This month, Ms. Thaker was awarded DEF's Teacher Innovation Grant (TIG) for the project "Structured TEACCHING in the Adapted Classroom". The intent of the project will be to support students with significant disabilities in acquiring the skills they need to be successful in the classroom. It will fund the purchase of starter sets of TEACCH task boxes to work on students' pre-academic skills. The research-based TEACCH approach uses a method called “Structured TEACCHing,” which is designed to support Autistic students with higher support needs, especially those with significant communication challenges and reduced attention and executive functioning skills. The grant will also fund the creation of an adapted book library for teaching students who are non-speaking or minimally verbal. Because of their interactive nature, adapted books can be helpful in supporting students' sustained attention to a shared storybook reading while also exposing them to core vocabulary meant to help them communicate their wants and needs.

We have the best crossing guards in all of Decatur helping to keep our kids safe at Glennwood everyday! Ms. Joyce (E. Ponce & Sycamore Pl) has been with us for many years, and Ms. Etta (Commerce & Sycamore Pl), Ms. V and Ms. Carla (Sycamore & E Ponce), may be newer, but they are all such wonderful and important members of our community. Let’s make sure to let them know how much we appreciate them! It would be amazing if kiddos could make cards, notes, drawings, cookies/baked goods/treats, and/or gift cards to bring to our crossing guards during the week of November 7-11! As Glennwood’s Safe Routes to School representative, I’ll be coordinating a collection of funds for gifts to each of these four special ladies from the school. If you’d like to contribute you can Venmo (@almcmil) or PayPal (almcmil@gmail.com), and I’ll include you/your child’s name on the card. I’d like to get all donations by Monday, November 7. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns or ideas to Amanda McMillan at almcmil@gmail.com. Thanks for your help!

SOAR with pride Eagles, Spirit Wear is here! Come to Community Circle tomorrow and get a chance to purchase new Glennwood Spirit Wear.

Our Spirit Wear Committee Chair Micah Lewin will be at the school tomorrow from 8am until the ending of Community Circle. If you can't make it to Community Circle you can get your Spirit Wear HERE!

Don't miss our 2022-2023 design. Get it before it sells out! (Youth design pictured on top. Adult design pictured on bottom.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please include the child's name and teacher in the “notes to seller” field at checkout. This would make distribution and delivery much easier and faster. Thank you!

Questions?! Please email Micah Lewin at: micah.lewin@outlook.com.

Yearbook Photos Needed

As you and your family participate at events and school activities, we'd love for you to capture those memories and submit those photos so we can feature as many as possible in the yearbook!

Details can be found at: www.tinyurl.com/glennwoodyearbook.

If you have any questions or issues, please email yearbook@glennwoodpta.org.

Artwork Help For Glennwood’s Art Teacher:

Each grading period, our Glennwood Art Teacher, Ms. Nadine Howarth, would like help sorting, rolling, and taping "Art Portfolio Bundles" for the students and changing out the artwork on a few of the school Bulletin boards.

Please consider signing up to help. The job should take about an hour of your time. In the comments section, please include the date of your choice from the list of dates, and the time you plan to arrive.

Glennwood Staff Appreciation: November Snack Table Hosted by First Grade

This year, to show our appreciation for our amazing staff, the Glennwood PTA will be sponsoring a staff snack table in addition to hosting other staff appreciation events later in the year. We are asking each grade level to "stock the table" for a given month; each grade will be asked to sponsor a staff appreciation event twice this year. We kindly ask that each family participate in one of the two opportunities for your grade level (the intention is that a family only needs to participate once).

For November, we're asking first grade families to host a "Gratitude Table" for our staff on Thursday, November 17th. If you're a first grade family, please visit the Sign Up Genius here to sign up to bring in something for our staff.

Please drop off your items with Ms. Reynolds at the front office November 14-16 anytime during school hours and the PTA will assemble the snack table for our staff to enjoy on November 17th. Items can be store-bought or homemade, in bulk or individually packaged. The PTA is also requesting clean up volunteers, so please sign up via the Sign Up Genius if you can volunteer your time to help clean up.

If you are unable to purchase items for the table but would like to donate funds towards the event, the PTA is also collecting monetary donations. Please Paypal your donation to the PTA at Treasurer@Glennwoodpta.org with a note that it is for the November Snack Table and we'll take care of it for you.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Staff Appreciation Co-Chairs: Haley Stevens (haleycstevens@gmail.com) or Samantha Bryan (samantha.chopp@gmail.com).

Next Romp + Read is this Saturday, November 5th, from 10am to 11am at the Glennwood’s Playground.

