Welcome to the New School Year!
August 6, 2020
Preparing to Welcome Glennwood Students and Families Back Virtually!
Last week, our teachers “returned” from summer break. We have spent the last two weeks training, planning and preparing virtually to welcome our Glennwood Crew back to school. Although it is not the way we would like to welcome everyone back, our pledge to you is to make virtual learning an engaging and awesome experience. I am excited for the 2020-21 school year. We are ready!!
We have many important dates and events coming up so I wanted to share those with you again.
Warmest regards,
Holly M. Brookins, PhD
Principal
Glennwood Elementary
Important Dates to Remember
- Meet and Greet - Now through August 14th (Your child's teacher will contact you.)
- Virtual Kindergarten 101 - Mon., August 10, 6:00-7:00
- Student Technology Need Survey - Complete by Wednesday, August 12
- Materials Pick Up - Thursday, August 13, 10:00-12:30 pm (Refer to schedule below)
- PTA Virtual Kindergarten Playdates - August 15 and 16 at 1:00 pm via Zoom
- First Day of School - Monday, August 17 and PTA Cheers and Tears via Zoom at 8:30 pm
- SLT Nominations Due - Monday, August 24
Back to School Information
Meet and Greet
The Infinite Campus Parent Portal opened up on August 5th so families can see class assignments. Classroom teachers will be reaching out to families via email or phone to sign up for individual "Meet & Greets" with each of their assigned students and families. First and second-grade teachers will use the Google Meet platform so the parents can get familiar with the platform we will be using. Kindergarten teachers will be reaching out to you via email or phone to share more information and schedule your Meet and Greet options specifically designed for the new K students. The meetings will be a 10-15-minute time slot for you, your student and your family to connect and get to know each other! These will take place over the next two weeks and will be completed by August 14th.
Materials Pickup - August 13th, 10:00 am-12:30 pm
Please plan to drive through the carpool lane to pick up a tote bag filled with the supplies provided by PTA, Fundations (phonics) and other classroom supplies. Please save these PTA-provided tote bags as we will use these when we return to school in order to store individual student items in the classroom. We will have various stations for you to drive through, depending on the grade and student needs.
IMPORTANT - If you are in need of a Chromebook or hotspot, please be sure that you have filled out this survey by following this link. Please complete by August 12. This is what we will use to determine technology needs and have them ready for pick up on August 13th with the other student supplies.
*If you cannot drive through for any reason, please reach out to let us know by emailing Karen Hearn. We can also deliver if needed. Throughout virtual learning, there will be additional times to pick up supplies. Again, for those who cannot pick up supplies for various (important) reasons, we can schedule a delivery to you.
To limit congestion on that day, please follow the schedule below according to your child's last name if at all possible:
A-G - 10:00am-10:45am
H-M - 11:00am-11:45am
N-Z - 12:00pm-12:45pm
Kindergarten 101 Virtual Session
Communication
Website:
The Glennwood Elementary School website is a great source of information that is regularly updated. During the school year, we also send a school-wide electronic newsletter to all families on Thursdays. When we resume school in person, we will also add the Sunday night "week at a glance" newsletter. Teachers also communicate with a regular newsletter throughout the school year.
Parent Portal/Infinite Campus:
Families new to CSD will receive an email from Infinite Campus with a prompt to set up a parent portal account. The parent portal allows parents to view their child’s attendance records, assessment records, lunch balance, and an online lunch payment option. Parents can customize their contact information to ensure they receive weekly newsletters, and emergency school and CSD robo-calls. Classroom assignments were posted on August 5th. If you need assistance with the parent portal, please email Karen Hearn at khearn@csdecatur.net.
Glennwood PTA Website:
This is another great source of information about the school, including events, membership, and how to connect with other parents. The PTA is focused on supporting the instructional program of the school and building community. Learn more at the Glennwood PTA website.Virtual Learning Help
A team from City Schools of Decatur has created this awesome website with all kinds of tools to help you during virtual learning! Check out the Virtual Learning Help and Knowledge Center for everything you might need to know!
CSD communicated specific information regarding virtual learning such as schedules, a readiness form for families to complete, and other information such as dates for the upcoming town hall meetings, release of teacher assignments, etc. Please make sure you have read over this information linked here.
We realize and understand the challenges/concerns virtual learning might pose for families. When looking at the schedule, please know that more specific schedule information will be shared by your child’s teacher.
You will be able to help your child log into his/her Google Account/Google Classroom by Friday, August 14th. Please see the step by step directions here or download the pdf document below.
Glennwood School Leadership Team Elections
As a reminder, we will have two vacancies on our School Leadership Team this year. This team serves as a collaborative, guiding coalition for all things Glennwood. Please consider submitting your application here. The nomination asks you to write a short bio which will then be published in the Eagle Edition. An example of a bio can be found here.
The deadline for submission is August 24th and candidate statements will be included in the Eagle Edition Newsletter. Voting will take place in early September in conjunction with our virtual Curriculum Night (to be scheduled) via a Google form. If you have any questions, please email Dr. Brookins at hbrookins@csdecatur.net.
Kindergarten Playdates
The PTA would normally host an in-person kindergarten playdate before the new school year, as an opportunity for new families and students to meet. This year, we’re taking the playdate virtual, and students will be able to connect online with their classmates prior to the start of school. The playdates will be offered Saturday, August 15 at 1pm and Sunday, August 16 at 1pm for all kindergarten classes. Class Zoom playdate links will be shared so students can “meet” each other before school begins. We hope you’ll join us if possible!
Virtual Cheers and Tears
Cheers and Tears is a long-standing Glennwood tradition on the first day of school (the event would normally take place after morning drop-off). This year, we plan to continue the tradition, but we’ll take it virtual so parents can connect after the first day of school, Monday, August 17, at 8:30pm on Zoom.
Please join us to toast (or cry) with other Glennwood parents, as we commemorate the first day of this unusual school year. Zoom details will be shared prior to the event.
CSD Black Parent Alliance
Glennwood Elementary Where Learning Takes Flight
Principal
Email: hbrookins@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/glennwood
Location: 440 East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4435
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gleagles/