Published for the Arts Based School Community
June 9, 2022
Wow! What a year!
We are grateful to all our families, students, board members, and staff for another great year at ABS! We are honored by the trust that you all give to us to look after and educate your children—particularly in a year in which we continued to meet the demands of the pandemic and its ongoing effects. Together, we rose to the challenge, and we have been able to accomplish so many good things for our school community: grade-level productions brought learning to life and to the stage; many of our visiting artists were able to return this year; and throughout everything, we kept learning and growing together. We hope we will continue to be able to get safely back to old traditions, and introduce some new ones as well!
Last week, as we watched our 8th graders cross the stage to receive their diplomas, we saw in them much of the love and care poured into them: from their families and homes, their teachers and friends, and from our school. We are full of hope for their future and for ours as a community. Thank you for being a part of our school!
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 who are excited about the way we teach children. Here's the line up for 2022-23 so far…
Kindergarten:
Matthew Greene, Zaynab Roberson, Ashley Rudd
First Grade:
Kathie Fansler, Nicole Howard, Mary Rogers
Second Grade:
Jess Broughton, Nicole Londoño, Missy Warren
Third Grade:
Ashley Brady, Anne Campbell, Naomi Ruffin
Fourth Grade:
Amanda McGarry-Pike, Renee Meeks, Kelly Robertson
Fifth Grade:
Alex DeJarnette, Laura Lynne Frazier, Adam Tate
Sixth Grade:
Alysha Christian, Courtney Hedgecock, Katie Hugus
Seventh/Eighth Grades:
Melissa Cleland, LeeAnn Farrell, Jennifer Lewis, Lenora McNamara, Rob Rambach
The Arts:
Mary Boudreault, Trish Goldberg, Tahvyea Rains, Jordan Brown, Elizabeth Gledhill, Court Wynter
PE:
Coach Bri Pierce
Spanish:
Deisy Tellez
Welcome to ABS!!
Naomi Ruffin is joining the 3rd grade team in Ms. Lard's old room. Ms. Ruffin is graduating from WSSU with her K-6 teaching license. She did her student teaching with Mrs. Pike in fourth grade.
Zaynab Roberson will be joining the kindergarten team. Mrs. Roberson has a background in pre-school and exceptional children. She has a bachelor's and master's degree and is working on her BK licensure. Education is her second career after her first career in business and finance.
Tahvyea Rains will be waltzing into the dance studio to teach K-4 dance. Tahvyea is currently teaching history at Summit School with a master's in education. Her true passion is dancing and teaching dance.
Farewell!
Brian Schmoyer, Jan Adams, Becca Lard, Heidi McIver, and Meredith Bowles will be leaving ABS. It's always hard to say goodbye. We wish them the best as they embark on their next adventures.
Staffing for the Second Campus
Hiring for the second campus is well underway and we’ll be ready to announce those positions soon.
Congratulations to Sherell McArthur! She has completed her Administrator's internship and licensure and will be serving as Assistant Principal at the second campus of ABS. Ms. McArthur and Mrs. Hollis will continue to partner to open the second location. Mrs. Hollis will serve as Charter Director/Campus Principal: responsible for both campuses as Charter Director, and Campus Principal at the second location.
Paige Raper will move into the Campus Principal role at the current ABS. She will continue to be housed in the middle school building serving students and teachers in the middle school but also serving as Principal for the whole school.
An Assistant Principal will be hired for the elementary building. We have an excellent candidate and hope to announce this news soon.
How Did We Do?
Each year we conduct a student survey (grades 2-8) to gauge our success from our students’ perspectives. We also use these results to understand what’s working and what’s not working as well as we’d like. Results are attached to your email.
Around Town
Deadline today: Guilford Tech Community College is offering a week-long music tech camp called "Let's Make a Record!" June 13-17, applicable for 13-18 year olds. Check it out here.
The Little Theatre of Winston Salem offers summer camps for kids. Check them out here.
The Winston-Salem Girls Chorus is opening registrations for new singers for the fall of 2022. There are various choirs for Kindergarten - 12th grades, with Director Anne Saxon. Learn more here.