THE CLARKSBURG CHEETAH
Week of
December 7, 2015
THIS WEEK:
Mon., Dec. 7
Safety Patrol Meeting with Officer Johnson, 12:45-1:15 p.m.
School and Community Safety Presentation, 2:15 p.m. & 3:10 p.m.
Google Expedition for Students in Grades 2-5, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Tue., Dec. 8
Winter Concert for Grade K-5 Students at Clarksburg ES, 2:00 p.m.
Winter Concert at Clarksburg High School, 7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 10
Restaurant/Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A, 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 11
Reading Assembly for Grades K-5, 10:00 a.m.
A LOOK AHEAD:
Thur., Dec. 24 through
Fri. Jan. 1, 2016
Winter Break - No School for Students and Teachers
Dear Clarksburg Elementary School Parents/Guardians,
We have many events and activities scheduled during the remaining two and a half weeks of school before
Winter Break. I love being part of such a vibrant learning environment. Please see the rest of this packed
newsletter for important information about, but not limited to, the Hour of Code, the winter concerts, flu
vaccines, the tax deductible check drive, and Restaurant/Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A.
Please contact the office if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Carl Bencal
Principal
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Golden PEM (Persistence, Effort and Motivation) Awards
This year, part of our School Improvement Plan focus is on helping students to increase their levels of
persistence, effort, and motivation in relation to their learning. To highlight students’ achievement in this area,
each week, two students from every class will be awarded The Golden PEM Award. Teachers will choose the
Golden PEM Award winners based on the students’ consistent performance throughout the week related to their
persistence, effort, and motivation in the classroom setting. Recipients of the award will take home a Golden
PEM Certificate as well as have their names listed in the Principal’s Weekly Parent Bulletin.
Teacher
Student
Student
Hammack
Alisha
Logan
Hillmuth
Aanika
Alex
St. Clair
Mya
Ben
Hoilman
Victoria
Garrett
Carpio
Natalie
Kelly
Chung
Vivian
Sophie
Gamble
Justin
Zaarah
Ennis
Patrick
Braylon
Walsh
Eleanor
Alyssa
Howard
Anthony
Christa
Moyer
Abraham
Vrinda
Dryman
Kayla
Kevin
Ouska
Ryan
Magy
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Hour of Code During Computer Science Education Week
Clarksburg Elementary School will be participating in one of the largest worldwide learning events in history:
the Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week. The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to
computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. It is a global
movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Teachers will schedule about one hour
during the week of December 7-13 for students to learn how to create games using coding and programming.
Students will learn that computer science is fun and anyone can learn to acquire these skills which can lead to
career paths in a critical shortage area. For more information, please visit https://hourofcode.com/us
Winter Concert
The Clarksburg Elementary School Winter Concert will be held on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 7:00 PM at
Clarksburg High School. Students in Chorus, Advanced Strings, and Advanced Band will be performing. We
will also be performing the concert for the students at Clarksburg Elementary School that same day at 2:00
PM. If you are unable to attend the evening performance, please make sure you attend the daytime
concert. Your children must attend both concerts. Please mark your calendars.
The required dress for all 4th/5th grade chorus and instrumental students is white shirts/blouses and black/dark
navy pants or skirts. Please make sure your children come to school on Tuesday, December 8 dressed
appropriately to perform and with their instruments and music.
2015 School-Based Flu Vaccine Clinics
A FluMist vaccine clinic will be held at Clarksburg ES on Monday, December 14 during school hours. Please
call the health room at 301-353-8060 or email [email protected] if you are interested in having
your child receive the Flu Mist nasal spray. A consent form and information about the mist will be sent home in
your child’s backpack after a parent/guardian contacts the health room staff.
Parents/Guardians do not need to be present for the mist administration. All consent forms MUST be returned
to the health room by Friday, December 11. If you have any questions please call the health room staff at 301353-8060.
The Book Fair - A Huge Success
Thank you to all of the students, families and staff who supported our book fair. It was the most successful
we’ve had! The turnout for Muffins for Moms and Grandmoms was phenomenal, which led to a challenging
arrival on Tuesday morning. Thanks for your understanding!
All book fair profits will be put right back into the library. We were able to purchase about $600 worth of
books directly from the book fair. Mrs. Taylor will be placing an order for additional books from Scholastic
and will use the remaining profits to purchase books from other sources to support free choice reading and
curriculum projects.
Our next book fair, in conjunction with Donuts for Dads and Granddads, will be in April. We look forward to
another successful event!
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Career Readiness Night Coming December 14
Did you know that businesses today have many high-paying jobs that they can’t fill? Students in Grades 7–10
and their families are invited to attend Career Readiness Night on December 14, 7–9 p.m., at Gaithersburg High
School to find out what these jobs are and how MCPS course pathways can prepare students for success in these
exciting careers. You’ll hear from teachers, students, and representatives from businesses and higher education
about opportunities in fields that include biosciences, media, business, construction, engineering, hospitality,
education, information technology, law, and transportation. Free childcare (ages 4 and older) and foreign
language interpretation will be provided.
