College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

We were happy to welcome our Pre-K students back this week after Fall Break. I hope you had a fun and restful time off. Fall is a busy time here at College Heights, so please make plans to be a part of all the exciting events and activities that are coming up over the next few weeks. PTO is preparing to kick off the annual Read-To-Me-A-Thon soon, and we will finish the month with a week of exciting literacy activities for all ages, with our beloved Pre-K Book Parade on Halloween. Details on all these events can be found below.

I want to thank our PTO leadership and volunteers for all you do. We are so grateful for your time, talent, energy, and love of College Heights staff and students. You make our community so special.

Have a great weekend,

Principal Garland

October 6-10 - School Pictures (individual)

October 22-29 - Adventure Awaits With Reading Read-To-Me-A-Thon sponsored by PTO

October 24 - PTO Trunk or Treat and Movie Night

October 27-31 - College Heights Literacy Week and Scholastic Book Fair

October 27 - Family Literacy Night

October 31 - Book Parade (9:30 a.m.)

November 4 - CSD Digital Learning Day - NO SCHOOL (0-3 and Pre-K)

School pictures are next week! We have a new photographer this year, Melle Houston, who is excited to take photos of our adorable College Heights chicks. Please see the schedule below so you'll know when your child's class will have their individual photos taken.

Melle would love to have some parents come and assist her next week. If you have any availability next week, please email her directly at hello@mellehouston.com. Photos are scheduled from 8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day. Thank you in advance!

Each year, the annual College Heights Read-To-Me-A-Thon encourages parents to read with their children and promotes childhood literacy while supporting student enrichment programs, our library, an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Book Cart, Field Day and Spanish, and Teacher/Staff Appreciation & Professional Development!

Read-To-Me-A-Thon dates: October 22-29, 2025

Help us reach 100% participation!

REGISTER YOUR READER TODAY & START GETTING SPONSORS!

Step 1 – Register Your Reader TODAY:

• Go to pledgestar.com/collegeheights/ and choose “Not Yet Registered for This Event” to set up your child’s personal fundraising page and place to log reading minutes!

• You can download the Pledgestar app and register using the code: collegeheights

Step 2 – Set a Goal for your Child:

• Set a goal for how many minutes your child will read with you or others during the event (the grandparents will love it!)

• Sign up friends & family as reading sponsors by October 22 to contribute either a flat amount OR pledge an amount based on minutes read!

Step 3 – Log Reading Minutes from October 22-29:

• Log your child’s “Reading Minutes” every day from October 22-29 on your child’s personal online reading log!

• Reading together is a great way to connect with your little one and encourage your child’s love of reading!

• Remember to dive into reading to get those minutes, as there will be winners announced for the highest number of logged minutes and classroom participation!

At the Book Parade on Friday, October 31, we'll celebrate the classrooms with the most logged reading minutes and the most participation per age group (Infants/Toddlers, Preschool, and Pre-K), as well as the highest number of individual reading minutes per age group. Top readers (minutes read at each grade level) will receive prizes!

Click here to get started!

Questions? Please email averydavisbell@gmail.com.

CSD Board Chair Dr. Carmen Sulton dropped by College Heights to read some books in her daughter Imani's class during CSD Reads Week. All the kids in Ms. B's class were so happy to see her, but Imani was clearly delighted to have her mom come to school!

Even our youngest students got in on the fun on Neon Day!

It's Fancy Day for these cuties in Ms. Amaryst's one-year-olds class (pictured here with Ms. Bridgette), Nora in Ms. Rahfiya's preschool class, and these friends from Ms. Rahfiya's and Ms. Collins' classes.

¡Hola familias!

It’s hard to believe we are already wrapping up our first month of Español at College Heights! A big gracias to the PTA for funding this wonderful opportunity for your children to begin learning a new language at such an early age.

The kids are thriving in the immersion setting—singing, dancing, playing games, and listening to stories en español. They’ve already learned words for numbers, colors, school supplies, and basic actions, and many have been eager to share their new songs and vocabulary at home.

Looking ahead, October and November will bring plenty of fun as we explore Spanish through the themes of autumn, pumpkins, “La Araña Pequeñita” (Itsy Bitsy Spider), and Thanksgiving.

It’s truly amazing to see how quickly preschool and Pre-K children pick up language. Before long, you’ll hear them singing, counting, naming colors, and practicing Spanish in the car or at home. Parents often say they wish they had been able to start learning a foreign language at age 3-4—what a gift this is for your children! Thank you again for making this possible, and for supporting your children as they begin their Spanish journey.

¡Hasta pronto!

The College Heights staff is honoring breast cancer awareness during the month of October. There are several opportunities for families to support our efforts:

• Staff raffle: Purchase a raffle ticket for $5 for your child's teacher(s) or any other College Heights staff. With each ticket the staff member will receive a raffle ticket to win a fitness tracker. Just check in at the front desk and purchase a ticket starting Monday, October 6. All funds raised will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta Chapter.

• Hat and scarf/head wrap drive: Many chemo patients are in need of hats and scarves/head wraps for the winter months. We are asking families and staff to consider donating new hats and head wraps/scarves to be donated directly to the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory. A donation box will be located in the front lobby.

• Pink Tree: Our "pink tree" will be set up in the front lobby for staff and families to tie a pink ribbon in honor of a loved one who has been impacted by breast cancer. You will also receive a ribbon to wear yourself.

Pink out! Wear all pink on Thursday, October 30.

In room 141, you'll find the dynamic duo of Anne Collins and Courtney Menyfield. This Pre-K team has been together for three years, and their classroom is always full of laughter, love, and learning.

Anne hails from Buffalo, N.Y. (she adds #gobills), and she loves to read, exercise, cook, shop for antiques, and spend time with her family. Anne's fun fact: when she was in fifth grade, she won her elementary school spelling bee by defeating a sixth grader on the word "fierce."

Courtney was born and raised right here in Atlanta, and she loves to cook. She says she likes to discover and try new recipes for friends and family, and her favorite cuisine to cook and eat is Italian food. Courtney's fun fact: "When I worked at Kroger (my first job), I met Shaquille O'Neal and I helped him find a birthday card for his mom. He was extremely nice and gave me a nice tip for my help. I also took a picture with him."

Thanks for shining your lights on College Heights, Anne and Courtney!

Pre-K and Preschool enjoyed the story Little Taco Truck by Tanya Valentine, illustrated by Jorge Martin, which reminded us of the importance of making space for others so that we can all thrive.

Next Friday is Pre-K's author visit with Dan Gemeinhart. The books are in and ready for him to sign when he's here!

We are still accepting birthday book orders. Check out our bulletin board just past Ms. Caretha's desk for some cute photos of students with their books. Thank you for supporting the College Heights library!

This week's 0-3 books:

Zebra and Yak: The Backwards Alphabet Book by Paul Friedrich

If You're Happy and You Know It adapted by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Sophie Fatus, sung by Susan Reed

Let's Be Bees by Shawn Harris

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

Read the October 2, 2025, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

You can also click here to sign up to host a trunk or volunteer at the event!

Click the image above to RSVP.

All recent issues of the College Heights Connection are available here.

Older issues of CSD Weekly may be found on CSD's district newsletter webpage.

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center cultivates an atmosphere where children take their first steps in building an authentic love of learning through developmentally appropriate practices in an environment that fosters family and community involvement.