College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

Get ready for an exciting week of celebrating all things early literacy with our annual Literacy Week. The complete schedule is below; please see all the opportunities to participate with your child. Teachers will have additional information about classroom-specific activities, so please see their Friday newsletters.

The Read-To-Me-A-Thon Committee has been hard at work on this important fundraiser, and College Heights families are participating in big numbers. Thank you! We look forward to revealing the results next Friday, October 31.

It looks like a beautiful evening for tomorrow's PTO Trunk or Treat and Movie Night. I hope you enjoy this special time with your school family.

Have a great weekend,

Principal Garland

October 22-29 - Adventure Awaits With Reading Read-To-Me-A-Thon sponsored by PTO

October 24 - PTO Trunk or Treat and Movie Night

October 27-31 - College Heights Literacy Week and Scholastic Book Fair

October 27 - Family Literacy Night 6:00-7:00 p.m.

October 31 - Book Parade (9:30 a.m.)

November 4 - CSD Digital Learning Day - NO SCHOOL (0-3 and Pre-K)

November 24-28 - Thanksgiving Break (Pre-K)

November 26 - School Closes at Noon (0-3)

November 27-28 - Thanksgiving Break (0-3)

December 19 - Early Release Day (Pre-K)

December 22-January 5 - Semester Break (Pre-K)

December 24-January 2 - Winter Break (0-3)

Join us in celebrating all things early literacy from October 27-31! We have a fun-filled week of activities for all ages, with many opportunities for families to participate.

Monday, 10/27-Friday, 10/31 - 📚 Scholastic Book Fair 📚

7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. daily

6:00-7:00 p.m. during Family Literacy Night

Monday, 10/27 - 🌃 Family Literacy Night 🌃

6:00-7:00 p.m.

Bring the whole family and enjoy fun literacy activities like games, storytime, a photo booth, and much more. Stations will be set up in the cafeteria and around the school. It's a great way to get to know other families here at College Heights.

Tuesday, 10/28 - 🥸 Mystery Reader Flash Mob 🥸

Look for information from your child's teacher about signing up for a slot to come and read to the class. Families are encouraged to bring a favorite book to share.

Wednesday, 10/29 - 🧸 Read to Your Stuffie 🧸

Students can bring a special stuffed animal and a favorite book to school.

Thursday, 10/30 - 😌 Get Cozy and Read and Guest Readers 😌

Students and teachers will wear PJs and have a comfy day to enjoy some reading.

Toddler classes will enjoy meeting a special guest reader from the community.

Friday, 10/31 - 🎉 Book Parade and Read-To-Me-A-Thon winners announced (9:30 a.m.) 🎉

This is a can't-miss school-wide event! Come cheer on our students as they proudly parade in front of the school to celebrate some of their favorite books, and stick around after to hear the individual and classroom winners of the PTO Read-To-Me-A-Thon.

The College Heights staff is honoring breast cancer awareness during the month of October. There are several opportunities for families to support our efforts:

• Staff raffle: Purchase a raffle ticket for $5 for your child's teacher(s) or any other College Heights staff. With each ticket the staff member will receive a raffle ticket to win a fitness tracker. Just check in at the front desk and purchase a ticket starting Monday, October 6. All funds raised will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta Chapter.

• Hat and scarf/head wrap drive: Many chemo patients are in need of hats and scarves/head wraps for the winter months. We are asking families and staff to consider donating new hats and head wraps/scarves to be donated directly to the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory. A donation box will be located in the front lobby.

• Pink Tree: Our "pink tree" will be set up in the front lobby for staff and families to tie a pink ribbon in honor of a loved one who has been impacted by breast cancer. You will also receive a ribbon to wear yourself.

Pink out! Wear all pink on Thursday, October 30.

Often called the heartbeat of the school, there are three amazing women that are among the first to welcome you to College Heights and the last ones here saying, "see you tomorrow!" They are Caretha Hall, Cynthia Andrews, and Elecia Fulton. Let's get to know them a little bit better.

Caretha Hall is the knower of all things and the friendly face that greets families and calls every student by name. She's a native Atlantan who has been at College Heights for 15 years. In her spare time she enjoys reading a good book, traveling with family, and watching college football and tennis. Her fun fact: she likes orange juice but will NOT eat an orange, and she likes apples but will NOT drink apple juice!

