Falcon Flyer
Important Events & Dates from F.AVE
January 7, 2020
Ms. Newton's Notes
Happy New Year F.AVE Families!
The faculty and staff at F.AVE would like to say thank you to our wonderful PTO for ensuring that every member of the team received a holiday gift. It was heartfelt and much appreciated by all. Thank you for being so kind to us!
It was so good to see all of the students back at school today. They were full of energy as if we never left! I hope that you all enjoyed the time with family and friends and are ready for an exciting second half of the school year. Some of the things happening this month are:
- We're renaming our F.AVE Falcon! The suggestions are: Fanta the Falcon, Phantasia, Freedom Frank the Falcon, F.AVE-U-Lous, Flappy the Falcon, Francisco, Philemon and Fallon. Students will be voting in the weeks to come.
- F.AVE Family Game night: Family Game Night is right around the corner on Sunday, January 12th 2:30-4:30pm. There will be BINGO and Family Trivia hosted by surprise teacher announcers. In the gym, challenge your friends and family to some competitive obstacle fun! Oh, and did we mention PRIZES because we will have loads of prizes. Plus, there will be face painting and snacks! Let’s make this F.AVE. community event a huge success with a huge family turn out. All games will be one ticket per play and we already know you want to play and play and play some more. What else were you doing on a cold Sunday afternoon in January? This is WAY MORE FUN! Buy tickets here!
- Don't let ticket prices keep you from joining us, assistance with funding for FAMILY GAME NIGHT is available by contacting Jennifer Wentworth, F.AVE's bookkeeper at jwentworth@csdecatur.net.
- We will begin our Composting Project tomorrow at F.AVE. Students will begin to sort their leftovers from lunch between composting and landfill options. We are partnering with COMPOST NOW to begin this practice at F.AVE.
Upcoming Assessment
iReady Diagnostic 2
i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment designed to provide teachers with actionable insight into student needs. By adapting to student responses and assessing a broad range of skills—including skills above and below a student’s chronological grade—the i‑Ready Diagnostic pinpoints student ability level, identifies the specific skills students need to learn to accelerate their growth, and charts a personalized learning path for each student. This personalized learning path is accessible to students on-line at and outside of school. Every student will participate in this diagnostic assessment beginning January 13th.
What information does MAP give vs. iReady?
MAP gives us information about how much growth students are making towards their personal growth goal based upon a national norm. iReady gives us information about where students are in mastery of Georgia's state standards and supplies instructional resources for grade level, below grade level and above grade level needs. Both assessments provide useful information and can serve different instructional purposes. All students will experience both assessments, just not all at the same points throughout the school year.
Our December Cast Gathering! Thank you to all who participated!
Every day F.AVE Falcons Rise UP to be:
Risk Takers who
Inquire about global issues.
Striving to be open minded.
Excellent and
Unique in every way. F.AVE students are
Powerful young minds who lead the way!
Have a fantastic week!
Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition
The Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition is a yearly state-wide writing competition open to any student enrolled in a Georgia public school, grades K-12. Participation is completely voluntary for students, but we hope to get many quality entries!
Here's a rundown of how it will work:
- any genre is allowed (short story, poetry, essay/literary criticism/analysis, journalism, academic/research reports, personal narratives, any other original student writing)
- writing piece must be created by the student without the help of others
- entries do not have to be work completed for a class assignment
- 1900-word maximum length
- individuals only, no group entries
- can be typed or legibly hand-written
- writing pieces should be turned in to homeroom teachers by January 17, 2020 - be sure student's name and Homeroom teacher are clearly written or typed on writing piece
- one winner will be chosen per grade level by a team of scorers to represent CSD at the regional competition
Please contact jbroman-fulks@csdecatur.net with any questions. Happy writing!
CSD News
Facilities Planning Public Input Meeting: January 15, 2020
As we wrap up the previous long-range facilities plan, we begin to look forward to the future of City Schools of Decatur and how we can best meet the needs of our students and staff. We will be tapping the skills of Cooperative Strategies, who previously helped CSD with our grade configuration and redistricting work, to help lead our community input process.
