Eagle Edition
September 3, 2020
Glennwood Elementary ~ Where Learning Takes Flight
Holly Brookins, PhD, Principal ~ Jill Tolsma, Instructional Coach Karen Hearn, School Manager
Email: hbrookins@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/glennwood
Location: 440 East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404.370.4435
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gleagles/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Calendar of Events
Monday, September 7
Labor Day Holiday (No School)
Wednesday, September 9
No Wellness Wednesday (Regular virtual learning day)
Friday, September 11
First Virtual Community Circle
Monday, September 14
GL SLT Meeting - 4:00-5:30 pm
Where Learning Takes Flight
September Design Principle: Success and Failure
"Winners never quit and quitters never win."
~Vince Lombardi
Greetings from Dr. Brookins
Hello Glennwood Families!
Happy September! Can you believe it is almost fall? I am definitely looking forward to some cooler weather! We had an awesome Lunch n' Learn with Mr. Blase yesterday called, “Parenting in a Pandemic” where he shared so many good tips as to how to parent in a productive and successful manner during this time! If you missed it, please see the link below with Mr. Blase's message.
We will be scheduling Lunch n' Learns on various Wednesdays where we can come together as a community to learn and ask questions. I would like to know what you would like to learn more about at this time. If you are so inclined, here is a form to share your feedback with me! We will host another Lunch n' Learn on Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 11:45-12:30 pm on virtual learning tech support. We'll have more details to share soon.
After attending Mr. Blase’s Parenting in a Pandemic session yesterday, I saw this quote from one of my favorite authors, Brene Brown, “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up." I thought this quote was a beautiful reminder as we try to navigate parenting during this time. It is hard, no doubt, but if we are showing up for our kids and being there for them, we are all winning! Please be kind to yourselves and others and remember the word “grace” as we navigate 2020!
Thank you for all you do and for showing up each and every day!
Dr. Holly Brookins
Virtual Learning Help
Uploading Student Work to Google Classroom
Many Google Classroom assignments require that students upload their work. By configuring the Google Classroom app on an iPhone, parents may help students easily upload their completed work to their classroom and turn in assignments. If you need support in doing this, please review this video tutorial Mr. C created to help families with this virtual learning tool.
If you need to complete a request for a tech ticket, please follow this LINK. Before entering a tech ticket, please check on the CSD's Tech Help Support Page for parents and students first.
Google Meet: Links for a teacher’s Google Meet will not be visible in the Google Classroom banner until the time designated for that class to begin. Resetting the link before each class is helping with some of the tech issues with moderator controls. If students arrive to class early, please know that the link will be visible at the class start time and refreshing the web browser may be necessary in order to see it.
Glennwood's FLYbrary is OPEN!
Thank you to everyone who participated with GL's 1st FLYbrary this week. We checked out over 100 books to students. Because this is a new system of checkout for us and CSD, thank you for patience and flexibility as we work out a few kinks. Here are some helpful reminders:
1. Sign Up for the Glennwood FLYbrary here. You must complete this form to participate. You must choose either the pick up at school option or the bus delivery option. Please open the pdf document below to find out all the needed information to sign up for bus delivery in order to register for this option with CSD.
2. Please watch this video tutorial on how to place books on hold.
Check-out period will be up to 3 weeks. However, if you would like for your child to have weekly delivery, plan to return books before the Monday cut off time at noon so that new books may be checked out to your child.
Students may check out 4 books at a time.
Books will be available for pick up at Glennwood or your designated bus stop on Tuesdays. Buses do not deliver directly to your home. You should plan to meet at your designated bus stop, and you may follow the bus on the CSD bus app to check the approximate time for drop off.
Books may be returned to the school anytime and placed in the container on the front doorsteps at the front entrance. If you choose to return books via the bus delivery service, your child would not have new books available for checkout until the following week if they already have the limit of 4 checked out.
