Talley Street Update
This week's news from Talley Street Upper Elementary
Principal Coffee Chat - Ed Tech
Join our principal for a morning of coffee and conversation about technology use at Talley Street and how we're balancing learning and well-being!
When: September 18, 8 am
Location: Talley Cafeteria
Topics will include an overview of technology use at Talley Street, including:
- BEAST Academy
- Freckle
- Google Classroom
- Screen time parameters
Attendance Awareness Month
Talley, in partnership with Communities In Schools, will celebrate Attendance Awareness Month this September by acknowledging three classes on each grade level with the highest rates of attendance for the month. This means EVERY MINUTE COUNTS! Getting to school each day, arriving on time, and staying until the final bell will help your class win. We want every student to know: your presence here matters. The competition begins 9/1 and ends 9/30, with the winners announced at the Talley Rally on 10/2.
Plastic Film for House Points
Our next plastic film collection for house points will be Thursday, September 10. Items that fall into this category are: shipping mailers, grocery and produce bags, zipper-top bags, bubble wrap, bread bags and newspaper bags. Rule of thumb: If you can push your finger through the plastic and stretch it, then it’s plastic film. Learn more here. The top three houses will earn 30, 20 and 10 points, respectively.
Turn In Your Takis!
If you have been collecting Takis-brand packaging for house points, then please turn them in by Friday, September 18. (We would like to send in our first shipment over the September break.) Students will earn one house point for five items, three house points for 10 items and five house points for 15 items. Packaging should be emptied of all food and dropped off to Mrs. Roberts in the Media Center. Please mark donations with the student’s name and homeroom teacher.
Feedback Wanted on Pre-K Access Survey
CSD has opened a survey to examine the priorities of Pre-K families in Decatur, including location, transportation, and changing community needs. All families and community members are invited to take the survey, regardless of their children's ages.
School principals recommended parents from their respective schools to participate in a working group to assist CSD in determining how best to engage with families, staff, and the broader community about Pre-K accessibility, and how to use community feedback to inform decisions about potential Pre-K locations. This survey is the committee's first community touch point.
The committee will use survey feedback data to define the community's values and priorities regarding any potential changes to Pre-K locations. The data will be used to make a recommendation to the Board of Education at the December board meeting. Data results will be posted. Community members can follow along and view upcoming survey findings, insights, and decision outcomes directly on the Pre-K Access Project webpage.
Please take the survey here through September 16:
English: https://tally.so/r/jaA2Y4
Spanish: https://tally.so/r/jaAY5R
Somali: https://tally.so/r/VLOAaj
- Many thanks to everyone who made an annual donation to the PTO so far this year! These funds help support all that the PTO does at Talley.
Please support our teachers by contributing to the Class Fund by Friday, September 18th! At Talley, we collect one school-wide Class Fund that will be split equally between classrooms and used by Room Parents for appreciation gifts for Homeroom and Specials teachers throughout the year (for birthdays, end-of-year holidays, and Appreciation week). Please consider making a donation. Every contribution, big or small, helps us celebrate our wonderful Talley teachers! Our goal is $19,000. Contribute at bit.ly/classfund26
Please send in a plain white T-shirt for your child by Friday, September 18th! This year, Ms. Radford, Coach Johns, and the PTO are teaming up to screen print special Field Day shirts for every student! The shirt can be new or used, but it must be blank. Please label the shirt with your child’s name and homeroom (write inside the back neck, use tape or staple a piece of paper to the shirt - whatever works best!). The printed shirt will be returned to your student before Field Day (October 9th).If providing a shirt is a financial or other barrier, please let your child’s teacher know they need a donated shirt and the size needed. The PTO will gladly provide one, and requests will be kept private. Have extra plain white shirts to donate (sizes Youth Small through Youth X-Large)? Please send them in, too! Questions? Email general@talleypto.org.
Interested in helping plan and run our October Reading Rally? Email copresident@talleypto.org by Friday, September 11th.
Join us for Walk & Roll tomorrow, September 4th! Walk, bike, or scooter to school and place a marble in your house jar as you enter the parking lot. The house with the most marbles wins HOUSE POINTS! Don't want to walk or bike alone? Join the Walking School Bus at Electric Avenue and Robin Street at 7:00 AM and walk to school with Talley friends and teachers! Or, join the Talley Bike Bus for a fun group ride to school (they ride every Friday, not only during Walk & Roll)!
Walk & Roll volunteers are still needed! Love coffee? Be our Coffee Hero by picking up our free Banjo Coffee on your way to Talley on Walk & Roll days. Then stay and enjoy the company of happy caffeinated parents. Do you love to walk and want to meet new friends? We could also use a few volunteers to help with the Walking School Bus—it’s a great way to connect with families while supporting a fun and healthy way to get to school! Interested in helping? Contact Mallory at srts@talleypto.org.
We are looking for volunteers to help with Talley’s Math Festival on Thursday, September 17th! This is a great opportunity for high schoolers or middle schoolers to earn service hours – ask your teenagers to help out! Sign up at https://signup.com/go/xNPDPiD.
We’re still looking for amazing volunteers for one PTO Co-President and other PTO positions. More info available at bit.ly/4mhwBPl. Interested? Email president@talleypto.org. We need a 3rd or 4th grade parent/guardian to fill the Co-President position. We will continue searching for a candidate until this position is filled.
Join the Talley PTO Parents Group on Facebook (bit.ly/Parentgroup) and follow us on Instagram (@TalleyPTO) to stay connected and receive PTO updates throughout the year! bit.ly/m/talleyonline
Social Media and Contact Information
You can find more information on the following Facebook pages:
Talley Street Upper Elementary School Parents
And these Instagram pages:
For more about the Talley Street PTO, visit their website here: https://talleypto.org/.