College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

The PTO Auction is a wrap! A heartfelt thank you to all those volunteers who spent countless hours planning and pulling off the event. A special thank you to the Auction committee: Stephanie Cho (Chair), Dan Cho, Amber Womble, Chris Warfield, and Lauren Baker. Your dedication and creativity made the event a success. In addition, I want to thank our PTO leadership: Amina Williams, Andy Navratil, Amber Womble, and Lauren Elliott.

Just a reminder, our Pre-K and preschool special education programs will closed for winter break next week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Principal Garland

We value your input and appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. This survey is designed to gather feedback on various aspects of your child's educational experience at College Heights. Your honest and thoughtful responses will help us understand what we're doing well and identify areas where we can improve. The information you provide will be kept confidential and used to inform our school's planning and decision-making processes. Thank you for partnering with us to create the best possible learning environment for our students. Please click the link below and complete by February 21. Thank you!

School Climate Survey

Make plans to join us for a fun and informative family night at College Heights! We'll have activities in every classroom as well as our spring book fair and the official unveiling of our beautiful new cafeteria mural.

Date: Monday, March 24

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm

Registration for 2025-2026 for returning families is complete. Please refer any questions to Caretha Hall.

Current Pre-K/Rising Kindergarten families:

Your Pre-K student will be automatically enrolled in your neighborhood school for Kindergarten. There is nothing families need to do at this time. We encourage you to reach out to your home school if you will need aftercare services for your student.

Rising Pre-K families who are new to College Heights:

Registration began February 1. Click here to get started. Reach out to Caretha Hall with any questions, and please see below for tour dates and times. We look forward to meeting you!

Families, you are our best ambassadors! Do you know other Decatur families who might be interested in getting to know College Heights? We are offering tours for new families on Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Prospective families should contact Caretha Hall to reserve their spots.

Too rainy to play outside? Not a problem for these fun-loving students in Ms. Tori's two-year-olds class!

We are delighted to announce that the College Heights library recently received a grant from the Decatur Education Foundation to replace our some of our well-loved classic books. Classic picture books endure for a reason: these books were skillfully crafted and help build key foundational skills students will need at all stages of their educational journey in CSD. Thank you also to the College Heights PTO for providing additional funds toward these books. We are grateful to these important partners for their support of our students.

Families, we will let you know when these new books arrive so you can check them out to read at home.

Pre-K classes learned about Black author and illustrator Christian Robinson and heard him describe, in his own words, how he started as an illustrator by drawing pictures when he was a kid. We also read his simple but charming book You Matter.

This week's books:

Greatness by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt

Dragon Noodle Party by Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Paula Pang

Amy Wu and the Lantern Festival by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua

Down by the Bay sung by Raffi, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

Big Gorilla: A Book of Opposites by Anthony Browne

Sheep Out to Eat by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple

Pre-K families: library contracts are due TOMORROW, Friday, February 14. If you need another copy, you can find it here. Students will begin bringing library books home the week after Winter Break.

¡Hola familias!

Preschool and Pre-K classes have completed the unit on La familia and have begun learning about Las frutas. They know that fruit makes us healthy and should be eaten daily. We celebrate El día de amor y amistad with a song about love and friendship, "Te quiero, tú eres mi corazón." Here is the link to encourage them to sing with you at home.

¡Féliz descanso!,

Lita

We are excited to partner with Little Shop of Stories to bring amazing books for all ages to College Heights.

Dates and Times

March 24-28, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

March 24 College Heights Family Night, 6:00-7:00 p.m. (more information coming soon!)

Pre-K students will browse the book fair with their classes on Monday, March 24. We need parent (or grandparent) volunteers on this day from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You don't have to be the parent of a Pre-K student.

Can you help? Please email Leslie Joiner or come by the Media Center. Thanks!

We will be offering Summer Camp for any currently enrolled Pre-K student during the month of June. Registration for Summer Camp opens February 24 at 8 a.m.

Camp details:

• Camp dates: June 2-27
• Camp is available for the first 40 students registered.
• Camp hours will be 7:30-4:00 p.m. with aftercare services available from 4:00-5:00 p.m. at an additional cost.
• Camp tuition is $250/week without aftercare and $300/week with aftercare
• Tuition must be paid at the time of registration
• Fees are non-refundable

Registration packets are now available at the front desk and on our website. You may also download the packet here. All completed packets must be submitted to the front desk on February 24. Packets will not be accepted prior to this date. No email packets will be accepted.

Questions? Please contact Elecia Fulton.

Unable to attend the digital wellness conversation last week? There are two more sessions planned at Winnona Park Elementary School, and College Heights families are cordially invited to attend. They will take place in the school media center at Winnona Park. Reach out to Ilene Zeff, Media Specialist, with any questions.

Wednesday, February 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Friday, February 28 at 9:00 a.m.

🎬 The PTO would like to express gratitude to everyone who volunteered, donated, and attended the auction! It was a beautiful evening spent celebrating our school. Auction winners will be contacted with details for item retrieval. Thanks for your support!

🌺 Save The Date! Our Spring Luau will be Friday, April 25 from 6-8:00 p.m. in the school parking lot. Everyone is welcome!

🚒 The College Heights PTO is partnering with The City of Decatur Fire Department to offer two private CPR training courses in March. These classes are free to attend, but space is very limited! Anyone can join. Get details and sign up here.

Email CollegeHeightsPTO@gmail.com with questions.

Tour deCatur Registration is Open!

Get ready, get set, get registered for Decatur Education Foundation's 23rd annual Tour deCatur! Sign up at www.tourdecatur.com!

The fun happens on Saturday, March 15, at the Decatur High School stadium. This year, in addition to the 5k (a Peachtree qualifier), the 1-Mile Fun Run, and the adorable Tot Trot (for our friends ages four and under), DEF is offering a "None-Run" for anyone who wants to support Decatur kids without breaking a sweat! This is DEF's largest fundraiser and supports programs and initiatives that remove obstacles, provide opportunities, support educators, and strengthen the Decatur community!

To prepare for the race, all K-2 elementary schools in the district are participating in the iRun program, which teaches students the fundamentals of fitness skills that make running, jogging, and walking enjoyable and safe and prepares them to run the one-mile fun run in March. For more information about DEF's initiatives and how you can get involved, please visit www.decatureducationfoundation.org.

All issues of the College Heights Connection are available on our website. Click here!

Older issues of CSD Weekly may be found on CSD's district newsletter webpage.

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center cultivates an atmosphere where children take their first steps in building an authentic love of learning through developmentally appropriate practices in an environment that fosters family and community involvement.

February 17-21 - Winter Break (Pre-K and Preschool Special Education students)

February 24 - Summer Camp registration opens (current Pre-K students only)

February 26 - Early Release Day (Pre-K)

March 24 - Family Engagement Night (6:00-7:00 p.m.)

March 26 - Early Release Day (Pre-K)

April 7-11 - Spring Break (school closed for Pre-K and 0-3 program)