College Gardens Elementary School

Latest News

Sign up for the PTA this week at both Back-to-School Nights, Wed. 9/5 & Thr. 9/6

You can sign up for the PTA this week at either Back to School Nights.  Membership is only $15.00 per person and $10 for each additional adult.  Help support our school and join the PTA!

Bar-T will be providing childcare during both Back-to-School Night events.  The cost will be $5 per child.  Children must be fully potty-trained.  Child drop-off registration starts at 6:50 pm (10 minutes before the main session in the APR) so please plan accordingly.

PTA Vote to Approve Annual Budget

Your CGES PTA will have a short special session during both Back-to-School Nights in the APR, for PTA members to approve the annual budget.  For returning parents and staff, your membership from last year will not expire until 9/30/12.

Learn about the Instrumental Music Program for students in Grades 4 and 5 this Thursday, 9/6

I will be holding an informational meeting for new instrumental music parents prior to the start of Back To School Night—Thursday September 6.  We will meet in the media center from 6:30-7:00.  This will be an opportunity for me to tell you more specifics about the instrumental music program and answer any questions you may have. Attendance is encouraged, but not required for any parents new to instrumental music.

Jennifer Bryan 

Instrumental Music

College Gardens ES (Tuesday AM and Thursday)

Send in your back to school photos for the CGES Yearbook!

If you took pictures of your kids, neighbor kids, bus stops, or anything else that captured the start of the new school year spirit, please send them to the CGES yearbook.  The email address is cgesyearbook@gmail.com.  It makes it so much easier on your yearbook staff if everyone helps out by sending their pictures. 

How YOU can get involved in the PTA!

Welcome to CGES. We are really excited to start a new school year. There are several opportunities for you to get involved.

• Family Fun Night Chair - February 22nd
• Box Tops 
• Spring Picnic Chairman - June 6th
• Gift Card Coordinator (Magruders etc.)
• Read Around America Chair (work with Ms. Tobin)
• 5th Grade Moving On Committee
• Mad Science
• Science Fair Committee
• Community Dinner Committee
• NAACP Parent Council
• Field Day Rep 

If you would like more information about any of these opportunities or if you would like to volunteer, please contact Jen Green at hahleewude@verizon.net. If you are interested in serving as a Room Parent for the child's classroom, please contact your teacher individually. Remember, when we all volunteer, we ALL have more fun! Click here to complete the volunteer application.

PTA NewsFlash Subscriptions

As you know, CGES and the PTA use the weekly NewsFlash electronic newsletter to communicate important information to our families. Do you know an incoming family? Ask them to subscribe by sending an email to info@cgespta.org so we can help keep them informed.

Parents, for security reasons, please include your child's first initial and last name, along with the name of his or her CGES teacher, in your subscription request email.

Buy a Rockville Rewards Card and Support Our School

This year the PTA will be selling Rockville Rewards cards.

For just $25.00 you can purchase a Rockville Rewards card that is valid from September 1, 2012-August 31, 2013.

Use it for discounts, as many times as you want, at almost 100 Rockville locations.  See "Where to Use the Card."

Rockville Rewards cards will be available for purchase at both Back to School Nights this week, September 5th and 6th.  They will also be available for purchase at the Back to School Picnic on September 21st.

CGES Extracurricular Activities - Fall 2012

Click here to see the list of the new and ongoing PTA-sponsored before and after school activities for Fall 2012.

Would you like to place an ad in our 2012 - 2013 Student  Directory?

Would you, or do you know someone who, would like to place an ad in our school-wide directory? The costs range from $35.00 for a business card space, up to $125.00 for a full page ad.  For more information, please contact info@cgespta.org.

Building Services needs Tennis Balls

The Building Services Team is trying to collect enough tennis balls to cover every leg of every chair at CGES. Can you even imagine the number of tennis balls that is? While attempts with local country clubs have yielded some, we are asking for donations of tennis balls. You may drop off the tennis balls in the main office. Let's help Building Services protect our floors and keep CGES looking pristine!

Our Children (This week's feature article):

"Positive Parent-Teacher Communications Help Everyone" by Beth McCullough

One of the challenges every parent faces is how to talk to teachers and school administrators about a concern and come away with a positive resolution. By following a few basic communication rules, you can play a positive role in your child’s education experience.

• Establish a good relationship early in the school year. Getting to know your child’s teacher, other school staff, and administrators early on makes difficult conversations easier later. Today’s wide range of communication methods makes it easier than ever to keep open lines of communication between you and your child’s school. 

MCPS Parent Academy Fall Workshops

The MCPS Parent Academy offers parents and community members the opportunity to attend free workshops that provide information, resources, tools and tips to support their children's success in school. The fall season of workshops will begin on August 30. Among this year's topics: learning about Curriculum 2.0, motivating kids to read, keeping children safe on the Internet, and preventing illness.

A full list of courses will be available on the Parent Academy website.

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eScrip Program

Please register you Safeway Club Card by clicking on the link:  https://secure.escrip.com/jsp/supporter/registration/step1.jsp 

College Gardens number is 6490000 

Safeway cards must be re-registered EVERY year!

If you don't know your Safeway club card number you can call Safeway to retrieve it at 1-877-SAFEWAY

Right now, Safeway is running a 10% Goes Back to Schools program until September 11th. 

Look for the shelf tags and purchase participating products. Use your Card to purchase products to earn for your school of choice (eScrip members contribute automatically).  If you are not an escrip member, you can also give the bottom of your receipt (with the redemption code) directly to the PTA mailbox in the main office once school starts.

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Office Depot Promotion

Office Depot will donate 5% of your purchase to our school if you give them our school code.  The school code for College Gardens is 70047229. 

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The PTA NewsFlash is edited by Eric Van Ryzin Please send article submissions to Eric_J_Van_Ryzin@mcpsmd.org.  Deadline is COB Fridays