President’s Message #
Dear Abingdon Friends and Families,
We truly appreciate everybody who has given their time, energies, and talent to support the Abingdon PTA and our school community. As I reflect back on the past year, I am reminded of the garden challenges we have encountered (e.g. a wheelbarrow’s flat tire, vandalism and theft, and plant diseases) and the strong network of people who care and give their time to help. Many of our Cardinals are especially thankful for the sweet strawberries and the three types of garden-fresh tomatoes that our friends from Thomas Jefferson Middle School gifted our garden.
To that end, the Abingdon PTA is thrilled to announce that local high school student Thomas Totten will be building a custom garden shed as a part of his Eagle Scout Project Plan for the Abingdon Community Garden. We greatly admire Thomas’ thoughtful input and leadership to execute this much-needed project.
You may be interested to know that former PTA president Libby Garvey shared with me that during her time at Abingdon in the 1990s, many families had gathered over a cast iron pot with food from the Abingdon garden to make soup. As we celebrate both the successes and challenges of the garden, the stone soup story is a reminder that the Abingdon PTA is a reflection of our community’s strength.
What we do collectively (e.g., Holiday Gift Card Drive in support of 40 Abingdon families, staff grant program, teachers’ wishlist, connecting families via our new student directory) enhances our family-school partnership. It is particularly heartwarming to see students’ joy at dismissal after they have returned from a memorable and educational school field trip. I enjoy how our organization, like the school garden, nurtures friendships and celebrates our rich diversity.
We hope you will consider staying engaged and connected with us as we continue advocating for our Cardinals: Facebook, Twitter, www.abingdonpta.org, and WhatsApp groups. Please reach out at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments to share with us. Thank you for your commitment to elevating our Cardinal flock’s elementary experience.
Wishing you health and happiness.
Gratefully,
Sharon Burd
P.S. Please visit the school garden (handy garden map) and see the plants that have been gifted from many friends in our community. Let me know if you would like me to give you a garden tour too.
📅 Save the Dates #
- Wednesday, December 7, 2022: Early Release (Professional Learning for Staff)
- Thursday, December 8, 2022: Abingdon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Meeting (3:00 pm - 4:00 pm, Room 220)
- Monday, December 12, 2022 - Friday, December 16, 2022: Abingdon Winter Spirit Week! (Please see the flyer below for details.)
- Monday, December 12, 2022: Baroody Afterschool Winter Class Registration Opens
- Tuesday, December 13, 2022: Abingdon Title I School-Family Partnership Coffee Chat (7:30 am - 8:15 am, Art Room 143/144)
- Tuesday, December 13, 2022: PTA General Membership Meeting (7 pm - 8 pm)
- Monday, December 19, 2022 - Friday, December 30, 2022: No School (Winter Break)
- Monday, January 2, 2023: No School (New Year’s Day Observed)
- Monday, January 9, 2023: Middle School Information Night (6 pm - 7 pm)
- Tuesday, January 10, 2023: PTA General Membership Meeting (7 pm - 8 pm)
- Saturday, January 14, 2023: MLK Day of Service Garden Cleanup (10 am - 12 pm)
- Monday, January 16, 2023: No School (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
Note: View and subscribe to the PTA calendar on our website here.
🏫 Register for After-School Enrichment Winter Classes #
Registration for Winter after-school enrichment classes through Baroody Camps will open on Monday, December 12 at 8:00 am. Enrichment classes start on January 17. The Abingdon PTA is coordinating with vendor Baroody and Abingdon staff to offer these wonderful classes such as ballet, engineering, clay, and science. Register here: https://bc-arl-abingdon.jumbula.com/#/winter-2023
👋 PTA General Membership Virtual Meeting on Tuesday, December 13! #
- Who: Teachers, Parents, Guardians, Students, Community Members
- What: December General Membership Virtual Meeting
- Where:
For security reasons, we do not share Zoom meeting codes on our website. Please subscribe to the email edition of our newsletter to make sure you receive PTA meeting codes.
- When: December 13, 2022 - 7:00 PM EST
- Why: We will have a Q&A with Principal Horak, and discuss opportunities to engage with the Abingdon Community. Additionally, the Math Team will walk parents through a day in the life of a student in Math Workshop at Abingdon, followed by some tips for supporting math at home and time for questions.
Meeting agenda to be posted here soon: https://www.abingdonpta.org/agendas/2022-12-13.
Live Spanish translation will be provided by Ms. Delgado.
☝ Reminders: #
- Dogs are not permitted on school grounds.
- Stop by the Lost & Found next to the front office to pick up your item. Labeled items have been returned to the student’s classroom by a volunteer.
❤️🖤 Abingdon Winter Spirit Week! #
☕ Abingdon Title I School-Family Partnership Coffee Chat #
You are invited to join the Abingdon staff for coffee and bagels on Tuesday morning, December 13, 2022, at 7:30 am - 8:10 am, to learn about how Title I funding supports our Cardinal flock. The coffee chat will be held in Room 143/144 (the art room).
🛍️ Abingdon PTA Gift Store #
If you are interested in purchasing any of the following items, reach out to [email protected]. All proceeds support the Abingdon PTA Budget.
