Falcon Flyer

Ms. Hanson's Notes

• Cast Blast - TOMORROW
• Coffee Chat - Friday, 12/6
• Drop Off & Pick Up Reminders
• Surveys - Calendar Input, Teacher Engagement (teachers only), School Climate Survey coming 12/2
• Upcoming Events at a Glance

F.AVE News

• F.AVE Game Hawkers Podcast Season 2, Episode 7 - 3rd Grader Chase

CSD News

• December Assessment Window

• Summer Camp & Inaugural Holiday Expo - December 7
• Holidays Around the World Food Tasting
• Passive Fundraising - Minted Holiday Cards
• Yearbook - Candid Photos Needed

Community News

• Decatur Education Foundation Updates
• Decatur Farm to School Grants Available for teachers

Scroll down to learn more!

I hope you have a wonderful break and enjoy time with your family. When we return, we have a few events coming up, including STAR testing starting on 12/3 and our Coffee Chat on 12/6. The Coffee Chat will focus on strategies for supporting students with understanding fractions.

Finally, as the weather gets colder and wetter, we notice an uptick in car riders. Please be sure you follow the guidelines for drop off and pick up. Please do not let your child out on 5th Avenue or southbound on Oakview. Additionally, we ask that students cross where there are crossing guards at 5th & Oakview. Thank you for your support in this.

City Schools of Decatur appreciates the contributions of parents, students, and staff. Here are three important surveys that are open or will open prior to winter break. Please take a few moments to make your opinion count!

1. 2026-2027 District Calendar Input Survey (Expires 12/4/24)
   Thank you for your continued partnership in evaluating the academic calendar options for the City Schools of Decatur. Please review the proposed 2026-2027 Academic Calendar and provide feedback using the links below. The estimated completion time is 5-7 minutes.

2. First-Semester Teacher Engagement Survey (Expires 12/6/24; for teachers only)

3. Coming Soon! School Climate Survey (Opens 12/2/24)

November

Native American Heritage Month

Friday, November 22: Early Release Day, dismissal at 12:15 p.m.

Friday, November 22: Cast Blast

• 3rd Grade: 9-9:50 a.m.
• 4th Grade: 11:05-11:55 a.m.
• 5th Grade: 8-8:50 a.m.

November 25-29: Thanksgiving Holiday Break - No School

December

Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m.-noon1: PTO Summer Camp & Holiday Expo

Wednesday, December 18: Holiday Tastings Around the World

Thursday, December 19: Early Release, dismissal at 12:15 p.m.

December 20-January 6: Student Winter Break

Click the image below to listen to the latest episode of our Game Hawkers podcast. Third grader Chase discusses differences and similarities in the novel and graphic novel versions of The Magic Tree House: Night of the Ninjas. Our first third-grader podcast of the year! Check it out below.

Summer Camp Expo: Overwhelmed by all the summer camp options out there? Join us Saturday, December 7 from 10 a.m.-noon in the Multipurpose room at F.AVE to learn about the summer camps offered from several vendors in the Decatur area and be able to ask questions to see if their camp is right for your family. Featured camps include options for kids from Pre-K through 12th grade! This event is free for the public. There will be a raffle for some fun camp prizes and a digital Summer Camp Planning Guide will be available.

Holiday Expo: Does your F.AVE student have a specialty craft or recipe? They can sign up to sell their wares at our first ever F.AVE Holiday Expo! Purchase a half table or full table HERE.

Holidays Around the World: on Wednesday, December 18!

F.AVW will be celebrating the unique foods and treats of cultures and traditions around the world and we'd love your help! Whether you've got an amazing family recipe, want to learn to cook something from a new region or culture, or just would love to volunteer to help broaden our children's horizons, we can use your help! Please sign up to bring in a dish or help at the event in the Falcon's Nest on December 18 HERE.

Getting those holiday cards ready? Raise money for F.AVE by shopping with Minted. Get 20% off Minted cards & gift orders throughout the year, and they’ll donate 15% back to F.AVE. F.AVE'S unique code is FUNDRAISEFIFTHAVEUE. (YES! there is no "N" in avenue!)

The F.AVE Yearbook Committee wants to see all you've been doing in school this year! Please email your photos of F.AVE Falcons in action to yearbook@favepto.org. We love photos of school events, field trips, student groups, and school work! Important: Please include student names and teacher/grade in your email if known.

K-12 students will take the STAR Early Literacy, Reading and Math Assessments during the winter assessment screening period of December 2-6 and December 9-13. CSD measures results from this winter assessment screening period against results from the previous fall screening period to track growth and adjust instruction to best meet students' individual needs. These assessments are crucial for ensuring your child's continued success. Families may use these directions to opt-in to receive the results of the STAR assessments upon completion.

THANK YOU from Decatur Education Foundation!

Decatur, you ABSOLUTELY blew us away last Thursday! Thank you for celebrating the return of Supper & Sips with us! You helped us raise a record number in one night... more than NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS in support of Decatur’s kids! Thank you for ALL the ways you show up for DEF so that we can continue to show up for our kids. Visit our website and follow DEF on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about the important work we’re able to support in our schools and in our community, thanks to the generosity of this Decatur community of ours.

Keep it Indie-Catur on Giving Tuesday!

Giving Tuesday is right around the corner! There are countless worthwhile organizations to donate to, but when you give to the Decatur Education Foundation, your support directly impacts kids, teens, and educators right here in our community. Your tax-deductible gift provides essential needs for CSD families struggling with food insecurity, supports student mental health initiatives, provides arts infusion programming in our schools, and allows us to support our amazing educators through Teacher Innovation Grants! Through your generosity, we've been able to do so much good work in our community, and with your continued support, we'll be able to do so much more! Visit DEF's website to learn more about how you can get involved!

Do you have plans for a new garden or class project for spring? Are you full of fantastic ideas for incorporating farm-to-school principles into a teaching unit? Need funds for a "green" field trip?

The Wylde Center Decatur Farm to School Committee invites you to apply for a grant for 2024/25. Teachers, administrators, PTA members, and parent volunteers can apply on behalf of their CSD school. Please get your applications in before December 13, 2024.

2024-2025 DF2S School Grant Application

Principal

Lynn Hanson

lhanson@csdecatur.net

Assistant Principal

Meagan Ferguson

mferguson@csdecatur.net

Assistant Principal

Shannon Stewart

sstewart@csdecatur.net

School Manager

Malik Morrow

mmorrow@csdecatur.net

Bookkeeper

Shronda Edwards

sedwards@csdecatur.net

Who Do I Contact?

Email: fave@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/FAVE
Location: 101 5th Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: (404) 371-6680

Please do not reply to this newsletter. See the Who Do I Contact link above and direct your inquiries to the correct individual.