Talley Street Update

• Talent Show: January 23, 6 pm
• SLT Meeting: January 26, 5 pm (media center or join virtually)
• Tybee Chaperone Meeting: January 26, 6 pm
• Lunar New Year Parade: January 28, 8:15 am
• Early Release: January 28, 12:15 pm
• 4th Grade Movie Night: January 30, 5:30 pm
• Amistad Friendship Dance: February 10, 5 pm, Ebster Recreation Center
• PTO Meeting: February 11, 6 pm
• February Break: February 16-20
• Walk n Roll: March 6

Congratulations to our Talley spelling bee finalists, Kenji Bhatt, Inaya Kazi, and Charlie D'Avis, for competing in last weekend's CSD Spelling Bee. Although they didn't win, we are so proud of their dedication and determination as representatives to our school. Shout out to the CSD winner, Ryan Zhou (6th grade), and runner-up, Ayza Zafrullah (8th grade), both former Talley Tigers!

Congratulations are in order for Cora Yunker (3rd grade), Lu Starrchan (4th grade) and Charlie D'Avis (5th grade). Not only were all 3 of these students selected as representatives for our school, but all three of them were grade-level winners for the district. They will continue on to represent CSD in the regional writing competition. We are so proud of them!

All four Talley Street First Lego League (FLL) Robotics teams have advanced to the Super Regional Competition, taking place in January. The “Programming Penguins,” the “Talley Tech Titans”, the “Scavengers Gang,” and the “Coding Cats” will compete against some of the best Robotics teams in Atlanta on January 17th and 24th.

Congratulations to all team members, and a big thank you to parent coaches Lynda Kim, Eric Stevens, Patrick Brandt, Chesney D’Avis, Kerri Hartsfield Johnson, Nidhi Jain, Mohit Jain, Mattie Ruth Backman, Mark Backman, Pinal Patel, Kisito Ogoussan, and Leaor Schwartz.

Student report cards were available in the parent portal as of January 8. Use the link below for information about how to access grades.

Talley Street will take the new Georgia School Climate Survey this year. Each parent or guardian is invited to take the family version to answer questions about the current school(s) your child or children attend. If two or more children attend the same school, please only complete one survey for that school.

The survey measures your thoughts on how the school engages with families. Answers are not linked to names in any way. When typing answers, please do not give names or information that you don’t want to share with this school. Data will be shared with school leaders to help improve the school and will be published on the GaDOE website.

Please help by sharing your honest opinion on this 22-question survey. To take the survey, please click this link.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact me at bheaton@csdecatur.net.

Sincerely,

Billy

We already have many winter coats in our lost and found. Please be sure your child's coats, jackets, hoodies, and sweaters have their names on them so the items can be returned to your child before the articles of clothing are donated each month.

The start of the new year is a great time to check the dismissal for your child. Please update Pick Up Patrol for all clubs, meetings and activities after school!

Join us on Wednesday, March 4th from 6:30-8:00 pm for our Rising 6th Grade Parent Night at Beacon Hill Middle School

*Look for more information in your February e-blasts!

We look forward to welcoming you,

BHMS Bulldogs

Ready or not, it’s time to look ahead! We are gearing up to welcome our newest Bulldog crew to BHMS in 2026-2027! The Course Request Window for our rising 6th graders is going to open soon! We have compiled a single resource containing everything you need to successfully support your 5th grader with this process and navigate the upcoming course request window.

Inside this guide, you will find:

• 📚 Course Information: Detailed descriptions of classes, pacing guides, and more.

• 📅 Timelines: Key dates and deadlines you can't miss.

• ❓ FAQs: Answers to your most pressing questions and an opportunity to ask a question.

Mark your calendars for Talley's first fifth-grade talent show on Friday, January 23, from 6-8 p.m.! In addition to showcasing the talents of our incredible fifth-graders, the talent show is an opportunity for our school community to help families facing homelessness. Nukumori House will be collecting items from the following list at the door, and will donate all of the items to the Decatur Cooperative Ministry, which helps families facing homelessness settle into safe, stable homes and build healthy lives. All Talley students and their families are welcome to attend. We hope to see you there!

Library Need: 500-Piece Puzzles

Do you have any 500-piece puzzles collecting dust? Please consider donating them to the library's makerspace! Any puzzles can be brought to Mrs. Long in the media center.

Little Shop Fundraiser Results

Thank you so much to all of the community members that participated in our Little Shop of Stories spirit day! We are so grateful for your support. We raised over $900 for our school library, which will support collection development and special programs. 🎊

Call for artists! Submit your artist creation of our Talley Tiger! Winners will be chosen from each school to have their designs on a special CSD t-shirt to show our CSD pride. Entries can be submitted by January 30th to the Art Room.

Direct your questions to Kathryn Roberts at kathryn.roberts@csdecatur.net. To become a member of the Green Team, complete this form.

Read the January 15, 2026, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

Please take a moment this week to make your voice heard and participate in the Georgia Department of Education climate survey for your school! Your participation and feedback are greatly appreciated. The data collected will help determine the School Climate Star Ratings for the 2026-27 school year, which will enable schools to improve or build upon their successes.

An ongoing speaker series from DEF, Decatur Prevention Initiative and the Decatur Parents Network returns Thursday, January 22, with a documentary viewing and panel discussion on "Navigating the Changing Drug Landscape: Talking to our Kids About Dangerous Substances." This event is free and open to any adult. Find more information and register in advance here.

Thursday, January 22, 6:30-8 p.m., DHS Learning Commons (Library/Media Center). Enter the bus drop-off area off of Commerce Drive.

• Come cheer on Talley students at the Nukumori 5th Grade Talent Show on Friday, January 23rd! The entire Talley community is invited to attend! Please bring an item from the Decatur Cooperative Ministry’s Needed Items list for admission. Doors open at 5:45pm, show begins at 6 pm.
• Talley’s annual Lunar New Year Parade is coming up on Wednesday, January 28th at 8:15am! If your student is in the parade, you are invited to come watch! Arrive at 8am (not sooner).
• Save the date for the annual Amistad Friendship Dance on Tuesday, February 10th at Ebster Gym from 5pm-6:30pm. Stay tuned for more details!
• Save the date for Talley’s Family STEM Night, Thursday, March 12th from 5pm-7pm!
• Save the date (note the change) for Talley PTO’s TigerFest on Saturday, March 28th! This annual carnival is our largest fundraiser. More info coming soon!

• Did your student(s) receive a new jacket, winter apparel, water bottle, or other school gear over the break? Please label these items with your student’s name before they bring them to school, so they can be returned if they are lost and found! If you need labels, Mabel’s Labels gives 20% of every sale to Talley! Just search for Talley Upper Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (Decatur) under “Support a Fundraiser” before you start shopping.
• Have photos from Talley events? Please share them with us for the yearbook! Email them to yearbook@talleypto.org.
• Order a yearbook! 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. For other questions, contact yearbook@talleypto.org.

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/.