Weekly Update
Winnona Park Elementary School
Dear Winnona Park families,
Week two of our new schedule has been smooth and calm. Our families and staff continue to demonstrate flexibility as we tweak in person and virtual routines, in order to meet the needs of all learners. Please continue to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Ruth Scott
Nurse’s Note: If a child presents to the clinic with Covid Symptoms during school hours.
Children who present to the clinic with symptoms of illness will be evaluated by the school nurse. If a child has any covid symptoms they will be sent home. We request children be picked up within one hour of notification. If a child presents with two low risk symptoms or one high risk symptom they must be evaluated by a healthcare provider before being allowed to return to school. The nurse will provide written instruction regarding when children can return based on their symptoms.
In Person Dismissal
We continue to work to improve our arrival and dismissal routines. Beginning Monday, January 24th, parents will use a QR code to sign in at dismissal. Please review this document for changes and make sure to help us ensure safety by following these procedures.
Carpool-Please continue to have a sign with your student’s name on it as you come through carpool! Thanks!
Arrival and Dismissal procedures
Dismissal changes can be submitted using this form.
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.
From Ms. Zeff in the Media Center
1. Books must be returned before we can check out new books. In-person students may return books to their classrooms; virtual students may return books to the bin outside the front entrance of the school. The bin is outside 24/7. Check a student's Destiny account to see a picture of the books that are out. Instructions for this are in the "Classwork" section of the Media Center website.
2. For virtual students, I am now able to send out an email when books are ready to be picked up. Books may be picked up from the black book cart outside the main entrance of the school. The cart is outside 24/7. Second graders have had lessons on how to reserve books in Destiny so please speak to your child if you receive and email and are not sure what it's about. It's a little tricky as they can reserve the books themselves but need an adult to pick them up.
Check the "Flybrary" tab of the Media Center website for the most up-to-date information including videos on how to use Destiny Discover.
Please email Ms. Zeff at izeff@csdecatur.net if you have any questions.
Community Circle
Community Circle time is changing! We will be having Community Circle each Friday at 8:30 AM beginning tomorrow. 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. Feel free to watch past videos here.
National School Counselor Week: Feb. 1-5
The purpose of National School Counselor Week is to focus public attention on the unique contributions of school counselors. School counselors help students achieve academic success, focus on their mental health and assist in career planning. We are so grateful to Dr. Huntington for her continue support of our students here at Winnona Park! Feel free to send Dr. Huntington a note of appreciation at mhuntington@csdecatur.net.
Black History Month at Winnona Park
Join Winnona Park's Black History Month celebrations by participating in our Living History Museum.
Even though we're not all together, we can still celebrate and share our favorite Black artists. The Black History Month Celebration Committee wants to invite your child to sign up for the Living History Museum. This event is for EVERYONE. We want every child regardless of race, gender, and age to sign up. Our goal is to provide you with ideas, but ultimately get our kids excited about this history! This is ALWAYS such a fun and special event—more details to come but will take place at the end of Feb. Artists to research: https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2020/09/02/most-influential-black-artists/ but you’re welcome to pick your own. Sign up to participate here. If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to Lonnie Parker.lonnie@gmail.com or April Biagioni abiagioni@att.net
Cognia Accreditation
Every 5 years the City Schools of Decatur completes the accreditation process and uses findings from this endeavor to inform our planning for continued development. The Cognia organization offers accreditation and certification, assessment, professional services, and consulting to help schools drive continuous improvement. Cognia focuses on innovation to provide more agile solutions for school improvement and to drive better outcomes for all students.
As an important stakeholder in the Winnona Park Community, we value your input. With this in mind, we are asking each household to take a few minutes to complete the Culture & Climate Parent Survey and the Community Engagement Survey. Links to both surveys, and the CSD Culture & Climate Survey can be found below. The surveys will open today and will close on December 11th. The survey results will be analyzed by our School Leadership Team, and we will use this information to inform our planning at Winnona Park. We appreciate your participation and feedback.
Please note: each school has two surveys and there is a separate CSD district survey. I apologize in advance for the amount of surveys, but please know we value this input!
From the PTA
Winnona Park Elementary Passive Fundraising
Follow the steps below to register with our fundraising partners and earn money for WPES when you shop! Click here for the flyer.
AmazonSmile
Log in to your Amazon account via smile.amazon.com. Search for and select Winnona Park Elementary PTA. Remember to use the smile.amazon.com address to shop!
You can also change your AmazonSmile charitable organization to Winnona Park Elementary PTA: Once logged in, go to “Your Account” from the navigation at the top of any page; click “Change Your AmazonSmile Charity.” Search for and select Winnona Park Elementary PTA.
Kroger Community Rewards
Link your Kroger Plus card (available at customer service): Visit krogercommunityrewards.com and follow the instructions to link your card to Winnona Park Elementary PTA (#LY171). Scan your Kroger Plus card at checkout to earn money for WPES.
