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 have another exciting week ahead, and our building continues to shine with energy, learning, and connection! Thank you for your ongoing partnership as we build momentum together this school year.

PTA Meeting & Curriculum Night Tonight! We look forward to seeing our parent community this evening for our PTA Meeting and Curriculum Night! Please note that this is a parent-focused evening (intended for adults) where you’ll learn more about our curriculum, instruction, grading, and assessments for the year.

• 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: PTA General Meeting

• 6:00 PM – 6:20 PM: Admin Team Informational Session

• 6:20 PM – 7:00 PM: Classroom Visits

Important Scheduling Note: We will not host two separate classroom rotations as we have in previous years. Please plan accordingly so you can gather all the wonderful information our team has prepared for you!

Arrival & Dismissal Safety Reminders: To keep traffic moving efficiently and - most importantly - keep every single Eagle safe, please keep these vital carpool procedures in mind:

• Stop at the Top: Please stop at the top of the carpool line where you will be greeted by Ms. Shewan before proceeding.

• Observe "DO NOT ENTER" Signs: Please do not turn into the parking lot entrance marked DO NOT ENTER. All vehicle drop-offs and pick-ups must flow through the official carpool routine.

• Side Drop-Off Only: Please do not stop in the line to let your student out in front of the building. Continue all the way through the carpool line and drop your student off at the side of the building.

Community Circle Recap & Looking Ahead: A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last Friday for our very first Community Circle! Gathering as a full school CREW was a wonderful way to end the week. Our Eagles blew us away with their student leadership, brave public speaking in front of a big audience, and fantastic joke delivery! We can't wait for our next gathering, which will be hosted by Ms. Jones’ 2nd-grade class.

Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council: We strongly encourage our young leaders to apply for the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council! This is a fantastic opportunity for students to share their voice, collaborate with district leadership, and represent our school. You can find full application details and guidelines further down in this edition of the Eagle Edition.

Thank you for bringing so much positivity, spirit, and partnership to Glennwood every single day. I look forward to seeing many of you this evening!

With excitement and gratitude,

Bill Howard

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

-In Kindergarten we have been working on greetings, numbers and colors. We have enjoyed playing games, singing and dancing to new songs in Spanish.

-In first and second grade, we have been practicing greetings and role playing what to say when you meet a new person (¿Cómo te llamas? Me llamo.../ Mucho gusto). We were also able to talk and write about our birthdays and when they happen (Mi cumpleaños es en_______).

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.

Thank you to parents who volunteered to fill the vacant position for the School Leadership Team for the 2026-27 school year! Each Glennwood family will have the opportunity to cast a vote for the SLT election. There is ONE vote per STUDENT at GL. If there are multiple adults in a household, please coordinate your vote so that there is only one per GL student. The candidate with the highest number of votes will be the new parent representative on the SLT.

Please cast your vote using this Google Form. Bios for each candidate may be found HERE. Please vote by 8:00 pm on Thursday August 27. The new parent representative will be announced via the Eagle Edition on Thursday, September 3.

GL SLT ELECTION FORM - CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

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.

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.

Student and staff birthdays will be recognized in the first Community Circle for each month. On Friday, September 4, we will be recognizing all September 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.

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

Liked not having to hunt down school supplies to start the year? 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! Become a member by September 3rd & be entered into a drawing for 2 VIP seats for the rest of the year for Community Circle!

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

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!

We need parent volunteers to make this program possible! No gardening experience is required! Just a willingness to have fun, encourage students and enjoy time outdoors. Whether you can stay the full two hours or just part of a session, we will be excited to have you! Please sign in at the front office with your ID before joining us in the garden.

Sign Up to Volunteer Here

Your contributions help cover the cost of seedlings, tools, garden maintenance supplies, and other materials we need to make the program a success.

When donating, simply select “Garden Gnomies” in the category dropdown.

Donate Here

Our second Walk & Roll will be Friday, September 4th, and 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 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.

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! 🛝🎉

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