I want to thank everyone for their patience today as we experienced some difficulties with afternoon dismissal and Google Classroom. My Administrative Team and I met to discuss the issues and have made some changes for tomorrow. Originally, Talley Street was to have eleven buses. This was going to be an increase of four buses. The additional buses were the reason for the flip flopping of our transportation plan. As it turns out, the number of bus riders are much lower than expected. Therefore, we are going back to the arrival and dismissal plan from last year. The buses will line up on Talley Street. Car riders will still need to come up Talley Street from South Columbia but will make a right hand turn into the school parking lot. The car rider line will follow the same pattern as we have used this year for the material pickups and the beginning of the year parade. I am confident that this will be a big improvement over today. Once parents have dropped off their child, they will exit the parking lot and take a right onto Talley, then a left onto Sams Street, and will end up at E. College Ave. No left hand turns will be allowed into the parking lot regardless if you are entering or exiting the school parking lot.

The order of dismissal will be as follows. Bus riders will be dismissed first and will be followed by walkers and bike riders. Car riders will dismiss next with the Pod students dismissing last. For parents meeting the walkers, I need your help. Today, several parents did not have on masks and were not socially distanced. We are trying very hard to keep the school open safely. This will take the cooperation of everyone. It would be very helpful if parents could spread out along the sidewalk towards the parking lot entrance. Thank you so much for your help with this.

For issues with Google Classroom, the admin team met with the faculty and staff this afternoon to brainstorm ways to improve. The re-rostering of students has caused some confusion. Please know that the teachers are working hard to fix these areas.

Even with these issues, today was pretty special. I had forgotten how much I missed students being in the building. It makes me even more excited to get all students back as quickly as possible when it can be done safely. Thank you again for your support as we work out these kinks over the first few days of being back in the building and many students having new teachers. Please let me know if you have any questions. You are welcome to email me at bheaton@csdecatur.net or call my cell at 404-491-3801. Have a great night!

Billy

We will no longer be using our pre-order system starting on Monday 1/19/21. As K-5 students return to in-person instruction we will continue to offer meals FREE to all students until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Meal pick-ups for our virtual learners will continue for any student ONLY at our Decatur High School TakeOutSpot during the same 10:30 AM-12:30 PM time frame. Students in our CSD buildings will be offered daily take-home meals as they exit their school. These meal bags will contain both lunch for the current school day and breakfast for the following school day. We ask that all students remember to take meals, as it helps support our school nutrition program. If your child needs a vegetarian meal or has a special diet concern please complete the online survey on our website as soon as possible. We will ensure that these meals are available at the student’s designated school site for in-person students and at Decatur High for virtual students.

Please check out our CSD webpage (https://www.csdecatur.net/nutrition) and our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CSDschoolnutrition) as we continue to finalize our plans for January 19th and on.

As CSD rolls out its plans for spring semester, DEF will be working to continue to support families to ensure our students have what they need to learn and thrive. DEF established Virtual Pals Tutoring Program to provide extra help for CSD students in the 2nd through 8th grades during virtual learning. Participants are paired with a community volunteer tutor who provides basic homework help, tutoring and virtual learning support. We currently have 18 tutor pairs, but have more available spots. If your student would like to enroll in the program, please fill out this application. To see all of our Covid initiatives, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/Covid-19.

Our friends at NaanStop are hosting a pop-up right here in Decatur Thursday, January 14th and donating 20% back to DEF!!! Dine out on authentic Indian food and raise funds for DEF at the same time! Here are the details: Link to menu: https://bit.ly/NSorderDecatur - Pickup/drive-thru at Avery St/Bucher Dr. in Winnona Park neighborhood - Pickup instructions will be sent with confirmation - Pickup will be available between 5pm-5:45pm on Thursday 1-14 - Masks/distancing required at pick up - order in advance before 5pm on Wednesday, 1-13

Each month, the District Dispatch features shoutouts from parents and students to our excellent teachers and staff at one of our schools. This month we are featuring Westchester Elementary School teachers and staff.

If you would like to shoutout your child’s teacher or a staff member, send an email to Sarah Jones at sjones1@csdecatur.net. Also, at the end of the school year, nominate your child’s teacher for the Extra Mile award. Keep an eye out for more information on how your student can nominate a teacher or staff member as we get closer to the end of the school year. You can find the past shoutouts on this page https://www.csdecatur.net/shoutouts.

