Talley Street Update

From Our Nutrition Department

CSD School Nutrition has several important updates for our community. Meals remain FREE until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. All students will receive 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches per week. We are opening up 3 additional CSD TakeOutSpot locations to better serve our students. Please email us at meals@csdecatur.net with questions about our meal service plan.

National School Breakfast Week

March 8th - 12th is National School Breakfast Week! We will be offering a special "Build-Your Own Parfait" on Tuesday, March 9, with a fun instructional video (or two!) from the DHS Culinary Arts Department. Please check to see if you're following us on Facebook to see our promotions: search "CSD School Nutrition" to find our page. They will be showing us how to combine our breakfast ingredients to make a layered parfait dish. Breakfast is a critical part of any student's morning: it sets them up to be able to learn well & focus on school. We serve more than 50% whole grain products during the week for even better nutrition! Whole grains have more naturally present vitamins & minerals than refined grains, and more fiber to keep you fuller longer. See our weekly reheating & storage sheets for some fun activities, and watch our Facebook page for activities and cool nutrition facts.

Elementary Meal Pick-Up UPDATE

Beginning Monday, March 8, we will begin offering DAILY meal pick-up for K-5 elementary school students at Fifth Avenue and Talley Street from 11:40 am - 12:15 pm. This will give our K-5 virtual students the opportunity to receive meals and help support our nutrition program.

Middle & High School Meal UPDATE

On Monday, March 8, we will welcome back our in-person 6-12 students! We are thrilled to be serving them again. Please see the chart below for a schedule of meal pick-ups. Please determine if your child is a Mon/Tues student, a Thurs/Fri student, or a virtual student to find the correct meal pick-up plan for your family.

Virtual Siblings Meal Pick-up UPDATE

We are continuing to allow our in-person siblings to pick up meals for their virtual siblings. Note that this service is only for meals without special considerations. (If you have a virtual student who is a vegetarian or has a special dietary need, see that section of our updates.) Please fill out this form to help us know what school site to send extra meals to: https://forms.gle/WurGn6iSJYFaYjfb7

Vegetarian & Special Diet UPDATE

If your child is a vegetarian or has a special dietary need, please fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/BM7ArRokp13i9seX8

We ask that our virtual students pick up their meals at one of our 4 CSD TakeOutSpots instead of receiving meals via their in-person siblings to protect their health & safety. Vegetarian students should fill out the google form, and no further action is required. Students with special dietary needs should fill out the google form, have a healthcare provider fill out the paperwork "Medical Statement for Accommodating Disabilities," and contact sblack@csdecatur.net for further assistance. Please see the Special Diets tab on our webpage for more details.

Lucky Us: It's National Nutrition Month! Time to celebrate our School Nutrition Staff

During the month of March we are going to celebrate how LUCKY we are to have our amazing School Nutrition staff! They have been working hard every single day since the pandemic started, and we are deeply appreciative of everything they have been doing for our kids. Our goal is to provide every staff member with some form of thanks/appreciation from our students & our community by the end of March.

How to support us: Please consider taking photos of your child enjoying their school lunch and send it to us at meals@csdecatur.net. Take photos of you & your child(ren) picking up their meals at one of our TakeOutSpots! Email a thank you note to your school nutrition staff or send an email to our department for us to distribute to the correct staff members. Teachers, have your class write thank you notes and send them via interoffice mail to us! Administrators can have cards signed by teachers & staff. Parents can take pictures and help encourage students to thank the nutrition staff in their buildings. We can all work together to show our staff how much we appreciate their effort.

SLT Meeting

The SLT Meeting has been rescheduled to 3/11 at 6 PM.

Meet Link:

https://meet.google.com/dhy-bgwk-tcv

Personal Safety Counseling Lessons

In accordance with Georgia state law, school counselors Mrs. Weaver and Mr. Alan will soon begin teaching personal safety lessons to 3rd Grade (3/22-3/26), 4th Grade (3/29-4/2), and 5th Grade (4/12-4/16). These lessons are designed to help prevent sexual abuse through the development of awareness and prevention strategeies. CSD utilizes the Think First & Stay Safe™ program to deliver these lessons. You can learn more about the program at www.childluresprevention.com. A preview of the program will also be offered to interested guardians at the following times: 3/11 at 1:00 PM or 3/16 at 6:00 PM. If you would like to attend a curriculum preview please fill out this interest form. If you are interested in a preview but cannot attend either scheduled session, please email Alan Pendrick at jpendrick@csdecatur.net. If you would not like your student to participate in our personal safety lessons, you must send written notice via email to your student's counselor: Kimberly Weaver at kiweaver@csdecatur.net or Alan Pendrick at jpendrick@csdecatur.net.

Kids and Companion Yoga Class for Talley Families

Kids, grab a grown-up and join us for some evening yoga in this 4-week class taught by 3rd-grade teacher Kara Morrison. We will stretch, laugh, breathe, move, and relax. The theme of all our classes will be kindness, so each week we'll also practice cultivating kindness for ourselves and others.

