The Bulldog, September 3, 2026

Note from Mrs. Lockwood:

Another great week of teaching and learning at Clairemont Elementary! We have a nice, long weekend ahead of us. School will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 7, 2026. We will return to school on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break!

Tomorrow is our first Walk & Roll of the school year! The weather is lovely in the mornings, so a walk or roll to school will be nice!

This week, we kicked off Attendance Awareness Month. Our school-wide attendance from last Friday to today has been impressive!

Friday = 97%

Monday = 97%

Tuesday = 97%

Wednesday = 98%🎉

Thursday = 96%

Let's keep up the good work! Clairemont is a better place when all of our students are here. Attend today, Achieve tomorrow!

We had a great first Community Crew of the school year. Starting our day as a whole, Clairemont Community is very special. Our kiddos enjoy sharing this moment with family. Closing out Community Crew (and saying ‘see you later’ to family) can be hard to do sometimes. To support a supportive ‘see you later’ to families, we have been practicing turning to face our families and show ‘Clairemont Love' 🫶🏾from our seats. Families, I ask that you remain at your seats and return the love. Classes will then prepare to exit the auditorium and begin an exciting day of teaching and learning! Our next Community Crew is on Friday, September 11. I will send out a reminder as we get closer to our next Community Crew.

Please join me on Friday, September 11, for my first coffee chat of the school year. I am eager to share our beginning-of-the year achievement data, school goals, EdTech resources and support programs. The coffee chat will be immediately after our School-wide crew at 8:45 in the cafeteria.

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up soon! Conferences are a structure and tradition that support student success. Everyone at the table is a partner. Be on the lookout for sign-up information from your child's teacher. Our conference window is Monday, September 28, through Friday, October 9. Be sure to record the time and date of your child's conference in your calendar, and plan to arrive 5 minutes early.

We are ready to vote for our next parent representatives for Clairemont's School Leadership Team (SLT). Please take a moment to review the SLT ballot and place your vote! You can access the voting ballot here.

Events at a glance:

• Wednesday - Friday, September 2-4: CogAT testing for 1st grade

• Friday, September 4: Walk & Roll

• Monday, September 7: Labor Day - No School

• Friday, September 11: Community Crew and Principal's Coffee Chat

• Monday, September 14; 3:00-4:00: Musical Auditions, Last names A-L

• Tuesday, September 15; 3:00-4:00: Musical Auditions, Last names M-Z

• Wednesday, September 16; 5:30 - 7:00: PTA Meeting (Find Zoom link on school calendar.)

• Monday, September 21 - Friday, September 25: Fall Break - No School

• Friday, October 2: Author Visit

• Saturday, October 3: Community Day

Daily school attendance is the cornerstone of student success. At Clairemont, we closely monitor attendance to understand how we can best support our students and families. Understanding that unforeseen circumstances arise, however, please partner with us to ensure our students are at school to the greatest extent possible. Our daily school-wide attendance goal is 98%. Let's work together to reach this goal and ultimately see our students succeed! If your student needs to be absent, please communicate with your homeroom teacher and our school manager, Mrs. Brackins (malika.brackins@csdecatur.net). Thank you for your continued partnership!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

In our continuing efforts to support the well-being of all students, City Schools of Decatur (CSD) will administer a universal screener of social, emotional & behavioral health. CSD adopted The Behavior Assessment for Children 3rd edition Behavior and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3 BESS) as the universal screener for behavior.

For the 2026-27 school year, students in grades (K-12) will take the student self-report of the screener at their school during the fall and spring administration dates. The Fall administration of the BASC-3 BESS opens on October 1st and closes on October 30th. The Spring administration of the BASC-3 BESS opens on March 1st and will remain open through March 31st, 2027.

What are your next steps?

No action is required if you agree with your student’s participation in the screening. If you would prefer that your student NOT participate in the universal screening, please complete the opt-out form by clicking here. The deadline to opt your child out of completing the BASC-3 BESS is Friday, September 18, 2026 for the Fall Administration and Friday, February 12, 2027 for the Spring Administration.

Click here to read our FAQ for more details about the BASC-3 BESS universal screener. If you have any questions, email Ms. Pratt, school counselor, at cpratt@csdecatur.net.

Each fall semester, the gifted review team reviews existing student data to discuss students’ needs and to determine whether further evaluation for gifted identification is needed. If you are interested in having the team discuss your child’s needs, please complete a Recommendation for Review Form by Wednesday, September 30. No additional information is needed. For more detailed information about the review process, please contact the Gifted & Talented Specialist for your school, Tom Seetoo, at tseetoo@csdecatur.net or visit our website’s FAQ page.

