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 a couple of weeks into the school year, and the energy and joy in our building continue to grow! Thank you for your constant partnership and support in making this start so strong. Our Eagles are showing incredible curiosity, building tight-knit classroom communities, and taking flight every single day.

First Community Circle – Friday Morning!

We are thrilled to host our first Community Circle of the school year TOMORROW at 8:30 am! Ms. VanDuzer’s class will be kicking us off, and they’ve been hard at work preparing for the big day—we even held a full run-through this morning to make sure everything is just right.

Here are a few reminders for families attending Community Circle:

• Doors will open for families at 8:18 a.m. (after student arrival is complete.) Please enter through the exterior, carpool doors near the auditorium.
  

• Community Circle begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium.
  

• Families, please stand along the perimeter of the auditorium (inside all blue-taped areas) or any available spots on the benches to leave space for students to sit in the center with their classes. We must keep all exits clear. Siblings who are visiting must stay with their parents.

• Families will be dismissed after Community Circle first. Please wave goodbye or blow a kiss to your child and exit promptly because our students will need to get back to class as quickly as possible.

We can’t wait to gather together and celebrate our Glennwood community. A full schedule of upcoming Community Circles is posted on our school website so you can plan ahead for your child’s hosting date!

We Won the CSD Mascot Race! 🎉

Huge news - Glennwood officially won the CSD Mascot Race at Decatur High School for the second year in a row! Soarin’ the Eagle brought home the championship trophy AGAIN, and we can’t wait to celebrate as a school.

We will be officially presenting the trophy to our students at Community Circle tomorrow and showing the whole school how we SOAR with Glennwood pride! All families are welcome to join us for this fun, spirit-filled morning tradition.

STAR Testing Shoutout

We also want to give a big round of applause to our students and staff for their hard work and focus during STAR testing this week. Our Eagles did a fantastic job showing what they know, and our classrooms remained calm, supportive learning spaces throughout the process.

A special thank you to Sra. Ramos for serving as our testing coordinator this year and making sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes!

Curriculum Night & PTO Meeting (Thursday, August 27)

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, August 27 for our annual Curriculum Night! We have updated our evening format this year to streamline the experience for everyone:

• 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: PTO General Meeting (Auditorium)

• 6:00 PM – 6:20 PM: Admin Team Overview of Curriculum & Resources (Auditorium)

• 6:20 PM – 7:00 PM: Classroom Visits

Please note:

• Single Rotation: We will not have two separate classroom rotations like we have in past years, so please keep this single schedule in mind as you plan your visit.

• General Overview: This evening is designed to provide a broad look at classroom routines, expectations, and grade-level curriculum. Because time is limited, it should not be utilized for individual parent-teacher conferences. Our teachers are always happy to schedule a separate time to discuss your child's individual progress!

School Leadership Team (SLT) Election

We have one open parent seat on Glennwood’s SLT for this school year! If you are interested in collaborating with our staff to help guide our school's strategic goals, please submit your nomination form using the link found later in this newsletter. Voting for this open position will take place next Thursday.

Thank you again for all the positivity, enthusiasm, and partnership you bring to Glennwood. I look forward to seeing many of you at Community Circle tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM!

With excitement and gratitude,

Bill Howard

bill.howard@csdecatur.net
Proud Principal, Glennwood Elementary

Our first Walk & Roll event for Glennwood Elementary is Friday, August 21st! 🚲👟

Walk & Roll is a fantastic part of the Georgia Safe Routes to School initiative, encouraging our Eagles to walk, bike, or roll their way to the classroom! ✨💙

We’ll have 3 “Walking School Bus” routes (above) where students, parents, and staff can trek to school as a team! 🚌🚶 Everyone is invited to join—volunteers will be on hand to make sure every student arrives safely. Stay tuned to next week’s Eagle Edition for specific route details!

Every participant gets to add a marble to the jar at the school entrance—help us reach our goal to earn extra recess for the whole school! 🛝🎉

Have questions or want to help lead a walking bus? Reach out to Amanda McMillan at srts@glennwoodespta.com! 📧✨

Student and staff birthdays will be recognized in the first Community Circle for each month. This Friday we will be recognizing all July and August birthdays. We call students to the middle of the circle and sing the Glennwood Birthday Song to celebrate. If your child has a birthday and misses Community Circle on their designated day, please know that we also recognize them on their birthday during morning announcements.

All of the Universal screening Assessments (STAR Math, Early Literacy, and Reading) have been completed. These computerized adaptive tests help teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth. As a part of the Georgia Early Literacy legislation, you will receive a letter, along with the STAR reports, in your child’s Thursday Communication folder today, August 20, 2026. The letter will communicate whether an academic risk has been identified or not. This allows us to identify needs and begin to plan for the appropriate interventions for the school year.

What’s the difference between the STAR Early Literacy assessment and the STAR Reading assessment?

The Star Early Literacy assessment evaluates the foundational components of reading development, including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension, for students in Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd grade. This streamlined assessment generally requires 10-15 minutes to administer and is conducted with the assessment being read aloud to students. Students who achieve a score of 853 or higher are classified as "probable readers."