3. Because of the large volume of books that will be checked out one day per week, all student holds must be placed by 12:00 pm every Monday. If a hold is placed after this time, the books will be checked out the following week.
4. Please recycle! Your books will be delivered in a plastic bag. Please return your books in the same plastic bag so that we may recycle these week to week.
If you have any questions regarding GL FLYbrary, please email Mrs. Rittenhouse at drittenhouse@csdecatur.net or Mrs. Dishman at adishman@csdecatur.net. Thank you!
No Wellness Wednesday the Week of Labor Day
To ensure students have a full academic week during the week of Labor Day, student schedules will not include Wellness Wednesday on September 9th. The academic schedule will shift one day (i.e., Monday classes will be held Tuesday and Tuesday classes will be held Wednesday). Students who will have their specials, the specials will shift one day as well. So students will go to their Monday specials on Tuesday, Tuesday specials on Wednesday, and so on. Wellness Wednesday will resume on Wednesday, September 16.
Art with Ms. Burkhalter
This month in ART we will focus on the following:
All grades: I am coordinating a pen pal address exchange. Parental permission is required. The form is linked here and in my classroom.
Kindergarten: We will move into looking at shape while exploring our watercolor set and look at art by the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
First Grade: We will create a bee illustration and explore texture in items in our home.
Second Grade: We will explore artwork by artists Romere Bearden and Keith Haring.
Please check the classroom for the materials you will need ahead of class time. If you are missing something, please let me know.
Music with Ms. Pierce
PE with Coach Meg
Spanish with Sra. Forero
PTA Directory:
Did you know the PTA provides a password protected Online Directory of all Glennwood students who opt in to be included? This can be a handy tool to connect with classmates. We encourage every Glennwood student to be included in the online directory. Signing up is easy! To register your student(s) for the online directory ,visit www.glennwoodpta.org
-Click My Info/Sign In
-New User? Click here to register
-The password is: soareagles
-Follow the prompts to set up a user account and add students/teacher assignments/etc. to the directory.
Don't miss out on being included!
PTA Membership and Sponsorship Drive now through September 30:
The Glennwood PTA Board's goal is to have every family join the PTA this year. The PTA membership and sponsorship drive is going on now through September 30. Dues are $20 per individual adult (financial assistance available); if you're able, please consider making an additional donation to provide valuable support for our students and teachers for the 2020-21 school year. Membership dues and donations will be used to support the PTA’s mission to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering students, families, and communities in education. Dues will directly support our community and the initiatives, events, and services we offer throughout the year. To pay your dues, please visit: https://glennwoodpta.org/join/ Additionally, if you would like to become a corporate sponsor of the PTA or know of a business who would, please visit: https://glennwoodpta.org/view/become-sponsor/
If you have any questions, please reach out to president@glennwoodpta.org We thank you for your support!
Natasha Vorspel-Rueter
I’m a seasoned IT professional that has worked with various client across the financial services industry. Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to lead and work with people of various cultures. I am currently head of our Analysis practice and have teams in the US, UK and India. I’ve found that beginning my career in Consulting helped me develop a robust view of how businesses operate as well as how people from different cultures interact. In a year where our office shut down, my team transitioned to 100% remote work and with as many challenges as 2020 has thrown at us, I’m proud to have been nominated by my company as 2020 Working Mother of the Year.
We have chosen to call Decatur home for the last 6 years. As a multicultural, bilingual, and interracial family, we’ve found our neighborhood to be kind, warm, and welcoming but also diverse. We’ve formed long-lasting friendships over the years & are looking forward to gaining more as our girls enter CSD. I currently serve on the board of Love in Deed Inc., a nonprofit ministry that provides aid to the homeless, refugees, foster children, and other populations in need. I’m also a member on the Decatur First Preschool team and I previously served on the Young Professionals Board of Girls on the Run Atlanta.
