Eagle Edition
Hello Glennwood Families,
We are off to a fantastic start to the school year! As we wrap up our first full week, I want to express my gratitude for all the kind words, encouraging feedback, and positive energy you’ve shared. Each day brings more smiles, growing confidence, and joyful learning, and it’s been such a pleasure to greet our Eagles and families at arrival each morning. Thank you for helping us start the year strong!
As part of our continued commitment to student safety, Glennwood — along with all City Schools of Decatur campuses — will be implementing a new visitor check-in procedure in the coming weeks. We will share more details soon, but in the meantime, we encourage all families and visitors to begin the habit of bringing a state-issued photo ID or driver’s license when arriving at the school. These IDs will be scanned upon entry as an added layer of safety to help keep our Eagles safe throughout the day.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support as we work together to make this a joyful, safe, and successful year for all our students. As always please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or ideas. I look forward to getting to know each of you better as we SOAR this year!
Warmly,
Bill Howard
Principal, Glennwood Elementary
STAR Testing - August 11-15
During the week of August 11 through August 15, we will be administering the STAR Math (K-2), Early Literacy (K-2), and Reading (2nd grade) tests. STAR is a computerized adaptive test which helps teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth. Students take the STAR tests in the fall, winter, and spring. By taking it 3 times a year, teachers and parents are able to see how their student is growing in the areas of reading and math throughout the school year. We will use this data to help us make informed instructional decisions for our students. The tests will be administered by classroom teachers and proctors in their classrooms. STAR family reports will be shared on August 21st.
If you have any questions please reach out to our Instructional Coach, Jill Tolsma at jtolsma@csdecatur.net
News from the School Counselor, Mr. Blase
This week, I began my School Counseling introductory lesson in Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. We started with a Mindful Moment followed by a School Counseling Mystery box where students guessed what different items had to do with School Counseling. Next, we read a good beginning of the year book followed by a School Counseling game. Students finished with a Getting to Know You activity sheet. I will teach the lesson in 2nd grade next week. I will be going into classrooms every 2 weeks this year with some exciting lessons related to careers, academics, and future readiness skills. Stay tuned for more details!
Welcome to the Glennwood Media Center
SOAR-ing eagles are READING eagles! Our mission is to build a learning community of effective users of ideas and information. This mission is accomplished by:
- Promoting reading and encouraging a lifelong appreciation of books
- Providing access to a variety of materials and technology leading the community to information literacy
- Creating authentic and diverse learning experiences through collaboration and planning that will increase student achievement goals and support the school improvement plan
Students participated in media center orientation this week, and we discussed what makes a great library patron. Please read the patron agreements below and review them with your child.
Kindergarten students will practice checking out books next week and will check out to the classroom first. After a few weeks, once they learn this responsibility well, they will begin taking library books home. (Kindergarten students will visit the library on Wednesday and first and second grade students will visit with classes on Thursdays.)
Parents may also sign up to be library patrons and check out up to five books at a time. If you are interested in becoming a patron, please email: Dee Anna Rittenhouse, Media Specialist at drittenhouse@csdecatur.net for more information.
We are once again able to open the library for after-school hours. Students are welcome to visit and check out books after school when accompanied by a parent/caregiver on Tuesdays through Thursdays until 3:30 pm.
Teacher Wish Lists
Glennwood Elementary is committed to ensuring every classroom is stocked and ready for students and teachers to have what they need to be engaged and successful. We do this by using our allocated state and local funding to fulfill classroom needs. Funding covers essential classroom supplies, any specialized materials needed for educational programming in different grade levels/subjects, individual or team requests for specific supplies, professional learning and general operating costs.
In addition to this, some staff at Glennwood Elementary have customarily shared supply wish lists with families via email or online. Please know that these are optional and individualized by the staff member. Wish lists should not be interpreted as an indication that classrooms at Glennwood or our programming lack supplies or funding. Instead, the lists reflect individual preferences for extra items. Any purchases made from these lists are considered gifts to staff and must follow state guidance and Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) rules around gift-giving to public employees, including monetary limits.
If you have any questions about how supplies are funded or how you can support our classrooms, please contact Principal Bill Howard.
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Reminder: Infinite Campus Credit Card Processing Fee Update
CSD is pleased to continue offering credit card payments as a convenient payment method for school-related fees. In line with standard industry practices, CSD imposes a transaction fee to cover the processing costs charged by credit card companies for accepting these payments. During the 2024-25 school year, CSD capitalized on the increase in electronic check transactions ($0.35 per transaction) to reduce the Infinite Campus credit card processing fee from a flat rate of $4.00 to $2.50 per transaction.
However, credit card companies impose a fee of 3.5% or more on the total transaction amount for credit card payments rather than a flat fee. The difference has created a gap between the fees charged by CSD and the actual credit card processing costs incurred by the district, leaving the district to cover the additional expenses for each credit card transaction.
Effective July 1, CSD will shift to a retail merchant model for credit card processing. This change will involve moving from a $2.50 flat fee to a 3.5% percentage-based fee for all CSD credit card transactions. The transition means there will be a charge of $3.50 for every $100 credit card transaction. We encourage electronic checks, as these fees will remain $0.35.
The transition to a percentage-based fee supports the district's financial sustainability and aligns the fee structure with actual processing costs. It also allows CSD to maintain credit card payment options without diverting funds from other educational priorities.
