Weekly Update

September 19, 2024

• Sept 23-27 - Fall Break

• Oct 4 - Community Circle - Kindergarten Families

• Oct 9 - Walk and Roll

• Oct 11 - Community Circle - First Grade Families AND Read-A-Thon Book Swap
  
• Oct 14 - PTA Meeting- ALL Are Welcome
  
• Oct 14-18 - Read-A-Thon
  
• Oct 18 - Community Circle - Second Grade Families
• Oct 24 - Spirit Night - Naan Stop

As a part of your child's Physical Education program students have been learning more about health on Wednesdays. The focus the past 8 weeks has been healthy habits (sleep, drink water, move your body, eat fruits and veggies, less screen time, wash your hands), injury prevention, digital wellness, emotions, gardening, and sport stacking. With the help of the nurse, counselor, media specialist, Ms. Woodley, Luke Gramith with Speed Stacks, and Coach Beauchamp students are building the skills to make healthy choices that will help their body and brain grow strong for a lifetime.

Links to resources to support health and wellness outside of school:

Sport Stacking - https://www.speedstacks.com/go/ or sport stacking flyer

Digital Wellness - https://sites.google.com/csdecatur.net/testsite/digital-wellness

Gardening - https://kidsgardening.org/for-caregivers/

Emotions - https://www.strong4life.com/en/emotional-wellness/coping/creating-a-calming-corner-at-home-for-kids

Injury Prevention at Home - https://www.strong4life.com/en/staying-safe/home-safety/home-safety-tips-for-parents

It's been a busy few weeks in the Media Center! You can check out the updates on my Media Center Blog. Recent updates include information about our Digital Wellness Program at Winnona Park which includes Health classes specifically focused on Digital Wellness, as well as some guidelines for practicing keyboarding skills. Students were introduced to the keyboarding program "Typing Club" this week in the Media Center. Classroom teachers will be sending home instructions for accessing our "Launchpad" from home.

Winnona Park is looking for parent volunteers to help out with first graders' reading fluency. This program is a wonderful way to help support students who need a little extra one-on-one practice to get them up to grade-level standards. Volunteers will meet with students twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:10-8:30 a.m. to provide extra reading practice

The program will run seven weeks: October 15-December 5, with a training session on Tuesday October 8 from 8:15-9 a.m. No prior educational or tutoring experience necessary! All parents are welcome to volunteer, regardless of what grade your child is in. Please consider volunteering!

"This is an amazing opportunity for hands-on involvement in the kiddos' learning experience. It allowed me to be creative and help them love reading and believe in themselves." -Paloma Moyano, WP parent and Reading Fluency Volunteer Spring 2024

Volunteer options include the following:

Volunteers who come both Tuesday AND Thursday morning

These volunteers will work with the same child each session.
Volunteers who come Tuesday OR Thursday morning

These volunteers will get paired with another volunteer to come the other day of the week. They will alternate working with the same child each session.

Substitute volunteers

These volunteers will be trained to help, and are "on call" in case our regular volunteers can't make a session. (They will work with a variety of students, depending on the need.)

Interested in volunteering? Fill out THIS FORM and plan to attend our training session on October 8th. Questions? Email krista.derbecker@gmail.com.

Each fall semester, the Gifted Review Team looks at existing student data to discuss students’ needs and determine if further evaluation for gifted identification is needed. If you are interested in having the team discuss your child’s needs, you may complete a Recommendation for Review Form (found at the website below) and turn in to the Gifted & Talented Specialists at your child’s school before Wednesday, October 2. No additional information is needed.

The Gifted & Talented Specialists for Winnona Park Elementary School are Martina Baerman and Michele Stroud. For more detailed information about the review process and to obtain a copy of the Recommendation for Review Form, please contact mbaerman@csdecatur.net and mstroud@csdecatur.net or visit the CSD Gifted website.

Winnona Park will host a Gifted Referral Process Coffee Chat on Tuesday, September 17, from 8-8:30 a.m. in Trailer C. Ms. Baerman and Ms. Stroud will review this process and answer any questions you have. This chat is for parents who are interested in the gifted identification process. Therefore, if a child is already identified as gifted, the meeting is unnecessary.

Huge Thank You to Our New Sponsors!

We have two new Gold Level sponsors, MCary and Daughters Plumbing & Intown Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

MCary and Daughters Plumbing has taken care of residential and commercial plumbing problems in Decatur and throughout Metro Atlanta. With more than 40 years of experience, you can count on their friendly, professional staff for ALL of your plumbing needs.

Intown Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine are devoted to partnering with families to foster the healthy growth and development of Atlanta’s children. Located in the heart of the city in three convenient locations – Glenwood Park, Brookhaven and Decatur, Intown Pediatrics provides comprehensive healthcare for children ranging in age from infancy to adolescence and into early adulthood.

This support is critical to help us achieve our mission as a PTA, so thanks to all of our sponsors!

Get Ready for the Winnona Park Read-A-Thon!

Mark your calendars for October 14-18 as we kick off the biggest fundraiser of the year—the Winnona Park PTA Read-A-Thon!

To get everyone excited about reading, we're hosting a Book Swap on Friday, October 11, from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM. This is a great way to freshen up your home library before the Read-A-Thon begins!.

How You Can Help:

Start gathering your gently used, age appropriate books at home and drop them off in the designated box at the front of the school. Your donations will help make the book swap a hit and ensure all students can find something to enjoy.

Volunteer Opportunity: Diwali Celebration

Our Diwali celebration is coming up. If you’d like to help share your information here or reach out at dei@wpespta.org. More details to follow. Thank you for your support!

We’ve got spirit! Do you?

Show your school pride in style with our Winnona Park Spirit Wear—now available online! From cozy hoodies to cool t-shirts, we’ve got something for everyone. This is your chance to rep our school spirit wherever you go!

Shop now and support the PTA with every purchase. Visit the online store and gear up in time for school events, community circle, and more. Let’s show off that Winnona Park pride in style!

Order yours today!

Join the PTA and Support the School with our New Membership Drive

Thank you to everyone that has already joined the PTA this year. As a reminder, joining the PTA is an annual event. We’ve also combined our membership drive with a fundraiser, asking families to make a donation. All contributions from this annual drive will directly benefit our students and teachers by supporting essential programs. The funds will cover:

• All field trip costs for the year

• Support educational initiatives like the community garden, STEAM materials, Books-in-a-Bag, and DEI programs

• Teachers will also receive a stipend for classroom materials at the beginning of the year

• Ongoing teacher and staff appreciation activities

• Yearbooks for every student

• School social events

• And so much more!

Your generous donation will ensure that these programs thrive and that our children continue to have enriching educational experiences. And your PTA membership is included in all levels.

Visit our website for more information or select your membership level!

Lighten the Load for CSD Families

As fall break approaches, we're reminded of how 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.

DEF Provides Suicide Intervention Training for Anyone Interested!

You probably know that September is Suicide Prevention Month -- but do you know that through Joe’s Fund, DEF’s behavioral health fund, we provide 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/.

Season of Giving

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!

Email: csikes@csdecatur.net
Website: https://ga02000365.schoolwires.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=13
Location: 510 Avery Street, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4490