Eagle Edition
July 30, 2026
Glennwood Elementary ~ Where Learning Takes Flight
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
Calendar of Events
Friday, October 9
- Walk and Roll to School
- Community Circle at 8:30 am - Ms. Kaplan's Class Hosting and Celebrating October Birthdays
Monday, October 12
- Teacher Workday (No School)
- PTO Percentage Night at Jeni's on Decatur Square - 5:00-7:00 pm
Wednesday, October 14
- Flu Vaccine Clinic at GL - 10:00-12:00 pm
- PTO Percentage Night at Willy's Mexicana Grill - 5:00 pm - Close
Saturday, October 24 - SAVE THE DATE!
GL Fall Festival and Book Fair Kick Off from 9:00-12:00 pm
October 24-30
PTO Book Fair with Little Shop of Stories
October 26-30
- Socktober
- Red Ribbon Week
Wednesday, October 28
- Book Character Parade at 8:30 am
- Early Release day at 12:50 pm (book fair open until 2:00 pm)
Where Learning Takes Flight
Three Dimensions of Student Achievement
- Mastery of Knowledge and Skills
- Character Building
- High-Quality Work
Hello Glennwood Crew,
What an awesome and busy week it’s been here at Glennwood! We’ve been celebrating CSD Reads and Dyslexia Awareness Week with a flurry of fun activities, special guest readers, and a whole lot of love for literacy across all grade levels. Picture Day on Tuesday brought out the absolute best in our young Eagles as well - everyone was dressed to impress with bright smiles and sharp outfits! It was a delight seeing our students looking their best, and we can’t wait to see those final photos.
I’d also like to give a HUGE shout-out to our Garden Gnomies - our dedicated parent volunteers who have been lending their time and green thumbs on Friday afternoons. Y’all are making such a difference for our Eagles. They are so excited on Garden Fridays! The joy and wonder on our students' faces during garden time are truly heartwarming. A very special thank you goes to Sara Fleetwood and Sarah Facey for taking the lead on this magical initiative this year and bringing so much energy, intention, and care to our garden program. You are helping grow more than just plants - you’re growing curiosity, care, and connection across our whole school.
As we move through October, we also want to share a quick reminder regarding morning arrival procedures. Our staff-assisted carpool arrival ends promptly at 8:18 AM each day. If you arrive after 8:18 AM, please park your car and walk your Eagle into the front office to sign them in at the computer. Our staff members who assist outside during carpool must head inside right at 8:18 AM to start their morning classroom duties and support student learning, so they are unable to remain outside past that time. Thank you so much for your cooperation and for helping us keep morning drop-offs safe and on schedule!
Looking ahead to early next week, please keep in mind that this upcoming Monday is a Teacher Workday, and there will be no school for students. We hope our Eagles enjoy the long weekend with family, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back bright and early on Tuesday morning!
As always, thank you for being such an essential part of our Glennwood Crew. Whether you're capturing picture day memories, planting seeds in the garden, joining us for Spirit Night, or helping keep our morning drop-off routines running smoothly, your involvement makes our school community truly shine. Let’s keep the great energy going!
In partnership,
Bill Howard
bill.howard@csdecatur.net
Proud Principal, Glennwood Elementary
Beginning last week, I began teaching a lesson on emotions and coping skills as we focus on emotional wellness and healthy coping skills. We began the lesson with an emotional check-in followed by a couple mindfulness exercises. We learned about the Zones of Regulation. I'm attaching an image below if you would like to focus on this with your students. We then read a book focused on feelings (Teach Your Dragon About Feelings by Steve Herman). Finally, we played a feelings game where students had to identify different zones that characters may be in and how to self-regulate. Next week, I will begin a new lesson on social problem solving, conflict resolution, and bullying. Please let me know if you have any questions.
For October, we're asking second grade families to host a "Spooky Snack Table" for our staff on Thursday, October 15th. If you're a second grade family, please consider signing up to bring in something for our staff. Please drop off your items with Ms. Reynolds at the front office October 13-14th anytime during school hours and the PTO will assemble the snack table for our staff to enjoy on October 15th. Here is the sign up link for the first SA table of the year on Thursday, Oct 15th. Fall/Halloween themed and hosted by 2nd grade families.
If you are unable to purchase items for the table, but would like to donate funds towards the event or to restock snacks in the teacher lounge, the PTO is also collecting monetary donations. Donations can be made on the PTO website (https://www.glennwoodelementarypto.org/donations) with a note that it is for the October Snack Table and we'll take care of it for you. If you have any questions, please reach out to Staff Appreciation Co-Chairs: Emily McDowell or Nydia Almond (staffappreciation@glennwoodespta.com). Thank you!
