Wildcat Weekly

Dear Wildcat Families and Crew Members,

Our Wildcats have been learning and demonstrating the 4Bs (Be Respectful, Be Empathetic, Be Safe, and Be a Good Steward). Many of our lessons explicitly teach students how to exhibit these Habits of Character in our school spaces, such as the cafeteria, hallways, at recess, and in the classroom. Our work developing the Habits of Character supports our academic learning. Thank you for all that you do to support your child's acquisition of these key habits.

STAR reports will be in today's communication folders. You will receive a letter along with the STAR reports. As part of the Georgia Early Literacy legislation, we are sharing these Universal Screening results and communicating whether an academic risk has been identified. This allows us to identify needs and proactively plan appropriate interventions. Please see below for more details.

The SLT application window will close this Friday. More details may be found in the SLT section below if you're interested in serving. If your student is interested in sharing their thoughts, consider having them apply for the 2026-2027 Superintendent's Student Council Groups from the week of August 10 to September 11.

Last, but not least, we'd like to express our immense appreciation for the PTA and a BIG WILDCAT THANK YOU to David Baker. In addition to all of the work our amazing PTA does to support WP, he installed a walking path that helps our students get from the bus to the sidewalk safely (and with clean feet). This small thing means so much. Mr. Curry, our bus driver said, "It helps keep the bus clean. Before mud would be tracked through the bus. This is great!" Some of our students said, "Ooooh! Fancy!" I agree with both sentiments wholeheartedly.

With gratitude and Wildcat pride,

Meagan Ferguson

Principal, Winnona Park Elementary School

• Wednesday, August 26th - Early Release Day. Student dismissal at 12:50 PM
• Thursday, August 27th - Curriculum Night from 6-7:30 PM. Adults only
• Wednesday, September 2nd - Friday, September 4th - CogAT for first graders
• Monday, September 7th - School closed for Labor Day
• Monday, September 21 - 25th - Fall break. No school for students

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. You will receive a letter along with the STAR reports. As part of the Georgia Early Literacy legislation, we are sharing these Universal Screening results and communicating whether an academic risk has been identified. This allows us to identify needs and proactively plan appropriate interventions.

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. The questions are read aloud by the computer and typically takes students approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

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 this assessment is not read aloud. Students must read the directions, passages, and question options independently. All Winnona Park 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. Most students will complete a Star Reading test in approximately 15–20 minutes.

Please note that the reports contain both percentile rankings and domain percentage mastery. Percentile Rank (PR) ranges from 1–99 and compares student performance to other students in the same grade nationwide. For example, a student with a percentile rank score of 37 performed as well as or better than 37 percent of other students in the same grade nationally. Domain scores estimate a student's percent of mastery of each domain for the student's grade level. For example, a score of 55 for a first-grader means the student would be expected to correctly answer approximately 55 percent of the first-grade items in that domain.

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, Kelly Stopp at kstopp@csdecatur.net.

We look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on August 27 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Families (this is not a student event) are invited to the school to learn about the curriculum, instruction, grading, and assessments in their child’s classroom. There will be two identical sessions in each homeroom for parents with more than one student. More details are forthcoming.

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 Winnona Park School Leadership Team (SLT) is an elected committee consisting of Winnona Park 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. Some of the responsibilities of this team are to:

• Serve on interview teams

• Develop, approve, and monitor the continuous school improvement planning process

• Review assessment data and use it for decision-making purposes

• Review and approve changes to its bylaws

• Make recommendations for school needs to the CSD Board of Education during the annual budget process.

If you’re interested in joining the SLT, please submit a bio/purpose statement to Principal Ferguson at mferguson@csdecatur.net by Friday, August 21st.

We are happy to share the school grounds with the community outside of school hours. We ask that you model good stewardship when doing so.

• Please help us keep the pavilion clean and ready for Coach Beauchamp's PE classes.

• Return tables to their original location.

• Help our custodians, Mr. Brown, Ms. Burton, and Ms. Labad by picking up any trash.

• If you host a playdate/party, please bring a trash bag and take the garbage with you, or you may put the tied bag in the school dumpster.

