I hope you all are planning to join us for our book character parade tomorrow morning! This will be the first time we’ve been able to have one in a few years. I’m looking forward to seeing what students choose as their book characters. There are more details below along with a map of the parade route.

We welcome parents to continue attending Community Circle once we transition indoors on Nov. 4th at 8:30 am. Be ready to sing and participate as we will now have the song lyrics and other program highlights posted on the big screen!

In order to maintain security as well as manage logistics of quickly moving guests and classes in and out of the auditorium, we do ask that you follow a few guidelines:

• Parents may enter the building after 8:20 am once carpool time ends.

• Parents must enter through the carpool doors by the auditorium ONLY.

• Be prepared to show your Community Circle Visitor Pass or your ID to the staff member on duty (the pass will be emailed to you and a hard copy will also be sent home.)

• Parents will have designated areas to sit or stand in the auditorium. The benches along the walls are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Just like our previous Community Circles, students may not sit with parents and younger siblings may not sit with their older siblings who are Glennwood students.

• Please keep the pathway of traffic clear at all times near the exit doors in the auditorium. The floor will be marked with tape.

• Parents will be dismissed first once Community Circle is over. Please exit through the auditorium or carpool doors as quickly as possible. Classes begin at 8:50 am and students need to be able to exit and get to class quickly.

Warmest regards,

Holly Brookins, Ph.D.

Principal

All parents attending the lunch must make a reservation HERE.

Yearbook Photos Needed

As you and your family participate at events and school activities, we'd love for you to capture those memories and submit those photos so we can feature as many as possible in the yearbook!

Details can be found at: www.tinyurl.com/glennwoodyearbook.

If you have any questions or issues, please email yearbook@glennwoodpta.org.

Artwork Help For Glennwood’s Art Teacher:

Each grading period, our Glennwood Art Teacher, Ms. Nadine Howarth, would like help sorting, rolling, and taping "Art Portfolio Bundles" for the students and changing out the artwork on a few of the school Bulletin boards.

Please consider signing up to help. The job should take about an hour of your time. In the comments section, please include the date of your choice from the list of dates, and the time you plan to arrive.

Glennwood’s Safe Routes to School:

Crossing Guard Appreciation Week - November 7-11

We have the best crossing guards in all of Decatur helping to keep our kids safe at Glennwood everyday! Ms. Joyce (E. Ponce & Sycamore Pl) has been with us for many years, and Ms. Etta (Commerce & Sycamore Pl), Ms. V and Ms. Carla (Sycamore & E Ponce), may be newer, but they are all such wonderful and important members of our community. Let’s make sure to let them know how much we appreciate them! It would be amazing if kiddos could make cards, notes, drawings, cookies/baked goods/treats, and/or gift cards to bring to our crossing guards during the week of November 7-11!

As Glennwood’s Safe Routes to School representative, I’ll be coordinating a collection of funds for gifts to each of these four special ladies from the school. If you’d like to contribute you can Venmo (@almcmil) or PayPal (almcmil@gmail.com), and I’ll include you/your child’s name on the card. I’d like to get all donations by Monday, November 7.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns or ideas to Amanda McMillan at almcmil@gmail.com. Thanks for your help!

Save the date! Next Romp + Read is on Saturday, November 5th, from 10am to 11am at the Glennwood’s Playground.

Questions? Please email Aichuan Kwong at: aichuan@gmail.com

Join us on Saturday, January 28, 2023 for Run With the Dogs, a Decatur tradition now in its 19th year.

We’ll be back at Beacon Hill Middle School for the 5K and Pup Trot, and we are pleased to announce that this year’s race is an official qualifying event for the Peachtree Road Race!

If you think you have the perfect dog to be featured on this year’s t-shirt, please enter the Face of the Race contest. Just post a photo of your dog, plus a blurb about why your dog should be selected as the Face of the Race, to www.facebook.com/RWTD5k or on Instagram with the hashtag #RWTD5K.

All contest entrants must register for the race for their dogs to be considered. Photos can be submitted until November 7. Four finalists will be selected by the volunteer race committee, and voting on these four finalists will begin November 11. The Face of the Race winner will be announced November 18.

Run With the Dogs 5K is an annual fundraiser of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters and supports the athletic programs at Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School. All race participants will receive the coveted long-sleeved T-shirt designed by local artist Adam Pinsley.

