It’s always a challenge to enter a new school system. Families are unaware of the traditions, customs of the school, special events, and programs. You may be hesitant to call the school or ask other parents what the newsletters are talking about.
One way is to check out the webpage: www.carrollk12.org/ces
The purpose of this guide is to give you a general idea of what’s going on at Carrolltowne Elementary. This will give you information about the most frequently encountered activities. Please do not hesitate to ask any of the PTA board members or other parents about events, classes, and activities. You will find the Carrolltowne community to be a friendly group willing to share their experiences. They can provide much richer and more personal descriptions of a particular event. Also, please do not hesitate to contact the administration or your children’s teachers if you have questions, concerns, and comments.
We encourage you to become involved with the PTA in whatever way you can, even if your volunteering time is limited. Everyone’s goal is to ensure that the children have a positive experience at Carrolltowne.
Events by Season
- Fall: Back to School Night, Book Fair, Student Pictures, Trunk or Treat
- Winter: Holiday Band and Chorus Program, Holiday Shoppe, School Play
- Spring: Class Pictures, MD State Testing, Play Day, Spring Concert, STEM Fair, Moms and Muffins, Dads and Donuts
- Ongoing Events: After-School Programs, Cultural Arts, Box Tops, passive fundraising programs
Glossary
After-School Care: Program run by an outside organization that cares for students before and/or after school for a fee. Program is currently run by Hot Spots Extended Care. Children stay on school property and are dismissed directly to class in the AM following care and directly to Hot Spots following the school day. http://www.hsecp.org/
After-School Programs: Programs run by the PTA or other outside organizations. A number of activities are held at the school after school hours, and may include art, sports, theater, science programs, scouting, and others.
Arrival Time: The earliest students may arrive at school is 8:45 a.m. Please DO NOT drop your student off before this time and DO NOT line up for drop off before this time as the long line blocks the parking lot entrance and prevents teachers from entering the parking lot. Any student arriving after 9:15 a.m. is considered late and must be escorted by a parent or guardian to the front office and the parent must sign the student into the school.
Back to School Night: CES program. The teachers of each grade level will offer a presentation of the materials that will be covered during the year. The same presentation will be offered two times for those families that have children in other grade levels. This is a very informative meeting and will be helpful for parents to get an outline of expectations for the upcoming school year. Individual concerns should not be raised here; please schedule a separate appointment.
Band: CES program. Beginning in fourth grade, students may receive musical instruction for band instruments by a band teacher at the school. You will receive a notice within the first few weeks of school to request to play an instrument. You can choose a 1st, 2nd or 3rd choice. You will be contacted by the band teacher with the instrument selected for you. Rehearsals are held 1-2 times a week during class time. Concerts are performed twice a year.
Battle of the Books: CCPS and CCPL program. Students in 4th and 5th grade can join a team that will compete in the County Battle of the Books. Teams read books from a Battle of the Books list compiled by the Carroll County Public Library and then practice answering questions in meetings for the competition! Competitions are held in the Spring.
Boo Hoo Social: CES PTA program. Held for kindergarten parents on the first day of school in the cafeteria. Mingle with other Carrolltowne Kindergarten parents and have light snacks. Either boo hoo or celebrate that you’re sending a child to kindergarten.
Book Fair: CES Media Center event. The book fair provides students and parents an opportunity to purchase books at reasonable prices. The book fair usually runs for one week. In addition, teachers leave their wish lists for their classrooms, and parents are invited to donate a book to their classroom. All proceeds from the Book Fair help the Media Center earn new books for the Media Center benefiting all students.
Box Tops for Education: PTA run program. This is a passive fundraising program. See Fundraising for more information.
Cardinal coupons: CES run program. (previously known as rulers) The Carrolltowne Cardinal Program is a PBIS incentive program where students are rewarded for hard work and appropriate behavior throughout the school day. They follow the Three R’s: Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to learn. Students can be given Cardinal Coupons in recognition for following school rules and putting forth their best effort. Each coupon will be split in two. One part will be entered into a school-wide raffle while the other part will be handed directly to the student and will be used to “cash in” at the Cardinal Cart Store.
Cardinal Cart: CES run program. (formerly known as Ruler Store) A cart offered every month to individual grade levels where students can “cash in” coupons they receive for good behavior. They can choose to save coupons to purchase larger ticket items (i.e. a backpack or sit with a friend at lunch) or purchase something smaller (i.e. box of crayons) using the cardinal coupons they earn.
Carrolltowne Players: CES PTA program. This is a volunteer run theater program that takes place at the school. Students practice twice a week for several months to put on an amazing production for the entire community. Volunteers direct the play, design set and costumes to prepare a show that is unparalleled in our community. Audition forms go home at the beginning of the year. https://carrolltowneplayers.wordpress.com
Chorus: CES run event. Students in fourth and fifth grade may voluntarily participate in chorus. Rehearsals are held once a week during class time. The CES Chorus performs two concerts each year coinciding with band concerts. Sign up is at Open House or within the first weeks of school.
