Oakhurst Weekly

Hey now you’re an all star,

Get your game on, let’s play!!!

Tomorrow is the moment you (well your kids) have been waiting for.

It’s All-Star FIELD DAY!!

Overview of the Day

8:40-9:00 - Opening Ceremonies (In front of school)

9:00-11:30 - Morning Stations

11:30-1:25 - Lunch/break

1:30-2:20 - Afternoon Water Stations

2:20-2:45- Popsicle

**In order to keep our students safe and accounted for in what can be an exciting environment, we ask that siblings do not attend field day. Thank you!**

A few things to note for tomorrow:

1. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD BRING A WATER BOTTLE with their name on it.

2. If your child is bringing lunch from home, please pack it in something that can be thrown away. We are dismissed from outside and the fewer things your child has to keep up with, the better.

3. Bookbags can stay home.

4. Students will wear their Field Day T-shirts and appropriate shoes. (no bathing suits or towels needed). If your child goes to aftercare, they may bring a change of clothes.

5. Please have your child put on sunscreen in the morning.

I am so excited for tomorrow! Let the games begin!

Coach K

Huge shout out to our Better World Day student ambassadors: Cole, Norah, Claire, Ivy, Isaac, Oscar, Jamari, Felix, and Bea, along with our staff committee members: Amy Minor, Stacie Kenner, Gail Hardwick, Sophia Wilder, Alvone Scott, Yolanda Kemp, Anna Thorie, and Glenda Carter.

• Every student K-2 participated in Better World Day.

• There was a Better World Day student committee that chose the project, Bags of Hope.

• Over 200 Bags of Hope were packed.

• Our dine-outs helped us raise the money to purchase items.

• Parents donated items for over 2 weeks.

• The Women’s Shelter for Domestic Violence was appreciative and grateful for our donation to their organization.

• The Better World Day student and adult committee is being recognized at the CSD Board meeting on May 13th.

We're planning to give an extremely meaningful gift for our staffers that are either retiring or leaving the school: a Little Love Jar.

With your help, this Jar will be jam-packed with thoughts, memories, wishes, and love notes from their favorite people: you!

Please submit a few messages through this simple online form below - it should take less than 5 minutes.

Little Love Jar will print our messages, put them into a personalized Jar with an end result, a gift of a lifetime: a celebration of friendship, memories and LOVE.

Glenda Carter, K Para

https://www.littlelovejar.com/message-collection-page/?order_id=9959

Charles Dawson, K Para

https://www.littlelovejar.com/message-collection-page/?order_id=9960

Alvone Scott, K Teacher

https://www.littlelovejar.com/message-collection-page/?order_id=9961

Anna Thorie, K Teacher

https://www.littlelovejar.com/message-collection-page/?order_id=9962

Arlethea Williams, Assistant Principal

https://www.littlelovejar.com/message-collection-page/?order_id=9963

During each media center class this year, we've talked about at least a little bit (sometimes a lot bit) of poetry. Throughout March, I encouraged students to submit poetry for consideration in the publication of the Young American Poetry Digest and I'm super excited (and proud!) that seventeen of our students will be published in this year's digest. Please congratulate these young poets on this great accomplishment and keep encouraging your kiddos to write. Poetry is an amazing way for students to express themselves and young people are often natural poets because they write so freely. I've truly loved reading the poetry your children have written this year!

May is a very full month, and it's easy to let some great habits slide but don't let reading be one of them! Click on the May Reading Log image to print one for your fridge. Keeping a visual tracker is a great way for children (and adults!) to see progress toward a goal. And remember that you can count audio books, reading aloud, partner reading, independent reading toward these minutes!

Stay tuned for summer reading information and activities in next week's newsletter!

Oakhurst families, please complete and submit this food insecurity request form if your student is experiencing food insecurity within the home and is in need of some supplemental weekend snacks.

The Decatur Education Foundation supplies Oakhurst with snack bags for any student in need. This request form will go directly to our school counselor, Ms. King, and she will send home a snack bag with your student every Friday. Please go through each week's snack bag to remove any snack you may not want your child to have due to allergy concerns, etc.

• You can check out multiple books from the DEI Book Cart at once.

• Return books at the next DEI Book Cart event in the coming weeks.

