Talley Street Update

• Walk n Roll: TOMORROW, May 3
  
• MAP Testing: May 6-7
  
• Family Literacy Night: May 8, 5:30-7:30 PM (DATE CHANGE)
• Career Day: May 9, 8:30-10:00 AM
• SLT Meeting: May 13, 4:30 PM, media center or virtual
• All Library Books Due: May 15
• Band and Chorus Concert: May 15, 6 PM, gym
• TRUE Book Fair: May 16
• Talley House Games: May 17
• Moving Forth Ceremonies: May 22
• 8:15-9:45: Brown, Camirand, Friedrich, Heard, Kramer
• 10:15-11:45: Farley, Sanders, Young, Thompson, Berglund

Talley Rally: The schedule as it currently stands can be found on our school calendar!

Has your child reached a huge milestone this year or accomplished a goal? Did they win a championship? Hit a home run? Leveled up in martial arts? Met their reading goal? If so, we want to share it with the school. Here at Talley we want to make sure that ALL kids are celebrated for their hard work and not just their academics. If you would like to have your kid celebrated, email Ms. Jackson, qjackson@csdecatur.net, BY MAY 15 with "CELEBRATE" in the subject line with a picture of your student (preferably doing the activity) and their accomplishment.

• BHMS Special Programs (IB, special education, MTSS, gifted, ESOL) Night: May 7
• Deadline to Sign Up for 6th Grade Music Classes: May 22
• Moving Forth Ceremonies: May 22
  
• 8:15-9:45: Brown, Camirand, Friedrich, Heard, Kramer
• 10:15-11:45: Farley, Sanders, Young, Thompson, Berglund

Calling all new to BHMS families and rising 6th graders! 📚✨ Join us for a Zoom webinar on Tuesday, May 7th, from 6 pm-7 pm, where we'll be providing an overview of the academic programs offered at BHMS 🌟 Programs covered will include: IB MYP, Special Education, Gifted, MTSS, and ESOL. Don't miss out on this chance to learn more and get all your questions answered. Save the date and mark your calendars! 🗓️ See you there!

🚀 #BHMS #AcademicExcellence #ZoomWebinar #BHMSNewFamilies #Rising6thGraders 📝🎓

Topic: BHMS Academic Programs Webinar

Time: May 7, 2024 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/95993545353

The deadline is May 22! Please use the links below to register.

• Band: Christine Kraemer - ckraemer@csdecatur.net
• LINK - Beacon Hill Band Website
• LINK - Band Registration flyer
• Orchestra: Heston McCranie - hmccranie@csdecatur.net
• LINK - Orchestra Registration flyer
• LINK - Orchestra website
• Chorus: David Hirschorn - dhirschorn@csdecatur.net
• LINK - Chorus Registration form
• LINK - Chorus flyer

Talley's Moving Forth ceremonies for 5th graders will be held on Wednesday, May 22. See below for your child's homeroom's time!

• 8:15-9:45: Brown, Camirand, Friedrich, Heard, Kramer
• 10:15-11:45: Farley, Sanders, Young, Thompson, Berglund

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that all three of our Talley CML teams placed 1st in the nation this year. Every student who participated in CML this year helped to contribute to these team wins!

3rd Grade team - 1st in the nation (10 other schools from around the nation tied with us!)

• Individual national winners (our team had 7 - 76 in the whole country - that is almost 10% from our team alone!): Gabriel Alonso, Isaac Brandt, Alexander Fischer, Sarah Little, Dhanur Raman, Reid Simpson, and Harrison Slifka.

4th Grade Team - 1st in the nation (9 other schools from around the nation tied with us!)

• No individual national winners. We had 3 students who missed it by 1 point. Next year!

5th Grade Team - 1st in the nation (only 2 other teams in the nation tied with us!)

• Individual national winners (our team had 3 - 13 in the whole country - almost a quarter of all kids in the country from Talley!): Raleigh Daniels, Kian Javidfar, Aliyah McNeil

We have lots of extra books ready for our author visit tomorrow. Our visiting author is Max Brallier, author of the Last Kids on Earth series. Did your child want one and forget? It's not too late! Send cash or check (made out to Talley) to Mrs. Long! For more information about pricing, see the link below. I don't even need the paper back! 20% of all sales support the Talley library!

I am so excited to announce that on Wednesday, May 16, we are hosting our first ever TRUE Book Fair at Talley! At the fair, every student will get the chance to select two brand new books to add to their home library completely free of charge. We’re changing the traditional store-based model of a book fair into a true celebration of reading, where everyone gets to participate.

We’ve curated a special selection of books that feature diverse characters and are written by diverse authors. There’s something for everyone among the 1400+ books we have available: graphic novels, historical fiction, biographies, science fiction, and more!

We need volunteers! Want to help with the Book Fair? Sign up here!

Our new book fair model (pioneered by the Mount Vernon School Library) has been made possible through a generous grant from the Decatur Education Foundation and our library fundraiser Spirit Nights held at Little Shop of Stories, Brave & Kind Books, and Corner Slice - thank you to all who came out to participate!

The traditional book fairs we’ve held in the past provided a substantial amount of funds to our school library, helping us build our collection and offer new programs for our students. But we can’t continue to host something that so clearly highlights inequities and runs directly counter to the library’s mission of providing equitable access to information for all. So how will we raise funds to continue to update/expand the collection and offer exciting new programs? The PTO will be working with the library to find new ways to help fund the library and our new book fair model, including grants, sponsorships, and more spirit nights. If you’re interested in sponsoring next year’s TRUE book fair, please contact Ms. Long at along@csdecatur.net.

Calling all volunteers!

