CSD Weekly, December 19, 2024

• School Newsletters: See What's Happening in Our Schools!

• BHMS Region Champions and Talley Street Establishes Best Buddies Club,

• Student Opportunities: Young Georgia Authors Competition, License Plate Design Contest

• Community News: Teacher Innovation Grants, Semester Break Events for Kids

Find out what's happening in CSD schools by clicking on your school's newsletter name.

College Heights Connection

Clairemont Bulldog

Glennwood Eagle Edition

Oakhurst Weekly

Westchester Weekly

Winnona Park Wildcat Weekly

F.AVE Falcon Flyer

Talley Street Update

Beacon Hill Weekly Update

DHS Weekly Update

DVA Weekly Update

• Read a New Book Month, December 1-31
• Early Release Day, December 19
• Semester Break, December 20-January 6
• Infinite Campus Scheduled Maintenance, December 24-January 4
• Board of Education Meeting, January 14
• Homestead Exemption Opt-Out Public Hearings (HB 581), January 14 and January 21

The payments portion of Infinite Campus will be down from December 24 through January 4 for scheduled maintenance. Families are encouraged to clear any outstanding debt prior to this period.

Congratulations to DHS 2024 Winter graduates Kaleb Alexander Lanier and Madison Davis! Kaleb (top) and Madison (bottom)! Kaleb and Madison were honored at the December Board meeting for their hard work and dedication to graduating early. Kaleb completed his studies through the Decatur Virtual Academy and will attend Duke University on a football athletic scholarship beginning in January. Madison earned her high school diploma through DHS and Elizabeth Andrews High School and will join the workforce in the automotive field.

We join the celebration of their achievements and wish them the best as they embark on their postsecondary journeys!

Top photo: Beacon Hill's Academic Bowl Dogs came out on top at the PAGE Regional Competition this past weekend and will compete in the State Competition in January! The team is led by captains Ben Corcoran and Avinash Rathod, and team members are Jack Barbian, Nate Clement, Sebastian Katz, Asher Lewin, Crystal Liang, Grant Mann, Odin Smith, and Bella Zhang. Let's Go, Bowl Dogs!

Bottom photo: A team of eight-graders has won the Georgia Stock Market Game for our fifth congressional district! Students Grady Lothridge, Sam Gyuricza, Miles Johnson, and Grayson Martini in Mrs. Gary's 8th-grade gifted resource classes grew their initial $100,000 mock investment into $145,819.64! Mrs. Gary has also been named the New Teacher Winner. Congratulations to all!

Top, left to right: DHS teacher Desiree Cabrices, director of the Georgia chapter Best Buddies International Doug Peters, fifth grader Lottie Kramer, and members of the DHS Best Buddies club Gray Nichols, Kieva Morrison, Angel Collins, Wesley Diaz, Charlotte Hoppin and Anna Charen. Bottom: Members of the DHS Best Buddies club share with Talley Street's fifth grade classes.

The DHS chapter of Best Buddies and the director of Georgia's chapter of Best Buddies International, Doug Peters, visited Talley Street last week! Talley Street fifth-grader Lottie Kramer wanted to create a space where neurotypical and neurodivergent friends could hang out, form bonds, and share experiences. With the help of her fourth-grade teacher, Amanda Rogers, Lottie connected with DHS's Best Buddies club, who then visited Talley Street to share with fifth graders more about the vision of Best Buddies, which creates opportunities for friendships with and support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Lottie helped to establish Talley's new Best Buddies chapter, which will begin official meetings in January.

CSD appreciates Chef Rusty Bowers of Pine Street Market for demonstrating to students in the DHS Career Center's Culinary Arts class how to break down a whole pig. Students also learned about butchering, using different cuts of meat, owning a butcher shop, and attending culinary school.

A heartfelt thank you goes to DHS student and Winnona Park graduate Orrin Trulock, along with his fellow Scouts, for replacing the fence surrounding the pond at Winnona Park! As part of Orrin's Eagle Scout project, they removed the old, worn-out fence and gates, replacing them with new materials to revitalize the area while maintaining the original support posts. Fellow Winnona Park graduates Mac Beeson, Xander Mallon, and Hank Ritger also contributed to this project. CSD is grateful to these Scouts for their dedication to giving back to the community through their leadership and hard work!

Shout out to the DHS baseball team and Coach Jefferson for helping clean up at Clairemont Elementary after the school hosted the Decatur Holiday Marketplace + Cafe this past weekend!

On Thursday, December 19, all K-8 students will bring home printed STAR reports. For students in grades 9-12, these reports were sent digitally. If your child completed both the STAR Early Literacy and STAR Reading assessments, you will receive two separate reports. These assessments measure different aspects of your child’s literacy development, which is why the reports will differ in content. To better understand the differences between these assessments and what the reports tell you about your child’s growth, please watch this STAR Assessment report explainer video.

Please take a moment to participate in CSD's climate survey relevant to your school and ensure your voice is heard! Your participation is vital, as the data collected will help determine the School Climate Star Ratings for the 2025-26 school year. These surveys are open through March 31, 2025. City Schools of Decatur values input from parents, students, and staff!

(Note: GaDOE administers climate surveys for K-12 schools. College Heights ECLC is omitted.)

