Happy New Year and welcome back Abingdon families! It looks like the construction crews were hard at work during the break. When I walked by on Sunday, the new access road along the side of the building looked almost done and the new gymnasium is really starting to take shape. The new cafeteria is slightly behind schedule, but they are still anticipating that it should be ready by the end of January. It will feature two serving lines, which should speed up the lunch-buying process. I know I'm excited to see what the renovated north wing looks like and I will make sure to take some pictures to send out with next week's newsletter!
Abingdon Announces Teacher and Support Staff of the Year - Testimonies Sought
The PTA would like to congratulate
Ms. Jackie Firster, Abingdon's Resource Teacher for Gifted Students, who was chosen by the Abingdon staff as the Abingdon Teacher of the Year! But this is only just the beginning for Ms. Firster, who will now move on to compete for the statewide title. How can parents help? Abingdon is collecting letters of support from staff, parents and students (including past students) on Ms. Firster's involvement in Abingdon. If you have a moment, please prepare a letter, addressed to Dr. Steven R. Staples, the Virginia State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and either email or deliver that letter to Abingdon Assistant Principal
Blandine LiGuidi by Friday, January 6th.
The PTA would also like to congratulate
Ms. Donna Felipe, Abingdon's Instructional Assistant, who was chosen by the staff as the Abingdon Support Staff of the Year! Ms. Felipe currently works with Ms. Frazier's Third Grade Class.
Not only are Ms. Firster and Ms. Felipe valuable members of our Abingdon Staff, Ms. Firster has a son currently at Abingdon and Ms. Felipe has three children that attended Abingdon! If you see Ms. Firster or Ms. Felipe, please take a moment to congratulate them on their accomplishments!
Help Wanted
Is your New Year's Resolution to put in more volunteer time? If so, then we have many opportunities for you to get more involved in the PTA this year! The PTA is looking to fill the following positions:
Spirit Gear Coordinator
Do you love to attend events at Abingdon and show off your school pride by wearing your spirit gear? The PTA is seeking several parent volunteers to coordinate the sales of spirit gear at Abingdon events (movie nights, library nights, dances, etc.), as well as assist us with filling periodic orders. The Coordinator also helps track inventory and make recommendations to the PTA Board on spirit gear purchases. For more information on this position, please contact Nicole Knight at
[email protected].
After-School Enrichment Classes Coordinator
We hope that by the beginning of the 2017-2018 School Year, we will be able to start offering the after-school enrichment classes again. There will still be some limitations due to the on-going construction (no field sports as the field will not be restored until spring 2018), but hopefully the school construction will be substantially completed and space will be available for after-school classes. We are looking for a parent volunteer (or 2) to coordinate these classes. What does that mean? The coordinator would work with the PTA Board to review vendors and courses and then coordinate the schedule of classes. This is a great volunteer position for parents that work during the day, as much of the coordination can be done via email and phone calls in the evenings. We are advertising this position now, as the course schedule for next fall will need to be coordinated this spring. If you are interested in learning more about this position, please contact me at
[email protected].
International Nights Coordinator
The PTA would like to bring back an Abingdon tradition of hosting International Nights. We are looking for a few parent volunteers to help coordinate entertainment for the events, that we hope to have in the new cafeteria in February and April. If you are interested in helping plan these exciting evenings, please contact me at
[email protected].
Bulletin Board Coordinator
The PTA has a bulletin board located just inside the main entrance. We are looking for a few volunteers to update and decorate it monthly.
If you are interested in helping with the bulletin board, please contact me at
[email protected]
.
PTA Meeting Guest Speaker Discusses Title I Benefits
In case you missed it, we had a very informative PTA meeting in December, featuring a presentation by the APS Title I Coordinator. Abingdon qualifies for this program, as we have more than 53% of our kids receiving free or reduced lunches. This program provides invaluable funding to Abingdon to support additional staffing for reading instruction. A typical non-Title I elementary school in Arlington has 1 or 1.5 reading staff, whereas Abingdon has 5 reading teachers! Title I funds also pay for our library nights, Teachers College training for our teachers, leveled books for our classrooms and the newly purchased Dreambox access for the student iPads. Check back next week to learn more about the topic for this month's PTA meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 17.
We hope you had a wonderful Winter Break and look forward to working with Abingdon families and staff this year!
