Published for the Arts Based School Community
September 17, 2020
How We Do It and Why
By Mary Siebert
"As parents, I think we're always novices, and every day presents a new challenge."
Ewen Bremner
There are some among us who could easily retire now, to sip tea and read books on the porch. Instead, these experts have agreed to become novices again, led by deep commitment. I’m referring not only to staff, but to parents. Some of you were ready to retire from parenting after you raised your own children, but you have inherited beloved grandchildren, or you are assisting your own adult children or friends with the little ones so a parent can go to work. And what fresh challenges you have encountered!
There are also those among us who signed up for a new job and stepped into it with confidence, only to find that the skills we polished in preparation are not the ones demanded of us now. Again, this applies not only to staff, but to parents. That first day of Kindergarten? When parents were priming themselves to “let go?” That five year build-up, and now… here you are together. Some of you breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for the extension. Others had to scurry for support, to regroup, to become teaching assistants.
Some of you were expertly parenting one or multiple children. You had the sleep schedule and the meal routine and the household flow all nicely in place, with a few unexpected bumps, but a lot of satisfaction and delight. Now, that lovingly built structure has tumbled into something unexpected: Google Classrooms. Zooms. SeeSaw. Materials exchanges. Technology hardware and software issues. Safety guidelines. Upset schedules. Heads exploding.
The ABS staff and our families have worked on developing skill sets built on solid values, research, and goals, driven in real time by compassion and attention, improvisation and humor. You strove to limit screen time. Once you were home, you prioritized your child over an unfinished task for work. You established schedules that carefully and lovingly balanced focus and responsibility with unfettered time for rolling down hills, watching clouds, baking cookies, playing basketball. You visited Grandma. You let the kids run while you and the neighbors cooked out over the grill. And now… you are a novice, with anxiety and stage fright and fumbling hands. How do you parent now? How do you teach? Where are your tools, your support system? (And some of us are both staff and parents.)
We know something about stage fright, here. We teach Kindergarten students that one secret to managing butterflies in the stomach is to breathe, and this remains true at any age. As Principal Hollis says at each parent and staff meeting: “Breathe and smile. We’ve got this.”
These moments are as precious as any, even though they aren’t the ones we expected. We need an air force of poets, to help us see them and embrace them. We also need one another. We need to listen to each other and to attempt to intuit one another’s needs. Listening is like planting seeds in the stillness of the garden before the jubilation of spring comes roaring back.
The ABS Parent Council plans a parent social for Thursday, October 1st @ 5:30. While Zoom might be that pal you wish you could avoid right now, it is a valuable tool for providing the opportunity to listen. Parents need to see one another’s faces, to sigh and congratulate and reinforce together. You are welcome to attend!
How heroic we all are, and how fortunate we are to share this time together! Will we look back in two years with a perspective of gratitude? Let’s sow those seeds, and see what we reap.
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. Form to submit questions
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.
Flu Season
As you know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. We are asking for your help in reducing the spread of flu which is especially important this year during the COVID Pandemic. The symptoms for the seasonal flu and H1N1 are the same: fever of 100 degrees or more, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired.
You can help us by taking these simple steps:
- Teach children to wash their hands often.
- Teach your children not to share food or drink.
- Teach children to cough or sneeze into their elbows to avoid spreading germs.
- Keep sick children home.
- Get the flu vaccine for you and your children.
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 liason 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.
International Dot Day
This Tuesday was International Dot Day! If you missed our social media posts in celebration of the day, you can find a slideshow of middle school student dot art on Facebook or Instagram.