Talley Street Update

• 1st Walk and Roll to School: TOMORROW, August 9
  

• Fall STAR Reading Assessment: August 13

• Fall STAR Math Assessment: August 14

• SLT Interest Deadline: August 16

• Title I Parent Input Meeting: August 22, 8:00 AM (Room 56) | 5:00 PM (Virtual)

• Curriculum Night: August 27, 6:00-7:30 PM [DATE CHANGED]

• Early Release: August 28 @ 12:15

If you arrive early at school for carpool dropoff, please don't let your car idle in the line. Thanks!

Please enter all dismissals (default and changes), absences, tardies, and early dismissals (with reasons) in Pick Up Patrol.

Your teacher, your child, and the front desk staff will see the changes immediately. No additional emails are required.

If you have trouble with entering changes in PickUp Patrol. Please email jsanangelo@csdecatur.net

Troubleshooting - Parents must have logged into Infinite Campus to be recognized by PUP. Only one guardian email will be used by PUP automatically. If a second guardian email is required, please email jsanangelo@csdecatur.net. That guardian will also need to log into Infinite Campus first. You can add PUP to your homescreen on phones (not in app store).

This form explains City Schools of Decatur’s screening process of identifying students in kindergarten through third grader who might benefit from extra reading support, including those students who may potentially exhibit characteristics of dyslexia. This letter outlines the screening process, next steps, and your right to opt out. Please contact Lateefah Mosley (lmosley@csdecatur.net), if you have any questions.

The Talley Robotics First Lego League (FLL) Program will be kicking off soon. The competitive team (FLL Challenge) is for 4th and 5th graders. We hope to have more than one team this year at Talley, but parent coaches are critical for this to happen. Each team needs at least two parent coaches. Teams generally practice once a week for two hours after school and will compete in at least one FLL regional competition in December (more if teams advance past regionals). If you are interested in coaching a team at Talley, please complete this Google Form to let us know your interest and availability by Monday, August 12th. Once coaches are secured, an application will be shared for interested team members.

Do you have any gently used clothes in larger kids' sizes (L/XL/12/14)? Please consider donating them to be given out from the nurse's office when students are in need!

4th and 5th graders - do you love to sing? Do you love to perform? Or maybe you want to give it a try? Sign up for chorus is happening right now!

Chorus meets right at dismissal every Wednesday until 3:15 with Ms. Jessup in the music room. We will have a few concerts a year, vocal coaching, ear training, music games, celebrations, meet new friends and MORE!

All 4th and 5th graders, in music class we will resume our recorder playing very soon! Families, please make sure your child brings back their recorder. Please contact Ms. Jessup (tjessup@csdecatur.net) if you have any questions. Thank you!

In the past, the Diversity Activities Committee posted flyers around school as events came up in order to get students to participate. This year, we want to gather the names of students interested in participating early.

While other events have been planned, the 5 listed on this form are ones that require students to sign up prior to the event. Please email Ms. Brewton (sbrewton@csdecatur.net) with questions!

The Talley Street Upper Elementary School Leadership Team (SLT) is an elected committee of Talley Street's parents/guardians, staff members, and other personnel. The SLT focuses on school governance, student achievement, and family engagement. Some of the responsibilities of this team are to:

• Serve on interview teams

• Develop, approve, and monitor the continuous school improvement planning process

• Review assessment data and use it for decision-making purposes

• Review and approve changes to its bylaws

• Recommend school needs to the CSD Board of Education during the annual budget process.

SLT members are elected to their positions except for appointed positions. Parents may attend to present an idea/concern at SLT work sessions. SLT meetings are open, and stakeholders are welcome to attend (look for dates in the Talley Street Update and on the school’s web page).

To vote in the SLT election, you must be a parent/guardian of a Talley Street Student. If you are interested in joining the SLT, please submit a candidate statement with biographical information and a paragraph explaining why you want to be an SLT member to Mr. Heaton (bheaton@csdecatur.net) by Friday, August 16, 2024. Each family will receive one vote per enrolled student. Remember that the most essential requirement of an SLT member is to have an honest desire to contribute to the educational experience and learning of all children at Talley Street Upper Elementary School.

Details:

• All candidate statements are due August 16th to Mr. Heaton.

• All candidate statements will be published in the Talley Street Update, Talley Street webpage, and on the school’s social media.

• Elections will take place on August 29th and August 30th. The school will send out a Google form on the morning of the 29th.

Talley Street has an opening for one parent representative for the 24-25 school year.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our many amazing volunteers for sorting day and the popsicle social!! You all helped the events run smoothly and we greatly appreciate it!

