Eagle Edition

Bill Howard, Principal ~ Jill Tolsma, Instructional Coach ~ Michelle Reynolds, School Manager

Email: bill.howard@csdecatur.net
Location: 440 East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404.370.4435 * Website * Facebook

All of the Universal screening Assessments( STAR Math, Early Literacy, and Reading) have been completed. These computerized adaptive tests help teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth. As a part of the Georgia Early Literacy legislation, you will receive a letter, along with the STAR reports, in your child’s Thursday Communication folder today, December 18, 2025. The letter will communicate whether an academic risk has been identified or not. This allows us to identify needs and plan for the appropriate interventions early. You may find the STAR Family Information helpful as well.

What’s the difference between the STAR Early Literacy assessment and the STAR Reading assessment?

The Star Early Literacy assessment evaluates the foundational components of reading development, including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension, for students in Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd grade. This streamlined assessment generally requires 10-15 minutes to administer and is conducted with the assessment being read aloud to students. Students who achieve a score of 853 or higher are classified as "probable readers".

The Star Reading assessment evaluates the independent reading capabilities of students in grades K-12. This assessment delves into various aspects, including word knowledge, comprehension strategies, text meaning, and analysis of the author's craft. It is important to note that the assessment is not administered orally; students are required to be independent readers. The duration of the assessment typically ranges from 25 to 30 minutes. It is common to observe a decrease in scores from the Early Literacy assessment to Star Reading, reflecting the increased complexity of the latter. All Glennwood 2nd grade students and some 1st grade students took the STAR Reading assessment. Kindergarten students did not take the STAR Reading assessment.

If you have any questions about your child’s scores, please contact your child’s teacher or our Instructional Coach, Jill Tolsma, at jtolsma@csdecatur.net.

For the past eight weeks, students have been working on our career education lessons via the Naviance Elementary portal. Students have enjoyed working on their computers doing fun and engaging career activities. In kindergarten, students learned about different career choices, distinguished between play and work time, and learned about skills and interests. In first grade, students learned about interests and skills, created a goal plan, and researched a career of their choice. In second grade, students demonstrated cooperative group skills, generated solutions to problems, and completed an interest survey.

Additionally, students explored a variety of career clusters, pathways, and occupations through a fun, interactive game called Up the Ladder. In the future, students will continue to explore different careers through Naviance Elementary.

First Grade: For the last few weeks, we have been working on fun and silly creative writing. We have used the books That’s Good! That’s Bad! and Fortunately to develop good news/bad news pattern stories with imaginative twists. We are still getting the hang of it, but I have enjoyed watching the students collaborate with one another to develop their own stories.

Second Grade: We have been working on decoding ciphers (i.e. Pigpen, hieroglyphic hexagonal, and the Ottendorf ciphers) and solving logic puzzles. The students have shown great enthusiasm for tackling the challenge of a new thinking skill. I have been proud of how they have demonstrated perseverance and how they encouraged one another.

Read the December 18, 2025, 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.

Get excited about reading while supporting Glennwood through one of our biggest PTA fundraisers! Funds raised directly benefit teachers, staff, and students by providing supplies, books for the media center, innovation grants, school improvements, and more.

Last year, our students read for a total of 31,692 minutes!

Register now so you can use December break to get pledges from family and friends!

Prizes For:

• Top readers in each grade

• Super Readers (550+ minutes read)

• Class with the most minutes per grade

Winners will be announced at Community Circle on January 30th.

How It Works:

1. Register your child here: https://go.rallyup.com/soarintoreading

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2. Gather sponsors (General flat donations encouraged)

3. Set a reading goal

4. Read and log minutes (Jan 13th-23rd)

All reading counts—independent or with an adult!

Thank you for supporting Glennwood!

Questions? Email Karen Pearl at readathon@glennwoodespta.com

Yearbook Tribute Ads are now open until Feb. 14th.

(Note: Yearbook sales have not yet started so don’t worry — you didn’t miss out!)

Honor your child with a Tribute Ad in this year’s yearbook. This is a great way to celebrate your child’s growth as a Glennwood student. Follow this link (https://yearbookordercenter.com/jobSearch/displayHome) and enter school code 24818 to design and purchase your ad.

Interested in contributing to the silent auction items, but not sure what to donate? Donate funds here (add note for Silent Auction contributions) and the PTA will put something together on your behalf.

Stay up-to-date with all things Glennwood and tag us! Our PTA Facebook Page on IG and FB, as well as our parents' page: Glennwood Parents' Page