Impact Aid Parent Survey
Impact Aid programs and grants are designed to assist local school districts that enroll federally connected
students. The grants from these programs become part of the MCPS general operating budget and support
instructional activities. To qualify for Impact Aid funding, MCPS must determine how many of its
parents/guardians are in active duty with the uniformed services, employed on federal property, reside in federal
or public housing, and/or are a foreign government military officer. MCPS uses the Federal Impact Aid Survey
that is distributed to all families to collect this information. For each school-aged child in your household,
please complete and return the survey by December 18. The survey is available on the MCPS website at
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, search “impact aid survey.” If you have any questions, contact the MCPS
Division of the Controller at 301-279-3039.
Helping Children Cope with Terrorism: Tips for Families and Educators
MCPS has posted a tip sheet from the National Association of School Psychologists that will help guide you in
your conversations about terrorism with children. The tip sheet, Helping Children Cope with Terrorism, is
available on the parent page of the MCPS website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/parents/.
American Legion Auxiliary Essay Contest
Once again, Damascus and Clarksburg school students are being invited to participate in the American Legion’s
Annual Americanism Essay Contest. This year’s topic, chosen by the national organization, is “How Do We
Keep Lincoln’s Promise to Our Veterans and Their Families?” The contest runs from November 1, 2015 to
February 1, 2016. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Ms. MaryBeth
Talamo at 301-253-4457 or 301-919-8140 or via email [email protected] .
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PTA News
Hello Cheetah families here are the upcoming events/happenings:
 Harris Teeter Together in Education – For those parents who shop at the Harris Teeter Store in our
neighborhood, please link your VIC card to our school. Our school’s code is 2540. The easiest way to
support your school is to ask the checkout clerk to link your VIC card to our school. You can find out
more information and also link your card to the school yourself online following this link:
http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together_in_education/link_to_your_school.aspx
 2015 Tax Deductible Check Drive – It is that time of the year again! Please look in your child’s back
pack on Monday for the flyer with details on our 2015 Check Drive for tax deductible donations. A
portion of the proceeds from this drive will go towards the purchase of much needed grade level
guided reading books at our school. The PTA will provide a letter/receipt for your tax deduction
purposes. A copy of the flyer is attached to this newsletter.
 CES PTA Restaurant Spirit Night – December 10th (Tuesday) 5pm to 8pm at Germantown Chick-filA. When you go to the restaurant, please let them know that you support Clarksburg Elementary
School. This year the offer is good even via the drive through. All the details can be found in the flyer
attached to this newsletter. We are looking forward to seeing all of you with your families at the
restaurant.
Have a Happy Weekend!
Clarksburg Elementary School PTA
Tax Deductible Check Drive – 2015
Need a Tax Deductible item before the end of the year? No better way than to help the PTA fund programs and
activities for our students. It will only take a moment of your time. A portion of your donations will go towards
the purchase of leveled fiction and nonfiction guided reading books for all grade levels. Consider what you can
give, no amount is too little, and all you need to do is send a check!!!! THAT’S IT!!!!! Please make checks
payable to: Clarksburg Elementary School PTA. You can place your check in an envelope marked “Tax
Deductible Fundraiser” and send it to the office. Please donate what you can, so we can keep all the programs
and activities that we have. Thank you in advance for all you do to support the students and remember your
donation is tax deductible - Please remember to fill in the student’s name and grade to ensure prompt delivery
of a receipt for your tax purposes.
Student Name: _________________________________________ Grade: _______________________
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CLARKSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015
5PM UNTIL 8PM
Need a night away from the stove? Tired of shopping?
Why not come out and have dinner at Chick-fil-A Germantown?
On Thursday, December 10th, from 5pm until 8pm
Join other members of the community for a Fundraising Night to benefit the
Clarksburg Elementary School PTA.
Grab the entire family and GO! Let us do the work, while a portion of your meal cost goes
right back to YOUR CLARKSBURG PTA. Just let our friendly Team Member at the register
know that you are participating in the CLARKSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SPIRIT
NIGHT. Once you have your meals, stop by the SPIRIT NIGHT BOX and have your student
enter the contest. Each student may enter the contest ONCE, just by writing his or her
name on the entry form long with the name of the classroom teacher. Each member of the
Class with the highest attendance will receive a coupon from Chick-fil-A Germantown for a
FREE Kid’s Meal! The winning classroom teacher will also win a prize too!
This offer is good both INSIDE the Restaurant and the DRIVE THRU! Should you order
via the drive thru, please have a small slip of paper completed with the name of your
student and their classroom teacher. If you have more than one student at the school,
please feel free to list them all on the one slip of paper. This information MUST be ready
prior to your reaching the payment window of the Chick-fil-A Drive Thru. Please DO NOT
forget to inform our Team Member in the drive thru lane that you are a Spirit Night
participant.
Thank you, we look forward to seeing you at the SPIRIT NIGHT!
Clarksburg Elementary School
Student Name:_____________________________ Grade_______ Teacher:______________________________
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YOUTH BASKETBALL CLINIC
“FREE CLINIC”
2nd Grade - 8th grade
Boys and Girls!!
@ CLARKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL
Date: December 12, 2015
Time: 9:00 am-10:00 am
Place: Main Gym - Clarksburg High School
Cost: Free
Please bring a canned food item to donate to those in
need!
Improve your Basketball Skills…
Play competitive games…
Have some fun!!!
Sponsored by the Lady Coyotes Basketball Program!
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MCPS Radon Testing and Mitigation Program Update
There have been recent news reports about elevated levels of radon in certain classrooms in Montgomery
County Public Schools (MCPS). This is to inform you that the MCPS Indoor Air Quality unit indicates that all
classrooms and offices in our building are below the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA)
recommended action limit of 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L). No action is needed at this time for our
school.
As background, radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown (decay) of
uranium which is found in soil and rock all over the United States. The EPA recommends that the radon levels
above 4.0 pCi/L should be retested prior to any mitigation efforts.
Below are some facts about radon testing and whether slightly elevated levels of radon poses a safety hazard. I
have also attached the Radon Testing and Mitigation Program Update from the MCPS Indoor Air Quality unit
that provides an overview of the radon testing and mitigation program in MCPS. While there are no concerns
of elevated levels of radon in our school, I wanted to make you aware of this information.
History of Radon Testing, Mitigation, and Prevention in MCPS Schools
Since the late 1980s, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has tested for radon in our schools. An
intensive period of systemwide testing and remediation was accomplished in the late 1980s through the mid
1990s to ensure that all schools complied with United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance
for radon. Since that era, radon prevention measures such as sub-slab vapor barriers, proper sealing, and subslab vents have been incorporated into all new construction.
Since 2010, the MCPS Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) unit has been conducting a review of the school system’s
radon test results. Retesting is underway at those schools with slightly higher levels than the EPA recommended
limit of 4.0 pCi/L to ensure that all schools have been tested for radon levels and appropriate measures are taken
to reduce the radon levels.
General Information on Radon and Testing for Radon
As a basic introduction, radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown
(decay) of uranium which is found in soil and rock all over the United States, including the State of Maryland
and Montgomery County. Since radon is an invisible, odorless gas, the only way to determine radon levels is
through testing.
Even though radon exposure levels and testing is not required, MCPS follows the EPA recommended guidelines
for testing and mitigation outlined in EPA Publication EPA 402-R-92-14: Radon Measurement in Schools
(Revised Edition) http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/201408/documents/radon_measurement_in_schools.pdf.
In the event that radon is detected above 4.0 pCi/L, longer-term (30 day-period) testing is recommended to
confirm levels. If long-term testing confirms levels above 4.0 pCi/L, steps will be taken to remediate the
affected area(s). Using methods suggested by the EPA, remediation typically involves the installation of venting
systems that vent radon gas from the ground beneath the building to the outside air. In accordance with EPA
guidance, schools with levels above 10 pCi/L have higher priority for retesting and remediation. If test results
show radon levels near 100 pCi/L or greater, the EPA recommends relocation of that classroom until the radon
levels can be reduced. None of the MCPS classrooms is at a level that requires relocation. MCPS also
coordinates post remediation radon testing to ensure the effectiveness of the radon mitigation system.
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Because a child’s exposure in a particular classroom represents a small part of their exposure over the whole
year, continued use of the classroom during a period of retesting is not a health problem unless radon levels are
extremely high. It is important to put into perspective that people, particularly children, spend more of their time
at home. In fact, children spend approximately 12 percent of their time in school over a full year, compared with
more than 75 percent of their time spent in the home environment. Since people, especially children, spend most
of their time at home, the U.S. Surgeon General recommends that all homes should be tested for radon. This is
especially relevant in our county as Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
reported that about 35 percent of the homes tested in 2002 had radon levels above 4.0 pCi/L
Facts about radon and best practice testing for radon:
*The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for radon testing are focused on longterm radon exposure above 4 pCi/L. This is not meant to be a short-term threshold for safety. EPA does not
recommend that schools use a single short-term test as the basis for determining whether or not action needs to
be taken to reduce radon levels.
*In considering what radon exposure level presents a short-term safety hazard, EPA states that if radon levels
approach 100 pCi/L or greater, school officials should call their State Radon Contact and consider relocating
students until the levels can be reduced.
*A short-term radon test is typically a 3 to 5 day test period and a long-term test is a 30 to 90 day test period.
The test results are substantially influenced by the unoccupied periods when the ventilation systems are not
operating. Short- and long-term radon test results are an average of the radon level over the duration of the test,
including both unoccupied and occupied periods.
*MCPS classrooms all have ventilation systems that bring in a substantial amount of outside air, typically 450
cubic feet of air per minute per classroom. This means that the typical classroom has air changes with outdoor
air every 20 minutes or so.
*The ventilation systems operate whenever the classrooms are scheduled for occupancy.
*When the ventilation systems are operating, the radon levels are significantly lower than during unoccupied
periods when the ventilation systems are not operating
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