Published for the Arts Based School Community
May 9, 2024
How We Do It and Why
By Mary Siebert
Unlike the frightening Dragon of Western mythology, Chinese Dragons are benevolent creatures that live in the heavens and amongst the wind, mist, rain, thunder, and lightning. - Shelly Wu
For several years, our first graders performed a group of Cinderella stories from various cultures. It was an opportunity to study and compare cultures, and it was a lot of fun. But there was one Cinderella and one Prince in each story, and we found ourselves teaching against the moral of the story. Beauty is not about gowns and glass slippers. Women do not need a man to rescue them. Men are not just rescue engines. Partnerships are not made happily-ever-after by owning a castle.
We set out to find a story that would incorporate more lead players, would avoid antiquated gender stereotypes, and would still lead us into some fascinating cultural studies. We settled on China, because we had a lot of rich resources for teaching about China at first grade.
Great Dragon and the Pearl of Wisdom is an adaptation from a Chinese legend, sometimes titled The Ten Brothers, as well as a later adaptation: The Seven Sisters. Students become familiar with the original stories, and then help develop their own adaptation, in which seven siblings have superpowers. (Due to enthusiastic 1st grader input, there are also quite a few pandas in the story.) There is an adult narrator, to keep the story rolling and provide security for the performers, and there are occasional lines for students who are ready. These little actors dance and sing and perform with remarkable focus, ensemble, and commitment. That confidence comes from weeks of working with their teachers and specialists to take a deep dive into Chinese culture and this adapted folk tale. You can see your 1st grader’s performance next week as follows:
Monday, May 13, 12:00 Howard
Tuesday, May 14, 12:00 Cruz
Wednesday, May 15, 12:00 Rogers
Thursday, May 16, 12:00, Fletcher
Friday, May 17, 12:00, Fray
Parent Volunteers for 6th Grade Recording Project
Next week, 6th graders will walk back and forth between school and Ovation Sound, one block away, to make recordings for their historical videos. We welcome parents who can serve as walking escorts. Please meet us at your student’s classroom at 11:45, as follows:
Tuesday, May 14, 12:00-2:00 - Christian
Wednesday, May 15, 12:00-2:00 - Visconti
Thursday, May 16, 12:00-2:00 - DeJarnette
Memories for Mary Siebert
We are collecting stories and well wishes to share with Mary at her retirement party. If you have a story, anecdote, or memory about Mary Siebert that makes you laugh, smile, or feel happiness, please share here. If you have photos you’d like to share, please add here.
The Mary Siebert Legacy Fund
To honor Mary Siebert’s outstanding legacy, her friends are collecting gifts large and small to ensure that Mary’s influence will be felt for years to come in the place where she dedicated so much of herself. All gifts made to the Mary Siebert Legacy Fund will support the resident artist program that bring learning to life at ABS. For more details and to make a gift, please visit this page.
MAP results sent home
Third through Eighth grade students will receive MAP results in their Thursday Packets today. Please take some time to review these results. Overall results show that ABS students in each of those grades achieve higher scores than the national norms in all areas tested: math, science, reading, and language arts. Congratulations to our students and their teachers for a job well done. If you have any questions regarding MAP results, please contact your child’s teacher.
Grant for ABS!
Thanks to Nicole Taylor (Wesley and Wyatt’s mom) for securing two grants for ABS. Her employer, Allstate provides 2 grants per employee per year to award to non-profit organizations that they volunteer for. Nicole volunteers many hours to ABS working on our school’s yearbook. ABS will receive 2 grants in the amount of $500 each!
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Tate
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Tate on the arrival of their baby boy, Kamden. He was born May 8, 2024 at 9 lbs. 2 oz. Mr. Tate will return to his classroom next week. Mrs. Tate will be out on maternity leave through the end of the school year.
ABS Builders Club Spirit Week- May 6-10
Grades 5-8 only One day left...
Movie Day for Middle School (grades 5-8)
Friday, May 10 2:35-4:00
Money raised from ticket sales($5.00 per person attending) will be donated to ABS Builders Club for new t-shirts next year.
Money raised from concessions will be donated to The Eliminate Project. This program helps to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
Movie Choices:
Barbie- PG 13- 13 and older only with parent permission/ no exceptions
Shrek PG
Tangled PG
Toy StoryG
K-Kids Bowling Night
K-Kids introduces to you...Bowling Night! This is an optional, school-wide event (K-8, both campuses) on Tuesday, May 14th, from 5-7pm at Creekside Lanes. The cost is $5. This will cover a pair of shoes and two games per bowler. Families can order food at the lanes, but it may take a while with our large number of participants. We encourage everyone to eat before or after bowling night.
There will be no pre-signing up. We will allow the first 144 bowlers and their families into the bowling alley, and that is the limit. We recommend that you and any friends who want to bowl together (6 per lane) arrive and line up together at the same time. Please feel free to reach out to Coach Bri, Allison Carlisle, or Renee Meeks for further comments or questions. We look forward to this fun event!
Dance Auditions for Arts Based School Students in Grades 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
2024-25 School Year Classes at UNCSA
Thursday, May 16th
Arts Based School South
3:00-4:00 pm
No prior experience is required. Multiple levels of study are available. Financial aid and
scholarship application is extended to all accepted students to ensure access. For
more information, visit https://www.uncsa.edu/community/preparatory-dance/
Register to audition: https://forms.office.com/r/v7xhtywp9a
Parent Council News
Please join us for the final PC meeting on Friday 5/17 at 830am in MLK cafe.
Open Parent Council Board positions for the 24-25 school year include:
Teacher Appreciation/Hospitality Co-Coordinator- North (2 open positions)
Teacher Appreciation/Hospitality Coordinator-South
Social Media Coordinator
Secretary Co-Coordinator
Event Coordinator/s
This is such a great way to be involved, help support our school and make improvements. Please reach out to Stephanie Smith or Katy Whiteheart with questions or nominations. Voting will occur at the May PC meeting.
We need your help to make Field Day tons of fun! Here's the sign up for class stations. Please email Amanda Davis if you have any questions.
Teacher Appreciation Week
With the end of the year just around the corner, it's time to show our wonderful ABS teachers and staff how much we appreciate them. Please mark your calendars to help shower your teachers, special teachers, and all the ABS staff with appreciation the week of May 6.
Floral Friday (5/10): Have your student pick a flower or bring in a plant for the classroom
Link to staff favorites:
If you'd like to help provide breakfast on Wednesday, May 8 for our amazing ABS teachers and staff, sign up sheets are below for ABS South, ABS North - MLK and ABS North - 7th Street.
Around Town…
Ignite brings a free circus in Winston Square Park at 7:00 p.m. on May 11 and 12. They have invited 4 world-renowned Circus Artists from Montreal and Las Vegas to join with 3 Local Dancers and a Live Band. The performance is Free for the Community and runs 45-minutes in length. Free pre-registration link is on the website here:
https://www.circusevo.com/ignite
India Fest is a fun, free event on Saturday, May 11, 12:00-5:00 at Corpening Plaza, presented by the Indo-US Cultural Association. Fun food, dancing, henna, and shopping, celebrating the culture of India.
UNCSA presents Sleeping Beauty
You are invited to enjoy a family-friendly informal studio presentation of Sleeping Beauty Act III: Aurora’s Wedding.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29 OR THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024 AT 6 PM STUDIO A UNCSA CAMPUS
Pay-What-You-Can Donation to UNCSA Preparatory Dance Financial Aid and Scholarship Fund
Ways to get involved and learn more about ABS:
- Follow us on Social Media
- Read and Review the Student/Parent Handbook
- Catch up on Thursday Notes you may have missed
- Explore the ABS website
- Make sure we have best contact information so that you receive all communications