Please check your student's red folder for an info packet about our upcoming school musical, The Lion King Kids. Auditions take place in the school auditorium from 3:00-4:00 on Monday and Tuesday, Sept 14 and 15. Students with last names A-L audition on Monday, and students with last names M-Z audition on Tuesday.
Students who audition should prepare to sing one of the following songs:
"Can't Wait to Be King" https://www.mtishows.com/lion-king-kids-2025-disneys/songs/i-just-cant-wait-to-be-king
or "Be Prepared" https://www.mtishows.co.uk/lion-king-kids-2025-disneys/songs/be-prepared

Rehearsals will take place on Mondays and Thursdays until 4:30, but all performers will not be required at all rehearsals.

The family after-school performance will take place on Thursday, November 19th at 6:00 PM in the school auditorium.

We loved having so many families and friends join us for the first Community Crew of the year. It's just the best way to end a week. Special shoutout to our house band, Holly Howell and the Dads! They make every CC a rockin' good time! See you at the next Community Crew on Friday, September 11th.

Join Clairemont Class Dojo to view school-wide and classroom updates!

Kindergarten Specials link: https://www.classdojo.com/ul/p/addKid?target=class&class=6a7dca9ad42bba3a635bb4ae

1st grade specials: https://www.classdojo.com/ul/p/addKid?target=class&class=6a738bd6b48a1985e61c3704

2nd grade specials: https://www.classdojo.com/ul/p/addKid?target=class&class=6a7dcc512624b5de5533f045

Decatur Holiday Marketplace is our PTA's largest fundraiser in its 35th year! Our school will transform into a magical artist market including paintings, glass art, jewelry, pottery, gourmet food items and much more. We will have professional food vendors and food trucks to keep you fueled for shopping and music! We had over 80 vendors last year!

We invite you and your family to join us here at the school for this wonderful community tradition. All proceeds from the event support learning initiatives for Clairemont students & teachers. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the latest updates. This year's Marketplace will be held at Clairemont Elementary School on Friday, December 11th from 5:30pm-9pm and Saturday, December 12th, from 10am-5pm.

Want to help with the Marketplace? We rely on all of our Clairemont parent volunteers and our Clairemont Bulldogs to put this fundraiser on its feet. It takes the whole CREW to pull off this wonderful tradition! Please email Marketplace Chairperson Melissa Godbee at decaturholidaymarketplace@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to be more involved with any of the preparations such as artists, bands, transformation, silent auction, raffle and sponsorships!

A HIGH PRIORITY NEED:

A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to hold the raffle!

A RAFFLE CHAIR- to help with curation of the baskets

A SILENT AUCTION CHAIR

A SPONSORSHIP CHAIR

A Co-ARTIST CHAIR

Do you want to be a vendor?

Applications are open!

decaturholidaymarketplace.com

Application Dates:

Applications available online opened August 15, 2026 and close September 30, 2026.

Is your student interested in joining the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council for their age group? These councils are designed for two-way communication between students and the Office of the Superintendent. Students Advisory Council members attend monthly, after-school meetings at the Wilson Center to share their perspectives and experiences with the superintendent on a variety of issues.
Meeting dates are linked in the application below. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 11, 2026, and selected students will be notified by Friday, September 18. Learn more and apply for the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council here.

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

CSD has opened a survey to examine the priorities of Pre-K families in Decatur, including location, transportation, and changing community needs. All families and community members are invited to take the survey, regardless of their children's ages.

School principals recommended parents from their respective schools to participate in a working group to assist CSD in determining how best to engage with families, staff, and the broader community about Pre-K accessibility, and how to use community feedback to inform decisions about potential Pre-K locations. This survey is the committee's first community touch point.

The committee will use survey feedback data to define the community's values and priorities regarding any potential changes to Pre-K locations. The data will be used to make a recommendation to the Board of Education at the December board meeting. Data results will be posted. Community members can follow along and view upcoming survey findings, insights, and decision outcomes directly on the Pre-K Access Project webpage.

Please take the survey here through September 16:

English: https://tally.so/r/jaA2Y4

Spanish: https://tally.so/r/jaAY5R

Somali: https://tally.so/r/VLOAaj

Dari: https://tally.so/r/J9vZOz

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.

The Decatur Family YMCA will be hosting School Break Camp September 21-25 for youth ages 5-12.

The YMCA School Break Camp provides a safe, engaging, and active environment where children can spend their break participating in:

• Team-building games and activities
• Arts and crafts
• STEAM and enrichment opportunities
• Physical activity and recreation
• Character-building experiences led by caring YMCA staff

We understand that school breaks can create childcare challenges for working families, and our goal is to provide a fun, affordable solution that keeps children active, learning, and connected.