Wow! Look at me - just a few short months and I’ve gone from being 2nd President to Interim 1st President. ((For those of you who don't know, a kindergartner used to call me that when he couldn't remember my name.) I’m going to do my best to stay humble and not let the power go to my head.

In all seriousness, from my first day here, you all have made me feel so welcomed into your Glennwood family. This community is special, and with that at the forefront, it is my goal that Dr. Brookins’s short medical leave is only felt in the absence of her smiling face and bubbly personality. Your kiddos are still in the capable and caring hands of this incredible staff, and the day-to-day operations will run as smoothly as ever.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any concerns, questions, or want to heap praise on a staff member. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown”, but I’m here for you, and more importantly, I’m here for your kids.

See you tomorrow at Community Circle!

Warmly,

Summer

Assistant Principal

sclayton@csdecatur.net

It’s Mardi Gras time so let’s join the parade!! For many years, the Decatur Education Foundation has hosted the Mead Road Mardi Gras parade as a fundraiser to support Decatur schools. The parade is on February 4 at 1pm, beginning at Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary School. This is reportedly the parade’s last year, so let’s enjoy it while it’s still here! Glennwood is putting together a super krewe to join the parade! It’s simple, and we’d love for you to join.

What’s Glennwood’s krewe theme?

Our theme is SUPERPOWERS! Students (and adults!!!!) can brainstorm, “What’s my superpower?” and then dress as that superhero! Our banner will say something like “Glenwood Eagles have SUPER POWERS!” Here are a few costume brainstorms:

Super Reader, Super Kind, Super Gymnast, Super Dog Trainer

Super Brave, Super Fast, Super Friend, Super Problem Solver

Super Musician, Super Artist, Super Writer, Super Creative

How do we participate?

1. Complete this form to express your interest. Sign-up is not required to participate, but will help us in planning for our crowd.

2. Prepare your superpower costume! Keep it as truly simple as you’d like (a bath towel safety pinned into a cape with a paper drawing of your superpower is perfect!) Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold. All are welcome no matter what you wear. :)

3. Show up at F.AVE for the parade a bit before 1pm (exact time TBA). Parking is limited there, so plan accordingly. We’ll have some tambourines, maracas, etc. to hand out.

4. Parade steps off at 1pm from 4/5 Academy and marches up Oakview to Mead Rd. and ends at The Imperial. Click here for a map of the parade route. All students/children must have an adult with them.

5. Feel free to join the festival at The Imperial! There’ll be cajun food, beer, and hot dogs, as well as live performances by Decatur student musicians and other special guests.

PTA General Meeting

We will have short PTA General Meeting for parents after Community Circle tomorrow to share upcoming events and activities. Please plan to stay briefly after Community Circle. Thank you.

February Snack Table

This year, to show our appreciation for our amazing staff, the Glennwood PTA will be sponsoring a staff snack table each month. 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 February, we're asking second grade families to host a Valentine's treat table for our staff on Wednesday, February 8th. If you're a second grade family and you didn't participate in October, please visit the Sign Up Genius to sign up to bring in something for our staff. The PTA is also requesting clean up volunteers, so kindly please sign up via the Sign Up Genius if you can volunteer your time to help clean up. We very much appreciate our cleanup volunteers!

Please drop off your items with Ms. Reynolds at the front office February 6th any time during school hours-February 8th by 8:30am. The PTA will assemble the snack table for our staff to enjoy the morning of February 8th.

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).

Lost and Found

Hello Families! Please don’t forget to visit the LOST & FOUND on your way in and/or out of school. It is currently overflowing. There are a lot of water bottles and jackets.

If your child is missing an item, please fill out this sheet form with your child’s name, class and description of the item. I will make sure to deliver it. I will also visit the classrooms every two weeks for a couple of minutes and bring a rolling cart with all items in the lost and found.

All items will be donated by the end of January if they aren’t claimed.

Questions?! Please email (Nydia Almond) at nialmond05@gmail.com

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.

Join us for a tour of a new exhibition at the High Museum of Art George Voronovsky: Memoryscapes that will spark joy, creativity, and conversation. Born in a small village in eastern Ukraine in 1903, Voronovsky immigrated to the United States after World War II and eventually retired to Miami Beach in the early 1970s, where he turned his home into an art refuge filled with paintings and sculptures he created from found materials like old Styrofoam coolers and pizza boxes. The show’s curator and Glennwood parent, Dr. Katherine Jentleson will provide a child friendly tour, with open exploration of the museum’s other galleries and it’s interactive play space, The Greene Family Learning Gallery.