This class will meet from 7 - 7:45 PM on the following 4 Thursdays:

March 11, March 18, March 25, and April 1st

Check out this flyer for more information and for the Zoom link.

Virtual Field Trip Opportunity

Join the Talley DEI Committee to transform Zoom into KaZoom Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. for this fun 45-minute virtual event. Students will trace the history of Southern music, tying together Country, Trap, Hip Hop, and R&B to antebellum music, ragtime, and jazz. This event includes the opportunity to make music with our professional singer/songwriter and playing kazoos in our group “jam band.”

The history of Southern music includes the telling of Black history in a fun and unexpected way -- including understanding cultural appropriation in music.

This virtual field trip is FREE and open to the first 250 families who register (a waitlist is also available). A kazoo will be provided to each family. The link will be provided prior to the event.

OPTIONAL, MUST REGISTER AND ORDER BY MARCH 4: The $30 Music Evolution Field Trip in a Box includes chocolate and music-themed treats you can't find anywhere else:

Symphony Chips
4 of The Teabook's Artisteas
Indulge's gourmet popcorn
Moonshine Bars' gourmet chocolates' truffles (no alcohol)

A limited number of boxes will be available free to families who qualify. Please contact becky.slemons@gmail.com or text 770.855.2085.

The Myths of Racism and Beyond: Personal and Community Reflections

Please join us in January for the next The Myths of Racism and Beyond: Personal and Community Reflections, sponsored by the DEI Committee.

Whether you are a social justice champion or wrestling with these topics for the first time, this workshop will help all of us deepen our understanding of racism and strengthen our commitment to action.

Through independent individual reflections in a personal journal and group sessions reflecting as a community once a month, our Talley Street Upper Elementary community will examine the power of race and discuss its impact across racial lines. Everyone is invited to provide their voice, perspective, and experiences with the power of race.

The series will cover the article “The 10 Myths White People Believe About Racism,” with a paired bite-sized reading and short racial equity video assigned each month. It will include time for independent individual reflections through a personal journal and time for community reflections during group discussions once a month.

The remaining Community Reflections will be Thursdays from8-9 PM on Zoom on the following dates:

Mar 18

Apr 22

May 13

If you are unable to attend all sessions, you can work through the personal reflections asynchronously and join the community reflections as you can.

To participate, please fill out this google form. Email Charlie Copp with any questions. Charlie is a CSD parent and will help facilitate the series along with fellow Talley parent Elliott Robinson.

Decatur Education Foundation News

Dine Out for DEF with NaanStop Pop Up on March 11th!

They’re doing it again! Our friends at NaanStop are hosting another pop-up right here in Decatur on Thursday, March 11 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 5 - 5:45 pm on Thursday, March 11 - Masks/distancing required at pick up - order in advance before 5 pm on Wednesday, March 10.

The “Run Where You Are” Tour deCatur is March 27th!

Due to Covid-19, DEF can’t host its annual Tour deCatur 5K and Fun Run in its usual in-person form. This year, we are offering a “Run Where You Are” 5K and Fun Run on the weekend of March 27th. 5K participants can register at www.tourdecatur.com where you can also order an event shirt. We hope this event will encourage the community to go outside to celebrate our health and the onset of spring. For some participants, this year’s Tour could be a goal to achieve or a fun family activity, and for others, it might just be exciting to have something to put on the calendar! 5K participants can submit a photo of their tracked time, and race results will be posted on the race website and on the DEF Facebook page in the week following the race.

Grand Re-opening of the Decatur Student Center coming soon at DHS!

Just in time for in-person learning, the Decatur Student Center at DHS is opening its doors to a completely renovated space for all of its students’ nonacademic needs. Thanks to a generous $25K donation from Decatur City Church to Joe’s Fund, DEF’s behavioral health initiative, the Decatur Student Center has a new look and feel and includes dedicated space for one-on-one counseling, group counseling, and a ZenDen where students can go to relax and regroup. We’ll be posting photos and virtual tours soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to join the Joe’s Fund Challenge with a donation, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/joesfund. You can help us match Decatur City Church’s gift to double the impact to ensure that we can continue to address the wide and varied needs of all of our kids.

Farm 2 School (Wylde Center)

SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, April 21st will be Decatur Farm to School’s Spring Take Out! Order from participating restaurants during their open hours, and a portion of your order total will go to DF2S! Proceeds from the Spring Take Out support our DHS student summer internships, Decatur kitchen staff training, conference scholarships for students and teachers, taste tests, and school gardens - just to name a few. Give yourself a break, eat a delicious meal, and support a fabulous cause!

Calling all teachers and families! Each month, Wylde Center's Education team creates a Farm to School newsletter jam-packed with seasonal garden tips and recipes, curricular connections and kid's books we love, updates on our outreach and Farm to School work, and grants and professional development opportunities for teachers. It is our pleasure to share the ideas we generate, and the people and organizations doing similar work that inspire us, all as a way to support your own efforts at Farm to School in the garden and classroom. Sign up here!

Talley Street Passive Fundraising

Amazon Smile

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