Market Day News - Thank you to everyone who has supported our February Market Day sale…we have raised over $5000! There is still time to place an order for our March delivery. Orders are due on the internet by noon on Wed. March 19th.. Our pick up date is Tuesday, March 25th from 7-8pm. Please call Jennifer Graves at 410-465-6627 if you have any questions.

CLES Summer Band Camp – The 6^th Annual CLES Summer Band Camp will be held from July 21^st 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.

Brochures Available in The Rack:

Ho Co Rec & Park TKA Karate Spring/Summer 2008

Seussical the Musical on Ice – Columbia Ice Rink April 5 2:00 & 5:00 pm, April 6 1:00 & 4:00 pm

CLES News Express & Dolphin Splash – Each week a newsletter is published by either CLES or the CLES PTA.  If you would like articles to appear in the newsletters being sent home, please submit to Bonnie Sorak at bsorak@juno.com and Nancy Malwitz at Nancy_Malwitz@hcpss.org by noon on Thursday of the week you wish it to appear.