Conferences: CES teachers. In the Fall and Spring, parents are given a formal opportunity to converse with teachers to discuss student achievements, concerns, grades and other pertinent classroom information regarding their student at a parent teacher conference. Translation services are available through the county.
Cultural Arts: This program is funded by the PTA. Throughout the year, a variety of artists, performers, authors, and other individuals or groups will come to the school to give presentations to the students.
Dine Out Nights (Restaurant Nights): PTA sponsored event. Throughout the year, the PTA arranges family dining nights on specific dates at a local restaurant. This is a fundraising event where the PTA receives a portion of the sales. In some cases, a flyer is required to bring for our school to receive the credit. In the past, restaurants have included: Chick-fil-A, Mod Pizza, Chipotle, and Menchies. Every year the restaurants may vary.
Direct Donations: PTA program. This is a fundraising program. Parents and boosters may donate directly to the CES PTA. Write checks out to CES PTA so funds can be deposited to directly benefit the PTA which in turn benefits the students.
Diversity Club: Recognizing the differences that make up our school community and supporting our friends in a variety of ways.
Drop off Procedure for Carpoolers: Please follow arrows and cones to form a single file line that loops around the parking lot. Have students collect belongings in the car before reaching the sidewalk and say goodbyes. Students are dropped off at the sidewalk on the right hand side only. Try to avoid leaving your vehicle for safety and efficiency. Please DO NOT drop your student off before 8:45 and DO NOT line up for drop off before 8:45 as the long line blocks the parking lot entrance and prevents teachers from entering the parking lot.
Emergency Forms: All emergency contact forms must be completed by the first day of school for the Front Office and staff. This is for the safety of the students.
Field Trips: CES sponsored program. Every year each grade typically takes at least one field trip. Trips can be taken outside of school or sometimes a program will come to the school. This will always correspond to the curricular program. Some previous examples include South Carroll Tech center, Breadmake and Baltimore Zoo . Field trips will often change as curriculum, time constraints, or other factors change the needs in each grade.
Fifth Grade Promotion: CES program. Promotion is the ceremony where we promote 5th graders to the 6th grade. The teachers recognize their class with a speech and call each student’s name. More information will provided by the fifth grade teachers in the Spring.
Fun Run: CES PTA fundraiser. This is the PTA’s largest fundraiser. Students receive pledges to run in the Annual CES Fun Run. Students earn rewards depending on their pledges such as t-shirts and gift cards.
Fundraising: CES PTA program. In addition to our annual Fun Run, there are other fundraising opportunities for CES. Past fundraisers have included Unwined Candles, Hershey Park Tickets, and Meltdown pendant making. Silent fundraisers like Amazon Smile will donate a portion of eligible purchases if you sign up and use smile.amazon when shopping. As will Martins, Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Giant simply by using your grocery store card. Just make sure to register it with the PTA each school year. Another facet of fundraising is Box Tops for Education where each box top clip is worth 10¢. Be sure to download the new Box Tops for Education App which allows you to scan your store receipt (with in 14 days of purchase), find participating products and instantly add Box Tops to our school’s earnings online. If you still have traditional Box Tops clips at home, make sure to send them to school and place them in the red collection box in the vestibule of the school entrance. We will still earn cash for all clipped Box Tops until they expire. Better yet, you can “double dip” during the transition period by clipping and scanning. . Another type of fundraiser is restaurant nights. See Restaurant Nights above for more details.
Gifted and Talented (GT) Testing: CES program using standards developed and implemented at the county level. Second grade students are tested for eligibility at the end of the year for the Gifted and Talented program. Eligibility is based on multiple factors including test scores, teacher and parent input and other factors. Students that qualify may receive GT services for Math, ELA, or both. GT classes begin in third grade and students are pulled out once or twice a week for classes depending on placement. More details about the program are available on the website.
Good Egg Ticket: CES run program. Classroom PBIS incentive where the whole class is recognized and can earn a good egg. Earning multiple good egg tickets can help the class earn a teacher or class chosen prize as a reward (i.e. wear pajamas to school one day, extra recess). This promotes class unity and good behavior.
Holiday Shoppe: CES PTA program. Each year, on a Saturday in December, a shop is set up featuring inexpensive presents that students may purchase for their family members for the holidays. “Elves” (volunteers) are provided to help students shop in secret.
Home Access Center: Each student will receive grades, homeroom assignments, lunch numbers, and more through this website. Sign up ASAP to track your child for many years to come. https://mystudent.carrollk12.org/HomeAccess
Homework: CES practice. Each grade level has different expectations for homework that are outlined at the Back to School night. Homework should be reinforcement of class work.
International Student and Family Services: Translation and ESOL services. https://www.carrollk12.org/instruction/curriculum/esol/Pages/ForESOLFamilies.aspx
Mascot: The CES mascot is a cardinal bird named Rocky.