Clairemont Family Climate Survey

Glennwood Family Climate Survey

Oakhurst Family Climate Survey

Westchester Family Climate Survey

Winnona Park Family Climate Survey

F.AVE Family Climate Survey

Talley Street Family Climate Survey

Beacon Hill Family Climate Survey

DHS Family Climate Survey

CSD K-5 students: Join Super Saturdays for a morning of fun and educational STEAM-inspired lessons and activities led by CSD teachers and staff! These events are completely free and include hands-on instruction, all necessary supplies and materials, and plenty of engaging learning opportunities in a supportive and creative environment. Super Saturdays take place from 9 a.m.-noon at Fifth Avenue ES, 101 5th Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030. Register here for Super Saturdays!

Next Super Saturday date:

January 11, 2025

Remaining Super Saturday dates:

February 8, 2025

March 15, 2025

April 19, 2025

May 10, 2025

CSD will focus on four priorities for the 2025 legislative session: safety & security, mental health, funding, and local authority. These priorities will support CSD's All-In Strategic Plan accelerator, "Organizational Effectiveness and Excellence."

Click here to view CSD's 2025 Legislative Priorities.

CSD will host three hearings on January 14 and January 21 for the public to learn more about the district’s plans to exercise the one-time option for local governments to opt out of Georgia House Bill 581, which establishes a statewide floating homestead exemption and cap on property taxes.

Passed during the 2024 Legislative Session, HB 581 impacts property taxes for cities, counties and school districts by capping the annual increase in property values for tax purposes, effective January 1, 2025. The bill aims to provide property tax relief for local residents, using the Consumer Price Index as an inflationary index. Since school districts rely heavily on property taxes for funding, this cap could impact the availability of CSD schools' resources and programs.

As with all Constitutional amendments, the bill required voter approval. More than 55% of the City of Decatur voted in favor of the amendment, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025. HB 581 allows cities, counties, and school districts a one-time opt-out of the property tax cap.

CSD's Board of Education will follow the legal procedures to opt out of the exemption, including holding three virtual public hearings. Following the hearings, the board will vote to adopt an opt-out resolution at the February Board of Education meeting and file the resolution with the Secretary of State by March 1, 2025.

Metro RESA invites students to enter the Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition, a yearly state-wide writing competition open to any K-12 student in a Georgia public school. A team of scorers will choose one winner per grade level to represent CSD at the regional competition.

Entries should be:

• Any genre of writing
• Created by an individual student without the help of others - no group entries
• No more than 1900 words
• Typed or legibly hand-written on only one side of the paper

Writing pieces should be turned in to the student's homeroom teacher or shared with jbroman-fulks@csdecatur.net by Tuesday, January 14, with the name of the student name and their homeroom teacher written or typed on the piece. Please contact jbroman-fulks@csdecatur.net with any questions.

The Georgia Departments of Education and Revenue are launching a student license plate design contest to commemorate the United States semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, celebrated on July 4, 2026.

The final license plate will be selected from designs submitted by students in grades six through eight in Georgia schools. See the submission guidelines and submit a design by January 31, 2025, at 5 p.m. Contact licenseplatecontest@doe.k12.ga.us with questions.

The holidays often see a sharp rise in email-based scams such as phishing. Please protect yourselves and loved ones by exercising skepticism around unusual or unanticipated messages, and turn on multi-factor authentication or passkeys for any online system that supports them.

DEF Announces Second Round of Teacher Innovation Grants!

DEF is thrilled to announce that, based on a successful season of fundraising, we're going to be able to fund another round of Teacher Innovation Grants for the second semester! Teachers and staff may apply for these grants by submitting this form by Friday, January 10, at 5 p.m.

Run With the Dogs 5K and Pup Trot, presented by Green Orthodontics, is a 21-year tradition supporting Decaturs Bulldog Boosters. In addition to being a Peachtree Road Race qualifier and a great community event, all proceeds support 19 sports programs at DHS and BHMS, which include 57 teams and over 1,100 student athletes.

Grab your friends and your pups and join this fun event on January 25 to support an amazing cause. All 5K and Pup Trot participants who register before Saturday, January 11 will receive our iconic long-sleeved t-shirt designed by artist (and Decatur lacrosse coach) Adam Pinsley. Register early for the best rates!

City of Decatur Parks and Recreation Upcoming Youth Events

Breakfast with Santa and Rec! Friday, December 20, 10 a.m.-noon, Decatur Recreation Center. Join us for breakfast with Santa and Rec the Bulldog! Enjoy a festive morning, share your wish list, and snap a photo with our favorite mascot and Santa himself! Register here.

Learn more about upcoming events and programs here, or visit the recreation center webpages:

• Decatur Recreation Center
• Ebster Recreation Center
• Oakhurst Recreation Center

Visit Parks and Recreation's one-stop-shop website for information about after-school programs, school holiday programs, and summer camps. To stay updated on all things Decatur Parks and Recreation, follow them on Facebook and Instagram or sign up for their monthly newsletter here!

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

• CSD Weekly - December 12, 2024
• CSD Weekly - December 5, 2024
• CSD Weekly - November 21, 2024
• CSD Weekly - November 14, 2024
• CSD Weekly - November 7, 2024