Cynthia Andrews is our bookkeeper and at at College Heights, that is a huge job. She makes sure we are supplied with the hundreds of items that students, teachers, and administrators need for learning, and she is an integral part of student registration each year, making sure the process is smooth for all families. Cynthia was born in Columbus, Ohio, but raised in California. Her number one interest is her grandchildren, but she also enjoys podcasts, reading, movies, cooking, baking, and being in nature.

Elecia Fulton is the director of the Pre-K after school program. Elecia is a dynamo who has been at College Heights for 20 years. She brings her amazing creativity and energy to the after school program and to every staff event including baby showers, retirement parties, and everything in between. Originally from Newark, Elecia spends her time outside of school finding joy in creating and writing stage plays and spending time with her family. Other hobbies are cooking, sewing, and outreach: she loves to give back to her community. She plays the piano, directs the youth choir at her church, and is also a youth Sunday school teacher.

Make sure to say "hi" to these wonderful women the next time you're at school!

Ms. Asia's class enjoyed making photo collages with pictures of themselves as babies (small) and now (big) after the reading the book Big Little by Leslie Patricelli.

Ms. Sanders's Pre-K class has enjoyed some fun cultural celebrations and crafts. Thank you to Veda and Avi's families for coming in to lead the Diwali activities, and thank you to Ms. Natalie for helping your students make piñatas!

It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes a book is so good that EVERYONE gets to hear it! All classes from our young one-year-olds through Pre-K loved the picture book Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis. We are all looking forward to Halloween next week!

Scholastic Book Fair - Next Week!

Scholastic Book Fair details can be found on the book fair website. We still need volunteers, so if you have some time in the morning, please click here.

Looking for a way to recognize your child's classroom teacher? How about donating a book to their classroom library? Teachers are making wish lists of books they would like to have to support their instruction, so look for the display board in the library. Thank you in advance for showing our teachers some book love!

This week's 0-3 books:

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell

Leaves by David Ezra Stein

Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

Adventure Awaits with Reading: help College Heights with books and enrichment programs!

Each year, the annual College Heights Read-To-Me-A-Thon encourages parents to read with their children and promotes childhood literacy while supporting student enrichment programs, a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Book Cart, Field Day and Spanish, and Teacher/Staff Appreciation and Professional Development!

Read-To-Me-A-Thon dates: October 22-29, 2025

Help us reach 100% participation!

REGISTER YOUR READER TODAY & START GETTING SPONSORS!

Click here to get started!

Click here to sign up to host a trunk or volunteer at the event!

Read the October 23, 2025, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

On October 16, Superintendent Dr. Gyimah Whitaker emailed a letter to City Schools of Decatur community that the Board of Education has initiated a comprehensive review of K-2 school utilization. This review will assess how CSD's K-2 schools are currently being utilized to ensure that space, staffing, and resources align with student needs while also maintaining operational efficiency and fiscal responsibility.

The Board of Education work session on October 14, 2025, served as a preliminary discussion to review various options, including the potential closure of a K-2 school. The consulting firm Education Planners has been engaged to facilitate this process and presented a timeline for the first time at the board work session, along with a detailed overview of the school closure and redistricting process. The board has not yet decided which school, if any, will be closed. There will be opportunities for families to share their input in the upcoming weeks.

Please read the full letter in English here. Additional language translations of the letter and up-to-date information about the process are available on the K-2 School Consolidation & Redistricting Process webpage. Stakeholder engagement is encouraged and vital as we work together to make the best decisions for our students and schools.

The community is invited to upcoming public hearings to provide feedback:

• Wednesday, October 29, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Beacon Hill Middle School, Cafeteria
• Thursday, November 13, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Beacon Hill Middle School, Cafeteria

In addition to the in-person public hearings, input may be submitted via this feedback form.

All recent issues of the College Heights Connection are available here.

Older issues of CSD Weekly may be found on CSD's district newsletter webpage.

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center cultivates an atmosphere where children take their first steps in building an authentic love of learning through developmentally appropriate practices in an environment that fosters family and community involvement.