I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Since opening school back up virtually, the school has received feedback from our parents about the desire to have “live” sessions for our specials’ classes. We have listened to that feedback and will begin live sessions this week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wellness Wednesdays, Spanish will also be live. The live sessions should cause minimal changes to the current schedules. If there are any changes, those will be communicated by the homeroom teachers. Our teachers are very excited! We hope the students will be too! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. Have a great week!

Billy

While students completed their synchronous SEE Learning unit on October 28, Wellness Wednesday asynchronous lessons will continue through January. There will be no live classes going forward for SEE Learning but students are invited to participate in asynchronous offerings listed on the Wellness Wednesday website, here:

https://www.csdecatur.net/wellnesswednesday

This upcoming Wednesday the asynchronous lesson will be a grounded Kids Yoga video on "What Matters Most" which will be posted Tuesday evening on the Wellness Wednesday page.
Individual schools may offer additional options.

In non-pandemic years, we would be gearing up for our big fall party, Supper & Sips. Since we can't gather together in support of Decatur's kids to enjoy some delicious local food, drinks and fun games, we're launching our "Just Another Thursday Night at Home." While you won't enjoy the party and camaraderie of the Supper this year, you can still have that great feeling of fellowship by supporting our families with a gift to DEF. To participate: put on your jammies, pour yourself a beverage, get cozy on the sofa and click here.

Do you have some positive support to give to a Decatur student? DEF is still seeking some adult male volunteer mentors for their AIM Scholars Mentoring Program. AIM mentors are paired with 3rd grade students and “meet” regularly throughout the year. In just 2-4 hours per month, mentors help connect their mentees with educational and enrichment activities so they can find their passions and develop life skills. For more information, please visit decatureducationfoundation.org/mentoring

A Season of Giving/Christmas Decatur is beginning preparations for our 26th year of service to the City of Decatur community. As with everything else in 2020, this program will be a little different than we are used to! Due to the pandemic, we will be changing our program to be managed online. If your family would like to request assistance with holiday gifts for children who live with you, through 8th grade, you must complete the SurveyMonkey application by November 15: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020ASeasonofGiving If you have trouble with the form, questions, or concerns, please email us at aseasonofgiving@decaturga.com or call our voicemail, 404-378-8068, and leave a message. For those families who do not need assistance, and would like to participate, we would love your help! We have changed how we will handle the program for 2020. We will not be collecting physical gifts but providing gift cards to the families requesting assistance. If you would like to help us this year, please donate at https://legacydecatur.com/give/. Please select ‘A Season of Giving / Christmas Decatur’ for the organization in the donation form.

Welcome to the 2020 Decatur Holiday Marketplace at Clairemont Elementary! We are so excited to carry on the tradition of this wonderful community event which is in its 29th year. In light of the current COVID pandemic, we have decided to make this year's event virtual. The dates for our virtual marketplace will be November 27th at 8 am through December 11th at 5 pm. During this time, all of our artists' sites will be available for shopping online and will be conveniently located right here on our clairemontpta.org website. A description of the shop and owners along with a few wonderful photos of their craft will be available to preview. If the artist is able to ship their wares after purchase, they will do so, and if not, for our local customers, we will have a special pick up day at the school on December 12th from 10-12. We are bringing the marketplace straight to your house!

The Winnona Park PTA is gearing up for its Annual Holiday Tree, Wreath and Candle Sale on December 5, 2020. Buy your item online and have it delivered fresh-cut, right to your door December 4-6. This year's fundraiser will feature Fraser fir trees, wreaths, and Hanukkah candles all delivered directly within a 5-mile radius. Pre-Order your holiday items now to ensure free delivery! https://winnonaparkpta.org/product-category/holiday-sale/

Where do we get our trees from, you ask?

Cool Springs Nursery will deliver freshly cut Frasier fir trees and wreaths direct from their farm in North Carolina. There are several sizes to choose from, with prices ranging from $85 to $120. Wreaths and Candles are also available for $30 and $10 a pack, respectively.

The Fraser Fir tree has a symmetrical shape and very tapered, sometimes described as an upside-down cone. The needles are soft and short, deep green on the top, and a silverfish-blue on the bottom. The branches are strong with a sweet fragrance, and it has excellent needle retention. Due to the branches turning slightly upward, it has somewhat of a compact appearance.

This fundraiser is so important because...

The Winnona Park PTA supports many offerings and initiatives including:

• Classroom libraries
• Teacher and parent grants
• Field trips
• Guest speakers for all students
• Facility enhancements
• Various community-building events
• School community garden
• Yearbooks
• Incoming Kindergartener tees

Got questions about the specifics of these areas of support? Reach out to us! We would be happy to share them with you so that you understand the vital importance of the PTA that makes Winnona Park Elementary School so special.

https://winnonaparkpta.org/product-category/holiday-sale/

Thank you for your support,

Winnona Park Elementary PTA

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