Run With The Dogs 5K race will take place virtually from January 23-31, 2021. The 5K is an annual fundraiser of the Decatur Bulldogs Boosters, which supports the athletic programs at Decatur High School and Renfroe Middle School in Decatur, GA. You can register at http://www.rwtd5k.com. Runners who register by January 11 will receive their race t-shirt by January 23 and be entered into a special prize drawing. The Decatur Bulldog Boosters raise money annually to meet the needs of student athletes, including uniforms and equipment. These funds are used to support 685 student athletes on all 25 teams representing 14 sports at Decatur High and Renfroe Middle Schools. Decatur Bulldog Boosters needs your support now more than ever. We need as many RWTD5K participants as possible! http://www.rwtd5k.com

Don't forget! Starting tomorrow, library book pickup for virtual students will be on Wednesdays from 11:45 AM-2:45 PM. You can still fill out this form if your child is virtual and you would like for them to be able to check out books.

Join our virtual teams at Talley Street! Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum, which creatively integrates running. At Girls on the Run we inspire girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. Trained coaches lead small teams through our research-based curricula which includes dynamic discussions, activities and running games. Over the course of the ten-week program, girls in 3rd-8th grade develop essential skills to help them navigate their worlds and establish a lifetime appreciation for health and fitness. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K event.

Interested in participating? Registration is OPEN NOW

https://www.girlsontherunatlanta.org/Program-Registration

Questions? Email nbundschu@csdecatur.net or contact info@girlsontherunatlanta.org

WE NEED COACHES! Please contact Natalie Bundschu nbundschu@csdecatur.net if you're interested in coaching.

Girls on the Run Site Information

• Talley Street Upper Elementary School

• Two days a week after school until 3:00-4:00 (Mondays/Wednesdays or Tuesdays/Thursdays)

• Register Online: girlsontherunatlanta.org

• Paper application available upon request

• Space is limited

• GOTR uses an income-based sliding scale so that every girl who wants to participate can. Registration fee is available on a sliding scale from $10 to $185.

• Includes GOTR lessons, water bottle, 2 t-shirts and 5k registration.

Spring 2020 Registration

Until Feb. 9: Registration Open

Week of March 1: Programs begin

May 8: Girls on the Run 5K

Week of May 10: Last week of programs

*You can register anytime during the registration period. Team participants selected by the computer will receive an automated e-mail stating they are on the team. Girls who are not placed on the initial team will be placed on a waiting list and will receive an email from GOTR.

We're now on Amazon Smile! Log into www.smile.amazon.com and log into your Amazon

account, then select Talley Street Upper Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, then save and the PTO will start getting quarterly deposits!

One important tip - you MUST be logged in via smile.amazon.com while shopping for us to

receive any funds.

Kroger Community Rewards

We are set up to receive funds from Kroger. From your account screens, select Community

Rewards and search for “Talley Street Upper Elementary School PTO." Select it and then you

should be all set. Every time you use your Kroger card, the PTO will benefit!

Box Tops

Box Tops have gone digital! Download the app, Box Tops for Education. Enter your

information, select Talley St., scan receipts and done! We will no longer be collecting paper box

tops. If you have any issues using the app, you can submit (via the app) the item not being

recognized on your receipt for credit.

Publix Partners

Looking for an easy way to support Talley Street PTO?

Who knew Passive Fundraising could be SO easy!! You don' need the key chain card anymore.

Follow the easy instructions on the link:

http://www.corporate.publix.com/community/corporate-campaigns/publix-partners

We’re set up as: Talley Street Upper Elementary School – Decatur, GA

www.csdecatur.net/opening - a repository for all documents, announcements, and communications about how CSD is handling the 2020-2021 school year.

www.csdecatur.net/nutrition - How to order meals

www.csdecatur.net/transportation
www.csdecatur.net/bustracker - How to sign up for the new Predictable Ryde Bus tracking app used for meal delivery, soon for the Fly-brary, mobile book delivery and when in-person learning resumes to track students on their buses
https://virtual.csdecatur.net/tech-help (how parents and staff can put in a tech support request)

https://virtual.csdecatur.net/students - classroom login information

https://virtual.csdecatur.net/parents - Virtual Learning Handbooks