Published for the Arts Based School Community
Sept 18, 2025
We are an A+ school!
The A+ organization defines itself as “a whole-school reform model that views the arts as fundamental to teaching and learning in all subjects. A+ Schools combine interdisciplinary teaching and daily arts instruction, offering children opportunities to develop creative, innovative ways of thinking, learning and showing what they know. In A+ Schools, teaching the state’s mandated curriculum involves a collaborative, many-disciplined approach, with the arts continuously woven into every aspect of a child’s learning.”
Our school developed independently and unaware of the A+ network, until we discovered their parallel values and goals, and joined them in the summer of our third year of operations. Now, we have built friendships and relationships that buoy and inspire us, and we benefit from our membership via staff development, visits from A+ Fellows, meetings, and on-line connections with like-minded educators. We also provide tours for schools who are considering joining the network, so they can see a model of arts integration. Like other A+ teachers, we sing and dance and draw and improvise. We examine state standards in other subjects such as math, science, language arts, and social studies, and we investigate new ways to help kids discover the connections between and among them all. A+ always alerts us to upcoming changes in curricular expectations from the state, and their team of energetic, creative experts make suggestions for arts connections that we can use as springboards to new goals.
To learn more about the A+ Schools organization, visit https://aplus-schools.ncdcr.gov/about
mClass/DIBELS Results Sent Home
Kindergarten through third-grade students will receive HomeConnect/DIBELS results in their Thursday Packets today. Please take some time to review these results. This assessment is required for kindergarten through third-grade students to help teachers assess, track and support each student’s reading skills. Each student will be assessed every trimester. Teachers will use this data to focus their instruction around your child’s specific needs, in areas that may include:
- Hearing and using sounds in spoken words (Phonemic Awareness)
- Knowing sounds of letters and sounding out written words (Alphabetic Principle)
- Reading words in stories easily, quickly, and correctly (Accuracy and Fluency)
- Understanding what they read (Reading Comprehension).
After each assessment period you receive a letter outlining your child’s specific assessment results and progress as a reader. The letter includes learning activities you and your child can do together at home to reinforce skills learned at school. Parent support and reading at home are a vital part of your child’s education. The teacher’s efforts, combined with your support, will help your child read with mastery and confidence. If you have any questions about the assessment, the activities, or your child’s classroom work and progress, please talk to your child’s teacher.
ABS Board Retreat
The Arts Based School is governed by the ABS Board of Directors. This is a voluntary board comprised of community leaders, business people, educators, and parents committed to the success of our school and its mission. The Board of Directors convenes a monthly meeting on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:45 pm at the school. Board meetings are open to the public.
Last Saturday, the ABS Board and School Leadership Team met for the annual Board Retreat. We used our time to dig into the challenges of the school budget, strategic planning, and fundraising opportunities, as well as an arts experience with African Drumming. Thanks to our board members and SLT members for spending their Saturday supporting the school. If you are interested in learning more about our Board of Directors visit our website
Curriculum Night
Thank you for our families and teachers for making curriculum night a success! Hopefully, you had the opportunity to learn more about your child’s classroom and what to expect in their education this year. Please consider providing us feedback about the evening in this short survey so we know what works well and what we can improve. Thanks!
ABS Family Directory
This year’s Family Directory will be published behind the Parent Portal of our website by October 1st! Families who opted out of the directory or did not complete the required form are not listed. This information includes student name and parent email address and is provided only for school-related communications. If you’d like to make any changes to your contact information or be added to the directory, please email Director Hollis
Code Ninjas! Grades 5-8
Code Ninjas is offering an exciting afterschool program, Coding and Computational Thinking with LEGO® SPIKE Prime, at the North Campus for students in grades 5–8. This 6-week program runs every Wednesday from October 15th to November 19th, with classes meeting from 2:50–4:00 PM. Students will build and program their own LEGO Spike robots while learning coding skills, problem-solving, and teamwork, all in a fun and creative environment. The cost for the program is $225, and space is limited, so be sure to sign up soon! Click this link to see the flyer and sign up!
Parent Council News
Parent Council Meeting
Our September Parent Council Meeting will be held on Friday, Sept 19at 8:30am at the South Campus cafe (962 Mock St). Please park in the bottom parking lot if you are attending in person. A zoom link for those preferring to attend virtually. Here’s the agenda
Pizza Friday T-shirts!
We’re excited to share that one of our ABS parents has designed special Pizza Friday T-shirts for our school community! Each shirt purchase includes a $5 donation to the Parent Council. Youth shirts are $20 and adult shirts are $25. Shirts can be paid for conveniently through Venmo or PayPal. Don’t miss out—orders are due by 10/2/25. Click here to order yours!
ABS Book Fairs September 29-October 3, PLUS Fall Fest!
The Scholastic Book Fairs are coming!! Exciting news! We will have a fair set up at both North and South Campuses! The North Campus will also be extended to be open at Fall Fest which will be a great way to grant those wish lists AND enjoy Fall Fest!
We will NEED YOUR HELP! Volunteer signup is LIVE! This is a really fun opportunity to get volunteer hours during the school day and during Fall Fest.
Sign up to volunteer here for North Campus: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4FABAF22A4FD0-57973274-north
Sign up to volunteer here for South Campus: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4FABAF22A4FD0-57973322-south
Please visit the links below to sign up for an E-Wallet account*, see the fair schedule, view the book fair flyer, or shop our online book fair.
North Campus Book Fair link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/artsbasedschoolnorth
South Campus Book Fair link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/artsbasedschoolsouth
*Set up an E-wallet account so your student can shop the Fair cash-free. If you have multiple children, you must create a separate account for each child, be sure to use the correct fair link.
Every purchase you make at the book fairs earns money towards new books for ALL CLASSROOM libraries and BOTH SCHOOL LIBRARIES! More than half of all dollars spent at the book fairs go directly to purchase books for the school!
Questions can be directed to Kristen Faulkner, Book Fair Chairperson at [email protected]
ABS Fall Fest-Saturday, October 4 | 12–3 PM
Join us for an afternoon of fun, food, and community at the ABS Fall Fest! Details in next week's Thursday Notes!
Around Town…
Bookmarks Festival of Books- Sept 25-28
The 20th Annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors is coming soon! Visit the website or stop at the bookstore to pick up your festival program and start to plan your day.
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