CONOWINGO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
471 Rowlandsville Road
Conowingo, MD 21918
410-996-6040
410-658-6673
410-996-6059 (Fax)
website: www.ccps.org/cono
Thomas A. Marinelli
Principal
Karen Adair
Assistant Principal
Everyone is receiving a paper copy of this newsletter.
Email distribution lists will soon be completed.
October is National Bully/Harassment Prevention Month!
Oct 3 – Grade 5 to Rising Sun for Civil War Re-Enactment
Dec 10 – Winter Concert 6:00-7:00pm
Oct 10 – Grade 3 field trip to North Bay
Dec 12 – Grade 1 to Dutch Apple Theater
Oct 13 – PTO Meeting, 4:00pm in Media Center
Dec 12 – PTO Holiday Sing-A-Long, times TBD
Oct 15 – Visit from Water Witch Fire Company, 10:30am
Dec 22 through Jan 2 – Schools Closed for Winter Holiday
Oct 15 – School picture make up day
CLOSED
Oct 17 – Schools CLOSED for students & 10 month employees
Jan 9 – Inclement weather make-up day – if not used, schools
Oct 21 – Grade 5D & 5M to Fair Hill Nature Center
CLOSED for students and 10 month employees
Oct 22 – Unity Day! Wear orange
Jan 19 – Schools CLOSED for MLK, Jr.’s Birthday
Oct 22 – PTO Trick-or-Treat Night @ school - more info to come
Jan 23 – End of 2nd MP
Oct 24 – 5Ray to Fair Hill Nature Center
Jan 23 – PTO PJ Reading Party
Oct 28 – End of 1st Marking Period (MP)
Jan 26 – Professional Day, schools CLOSED for students
Oct 29 – 2nd MP Begins
Jan 27 – 3rd MP Begins
Oct 31 – Kindergarten to Whoa Nellie Farm in Rising Sun
Feb 2 – 2nd MP report cards issued
Feb 23 – 3rd MP Interim Period begins
Nov 3 – Professional Day, School CLOSED for students
Feb 25 – Grade 3 to Herr’s Snack Factory
Nov 4 – General Election Day, Schools CLOSED for students
Mar 2 – 3rd MP Interims issued
& 10 month employees
Nov 6 – Report Cards Issued
Mar 30 & 31 – Grade 4 to Fair Hill Nature Center
Nov 10 – PTO Meeting, 4:00pm in Media Center
Apr 1 – Spring Picture Day
Nov 17 – Turkey Day! Sign-ups coming home soon 
Apr 2 – Schools CLOSED for students & 10 month staff, if not
Nov 25 – 2nd MP Interim Period ends
used for inclement weather.
Nov 26 – Schools CLOSED for students & 10 month employees
Apr 3 & 6 – Schools CLOSED for Spring Holiday
Nov 27 & Nov 28 – Schools CLOSED
Apr 10 – Grade 2 to Hagley Museum, Wilmington, DE
Dec 8 – 2nd MP interims issued
CCPS/Conowingo Calendar Information
CCPS has a new “live” calendar for all school news, events and
closures in the county. This “live” calendar is up-to-date and contains
all Conowingo Elementary events as well as school closures and other
events in all CCPS schools. Here’s how to access this new calendar:
 Go to www.ccps.org
 Click on “school calendar”
 A Google calendar comes up reflecting all CCPS news &
events currently posted for the school year.
Check it out!
NURSE NOTES
Please remember
 Have students wash hands frequently!
Especially after using the restroom.
 Ensure they cough into elbows, not hands.
 Do not send your child to school if s/he
has a fever. They may return after 24
hours of being fever free without the use
of medication.
 If your child is vomiting or has diarrhea,
please keep them home.
This year our school will continue to
showcase our students' artwork on
Artsonia, the online student art
museum! Photographs of your
student's artwork can be uploaded to
the museum where you can share it
with your family and friends. You can
purchase beautiful gifts in the online
gift shop with your student's artwork
printed on it, and 20% of the
Flu Mist!
proceeds will return to our school to
The flu mist will be administered on
support the art program. Permission
Oct 23rd to students with permission
packets on file with Nurse Linda. These
will be sent home soon.