The event is Sunday, April 16 at 1 pm. To reserve a spot, please sign up on the sign-up genius! Capacity is limited due to space limitations within the galleries. If many families wish to join, we can add additional tour times.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4AAEAA22A5FA7-high

Talley St and Glennwood’s Elementary Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee invites you to Essential Conversations About Affordable Housing.

Moderated by Talley Parent, Richelle Patton, President of Collaborative Housing Solutions.

Talley Community Meeting:

Please meet us on Wednesday Feb. 1, at 7:30pm in the Talley Media Center Light Refreshments to be provided.

Exercise while supporting a good cause! There's still time to register. This Peachtree qualifying event is one of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters' fundraisers and a can't-miss community event for all ages.

T-shirt and race number pickup:

There will be lots of runners, so early pickup is highly recommended.

- Thursday and Friday at Fleet Feet Decatur, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

- Friday at Beacon Hill Middle School, 6:00 - 7:30 pm

You can also pick up on Saturday morning before the race begins.

Register here. See you at the race!

State & Federal Programs “Ask an Expert” Event

You are cordially invited to “Ask the Expert,” a virtual event being held February 2, 2023 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. for K-5 Title I, ESOL, Special Education, and General Education parents and families.

Ms. Gereen Francis, Behavior Interventionist, will give an overview of her role and upcoming CSD behavior support initiatives. Over the past two years, students, parents, and caregivers have had to adjust to changes in our world. At times, these changes are reflected in behavior. Ms. Francis will offer suggestions to pre-submitted behavior questions to help support your child at school and at home. To learn more about the speaker or to RSVP, please click the link here.

Please submit your questions here.

For questions or additional information, please contact Cheryl Grant at cgrant@csdecatur.net or Brittany Stewart at bstewart@csdecatur.net.

Google Meet Video call link: https://meet.google.com/mwz-siww-qmw

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 865-375-0059‬ PIN: ‪938 337 249‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/mwz-siww-qmw?pin=4696257640820

Community Celebration of Black Joy

On Friday, February 3, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:30 PM, the GPB and Decatur High School Library program partnership, ASALH, and AAHGS will host a “Community Celebration of Black Joy” at DHS. Events will include a panel discussion centered around clips from the series “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine'', spoken word performances, a student-curated gallery walk, a genealogy exhibit, and more facilitated by the DHS Black Student Union. Click here to register for this event.

The Special Education Parent Survey is a survey that helps the state to determine parents’ perception of the success of parent engagement relating to 10 specific areas of special education and the IEP process and is used as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities. Georgia’s parent survey is available to all families of students with IEPs.

* Families that have more than one student with an IEP, please complete an individual survey for each student.

For more information about the survey click here! Thank you in advance for your participation!

Kings Award

ALL CSD students, PK-12, are invited to apply for their school's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King Awards. This joint award recognizes student teams who best demonstrate the beliefs and visions of two great Civil Rights leaders. Complete this application (one per team) by Monday, February 27, at 4 PM EST. Contact Anthony Downer at adowner@csdecatur.net for more information.

Join the Atlanta Hawks on March 3, for City Schools of Decatur Night at State Farm Arena. Each ticket includes $10 worth of food and beverage credit that can be used at our restaurants inside the arena the night of the game. Special pregame performance by the BHMS Chorus!

To purchase tickets, click here. See flyer for details.

Next Weekend: Mead Road Mardi Gras Parade is coming up soon on Saturday, February 4th starting at 1pm at F.AVE. Every CSD school is invited to march in the parade that has raised more than $30K for music and theatre grants! Community krewes can sign up at www.meadrdmardigras.org. As a reminder, this is a “walk or roll only” parade, no motorized vehicles allowed (we’re keeping it old school!) Laissez les bons temps rouler!

In March: Registration is for the 21st Annual Tour deCatur is NOW OPEN at www.tourdecatur.com. Decatur’s favorite 5K and one-mile fun run is scheduled for Saturday March 11th. All adult participants who register on or before February 18th will receive a race t-shirt. Youth participants for both the Fun Run and the 5K will receive a participation medal. As DEF’s biggest fundraiser, your participation helps fund everything we do to help our students learn and thrive. Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor Mathnasium of Decatur who will be there at the race with math games and giveaways!