Media Festival: CES Media event. This Spring event is run by our Media Department and allows all students to enter photographs that they took themselves in a contest. Photographer names are hidden and voting occurs anonymously by staff. An awards ceremony follows this special event.
Membership: Consider joining the PTA. Your membership helps pay for cultural arts events, field trips, and many other things that benefit your child directly. Individual and family memberships are available. http://carrolltownepta.com/join/
New Student/Kindergarten Orientation: CES event. Introduction to the school, and an opportunity to meet the student’s kindergarten teacher. Students are encouraged to bring their school supplies to the orientation.
Open House: CES event. All students are given the opportunity to come to the school, meet their teachers and bring their school supplies to the classrooms.
PARCC: The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of 18 states working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math. These new K-12 assessments will build a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from third grade up, and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student support.
Parent Handbook: The Informational Calendar Student/Parent Handbook contains policies, telephone numbers, and other information pertaining to the Carroll County Public School System. An online printable version is now available at https://www.carrollk12.org/about/Documents/2020-21InfoCalendarHandbook.pdf . The online printable version is the most current version of the handbook available and may include updates added since the printed edition provided at the start of the school year.
Parking: CES. Please use the following guidelines while parking at CES. Overflow is available in the spaces in the rear of Petco. While it is not illegal to park on Gemini, it blocks line of site for cars and buses pulling out of the school and is not encouraged. Park in the lot behind Petco if all CES spaces are filled.
PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports): PBIS is a research-based behavior system that uses incentives and acknowledgments to motivate students to make positive choices. Each PBIS school identifies three to five, easy to remember behavioral expectations for students, which are communicated frequently and reinforced with student acknowledgements. Staff members make it a point to call attention to moments when a student demonstrates desired behaviors. This positive reinforcement is for all students and also provides an excellent model for students who need extra encouragement in making appropriate choices. PBIS programs are currently in place in many surrounding schools and in many other schools throughout the nation. The framework has been proven effective in fostering student engagement, academic achievement and a supportive, positive school climate. Carrolltowne’s behavioral expectations are known as the three R’s: Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn.
Pictures: CES program. Individual student photographs are typically taken in the fall and spring. Class pictures are only taken in the spring, and at this time there will also be an opportunity to have individual photos taken if you missed them in the fall.
Play Day (a.k.a Field Day): CES run event. In the spring, a physical education filled day is held where students may participate in a variety of games and events. Volunteers are integral to the success of Field Day.
Reading with the Principal: CES PTA program. All students are given the opportunity to read with the principal or assistant principal. This is a voluntary program and a paper will be sent home if your child is interested in participating. Fifth grade begins in the Fall and other grades follow throughout the school year.
Related Arts: CES program. The school refers to physical education (PE), music, art, media, and technology classes as Related Arts.
STEM Fair: CES PTA program. This is a voluntary event that your child can choose to participate in. Each child prepares a research or Science Fair project on his or her own time. Projects are displayed for the entire school at an evening fair in the Spring. All CES students are welcome to attend to check out the projects.
Spirit Events: CES PTA Spirit committee plans several engaging events every year to provide fun and safe activities for the students and their families each year. All events are NOT drop off so a parent or guardian must stay at the school with the children. While the events vary year to year, some things in the past have included Trunk or Treat, Moms and Muffins, Dads and Donuts, and Movie Night.
Spirit Wear: CES PTA program. Some years (not necessarily every year), you will have an opportunity to order t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts, caps and similar items emblazoned with the Carrolltowne Elementary School name and/or mascot.
Spirit Week: CES PTA event. Occurs twice a school year. Students have the opportunity to show their school spirit by dressing up in specified outfits every day (i.e. Crazy hair day, Mismatched Day, School Colors Day)
Volunteer Training: CCPS Program. In order to volunteer in the classroom and chaperone on field trips, parents must be volunteer trained. Training must take place 7 days before your scheduled volunteer date. Trainings take place online. Please visit: https://www.carrollk12.org/admin/hr/volunteer/Pages/default.aspx
Yearbook: CES PTA program. Every year CES PTA distributes a yearbook to celebrate the year. Parents can submit high quality photos to yearbook@carrolltownepta.com throughout the year. All students have the option of purchasing a yearbook to commemorate their year. Yearbook sales begin in the Spring and yearbooks are received and passed out the last week of school.
The views and opinions expressed in this guide are not necessarily those of the Carroll County Public School System, Carrolltowne Elementary School, or the Carrolltowne PTA. This guide was created by parents for parents and is intended to be a general guide that may be helpful to new families. While every attempt has been made to provide accurate information, changes can and will occur. Please understand that all events and activities, dates, times, and descriptions are subject to change. Activities may be added or deleted as curriculum and time constraints dictate.
Please contact the school for the most accurate information about programs run by CES. If you contact the school about a PTA event, they may not be able to provide you with the information you need. The PTA will provide contact numbers (which may change year to year and are not included in this guide) so that you can contact the appropriate person. Click on the “Volunteers” link for contact info.