Talley Street Update

• GMAS Testing: April 20-27
• Plastic Film Collection: April 22
• Career Day: May 6
• 5th Grade Moving Forth Ceremonies: May 22
• Last Day of School: May 22

Click below for our 2026 GMAS newsletter! This was originally sent to families on March 12, 2026.

Thank you to those of you who were able to join us for our Rising 6th Grade Parent Night on 3/4. Please see THESE slides if you were unable to attend and mark your calendars for our BHMS PTA Spring Into 6th Grade Event coming up on Friday, April 24th from 4:30-6:00 pm. Join us for some food, fun, and music to learn more about Beacon Hill!

Still have questions? Reach out to Ms. Hudson or Mr. Jordon, BHMS Counselors (rhudson@csdecatur.net or jordon.muse@csdecatur.net) and/or our 6th grade Assistant Principal, Sarah Coleman (scoleman@csdecatur.net).

We look forward to welcoming you,

BHMS Bulldogs

The Beacon Hill PTA is gearing up for the next school year, and we would love for you to get involved. Please check out this link to learn more about opportunities to serve.

You are going to start receiving a deluge of emails about overdue library books that your children have. PLEASE DO NOT OVERLOOK THESE EMAILS! It is critical that all overdue books are returned immediately. Students are responsible for books that are lost. Fees for lost books are included in the email. Lost book fees can be paid by cash or check (made out to Talley) and given to Mrs. Long in the library. Please contact Ashley Long (along@csdecatur.net) with any questions.

Please help support Talley’s library and the True Book Fair!

At the True Book Fair on May 11 and 12, every Talley student will take home two new books for free.

But the True Book Fair affects the Talley library's bottom line in two ways: 1) we need to purchase all the great books for our True Book Fair, and 2) we miss out on the funds that would be raised at a traditional book fair. If you would normally buy books at a traditional book fair, please consider donating to our fundraiser instead!

Where your money goes:

$3: One book for the True Book Fair

$15: One spool of 3D printing filament

$25: One library-bound graphic novel

$75: One year's supply of cardstock

$300: One year's supply of consumable makerspace supplies

$2000: A one-year subscription to Beanstack for our school

All funds raised will go directly to Talley's library. Thank you for your donation!

Diversity Activities Committee is having a planning meeting for their AANHPI Heritage Month event. It will be May 1, 2:15-3:00 pm. Students must have transportation home, permission to walk, or go to Whiz Kids.

Talley will host Career Day on Wednesday, May 6, from 7:50 am to 9:45 am. If you or someone you know would like to volunteer to teach our students about your career, then please SIGN UP HERE. The signup also has more information on what the day will look like and what your presentations could include. We will try to organize the program so that each volunteer will speak to their child's class, although we can't guarantee this.

Questions? Reach out to your school counselors Alan Pendrick (alan.pendrick@csdecatur.net) or Kimberly Weaver (kiweaver@csdecatur.net). Thank you!

Do you like having plastic film collection at school? Help us continue to earn free pick-ups for the 2026-2027 school year by recruiting families for our Ridwell membership drive. All we need is 10 families to sign up for home pick-up service or mail-in service (new this year!) by May 22 through our Talley sign-up link: https://get.ridwell.com/talley. We appreciate your support!

NOTE: Our next plastic film collection for house points will be Wednesday, April 22.

Celebrated annually on April 22, Earth Day is a global initiative to raise awareness about pollution, waste, and the need for environmental conservation and sustainability. The Talley Green Team website features facts about Earth Day, information on local Earth Day celebrations, and a variety of resources for family engagement. Talley students are encouraged to play our "Earth Day BINGO" for house points and prizes. Completed boards and all recycled items must be turned into Mrs. Roberts by Thursday, April 30.

Looking for local Earth Day celebrations? Consider both of these...

• Decatur Earth Day Festival (Saturday, April 18 | 11 AM to 2 PM)
• LiveThrive Kids Day (Saturday, April 25 | 9 AM to 1 PM)

The Talley Green Team Store has added two new collections of items that may be turned in for house points...

1. Squeezable Snack Pouches: All brands accepted. Please include the cap on each pouch.
2. Small Food Packaging: Condiment/sauce packets, small souffle cups, dipping sauce/jam/jelly containers, coffee creamer pods. These items are now part of our continuous collection. Items should be rinsed and dry before turning in.

Lots of misconceptions exist about what can be recycled and how it should be done. Rules actually vary by municipality. (See City of Decatur recycling guidelines here.) Improve your recycling efforts by avoiding some common recycling myths.

Read the April 16, 2026, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

• Order your yearbook by April 30th! Final weeks to order! They are $28 at bit.ly/talleyyearbook25. Please consider donating a yearbook. If you need financial assistance, a discount code is available; contact Ms. Weaver (kiweaver@csdecatur.net), Talley school Counselor. Not sure if you’ve ordered yet? Ask yearbook@talleypto.org.
• We want YOU on the Talley PTO Board! We’re officially looking for candidates for the 2026–27 school year! Whether you’re ready to jump into leadership or just want to get more involved, there’s a place for you.

Elected positions:

• Co-President

• Co-Vice President

• Treasurer

• Communications Lead

• Members-at-Large (all 3 grades)

We’re also seeking appointed committee members across all of our committees. There are so many ways to plug in and support our school community. No experience needed—just a willingness to help and be part of something great.
Learn about the roles and fill out our interest form by May 1st. Elections and appointments happen at our May 13th meeting. bit.ly/2627nom

Come join a fun, collaborative team doing meaningful work for our kids, teachers, and school. We would love to have your skills and support!

• Mark your calendars for the last Walk & Roll of the year on Friday, May 1st! We are still looking for a volunteer to pass out marbles to bus riders that morning. Sign up here to join the fun and help the bus riders participate!

• Join the Talley Street Bike Bus! We bike to Talley every Friday morning! More details at: https://www.talleypto.org/bike-bus. We’re still looking for more adult volunteers to help with routes! Express interest or sign up (for yourself and/or your student) at: https://tinyurl.com/talleybikebus. For questions, contact talleystreetbikebus@gmail.com.

Hosted by Legacy Decatur, the nonprofit that manages Decatur Legacy Park, the event will bring together more than a dozen local nonprofits and community organizations alongside the City of Decatur’s Environmental Sustainability Board’s annual Decatur Earth Day Festival. The gathering highlights the work being done locally around environmental stewardship, sustainability, and community connection.

The afternoon will include exhibits, demonstrations, activities, and opportunities for residents to meet organizations working on environmental, cultural, and community initiatives. Some additional highlights include:

• Interactive seed-planting experience and hands-on Earth Day crafts
• Kids’ activities including coloring stations, games, and creative projects
• Wildlife encounters and educational nature activities
• Community art exhibits and collaborative art experiences
• Bike tune-ups, garden tours, and sustainability demos
• Plant sales, tree giveaways, and eco-friendly shopping
• Free samples, giveaways, and prize raffles

Talley Street Website

You can find more information on the following Facebook pages:

Talley Street Principal

Talley Street Upper Elementary School Parents

Talley Street Artists

And these Instagram pages:

@talleytigergram

@talleystemstagram

@talleystreetgarden

@TalleyPTO

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