If you have any questions, please contact
Nurse Linda at [email protected] or
410.658.6673 or 410.996.6040
slips will be sent home soon to those
families that have not already given
permission for their student's
artwork to be put online.
~ School Hours~
~ School hours for students in K-5~
9:00am—3:40pm, M,T,Th,F
9:00am—2:00pm, W
~School hours for AM PreK~
ABSENCES
Remember! If your child is out sick or has a
doctor or dental appointment, please send in
a physician or parent note. This will ensure
your child’s absence is marked “excused”.
Also, if you are planning to take your child out
of school for a family vacation, please send in a
letter or email informing us of the dates your
child will miss school. The principal can approve
up to 5 days and the teacher can prepare missed
work. Thank you!
9:00am—11:50am, M,T,Th,F
9:00am—11:00am, W
~School hours for PM PreK~
12:50pm—3:40pm, M,T,Th,F
12:00pm—2:00pm, W
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The school office is open from 8:00am—4:30pm.
Mrs. Jennifer Drennen, Lead Secretary, [email protected]
Mrs. Edith Lidy, 10 Month Secretary, [email protected]
Mrs. Beverly Peschek, Office Asst [email protected]
Cafeteria Personnel are here from
8:00am to 1:45pm
Families First
For the 2014/2015 school year, Mrs. Dawn Reed, School Counselor will be conducting a 30-minute
parenting workshop at 8:15 am on the first Tuesdays of every month beginning October 7, 2014.
1st Tuesday of Month
All Pro Dad is Family First’s innovative and unique program for every father. We strive to help fathers
become passionate about their role in their family’s life. We strive daily to provide them every resource
needed to rightly train up their children and give them a hopeful future. Our aim is to interlock the hearts of
the fathers with their children and as a byproduct the hearts of the children with their dads.
All Pro Dad 10/7, 12/2, 2/3, 4/7
1st Tuesday of the following Month
iMOM is an innovative, interactive resource for mothers of all ages who seek to build lasting, meaningful
relationships with their children. iMOM’s mission is to support and inspire mothers as they raise their
children to be wise, healthy, purpose-minded, and relationally-focused individuals. The program provides
a unique, multimedia approach, which includes:
I Mom 11/11, 1/6, 3/3, 5/5
Other Dates to Remember:
October 24-30 Red Ribbon Week
November 19, 2014 2:00pm Parent Personal Safety Meeting.
October 24 “Paws-ing to Appreciate Pets with Pennies”
Red Ribbon Day Donations will be collected all of Red
Ribbon Week for the Cecil County SPCA.
October 27 “Anything Is Paws-ible When You Are Drug Free”
Students will wear mismatched socks.
October 28 “Paws-itively Drug Free”
Students will be designing posters with a PAWS theme.
These will be judged by grade and prizes awarded.
October 29 “Cubs Show Good Character By Being Drug Free”
Wear Cub shirts or Conowingo colors of blue and white.
October 30 “No Bones About It - I Am Drug Free”
Students will be creating Bone Shaped Book Marks
October 31 “The Paws-ibilities Are Endless When You Are Drug Free”
Students will wear mismatched clothing.
Each class will be tallying student and adult participation in all activities. There
will be a prize awarded to the class with the highest number of participants for
the daily activity.
Besides monetary donations we also can use a variety of items that can help the shelter and staff be the best
they can be! See if you can help with any of the following.
Blankets, Towels & Beds
Leashes & Collars Toys
Liquid Laundry Detergent
Bleach
Dawn Dish Detergent
Animal Food & Treats
Animal Carriers & Cages
Updates from our Principal, Mr. Marinelli

CCPS guidelines specify that if you, as the legal parent or guardian, would like someone other than
yourself to pick up your child from school on any given day, you must notify the school ahead of time by
phone, note or email. Even if that individual is listed on your child’s emergency data card, you still
must contact the office first. Folks listed on the emergency data card are only called by school
personnel if we have been unable to reach the parent or legal guardian and your child is sick, missed
their bus, or for some other reason, needs to be picked up from school immediately.

