Spring Garden Party & Volunteer Workday - Laurel Ridge Elementary School - March 24

From the Laurel Ridge Elementary School Garden Coordinator:

Celebrate spring by helping in the Laurel Ridge School Garden! We have lots to do and we need YOU to help us! No green thumb, no problem! We have projects for everyone - parents, children, teachers, staff and neighbors - all are welcome!

Our plans include:

• building a compost bin
• hanging bluebird houses and feeders
• shoveling and spreading compost and mulch
• weeding, pruning, and preparing beds for planting
• planting new plants
• making signs
• tidying up the courtyard

Sunday, March 24th

10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Snacks and Beverages Provided

Come when you like, stay as long as you can!

Please bring work gloves and labeled garden tools if you can. Pruners, loppers, shovels, pitchforks, and wheelbarrows would be helpful.

Publix Georgia Marathon/Half Marathon/5K race and road closures [March 17]

The Georgia marathon on Sunday the 17th will impact nearby roads, follow this link for  information on road closures.

In case you want to cheer the runners as they go, here's a turn by turn list of the course.

And of course, a map:

Click to retrieve full-size map.

Your regularly scheduled coyote warning

"Spring is denning season for coyotes." Per GA's DNR, coyotes breed in late winter/early spring and that means the parents must be more active in order to secure meals for their hungry brood. The young will be weaned in 5-8 weeks. And sure enough, we are starting to hear reports of coyotes in the area, with a recent MANA email alerting to sightings in the Laurel Ridge/Shetland neighborhoods.

The Economist finds coyote's urban conquest tendencies worth of notice and shares findings from a Chicago urban coyote study:

"In Chicago, the Cook County Coyote Project has been trying to understand how the species is conquering the metropolis. Part of the answer is that the coyote is clever, extremely adaptable and reproduces quickly. They are opportunistic eaters and will eagerly consume rabbits, rats, Canada geese, fruit, insects and family pets. They may also be filling an empty niche for a top predator that was once filled by wolves.

Scientists on the project are also trying to investigate how the urban animals differ from their rural cousins. For example, the city slickers have smaller territories, live at higher densities and live for longer than their rustic cousins. Such discoveries suggest that the coyote is probably thriving in American cities rather than clinging on at its edges."

Random fact: Coyotes more active as barometric pressure rises (i.e., after storm fronts).

Governor to announce new DeKalb Board of Education members today

The AJC reports that

The governor plans to name the six replacements Wednesday, about a week after a nominating panel began poring through more than 400 applicants. Deal will choose from a list of 63 semi-finalists that includes former lawmakers, education experts and community leaders. ... A five-member nominating panel has been working since last week to vet the tide of candidates who put their names in, as the suspension has left the board all but paralyzed. The three remaining board members, who weren’t in office during the accreditation crisis, are too few for a legal quorum. Read the rest @ AJC

Update: new board members announced and their credentials.

Druid Hills Charter Cluster

As mentioned previously here and on the MANA Neighbors Facebook page, representatives from the 7 schools within the Druid Hills cluster are looking into the possibility of converting the cluster to a charter cluster.

It is still very early in the effort, but meetings are taking place on a regular basis and are completely open to the public. The next meeting will take place at Briar Vista Elementary School on Tuesday, March 19th at 6:30 pm. All meeting times and minutes are available on the newly launched Druid Hills Charter Cluster website:

https://sites.google.com/site/druidhillscc/

The Facebook page is also still active and posting updates:

http://www.facebook.com/DruidHillsCharterCluster

The effort is seeking any and all interested parties to participate on working committees to determine how the charter might be shaped - there are six working committees that are tackling issues surrounding educational programming, assessment methods/goals/objectives, waivers & fiscal feasibility, school operations, parent/community involvement & governance structure, and cluster rationale. Ideally, each committee will have up to 25 folks helping to evaluate, research and guide the development of the proposed charter.

If you're interested in seeing how this is shaping up, attend a meeting and learn more!

Keeping up with DeKalb School System news

The AJC has created an index page for DeKalb School System articles. Here are some of the more recent items:

When news affects a family choice [March 9] 

Governor reveals names of candidates for DeKalb school board vacancies [March 7]

For ongoing discussions and reactions, also see

Getting Schooled (Maureen Downey's AJC blog) 

Parents for DeKalb Schools (Facebook)

Also reporting on recent developments:

Crossroad News

The DCSS website announces that the March 11 BOE meeting is cancelled and now features a Superintendent's corner statement.

International Woman's Day at ICS [March 8]

Click to enlarge.

Annually on March 8th, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more. We are joining in with this celebration, this year the women of I.C.S. will be treated as the queens we are. We are asking that all woman as well as female students wear all purple as a sign of 'Royalty' for the day.