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

We’re only a couple of weeks into the school year, and already there is so much to celebrate! Thank you for your continued support in helping us get off to such a strong start. The energy in our building has been amazing—our Eagles are showing joy, curiosity, and school spirit each day, and our staff continues to create welcoming, engaging classroom communities where learning is taking flight!

One big highlight from last week: Glennwood won the CSD Mascot Race at the Decatur High School football game! 🦅 Soarin’ the Eagle raced to the finish line, and our students are getting to relive the fun this week during their PE classes as they watch the video and learn all about Glennwood pride and school spirit. You’ll find a photo of the big win included in this newsletter—and be sure to ask your eagle if they’ve seen the trophy, now proudly displayed in our main hallway!

We also appreciate everyone’s flexibility and support during STAR testing this week. You did a great job at ensuring our students got to school on time. Let's keep that going! Our students have done an amazing job showing what they know, and we are grateful to our teachers for creating calm, focused testing environments. A huge thank you to Ms. Jill Tolsma, our wonderful Instructional Coach, for coordinating our testing schedule so smoothly.

Looking ahead:

• School Leadership Team (SLT) Elections: We have three open parent positions this year on Glennwood’s SLT. If you're interested in serving, please submit your nomination by Tuesday, August 20. More details and the nomination form can be found later in this newsletter.
  
  

• PTA General Meeting & Curriculum Night will be held on Wednesday, August 28 from 5:30–7:15 p.m. We’ll kick off with our first PTA meeting of the year, followed by classroom visits. This is a great opportunity to learn more about your child’s daily experience and how we can partner throughout the year.
  

Thank you again for all the positivity and partnership you’ve shown so far. It’s truly a joy to be part of this vibrant, supportive community. If you ever have questions or thoughts to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s keep the momentum going—it's going to be a fantastic year!

Warmly,

Bill Howard

Principal, Glennwood Elementary

bill.howard@csdecatur.net

Glennwood Eagles SOAR again with our very own SOARIN coming in first place at the CSD Annual Mascot Run at Decatur High School on Friday, August 8. The award trophy is on display outside the main office. Woo hoo! (Note: A big thank you to former GL Eagle William Bartlett for his participation and excellent cross-country skills. Wink, wink!)

CSD is initiating a new Visitor Management System at all schools that is a part of our Centegix Safety System. We will be getting equipment that will check in all visitors to the building through a State-issued ID or driver's license. This extra safety measure will notify our front office if there is an individual who does not need to be on our campus.

• All visitors must show their valid state-issued ID/Driver's license when checking in as a volunteer, classroom visitor or attendee for a school event.

• Please make sure you have proper Identification when you enter the building.

• All visitors must enter and exit through the front office.

• Once your ID has been scanned, you will receive a lanyard with a Centegix badge. This must be scanned, then worn when the visitor is in the building.

• Upon checkout, the badge must be scanned again, returned, and the visitor is checked out.

• Parents checking their child in or out but not remaining in the building need not follow this new protocol, but still follow our Checkmate system in Infinite Campus.

Beginning Monday, August 25, we will begin this new safety procedure. This is a safety protocol that we must follow with consistency, even though our front office staff know our families and many of our visitors.

The GL School Leadership Team (SLT) will hold an election for three open parent positions for the 2025-2026 school year. A big shout out to Emily McDowell, Matthew Pearl and Lesslie Sessley for volunteering on the SLT completing a two-year term! We appreciate you!

The Glennwood Elementary School Leadership Team (SLT) is an elected committee consisting of Glennwood parents/guardians, staff members, a community member, and a district representative. The purpose of the SLT is to make decisions that support the continuous improvement of the school in accordance with the provisions of the District Charter. This year we will have THREE parent vacancies on the SLT and will have the SLT election in late August. If you are interested in filling one of the vacancies, please complete this form. If you have any questions regarding the SLT, feel free to contact Bill Howard at bill.howard@csdecatur.net.

• Mr. Bill Howard (GL Principal)

• Venessa Barnes (Parent Volunteer)
• GL Staff Member (TBD)
• District Representative (TBD)

Nominations are due by Wednesday, August 20th. Thank you in advance for your interest in volunteering your time and serving on the SLT!

Get ready for a thrilling year of Walk & Roll at Glennwood Elementary! We're on the hunt for parent superheroes to lead our three "Walking School Buses" for our monthly Walk & Roll dates. Whether you're up for a stroll or a roll, join in the excitement with other families. Can't make it? No sweat! Drop your child at one of our stops, and our fantastic volunteers will walk them to school.

Parents -- lace up your shoes and become our Walking School Bus leaders, with 2 heroes needed for each route every month. You can sign up to lead the charge regularly or be a backup for when duty calls. It's a small commitment with big community rewards and a healthy dose of fun on our Walk & Roll days. Join the march towards a healthier community and have a blast while you're at it!

SIGN UP HERE

Questions? Reach out to Amanda McMillan at srts@glennwoodespta.com.

We Want Your Ideas!

We value your input! If you have any ideas or feedback to help us shape the year, please fill out this form.

We're also looking for a DEI Chair and a Co-chair for 2nd Grade Graduation (ideally a current 1st grade parent interested in leading next year). If you're interested in either of these roles or would like to volunteer in general, please email us at president@glennwoodpta.com.

We have NEW and vintage spiritwear available! Purchase online & items will be delivered via backpack – all sales go towards our fundraising efforts for the school!

If you are a Glennwood Elementary parent, friend or relative and your place of business would like to become a corporate sponsor for our school, we would love to have your support! Funds raised through corporate sponsorships benefit students, teachers and the entire school. This is also great exposure and advertising for your business! E-mail Candice Lang at fundraising@glennwoodespta.com for more information.

Consider Mabel’s Labels for your labeling needs! The original waterproof name label for kids that’s dishwasher safe, laundry safe, with free standard shipping and 100% satisfaction GUARANTEED. Visit https://mabelslabels.com/ for more information.

Thank you for helping with the Staff Appreciation efforts of stocking the staff break room at Glennwood in August. Please deliver the donated items to Ms. Reynolds between August 19-20th. We will be cleaning and stocking up the lounge on August 21st. Please sign up here.

If you are unable to purchase items, but would like to donate funds towards helping us stock the break room, the PTA is also collecting monetary donations. Donations can be made here with a note that it's for 'Staff Appreciation' and we'll take care of it for you. If you have any questions, please reach out to Emily McDowell or Kate Myers (staffappreciation@glennwoodespta.com).

Passive fundraisers to support Glennwood Elementary include the Kroger Community Rewards, Box Tops for Education, Mabel’s Labels, and Minted to name a few. More information on the PTA website: https://glennwoodpta.ptboard.com/school/cm?mid=5444

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

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.

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.