Published for the Arts Based School Community
September 10, 2020
Welcome and Thank You from Principal Hollis
Dear ABS Families,
Though I wish I could welcome you back in person to our classrooms, all of us at ABS are committed to getting back to learning and creating as safely as possible—which for now means at a distance. As you know, opening the school year in remote learning requires a great deal of support and participation from each of you, and we are deeply grateful to you for your partnership. Thank you!
In these difficult times, many of you have expressed an even greater trust and appreciation for our school and for the thoughtful work of our classroom teachers, arts specialists, staff, and leaders. ABS continues to value student relationships, to maintain our commitment to the arts, and to rely on our philosophy that learning is joyful—even within the confines of our current reality. We are more dedicated than ever to providing your children with the education they deserve.
This year, schools everywhere, including ABS, are doing everything possible to rise to the challenge of educating and caring for students amid a global pandemic and economic uncertainty. Even with major revenue loss from the cancellation of Community Creates, before and after school programming, and summer camps—and even with concern over a possible state budget shortfall—we continue to prioritize the needs of our ABS community. This summer, among our many preparations for getting back to learning as safely as possible, we invested in a new ionization filtration system in both school buildings, as well as updating our connectivity with a new firewall and switches.
In the coming weeks, we will ask for your support of the ABS Annual Fund. We know that many of our families are currently stretched far too thin, but for those who are able, we hope you will participate by making a gift to support our school. The collective power of giving has never been more important than it is now.
Thank you, again, for your shared commitment to the ABS community. Your children make our school the joyful place that it is, and we are deeply grateful for your continued trust and partnership.
Sincerely,
Robin Hollis
Principal
How Do I Stay Up to Date with School ReOpening Plans?
We’re doing our best to keep ABS families, staff, and community updated with the latest information about our School ReOpening. We will continue to provide information in multiple places, including direct email, Thursday Notes, and Virtual Parent Meetings. If you have specific topics or questions, please send them to us at this form so we can be sure to address them.
ABS ReOpening School Updates Meeting Recording - Sept 9, 2020
ReOpening Meeting Sept 9 Slideshow
Please take a few minutes to respond to this survey about Remote Learning at ABS.
ABS Family/Student Directory
To be sure we have accurate contact information for the ABS family/student directory, each family completed the required Student Form at the beginning of the school year. Families that do not want to be published in the ABS directory should email Principal Hollis before September 11.
Parent Council Meeting - Friday, September 11 at 12:00 PM
Our first Parent Council meeting will be Friday via zoom. Please submit any questions or topics you would like to discuss via our parent council link. Please indicate “PC meeting” in your submission. We invite all parents, caregivers, and learning coaches to join us. The agenda can be found here. Look for a zoom link soon.
Parent Council Kickoff Social Meeting - Monday, September 14 afternoon (exact time TBD due to materials exchange)
The Parent Council Board would like to invite all parents, caregivers, and learning coaches to join us for a kickoff and “get to know each other” meeting. Feeling connected to your Arts Based community is more important than ever during these new and challenging times. You are not alone out there! We are all working hard to make the most of this new frontier for our learners. We look forward to working together to help find ways to create and support our school community! Join us via zoom on our next Flex Monday, September 14th. Please submit questions or ideas for discussion via our parent council link. Please indicate “social” in your submission. Look for a zoom link soon.
Volunteers Needed
We are also looking for volunteers to serve as classroom representatives. This job will be new and different this year, but your primary responsibilities will be to 1) help facilitate connections between class and grade level families, and 2) support your teachers. If you would like to serve in this position please contact Debbie Mason.
We are looking for a new co-chair for the ABS PC board. In this role, you will help communicate between parents and the school, plan the year’s events, serve as a liaison to the ABS Board of Directors, and preside at PC meetings. This is a 2-year position. If you have questions or are interested please email Becky Dickson.