Publix Partners
1. Sign up or log in at clubpublix.com.
2. Click your account name at the top of publix.com; scroll through the dashboard to select “My Publix Partner.”
3. Search for and select Winnona Park Elementary School.
4. Enter your phone number every time you check out to earn funds for WPES.
Box Tops for Education
Box Tops for Education has gone digital! Get the Box Tops app and learn more about scanning box tops and receipts with qualifying purchases at boxtops4education.com. If you have unexpired box tops to donate, we’ll pick them up! Contact Sarah Moye at smcvoy@yahoo.com or 919-951-9099 to arrange pickup.
Mabel’s Labels
Earn money for WPES when you shop at MabelsLabels.com for dishwasher-safe, laundry-safe, personalized peel-and-stick labels for clothing, school supplies, holiday gifts, and more. Visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com, search for Winnona Park Elementary School, and start shopping.
From the District
CSD Nutrition Updates for Spring 2021!
Virtual Learners:
As K-5 students return to in-person instruction we will continue to offer meals FREE to all students until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Meal pick-ups for our virtual learners will continue for any student ONLY at our Decatur High School TakeOutSpot during the same 10:30 AM-12:30 PM time frame.
In Person Learners:
Students in our CSD buildings will be offered daily take-home meals as they exit their school. These meal bags will contain both lunch for the current school day and breakfast for the following school day. We ask that all students remember to take meals, as it helps support our school nutrition program. If your child needs a vegetarian meal or has a special diet concern please complete the online survey on our website (https://www.csdecatur.net/nutrition) as soon as possible.
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
Thank you to the Decatur Business Association for hosting the State of the City and State of the City Schools Address on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Mayor Patty Garrett gave the State of the City address and School Board Chair Tasha White gave the State of the City Schools address during this meeting. to view a recording of the meeting you can visit https://zoom.us/rec/share/9HUJYtEl2IVJjLepCCyZY4LaCLJVejL36Rfh7K-ebq-9gIJbiPjcVJVn3BJx6huB.puFBEGO9C30ny4Tw), please use password Q1j*+cZ^.
WATCH NOW
Decatur Strategic Plan for 202s...
The roundtables process included 800 registrants who contributed thousands of comments. Many of these comments about Decatur’s future were in agreement, but some topics revealed conflicting perspectives about how Decatur should chart its course for the next 10 years.
The 202s will allow for a deep dive on these topics. After hearing from subject matter experts, we will join together in virtual discussion groups to help understand tradeoffs and find balance among differing perspectives. Input will be used to form recommendations on how the Strategic Plan should address these issues. The 202s will seek to answer the question: “What does success look like in a community of 25K people within a metropolitan region of nearly 6 million people?”
Climate Change:
Thursday, February 11, 6-8 p.m.
Speakers will be announced closer to the event. All events will occur on Zoom and will be recorded and available after the meeting. Visit decatur2030.com for details.
Decatur Education Foundation News
DEF Equity survey
As part of DEF's commitment to become an anti-racist organization in both action and in words, we are looking at our relationships with Black parents/guardians and parents/guardians of children who identify as Black to learn how DEF can better engage and support your family. If you identify as a Black parent or guardian or a parent or guardian of a child who identifies as Black and you are part of the City Schools of Decatur community, please take a moment to fill out this survey which will help us understand what matters to you and how we might work together to support kids. https://forms.gle/z2yezERPGu4ombSJ8
DEF Virtual Pals Tutoring
As CSD rolls out its plans for spring semester, DEF will be working to continue to support families to ensure our students have what they need to learn and thrive. DEF established Virtual Pals Tutoring Program to provide extra help for CSD students in the 2nd through 8th grades during virtual learning. Participants are paired with a community volunteer tutor who provides basic homework help, tutoring and virtual learning support. If your student would like to enroll in the program, please fill out this application. To see all of our
Covid initiatives, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/Covid-19.
NaanStop to benefit DEF
They’re doing it again! Our friends at NaanStop are hosting another pop-up right here in Decatur on Thursday, February 4th 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 - 5:45pm on Thursday, February 4th - Masks/distancing required at pick up - order in advance before 5 pm on Wednesday, February 3.
From the City of Decatur
Decatur Business Association State of the City Address
Tuesday, Jan. 26 • 5:30 p.m. • Online via Zoom
The event is free, but registration is required at https://zoom.us/j/94674745516?pwd=dCtJSWN6Qk0rcmlHbGFwZitiVXB1Zz09.
Decatur Strategic Plan for 202s...
The roundtables process included 800 registrants who contributed thousands of comments. Many of these comments about Decatur’s future were in agreement, but some topics revealed conflicting perspectives about how Decatur should chart its course for the next 10 years.
The 202s will allow for a deep dive on these topics. After hearing from subject matter experts, we will join together in virtual discussion groups to help understand tradeoffs and find balance among differing perspectives. Input will be used to form recommendations on how the Strategic Plan should address these issues. The 202s will seek to answer the question: “What does success look like in a community of 25K people within a metropolitan region of nearly 6 million people?”
Climate Change:
Thursday, February 11, 6-8 p.m.
Speakers will be announced closer to the event. All events will occur on Zoom and will be recorded and available after the meeting. Visit decatur2030.com for details.