Can you believe we are coming to the end of the year and the end of the first semester? It seems to have gone by so quickly! I feel fortunate every day to be in this community with such incredible students, teachers and families.

I’d like to send out a huge thank you to our PTA for putting together a beautiful holiday treat table to show our staff how special they are. We truly feel the love every day from our families.

Parents, we have been noticing during carpool that some cars are moving out of line to pull around other cars in order to expedite the drop-off and pick-up process. Please be patient and wait in line as we want to keep all of our students, staff and families safe. Thank you for understanding.

Just a reminder again this week that the 2022-2023 Georgia Parent Survey is open. We need your input. Survey participation is voluntary, but we strongly encourage participation in the surveys to provide schools with critically important data to help guide prevention and intervention strategies. This school data is included in our school's CCRPI score. It is recommended that schools have at least a 75% participation rate. The surveys will remain open through Friday, January 27, 2023.

Here is the link to the survey. Thank you in advance for completing the survey!

I hope everyone has a wonderful break and is able to make special memories with families and friends. Stay safe and healthy. I look forward to seeing everyone back in January of 2023!

Warmest regards,

Dr. Holly Brookins

Principal

hbrookins@csdecatur.net

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.

Lost and Found

Hello Families! Please don’t forget to visit the LOST & FOUND on your way in and/or out of the Winter Music Celebration tomorrow. It is currently overflowing. There are a lot of water bottles and jackets.

If your child is missing an item, please fill out this sheet form with your child’s name, class and description of the item. I will make sure to deliver it. I will also visit the classrooms every two weeks for a couple of minutes and bring a rolling cart with all items in the lost and found.

All items will be donated by the end of January if they aren’t claimed.

Questions?! Please email (Nydia Almond) at nialmond05@gmail.com

Thank you for your support of the PTA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee this year. As we prepare for the last half of the year, we wanted to update you on our committee accomplishments thus far:

• Monthly Romp & Read: we share books with a DEI focus, eat snacks, do crafts, and play on the playground!
• Indigenous people’s month weekly messages with book and video links
• Nature walk with Dekalb county park ranger! A group of 30 Glennwood students and parents explored Mason Mill park and learned about the first people who lived in our area, learned about edible plants, and how to start a fire using friction with rocks and sticks!
• Decatur Season of Giving- raised funds and gifts to support two families with holiday gifts, and many others with grocery store gift cards
• Members attended monthly Glennwood equity meetings and Counselor’s update meetings with Glennwood staff.
• Participated in monthly DEI meetings with other CSD lower elementary schools to plan events and share resources
• Supported Walk & Roll initiative by serving as “walking school bus” guides for various routes throughout our community so all kids can participate in walk & roll.

• February Black History Month Scavenger Hunt with Brave & Kind bookstore prizes
• Private tour of an exhibit at the High Museum of Art in March
• Clothing Swap and community conversation with experts in climate equity and fast fashion around Earth Day in April

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

We’re 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!

We are also pleased to announce that our Face of the Race winner is Tuck the Pug! Thank you to everyone who submitted your dogs for the contest, and thanks for voting. Register TODAY to make sure you get a long-sleeved T-shirt with this adorable little guy.

Run With the Dogs is an annual fundraiser of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters and supports the athletic programs at Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School. For more information and to register for the race, click here.

Good Troublemaker Award

The late Congressman John Lewis was known for his famous plea to all humans fighting for social justice. “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” Who in this district, or in your building, has actions that speak louder than their words when it comes to being a good troublemaker for equity? Honor them by telling us more about their actions as champions for equitable educational outcomes in CSD.

Nominate someone else or yourself for the Good Equity Troublemaker Award here by Sunday, January 8, 2023, at 11:59 PM. Contact Anthony Downer at adowner@csdecatur.net with any questions or for more info.

Decatur Education Foundation has always been an organization defined by solutions. Our mission is to connect people, resources, and ideas to solve the problems that keep our students from learning and thriving. We are focused on the big issues that impact our kids: behavioral health, inequity and racism, and food insecurity, all of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. You can help us with a year-end contribution in any amount (every dollar counts), at www.decatureducationfoundation.org/donate. Together we can make a difference for #Ourkids! Thank you for your support.

Another way to give: 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