Our first community meeting regarding the future of CSD facilities planning will be Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at 7 p.m at Talley Street Upper Elementary. We hope you can join us and voice your views on how we can best move forward.
PTO News
Family Game Night – this Sunday!
Family Game Night is almost here… join us THIS Sunday, January 12th 2:30-4:30pm. There will be BINGO, Family Trivia, competitive obstacles, loads of prizes, face painting, snacks and more! Kids of all ages (accompanied by parents or another adult) are welcome.
Buy tickets here! All games will be one ticket per play and we already know you want to play and play and play some more. What else would you be doing on a cold Sunday afternoon? This will be WAY MORE FUN!
As if that’s not enough, immediately following the event, Matador Cantina, Steinbecks, Scout and UJ will be offering a dine-out option with 5% of sales going directly to support our F.AVE. students! A huge THANK YOU to our restaurant partners.
We are still looking for a few volunteers as well: Sign up to volunteer here!
Hope to see you all on Sunday!
Walk & Roll – Tuesday, 1/14
Happy New Year Fave Falcons!! Hopefully you all had a wonderful school break, and put “walking & rolling to school” on your New Year’s Resolution list :-). Next Tuesday, January 14 is our first Walk&Roll to School Day of 2020! We’ll be handing out numbered certificates to all Walkers & Rollers as part of our monthly Walk & Roll book drawing. If you cannot walk all the way, consider driving to Harmony Park (corner of Mead, Oakview, and Eastlake) and walk the final 0.4 miles. There are plenty of parking spots around that area, and you’ll be sure to meet many other families doing the same. Additional 'Stop, Drop, and Walk' routes to F.Ave are found here (https://www.csdecatur.net/Page/1647). If you must drive, please be extra cautious that morning, as there will be lots of extra children walking or riding their bikes. Give them extra room (remember, a 3 foot distance is the law, but more is always better!), as they might not be as sturdy or mindful on their bikes as adults. If you have any questions, please contact: kendallhamilton@bellsouth.netInterested in Volunteering?
Volunteers are always needed and appreciated. Please complete this form or email ptovolunteer@favepto.org to let us know you're interested in helping out.
Easy ways to passively raise funds for F.AVE PTO
There are several ways you can support the F.AVE PTO with very little effort!
- AmazonSmile - Go to smile.amazon.com and, using your existing Amazon account, select F.AVE PTO as your charitable organization.
- Publix - No more keychain! Follow these easy instructions.
- Box Tops - Have your child bring in box tops. There's a large envelope/box near the front desk. They’ll be collected twice a year.
- Kroger - Register your Kroger Plus Card online and click on "enroll." We’re listed as: 415 Academy at Fifth Ave.
Specials Corner
Spanish - Communications
Media Center - We are beginning our cybersafety units in the media center. Ask your students what they are learning about being safe and responsible online.
Community News
Discounted Disney for February Break
Thinking about going to Walt Disney World over February Break? The Decatur High School PTSA is sponsoring a class through the Disney Youth Education Series for the February break.Classes are free with the purchase of discounted Disney tickets. It is a Win-Win-Win situation. Your child get to participate in a unique experiential learning opportunity. You save 25-40% on ticket prices. The PTSA raises money to support students and teachers at our high school. For more information, please refer to www.DecaturDisney.com. Deadline to Register is December 20, 2019.
F.AVE Upcoming Events
January
Tuesday, January 7th - 6:00 PM, PTO Meeting
Tuesday, January 14th - Walk & Roll to School
Tuesday, January 21st - 4:45 PM, SLT Meeting
Thursday, January 23rd - 5:00 PM, Tybee Chaperone Meeting for February Trip
Looking Ahead
- Night of Expressions - February 12 & 13
- Book Fair - February 10-14
About Us
Principal
Karen Newton
Assistant Principal
Lynn Hanson
Administrative Assistant
Malik James
Administrative Assistant
Jessica Wentworth
Email: fave@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/FAVE
Location: 101 5th Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: (404) 371-6680