Arlington Science Focus School PTA

November 21, 2023

• Wednesday, November 22nd - Friday, November 24th: NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving)
• Saturday, December 2nd: Kidsgiving Fair (10-12pm, ASFS Multipurpose Room)
• Monday, December 4th - Friday, December 6th: ASFS Book Fair
• Wednesday, December 6th - EARLY RELEASE
• Wednesday, December 20th - ASFS Global Celebrations
• Thursday, December 21st - Friday, December 29th: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)
• Monday, January 1st: NO SCHOOL (New Years Day)

Please visit the ASFS Master Calendar for all 2023-24 school year dates.

A Message from the ASFS PTA President, Heather McDougle

This Thanksgiving week, I am especially thankful to our amazing ASFS community for your continued generosity and support of our students, families, teachers, and staff. 



On behalf of the PTA Executive Committee, we wish our ASFS families a very Happy Thanksgiving! 

Best,

Heather McDougle (ASFS PTA President)

Support ASFS

Annual ASFS Auction Space Needed! 



We need your help finding a low cost space for our Auction event! Do you know someone who owns/manages a restaurant/bar or event space and is willing to work with a non-profit PTA? Preferably located within the ASFS zone (Ballston, Clarendon, Courthouse, VA Square), but open to outside the immediate area. We need a fairly open space that fits ~ 250 adults + live band, etc. Tentative Date: evening of 2/24/23. 

If you can help, please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected]. Thanks in advance for your help!

Giving Tuesday is next week, but you don't have to wait until then to donate to the ASFS No Frills Fundraiser!

Thanks to everyone who already participated, we have raised over $11,000, on our way to our goal of $25,000! Help the PTA to sponsor Teacher Appreciation Week, the Great Artist Program, Field Day, Habitat Week, the annual Art Show and much, much more. 

Many ways to donate! 

Donate online at asfspta.com/nofrills, print out a form (https://wosomoso.com/library/files/33/documents/ASFSPTANo-FrillsFundraiserForm2023.pdf) and bring it to the main office with check or cash or use your Fidelity or Benevity accounts. 

Go to https://www.minted.com/ and use our special code: FUNDRAISEASFS

Feel free to share this code with you friends and family

ASFS News and Information

The ASFS Book Fair with R.E.A.D. is Here!

SAVE THE DATES: December 4-8

BOOK FAIR HOURS + LOCATION

The Arlington Science Focus School Library

Monday, December 4: 8:30am-3:30pm

Tuesday, December 5: 8:30am-3:30pm + FAMILY NIGHT 6pm-8pm

Wednesday, December 6: 8:30am-1pm (early release)

Thursday, December 7: 8:30am-3:30pm

Friday, December 8: 8:30am-11:00am

Students can bring money to school to buy books during the school day.

**All students will have a chance to visit the book fair and make wish lists on Monday or Tuesday**

FAMILY NIGHT DETAILS

Family Night will be Tuesday, December 5 between 6pm and 8pm.

The Big Cheese and Captain Cookie Food Trucks will be onsite.

SHOPPING DETAILS

Cash and credit cards will be accepted.

BOOK FAIR VOLUNTEER AND GIVING OPPORTUNITIES

It takes a village to run the book fair. We are accepting volunteers to work the book fair, support Family Night, and help with breakdown. Scan the code to sign-up!

Please note: All volunteers must be approved through the APS volunteer application process. Kids and families can give R.E.A.D. gift certificates to teachers so they can shop for classroom books.

ABOUT R.E.A.D. - OUR BOOK FAIR PARTNER

R.E.A.D. is an Arlington-based non-profit dedicated to ensuring babies and young children have new, quality, culturally relevant books of their own that are mirrors and windows into their everyday lives and communities. Not only will the ASFS book fair benefit ASFS students, but it will also help support literacy in our community. https://www.readbooknook.org/asfs-book-fair

Thank you for shopping with us!

QUESTIONS? 

Please contact book fair chair Heather Buck at [email protected]

Social Emotional Learning @ Home: NOVEMBER

November is a great time to support our students in the development of the Social awareness SEL competency. Social awareness is the ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. Understanding and expressing gratitude is essential in developing social awareness skills. Learn more about how to help kids develop gratitude in this article from the Harvard School of Education. 

KidsGiving Kindness Calendar 2023

It's time to be kind! In the weeks leading up to the KidsGiving Fair, download and print the KidsGiving Kindness Calendar 2023, complete an act of kindness each day, and check off each one you complete. Copies of the Kindness Calendar came home in Wednesday folders as well. Students that complete at least 7 acts of kindness can count it toward an additional KidsGiving activity for the year. Thank you for spreading kindness this holiday season!

Save the Date: Mark your calendar for our 2nd Annual KidsGiving Fair coming up on Saturday, December 2nd from 10am-Noon at ASFS! 

Come learn about 11 KidsGiving partners and what they do to help our community. Donate to nonprofit(s) of your choice, select a greeting card for each donation you make, and decorate & send the card to a loved one this holiday season.

We love to hear from you! Please reach out to Heather McDougle ([email protected]) with any feedback or questions.

The ASFS PTA Electric News (EN) is a weekly newsletter that informs the ASFS community about school, PTA, and relevant APS and community news. Please send any newsletter submissions to [email protected] by noon on Monday for inclusion in Wednesday's EN.