Questions? Please email Aichuan Kwong at: aichuan@gmail.com

Join us on Saturday, January 28, 2023 for Run With the Dogs, a Decatur tradition now in its 19th year.

We’ll be back at Beacon Hill Middle School for the 5K and Pup Trot, and we are pleased to announce that this year’s race is an official qualifying event for the Peachtree Road Race!

If you think you have the perfect dog to be featured on this year’s t-shirt, please enter the Face of the Race contest. Just post a photo of your dog, plus a blurb about why your dog should be selected as the Face of the Race, to www.facebook.com/RWTD5k or on Instagram with the hashtag #RWTD5K.

All contest entrants must register for the race for their dogs to be considered. Photos can be submitted until November 7. Four finalists will be selected by the volunteer race committee, and voting on these four finalists will begin November 11. The Face of the Race winner will be announced November 18.

Run With the Dogs 5K is an annual fundraiser of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters and supports the athletic programs at Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School. All race participants will receive the coveted long-sleeved T-shirt designed by local artist Adam Pinsley.

Click here to register. For more information, visit rwtd5K.com.

Strategic Plan Town Halls

Dr. Fehrman will host two more town hall meetings where all community members can attend and review the information discussed at the Strategic Plan Team meeting, as well as the goals and performance objectives drafted. In addition, the town halls will provide an opportunity for the community to add their feedback and ensure we have aligned our goals with what our community wants to see achieved in our district over the next five years.

Strategic Plan Town Hall Dates / Times

November 3 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (virtual) https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/92270288945

November 3 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (in person) at the DHA Community Resource Center at 481 Electric Avenue

Special Education Parent Meetings

Golden Steps ABA

CSD welcomes Amanda Bissonnette of Golden Steps ABA to share an overview of services and support they provide to families.

Here's more about Golden Steps ABA:

Golden Steps implements Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to assist children in overcoming behaviors that challenge their ability to navigate and flourish in social, educational and home settings. We track their progress, encourage their growth, and applaud them when they inevitably succeed.

Date: November 10, 2022

Time: 6-7 pm

Location: This is a virtual meeting.

Target Audience: Pre-K to 6th grades

RSVP here

How It Works - Assistive Technology Meeting

Yael Cohen, Assistive Tech. Specialist & Frank DeFilippo, Special Education Coordinator, will be sharing a variety of apps and Google extensions that students can access to support their learning in class.

For example, if your student is experiencing:

• Poor handwriting

• Poor grammar

• Difficulty spelling

• Difficulty with Organizing writing assignments

Date: November 17, 2022

Time: 6-7pm

Location: This is a virtual meeting.

RSVP here

For questions please contact Cheryl Grant at cgrant@csdecatur.net.

News Decatur Student Center Offering - Family Meetings

Would You Like to Learn How to Conduct Family Meetings?

Are you tired of constant family arguments?

Are you tired of feeling as if your family is disconnected?

Are you tired of your family not knowing the schedule for the week?

Then perhaps Family Meetings are for you! Participants will learn how to conduct effective family meetings that will benefit all family members and encourage cohesiveness. Family Meetings have been shown to increase family members’ self-esteem, communication & conflict-resolution skills, and instill a sense of belonging & resilience.

When: Wednesdays, beginning November 9th, 2022

What: 6 weekly, 45-minute Google Meet sessions from 12:00 - 12:45

How: Attend weekly interactive meetings with camera on & ready to participate!

Cost: FREE and limited to 6 families

Click here to register and learn more!

It's time for an adult night out! Everyone is invited to Soiree in the City on Saturday, November 12th from 6:30-10:30pm to enjoy an evening of dinner, drinks, and dancing! It’s the perfect excuse to get dressed up and go out on the town for a great cause. We’ll enjoy a seated harvest dinner by Little Farmhouse Cafe, live music from Maxwell Street and a full array of cocktails and signature mocktail. Purchase your tickets today at www.decatureducationfoundation.org/soiree or scan the QR code. See you there!

Are you great at math, science or languages? Your skills could help a Decatur student in just one hour per week as a Virtual Pal Tutor! We pair 2nd-8th grade students with upper high school or adult tutors to help with homework, organization and motivation. It’s an easy way to give back to your community in a meaningful way (and for high school students to earn volunteer hours). Click here to apply: https://forms.gle/VJuyncb7qce6R7Jq5

Can’t volunteer but want to help out? You can donate to our Lighten the Load program which keeps the snack pantry stocked at Beacon Hill Middle School. For those families in our community experiencing food insecurity, we also have a weekend backpack program. Both have unique Amazon wish lists that are updated monthly. You can donate directly to them using these links:

Beacon Hill Middle Snack Program: /a.co/d0HJHTr

Weekend Backpack Program: https://a.co/6Etc74W