Published for the Arts Based School Community
June 3, 2021
How We Do It and Why
By Mary Siebert
At the end of each school year, we take a moment to review the many events, trips and arts accomplishments we shared. It’s always an impressive list, and fun to reminisce. Most of them we remember with delight and appreciation, and others we are happy to place behind us, because we are reminded of some harmless complication like a bus breaking down or a thunderstorm in the middle of the festivities. This year, everything feels like an Everest ascendency. How on earth did we do it? Most of these were entirely virtual. A few had live components. Two of them are about to be released but not quite yet: 1st Grade’s charming production of Swimmy, and 8th grade’s ambitious Lion King Backstage Workshop. Some of them would not have been mentioned in a typical year. 4th graders are always introduced to the violin, third graders always learn to play recorders, for example. But this year, those lessons involved complicated pick ups and returns of instruments, and new ideas about how to use video to teach them virtually. There are many such triumphs going unmentioned here, but we feel the combined exhaustion and satisfaction of having done our best to deliver them, along with classroom instruction on virtual platforms that were new to all of us. We were privileged to partner with parents in making that possible. Here goes:
Try To Say it in One Breath ...
K Peter and the Wolf with guest 8th grade and pro dancers, 8th and 2nd African Drumming, 1st Swimmy, 2nd The Stonecutter, 3rd Renaissance Spectacles, 4th Diana Greene residency Still Life: Adventures @ Six Feet, 5th Romeo & Juliet on the Border, 1st Arctic and Antarctic songs Virtual Live Music Video, 6th Math Dances with Mr. Thao, 3rd Guitars, 7th Brundibar, 8th Lion King Backstage Workshop, 2nd Virtual Visit to the Home Moravian organ, new construction: music room and gym at 7th Street, 7th/8th music tech intro with Kre8ivU, 4th visits from Mr. Bob, K-4 live-stream Friday Sings at Ovation Sound, 3rd recorders, hockey, K Carnival of the Animals, 4th Appalachian Fiddle Tunes, Mini-golf at home, 6,7,8 bucket drumming and keyboards, parent help with creating video and photos and rehearsal times for shows, Coach Bri’s TicTocs, composition of original pieces for French horn, 8th and 6th choreography with Mr. Thao, 3rd planting sunflowers for painting and dissecting next fall, The great 3rd grade Renaissance costume build by parents, K-8 Spanish virtual ofrenda for Día de los Muertos, 6th Historic Videos, Friday Drum with Mr. Bill, 6th live video visit with author of A Snicker.of Magic-Natalie Lloyd, 2nd Creating Our Own Instruments, Gaga Ball, K-8 free visit to UNCSA Nutcracker, K-8 free visit to Piedmont Opera, 5th Cowboys with Ms. Siebert, 1st Seesaw Music Performances, spirit weeks and pajama days, Digital Music Compositions, 7th, 8th First Edition of The Muse Literary Magazine, 8th outdoor, in-person graduation, lots of fresh air, and tan lines from masks.
And virtual platforms we learned this year, to bring content to our students: Google Meets, FlipGrid, Zoom, SeeSaw, Google Classrooms, Padlet, GetEpic, Prodigy, Google Slides, WeVideo, Acapella, Screencastify, Wondershare Filmora, Google Drive, Bandlab, Chrome Music Lab, Kahoot, Nearpod, Vocaroo, Incredibox, RAZ Kids, EPIC!, Khan Academy Kids, Quill, Reflex Math, Quizlet, Symbaloo, Brain POP, YouTube, TikTok
6th Grade Math Dances are Here!
Visit the Family Portal at artsbasedschool.com to see the show!
8th Grade Graduation Next Week
8th graders will rehearse graduation outdoors next week by cohort, at 10:00 on Tuesday and again on Wednesday at 10:00. The actual graduation event takes place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 10, with both cohorts together. Rain date is Thursday, June 11 at 10:00. Seating is limited to two guests per student. Photos and live Zoom of the event will be provided for 8th grade families, with the Zoom link to be shared privately next week.
