Smore logo
remove_red_eye 615
page background

Falcon Flyer

Important Events & Dates from F.AVE

Falcon Flyer  Important Events & Dates from F.AVE
Falcon Flyer Important Events & Dates from F.AVE

August 14, 2025 August 14, 2025

In this Issue

Principal's Corner

  • Message from the Principal

F.AVE News

  • Kilometer Kids
  • Voices of F.Ave
  • Girls on the Run
  • Lego Robotics
  • School Leadership Team
  • Upcoming Events Calendar
F.AVE PTO News
  • PTO Volunteers Needed for 25-26
  • Save the date!
  • Follow us on socials!
CSD News
  • CSD Weekly


Scroll down to learn more!

Principal's Corner Principal's Corner

Message from the Principal

Settling In! What Makes You Say That?
I'm happy to share that your students are settling in well and are finding their way toward a great 3–5 experience. Throughout the day, I’m often greeted by students eager to share what's happening in their classrooms. We encourage you to keep that conversation going when your child arrives home.

Sometimes, when we ask students, “How was your day?”, the reply is simply, “It was okay.” A great follow-up question to deepen the conversation is, “What makes you say that?” This simple prompt often leads to richer, more detailed responses and helps students reflect on their experiences.


Fall Curriculum Night

We want to invite all parents to our Fall Curriculum Night, scheduled for Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. We hope you'll join us!


Student Attendance Matters

As part of our 90-Day School Improvement Plan, we are placing a strong focus on student attendance. Every missed day is a missed opportunity for learning. Research consistently shows a clear link between attendance and academic success. Please partner with us in making daily attendance a priority. We want all students present and ready to grow every day!


Arrival and Dismissal Reminders

Thank you for helping make our arrival and dismissal routines run smoothly! A couple of important reminders:

  • Car riders must be dropped off and picked up on Oakview Road. For the safety of our students, we ask that you do not use the front of the school for car rider drop-off or pick-up.

  • U-turns on Oakview are only allowed at the second loop.

Following these guidelines helps ensure the safety of all our students. We appreciate your cooperation!


CSD Grading Handbook

Do you have children in multiple grade levels and want one resource that covers them all?


Click the first link below for information on our CSD grading policies, and the second link for 3–5 Grades Quick Facts: 25-26 CSD Grading Handbook .pdf 3-5 Upper Elementary Grading Quick Facts.pdf


One Flock, One Flight-F.Ave Falcons Unite!!!

F.AVE News F.AVE News

Kilometer Kids

Fifth Avenue Kilometer Kids


Open to all students: F.Ave Kilometer Kids is for students who want to develop a love of running and living an active life. There are limited spaces so we will hold a lottery to choose 30 students to participate this fall. The form to enter the lottery is now open and will close at the end of day on August 21st.

The results of the lottery will be sent out by email on Tuesday, August 26th. Kilometer Kids will practice every other Thursday from 2:30 to 3:15 pm. The first practice will tentatively be on Thursday September 4th. If you have any questions about Kilometer Kids, please direct them to Ms. Finch by emailing hannah.finch@csdecatur.net


Please read and acknowledge the Kilometer Kids Participation Contract before signing up for the lottery.


Fill out this form to enter the lottery: Kilometer Kids Lottery Form

Fifth Avenue Chorus: Voices of F.AVE

Open to all 4th & 5th Graders: The F.AVE Chorus is for students that want to become better singers and make even more music with their fellow Falcons. Spaces are limited so there will be a lottery to decide the members of the group. The form to enter the lottery is now open and will close on Wednesday, August 27th. The results of the lottery will be sent out by email on Friday, August 29th. Chorus meets on Tuesdays in the music room from 2:30-3:15pm. The first rehearsal will be Tuesday, September 9th. If you have any questions about chorus, please direct them to Mr. Mann by emailing favechorus@gmail.com.



Please sign up using this link:

Chorus Lottery Sign Up

Girls on the run flyer
zoom_out_map

Girls on the Run

Each season, Girls on the Run creates a safe and fun place for girls of all abilities to make new friends, new healthy habits and new memories. Registration for the fall Girls on the Run season is now open! If you or someone you know has a girl interested in participating in the fall season, lottery registration is open through 11:59 pm on Thursday, August 21. The lottery will run on August 22 and reopen for teams that did not fill at 3 pm. Registration will remain open for teams with open spots through September 11. Practice begins the week of September 1 and will be Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday practices.


Just select Fifth Avenue during registration to register for our site. Learn more and register at www.girlsontherunga.org for the fall season today!

Lego Robotics

Lego Robotics
The FAVE Robotics Club is kicking off its third year of building and learning!