Photo ID is required when picking students up, including parents and legal guardians. Additionally, all
emergency data cards must be signed by the legal parent or guardian. They cannot be signed by stepparents, boyfriends, girlfriends, grandparents, etc. We are sorry for any inconvenience these guidelines
may cause but CCPS’s first priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of all students.

There are many different family dynamics, including custody situations that can change. If applicable,
please be sure the school office has up-to-date court custody orders on your child. Otherwise, both
parents listed on the child’s birth certificate will be granted equal access to the child.

Mrs. Drennen is continuing to work on the email sign-up list for parents and guardians who would like to
receive newsletters and other notifications via email. Until that process is complete, everyone will
continue to receive paper notifications of news and events. If you need another sign-up sheet, please
contact Mrs. Drennen at 410.996.6040 or [email protected].

Mrs. Peschek continues to update the Family Share List. Since we can’t hand out invitations and other
personal information The Family Share List enables us to share your contact information for birthday
parties, play dates and so forth. If you need another copy of the sign-up sheet, please contact Mrs.
Peschek at 410.996.6040 or [email protected].
A Message To Parents & Guardians About Our New Pupil Personnel Worker
Our new Pupil Personnel Worker (PPW) is Mr. Berkeley Orr. Mr. Orr is a former Principal
with CCPS and is very knowledgeable about CCPS policy as well as student and family needs.
PPW’s help to link the home, school and the community. Attendance, student
achievement and behavior, guardianship, custody and residency are some areas
that may involve the PPW.
We look forward to Mr. Orr working with our Conowingo Elementary School community!
CAFETERIA CHEER!
Conowingo shouts out a great big THANK YOU to Colora Orchards for providing fresh fruit
in our cafeteria! We celebrated Farm to School Lunch Table this past month and especially
enjoyed this season's Gala apples.
Now we're getting ready to "GET IN THE GAME" October 13-17 for National School Lunch Week. The
focus is encouraging kids to find a balance between healthy eating and physical activity.
Stop in and see us! Beneficial breakfast is $1.15 and nutritional lunch is $2.50. For your convenience,
payments can be made online at ccps.schoolcashonline.com, or you can send check/money into school and I
will take care of it.
Happy Fall, ALL! ~Jenn Greenleaf, Kitchen Manager, 410.996.6040, 410.658.6673, [email protected]
Physical Education News From Ms. Brown
Welcome back for another exciting year at Conowingo Elementary! I am looking forward to
working with all of the students and their families again this year! As the Physical Education
teacher, I will be implementing the Maryland Voluntary State Physical Education Curriculum—
(http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/physical_education/).
During Marking Period 1, the students will focus on these areas:
Grades K-2—Spatial awareness, personal space, locomotor skills, and non-locomotor skills.
Grades 3-5—Fitnessgram assessment, personal fitness goals, and cooperation.
It is also my commitment to promote eating healthy and physical activity into the students’ daily
lives and the culture of the school community!! I will be using Fuel Up to Play 60, Play 60, and
Action for Healthy Kids to supplement my Physical Education program. The events will take
place throughout the year, before school, during school, and after school. Fuel Up to Play 60
has a great website for students to log on and track their healthy eating and activity! The
Baltimore Ravens and Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association offer exciting incentives!! Sign-up today!!
On November 2, 2014 we will be having a Family Pre-celebration
for the Ravens vs. Steelers game from 12 to 3 p.m. ar
Rising Sun High School. There will be fun activities and healthy
snacks during the day! I hope to see you there!
Action for Healthy Kids’ 2013 report, The Learning Connection: What You Need to Know to
Ensure Your Kids Are Healthy and Ready to Learn, demonstrates that physical activity
supports academic achievement and well-nourished kids learn better. It also shows that
schools that offer students healthier food and more time to be active are seeing increasing
fitness levels, better student behavior and even higher test scores.
I am always looking for suggestions to make our school a healthier place…Let’s work
together!! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 410.996.6040.
Thank you, Michele Brown.
