The Cougar Connection

Cold Spring Elementary School Website

Cold Spring Elementary School Phone Number: 240-740-4390

September 2nd - No School

September 3rd - PTA Meeting (In-Person), 7:00pm

September 6th - HOUSE COLOR DAY, Town Hall Assembly

September 12th - PTA Back to School Social, 5:00pm

September 19th - PTA Room Parent Information Session, (Virtual) 7:00pm

September 20th - Classic Photography Individual School Pictures

September 24th - Cougar House Meetings

September 25th - August/September Birthday Bash

September 27th - Early Release Day, Parent Reunification Drill, 9:15am

Cold Spring school gear can be ordered using the links below. We have two school stores open for you to shop! One is through the PTA and proceeds go back to the PTA. The other is through school and proceeds go to the school. Either way, your students will benefit!

School Store: https://coldspring2024.itemorder.com/shop/home/

PTA Spirit Wear: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_W6aTyymTItwwrDTGt9_FPrEo67wfYV-/view?usp=sharing

I am thrilled to share with you how wonderfully our school year has begun! It has been truly inspiring to see the energy, enthusiasm, and dedication that our students, teachers, and staff have brought to each day.

From the moment the doors opened on the first day, it was clear that this year would be something special. Our classrooms are buzzing with excitement as students dive into new learning experiences, and our hallways are filled with smiles and laughter, a testament to the warm and welcoming environment we strive to create together.

I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our incredible teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth start. Their commitment to nurturing each child's potential and fostering a love of learning is evident in everything they do. I also want to thank our parents and guardians for your support and partnership—it makes all the difference in creating a positive and productive school community.

As we move forward, I am confident that this year will be full of growth, discovery, and achievement for every student. Let's continue to work together to make this school year one of the best yet.

Thank you for being a part of our Cold Spring family. Here's to a fantastic year ahead!

CURRICULUM UPDATES:

• Literacy: Amplify CKLA & ELC This school year, we will use CKLA Amplify to implement the Science of Reading for the English Language Arts instructional curriculum. Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is a language arts program for Grades PreK–5 that combines a multi-sensory approach to phonics with rich texts carefully sequenced to build content knowledge—so that students learn to read and read to learn at the same time. Every day in K–2, students complete one full lesson that builds foundational reading skills and one full lesson that builds background knowledge. In Grades 3–5, students start to master the skills of reading, further opening up their worlds.
• Enriched Literacy Students who were in the Enriched Literacy Curriculum in fourth grade last year will continue to receive the Enriched Literacy curriculum in fifth grade. With one more year at Cold Spring, we want to make sure to provide this cohort of students with consistency.

• Math: Eureka: Focus With a great focus on fewer topics centered on the major work of the grade band, students develop an understanding of the why, not just the how behind the math. Rigor Eureka Math exhibits unparalleled rigor throughout the grades. Students develop conceptual understanding and practice procedural skills and fluency. They also have opportunities to connect their learning with real-life application problems. Coherence Topics, concepts, and mathematical models are linked across Eureka Math modules and grade levels to help students build an enduring understanding of math.

RULES OF THE ROAD:

Please drive slowly in our driveway. We have many families coming and going and we want to make sure we provide the safest environment possible. Click below to review Cold Spring's Rules of the Road regarding car rider drop off. Your support is very much appreciated.

Rules of the Road

FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE MEALS:

Students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on household size and income. They may also qualify if they are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), or Medicaid benefits. Families may apply for meal benefits by completing an Application for Free and Reduced-price Meals for the current school year. DFNS encourages all families with students enrolled at non-CEP schools to complete a Free and Reduced-price Meals Application. All meals are free for students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals.

MY SCHOOL BUCKS:

Funds can continue to be added to student meal accounts at no charge by bringing cash or checks directly to school cafeteria managers. Prepayments on student meal accounts can be made through www.MySchoolBucks.com; note the increase from $1.95 to $2.49 per transaction for the 2024- 2025 school year. • Breakfast: Regular price: $1.30 (All levels) • Lunch: Regular price: $2.55 (Elementary), $2.80 (Middle and High).

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING:

Checkout the MCPS requirements here: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/student-leadership/volunteer/

MAP Assessments:

Students in K-5 will participate in MAP Growth testing in September. MAP Growth places students precisely into the programs that will maximize their growth. MAP drives instruction with strategic, data-driven decisions to help students access grade-level content and accurately measure growth over time with the grade-level independent RIT scale. Finally, it evaluates efficacy with detailed reports ranging from the student to the district level and Predicts performance on upcoming state tests like MCAP. Students in grades K-2 will complete the MAP-Primary Math assessment. Students in grades 3-5 will complete both MAPM (Math) and MAPR (Reading).

DIBELS Assessments:

Students in K-2 will participate in DIBELS. DIBELS ® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of literacy skills. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures that can be used to regularly detect risk and monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills. The measures are consistent with many of the Common Core State Standards in Reading, especially those for Foundational Skills. When implemented as recommended, DIBELS results can be used to evaluate individual student development as well as provide grade-level feedback toward validated instructional objectives.

Ms. Clark is our School Testing Coordinator and will be sharing details and dates of the assessments soon. Classroom teachers will also publish these in their weekly newsletter. Please email them with any questions.

We want to make you aware that we will be conducting safety drills throughout the school year. On Friday, we conducted our first Shelter and Lockdown drills. We also already held our first Fire Drill. Safety drills are part of the safety measures that all MCPS schools conduct as part of our Emergency Response Preparedness Plans practice for students and staff. Detailed information about emergency procedures can be found at https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/emergency/preparedness/.

Please be reassured that the administration and teachers will provide guidance to students prior to, during, and after the drills to avoid any unnecessary anxiety or alarm. Our goal every day is to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all students and staff at Cold Spring. We will continue to keep you updated on future drills as they occur.

Join The PTA!

Please support the school by joining the PTA! We need everyone to become members so we can continue to host fun events like the talent show, back to school and end of year parties, bingo night, outdoor movie night, science fair, and international night.

Join now here: https://coldspringes-pta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Back to School Bash, Thursday, 9/12

Join us on the Cold Spring blacktop and playground as we celebrate the start of an amazing school year. We will have games, inflatables, a photo booth, face painting, a balloon artist and free cotton candy. Potomac Pizza and Ice Cream Truck treats will be available for purchase (cash or paypal).

Back to School Bash

Before/After School Activities

We have many new and exciting opportunities for before and after school activities this fall!

Sign up here: https://schools.kiddo.us/s/coldspring-md

PTA Restaurant Night, Wednesday 9/25
Mark your calendar for our first restaurant fundraiser of the year! Come on out to Quincy's Bar and Grille from 5-8 PM and Baskin-Robbins from 4-9 PM at Potomac Woods Plaza. Enjoy dinner and dessert!

New Year, New Spirit Wear Designs!

Cold Spring Spirit Wear Now Available for Purchase. Check out the new items and place your orders soon.

https://scarletandgoldshop.com/collections/cold-spring-elementary

Get Involved with the PTA

We would love to have you support our PTA and Cold Spring Community. Complete our Volunteer form to see all the ways that you can support our school community and let us know how you want to help.

https://forms.gle/Tw7cvtX6dDzoWhYR9

CONTEST ALERT! We are running a PTA membership contest, and the class with the highest percentage of PTA memberships will win a class pizza party! One winning class in grades K-3rd and one winning class in grades 4-5.

Please contact Principal Hambrecht or Assistant School Administrator Clark with any questions!

Email: Natalie_M_Hambrecht@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/coldspringes/
Location: 9201 Falls Chapel Way, Potomac, MD, USA
Phone: 240-740-4390