The Star Reading assessment evaluates the independent reading capabilities of students in grades K-12. This assessment delves into various aspects, including word knowledge, comprehension strategies, text meaning, and analysis of the author's craft. It is important to note that the assessment is not administered orally; students are required to be independent readers. The duration of the assessment typically ranges from 25 to 30 minutes. It is common to observe a decrease in scores from the Early Literacy assessment to Star Reading, reflecting the increased complexity of the latter. All Glennwood 2nd grade students took the STAR Reading assessment during this round of testing. Kindergarten and 1st grade students did not take the STAR Reading assessment.

For more information on your child’s overall scaled scores on each assessment and their domain scores within each subject, please click here. You may find the STAR Family Information helpful as well.

If you have any questions about your child’s scores, please contact your child’s teacher or our Instructional Coach, Jill Tolsma, at jtolsma@csdecatur.net.

Thank you!

Over the past two weeks in P.E., we have been learning the rules and expectations for entering and participating in the gym. Students have practiced our opening stretches and discussed the importance of stretching before physical activity. Our main focus during Unit 1 has been locomotor movements. Students have had fun exploring different ways to move around the gym, including skipping, running, hopping, bear crawling, dancing, and tiptoeing. We are off to a great start and have enjoyed getting our bodies moving!

From September 2-4, all 1st-grade students will be taking the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Unlike traditional achievement tests, which measure how well a student has learned the curriculum, the CogAT assesses a child’s ability to reason abstractly and recognize patterns and relationships in the world around them. Teachers can use CogAT scores to better understand a child’s pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses. Our school district also uses CogAT scores to screen for cognitively gifted students.

The Glennwood Birthday Book program gives you the opportunity to both honor your child on their birthday and help our library collection continue to grow. To honor your child with a birthday book donation, simply complete this form and payment by Friday, September 4.

We welcome friends or other family members to participate in this program, as well. Families are not limited to one book. After receiving your donation, your child will choose a new library book during his/her birthday month during library time. (July and August birthdays will be celebrated in September and June birthdays will be celebrated in May.) We will affix a book dedication label to the inside of the book your child chooses, indicating that the book is donated in their honor to our library.

Your child may keep the new book for two weeks before he/she must return it to the library. This book checkout will be in addition to their regular library book(s). Each participant will have their picture taken with their new book, and we will send the picture to you as a token of our appreciation. THANK YOU TO ALL THE FAMILIES WHO HAVE ALREADY PARTICIPATED!🤗

Birthday Book Fundraiser Registration Form

Electronic Payment Link via GL PTO

We recognize all GL students' birthdays on the last week of every month during library time. Questions? Contact Ms. Rittenhouse at drittenhouse@csdecatur.net.

The GL School Leadership Team (SLT) will hold an election for one open parent position for the 2026-2027 school year. Sending a shout out to GL parent Vanessa Barnes who will be rotating off SLT! Thank you for serving a 2-year term!

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 one parent vacancy 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.

Nominations are due by Wednesday, August 26th. Thank you in advance for your interest in volunteering your time and serving on the SLT!

Purpose & Commitment: The Superintendent's Student Advisory Council is designed as a two-way system of communication between students and the Office of the Superintendent. Students on the council are asked to share their perspectives and experiences with the Superintendent on a variety of issues. Students are also asked to attend each meeting (see dates below). Meetings will be held at the Wilson Center after school in the Superintendent's Office.

CSD is recruiting students to serve on the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council for the 2026–2027 school year. Please read the information below for more details.

Elementary (K-5) Student Council: The Elementary (K-5) Superintendent's Student Council will be made up of two students from each lower elementary (K-2) school and two students from each upper elementary (3-5) school. The K-5 student council will meet at the Wilson Center from 3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. on the following dates:

• Tuesday, September 29, 2026
• Tuesday, December 1, 2026
• Tuesday, January 19, 2027
• Tuesday, March 16, 2027
• Tuesday, May 4, 2027

The application process begins on Monday, August 10. If your child would be interested in applying, before proceeding with this application, please make all efforts to ensure the student submitting it is logged into their CSD Google Workspace account via the CSD Launchpad.

Superintendent's Student Advisory Council Application (2026-2027)

The deadline to submit an application is Friday, September 11, 2026. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance status by Friday, September 18, 2026.

Read this week's CSD Weekly for district-wide news and information.

Did you like not having to hunt down school supplies to start the year? Are you excited about making sure we have fun raffles and engagement events to show our staff how much we appreciate them? Then join the PTO today!

Every donation helps the PTO invest in our students, teachers, and school community. We help fund many offerings and programs such as teacher grants, field studies, facility improvements, and classroom needs.

Sign up here https://www.glennwoodelementarypto.org/membership

Want to make sure your kiddo has some great Glennwood Elementary gear to rock at the first community circle on the 21st? Order here: https://www.glennwoodelementarypto.org/spiritwear

Mark your calendars and take advantage of lunch or dinner out at Willy's on our first early release day of the year! Glennwood PTO receives 25% of the proceeds! Screenshot the barcode to use in store, or use the promo code GIVEBACK online!

As you capture those precious Glennwood moments throughout the year, don’t forget to share them with us! Send your photos to yearbook@glennwoodespta.com along with your student's name, grade & class, and your child might be featured in this year’s Glennwood Yearbook!