Weekly Update
Winnona Park Elementary School
Dear Winnona Park families,
Next week we will be on break all week, returning on Feb. 22nd. Please remember to follow the three W’s on break: Wear a mask, Watch your distance (6 ft!), and Wash your hands! We depend on the community doing their part while outside of school, which helps us stay safe once we return. Please keep in mind that teachers are on break as well and will not be checking or responding to email.
Every year we celebrate Black voices through our Living Museum! This year our Living Museum will look a little different, but we would still love for you to participate. See details below about signing up, the information to cover in your presentation, and a padlet to record your presentation.
Sincerely,
Principal Scott
Be a kind neighbor: Parking
Please remember to be kind to our school neighbors as you park around the school. Leave space for driveways and mailboxes in the neighborhood.
Winnona Park Field and Playground
This week I sent an email to the Winnona Park Neighborhood, letting them know the grounds are closed to the public during the hours of 8pm-4pm. We have had several incidents of people using the grounds as a public park, many not masked and children not adequately supervised. Winnona Park students, virtual and in person, may use the field and playground during this time, if they are wearing masks, and properly supervised. Anyone not wearing a mask will be asked to leave. Please be aware that WP pod students do use the playgrounds between 12-4, including their lunchtime, which is the only time they are unmasked. We ask that you show them respect and understand that their first responsibility is the pod students in their charge. Please feel free to email Principal Scott with any questions or concerns.
In Person Dismissal Reminders
No DOGS on Campus!!
Please use this QR code to sign in at dismissal. This alerts your child’s teacher to send them out to walkers and car riders
Dismissal changes can be submitted using this form.
If you want to save the form as a button on your iphone, please watch this video! Adding QR code to iphone
Carpool-Please continue to have a sign with your student’s name on it as you come through carpool! Thanks!
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
If you have received an email letting you know that your books are ready, and have not yet picked them up, you can pick them up until Monday, February 15th at 5 PM. The return bin will also be available until the same time. We will resume book check-out on Monday, February 22nd.
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.
Midyear/STAR Report
The students’ midyear report is their STAR reading assessment report. This report will have information about your student’s midyear scores on the reading assessment. This will be sent to you on Thursday, February 11th. This is one of several pieces of data that we use to document and monitor student progress throughout the year. Any questions regarding the STAR report can be sent to Ms. Semones at jsemones@csdecatur.net
School Leadership Team
The Winnona Park Elementary School Leadership Team (SLT) is an elected committee consisting of Winnona Park parents/guardians, staff members, a community member, and a district representative. Public comments are welcome at our SLT meetings and follow the same rules as the school board meetings with a limit of 3 minutes to speak per person. If you would like to submit a comment ahead of the meeting, you can email any of the SLT members below. Our next SLT meeting will be held on February 25th at 7 pm via zoom link: https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/93261182934
Sherry Peterson- speterson@csdecatur.net
Taniqua Miller- tmiller@csdecatur.net
Will Epps- wepps@csdecatur.net
Tyler Waidner Smith- twaidnersmith@csdecatur.net
Cindy Clark- ciclark@csdecatur.net
Julie Semones- jsemones@csdecatur.net
Ruth Scott- rscott@csdecatur.net
Black History Month at Winnona Park
Black History Month Living Museum:
Black History Month Living History Museum is coming soon. Even though we're not all together in person, we can still celebrate and share our favorite Black artists. The Black History Month Celebration Committee wants to invite you to encourage 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! Here's a link of different artists to research https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2020/09/02/most-influential-black-artists/
but you’re welcome to pick your own. Once you select your artist, please add your name and information using this form so we can organize this special event. We would also LOVE to share everyone’s presentations with the whole school by recording your presentation in this padlet.
If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to Lonnie Parker.lonnie@gmail.com or April Biagioni abiagioni@att.net
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!
Menu Service Update
Exciting news, CSD’s Nutrition Department will allow siblings that are attending in-person school to take home extra meals for their siblings under the age of 18 beginning on February 22, 2021. The form for requesting this service can be found here https://forms.gle/iUCUfC2KyrSpjdkY7. This service is only available for siblings. If your child receives a meal from a school site, they may not pick-up meals at Decatur High School. Also, we ask that parents requesting this service consider their student’s ability to transport the extra meals because our in-person students are our youngest learners. Meal pick-up will continue for virtual students at our TakeOutSpot at Decatur High School on MWF between 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM. If your child is eating with us and requires vegetarian meals OR has a special dietary need, please fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/eyo5veaaAN8iBczp6. In addition, parents of students with special dietary needs are required to return the completed form “Medical Statement for Accommodating Disabilities” to our Food and Nutrition Supervisor at sblack@csdecatur.net. Please note that a healthcare provider must fill out and sign this form. Thank you for your patience as we work through new processes this school year.
Quick Reminders:
Required Forms for Special Dietary Needs:
If your student is requesting lactose- free milk, we must have the “CSD Milk Substitution Form”; completed by either a parent/guardian OR a healthcare provider. Once parents of students with special dietary needs have completed the required online forms, please see the process for picking up their meals on this webpage.
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
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?”
Decatur Education Foundation News
Load Up with New Books for Winter Break!
DEF is hosting a Covid-safe book sale at Legacy Park’s Cochran Building (the gym) just in time for Winter Break. There’s a large selection of gently used children’s books from toddler to high school at bargain prices! You can sign up for 20-minute shopping slots here.
The Tour Must Go On!
Due to Covid-19, DEF can’t host its annual Tour deCatur 5K and Fun Run in its usual in-person form. This year, we are offering a “Run Where You Are” 5K and Fun Run on the weekend of March 27th. 5K participants can register at www.tourdecatur.com where you can also order an event shirt. We hope this event will encourage the community to go outside to celebrate our health and the onset of spring. For some participants, this year’s Tour could be a goal to achieve or a fun family activity, and for others, it might just be exciting to have something to put on the calendar! 5K participants can submit a photo of their tracked time, and race results will be posted on the race website and on the DEF Facebook page in the week following the race.
The Joe’s Fund Challenge
Decatur Education Foundation and Decatur City Church are excited to announce they have joined forces to launch the Joe’s Fund Challenge! Decatur City Church’s Be Rich Campaign recently donated $25,000 to DEF’s Joe’s Fund which supports our kids’ behavioral health. Joe’s Fund, initiated by the family of Joe Bodine after his death in 2016, has been instrumental in the creation of the Decatur Student Center at Decatur High, as well as the recent expansion of services to Renfroe Middle School.
Together, DEF and Decatur City Church is challenging our community to help us raise an additional $25,000 to double the impact we can make collectively. Your contribution to Joe’s Fund today will help expand the behavioral health programming at the high school and middle school and will allow us to offer behavioral health grants to every K-5 school. Early intervention can help arm our students with the coping skills they need to face future challenges. Help us help our kids. Gifts to Joe’s Fund will ensure that we can continue to react to address the wide and varied needs of all of our kids. To take part in the challenge, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org/joesfund. Together, we make a difference!