As a woman of color and a mother of a rising Kindergartner & a younger child that will also attend Glennwood, I want to use my voice on SLT to ensure all children, but especially children of color can learn in both an equitable and supportive environment. I want to ensure that as a school, we are not just saying we’re addressing diversity & equality, but that these topics are at the forefront of our decisions and the fabric of our school community. I hope to be a voice for those who have felt silenced, marginalized, or feel improperly equipped to advocate for better on behalf of their child. Finally, I feel that my skills in financial planning, team building, and complex problem solving would be an asset to the SLT during discussions on budget as well as the school improvement plan.
Mary-Kate Starkel
I am a native of metro Atlanta and spent my K-12 career in the same public school cluster in southwest Gwinnett, where I was surrounded by students and friends from 120+ countries. I spun my passion for community service into a degree in social work and then later a master's degree in public policy and nonprofit management, both at Georgia State University. During that time I worked full time as a program manager and leader for youth leadership and prevention initiatives across metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia. I made a pivot into executive management and fundraising for nonprofits back in 2011 and haven't looked back. My expertise has continued to be focused on K-12 positive youth development and public school equity for all Atlanta students. My husband is a 6th grade science teacher at Renfroe and so even though we live in Scottdale, our daughter Maggie is attending school at Glennwood and we hope our 3.5 year old Evie will join her in another two years!
For the past two years, I have been with an organization called redefinED atlanta, which focuses on sourcing, incubating, funding, and advancing public will and policy for initiatives and practices that help public schools get better, faster. We do this with a focus on education equity for students from Black, Latinx, and under-resourced communities, and although we focus solely on Atlanta Public Schools right now so many of the same governance and autonomy considerations would apply to CSD as well. I have loved the intersection of whole child development and systemic school improvement efforts, and would be so humbled to have the chance to help advance this work for Glennwood as well.
My daughter has special needs and as I'm learning how to navigate the world of diagnoses, accommodations, SST meetings, and more, I am finding it critical that the voice of families in CSD special programs be included at the table.
News from City Schools of Decatur
Annual Data Update:
We have moved the typical beginning of the school year household data update, medical forms, opt-out forms, and handbook sign-offs to the parent portal.
It is important for parents or guardians to complete these forms and sign-offs by September 15. Please note, only parents and guardians in the primary household will have access to fill out the information for the annual data update. Please review the 2020-2021 K-12 District Handbook and Code of Conduct and Restorative Practices Handbook prior to completing the update.
Directions for accessing the data update can be found in the graphic below (attached).
For more detailed information, please watch this video.
News from Decatur Education Foundation
DEF is pleased to announce that we are sponsoring two of Decatur Book Festival’s Virtual Kid events on September 5th and September 15th!
Sept 5th at 10 am: The Kidnote Presentation with Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James, authors of I Am Every Good Thing, an uplifting picture book that celebrates Black boys. As part of this presentation, DEF has purchased a copy of the book for every classroom teacher in our five K-2 City Schools of Decatur! To sign up for the presentation, click here.
Sept 15 at 7 pm: Raise Your Voice - a Young Adult Panel brings together five YA authors to discuss how to make yourself heard and to find your place in the world. Panelists include Elizabeth Acevedo, Becky Albertalli, Aisha Saeed, Renee Watson, Brendan Kiely. To register for this presentation, click here.
You can find books from all of these authors at Little Shop of Stories and Brave + Kind Books.
The Madison Avenue Soapbox Derby’s Ramp to Success Fundraiser benefitting DEF continues through September! If you would like to help students and families face the virtual learning challenges ahead, consider donating at http://madisonavesoapboxderby.org/donate/ -- there’s a gift from Oakhurst Market for every donation level!
Decatur CREATES Leaders at Glennwood Who S.O.A.R.
S.O.A.R.
Show Self-Control
Offer Kindness
Act Responsibly
Respect Others
*SOARIN' image created by GL art teacher, Kasey Burkhalter*