As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I am asking families to help me with a small project for our staff. During the month of November, we often reflect on gratitude. We would love to hear from our families and students about what and/or who you are grateful for at Glennwood Elementary School.

Please take a brief moment to express your gratitude to our amazing staff. Please add your gratitude notes on the Google form by clicking HERE. Your words of appreciation make a great impact on our school culture and climate. I will compile all responses and share them with the staff on November 18th before they leave for the break. Thank you!

Warmest regards,

Holly Brookins, Ph.D.

Principal

hbrookins@csdecatur.net

We would GREATLY appreciate any donations. Thank you to families who have already donated books this year! Please contact our media clerk, Anne Dishman at adishman@csdecatur.net with any questions. Thanks so much!

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).

Crossing Guard Appreciation Week - One More Day!

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!

SOAR Spiritwear

SOAR with pride Eagles, Spirit Wear is here! Get yours HERE! Don't miss our 2022-2023 design. Get it before it sells out! (Youth and adult sizes available. Youth design pictured.)

*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.

Please join us to learn about DeKalb history and nature with Ranger Jonah at Mason Mill Park on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am to 12pm. Please sign up for this awesome event using this link. (Event open for 30 people.)

K-5 ARC Parent Literacy Meeting

There will be an American Reading Company (ARC) Literacy Curriculum In-Person Parent Meeting with Amelia Larson, Executive Vice President of Innovations and Academic Partnerships, on Wednesday, November 15, 2022, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm in the Wilson Center Boardroom, 125 Electric Ave. Decatur, GA 30030. Please join us to find out more about what your child is doing during their literacy block.

Nutrition Department

The Nutrition Department is in the process of reaching out to parents about student negative meal balances. These efforts to send the low-balance communications will continue weekly through the automated Infinite Campus messenger or a personal phone call. Some accounts may have had outstanding balances prior to being approved for free or reduced meal benefits. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Nekee Mathis at nmathis@csdecatur.net. or (470) 237- 0368 ext 7607.

Note: A free and reduced lunch application may be completed anytime during the school year. Currently, the district policy allows students to receive meals, not extra items, for example, i.e. bag of chips. However, a child's negative meal balance will continue to incur debt as they receive meals. Click on the links below if you need help adding a reminder to your school email account, adding a low balance alert on your nutrition meal account, and/or adding funds to your school nutrition account.

• How to add a reminder to your school email account

• How to add a low balance alert on your nutrition meal account

• How to add funds to your school nutrition account

Report Cards in the Parent Portal

Special Education Parent Meetings - 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.

Community Partner Announcements and Updates

GaDOE Posts New ELA Standards for Public Comment

Based on the recommendation of State School Superintendent Richard Woods, the Georgia Department of Education has posted new K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) standards for a 30-day public comment period. If approved, the standards will be implemented in the 2024-2025 school year, following teacher training.

Click here to review the draft standards and provide feedback.

The draft standards leverage the insight and expertise of thousands of Georgians to support ELA instruction that is Georgia-developed, age and developmentally appropriate, and provides a strong foundation beginning in the early grades. Drafted by Georgia ELA teachers with input from educational leaders, parents, students, business and industry leaders, and community members, the standards are designed to be clear, understandable, and present a balanced amount of content to cover in each year – so that students can truly master concepts rather than simply being quickly exposed to them.

The survey will close at 5:00 PM EDT on 12/5​/2022.

Decatur Prevention Initiative

The Decatur Parents Network is collaborating with DHS staff and the Student Center to offer an evening for parents and caregivers on November 17 @ 6:30 at the Student Center. For more information and to register, go to https://bit.ly/DecaturParentsNetworkNov17.

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