Weekly Update
Winnona Park Elementary School
Dear Winnona Park families,
One year ago today, on March 12th, 2020, I gathered the WP staff together to discuss the pandemic possibilities. At that point, we had canceled all group gatherings, Community Circle, the Spring auction, and all other events. We left from that meeting anxious about what the future might hold, and not an hour later, schools were closed. In the past year, we have experienced a great deal of loss, and as I reflect on and process the past year, I grieve for the absence of friends in my home, hugs, and seeing a smile. However, this year has also taught me so much; how to lead a school in a virtual capacity, how important relationships are and that you CAN build relationships through a screen! I’ve learned that you can see a smile in someone’s eyes, and that you can never play too many games of Uno! This past year has reminded me how lucky I am to be a part of this amazing community. I hope you can take some time to reflect on the past year with your family, allow some space to grieve the losses, but also to express gratitude for what we have, and what we have learned. Love you lots WP!
Sincerely,
Principal Scott
In Person Dismissal Reminders
In Person Dismissal Reminders:
No DOGS on Campus!! (allowed in cars, thanks for families that asked for clarification!) Please use this QR code to sign in at dismissal. This alerts your child’s teacher to send them out to walkers and car riders. You can also find the link on our website under "Quick Links." Dismissal changes can be submitted using this form. If you want to save the form as a button on your iphone, please watch this video! Adding QR code to iphone Carpool-Please continue to have a sign with your student’s name on it as you come through carpool! Thanks!
What if my in person student has to quarantine?
Please view this if/then chart, which details how Winnona Park will be addressing individual student, teacher, and whole class quarantines.
Yearbook Information
The Winnona Park PTA and the yearbook committee are pleased to be putting together the 2020-21 yearbook! We have a few requests for content to make this book a success. Student Portraits If your child missed the photo sessions on the pavilion earlier this month, please email a headshot to winnonayearbook@gmail.com. Please include the student's first name, last name, and grade in the message. High resolution JPG's are appreciated. Second Grade Tributes To honor our outgoing class, the yearbook will include free tributes to our second graders. You can submit tributes here: https://tinyurl.com/2ba9e9sr Candid Photos We would love to see our kids, teachers, and staff in action this school year! Please submit candid photos to winnonayearbook@gmail.com. In addition to general candids, we would love any photos you have from the Read-a-thon, the tree, wreath & candle sale (our volunteers in action would be great), the Diversity Committee events, and the WP garden.
All submissions are due by Wednesday, March 31.
Community Circle
Community Circle begins each Friday at 8:30 AM. Students can log in through their Google Classroom Stream, and students in the building will watch from their classroom. Students can join Community Circle from home through their Google Classroom Stream. Watch past videos here.
Upcoming PTA Meetings
K-5 ELA Curriculum adoption update
We are excited to announce we are currently going through a K-5 ELA curriculum adoption. Please view the following information to learn how you can participate in this exciting process.
Next Steps for Parents:
Start here at the K-5 Parent Curriculum Adoption Information Sheet.
Review the EdReports for ARC Core and Wit & Wisdom.
Review the materials linked in this folder.
After reviewing the materials, please submit your input on this form by Monday, March 29, 2021 5:00 PM.
We are truly looking forward to receiving your input as we move through this curriculum adoption process.
Thanks,
Maima Simmons
District Literacy & MTSS Coordinator
School Leadership Team
The Winnona Park Elementary School Leadership Team (SLT) is an elected committee consisting of Winnona Park parents/guardians, staff members, a community member, and a district representative. Public comments are welcome at our SLT meetings and follow the same rules as the school board meetings with a limit of 3 minutes to speak per person. If you would like to submit a comment ahead of the meeting, you can email any of the SLT members below. Our next SLT meeting will be held on March 25th at 7 pm via zoom link: https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/96257187643
Sherry Peterson- speterson@csdecatur.net
Taniqua Miller- tmiller@csdecatur.net
Will Epps- wepps@csdecatur.net
Tyler Waidner Smith- twaidnersmith@csdecatur.net
Cindy Clark- ciclark@csdecatur.net
Julie Semones- jsemones@csdecatur.net
Ruth Scott- rscott@csdecatur.net
Sherry Peterson- speterson@csdecatur.net
Taniqua Miller- tmiller@csdecatur.net
Will Epps- wepps@csdecatur.net
Tyler Waidner Smith- twaidnersmith@csdecatur.net
Cindy Clark- ciclark@csdecatur.net
Julie Semones- jsemones@csdecatur.net
Ruth Scott- rscott@csdecatur.net
From the PTA
Winnona Park Elementary Passive Fundraising
Follow the steps below to register with our newest fundraising partners and raise money for WPES when you shop! Visit winnonaparkpta.org/custom-page-2/ for more easy fundraising opportunities with Amazon, Kroger, and Publix. Mabel’s Labels Visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com, search for Winnona Park Elementary School, and start shopping for dishwasher-safe, laundry-safe, personalized peel-and-stick labels for clothing and school gear. Minted.com Earn money for Winnona Park all year when you shop for holiday cards, invitations, custom art, personalized kids’ gear, and more! Enjoy 20% off at Minted.com with unique promo code FUNDRAISEWINNONA at checkout. Anyone can use the code, and 15% of each order will be donated back to WPES.
From the District
Join the Talley DEI Committee to transform Zoom into KaZoom
Join us on 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. REGISTER HERE!
A Message from CSD Finance
The City Schools of Decatur is in the process of establishing the Fiscal Year 2022 budget and is seeking feedback on the current draft of the CSD 2021-2022 Budget. We are interested in input from the community on any budget suggestions, concerns, or questions that they may have. Please enter your feedback in this form regarding this draft of the budget so that the Superintendent and Finance team can consider them. Thank you for taking the time to provide this valuable feedback.
CSD School Nutrition Update
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.
Elementary Meal Pick-Up UPDATE
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
How to support us: Please consider taking photos of your child enjoying their school lunch and send it to us at meals@csdecatur. 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.
Special Ed Survey
The Georgia Department of Education is requesting that parents who have a student with IEPs participate in the Special Education Parent Survey for SY2020-SY2021. We are asking Principals, Assistant Principals, Special Education Teachers, and Case Managers to encourage their parents to participate in the survey. As part of our collaboration to reach all parents of students with disabilities, we are asking building leaders to post the survey on their school websites. This survey helps to guide our district and state toward a more meaningful collaboration, which helps to bring about good outcomes for our students' education.
Please email or call me with any questions. Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey.
https://survey.gadoe.org/SPEDParentSurvey/Pages/ParentSurvey.aspx
From the City of Decatur
DEF Update:
Two Chances to Win a Butter & Cream Gift Card! Everyone who registers for the Tour deCatur “Run Where You Are” Tour deCatur 5K and Fun Run by March 15th (Monday) will be entered into a raffle to win a Butter & Cream gift card! Just go to www.tourdecatur.com to sign up. Once there, you can also order event t-shirts and download your race bibs. OR you can create your own race bibs, post them on Instagram and/or Facebook with #Tourdecatur2021 and you’ll get a Butter & Cream gift card! Two ways to win ice cream!
Grand Re-opening of the Decatur Student Center coming soon at DHS!
The Decatur Student Center at DHS is close to 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 to School/Wylde Center Wylde Center newsletter!
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!
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.