Cardinal Courier — April 24, 2023

President’s Message #

Dear Abingdon Friends and Families,

I am so very grateful for the many community members who have stepped up to serve on the PTA board next school year; however, please note that the Communications VP position is still vacant. This position requires a candidate who can provide quality and accurate communication in an effective and timely manner to inform our community about PTA activities and school events. Please reach out to me at [email protected] if you’re interested.

If you have any comments to share with our School Board, you can email them at [email protected], or our superintendent at [email protected], and/or reach out to individual school board members as well. I have heard from many fifth graders, families, and educators who have expressed concerns about the cancellation of the overnight component of the Outdoor Lab field trip for 5th grade students. I’m sharing a letter below that I recently sent to our superintendent and School Board in response to this decision:

Dear Dr. Durán and School Board Members:

I urge you to reconsider the “pause” on overnight trips to the Outdoor Lab and instead immediately resume overnight field trips for our Abingdon fifth graders.

This “pause” impacts Abingdon’s fifth grade kids who were scheduled to visit the Outdoor Lab during the first week of May. I have heard from many fifth grade Cardinals and educators who have expressed their disappointment and devastation about the overnight visit cancellation. Parents were informed that the scheduled overnight trip would be a series of day trips.

The Outdoor Lab has been providing exceptional and enriching experiences to Arlington students for decades. Many Arlingtonians — including one of Abingdon’s fifth grade teachers — have fond memories of their overnight experiences at the Outdoor Lab.

As you know, this memorable experience is a rite of passage for our fifth graders in Arlington. The camaraderie and bonding amongst our 106 fifth grade students from this shared experience is immeasurable.

Additionally, these fifth grade students have also missed out on other indelible childhood experiences (e.g., Jamestown field trip) due to COVID-related pandemic cancellations. It is upsetting for our students to miss so many school milestones and fun, monumental experiences. This camping trip was heralded as a long-promised return to normalcy that our children so desperately need and deserve.

A Native American proverb is painted in the Outdoor Lab dining hall: “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Please allow our school children to be a part of this longstanding tradition. Please reinstate overnight field trips at the Outdoor Lab for our fifth graders.

Thank you kindly for considering this request to support our 106 fifth grade Cardinals.

Gratefully,
Sharon Burd
Abingdon PTA President

📅 Dates #

• April 28 (5:30 PM) — International & Cultural Heritage and History Night
• May 3 — Early Release (Professional Learning)
• May 3 (6:00 - 7:30 PM) — Abingdon Art Show
• May 9 — Spring Picture Day
• May 9 (7:00 PM) — PTA General Membership Meeting
• May 21 (9:30-11:30 AM) — Abingdon Community Garden Workday

🆕 New #

🎨 Art Show Volunteers Needed #

Volunteers Needed to help Ms. Muscarella and Ms. Barnes prep for the AMAZING Abingdon Art show. Please consider volunteering in the coming days to help. Email [email protected] or [email protected].

🙋 Nominations Committee Report #

The Abingdon Elementary PTA’s Nominating Committee would like to report the following nominees for the 2023-2024 school year:

Thank you to all of those who have stepped up to lead the PTA. The election will take place during the May 9 General Membership meeting. If you are interested in serving as the VP for Communications next year, please reach out to [email protected].

📸 Picture Day is Tuesday, May 9 #

Lifetouch Picture Day order forms will be placed in teacher’s mailboxes to be distributed in students’ backpacks this week. If you would prefer to pay online, visit the Lifetouch site and enter Abingdon’s Picture Day ID: EVTQQX7NR.

The PTA needs help making Abingdon’s Picture Day run smoothly. Individual portraits and class pictures will be taken. If you’re interested in helping, contact [email protected].

💰 Staff Grants Program #

The PTA has been excited to deliver many grant materials requested from Abingdon staff. Most recently, the PTA delivered STEM bin materials to Ms. Edmonds. Abingdon’s 2nd grade students will use these STEM activity bins to help foster creativity and problem-solving. The PTA is thankful for the grant requests that we received from Abingdon staff on how we can use our resources and leverage the community to meet the needs of our student population.

👉 Reminders #

🗺️ International & Cultural Heritage & History Night #

Abingdon’s Annual International & Cultural Heritage and History Night is RETURNING, April 28th from 5:30-7:30PM!

We will celebrate the diversity of our cultures, heritages, and histories.