• Walk N Roll: our first walk n roll of the year is tomorrow!
• The DHS Football game and mascot race is tomorrow night! Come cheer on Titan for the trophy! Gates open at 6:30, kickoff at 7:30. Tickets: https://bit.ly/4dko8XB
• PTO Meeting: our first PTO meeting of the school year is next Wednesday the 14th at 6 pm in the Media Center.

For those that don’t know, the PTO sponsors the roll out of snack carts every other Friday for staff to grab a treat. They love it so much! We are looking for community businesses to sponsor a month at a time for $500. If you know of an interested business, please help connect us by emailing Erin at copresident@talleypto.org.

Have you taken photos at Talley events? Got a great group shot under the rainbow arch on the first day? Please share them with us to include in the yearbook!

Send photos to yearbook@talleypto.org all year long.

• Instagram @TalleyPTO

• Facebook page

• Facebook Parent & Community Group

Reminder! City Schools of Decatur's first Early Release Day is Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Here is the schedule of release times by school level:

Pre-K: 12:15 PM

Lower Elementary: 12:50 PM

Upper Elementary: 12:15 PM

Middle School: 1:45 PM

High School: 1:35 PM

College Heights: (0-3 and the Pre-K program will remain on the normal schedule)

The remaining early release dates are listed below:

Friday, September 20, 2024

Friday, November 22, 2024

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Join the Decatur Bulldog Boosters at the DHS football home opener on Friday, August 9, for the first-ever CSD Mascot Run! Mascots from CSD schools will face off in a halftime competition to be the 2024 CSD Mascot Run Champion. All current and future Bulldogs are invited to come out to support their school's mascot and cheer on the Decatur Bulldogs tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Decatur HS stadium! Long-time Decatur Bulldog Booster sponsor Keller Knapp Realty will give away cowbells for fans. Find out during halftime which CSD school mascot has what it takes to bring home the winning hardware!

Buy tickets here.

Applications for the 2024-25 Student Advisory Councils are due Wednesday, August 14, at 5 PM. The Superintendent's Council allows students to meet each other and discuss matters affecting their education with Superintendent Dr. Whitaker. Additionally, there will be opportunities for students to share creative ideas, concerns, or suggestions for improving our district. The application deadline is Wednesday, August 14, at 5 pm.

The application is in the Student Launchpad and requires a Google account to enable students to upload submissions. While student CSD Google accounts are preferred, any Google account will access the form. Please contact your school's media specialist if support is needed to access the CSD Google account. Students may also access the application here using their Google account.

All CSD Pre-K through grade 12 students will take the STAR assessment instead of the MAP for the 2024-25 school year. The STAR assessment will be administered three times per year, beginning August 12 and then again in December and May. See frequently asked questions about STAR here.

The Teaching and Learning Department will host an informational webinar to provide an overview of STAR and discuss score reports on Tuesday, September 17, 6 p.m. Join the webinar here.

Additional resources:

• To learn more about STAR, click here.

• STAR vs. MAP? View a research study on score correlations here.

Save the date for a virtual meeting to learn more about the following support programs and services available to CSD students:

• Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)

• Gifted and Talented Services

• ESOL and Federal Programs

• 504 and Psychological Services

• Professional School Counseling

• Behavior Support

• School Social Work

• Special Education

Click here to submit your questions about the Programs Overview before Thursday, August 29, 2024, at 4 p.m. A meeting link will be provided closer to the meeting date.

Join Decatur Education Foundation for a brand new community event! Head to Legacy Park on Friday, Sept. 6th, from 5-9 pm for a fun family evening of live music and community! City Schools of Decatur community circle bands will bring the tunes – you bring your school spirit! The school with the largest percentage of representation will win a music grant for their school ... along with a trophy and bragging rights, of course! We’ll have food vendors and sweet treats to supplement your picnic. Adults are $10, and KIDS ARE FREE! Get tickets here: https://decatureducationfoundation.org/def-events/battle-of-the-bands/

*If cost is an issue, please email Drew@DecaturEducationFoundation.org.

You can find more information on the following Facebook pages:

Talley Street Principal

Talley Street Upper Elementary School PTO

Talley Street Upper Elementary School Parents

Talley Street Artists

Talley Street PE

And these Instagrams:

@talleytigergram

@talleystemstagram

@talleystreetgarden

@TalleyPTO

For news from our counselors, check out their website:

Counseling Website

For more about the Talley Street PTO, visit their website here: https://talleypto.org/.