Published for the Arts Based School Community
October 26, 2023
How We Do It and Why
By Mary Siebert
“When kids get the chance to meet the author of a book they’ve read, a special connection is made. They are energized, inspired, touched with a new appreciation for reading.”
- Dan Gutman, children’s book author
It’s National Book Month! We greatly appreciate the work of all of the volunteers who organized and ran our wonderful book fair last week. A room full of beautiful books is a delicious thing. The possibilities appear endless, and they are. It’s like a candy store, but healthier! How tantalizing, to graze through all of those facts and ideas, those adventures, those dreams between the pages!
Today, 1st Graders enjoyed a visit from author/illustrator Ashley Belote, who introduced her new book, Witch and Wombat, and guided students through a drawing activity. She described her creative process in creating a book, from both the standpoint of the story and the illustrations. She was cheerful, engaging, and perfectly fit her presentation to 1st-grade level. Students learned that Ms. Belote always wanted a cat when she was young, but because her mother was allergic to them, that dream was never realized. This experience inspired her book, in which a child who wants a cat gets a wombat instead…because the pet store is out of cats. So she puts little cat ears on her wombat…but nobody is fooled! In the end, she loves the wombat for who he is, and won’t trade him for a real cat.
We enjoy our relationship with Bookmarks, who made this visit possible (and will donate copies of the book to the school.) Over the years, we have had many adventures with hosting authors. Our students are always inspired, when they meet a published author, and it helps them see themselves as authors too. Some of our faves:
Writer and Caldecott-winning Illustrator Peter Brown ( The Wild Robot, The Curious Garden, Children Make Terrible Pets, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Creepy Carrots!)
Cartoonist, author, and illustrator Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Dogzilla)
Author Martha Brockenbrough (Alexander Hamilton, To Catch a Thief, Dinosaur Tooth Fairy)
And last year, the first book by Broadway star Idina Menzel, who wrote Loud Mouse with her sister, about her own childhood. Amazingly, Idina was here at ABS with our students, singing Let It Go just about one year ago.
We love books and the people who make them!
2nd Grade Videos
The 2nd grade videos of American Tapestry are now available on the Family Portal on the ABS website The password: Snohomish
Annual Giving
Thank you sincerely to everyone who has already contributed to this year’s campaign! We’ve received over 150 individual donations. We are already in the third week of the campaign, and we urgently need your support to make a difference for ABS! Annual Giving benefits every student in every classroom at ABS. From visiting artists to the ABS lunch program and beyond, your gift helps to make the ABS experience unique, genuine, and meaningful for every student.
Last year, thanks to your generosity, we had one of the best years ever for Annual Giving, and it was remarkable to see what we can accomplish together for our students and for our school. You are an important part of ABS and your support of Annual Giving matters. Please take a moment to give as generously as you are able! Making a recurring monthly gift is an excellent way to maximize your gift to ABS, as is sharing the call to action with your extended family and friends.
Total School Participation to Date: 30%
Total Gifts to Date: $49,525
To make your gift, send a check or visit https://www.artsbasedschool.com/apps/pages/giving
Thank you!
News from Parent Council
Next PC meeting Monday 11/27 at 530pm with reading presentation
Reminder to check the playground fence for lost items. Any items not claimed by the end of next week will be donated to a local school in need of coats for students.
Activity Fees
ABS is publicly funded and free to all students. We ask families to contribute a $40 activity fee each year to help cover the costs of our field trips, special arts activities, and more. Scholarships for the activity fee are available; please contact Angela Garner. You may pay your fee via mymealorder.com or by sending a check to the school. Thank you!
October Raffle Winners
Congratulations to our October Asst Principals for the Day- Autumn Meeks and Liam Ward. Each will spend a day shadowing the Principal and taking care of the important duties of the day. We hold drawings every month at Friday Sing! You can purchase raffle tickets online to give your child a chance to be Assistant Principal of the Day. Assistant Principals have their own desk, name tag, and list of very important duties for the day. All proceeds from the raffle support our teacher appreciation fund and allow us to do special things for our staff throughout the year. Thank you, and good luck!
Scholastic Book Fair Report:
We want to send a big thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the book fair a success! We also want to thank everyone who shopped at the fair! We are excited to announce we had a banner year for sales- we sold $21,712 in books/merchandise at the fairs which results in over 10,000 Scholastic Dollars that will be used to purchase books for the school libraries as well as all classroom libraries! You have a few more days until Oct. 29, if you want to order additional books, see the links below.
North Campus Book Fair link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/ABSNorth
South Campus Book Fair link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/ABSSouth
Halloween is Coming
Please do not send students to school in costumes. We all enjoy the fun and excitement of Halloween but find that costumes and accessories make it very difficult to concentrate. Also we do not want students to bring candy in their lunch bags for snacks. Although it can be delicious, high sugar snacks should not replace a healthy snack. Thanks for your help!
Prospective Parent Tours
School tours for prospective parents begin in October. They are scheduled weekly on Tuesdays at 9:30am at South Campus and Thursdays at 9:30am at North Campus. Each tour is limited to 10 adults in an effort to limit the disruption to our students and teachers in the classrooms. Parents interested in learning more about ABS and how to enroll their child, should contact the front office to sign up for a tour. 748-4116 ext 1023. Applications will be accepted beginning January 1. The lottery will be held the second Tuesday of February.
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