Published for the Arts Based School Community
June 26, 2025
First Day of School - Monday, August 11 (Staggered entry for Kindergarten)
Staffing Updates
We’re excited to announce several staffing updates. It's an important time of the year as we look for the next great teachers to join the ABS team. We get to meet many wonderful educators during the process who are inspired by the way we teach children. Here's the lineup for 2025-26:
Kindergarten North:
Matthew Greene, Nicole Londoño, Missy Warren
Kindergarten South:
Christi Barnes, Kenya Heck
First Grade North:
Heather Cruz, Rebecca Parker, Mary Rogers
First Grade South:
Rachael Clarke, Tayah Fray
Second Grade North:
Katie Pipes, Nicole Rebhan, Caroline Soesbee
Second Grade South:
Anne Campbell, Caitlyn Ward
Third Grade North:
Jenn Abbe (formerly Fletcher), Alexandria Brady, Aysia Hargrove
Third Grade South:
Isaiah Chaney, Lauren Munoz
Fourth Grade North:
Ashley Brady, Amanda McGarry-Pike, Kelly Robertson
Fourth Grade South:
Jehn Boyd, Kaela Preston
Fifth Grade:
Laura Lynne Frazier, Monique Johnson, Renee Meeks
Sixth Grade:
Alysha Christian, Alex DeJarnette, Adam Tate
Seventh/Eighth Grades:
Melissa Cleland, LeeAnn Farrell, Anna Hoffman, Lenora McNamara, Thom Woosley
The Arts North:
Mary Boudreault, Trish Goldberg, KaRonne McNeill, Jordan Brown, Elizabeth Gledhill, Chris Reichmeier
The Art South:
Lauren Alzamora, Marti Bessinger, Taylor Payne
PE:
Bri Pierce & Ally Shelton
Kindergarteners Staggered Start
ABS kindergarten students begin the school year with a staggered start. Students in kindergarten will be assigned their first day of school when they receive their class placement. We schedule a third of each class to attend to help students acclimate to their school day and routine. Kindergarteners will only attend one of the first days, either Monday (8/11), Tuesday (8/12), or Wednesday (8/13). Then all kindergarteners will attend together starting Thursday, August 14. The staggered entry schedule does not affect a student’s attendance record.
Kindergarten Required Forms
Parents of kindergarten students are required to provide the school with a copy of the child’s birth certificate, immunization record, and NC Kindergarten Health Assessment form.
Value of Volunteering
Of course, each of you knows that volunteering is an important commitment that each family makes to our school. We ask each family to volunteer one hour per week for each child enrolled at ABS. We welcome and encourage parents to volunteer in a variety of ways—we know that you are people of many talents! Our volunteers help in the classrooms and with schoolwide projects. Ongoing volunteer opportunities are also posted throughout the year in our Thursday Notes. Check out our Volunteer Handbook to learn more.
Solar Panels Grants
We’re excited to announce that ABS has been awarded the 2025 NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools grant! Thanks to the support of board member Jay Kumar, who was instrumental in securing this opportunity, we’ll soon have solar panels installed on the roof inside our courtyard. These panels will provide clean energy to help charge our electric school bus and serve as a hands-on learning tool for students, bringing real-world STEAM education into the classroom.
ABS T-shirts
We are happy to offer a fresh round of Arts Based School t-shirts! All shirts are a soft blended fabric available in youth and adult sizes.. Deadline to order is July 11, closes at midnight tonight. All orders will ship to ABS (unless you elect to have them shipped to your home for an additional fee). We will sort orders and have them ready for pickup at Special Visits, August 5th and 6th.
ABS Summer Camps
Only 5 spots remaining in our ABS Kindergarten summer camp with Mrs. Nicole Londono and Mrs. Rosy Warren-Windfelder! Rising Kindergarten students will explore our classrooms, make new friends, and engage in exciting activities like painting, oil pastels, watercolor, and games that combine literacy, math, bubbles, and playdoh. It’s a great way for your child to get familiar with their future learning space while having fun in a hands-on, enriching environment.
*If you are interested as a new kindergartner OR returning kindergartner, or new to ABS in general, please contact Ashley Tate to register at [email protected]. The cost is $250 per student for the week of July 7th-July 11th and the camp runs M-F, 9am-2pm.
First Case of Measles Identified in North Carolina
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed a case of measles in a child who was visiting Forsyth and Guilford counties. The child became ill while traveling to NC from another country where measles outbreaks have recently been reported. To protect the individual and their family’s privacy, no additional information about this individual will be released. This is the first confirmed case of measles in the state in 2025. NCDHHS is recommending all unvaccinated individuals ages one year and older receive measles vaccination to protect themselves and those around them.
NCDHHS is working closely with the Forsyth County Department of Public Health and Guilford County Health Department to identify locations and times where people might have been exposed to measles.
For more information visit Forsyth County Health Dept website.
School Calendar and Important Dates
The approved 2025-26 school calendar is available here, on our website or Student Calendar
Important dates coming up (details below):
- July 12: Parent Workday
- July 22: ABS North Campus Playdate
- July 23: ABS South Campus Playdate
- July 28: New Parent Orientation
- August 11: First Day of School (Staggered Entry dates for Kindergarten)
Calling All Volunteers! Help Us Get Ready for a Great New School Year!
As we continue to grow, especially with the exciting addition of fourth grade at our South Campus, we need your help! We’ll be relocating the library and several classrooms to create space, and we couldn’t do it without our amazing community.
We’re looking for parent volunteers to help on Saturday, July 12, 9am-12noon us move furniture, distribute materials, assemble shelves and classroom items, and more, at both North and South Campuses. Whether you can lift heavy things or lend a hand organizing, many hands make light work, and every bit of help makes a difference!
Double volunteer hours will be credited for your time during these moving days. Let us know you’re coming by signing up here.
ABS Family Portal Access
Access to our ABS Family Portal will be switching over to new credentials for the 2025-26 school year on July 1. Currently enrolled families will receive login information via email. The ABS Family Portal is your source for a great deal of information that is not publicly available on our website, including class lists, a family directory, links to videos of our past productions, and more.
Ways to get involved and learn more about ABS:
- Follow us on Social Media
- 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