Talley Street Upper Elementary Field Day is approaching.

May 17, 2024 - all grade levels

We need your help to make field day a success, and the kids love to see you there. There will be a PLAYGROUND/BLACKTOP/GYM segment and a BACK FIELD segment for all grade levels. Students will travel with their homeroom teacher and an assisting teacher, and we just need your help to run the stations.

Schedules and links are posted below. Feel free to email any questions to Coach Jefferson (tjefferson@csdecatur.net) or Coach Johns (njohns@csdecatur.net).

5th Grade Schedule:

• 8:30 AM - 10:40 AM: Back field
• 12:30 PM - 1:40 PM: Playground, blacktop, gym

4th Grade Schedule:

• 8:30 AM - 10:40 AM: Playground, blacktop, gym
• 10:30 AM - 11:40 AM: Back Field

3rd Grade Schedule:

• 10:30 AM - 11:40 AM: Playground, blacktop, gym
• 12:30 AM - 1:40 PM: Back field

Talley is so excited to partner with Little Shop of Stories for this year's We Read Together program! Our summer read is The Wild Robot, which is an incredible book! Author Peter Brown will be visiting Decatur in early October to celebrate this program with Decatur families and to talk about the new movie.

Want more information? Little Shop will be set up to share more at Family Literacy Night at Talley on Wednesday, May 8!

There are only 14 days of school left! Here’s an outline of all the events coming your way:

• Walk N Roll: Talley’s last walk n roll of the school year is this Friday, May 3rd.
  

• Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week: Next week, May 6-10, the PTO is planning to spoil our teachers and front office staff all week long. Please have your child bring in a homemade Thank You card for your teacher(s)during the week. If you’d like to help with the other planned activities during the week, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4FACAF2DA6FF2-49204043-staff#/

• 5th Grade Big Bash: Is happening on May 21st from 11:30-1:30 pm, and we need a few 5th-grade parent volunteers. Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AADAA2CA3F5CF8-49108805-5thgrade#/

• PTO Elections: We are still looking for interested parents to put their names in the hat for PTO Board and committee chair positions for the 24-25 school year. Express interest here: bit.ly/2425nom The general election will be on May 16th during the PTO Meeting (6-7:30 pm)

• Yearbooks: We’ve extended the deadline to purchase one to May 11! Visit www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter school code 25231. Yearbooks are $25 and will be delivered to students mid May!

• T-Shirt Sale: Snag the last of our Talley 6-houses t-shirts before they’re gone! We are releasing the last of our on-hand inventory of this now vintage t-shirt. We won’t be adding any more of these to our inventory once this batch is gone. We will backpack deliver within the week for all orders. Each shirt is only $5. Order here: https://www.talleypto.org/form/m/279690
• Tune in on Facebook or Instagram for all the PTO details

Superintendent Dr. Gyimah Whitaker will host a spring series of listening sessions around the City Schools of Decatur to listen and learn from students, staff, families, and community leaders. Initial sessions were held in the fall as part of the first phase of Dr. Whitaker’s GEM entry plan. The GEM plan will continue, with a focus on gathering information, reviewing the findings to envision a plan forward, and maximizing the results.

The meetings will be held virtually and in-person. Here is a list of the sessions:

• Friday, May 3 - Clairemont Elementary in the Auditorium at 5:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, May 8 - Glennwood Elementary in the Media Center at 5:30 p.m.

• Monday, May 13 - Virtual at 11:30 a.m. https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/92804142262

City Schools of Decatur will hold the Annual Parent & Community Stakeholders’ Comprehensive Local Education Agency Implementation Plan (CLIP) meetings on May 6 and May 7, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Wilson School Support Center (125 Electric Avenue) to gather input on how resources will be coordinated to meet the identified needs of the district. To learn more, click here.

Students: Do you know a teacher or CSD employee who has gone "the extra mile" this year? Nominate them for the CSD Extra Mile Award! The Extra Mile Award is an annual award that allows students to show appreciation for the teachers or staff they feel go above and beyond what is expected of them.

Students (not parents) at any grade level can write an essay describing how their teacher (or staff member) goes the extra mile (parents can help younger children write the essay). The essays should be detailed and describe how the employee goes above and beyond.

Click here to submit a nomination. Students can also find the form any time via LaunchPad (it’s the purple icon labeled “Extra Mile Award nomination”).

The deadline is May 31, 2024.

These awards will be presented at the CSD Opening Day Celebration in July.

Questions? Contact cburnett@csdecatur.net or 404-371-3601

Teachers and staff LOVE receiving Step Up tributes, and they also LOVE being able to write grants for classroom equipment, books, experiences, and technology! Participating in DEF's Step Up for Teachers campaign checks both boxes - these funds support the Teacher Innovation Grants that DEF awards each fall!

For the rest of the school year, visit www.StepUpForTeachers.com, make a donation, and leave a short note of gratitude for a teacher, administrator, or school support member. Tributes will be posted on the website, and notifications will be sent to the individuals being honored.

DEF volunteers will deliver your "We Step Up" sign to your home for you! Have a graduating senior? Choose the "Congratulations!" sign instead!

Let's cover Decatur in signs of support for our CSD teachers, staff, and graduates!

* If you would like to make a tribute but donation is a barrier, please email Drew@DecaturEducationFoundation.org

City of Decatur Parks and Recreation commits to providing exceptional experiences that foster healthy living and meaningful connections within our communities. Please visit their website, a one-stop-shop for information about after-school programs, school holiday programs, and summer camps. To stay up to date on all things Decatur Parks and Recreation, follow them on Facebook and Instagram or sign up for their monthly newsletter here!

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/.