CMES Meerkat Message
September 1, 2024
Cecil Manor Elementary School
Principal: Dr. Catrina Long (cjlong@ccps.org)
Assistant Principal: Alison Benner (cabenner@ccps.org)
Dean of Students: Lindsey Steltz (lrsteltz@ccps.org)
Website: https://cmes.ccps.org/
Location: 971 Elk Mills Road, Elkton, MD, USA
Phone: (410) 996 - 5090
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cecilmanorelementary/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/793483676/cecil-manor-elementary/
Translation
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From Administration
Hello Cecil Manor Families!
It was great to see so many of our families for our Back to School Night. We are excited and
ready to start the school year. The first day of school is Tuesday, September 3, 2024. School
doors will open at 8:45 AM. Dismissal will begin at 3:30 PM on Tuesday. Please keep in mind
that Wednesdays are 1:45 PM dismissals, which will begin on Wednesday, September 4th.
Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee: New Year, New Topics! Please join us for our first SECAC meeting of the year. September 26, 2024, from 6:00-7:30 pm at the Administrative Services Building 900 North East Road. We want to hear from you!
Volunteers
Math Resources for Families
We are often asked about resources to support students at home. Please see below for information from our math curriculum that will assist families with supporting their child at home in math.
Sites are different for each grade level. Below are those links:
Reading Resources
Judy Center
The Cecil County Judy Center Partnership promotes school readiness and success through collaborative community partnerships to offer a full range of services for children birth to age 5 and their families. We are lucky to have the Judy Center working with Cecil Manor.
Parent Handbook
Please refer to this parent handbook which includes the pertinent information. One new policy that has been added is our dismissal procedure. Early Dismissals will end at 3:00 PM. All communication concerning changing transportation should be communicated by this time as well. We want to decrease the amount of adults in the office during dismissal for safety reasons. We want to ensure the safety of every student and account for when and where they are at times, especially during the end of the day. As always, if you have any questions, please contact administration.
Family Directory
According to county policy, we can't distribute party invitations in school but we can collect the contact information from those families that wish to share it. If you would like your contact information added to a family directory, please complete this form. Your information will only be shared with the families in your child's class. Additionally, if you choose not to share your information for the directory, we will not be able to share the class directory with you.
Title I Information
We continue to be a proud Title I School! This occurs because of our high percentage of
students who receive Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs). We receive Title I funds based on the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced priced meals and this money is spent to support all of the students in our building. Using these funds, we determine programs and resources for all students to help them meet the state’s standards which may include programs, activities, summer school, and other academic interventions necessary to provide a well-rounded education. Through the Title I grant we are able to continue staffing additional positions to support learning in the classroom. In addition, educational materials will continue to be purchased throughout the year with Title 1 funds to ensure our students have the most up to date materials needed to thrive and be successful. Here's what our Title I funding is supporting this upcoming year:
- Dean of Students: Lindsey Steltz - supports with creating and maintaining a safe and positive learning environment
- Title I Resource Teacher (TRT): Vanessa Thomas - provides additional support to students instructionally, organize programs for parent/family engagement and support teachers through coaching and professional development
- Staff Professional Development
- One Book, One School
- PBIS
- Assemblies
- Smartboards
Car Loop
If your child is a car rider for the 2024/2025 school year, please click this to complete the car rider loop form. Expectations for the car rider loop are outlined below. We are asking for all families to abide by these expectations in order to maintain safety for our students.
Morning
• Students will be able to enter the building, through the side doors, at 8:45 AM. Cecil Manor staff members will be present along the sidewalk and assure students enter the building safely. Please do not let students out of the car before 8:45am, and until you see a staff member at the car loop doors.
• Parents are expected to remain in a single file line. Please DO NOT pass each other to leave the lot. One moment of patience could save an unnecessary injury.
• Students arriving at school after 9:00 AM must be accompanied to the office by an adult and signed in.
• For safety reasons, please have students exit your cars on the passenger side of the car.
Dismissal
• Car riders will be called for dismissal first (3:30 PM on M, T, Th, F) An announcement will be made for all car riders to report to the Car Rider room.
• Students are expected to remain in the designated area until the staff members in charge tell them to go to their car. As soon as your child (ren) are in the car, please continue on so we can keep the car loop moving.
• Parents are expected to remain in a single file line. Please DO NOT pass each other to leave the lot. One moment of patience could save an unnecessary injury.
• Students should enter the car from the sidewalk to avoid the possibility of students walking around the car. Parents of older students should remain in their vehicle and begin moving after their child has fastened his or her seatbelt. Please be patient with parents of younger students who may need to exit their vehicle in order to secure their children into car seats before moving.
• Please make your child’s tag (which you will receive) visible for staff members to read.
• If you need to park, please enter the building and sign your child(ren) out in the main office.
Free & Reduced Meals Application
The Cecil County Public Schools Food & Nutrition Department encourages all families to fill out a free and reduced meal benefit application for the 2023-2024 school year. If you qualified for Free or Reduced priced meals last school year, you have to reapply for the upcoming school year. The link to the online meal benefits application is live. See link below: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application
*The Spanish version of the FARMs application is also available. You can select the language at the very top (above the My School Apps title on the right)
Reason for filling out a Free and Reduced Meal Benefit Application: Meal benefit applications are confidential. The information collected from the application is used solely for the purpose of identifying one’s eligibility for meal benefits. Everything is kept confidential and is not shared with anyone. Data collected from the applications is compiled to determine eligibility rates which helps to determine Title 1 funding for schools. Cecil Manor is a Title I school. Title 1 funding helps to provide programs for schools to enhance educational services for all students. We have two Title I teachers that support our school and also we are able to purchase books for all students with our One Book, One School initiative through Title I funds. In addition, each classroom in CMES has a chromebook cart or station in which technology can be integrated into instruction to enhance students' learning experience.
If you have any questions about meal benefits or the school lunch program please contact the Food & Nutrition Department at (410) 996-6257.
Dates to Remember
September 2: No School
September 3: FIRST day of School (ALL Students)
September 16: Volunteer Orientation 2:00 PM
September 17: Volunteer Orientation 9:30 AM - Virtual
September 19: First PTO Meeting 6 PM
September 20: Volunteer Orientation 9:30 AM
September 26: Open House 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm