Published for the Arts Based School Community
October 6, 2022
Fall Break: No School Oct 7 - Oct 10
How We Do it and Why?
-Mary Siebert
“The difference between a good picture and a mediocre picture is a millimeter.” - Henri Cartier-Breson
Diana Greene is a freelance artist and documentarian who has taught her original curriculum to ABS students for nearly two decades. As a visiting artist, she pairs high expectations with warm, individualized attention. She draws surprisingly fresh ideas from students, helping them value their perspectives and encouraging them to follow their projects through to glistening completion. She has a beautiful eye for possibility, and teaches persistence in realizing it.
Ms. Greene is in the midst of her annual project with our 4th graders. After countless workshop-style classes from 4th grade to high school, from Winston-Salem to Malta, from our school to the international Pulitzer Center she still brings deft skill, but also a freshness to each class that reveals a genuine love for her work with young students.
She teaches the students about the art of photography by sharing examples of the work of great photographers and the work of her own students, discussing “the decisive moment” as described by Henri Carier-Breson; and embodied in his photography, like this shot.
Diana interacts with the world artistically and professionally not only through images, but also through writing. She helps students discover the shared territory between capturing a decisive moment through photography, and capturing it through small details in the written word. They use, as a subject, themselves. What could be more fascinating, more confusing, more challenging than looking directly at yourself, when you are a tween, trembling on the verge of adolescence?
With our classroom teachers, Ms. Greene assists young students to take a small, breathless leap: looking at themselves as others might see them, and comparing that to who they know themselves to be from the inside. Students will write about these two points of view, using small details to reveal big ideas. They also stage a visual frame of themselves, guiding a partner to photograph them within this frame, creating a self-portrait in both words and images which will be combined for display. When these are ready for you to view, gallery-style, we will let you know about it here.
As adults, we know that this life-long inquiry about who we are vs. who we appear to be is a constant one, sometimes perplexing or painful. How enriching for our students, to develop artistic tools, visual and written, that can serve them along this journey!
mClass Reading Results Sent Home
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction requires a kindergarten through third grade reading assessment called mCLASS: Reading 3D to help teachers assess, track, and support each student’s reading skills. Each student is assessed every trimester using the online assessment program. mCLASS:Reading 3D will instantly analyze your child’s development in grade-appropriate foundational reading skills. 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)
You will receive a letter today in Thursday folders outlining your child’s specific assessment results and progress as a reader. The letter also includes 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.
Important dates this month:
There’s a lot happening in October! Read on for details on the following events/ workshops/ happenings:
- Oct. 7-10: No school; Fall Break
- Oct. 11, 5:45pm: Board Meeting at ABS South
- Oct. 12-14: 2nd Grade Performances
- Oct. 13, 5-6pm: Free ballet class demonstration for grades K-2 at ABS South
- Oct. 13, 5-7pm: Invasive Plant Workshop at ABS North
- Oct 14, 8:30am: Parent Council meeting in the MLK Cafe at ABS North and on Zoom
- Oct 15, 9am: Garden and Grounds work day at ABS North
- Oct 17-22: Scholastic Book Fair
- Oct. 21, 1:50pm: Friday Sing at ABS North
- Oct 22, 12-2pm: ABS Fall Fest, held in the 7th Street Courtyard
- Oct. 27, 1-2:15pm: Substitute teacher training at ABS South
- Oct 31: Our Annual Giving push comes to a close. Please make your gift today!
- Nov. 5, 9am-12pm: Positive Discipline Workshop at ABS North for all interested families
Annual Giving!
This month, we are celebrating the collective power of Annual Giving at The Arts Based School! From now until October 31, all gifts and pledges to the school will benefit the learning, doing, and creating that happens here every day. Please give as generously as you are able, and share the call to action with grandparents and extended family as well! Please look for weekly emails throughout the month from your Class Representative with updates on participation for your class.
We are truly grateful to everyone who has made a gift to the Annual Giving campaign so far! Thank you!
Total School Participation to Date: 13%
Total Gifts to Date: $12,365
Last year, by the end of October, we had 47% participation and $53,214 raised. We would love to raise the bar significantly for both of those numbers this year. Together, we can celebrate and support everything that we love about our school. To make your gift, send a check or visit https://www.artsbasedschool.com/apps/pages/giving
Thank you!
ABS Regular Board Meeting
The ABS Board of Directors will meet in person on Tuesday, Oct 11 at 5:45pm at ABS-South Campus-962 Mock St, 27127. Board meetings are open to the public.
2nd Grade Performances: American Tapestry
Next week, 2nd graders will perform a brand new experiment inspired by the new state requirements in social studies. 2nd grade families are invited to attend, at the Ewing Blackbox Theater in our MLK building, from 12:00-12:30 as follows:
Wednesday, October 12 - Ms. Warren
Thursday, October 13 - Ms. Londoño
Friday, October 14 - Ms. Jess
Fun and Easy Take-Home Sewing Volunteer Job: 2nd Grade Costumes
Hello to the stitchers in our ABS community! If you would like a simple take-home task, we have 22 rectangular pieces of upholstery fabric (not too thick) that need edges turned over and hemmed, and a piece of trim stitched onto one of the long sides. Everything is pre-cut and ready to sew. If you can do this over the fall break, we need them no later than Tuesday morning. Please stop by Mary Siebert's office in the MLK building today to pick up some of these. You may also email Mary Siebert at [email protected] with questions, or to let her know you’ll be picking some up. Thank you!
UNCSA Ballet Class at ABS South
We are delighted to share that ABS and UNCSA Preparatory Dance Program are partnering to provide an after school ballet class for children in grades K-2. There will be a free demonstration class on Thursday, Oct 13, 5-6pm at ABS-South.
For more information and to register, see flyer
Invasive Plant Workshop at ABS: October 13, 5-7pm
ABS parent and landscape architect Kristen Haaf is hosting a 2-hour free public workshop where we can learn about the most invasive weeds we struggle with in our bioregion (and our school) and how to go about managing them. We will also learn how to identify several native trees, shrubs, and grasses, learn about their benefits, and explore what we can do to protect them. The first half will be learning/workshop style, and in the second hour we will work together to cut back all the invasive weeds we can eradicate during that session, focusing on the hillside around the 7th Street parking lot. Join us!
Parent Council Meeting – Friday, October 14!
Please join us in person or virtually at the North Campus, cafe for Parent Council meeting on Friday, October 14 at 8:30am. All ABS parents, families, and caregivers are part of the Parent Council and are welcome to attend!
Date Change! Garden Clean-Up, and an Eagle Scout Volunteer
Join us on Saturday, October 15 from 9 am onward. An Eagle Scout candidate and his team of supporting Scouts will visit the entrance gardens at our ABS North campus on MLK to clear out, clean up, and mulch! We welcome all the help we can get! Bring your tools, pruners, loppers, work gloves, wheelbarrows, etc. There will be more gardening dates ahead!
Save the Date: Scholastic Book Fair
We are excited for the return of the Scholastic Book Fair! The fair will take place Monday, Oct 17th - Fri Oct 21st. We will have our K-4 fair in the MLK Cafe and then the 5th-8th fair in our 7th Street gymnasium. Stay tuned for more information on ways to volunteer and shop during the fair.
Schedule Change:
Friday Sing at ABS North campus has been moved to October 21.
Fall Fest
Saturday, October 22 is this year’s Fall Fest! Look out for more information on Fall Fest soon!
Substitute Teachers Needed!
ABS relies on many great substitute teachers to support our students when our teachers are absent from school. Our current substitutes are wonderful, but we just don’t have enough people to meet our needs. If you are interested in learning more about subbing at ABS and/or attending a training session, please complete this form. Principal Hollis will be conducting the training session covering the basics and expectations for subbing at ABS. The pay rate for substitute teachers is $15 per hour. Training date-October 27, 1:00-2:15 pm at South Campus.
Prospective Parent Tours
School tours for prospective parents are scheduled weekly on Thursdays at 9:30am. Each tour is limited to 10 adults in an effort to limit the disruption to our students and teachers in the classrooms. Parents interested in learning more about ABS and how to enroll their child, should contact the front office to sign up for a tour. 748-4116 ext 1023. Applications will be accepted beginning January 1. The lottery will be held the second Tuesday of February. An Open House Tour of South Campus will be held Nov. 15, 5-6pm.
Halloween is Coming
Please do not send students to school in costumes. We all enjoy the fun and excitement of Halloween but find that costumes and accessories make it very difficult to concentrate. Also we do not want students to bring candy in their lunch bags for snacks. Although it can be delicious, high sugar snacks should not replace a healthy snack. Thanks for your help!
Positive Discipline Workshop for Parents
Are you feeling challenged?
…by your kid’s power struggles?
…by their whining or attitude?
…by their lack of follow through?
…with bed time and morning routines?
…with sibling conflicts?
…with chores getting done?
…or something else?
Join us for the Positive Discipline Workshop for Parents!
Positive Discipline is for parents who are looking for long-term parenting skills that will encourage their children to think for themselves, become more responsible and have a greater respect for themselves and others. The teachers on Positive Discipline are filled with non-punitive, respectful methods that will incorporate kindness and firmness into parenting, help parents get to the core of their child’s misbehavior, bring more joy into the home, and give parents a sense of accomplishment.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov 5 from 9am-Noon
WHERE: ABS Café, MLK Building
CHILDCARE: Childcare will be provided on site (please let us know how many children will need care when you sign up)
COST: $10/family
SIGN-UP: Sign up here to register. You may send in payment with your child in a marked envelope (checks should be made out to ABS). You may also stop by either front office to sign up as well. Space is limited so reserve your spot today!
Around Town
Producer, comedy writer, and actor Michael Schur (The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place) is coming to Wake Forest on October 17 at 7:30, to talk about his new best-selling, hilarious book about ethics and his show The Good Place, in Brendle Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. More details HERE.
UNCSA Nutcracker Tea Events
Here is the link for more information about The Nutcracker Tea Party webpage: http://UNCSA.edu/nutcrackertea
ABS students get the discounted rate of $20 for NTP tickets. They will just need to use this code: PREPDANCE on the box office website when they book.