Read-A-Thon Continues This Week!

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I hope everyone has recovered from all the fun they had at the Monster Mash!  This event was fun for all ages, from the smallest Angry Bird to one of Abingdon's teachers dressed as the Cat in the Hat.  Kids certainly enjoyed the bounce houses, carnival games and the dance.  I want to take a moment and give a BIG THANK YOU to a very special parent volunteer that made the night such a success,  Elizabeth Lyons !  Elizabeth spent countless hours pulling together this event.  I would also like to thank all the parent volunteers who helped decorate, provided staffing during the event and helped clean up. This event would not be have been possible without all of your hard work!  I would also like to thank the fifth graders who staffed the snack table.  They earned a $200 donation from the PTA to their promotion fund.  

Read-A-Thon Enters Second Week
As the Read-A-Thon enters its second week, we are pleased to announce that the kids have now read almost 94,000 minutes!  Abingdon kids must really love to read.  

Even if your child hasn't signed up yet, i t's not too late to set up your child's personalized reading page to track their reading minutes during this two-week event. Just visit read-a-thon.com and enter your email and your child's personalized secret code to get started.  If you don't have your code, just email Becki Kennedy, PTA Vice President of Fundraising  at abingdonptavp@gmail.com.  

Not only is the Read-A-Thon a wonderful way to encourage kids to read, it is also the PTA's fall fundraiser.  The funds raised go to support valuable PTA sponsored programs like the Cardinal Kids Mentoring Club, the Let's Go Club, Hispanic Heritage Month, Teacher Appreciation Week, and teacher enrichment scholarships.  So please make sure to send out some reminders to all your Facebook friends, twitter followers, and email contacts to solicit sponsorships for this fundraiser.  

Outdoor Lab Open House - November 6
The Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab is a 225-acre facility that provides science and outdoor education to the students of Arlington County Public Schools.  The Outdoor Lab will host an Open House from 12 - 4 pm on Sunday, November 6.  Activities will include row boats on the pond, fishing, a cookout, hiking and the animal lab will be open.  Visit their website at  outdoorlab.org for more information and in case of inclement weather.  

Library Night - November 9
Come get a little wild at the first Library Night of the year on Wednesday, November 9, from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.  The event, called "Where the Wild Things Are" will feature a night with the Raptors.   The Raptor Conservancy of Virginia will bring a variety of birds of prey to share with the kids.  Students will also be able to partake in the popular Bonus Library Book Check-out!  Look for more information in this week's Tuesday folder.  

5th Grade Chorus Performance - November 10
The Abingdon 5th Grade Chorus will perform at the South Arlington Choral Pyramid Concert at 7 pm on Thursday, November 10 in the Wakefield High School Auditorium.  If your child is a 5th grade student, they are automatically a member of the Abingdon 5th Grade Chorus. Students should wear a white shirt or blouse and dark pants or skirt for the performance.  The Chorus will perform 2-3 selections as a group and then perform one selection with choruses from Wakefield High School, Kenmore and Gunston Middle Schools and Hoffman-Boston and Oakridge Elementary Schools.  Singers should meet at 5pm in the Wakefield Auditorium for the concert on the 10th.  This event is free and open to the public.  

Gifted Services Presentation at November PTA Meeting, November 15
The PTA would like to  thank Ms. Sarah Mullinax , the Abingdon School Counselor, for a fantastic presentation last week at the PTA meeting as the first in their new series of discussions called " Big Topics, Little Kids ."  Parents were engaged in a discussion of how to talk to kids about big topics such as bullying, terrorism, and politics in an age-appropriate manner.  We would also like to thank Ms. Kerry Abbot , Abingdon's Instructional Technology Coordinator, for leading parents in a discussion on how Abingdon is working to keep our kids safe on their school-issued IPads, including an overview of the Apps available to our kids on those devices.  

Each month, the PTA hopes to feature a guest speaker on topics that we think Abingdon parents will find informative.  The November 15 meeting will feature a presentation by Ms. Jackie Firster, Abingdon's Gifted Services Resource Teacher.  Ms. Firster will walk parents through the Gifted Services program at Abingdon, as well as resources available for students and parents.  As always, free pizza and childcare (for children ages 3 and up) will be provided. 

School Photo Re-Take Day - November 16
Fall Picture packets will be distributed this week via the Tuesday folders.  If your child was absent for picture day last month, is new to Abingdon or you would like to have your child's picture re-taken, November 16 is the day for re-takes.  If you ordered pictures and want re-takes, please send the first set back in the original envelope to your child's teacher with a note requesting re-takes.  The PTA will send home order forms to the families of children that were absent on picture day or that are new to Abingdon. Please send a note to abingdonelementarypta@gmail.com if you missed ordering photos during the October picture day and we can coordinate a re-take for your child for the 16th as well.  

The past few weeks have been very volunteer-intensive between the Book Fair and the Monster Mash.  The PTA would like to once again thank all the parents that have graciously volunteered their time to help make these events a success.  Now take a break for a few weeks until we start recruiting volunteers for the Holiday Shop in December.  

Sincerely,
Jeni Hornback
Abingdon PTA President 
 

P.S. If your child is no longer attending Abingdon and you wish to be removed from this email list, please send an email to: abingdonelementarypta@gmail.com or "Safe Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this page.  If you know of new families who are attending Abingdon this fall, please send their name and email addresses to: abingdonelementarypta@gmail.com to be added to the list.  
    
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