- Abingdon Car Magnet $5
- Abingdon Baseball Cap $15
- Abingdon Water Bottle $15
- 2022-2023 Abingdon Yearbook $20
- Abingdon Holographic Sticker $5
- Abingdon Vinyl Sticker $5
🫶 Volunteer with Us #
Please complete the PTA’s volunteer form so that we can learn more about your interests, skills, and availability. We would love to match you with a volunteer opportunity or an ongoing role that works for you. Additionally, APS requires that all parents volunteering in the building complete an APS Volunteer Application; submit the application if you have not already done so this year or last school year. To initiate the process, complete the English or Spanish application, and email [email protected]. More info here.
Sign up for our volunteer opportunities:
- Chinese Language Club — Would you like to help co-launch an after school club in January focusing on writing characters and learning about culture and traditions? If so, reach out to [email protected].
- School Garden — To receive updates about garden volunteer opportunities, please sign up here.
- PTA Diversity Coordinator — The PTA is looking for a Diversity Coordinator to collaborate with Abingdon’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Abingdon’s Bilingual Family Liaison. If you are interested, please contact [email protected].
- Translators — We are looking for volunteers who could translate PTA flyers in the following languages: Mongolian, Amharic, and Arabic. Please contact [email protected] if you can assist with this effort.
- Copy Volunteer — We are looking for an additional copy volunteer to assist with copying and distributing black & white flyers to classroom teachers mailboxes on Monday morning (in preparation for Tuesday folder backpack mail). If you are eager to assist, reach out to [email protected].
- Lost & Found Coordinators — We hope to have a tidy Lost & Found where our Cardinals can easily search for their lost belongings. If you would like to assist in this endeavor, reach out to [email protected].
💞 Call for Donations #
🎁 Target Gift Cards: We asking our community to gift $25 Target gift cards to our 40 Abingdon families to support parents over the holiday season. Any and all Target gift card donations will be accepted. Please drop off in the Abingdon front office ATTENTION: PTA. There will be a lockbox in the front office storing these gift cards.
🧤 Coat Drive: Abingdon is having a coat drive to share the warmth for Abingdon students K-5. We are collecting coats, mittens, hats, gloves, and scarves in the school’s front office. For additional information contact [email protected].
💸 Passive Fundraising #
🧥 Mabel’s Labels Fundraiser. Help your warm coats and sweatshirts come home each day! Get labels through our Mabel’s Labels Fundraiser and support your Abingdon PTA!
📦 AmazonSmile. When you sign up here and shop on https://smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate 0.5% to Abingdon PTA. Friends, families, and neighbors are also invited to sign up too!
🛒 Grocery Rebates. Link your Harris Teeter VIC card to Abingdon Elementary (5748). Friends, families, and neighbors are also invited to link their VIC card to Abingdon as well. Scan the QR or sign up here: www.abingdonpta.org/fundraising.
🥞 Box Tops. Do you eat Cheerios or Go-GURT? Help us fundraise with BoxTops for Education. More info here: https://www.abingdonpta.org/fundraising/#box-tops-for-education.
🙏 Thank you! ¡Gracias! አመሰግናለሁ! Баярлалаа! شكرًا لك ! #
We are impressed with the generosity and selflessness of our volunteers and supporters.
- We are so grateful to Ms. Helen Staren for taking the time to knit so many beautiful kid beanies again for our Cardinals. Thank you for sharing the warmth!
- We greatly appreciate the translation assistance from Tammie, Teresa, and grandmother Ana.
- Thank you to our afterschool enrichment educators - Ms. Muscarella, Ms. Kingsley, and Ms. Fisher - who generously share their talents with our Cardinals at the after school enrichment programs.
- We sincerely appreciate Megan and Brad at our neighborhood bakery - Great Harvest Bread Co. - for donating freshly baked rolls to our Thanksgiving Sides Drive for Abingdon families.
- We are grateful to Monica at Trader Joe’s for the very generous donation of stuffing & reusable grocery tote bags for the PTA’s Thanksgiving Dinner Sides Drive.
- Thank you to Safeway for generously donating reusable grocery bags for our Thanksgiving Sides Drive.
- Many thanks to our snack pantry volunteers who assist with replenishing classroom snack pantry bins every week.
- A shout to Kay Houghton for gifting us so many boxes of yummy snacks for our PTA events.
- We appreciate Doug, JoJo, and Devin for lending a helping hand to move the PTA’s new fridge (generously donated by Claire) for our classroom snack pantry.
- Shout out to Mary for planning and organizing Abingdon’s Reflections Art Contest and Awards Ceremony. A heartfelt thank you to our judges too: Anya, Art Curator at the National Museum of the American Indian, and Joshua, Collections Curator at the Archives of American Art.
- Many thanks to our Election Day bakers and volunteers: Maureen, Jamie, Becca, Sarah, Amber, Sara, Katherine, Megan, Brie, McKenna, Courtney, and Grace. And thank you to our student volunteers - Isabel and Alice - who generously staffed the bake sale tables.
- A heartfelt thank you to Kathryn (and her wizard excel skills) for publishing a student directory for families to connect with one another.
✨ The Abingdon Cardinal loves reading in the school library! #
