Dear Primary Families,

As you are aware, we recently heard the good news that Kindergarten students are allowed to return to school.  We are very excited to welcome back KG 1, 2 & 3 students to our ABIS campus in person on January 17.  KG3 will remain online until that day and KG 1 & 2 parents will have the opportunity for individual meetings with Ms. Lauma between now and then.  It will be wonderful to have the youngest members of our learning community back on campus, and contributing to the positive energy of our daily school life.

All ABIS students will participate in online learning during the first 2 weeks of 2021, allowing everyone who has traveled to isolate and providing a safe environment for everyone upon our return to school on January 17. During this time students will be working towards sharing their unit of inquiry learning, with a special focus on science.  Primary grade levels will contribute towards our Primary Science Fair website, and once ready this will be virtually shared with parents.  It’s a unique opportunity for students to communicate their learning in a different way, and we are looking forward to seeing the creative projects students will come up with.

Ms. Margot Simonds, our Information Literacy teacher, has begun to organize the Primary library and take inventory of our resources.  This is a big task, and we are asking all students and teachers to return books that have been borrowed from ABIS as soon as possible.  Some books have been borrowed in previous years and may be well buried in your home bookshelves!  Please help your child(ren) to have a look through your house and bring back any library or classroom materials that are not currently being used.

This week you received a Newsflash requesting that  you register your child for face to face or online learning for Jan. 17. Most students are now back in person, and teachers will be able to best plan and prepare for the return to school when they are confident about the numbers.  Thank you for filling out this form as soon as possible.

Thank you for ensuring that all students had ABIS clothing for our photo day this week.  Students looked great and I actually got to see the smiles behind the masks! We even had some of our online students on campus for their photos and they loved seeing their classmates in person.  Today you received a Newsflash with links to the photos and instructions for ordering.  If you have any questions at all, please send Ms Eiman an email: e.alrisi@abisoman.com

There is only one more week of school left before winter break begins.  I know many students are ready for a change, a rest from the routines of school and some quality time with families.  I encourage everyone to use this upcoming time to read and relax together on a daily basis.  Studies show that reading for pleasure on a daily basis has a huge impact on long term student achievement.  Find some great books to enjoy together during the holiday!

Enjoy your weekend, Maeve