This year, we'll continue using the Lego Spike curriculum to explore robotics. We'll also have 1-2 teams participate in the First Lego League (FLL) challenge, using kits from last year's competition.


Club Details

  • When: The club will meet every other Thursday right after school. We'll dismiss members at 3:15 PM. We will communicate our first meeting date soon.

  • Capacity: We have a maximum of 35 members for now, but this number may increase if we get more volunteers.

  • Membership Priority: Spots are first given to challenge team members and the children of volunteers. If interest is high, we'll share more information about how to join.

Interested? Please fill out this Google Form to sign up or learn more.

Additional questions or comments can be sent to fave-robotics-coaches@googlegroups.com. We can't wait to see you this year!

School Leadership Team Elections closing soon-Vote by 11:59 pm!

We're excited to announce the candidates for this year’s School Leadership Team (SLT) election! Click the links below to learn more about each candidate.

Voting will take place August 11–14. The two candidates who receive the most votes will serve as our parent representatives and will be announced on Friday, August 15, 2025.


2025 School Leadership Team Candidates

Niki Anderson Niki Anderson


Jean-Jacques Credi Jean-Jacques Credi


Nik Osadchiy Nik Osadchiy


Andy Redman Andy Redman


Rachel C. Sedlack-Prittie Rachel C. Sedlack-Prittie


Patrick Yang Patrick Yang


Mark Your Calendars

  • SLT Elections – August 11–14

  • PTO Meeting – August 20 (6:30 p.m.)

  • DHS Football at Greater Atlanta Christian – August 22 (7:30 p.m.)

  • Curriculum Night – August 26 (6:00 p.m.)

  • Early Release Day – August 27 (12:15 p.m.)

  • Labor Day – No School – September 1

  • Board of Education Meeting – September 9

F.AVE PTO News F.AVE PTO News

Join our Team - Fave rise up!
zoom_out_map

PTO Volunteers Needed!

We are looking for a few board positions and quite a few committee chairs for the 2025-2026 school year. The good news? *Every single one* will be partnered with a seasoned veteran who knows the ropes! If you've been thinking about getting involved, now is the perfect time to do so! Click HERE to let us know about your interest.

Fall Festival
zoom_out_map

Save the date!

The PTO will be hosting our annual Fall Family Festival on the lower field on September 18th, from 5:30-7:30.There will be food for purchase (Grindhouse! Madre Garcias! Kona Ice!), DJ and staff marketplace. We hope to see you there!

Follow us on socials!

FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS!


Instagram: IG link


Facebook: FB link


Website: WS link

District News District News

User uploaded image
open_in_new zoom_out_map Show in original size

Read the August 14, 2025, issue of the district-wide newsletter, CSD Weekly here.

User uploaded image
zoom_out_map

Families Invited to Webinar about CSD’s Balanced Assessment System

Families are invited to join a webinar on Wednesday, August 20 at 6 p.m. to discuss ELA standards, curriculum, and the CSD Balanced Assessment System, hosted by CSD's Teaching and Learning department.


We will share examples of how the standards have changed, information on cursive writing, and the new curriculum. We will also review how our Balanced Assessment System works, featuring interim assessments, STAR, and student reports. This is a great opportunity to learn more about what your child will be learning this year and how you can support them at home. Join webinar here. You will receive your student's most recent STAR testing reports in next week's Thursday folders.

User uploaded image
zoom_out_map

Students Invited to Apply for Superintendent's Student Advisory Council

Superintendent Dr. Whitaker invites student leaders and interested students to apply for the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council. Councils are divided into age groups and invite student members to share their perspectives and experiences with the Superintendent on a variety of issues, offering a two-way system of communication between students and the Office of the Superintendent.


Students are also asked to attend each meeting (see dates below) at the Wilson Center after school in the Superintendent's Office. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 22, at 5 p.m. Selected students will be notified by Friday, August 29, 2025. Apply for the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council here.

Basic Incident Response Protocol
Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary Seal graphic
zoom_out_map

About Us

Principal

Derrick Thomas

dthomas@csdecatur.net


Assistant Principal

Meagan Ferguson

mferguson@csdecatur.net


Assistant Principal

Shannon Stewart

sstewart@csdecatur.net


School Manager

Malik Morrow

mmorrow@csdecatur.net


Bookkeeper

Shronda Edwards

sedwards@csdecatur.net


Who Do I Contact?

Email: fave@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/FAVE
Location: 101 5th Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: (404) 371-6680

Please do not reply to this newsletter. See the Who Do I Contact link above and direct your inquiries to the correct individual.

Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary
Loading indicator

close

Created with

Communicate quickly and effectively with interactive newsletters.

Smore empowers educators to connect with their community, streamline school communications,
and increase engagement.

Create a newsletter