Dear Families,
What a fun week. Thank you to all the families who were able to attend our Family Literacy Night and to those parents and grandparents who were able to be mystery readers. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our annual Book Parade tomorrow. We will begin at 9:30 am. We kindly ask families to line up along the parking lot area so that we can reserve the sidewalk for the students and staff. We will wrap up the parade with the presentations of the PTO Read-To-Me-a-Thon winners and the College Heights Professional Employee of the Year winner. Don't forget to stop by the Book Fair before or after the parade. Lastly, just a reminder the school is closed on Tuesday, November 5 for a district professional learning day.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Principal Garland
Friday, October 25 (9:30 am) - Book Parade
All classes will be parading in the front of the school representing the different diverse books they have been reading. This is a can't-miss event!
BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!
Five Days! Five Minutes! A video series on early literacy for parents
We hope you've been enjoying these quick five-minute videos on building early literacy skills in young children. These videos were curated by Erynn Mathews-Davis, our Instructional Coach, with the goal of offering information and strategies for supporting children's development. Please reach out to Erynn with any follow up questions or wonderings.
Buy a book parade book for your family
Representation matters, which is why we feature diverse books in our annual book parade. This year, we are partnering with Charis Books & More to offer families the opportunity to purchase these books. Books purchased will be delivered to your child's classroom soon after Literacy Week, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the school. Purchase books here.
Shop the Scholastic Book Fair
The fall Scholastic Book Fair takes place all week in the library from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. This book fair features a wide variety of books for infants through grade school students. Big thanks to all the families who have purchased teacher wish list books and who rounded up your purchase so that we can buy books for kids who might not otherwise be able to participate in the fair.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Scholastic Book Fair but families are welcome to shop online through November 3. Our spring book fair will take place in April.
Supper & Sips Returns!
Grab your friends and neighbors and help us celebrate the return of Decatur Education Foundation's highly-anticipated fall FUNdraiser - Supper & Sips! Join us on Thursday, Nov. 14th, from 6-10 pm at The Chapel on Sycamore for an evening of food, fun, and fellowship - all for a good cause. The Supper provides crucial support for DEF, allowing us to continue our work addressing unmet needs, providing enriching opportunities, and supporting our educators.
Get your tickets today! Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email Meagan@DecaturEducationFoundation.org.
STEP UP for Decatur Youth!
DEF was founded more than 20 years ago by a group of residents who wanted to ensure that EVERY student in CSD had what they needed to learn and thrive. Today, DEF's mission remains focused on Decatur's kids and educators, and we are still 100% reliant on the support of the Decatur community. DEF puts the community's contributions where they will have the biggest impact on our students, and DEF's Step Up Circle is a special group of supporters that allows us to operate programs like Lighten the Load, Teacher Innovation Grants, behavioral health support, arts programming, and so much more. There are also benefits - for both businesses and individuals - to joining DEF's Step Up Circle (beyond the warm and fuzzy feeling you get from supporting Decatur's kids!). Visit https://decatureducationfoundation.org/step-up-circle/ to learn more about the different giving levels.