The Bulldog, October 16, 2025

Note from Mrs. Lockwood:

Teaching and learning take center stage at Clairemont! The month of October is a celebration of Literacy and Family Engagement. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us on Tuesday for our annual Literacy Family Night! It was an evening filled with storytellers, face painting, and much more!

Family Movie Night is just around the corner. We will announce the movie selection next week. It's going to be a great time. I hope to see you there!

Community Crew is this Friday. Doors open at 8:00 a.m. Please join us as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Our kindergarteners will lead this week's celebration!

Events at a glance:

• Thursday, October 16: Family Fall Fun Night; 4:00-6:00
• Friday, October 17: Community Crew
• Saturday, October 18: Diwali Celebration; 5:00-7:00 @ BHMS
• Wednesday, October 22: CSD Early Release
• Friday, October 24: School Crew (students and staff only)
• Friday, October 24: Family Movie Night; 5:00-7:00
• Saturday, October 25: Community Day; 9:00-3:00
• Wednesday, October 29: 1st grade trip to Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary
• Friday, October 31: Book Character Dress Up Day
• Friday, October 31: School Crew (students and staff only)
• Tuesday, November 4: CSD Digital Learning Day
• Friday, November 7: Community Crew

Clairemont is committed to supporting the emotional and mental well-being of all our students. We are offering a small counseling group for students who may be experiencing high levels of anxiety or stress. This group will provide a safe, supportive space where students can learn coping skills, build emotional resilience, and connect with their peers in a structured environment led by Ms. Pratt, school counselor.

Details of the Anxiety Management Small Group:

• Who: 1st & 2nd grade students who could benefit from learning more about managing anxiety.
• When: Sessions will be held once a week for 30 minutes during Specials or WIN time for 6 weeks. The group will start in October.
• How to Join: If you believe your child may benefit from this group, please use the following link to complete the group sign up form: https://forms.gle/4rPKXaFxppjNJVv49

If you would like more information, or if you have any questions, please contact Ms. Pratt at cpratt@csdecatur.net or 404-370-4450 ext. 4181.

We have one more day for book fair shopping! Students can bring money to school, and parents are welcome any time. The book fair will be open before Community Circle in the morning! Stop by and get a book for yourself or purchase a book for your teacher's classroom library!

Teacher & Staff Appreciation Brunch – Sign Up to Help!

We love our Clairemont Teachers and Staff!

This month kicks off a series of appreciation events with our first Teacher & Staff Appreciation Brunch – a special way to show some love to the incredible humans who make our school so great!

Each grade level will host a brunch throughout the year:

Kindergarten: October 29th

1st Grade: January 21st

2nd Grade: March 18th

Kindergarten families, it’s your time to shine! Help us spoil our hardworking teachers and staff by signing up to bring a brunch item. Let’s make these brunches delicious and memorable – our Clairemont Teachers and Staff are the BEST!

Sign up HERE

To avoid constantly asking parents to send in money throughout the year to cover various classroom costs (e.g., learning celebrations and classroom celebrations), we would like to collect classroom funds at one time.

We are suggesting a one-time donation of $10–20 per child but appreciate any amount you are comfortable giving. This is not an official request from the school, and contributions are totally voluntary and optional.

This year, to make the funds equitable, the Clairemont Room Parent Coordinator is collecting one Class Fund Pool that they will divide equally among all classes. These funds go directly to supporting teachers by providing equal funds for teacher birthday, holiday, teacher appreciation, and end of year gifts. If you would like to contribute, please donate via Venmo to @cgensler (confirmation code 2277) by October 27th, 2025. Please put “Clairemont Room Fund” as a note when sending in your donation, so that we will know what it’s for.

Carrie Gensler is the room parent coordinator and will confirm receipt of contributions. Please contact her if you have any questions or concerns. Please also contact her if you need another method of payment besides Venmo.

Carrie Gensler

Cgensler88@gmail.com

4047712277

We had a fantastic time celebrating books and literacy on Tuesday evening! Many families came out to shop at the book fair, get faces painted, hear stories, make a book mark, and eat dessert at the Kona ice truck. A wonderful time was had by all! Thank you to everyone who has shopped at the book fair! A portion of the sales come back to our media center for new library books!

Hey Clairemont Crew!

We invite you and your family to join us here at the school for this wonderful community tradition. All proceeds from the event support learning initiatives for Clairemont students & teachers. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the latest updates. This year's Marketplace will be held at Clairemont Elementary School on Friday, December 12th from 5:30pm-9pm and Saturday, December 13th, from 10am-5pm.

VOLUNTEER HERE

Want to help with the Marketplace? We rely on all of our Clairemont parent volunteers and our Clairemont Bulldogs to put this fundraiser on its feet. It takes the whole CREW to pull off this wonderful tradition! Please email Marketplace Chairperson Melissa Godbee at decaturholidaymarketplace@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to be more involved with any of the preparations such as decorating transformation, soup service, booking live music, social media or sponsorships.

Read the October 16, 2025, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

Today, Superintendent Dr. Gyimah Whitaker sent a letter to all families via email to inform the City Schools of Decatur community that the CSD Board of Education has initiated a comprehensive review of K-2 school utilization. This review will assess how CSD's K-2 schools are currently being utilized to ensure that space, staffing, and resources align with student needs while also maintaining operational efficiency and fiscal responsibility.

The Board of Education work session on October 14, 2025, served as a preliminary discussion to review various options, including the potential closure of a K-2 school. The consulting firm Education Planners has been engaged to facilitate this process and presented a timeline for the first time at the work session, along with a detailed overview of the school closure and redistricting process. The board has not yet decided which school, if any, will be closed. There will be opportunities for families to share their input in the upcoming weeks

Please read the full letter in English here. More information and additional language translations of the letter are available on the K-2 School Consolidation & Redistricting Process webpage.

CSD families are invited to upcoming public hearings for feedback on the K-2 School Consolidation and Redistricting Process:

• Wednesday, October 29, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Beacon Hill Middle School, Cafeteria
• Thursday, November 13, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Beacon Hill Middle School, Cafeteria

While we encourage everyone to attend the public input hearings, please also consider submitting your feedback via this feedback form.

• Join the PTA for a day of outdoor fun, service, and snacks on October 25th from 9 am to 3 pm. There will be coffee and bagels in the morning.
• Register for a two hour time slot here.
• Children are welcome!

Signing up as a member allows you to fully access our website and add your bulldog to the directory along with classes and groups/clubs. This membership supports our school and the National and State PTA by paying annual dues that help us operate. We use PTA funds to support teacher grants and school events. A portion of the $10 serves as dues paid to the National and State Parent Teacher Association which is our governing organization.

The Diwali celebration is this weekend! Check out the *updated invite* and join us for food, a dance workshop, and activities for all ages!

Where/When: Beacon Hill Middle School, October 18, 5-7PM

RSVP: https://forms.gle/QUpN42B9FJTuc2U98

We would like to invite y'all to our 2nd Annual Communities in Schools of Atlanta Reading Is Lit event. This event is in partnership with Talley's PTO and the Diversity Activities Committee.

Last year's event was so much fun! We enjoyed having families from the Clairemont, Glennwood and Winnona Park communities. We would like to extend an invitation again for this year's event.

The theme for this year is: Snuggle with a Book. Kids and families are welcome to wear their best book character, literacy or superheroes costumes (scary masks are not allowed). Entrance is free but you must register HERE in advance. Please bring a new or gently used book (lower elementary reading level) to donate. We’ll have music and concessions for sale.