Our event will begin promptly at 5:30 PM in the gym where we will enjoy performances on the stage. Please grab a seat and enjoy. Following the performances, starting around 6:30, performers will be teaching and showcasing their cultural activity with engaged participants that would like to stick around. From 6:30-7:30 PM, we invite you to pick up a passport & explore the countries our community is from. Food provided by you, our community, will showcase our various cultures. Join your friends … make new friends, while enjoying foods from around the world in the cafeteria! Grab a plate. Don’t forget to grab a ticket to enjoy Shaved Ice or Pupusas on the Black Top while smiling as you practice your Double Dutch skills.

If you have not yet RSVP’d, please use the following link to let us know if you will be attending. We encourage families to consider sharing a dish from your culture, dress in traditional cultural attire, and invite you to share a cultural performance or tradition with the community.

We are STILL in NEED of VOLUNTEERS. This event is a success only with your participation. Beyond joining in the fun, we also need volunteers to set up, work the event, and clean up at the end of the night. Please consider offering your time! Use the following link or email [email protected]

🏃‍♀️ Girls on the Run Buddy Runners #

Girls on the Run is looking for Buddy Runners for our upcoming 5K. Please consider registering using this link. The event is the culmination of our first year’s successful Girls on the Run team at Abingdon. We will run/walk/jog together with the students on the team on Sunday, May 21, at BASIS Independent School (8000 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102). If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or [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!
• 🥞 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

👉 Miscellaneous Reminders #

• 🐕 Dogs are not permitted on school grounds.
• 🧥 Stop by the Lost & Found area in front of the school to pick up your item. If you would like to volunteer to tidy up the area and return labeled items to student’s classrooms, reach out to [email protected]
• ✏️ 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.
• 💻 Tech Night: Join us in the school library on June 1 from 6–7 PM for an information session to review ParentVue, the Acceptable Use Policy, how to access all APS resources, along with best practices for Digital Citizenship. Parents of students in all grades are welcome. Detective Tiffanie McGuire of the Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit will give a presentation about Digital Citizenship.
• ✍️ SOL dates:

🏢 Countywide Information #

• Click here to order ten free books to receive this summer through the Title I Summer Mailbox Books program. More information about the program is available here.
• Washington-Liberty is hosting a robotics day on April 29. More information can be found here.
• The Arlington Community Foundation is fundraising to support eight Title I elementary schools in Arlington. If you would like to support after school enrichment scholarships for Arlington Students, and/or specifically for Abingdon students, please visit: https://arlcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1825.

🔜 Coming Soon #

🎉🍎Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8th-12th. We are so excited to celebrate our amazing Abingdon Educators and recognize them for all they do. Please use the following Amazon Wish List to donate to our week of events. We are also looking for specific donated food/baked goods and volunteers. Please check out this sign up genius to donate to support during the week’s events! If you haven’t added your name to our volunteer list, please do! Look for an email coming soon for volunteer support.

💡 Updates #

👕 Abingdon Spirit Gear is on its way! If you ordered new spirit apparel they should be arriving mid week. We will be sending them to your students’ classroom teacher and will update you as soon as they are in. Once they have been sent home, we are excited to host a spirit day!

🛍️ 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 Holographic Sticker $5
• 2022-2023 Abingdon Yearbook $15
• 2019-2020 Abingdon Yearbook $15
• 2018-2019 Abingdon Yearbook $15

🫶 Volunteer with Us #

• School Garden — To receive updates about garden volunteer opportunities, please sign up here.
• Translators — We are looking for volunteers who could translate PTA flyers in the following languages: Amharic and Arabic. Please contact [email protected] if you can assist with this effort.
• 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].

🙏 Thank You #

• Thank you kindly to Ms. Kim and Ms. Crittenden for generously co-teaching our students at the Cardinal Chinese Club. We had a terrific spring semester introducing our flock to language and culture.
• A special thank you to the International Spy Museum, Kings Dominion, Oriental Trading, and Greenstreet Gardens for providing very generous donations to our Abingdon Earth Day Celebration event. Additionally, thank you to the Washington Nationals and the National Children’s Museum for providing generous ticket vouchers for Abingdon’s MLK Day of Service Garden Workday.
• Thank you to the 130 shoppers who have signed up for Harris Teeter (HT) retail rebates — you have raised $1,237.20 so far this school year! The HT’s Together in Education Program program wraps up on May 31st this school year, and we are thankful to everybody who has contributed to it!
• Thank you to Abingdon parent Ellen for compiling and organizing the PTA lovelines for our school yearbook!
• We had a ribbon cutting ceremony with Yorktown High School student and Troop 106 Scout Thomas to spotlight his generous contribution - a custom built garden shed - for Abingdon! It was terrific to see the kids learn about his Eagle Scout project, weed the garden, and pick up litter. A thank you to all of our volunteers for coming out to the Abingdon Earth Day Celebration!