Published for the Arts Based School Community
March 20, 2025
How We Do It and Why
By Mary Siebert, founding Arts Director, retired
“…he demonstrated his Ph.D. on metal fatigue by using the forces between human bodies as an analog. He even used the dancers to depict data graphs."
- John Bohannan, Science journalist and Director of “Dance Your Ph.D.”
A group of us were inspired years ago by a TED talk by scientist and writer John Bohannan, who proposed using dancers instead of Powerpoint presentations to explain physics, and engaged professional dancers to make his point. Supplied with this cool idea, a team of faculty designed a TED-inspired performance for 6th graders, called Math & Science Dances. The students describe, through dance, ideas around scientific studies of matter: atoms, molecules, their properties, what can cause them to change. (It is particularly appropriate to describe energy via the movements of 6th graders, whose intensity and stamina are an excellent match for atomic power.) They also dance some terms from introductory algebra, characterizing them through music and movement. Visiting artist Thao Nguyen (a mystifyingly gifted singer/choreographer/actor/teacher,) conjures fresh, collective movement ideas, inspired by the individual gifts and collective energy of each year’s students.
You might imagine that, if you told a 6th grader (or nearly sixty of them,) that they were expected to dance math and science, they would respond with something less than enthusiasm. But during their very first warm up with “Mr. Thao,” our students are hooked. They seem to revel in daily, intense sets of warm-ups; crunches, planks and push ups to the pump of pop music, and they flow from this into high energy rehearsals, fully engaged. Our kids magically love this show.
Play, experimentation, and feedback are engines of rich learning in any field. We wanted our students to play with math, through movement and characterization. Vocabulary for new concepts is a challenge in early algebra, so we targeted algebra words for students to learn more deeply, developing humorous familiarity and an undaunted, playful attitude around these terms. Likewise, in science, we targeted vocabulary and molecular structures upon which to build choreography. We hope that, when those terms are encountered again in science and math classes, a positive recognition will arise and inspire confidence.
6th Grade Math & Science Dances Performance March 20
The performance of this event begins at 6:00 on Thursday,March 20, and lasts a little under half an hour. 6th Graders will congregate at NCMA- WS formerly SECCA between 5:30-5:45, dressed in black dance clothing. Admittance is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. SECCA (the (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art,) is located at 750 Marguerite Drive, in Winston-Salem.
Bus Driver updates
Unfortunately, we continue to face challenges in staffing our bus driver position. Over Spring Break, Ms. JoJo Jennings informed us that she is unable to continue driving for ABS.
On a positive note, we’re thrilled that Mr. Smitty has been cleared by his doctor to return to the driver’s seat! For now, he will ease back into the role by driving for field trips. Welcome back, Smitty!
We are still actively searching for an additional bus driver to support our morning and afternoon routes.
Builders Club Spirit Week for grades 5-8: March 24-28 Middle School ONLY!
Next week, please join the ABS Builders Club in supporting local organizations while showing some spirit! Please be sure all of your outfits are comfortable to wear all day and school appropriate. ABS Builders Club will have collection bins located in the 7th street lobby. Thank you for your participation!
- Matching Monday, March 24: Dress the same as your friend(s), and bring unopened boxes of any size ziplock bags to support H.O.P.E.
- Tropical Tuesday, March 25: Wear your tropical or summer themed clothes. Pretend you’re on a tropical beach vacation. No Swimwear please and bring unopened toiletries for WS Rescue Mission
- Teacher Wednesday, March 26: Pick any teacher at our school and try to replicate what they usually wear. Bring canned food for Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina
- Generations Thursday, March 27:
5th Grade: Baby’s- dress like infants
6th Grade: Toddlers- dress like preschoolers
7th Grade: Adults-dress like corporate adults
8th Grade: Senior Citizens- dress like the senior citizens and bring new or gently used books for The Shepherd’s Center
- Pajama Friday, March 28: Wear your favorite school-appropriate Pjs. Charity -Brenners Children's Hospital/Ronald McDonald House Please bring in individually wrapped snacks.
Movie Day for Middle School (grades 5-8) Only
Friday, March 28 2:35-4:00
Money raised will be donated to The Eliminate Project. This program helps to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. Permission slips will be coming home tomorrow in Thursday packets. They must be signed and returned by Thursday March 27th.
Movie Choices:
Wicked-PG
The Lorax-PG
Moana 2-PG
8th Grade only
Legally Blonde PG-13
2025 ABS Summer Camps
There are only 51 days left to register for summer camps. Please follow the link below to view all of our amazing camps and register today! Click on the description of the camp that you would like to register for and fill out the Google Form. Invoices will be sent in the coming weeks following registration to secure your spots! Check out the FAQ at the bottom of the flier for important information!
2025 Summer Camp Registration
Contact Ashley Tate at [email protected] with any questions.
National School Lunch Program at ABS-Updates
As we get closer to being on the National School Lunch Program, we would like to share some important updates regarding the school meal ordering process.
For the month of March, the current ordering system will remain in place, and parents will still need to order and pay for meals ahead of time as usual. However, starting April 1st, parents will no longer be required to pre-order meals. Meals will be ordered based on previous ordering trends, with some extra available for those that need a meal.
Also beginning on April 1st, all payments for school meals will be processed through LINQ. To set up your student's account, please visit linqconnect.com and click on "Register." You will need your student's first name, last name, birthdate, and state identification number. If you need your student's state ID number, please reach out to [email protected] for further assistance.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we transition to this new system. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] and we will be happy to assist you!
K-Kids Update!
We will have a K-Kids fundraiser on Tuesday, March 25th at Camel City BBQ, from 5-8pm (drop-in)! Please go through the main entrance to order your meal (not upstairs). K-Kids have voted to have our proceeds go towards a global endeavor called Charity Water, which gives people around the world access to clean water. We are proud to have such big-hearted, globally aware K-Kids! Hope to see you there!
More information on Charity Water here.
News from Parent Council
The Parent Council meeting previously scheduled for March 21st at 8:30am will be cancelled. The next PC Meeting will be Monday April 14th at 8:30AM in person (and on zoom). May’s meeting is schedule for Friday 5/16 at 12pm on Zoom
If you have any announcements, questions or concerns that need addressing prior to the next meeting, please send those to Katy Whiteheart or Stephanie Smith.
We would like to open nominations for all positions on the 2025-2026 Parent Council. Nominations can be made on this form. We do have existing members staying in many positions, so the biggest need is for the following four positions:
- Co-Chair from South Campus
- Secretary
- Teacher Appreciation Coordinator from South Campus
- Event Coordinators (we have coordinators staying on, but can use more)
Parking Lot Safety
A few reminders to keep our students safe:
- Please drive carefully and slowly through our parking lots, even if you are running late.
- Please avoid distractions while driving, like texting and cell phone use.
- Do not pass cars that are in the line. Students may be exiting the vehicle.
- If you are available, please help with morning drop off. We could use extra parent volunteers to help unload cars.
- If you arrive after 8:15, please park and walk your child into the building. Do not send them unattended.
ABS Yearbook
Here is the link for online ordering for the ABS Yearbook.
Deadline for ordering is March 31st. Yearbooks are $30.00 and will be hardcover this year.
Around Town…
We are thrilled to share the launch of a brand-new speaker series for K-12th grade girls, Mirror Talk! This series is designed to inspire, empower, and educate young women through powerful conversations with female leaders in all industries.
Wanted to share this upcoming event in the hopes that you might be willing to share it with your teams and students. We're so excited to have Jen Averill as a speaker and the girls attending will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage with the WFU field hockey team.
I'd be grateful if you're willing to get a group of students together, bring your daughter, and/or share!
The North Carolina Brass Band will present NCBB's Birthday Bash Concert featuring Swedish virtuoso, Gunhild Carling, jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist. The band will perform on Friday, March 21 at 7:30pm at Hanes Auditorium (Salem College) and Saturday, March 22 at 7:30pm at UNCG. ABS students are FREE!