If you want a COOL place to discover HOT books,
come to the Conowingo Elementary School
BOOK FAIR! This year, the fair will be held from:
Monday, October 27th through Friday, October 31st.
Wednesday, Oct 29th is Family Night – open until 8pm.
See you at the BOOK FAIR!!
Business Partnerships & Community Contributors
Conowingo Elementary is very fortunate to have a business partnership with the Rock Springs Generation Facility & Old
Dominion Electric Cooperative. Melanie Johnson, Site Administrator, Brent Converse, Site Facility Manager and Ralph
Jones, Plant Manager have shown support to Conowingo Elementary School for many years. In fact, they support many
community businesses and organizations. In August, they donated $10,000 to purchase four books for each student to keep
this year! They also attended and purchased our Welcome Back Staff Breakfast; continue to purchase PBIS materials,
classroom materials and various publications such as Time For Kids and National Geographic for Kids. We extend a huge
thanks to them for their generosity and involvement in our school community.
~~~~~
Another school partner, Cecil Bank, located at the corner of Rt 1 and Rowlandsville Road, continues to support our school
events and students. They make supply donations to the school as well. Cecil Bank also displays student art work at their
branch for our community to see and enjoy.
~~~~~
The Conowingo Elementary PTO plays a huge part in contributing to our students and their families as well. This allvolunteer organization has raised funds and used PTO money to purchase more than 11 Smart Boards over the last several
years. We now have Smart Boards in every classroom as well as several special areas, such as Media & Music. PTO also
sponsors many events such as Trick-or-Treat Night, PJ Reading Party, Basket Bingo, Yankee Candle Fundraisers and so mu
ch more. Information/membership packets were sent home the first week of school. PTO also collects and turns in Box Tops
for us. Please send your Box Tops to the school for the PTO to process. PTO’s contact information is as follows:
President, Leslie Clark @ [email protected]
Don’t forget to “like”
Conowingo
Vice President, Stacy Odom @ [email protected]
Elementary PTO on
 Secretary, Charlotte Shaller @ [email protected]
Facebook!
 Treasurer, Toni Hom @ [email protected]
Communications Coordinator, Rebecca Price @ [email protected]



Please attend our PTO meetings on every second Monday of the month in the Media Center. We would also like to
express a huge “thank you” to PTO for making our Back-To-School Night extra special by supplying ice cream and
volunteering their time and energy to the evening’s festivities.
~~~~~
Two of our most active organizations are the American Legion Post #194 and another Business Partner: The Conowingo
Lions Club. These folks continually provide their time, effort and money to our students and staff. The Conowingo Lions
Club assists Nurse Linda each year with the free Vision & Hearing tests for our students. They have helped some qualifying
students obtain glasses as well. They also generously donate towards our classroom subscriptions, supplies, Smart Boards,
our PBIS program, the beautification of our school and more. The American Legion Post #194 in Rising Sun contributes
generously every year as well. They donate funds for Smart Boards, PBIS and classroom supply needs. They also donate
food, gifts and necessities for families in need. The Legion also continually donates flags and patriotic books for our students
to use in the classroom and in Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day and other ceremonies. They provide awards, both academic
and monetary to fifth-grade students who meet their specific criteria. We are very grateful to be able to rely on the support
from these two community organizations.
~~~~~
Another community business that continually supports Conowingo Elementary is Martin’s Grocery Store in Rising Sun.
Martin’s A+ School Rewards Program is a quick, easy way to earn money for Conowingo Elementary. All you have to do is
sign up for a BONUSCARD and designate the School ID Code of 00285. If you would like to participate, visit Martin’s in
Rising Sun to obtain an A+ form or go to www.MartinsAplus.com. Money earned from this program will be used towards PBIS
and marking period incentives as well as classroom needs for students.
~~~~~
Two local churches who have donated dozens of backpacks filled with supplies as well as meals for families in need are:
The Church of God of Prophecy of Rising Sun and The Mt. Zoar AME Church in Conowingo. Without their generosity,
community-spirit and kindness, we would not be able to show such amazing support for our students in need.