ABS Yearbooks
Our yearbooks have sold out, but don’t worry, we’ve ordered some more. We expect another shipment soon. If you would like Mrs. Brown to hold one for you, please contact her via email [email protected]. Yearbooks are $22.
PARENT COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations and thank you to next year’s Parent Council board!
Co-Chairs: Debbie Mason (1st year of 2-year term), and Katherine White (2nd year of 2-year term)
Hospitality Co-Chairs: Brandi Cleveland, Leigh Stanfield, and Alicia Freimuth
Parent Representative Coordinator: Aaron Willey
Secretary: Letitia Stinson-Miller
Technology Coordinator: Heather Oliver
Social Media Chair: Amber Poindexter
If you missed the Tuesday evening Parent Council meeting, you can watch the recording.
Student loaned Chromebooks, Laptops, and Calculators
All student loaned devices must be returned directly after the school year ends. Please plan to return your child's loaned device(s) to the 7th street building on Thursday, June 10, or Friday, June 11 between 12:30-3:30 PM. Email questions to [email protected]
ABS Summer Camps
Summer Camp weeks 1,2, and 5 are full, but we have a few more spots in the following camps:
- Week 3 (June 28-July 2) Mix It Up Art Camp with Ms. Gledhill (Rising 5-8 only)
- Week 4 (July 5-9) Endangered and Mythical Animals with Mr. Tate AND Outdoor Fun and Games with Coach Bri (Rising 2-5 only)
If interested, send an email to [email protected]
mClass Reading Results Sent Home
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has implemented and required a kindergarten through third grade reading assessment to help teachers assess, track and support each student’s reading skills. Each student will be assessed every trimester using the mClass assessment program. Teachers will use this data to focus their instruction around your child’s specific needs, in areas that may include:
- Hearing and using sounds in spoken words (Phonemic Awareness)
- Knowing sounds of letters and sounding out written words (Alphabetic Principle)
- Reading words in stories easily, quickly, and correctly (Accuracy and Fluency)
- Understanding what they read (Reading Comprehension).
In this week’s Thursday Packet, you will receive your child’s specific assessment results. The letter will also include learning activities you and your child can do together at home to reinforce skills learned at school. Parent support and reading at home are a vital part of your child’s education. The teacher’s efforts, combined with your support, will help your child read with mastery and confidence. If you have any questions about the assessment, the activities, or your child’s classroom work and progress, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Virtual Conference Time is Coming
Soon your child’s teacher will be setting up conferences for June 10 and 11 to discuss your child’s progress. Students attending the Arts Based School are assessed using a portfolio system in place of the traditional report card. The portfolio is designed to illustrate a student’s academic growth and successes as well as guide the teacher in planning appropriate instruction. Teachers at ABS do not issue letter grades until 6th grade. Teachers use observation, interviews, analysis of student work and performance tasks to assess student understanding. Examples of student work, as well as other objective standards of assessments, are incorporated into the student’s portfolio to give an enhanced portrait of the student’s progress. These portfolios will be discussed and presented to parents during the virtual Student-Teacher-Parent conferences. Please be sure you schedule and attend your conference so that you can support your child’s learning.
End of Year Checklist
- Pick up medications from the front office
- Be sure all fees and lunch balances are paid
- Let us know if you will not be returning to ABS next year. If your child is transferring to another school, please let us know where to send your child’s records by emailing Stephanie LeFever - [email protected]
- Wednesday, June 9th is the last day of school. This is a full day of school.
Courtyard Construction!
Trim work was completed this week along with the installation of the bathroom floors, fixtures, and fittings. The painting starts today, and we are well on our way to being open by the end of the summer! We are tremendously grateful to everyone who has contributed to the effort thus far, making this new learning, gathering, and music-making space possible for us! If your family is able to participate in the effort, please consider making a gift to help us bring this project home. If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Leah Lavin: [email protected].
ABS June Board Meeting
The ABS Board of Directors will convene the June Board meeting on June 8, 2021 at 5:45pm using a virtual meeting platform. Board meetings are open to the public. If you would like to view the meeting, please email Principal Hollis for the link.