College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful week. December has brought cold temperatures. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder weather. Children are expected to have a coat available for outdoor recess times. Hats, gloves, and mittens are recommended.

We are beginning to prepare for the 2026-2027 school year. Pre-K applications for current preschool students have gone home. Please be sure to review the cover letter included in your student's packet for details on required documentation, fees, and timeline. Please submit your completed application (in the envelope provided) to the front desk or your classroom teacher. Enrollment for our current infant-toddler students will be sent home after the first of the year.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Principal Garland

December 1-12 - Parent Conference Window

December 19 - Early Release Day (Pre-K)

December 22-January 5 - Semester Break (Pre-K)

December 24-January 2 - Winter Break (0-3)

January 5 - School resumes for 0-3

January 6 - School resumes for Pre-K

January 19 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday (school closed)

January 28 - Early Release Day (Pre-K)

February 16-20 - Winter Break (Pre-K)

Registration for the 2026-2027 school year has begun. Packets will include a cover letter that will walk you through the documents and fees required for enrollment.

Current 0-2 families:

Teachers will send home registration packets in January. Please note: current residency must be submitted to secure your spot. If you have updated immunizations, please submit the GA 3231 form with your packet.

Current Preschool/Rising Pre-K families:

Teachers will send home registration packets this week. Please note parents must submit all required documents. Bright from the Start will not allow us to use documents currently on file. Therefore, all documents must be resubmitted. All enrollment documents and fees must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. on January 30.

Current Pre-K/Rising Kindergarten families:

Your Pre-K student will be automatically enrolled in your neighborhood school for Kindergarten. There is nothing families need to do at this time. We encourage you to reach out to your home school if you will need aftercare services for your student to find out about the enrollment process.

We are opening up Pre-K breakfast registration for the second semester. Please complete this form if you would like to sign your student up to be a breakfast eater. Breakfast is served between 7:30-7:55 a.m. in the cafeteria. Students arriving after 7:45 a.m. will be directed to their classrooms. Students will be provided a colored tag to secure to their backpack to indicate they are a breakfast eater. Breakfast is $1.75 per meal. Please make sure your student has adequate funds in their Infinite Campus account to cover the nutrition costs. If your student is already a breakfast eater, you do NOT need to complete the form. The deadline to register is December 31, 2025.

Get ready for our Winter Break Camp! Registration is limited to the first 40 campers.

🗓️ Key Dates & Times

• Registration Opens: Friday, January 12 at 8:00 a.m.

• Submission Method: Applications must be submitted in person at the school's front desk.

📝 How to Apply

1. Get the Application: Applications are available now on the school website or at the front desk.

2. Submit In Person: Bring your completed application to the front desk starting January 12.

What's Included?

Camp tuition covers breakfast, lunch, snack, and all activities.

College Heights strives to ensure our classrooms and school community are respectful and responsive for all students, families, and colleagues.

Our goal, in alignment with the principles of the NAEYC Anti-Bias Education (ABE) framework, is to move away from prioritizing any single holiday as the cultural norm. Instead, we want to center the unique identities and cultural wealth that every member of our school family brings.

A welcoming approach to this season (and all year!) emphasizes learning about diverse traditions rather than celebrating specific holidays in our classrooms and programs. This happens all year long with students and families.

To do this, we will:

• Honor all identities and ensure no child or family feels invisible, excluded, or pressured to participate in a tradition that conflicts with their beliefs or non-beliefs.
• Foster empathy and curiosity by providing opportunities to explore the values, beliefs, and history behind various observances, such as peace, light, giving, harvest, or remembrance. This helps children develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for different backgrounds and experiences.
• Ensure accuracy and work to avoid stereotypical portrayals by inviting families to share information, artifacts, or stories about their traditions, which builds a bridge between home and school.

Thank you for helping us honor the beautiful diversity of our College Heights school family.

Our school's interior is scheduled for a complete repaint over the holiday break. To prepare for this exciting and much-needed refresh, staff will begin taking down all items from the classroom and hallway walls starting this week.

Pre-K and preschool students enjoyed the story Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich, and everyone had a turn to touch the library cactus, Hank. Hank is still a baby cactus, so he is not prickly yet. We had a successful second week of checking out books in Pre-K, and we will continue to keep these books in the classroom for a few more weeks. Books will start coming home in mid-February. Look for the library contract in your Pre-K student's backpack in January.

We are missing a few Bunny Bags. If you've had one out for a while, please return it as soon as possible. If you want to take a Bunny Bag for the winter break, please come check one out. If I'm not here, feel free to use the self-checkout clipboard across from my desk.

Winter books are on display in the library. Come check some out!

For our younger students, the theme was vehicles, vehicles, vehicles! We love to read about machines and things that move.

This week's books:

The Digger and the Duckling by Joseph Kuefler

Wake Up, Engines! by Denise Dowling Mortenson, illustrated by Melissa Iwai

What Can a Mess Make? by Bee Johnson

Freight Train by Donald Crews

Read the December 11, 2025, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

Clairemont Elementary’s Decatur Holiday Marketplace + Café is just around the corner!

Friday, December 12 & Saturday, December 13

Come shop local, discover unique handmade gifts, and enjoy delicious treats at our cozy café.
It’s the perfect way to support local artists and soak up the festive spirit with neighbors and friends.
A beloved community tradition awaits! We can’t wait to see you there!

All recent issues of the College Heights Connection are available here.

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

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center cultivates an atmosphere where children take their first steps in building an authentic love of learning through developmentally appropriate practices in an environment that fosters family and community involvement.