President’s Message #
Dear Abingdon Friends and Families,
We are thankful for the collaboration of so many hardworking educators and volunteers who work to carry out our PTA mission as set forth in our bylaws: “To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.”
For example, the school library magically turned into a bookstore this week with many carts of books featuring popular titles that students love. The PTA is delighted to partner with our school library to help raise much needed funds to replenish and update our school library collection. It was particularly heartwarming that the PTA — with much support from our community, neighbors, and a local business — came together to provide funding for our book fair voucher fund to help ensure that every student in need could participate in the book fair. These small acts of kindness bring collective joy to our children. A heartfelt thank you to our book fair coordinators Maureen, Emily, and Tina; our librarians Ms. Fatouros and Ms. Palacios; and our many dedicated PTA book fair volunteers — for creating such a spectacular and engaging experience for us all.
We are delighted to kick off the Read-A-Thon fundraiser next week. As you may know, the purpose of this fundraiser is twofold: 1) encourage our students’ reading and 2) bring in the financial support necessary to support our students’ future. The Read-a-Thon is our largest fundraiser of the year and is critical in supporting our programs, including our events (Winter Wonderland Ice Skating, Trunk or Treat), staff appreciation, and staff grants. Make sure to sign up your reader here: https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/AwAipj.
Stay engaged and connected with us as we continue advocating for our Cardinals: Facebook, Twitter, www.abingdonpta.org, and WhatsApp groups. Please reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions or comments to share with us. Thank you for providing so much love and care to our Abingdon flock.
Gratefully,
Sharon Burd
P.S. Don’t forget to purchase your Spirit Wear and Yearbook Loveline(s)!
📅 Dates #
- March 10 (6:30 PM): Family Movie Night
- March 13 (8:00 AM): Spring Enrichment Signup
- March 13-24: Read-a-thon
- March 14 (7 pm - 8 pm): PTA General Membership Meeting
- March 15: Early Release
- March 27 (6 pm - 7 pm): Abingdon Tech Night
🆕 New #
📚 Abingdon Read-A-Thon Starts Next Week #
Get ready to read! We celebrate the love of reading with our annual Read-A-Thon. The whole school will log reading minutes from March 13th through March 24th. Each participating student will get a prize, and we will recognize the reader with the most minutes in each grade. There’s also an exciting frozen treats party for two classes with the most minutes, so make sure your student gets to help reach that goal!
This event is also the largest PTA fundraiser during the year, making many of our programs and events possible. Please set up your child’s page today — https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/AwAipj — so that they can record their minutes and collect donations from friends, family members, and neighbors.
While the Book Swap is cancelled, the teachers and literacy team will be making sure that your students have plenty of books to choose from throughout the Read-A-Thon. The Abingdon PTA will also be replenishing the Free Little Library in the school library too!
🎨 Register for Spring Enrichment Classes on Monday, March 13 #
It’s time to register for the Spring Session of after-school enrichment classes! The Abingdon PTA is partnering with Baroody Camps to offer this program.
Classes will meet April 11 – June 2. Families may view the list of classes and register for them here: https://bc-arl-abingdon.jumbula.com/#/spring-2023
Registration will open on Monday, March 13 at 8 AM. Signups will operate according to our usual first-come-first-served registration method.
👋 PTA General Membership Virtual Meeting on Tuesday, March 14 #
- Who: Teachers, Parents, Guardians, Students, Community Members
- What: March 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: Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 7:00 PM EST
- Why: We will have a Q&A with Principal Horak, and discuss opportunities to engage with the Abingdon Community. Additionally, virtually meet & greet the Abingdon Literacy Team. Their presentation will provide a brief overview of how our literacy team support our students, and how you can support your student’s learning at home!
The meeting agenda is available here: https://www.abingdonpta.org/agendas/2023-03-14. Live Spanish translation will be provided.
📽️ Family Movie Night Tonight #
Abingdon’s DEI Committee is presenting Family Movie Night tonight, featuring “Wonder,” rated PG.
- When: Friday, March 10 at 6:30 PM (Doors open at 6:00)
- Where: Abingdon’s Gym
Come celebrate our school’s diversity and practice embracing acceptance of ourselves and others. Discussion questions will be provided.
All are welcome. Keep in mind this film is geared toward children grades 2-5.
Guidelines:
- Bring your own blanket for comfort.
- No outside food is allowed.
- Parents must stay to supervise their children.
- Movie theater behavior is expected.
🎧 Student iPads Going Home (Grades 3-5) #
Starting March 6, students in grades 3-5 will be permitted to take home their APS issued iPad for instructional use. More information about APS’s Acceptable Use Policy, how to connect the wifi, Digital Citizenship, and more can be found on our school website. This information and more will be covered during the ABD Tech Night Event Monday, 3/27 from 6-7pm in the Library. All are welcome!
💻 Cardinal Coding Club Spring Session #
ATTENTION: Future computer scientists. We’re excited to offer a spring session for the Cardinal Coding Club. Ms. Molly Fisher, Abingdon’s Instructional Technology Coordinator (ITC), will model how to plan, develop, and create a story using Scratch. The PTA is excited to continue its partnership with Boolean Girl, a local non-profit, whose mission is to engage students in computer science. Additional details can be found here: https://www.abingdonpta.org/2023/02/22/cardinal-coding/. Register here: https://www.hisawyer.com/booleangirl/schedules/activity-set/457682
🏃 8th Annual Fairlington 5K & Family Fun Run #
Please join us Sat., April 29 at Abingdon Elementary for the 8th Annual Fairlington 5K & Family Fun Run. Proceeds support Abingdon Field Day festivities and a former Abingdon student with a rare brain and spinal cord condition called LBSL. Sign up for the race at www.Fairlington5K.com before March 24th for the early bird discount!
👉 Reminders #
- Are you interested in an easy, after school volunteer activity that you can do with your kids? We are looking for more volunteers to help with our weekly Thursday snack bin replenishing. You can volunteer for one time or lots of times! To volunteer, click here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4aacab2aaaff2-abingdon1
- Policy & procedure reminder - If you are visiting Abingdon, you must check into the Front Office. If you are volunteering in the building, you must have a background check done before you start. Please be mindful that while you a welcome community member in our building, any visits to spaces in the building with students must be arranged with a staff member or the PTA.(Abingdon SchoolTalk 2/22/23)
- Abingdon Yearbook Lovelines for sale until March 15! Leave a special message for your student. The cost is $5 per entry. (Additional donations are welcome - all funds will be going toward providing our 5th graders with a free yearbook.) Additional info here: https://www.abingdonpta.org/2023/02/14/lovelines
🔜 Coming Soon #
- SAVE THE DATE! Abingdon’s spring picture day has been rescheduled (from March 14) to Tuesday, May 9, 2023.