Staffing Updates
I am excited to announce several staffing updates. It’s an exciting time of the year as we look for the next great teachers to join the ABS team. We get to meet many wonderful educators during the process that are excited about the way we teach children. Here’s the casting list so far for 2020-21…
- Kindergarten:
- Trish Goldberg, Matthew Greene, Ashley Rudd
- Teaching Assistants: Melissa Scott, Mary Rogers, Ashley Brady
- First Grade:
- Kathie Fansler, Nicole Howard, Sherell McArthur
- Teaching Assistants: Tashina Fielding, Karon Kiger, Dawanna Benjamin
- Second Grade:
- Jess Broughton, Nicole Londono, Missy Warren
- Third Grade:
- Anne Campbell, Becca Lard, Ashley Tate
- Fourth Grade:
- New Hire, Kelly Robertson, Renee Meeks
- Fifth Grade:
- Alex DeJarnette, Laura Lynne Frazier, Adam Tate
- Sixth Grade:
- Alysha Christian, Courtney Hedgecock, Katie Hugus
- Seventh/Eighth Grades:
- Rob Rambach, Lisa Hendrix, Jennifer Lewis, Lenora McNamara, LeeAnn Farrell
- The Arts:
- Jan Adams, Mary Boudreault, Brian Schmoyer, Heidi McIver, Elizabeth Gledhill, Jordan Brown, Amber Engel
- Spanish:
- Hope San Filippo
- PE:
- Brianna Pierce
Hellos and Goodbyes…
Dr. Leni Fragakis and Becky Zayas are leaving fifth grade at ABS to pursue leadership opportunities at other schools. We will certainly miss all our friends leaving and wish them well on their journeys.
Welcome to our new friends joining the party…
Adam Tate will be teaching on the fifth-grade team. Adam graduated from Winston Salem State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. He completed his student teaching at ABS teaching fourth grade and also worked for our Afterschool Program.
As we rebuild our fifth-grade team, we’re excited to have Alex DeJarnette moving up to fifth grade. Alex has been teaching with ABS since her days as a student teacher and teaching assistant.
New Parent Orientation
Save the Date- Wednesday, Aug 5 at 10am for the New K-4 Parent Orientation at ABS. This program is designed specifically for new families in grades K-4th at ABS to support your transition into ABS and to answer your questions and will be provided in a virtual meeting this year. Please mark your calendars and we’ll send you a link soon!
Middle School Orientation
Save the Date-Wednesday, Aug 5 at 2pm for Middle School Orientation. For new parents (grade 5-8) and also for parents new to middle school. This program is designed to answer questions about how our middle school program works (grades 5-8) and what to expect. This will also be a virtual meeting. We’ll send you a link soon!
Special Visits
Educational research shows that the relationship between the student and his or her teacher is one of the most important factors in a student’s academic success. This critical relationship is enhanced by our small class size and our educators’ commitment to children. In support of the teacher/student relationship, our teachers will be offering a Special Visit before school begins. A Special Visit is simply an opportunity for your child to meet his or her teacher in a familiar setting, a chance to learn a bit about the class and what to expect in the coming school year. Due to Coronavirus Safety protocol, Special Visits will be set up to occur virtually, individual meetings at the school, or on the phone. This year’s scheduled days for Special Visits are August 13 and 14, 2020. Your child’s teacher will be contacting you to schedule a 15-20 minute appointment in early August.
Planning For School 2020-21
As all schools around the nation consider solutions for providing safe learning for students and staff, North Carolina has issued a guidance document to prepare for possible scenarios when learning resumes for the next school year. Schools are directed to prepare three plans: one for in-school instruction with minimal social distances, one for in-school instruction with moderate social distancing (50% of students in building at one time), and one for stay-at-home remote learning. We have been told that Governor Roy Cooper will announce which of the three plans we will follow based on health metrics on July 1st. Here is a link to the guidance document: LightingOur Way Forward: North Carolina’s Guidebook for Reopening Public Schools.
Many of the required and recommended practices will be challenging for schools, and may still not meet the expectations for some staff and students to feel safe. I’m hopeful we can provide options for parents/staff to choose from in-person instruction, remote learning, or some hybrid of the two. There are still many details to work through.
As we prepare for what education will look like during the upcoming school year, your input and feedback are critical. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us as we make plans to best meet the needs of ABS students, staff, and families.
Garden Volunteers Needed
Now that you’ve completed all our your own lawn and garden projects this past spring, please consider helping us out in the ABS gardens. Although we won’t all meet on the same day, the weeds are there every day just waiting to be picked. If you are able to spend some time in the ABS gardens, wearing masks and socially distancing yourself, it would be greatly appreciated. You can log your volunteer hours directly into Helpcounter or send me an email and I can add them in. Thanks!