Click here to register. For more information, visit rwtd5K.com.

Strategic Plan Town Halls

Dr. Fehrman will host three town hall meetings where all community members can attend and review the information discussed at the Strategic Plan Team meeting, as well as the goals and performance objectives drafted. In addition, the town halls will provide an opportunity for the community to add their feedback and ensure we have aligned our goals with what our community wants to see achieved in our district over the next five years.

Strategic Plan Town Hall Dates / Times

November 1 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am (virtual) https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/96433860943

November 3 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (virtual) https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/92270288945

November 3 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (in person) at the DHA Community Resource Center at 481 Electric Avenue

Special Education Parent Meetings

Golden Steps ABA

CSD welcomes Amanda Bissonnette of Golden Steps ABA to share an overview of services and support they provide to families.

Here's more about Golden Steps ABA:

Golden Steps implements Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to assist children in overcoming behaviors that challenge their ability to navigate and flourish in social, educational and home settings. We track their progress, encourage their growth, and applaud them when they inevitably succeed.

Date: November 10, 2022

Time: 6-7 pm

Location: This is a virtual meeting.

Target Audience: Pre-K to 6th grades

RSVP here

How It Works - Assistive Technology Meeting

Yael Cohen, Assistive Tech. Specialist & Frank DeFilippo, Special Education Coordinator, will be sharing a variety of apps and Google extensions that students can access to support their learning in class.

For example, if your student is experiencing:

• Poor handwriting

• Poor grammar

• Difficulty spelling

• Difficulty with Organizing writing assignments

Date: November 17, 2022

Time: 6-7pm

Location: This is a virtual meeting.

RSVP here

For questions please contact Cheryl Grant at cgrant@csdecatur.net.

Nutrition Department

The Nutrition Department is in the process of reaching out to parents about student negative meal balances. These efforts to send the low-balance communications will continue weekly through the automated infinite campus messenger or a personal phone call. Some accounts may have had outstanding balances prior to being approved for free or reduced meal benefits. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Nekee Mathis at nmathis@csdecatur.net. or (470) 237- 0368 ext 7607.

Note: A free and reduced lunch application can be completed anytime during the school year. Currently, the district policy allows students to receive meals, not extra items, for example, i.e. bag of chips. However, a child's negative meal balance will continue to incur debt as they receive meals.

A Season of Giving/Christmas Decatur is back to its traditional method of neighbors purchasing gifts directly for local children and seniors!

To apply for assistance, please complete an online application at https://aseasonofgiving.org/application/ by October 28th.

If you have any trouble with the form, questions or concerns, please email us at aseasonofgiving@decaturga.com or leave a message on our voicemail (404.378.8068).

If you do not need assistance, we would love your help!

Donors will purchase gifts from an individual wish list specific to a child (through 8th grade) or senior citizen. If you would like to be a donor, please complete our online form.

If you would like us to do the shopping for you, please donate directly at https://legacydecatur.org/give/ and select A Season of Giving!

Book a sitter and tell your friends to meet you at the Soiree in the City on Saturday, November 12th from 6:30-10:30pm! Everyone is invited to enjoy an adult evening of dinner, drinks and dancing! It’s the perfect excuse to get dressed up and go out on the town for a great cause! We’ll enjoy a seated harvest dinner by Little Farmhouse Cafe, live music from Maxwell Street and a full array of cocktails and mocktails. Purchase your tickets today at www.decatureducationfoundation.org/soiree or scan the QR code. See you there!

Meaningful volunteer opportunities available! DEF is seeking volunteers to be tutors and mentors! Tutors are needed to help students from 2nd – 8th grades for one hour per week. We are also gearing up to re-launch our AIM Scholars mentoring program in January, for which we need 20-30 adult volunteers. If you would like to learn more about these programs and sign up, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/mentoring

Can’t volunteer but want to help out? You can donate to our Lighten the Load program which keeps the snack pantry stocked at Beacon Hill Middle School. For those families in our community experiencing food insecurity, we also have a weekend backpack program. Both have unique Amazon wish lists that are updated monthly. You can donate directly to them using these links:

Beacon Hill Middle Snack Program: /a.co/d0HJHTr

Weekend Backpack Program: https://a.co/6Etc74W