Weekly Update

• Athletics and Counseling Updates
• DHS News: No Fee November, Tennis Meeting
• Activities Around DHS: DHS Debate Tournament and Cinema Drive
• PTSA News
• CSD & Community Partners Updates

A big shoutout to these dedicated DHS students who took the time to show appreciation for our hardworking custodians: William Smiley, Bryson Riddick-Seals, Bryce Howson, Issac McCalep, Mohamed Atik, Norrell Farrie, Christian Jamison, Ronin Simms, and Norwenzo Farrie.

Let's all remember to be part of the PACK and show kindness to those who keep our school clean and safe.

Last weekend, Decatur Debate hosted the largest AUDL tournament of the season and emerged victorious! Our team not only claimed the first-place sweepstakes team prize but also won the prestigious Community Award.

Individual Highlights:

• Undefeated in Open Division: Ida Chapman, Anushruti Ram, and AutumnPollack
• JV Division Champions: Kate Kochel and Audrey Grills
• Novice Division Champions: Sylvia Medina and Abigail Avrunin

Individual Speaker Awards:

• 1st Place Open Speaker: Ida Chapman
• JV Speaker Awards: Kate Kochel, Monserrat Romberg, Sam Epstein, Ben Avrunin, Elsa Chapman, Luca Hartnett, and Audrey Grills

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated parent volunteers who made this tournament a success. Your efforts in running concessions, managing the lunch rush, and judging rounds were invaluable. A special shoutout to our amazing student judges who tirelessly judged middle school debates all day long. Your hard work and dedication were truly inspiring!

Decatur High School, in partnership with the Decatur Prevention Initiative (DPI), recently hosted its second annual Cinema Drive event. This impactful initiative brought together junior and senior students to raise awareness about the serious consequences of distracted driving.

Students experienced the Cinema Drive, a sophisticated 3D interactive driving system. This immersive program, funded by a grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, simulated real-world driving scenarios and highlighted the dangers of distracted driving.

DHS is committed to promoting safe driving habits and keeping our community safe!

The DHS PTSA wishes all DHS families, teachers, admin, and staff a wonderful Thanksgiving break.

This year’s Giving Tuesday is December 3, and there is a super easy way to support all the organizations that support DHS and BHMS students in one place.

Visit the inaugural Annual Giving Tuesday site to learn more about who we are, all the ways we work together, and how you can support us by participating in this one-day event benefiting these amazing groups:

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. For questions, please contact Jennifer Jones

CSD's School Health Team is preparing for DeKalb Public Health's immunization assessment on Friday, December 6, for all 11th-grade students.

Please ensure your child's immunization records are up-to-date and submitted to the school clinic by Thursday, December 5. If your child is missing any required immunizations, please schedule an appointment with your child's healthcare provider or visit Dekalb Public Health, 445 Winn Way, Decatur, GA 30030.

We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our students healthy and compliant with Georgia's immunization laws. If you plan to submit an Affidavit of Religious Objection to Immunizations (Form #2208), please remember that it must be notarized. Please contact the school nurse with questions or for assistance with immunization records.

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)

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.

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!

1. Decatur High School
2. Decatur High School PTSA
3. Visiting DHS and Student Attendance
   
4. Bell Schedule
5. DHS Cell Phone Protocol
6. Bus Routes