Dear Decatur Virtual Family,

I want to express my gratitude to all the students who continue to work hard and to the families who continue to support our online students Please continue to check your student's progress and talk to your students about their work daily. The workload will start to pick up as we move toward the end of the semester. Please help your student stay on top of their work. Here are some good suggestions for all students:

• Go to the live lessons.

• Meet with the teacher to discuss progress and how you can improve your work.

• Work a couple of days ahead of deadlines.

• Read your teacher's feedback.

Please note that while GAVS has “holidays” on October 11 and 14. DVA will still have check-in and attendance will be taken on these days.

Keep up the good work!

Ms. Whatley

The PSAT will be on October 11th. This is an opportunity offered to all 10th and 11th-grade students. Students should have received an email with room numbers and times. It will be important to be on time. Students testing at DHS will arrive at 8:35. Students testing at Wilson Center will arrive at 8:00. If students missed the digital readiness session they may pop into Ms. Whatley’s Google Classroom at 3:00 and she can help them update their Chromebooks.

Each month on the Early Release days DVA will have meet ups. There will not be check ins or student sessions on these day so that our kids will be freed up to attend. We hope all students will take advantage of these opportunities to meet up and interact with peers and adults each month. They will all be at 12:00 pm unless otherwise noted at various locations around Decatur. Please Mark your calendars:

Oct 30, 2024 12:15 - 1:30 @ Comet Lanes Bowling 1458 Church Streeet, suite E, Decatur Georgia. Join us for a little bowling. Ms. Whatley will cover the cost of the lane. Bowling shoes are $5.00 to rent. Meet us at 12:15 to get shoes and we will start bowling at 12:30.

Nov 22, 2024

January 22, 2025

February 26, 2025

March 26, 2025

April 30, 2025

We had a great time in August and September. We look forward to seeing you in October. More details about the October meet up in the next newsletter.

The form to sign up for Spring Semester will open on October 11, 2024. Parents/Guardians who want their student to attend DVA by choice in the Spring semester need to complete the Online Interest and Contract Form by the first week in December. This contract is for students new to DVA or those who were not by choice Fall semester and wish to continue in DVA for the Spring Semester.

Do you have a question, concern, or need to set up an appointment with your DVA School Counselor?

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Jones use this easy booking link https://drkimberlyrjones.youcanbook.me/

DVA Meet and Greet

DVA Student Orientation

Pearson Orientation

Making Your Schedule Work.

October 11 and 14: GAVS Fall Student Holidays: students must check-in

November 25-29: Thanksgiving Holidays
November 30-December 6: Final Exams Week

December 13-14: STAR Reading and Math

December 10: Pearson Classes end
December 12: Final Grades Released

Decatur Virtual Academy Handbook 2024-25

DVA Brochure

Honor Contract

Please see your school newsletter for important news from your home school.

DEF's Lighten the Load program began with an elementary school teacher who told us that one of her students dreaded school breaks because he and his siblings counted on having two meals a day at school. Our Lighten the Load program has evolved since then, but we're still committed to helping remove obstacles - like food insecurity - for our kids.

The number of weekend food bags we provide has DOUBLED this year, and we need your help to ensure we're able to continue to meet this need. This is our community, and these are OUR kids. Please consider donating to DEF, or purchasing items from our Lighten the Load wish list today.

Joe’s Fund, DEF’s behavioral health fund, provided ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) workshops multiple times each year. These two-day workshops are open to ANY CSD staff member or Decatur community member. We held a refresher course just this week, and the next trainings will be: October 10-11, February 27-28, and March 13-14. Help us make Decatur a suicide-safe community - sign up using the QR code. Interested in supporting this important work? Donate here: https://decatureducationfoundation.org/donate/.

A Season of Giving is a neighbor-led organization that brings joy to local children and seniors through gift-giving.

For Assistance: To apply for gift assistance, please complete our online application at Apply by October 31st. We are excited to support children through 12th grade again this year.

Sponsor a Gift: Donors can purchase gifts based on individual wish lists for children or seniors. If you would like to be a sponsor, please fill out the form at Sponsor.

Donate Directly: If you prefer, you can make a donation, and we will do the shopping for you. Simply Donate at our website!

Volunteer: We would greatly appreciate your help! If you're interested in volunteering, please go to Volunteer and sign up.

Need Help or Have Questions? If you encounter any issues with the forms or have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at aseasonofgivingdecatur@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support and generosity of the Season of Giving!