• Watch for an automatic due date reminder via email from the new Libib system, used by both the DEI Book Cart and Game Center.

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Books should NOT be returned with the child to the Oakhurst library to avoid cataloging issues.

Applications for nonresident tuition for the 2025-2026 school year are open now through May 15. Nonresident tuition seats are being offered in the K-2 and 3-5 schools for grades with available space. A lottery selection process will be used to enroll nonresident tuition applicants, and a waitlist will be created if necessary. The annual tuition rate for nonresident students for the 2025-2026 school year is $7,883. Visit the district's nonresident tuition webpage for information on how to access and complete the nonresident tuition application.

Enrollment forecasts will help determine the different number of tuition-based seats available for each grade and school, which are subject to change. As a public school district, CSD remains tuition-free for students residing within the city limits of the City of Decatur. Tuition is based on a state formula and is calculated each year based on the average educational cost of a student minus funds that are received from the state.

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 who they feel go above and beyond what is expected of them.

Students 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 or submit it on behalf of a student who is unable to write the nomination). The essays should be detailed and describe how the employee goes above and beyond.

Click here to submit a nomination by May 22, 2025. These awards will be presented at the CSD Opening Day Celebration in July.

City Schools of Decatur is excited to announce the second annual CSD Back-to-School Bash. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us on Thursday, July 24, 2025, 4-7 p.m. in the DHS gymnasium. This event welcomes students, families, staff, and the community to unite for a day of fun and engaging activities suitable for all ages. Preregistration will open soon in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. For questions or more information, please contact BacktoSchoolBash@csdecatur.net.

Last school year, our school board approved and implemented a new grading policy to create greater consistency, transparency, and alignment with student learning. As we complete the first full year under this policy, we are engaging families and staff to gather feedback on the experiences following the changes across our schools.

Your input is significant in helping us understand what aspects of the policy are working well and where adjustments may be needed. Please take a few moments to complete the brief survey(s) below and share your feedback with us.

K-5 survey (four questions)

6-12 survey (six questions)

Transportation registration is required for all students who intend to ride the bus. Families may register a student for transportation for the 2025-2026 school year by selecting the appropriate link below:

• Bus Registration – Same School: For students who will remain at their current school next year.
• Bus Registration – New School Transition: For students who will transition to a new school next year (for example, entering kindergarten, 3rd grade, 6th grade, or 9th grade).

Completing this form helps us accurately plan bus routes and ensure your student is assigned transportation based on their school placement for the upcoming year.

Westchester has begun CSD's pilot of the Centegix Visitor Management System (VMS), and it will soon come to our school. Centegix involves a brief additional step went visiting campus: we will scan your driver's license to run an instant background check, log your presence in the school, and issue a special new visitor badge for your visit. We'll continue to communicate as the rollout nears.

The 2025-2026 CSD enrollment opens on Monday, March 3, for rising Kindergarten students or students new to CSD. Registration may be completed entirely online. Find more registration information here.

New Families: See CSD's Key Contacts & Resources for Families, available in multiple languages.

REMINDER: If your currently enrolled student has a sibling who will be new to CSD for the 2025-2026 school year, you must register this new sibling via the Parent Portal.

1. Select "More" from the menu in the Parent Portal.

2. Select "Annual Data Update."

3. Select "2025-2026 New Student Registration."

As part of the enrollment process, you will also need to email residency documentation to CSD's district enrollment specialist, Patrice Moore, at pmoore@csdecatur.net, as the Parent Portal will not allow you to change or upload this field. Information about required residency proof documents is available on the CSD website. Please contact pmoore@csdecatur.net or 404-371-3601 x1063 for assistance.

The City of Decatur offers the Animal Crackers program at all K-2 school sites and the Whiz Kids program at all 3-5 school sites. Enrollment for incoming students is done through a lottery process, which opened on February 20 and closes on April 18, 2025. The lottery spin will be April 25, 2025. Full details on registering for the afterschool lottery are on the City of Decatur website at How to Register for 25-26 Lottery on the Forms and Documents page. Contact the Out-of-School Time Division for more information at dprd@decaturga.com or 404-377-0494.

Families can find various afterschool options for students for the 2025-26 school year on the CSD website.