• Refrain from using the playgrounds or field during school hours.

• Our playground/field is heavily used by the community outside of school hours. We can only accept clothing, water bottles, etc in the building when they have a Winnona Park student's name on them.

To keep all students safe, City Schools of Decatur requires a current background check on file for all volunteers and chaperones. This is especially important for anyone chaperoning a field trip (exploring with a small group of students) or supervising students without a staff member present. Background checks must be renewed every 12 months.

Here is how to complete your background check:

• ​Step 1: Pay the Fee via Infinite Campus: Log into the CSD Public Store. Click on City Schools of Decatur School Store > CSD Misc. Fees > Background Check Fee ($38). Enter your name and phone number in the comments section before checking out. Be sure to save/print your receipt, as you will need it for your appointment!
  
  

• ​Step 2: Schedule an Appointment: Book a 10-minute slot using the online appointment calendar. Appointments are held at the Wilson Center (125 Electric Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Note that appointment slots open up 21 days in advance.
  
  

• ​Step 3: What to Bring: Please bring your driver's license and your payment receipt to your appointment. You will fill out a short form, and results (submitted via the GBI) are typically returned within 24 hours.

💡 Note: If financial assistance is needed to cover the $38 background check fee, please reach out directly to Principal Ferguson.

Families who would like their student to ride the bus during the 2026–27 school year must request transportation by completing the Annual Data Update (ADU). Please allow 24-48 hours after

submitting the ADU for transportation information to be processed.

How to Access Your Student’s Bus Information

1. Stopfinder Bus Tracking App — Primary Source

Stopfinder is the Transportation Department’s primary source for bus route information, service updates, and notifications. All families are strongly encouraged to download the app and complete the registration process.

After your transportation request has been processed, you will receive an email invitation to register for the Stopfinder Bus Tracking App. Once your account is activated, you will be able to:

● View your student’s assigned bus route

● View bus stop locations

● View scheduled pickup and drop-off times

● Receive important transportation notifications and service updates

2. Transportation Website

Bus routes are also posted on the district website. Visit the Transportation Department webpage

and select Routes to review available route information.

3. InfoFinder

Families may use InfoFinder to determine whether their address qualifies for transportation services. Enter your home address, and if transportation is available, the system will display the assigned route number, bus stop location, and scheduled pickup and drop-off times.

Note About the Parent Portal - Some families may also see a Transportation tab in the Parent Portal after completing the ADU. If route information is not displayed or appears incomplete, please use Stopfinder, the Transportation website, or InfoFinder for the most current transportation information. Stopfinder is the recommended source for ongoing bus information and transportation notifications throughout the school year.

Want to know what your students have been doing in Creative and Critical Thinking with Ms. Baerman and Ms. Eason? We have been focusing on originality this week! Originality is a component of creativity that teaches our students to use new and unique ideas.

• In Kindergarten and First Grade, we read "Beautiful Oops" by Barney Saltzberg. In Second Grade, we read “Big Orange Splot” by Daniel Manus Pinkwater.

• Our Learning Targets this week:

• I can create artwork from a mistake.

• I can use a mistake as an opportunity to be creative.

• How you support these skills at home:

• Embrace mistakes as learning opportunities.

• Applaud the effort rather than just the result.

• Allow for unhurried free play time.

• Ask open-ended questions instead of giving immediate answers.

• Share your mistakes with your student.

• Encourage curiosity by welcoming unusual ideas.

A schoolwide weekly newsletter will be emailed to families each Thursday afternoon. This newsletter is sent to the email addresses in the Parent Portal. Please ensure all data in your portal account is updated and correct. The WP Website is also a great place to get information about our wonderful school. Here is the link to our school's calendar of events.

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

Email: csikes@csdecatur.net
Website: https://winnonapark.csdecatur.net/
Location: 510 Avery Street, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4490

Newsletter Archives: Read older issues of the Wildcat Weekly by visiting our school website. Click on the link in the top photo or on the "Newsletter" button in the middle of the page. Older issues of CSD Weekly may be found on CSD's district newsletter webpage.