Published for the Arts Based School Community
February 25, 2021
ReOpening School Plans
The Arts Based School Board will consider the return to in-person learning at the next Board meeting on Tuesday, March 9.
We continue to prepare for the return to the classrooms for parents that choose that option for their child. We are committed to following all current required Health and Safety requirements. provided by NCDHHS.
We are working with three plans:
- K-5 would follow Plan A: Regular schedule, 4- 5 days a week, minimal distancing, mask mandatory.
- 6-8 would follow Plan B: 6 ft distancing, every other day attendance, mask mandatory.
- Some students would elect Plan C: Remote Learning - Joining the classroom instruction via Zoom while the teacher is teaching those in the classroom.
How Do I Stay Up to Date with School ReOpening Plans?
We’re doing our best to keep ABS families, staff, and community updated with the latest information about our School ReOpening. We will continue to provide information in multiple places, including direct email, Thursday Notes, and Virtual Parent Meetings. Our next virtual information meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10th at 12 pm. You will receive an invitation and link via your email from Evite. If you have specific topics or questions, please send them to us via this form so we can be sure to address them. Form to submit questions.
ReOpening School Information Meeting Recording-Feb 24, 2021
As we prepare for the eventual return to in-person learning, we will need our families and staff to work together to keep us all healthy and safe. Here are a few of the details we reviewed at the Parent Information meeting yesterday:
Arrival and Dismissal
- We will conduct health screenings and temperature checks for each student arriving on campus each day. We will do this in the car line before the parent drives away.
- Parents are asked to complete the health screening questions each morning in the Pikmykid app prior to arriving at school.
- Each family will receive a car dismissal tag for the new Pikmykid dismissal process. Car tags will be sent home via Materials Exchange.
Daily Health Screening Questions
- Has your child tested positive for COVID-19?
- Has your child had close contact with a person with COVID-19?
- Does your child or anyone in your household have these symptoms of COVID-19? If you have any of these symptoms, you should go home, stay away from other people, and call your healthcare provider.
- Fever of 100.4 or greater
- Cough
- Shortness of Breath
- Difficulty Breathing
- Chills
- Loss of Taste or Smell
- Vomiting/Diarrhea
- I have none of these symptoms
Students with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will not be permitted to attend school until they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours. Do not bring your child to school if they exhibit symptoms of COVID or have a temp of 100.4 or higher
Lunch without Masks
- We will strive to have lunch outside with children physically distanced but with masks removed.
- Students may bring a towel or yoga mat to sit upon.
- When lunch is inside, students will wait to talk and interact until their meal is finished and masks are back on.
PikMyKid App
In our ongoing efforts to enhance your children’s safety, we will begin using the PikMyKid dismissal app. This system will allow us to avoid congregating students at dismissal tents, leaving them inside the classrooms until you arrive in the pickup line. This also allows us to collect daily health screening questionnaires from each student before they arrive on campus.
Families who choose to return to in-person learning will need to download the PikMyKid parent smartphone app on IOS or Android. Once you have downloaded the app, you will press the “Register” button and follow the prompts to sign up. When you have successfully registered, please log in, allow notifications, and check to make sure that you see your ABS student(s) listed. If you do not see your child’s name, it is likely because we do not have your mobile phone information. Please contact Stephanie LeFever at [email protected]
If you do not have a smartphone or are unable to download the PikMyKid app for any reason, please email Leah Lavin so that we can help find a solution: [email protected].
See more information about downloading the app attached to the Thursday Notes email.
What can parents do to get ready for in-person learning?
- Download Pikmykid app to your phone.
- Have children practice wearing masks.
- Stayed tuned for updates.
- Continue to educate yourself and review the COVID safety protocols.
In-Person or Remote Learning Survey
We recently repeated our survey to gauge the community’s preference for remote learning and in-person learning. Thanks to all our parents and staff who participated in the survey. We had 265 responses. Based on current COVID conditions,
- 48.1% prefer in-person learning
- 39.8% prefer remote learning
- 12.1% are not sure yet
Virtual Conference Time is Coming
Soon your child’s teacher will be setting up conferences to discuss your child’s progress. Students attending the Arts Based School are assessed using a portfolio system in place of the traditional report card. The portfolio is designed to illustrate a student’s academic growth and successes as well as guide the teacher in planning appropriate instruction. Teachers at ABS do not issue letter grades until 6th grade. Teachers use observation, interviews, analysis of student work, and performance tasks to assess student understanding. Examples of student work, as well as other objective standards of assessments, are incorporated into the student’s portfolio to give an enhanced portrait of the student’s progress. These portfolios will be discussed and presented to parents during the virtual Student-Teacher-Parent conferences. Please be sure you schedule and attend your conference so that you can support your child’s learning.
Conference Days: March 5 Early Dismissal
- March 5: No live classes after 12 pm to allow time for conferences/prep
- March 8: No School/No Remote Learning
T-Shirts
Spring is nearly here! If you missed the first round of orders, it’s not too late! Our beautiful new ABS shirts were designed by Ellen Heck, and are printed locally on high-quality cotton t-shirts. As soon as they are ready, you may pick them up in the MLK lobby. (We’ll email you to let you know.) We will place our next order on March 5, so place your order here today!
Cinderella! Free from Piedmont Opera
Arts Based School students and staff are invited to watch Piedmont Opera’s performance of Cinderella, by Pauline Viardot, for free! Live streamed on Friday, March 19 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, March 21 at 2:00 pm. Thank you to state representative of Forsyth County, Senator Paul Lowe, for this gift.
Sign up for free live stream access here: https://forms.gle/cQnhXt2easBFKQWu8
This opera will be sung in English and the length of the performance is approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes with no intermission.
Parent Council News
Last week's parent council meeting notes and recording are available on the parent council page of our website.
Thank you for participating in the remote learning survey! We had over 250 responses and are putting together a report to share with you all and the greater school community soon! If you have any additional questions or comments, always feel free to reach out via our comment box. https://www.artsbasedschool.com/apps/pages/parent-council
- Grade level Zooms: Keep an eye out for invitations to grade level Zooms from your class reps. We hope you will participate in these! If you would like to help organize more of these events, please let us know!
Teacher Vaccine Update
Gov. Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina will move into Group 3 for coronavirus vaccinations on Feb. 24. Education workers will be prioritized in this group, with other essential workers being added on March 10, according to Gov. Cooper. During this time, people that are in Group 1 and Group 2 are still eligible to receive the vaccination. The Forsyth County Public Health Department has opened a block of time exclusively for ABS teachers/staff to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination Friday, February 26.