Welcome Back Bulldogs!

Note from Mrs. Lockwood:

We have kicked off an amazing school year! It brings me such joy to see the building full of happy kids eager to learn. We are going to have a great year.

A time-honored tradition at Clairemont is our weekly Community Circle. This is an event where our students, staff, and families come together to sing, dance, share our learning, and find out about upcoming events. We have a teacher-parent band that performs Clairemont classics, and groups of students welcome us and lead our time together. It's definitely a great start to our Friday mornings at Clairemont!

Our first two community circles will only be for students as we get acclimated to our school culture and CREW agreements. We invite all of our families to attend our August 15th community circle. See you then!

Next week, our students will complete the STAR assessment. STAR is our Universal Screener that provides valuable information about students' successes and opportunities. We will begin administering the STAR on Tuesday, August 5.

The Grading Handbook and Quick Facts Handout for grades 1-2, 3-5, and 6-12. This is helpful information for our grading procedures. You will be able to see your child's grade in the Parent Portal. Families, thank you for your diligence in completing the Annual Update information. Since last week, we have 52.1% of all Annual Data Updates. Let’s be the first school to reach 100% by the end of next week!

Are you interested in serving on the School Leadership Team (SLT)? We have 2 additional slots for parent SLT representatives. The goal is to have 4 parent representatives on SLT. We will begin taking applications the week of August 11. I will share the application information in that week’s newsletter.

Thank you and welcome to the start of a wonderful school year!

Events at a glance:

• Thursday, July 31: First day of school!
• Tuesday, August 5 - Thursday, August 7: Star Testing
• Friday, August 15: Parents are invited to Community Circle
• Friday, August 15: Back to School Pizza Picnic; 5:30-7:30
• Wednesday, August 27: CSD Early Release Day
• Thursday, August 28: Curriculum Night Open House

Thank you to everyone who has already registered for our student dismissal system! With safety as our top priority, we are using PickUp Patrol again this year to ensure that all students make it to the correct after school location every day.

Parents, please update Pick Up Patrol for all dismissal events. If your student is absent or you plan to pick them up early please remember to make that update in Pick Up Patrol too. Thank you all for your attention to these important beginning-of-the-year tasks!

We want to ensure that all of our students are dismissed safely. So it may take a little bit longer the first week of school. However, once we get the hang of it, dismissal will be safe, efficient, and timely. I thank you in advance for your support. Together, we can have a great start and end to every school day! Below are our 25-26 dismissal procedures.

1. Dismissal times have been staggered by 5 minutes. The times and groups are as follows:

• 2:45 - Walkers

• 2:50 - Car riders

• 2:55 - Bus riders

2. To ensure that the bus can enter and exit the back of the building quickly and safely, the Car Rider parents will start the line on Erie Ave. There will be signage outside indicating where the car rider lane will begin this year, along with staff members to direct traffic. Please refrain from arriving too early in an effort not to create significant, extended congestion on Erie Ave.

3. The front of the school (on Erie Ave) will be the Aftercare Van Rider Lane only. There will be signage out front indicating the saved space.

4. Walkers will continue to be picked up in front of the building. Kindergarten and First grade will be dismissed from the grassy area. Second grade will be dismissed from the pavement area. Both groups will be with a designated staff member until they have been released to their verified pick-up adult. Families, please make sure you have your white 'verified pick up' card with you. If you do not have your card, please bring your ID with you for verification purposes.

See below for a map of the dismissal procedures for your reference.

1. Please fill out the Health Cards if you have not already filled them. They will be sent home with the students in Thursday folders.

2. Please send change of clothes that will be kept in students' lockers.

3. Please do not send any medication with the students in their backpacks.

4. If you have any questions regarding medications or health, please contact Nurse Manjit at manjit.sehdev@csdecatur.net

Parents and students were all smiles coming into school this morning for the first day back! Thank you to everyone for your enthusiasm and preparation for the amazing school year ahead. Our students are getting settled in and are ready to do some great work this year.

Clairemont has a brand new school website to provide an enhanced online experience for all students, families, and staff. Check out and bookmark the new site HERE.

As with any move, some content may have inadvertently been misplaced, or a few links may be temporarily down during the migration to this new platform. If you encounter any issues, please email whitney.derosa@csdecatur.net or communications@csdecatur.net. Thank you for your patience and valuable feedback as we complete the final adjustments.

Signing up as a member allows you to fully access our website and add your bulldog to the directory along with classes and groups/clubs. This membership supports our school and the National and State PTA by paying annual dues that help us operate. We use PTA funds to support teacher grants and school events. A portion of the $10 serves as dues paid to the National and State Parent Teacher Association which is our governing organization.

Our students were challenged to READ, READ, READ this summer! If your student has completed any ONE of the available summer reading trackers, please have them bring it to Ms. D in the Media Center by Friday, August 15th. It's not too late to fill one out! Even if you didn't track as you went along, you can still fill out one of the sheets with some of the books you read over the summer. Click the link below if you need another form. There are options to track books, minutes, or reading activites. All students who turn in a completed form will be invited to a popsicle party at the end of the month AND they'll get to check out THREE books at a time all school year!!

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.

◽Schedules ◽Grades ◽Lunch Money ◽Contact Information◽Test Scores ◽And More!

At the beginning of every school year, it is critical for families to use the Parent Portal for back-to-school readiness. Action needed:

• Complete the Annual Data Update (ADU). The ADU is how families verify or update critical communication and health information and do sign-offs for the handbook and code of conduct. From the Portal home screen, select More ⇒ Annual Data Update. More information about the Annual Data Update is available at https://www.csdecatur.net/adu, including a tracker showing which school is closest to hitting 100% submission! All new and returning parents must update student information via Infinite Campus.

• Apply for Free/Reduced-Price Meal Benefits. We encourage ALL families to apply. Families that previously received benefits must reapply every year. In the Portal, select More ⇒ Meal Benefits. More information about the meal benefit is available at https://www.csdecatur.net/nutrition.

• Add funds and set up balance alerts and auto-payment for meal account balances. In the Portal, select Food Service.

If you need help with the Portal, visit https://www.csdecatur.net/portalhelp or contact your school’s front office.

City Schools of Decatur will make accommodations for children with disabilities whose disability or special dietary need restricts their diet when that need is certified by a licensed physician. Milk intolerance is not considered a disability or food allergy. For modifications or substitutions to the school meals, the school’s Nurse or Nutrition Manager must have a written Medical Statement to Request Accommodations for Disabilities in the School Meal Programs Form on file that is signed by a licensed physician or licensed health care professional who is authorized to write medical prescriptions under State law.

The Accommodations form and the Milk Substitutions form are located here.

Welcome to another great year in City Schools of Decatur! Decatur Education Foundation is proud to be this community's - YOUR community's - local nonprofit dedicated to helping solve the problems that keep Decatur's kids from finding success. DEF hosts community events and generates resources from our community to support programs that provide opportunities, address unmet needs, and support educators and students in ALL of our CSD schools. But we can't do it without your help! Support our work by volunteering, attending our events, or making a donation in support of Decatur's kids. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn about upcoming events, and visit our website - www.decatureducationfoundation.org - to learn more about our work and how you can be a part of it! Our community. Our kids. Together, we make a difference.

Click here to view this week's edition of the CSD Weekly.