I’m baaaack. Unfortunately for you, I’ve been given this platform and will thus take advantage of it and get on my EL soapbox. You may not know this about me, but I am passionate about EL. I started at Clairemont back in 2002, back when Clairemont was the only EL school in the district. (Actually, it and Evergreen Charter were the only ones in the south at that time). I have to say, I drank the proverbial kool-aid. I went to every EL Professional Learning opportunity I could. I visited EL schools in areas where I was vacationing, I became an Instructional Coach to help all the k-3s (before they were reconfigured to k-2s) start their EL journey, and I eventually went on to start and grow a k-8 EL charter school in Idaho.

EL has changed a good bit since 2002 (including name changes from Expeditionary Learning-Outward Bound to ELEducation). My passion, however, has not dimmed. I’m particularly inspired just now having come from the 2nd grade expedition kick-off in the auditorium. “What’s an expedition?” Well, I’m so glad you asked. Give a listen to this podcast episode that our friends at Oakhurst created which gives a great overview of expeditions.

I love learning from other schools, so it's exciting for me to hear what others in our own district are doing. I love that they've created this as a way for parents to better understand our work. Cindy and Erin explain it so well! I like to think of expeditions as the compelling lens through which students go deeply into a unit of study. Learning is active. Learning is meaningful. Learning is challenging. Learning is collaborative. Learning is public. Expeditions create opportunities for even our youngest learners to connect with their world and be intentional about making it better.

A big thank you to the second-grade parents that gave their time, energy, and enthusiasm today to create today’s experience. You all made today’s kick-off a huge success!

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Community Circle tomorrow and PTA's DEI-Sponsored Culture Night on Sunday. Details below.

Warmly,

Summer

Assistant Principal

sclayton@csdecatur.net

Virtual Lunch and Learn with Mr. Blase - Wednesday, March 29 - 11:30-12:15 pm

However, current students entering K, 3rd, 6th, and 9th grades should be prepared to provide (at their school) updated residency information when school starts.

Please go to https://www.csdecatur.net/enrollment to review the enrollment process and required documentation.

Georgia Walk and Roll to School Day - Friday, March 24

After a long winter break (and a reschedule due to rain!), we are back for Georgia Walk & Roll to School Day!! Please join us on your feet, your bike or your scooter (don’t forget those helmets!), and let’s show CSD how Eagles SOAR! Students who walk, bike, or scoot will continue to enter at their grade-specific doors, where they will be counted, using our traditional marbles, by their staff door monitors, and can pick up their incentives.

Don’t forget, each marble counts towards students earning extra school-wide recess, with announcements made at Community Circle!

For additional details (including our three Walking School Bus Routes) and a full Walk & Roll schedule for the year, please visit the Glennwood website: https://www.csdecatur.net/Domain/530

Contact Amanda McMillan (almcmil@gmail.com) with any questions!

The 22-23 Glennwood Yearbook is now on sale for $20. Please place orders through the PTA website HERE by March 25, 2023.

It is an important Glennwood PTA tradition that every student and staff member receive a yearbook. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please consider donating a yearbook for $20 using the same link.

• PURCHASE A DEDICATION:
  Create Yearbook DEDICATIONS for your child(ren) or teachers – the DEADLINE to purchase a dedication is March 25, 2023.

To purchase a dedication:
1. Go to www.YearbookOrderCenter.com.
2. Type in the Glennwood ES school code, which is 24818.
3. You’ll see the option to “Buy a Yearbook Ad.”
4. The website will walk you through the steps of choosing the ad/dedication and creating it.
5. You can come back to work on the dedication as much as you’d like prior to submitting it. However, you must finish creating it and pay for it before March 25th. The dedication will not be submitted until you pay for it, which is after you finish creating it.

Dedication pricing is as follows:
$15.00 for 1/8 page
$25.00 for 1/4 page
$35.00 for 1/2 page

Technical support for dedications: 877.362.7750. Contact yearbook@glennwoodpta.org for any general questions.

• DEDICATIONS:

To purchase a dedication:

1. Go to www.YearbookOrderCenter.com.

2. Type in the Glennwood ES school code, which is 24818.

3. You’ll see the option to “Buy a Yearbook Ad.”

Interested in Decatur Virtual Academy?

The window to sign up for Decatur Virtual Academy (DVA) by choice for next year is open now. The window will close at noon on June 16, 2023. If you want your student to attend DVA for the 2023 -24 school year, please complete this form before noon on June 16, 2023. Space is limited. Once DVA is full, families will be on a wait list. This form may only be completed by a parent or guardian who has educational rights for a CSD student. PLEASE COMPLETE ONE FORM PER STUDENT.

CSD FY24 Budget Community Feedback Survey

Greetings CSD Stakeholders,

In an effort to ensure we have captured a wide range of input from our stakeholders, a group of parents volunteered to put together a community survey to gather information from our community on the FY 24 Budget. Please see the information below, and thank you in advance for completing this survey. I'm looking forward to reviewing the results.

Kindly,

Dr. Maggie Fehrman

This survey was created and led by a group of CSD parents to gather community feedback on the upcoming budget allocation proposal.

The results will be collected and shared with CSD District leadership and the Board of Education prior to their tentative budget meeting on March 28, 2023. This survey aims to provide information regarding parents/educators priorities for this budget and is not expected to determine the budget. This survey must be completed by noon on Monday, March 27, 2023.

In order to provide us with informed opinions about CSD's budget and proposals, please read the Budget Request Summary and Budget Playbook.

Results will be published for the CSD community.

Thank you,
Kristin Ebersold, India Epps, Patricia Liscio, Richard Malerba, Samantha McMahan, Kunle Oguneye, Weonhee Shin, Natalie Jo Williams, and Sara Weathersby

Care to help combat food insecurity in Decatur? You can donate to our Lighten the Load Weekend Backpack program which provides supplemental food to Decatur families who need it. We still have a lot of need this month. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Beacon Hill Snack Pantry wish list for March. The snack pantry ensures that no one at the middle school goes hungry. Here are the wish lists for both programs:

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

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

Volunteers needed: 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 sign up: https://forms.gle/SnUp5TNx3JZRTNja7