The Bulldog, August 20, 2026

Note from Mrs. Lockwood:

We are having a great week! Summer heat is still here. I will continue to monitor the actual and feel-like temperatures to determine if it's safe for outdoor recess & PE. We pivot seamlessly to indoor recess & PE if the conditions are too hot for outdoor activities.

Are you interested in serving on the School Leadership Team (SLT)? Applications are due by Tuesday, August 26, 2026. You may access the 26-27 SLT application here. You will have the opportunity to vote at Curriculum Night on Thursday, August 27 and at Community Crew on Friday, August 28.

Friday in your child's red communication folder will be the Fall STAR universal screening report for Early Literacy, Math & Reading. Fall assessments provide valuable baseline data on student achievement in these areas. The goal in sharing this data with you is to build a strong educational partnership between Clairemont staff and families focused on student success.

Events at a glance:

• Friday, August 21; 5:30: Back to School Pizza Picnic

• Wednesday, August 26: CSD Early Release Day

• Thursday, August 27; 5:30-7:30: General PTA Meeting and Curriculum Night

• Friday, August 28; 8:15: First Community Crew of the year!

• Wednesday - Friday, September 2-4: CogAT testing for 1st grade

• Friday, September 4: Walk & Roll

• Monday, September 7: Labor Day - No School

• Friday, September 11: Community Crew

Starting Monday, August 24, 2026, our official dismissal time will move from 2:45 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. This adjustment aligns our schedule with all K–2 schools across the district.

This shift will not change any of our existing safety protocols. The updated dismissal sequence is as follows:

• 2:50 p.m.: Car Riders & Bus Riders

• 2:53 p.m.: Walkers & Van Riders

• 2:58 p.m.: Animal Crackers

Daily school attendance is the cornerstone of student success. At Clairemont, we closely monitor attendance to understand how we can best support our students and families. Understanding that unforeseen circumstances arise, however, please partner with us to ensure our students are at school to the greatest extent possible. Our daily school-wide attendance goal is 98%. Let's work together to reach this goal and ultimately see our students succeed! If your student needs to be absent, please communicate with your homeroom teacher and our school manager, Mrs. Brackins (malika.brackins@csdecatur.net). Thank you for your continued partnership!

Our wonderful PTA is sponsoring a Pizza Picnic to celebrate the beginning of the school year. PTA is providing the pizza and water, but if any families are interested in supporting the picnic, the following items would be appreciated:

-Kindergarten: Paper plates and cups

-1st grade: Whole fruits such as bananas, apples, and clementines and pouches

-2nd grade: individually wrapped desserts such as snack cakes or Oreos.

If you are available to help set up, clean up, or serve pizza with the PTA please CLICK ON THIS LINK for the SignUp Genius.

From September 2-4, all 1st-grade students will be taking the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Unlike traditional achievement tests, which measure how well a student has learned the curriculum, the CogAT assesses a child’s ability to reason abstractly and recognize patterns and relationships in the world around them. Teachers can use CogAT scores to better understand a child’s pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses. Our school district also uses CogAT scores to screen for cognitively gifted students.

Curious what it’s like to be a room parent? Join us on Zoom on Sunday evening to hear the details! In short, room parents serve as liaisons between teachers and other parents, coordinate volunteer sign-ups for classroom opportunities, plan parties, and support our wonderful teachers as they support our kids. Can’t make it on Sunday? Email the Clairemont Room Parent Coordinator, Frances Ennis, at frances.ennis87@gmail.com to get more info.

Find the Zoom link in the meeting event on the Clairemont Events Calendar. (Linked at the top of this newsletter.)

Next time you visit the school, check out the hydroponic vertical planters in the front hallway, the library, and a few classrooms. Students helped plant our first crops: various types of lettuce, peppers, herbs, and more! They have already gotten noticeably bigger and it won't be long before they'll be ready to harvest! We have a tradition of having a school-wide salad bar so students can taste the plants they've watched grow.

Students are building math understanding through shapes and geometry with fun, hands-on learning!

Join us for an evening with the Clairemont team to learn about what your child will be learning this school year. Please join us for a general PTA meeting followed by curriculum night. Childcare will be provided!

Join Clairemont Class Dojo to view school-wide and classroom updates!

Kindergarten Specials link: https://www.classdojo.com/ul/p/addKid?target=class&class=6a7dca9ad42bba3a635bb4ae

1st grade specials: https://www.classdojo.com/ul/p/addKid?target=class&class=6a738bd6b48a1985e61c3704

2nd grade specials: https://www.classdojo.com/ul/p/addKid?target=class&class=6a7dcc512624b5de5533f045

Decatur Holiday Marketplace is our PTA's largest fundraiser in its 35th year! Our school will transform into a magical artist market including paintings, glass art, jewelry, pottery, gourmet food items and much more. We will have professional food vendors and food trucks to keep you fueled for shopping and music! We had over 80 vendors last year!

We invite you and your family to join us here at the school for this wonderful community tradition. All proceeds from the event support learning initiatives for Clairemont students & teachers. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the latest updates. This year's Marketplace will be held at Clairemont Elementary School on Friday, December 11th from 5:30pm-9pm and Saturday, December 12th, from 10am-5pm.

Want to help with the Marketplace? We rely on all of our Clairemont parent volunteers and our Clairemont Bulldogs to put this fundraiser on its feet. It takes the whole CREW to pull off this wonderful tradition! Please email Marketplace Chairperson Melissa Godbee at decaturholidaymarketplace@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to be more involved with any of the preparations such as artists, bands, transformation, silent auction, raffle and sponsorships!

A HIGH PRIORITY NEED:

A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to hold the raffle!

A RAFFLE CHAIR- to help with curation of the baskets

A SILENT AUCTION CHAIR

A SPONSORSHIP CHAIR

A Co-ARTIST CHAIR

Do you want to be a vendor?

Applications are open!

decaturholidaymarketplace.com

Application Dates:

Applications available online will open on August 15, 2026 and close September 30, 2026.

Read this week's CSD Weekly for district-wide news and information.

Is your student interested in joining the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council for their age group? These councils are designed for two-way communication between students and the Office of the Superintendent. Students Advisory Council members attend monthly, after-school meetings at the Wilson Center to share their perspectives and experiences with the superintendent on a variety of issues.
Meeting dates are linked in the application below. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 11, 2026, and selected students will be notified by Friday, September 18. Learn more and apply for the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council here.

Signing up as a member allows you to fully access our website and add your bulldog to the directory, along with classes and groups/clubs. This membership supports our school and the National and State PTA by paying annual dues that help us operate. We use PTA funds to support teacher grants and school events. A portion of the $10 serves as dues paid to the National and State Parent Teacher Association, which is our governing organization.