Thank you so much for joining ABE’s PTA for the 2020/2021 School Year. Although things are going to be different this year, I can promise you that we will still create a great environment for our students, ABE faculty, and parents to participate in.
It was great to feel the energy that comes with starting a new school year and to welcome the children back this week - in person and online. And I speak for all the parents when I say how wonderful it was to see the teachers again after our... extended ... summer break.
By the way, if you missed the PTA General meeting on Friday morning (8/21) you can still view the video recording here.
Thank you again for all you do to make our little, pink school great!
Sincerely,
William Peterson
ABE PTA President
Calendar Of Events
Mark Your Calendars - August Events
8/21: PTA General Meeting
Upcoming - September Events
9/1: SAC Meeting
9/29: Spirit Night at Jumpin' Jax House of Food
Access the most updated calendar anytime on Memberhub or the ABE PTA website.
PTA Membership
2020-2021
PTA General Meetings
Until further notice, all meetings will be held virtually (via Zoom) at 9 AM on the following dates:
8/21/20
1/15/21
4/30/21
Our PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
One of our aims is to inform parents about what is happening at the school that will affect their children. We do this in several ways:
Extra-Curricular Activities (which are sometimes sponsored by the PTA)
Volunteer Opportunities (for PTA and non-PTA programs and events)
School Safety
We believe each of these items contribute to enhancing our children's educational experience. We are proud of our very active and engaged PTA. We encourage you to get involved and become member by joining today! While membership costs as little as $6 per year, you don't need to become a member to receive this newsletter. Click here to to sign up for the monthly emails.
PTA: What we Do
The PTA uses funds raised to run or support many amazing programs at ABE including:
Dolphin Dash
Family Movie Night
Children's Garden by the Sea
Donuts with Dad
Book Initiative
Vision/Hearing Screening
and much more! (visit our website to see more of our programs)
The PTA has also fulfilled many needs at our school over the years including computers, iPads, TVs, recess equipment bags for each grade, bike racks, skateboard/scooter racks, picnic tables, water bottle filling stations, and restroom hand dyers...the list goes on and on!
These funds are raised through donations from our amazing Business Partners, school t-shirts and totes sales, the Dolphin Fest (formerly known as Fall Basket Blast) and Spirit Events at local businesses.
We love our school and we love to make our children's experiences here the best they can be! We want to hear from you if you have ideas about how we can raise funds or if you see an unmet need...or if you just have questions about how it all works. Click here to send an email to the ABE PTA (email).
Thank you!
Your New ABE Assistant Principal: Samantha Thompson
Dear ABE families,
I am so excited to be joining Atlantic Beach Elementary as the Assistant Principal! I am truly looking forward to partnering with Ms. Gallagher and making this an amazing school year!
I have spent ten years in Duval County Public Schools as an elementary classroom teacher and instructional coach. I have a passion for educational leadership, and I believe that schools play a fundamental role in setting children up for future success. I will work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that ABE students achieve greatness and are prepared for the next level and beyond.
I cannot wait to meet and get to know all of you in the coming weeks! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns. My contact information is below.
Wishing you and your family a safe and outstanding year!
Samantha Thompson
dixons3@duvalschools.org
904-247-5924
Home Room Parents
Hello all! My name is Sarah Daye and I am happy to be returning as your homeroom parent coordinator this year! YES! We still NEED homeroom parents. It will be a lot different this year as everything we have done in the past is either not going to happen or will have been drastically changed.
First thing, I need to ask is that we have one homeroom parent per class (in building and online). Communication will be of utmost importance and having one communicator per class is massively easier to organize. This does not limit the amount of parents who can help with the class, it only reduces the amount of people I am communicating with. Homeroom parents will use email, Remind groups, Shutterfly groups or Duval homeroom/Microsoft Teams to communicate.
We all still need to be involved in making school a fun and safe environment for our students. The PTA is going to need your help to make birthdays, parties and other events happy and successful for children attending face-to-face school and those learning remotely through Duval Homeroom! Some ideas I've been thinking about: filming a new dance move or another hobby to show the class, video celebrations from families for birthdays, virtual field trips or reading a book on video to show the class.
If you are interested in being a homeroom parent please talk with your teacher before contacting me at day142@netzero.com. Thank you all for helping make this year the best it can be!
School Advisory Council
Monthly meetings of the SAC provide an overview of the various groups and programs that impact ABE, including information about student performance and school improvement plans.
All meetings this year will be held virtually at 9 AM. The dates for the 2020-2021 school year are:
Hello fellow ABE gardeners! The garden has been cleaned out and made beautiful with some flowers over our "break". Although at this time we are unable to volunteer in the garden as we have in the past, it is still important to keep our Children's Garden by the Sea Alive! We may have to think outside the box in order to keep the students involved with gardening and the whole process of growing our own food. Some ideas may be filming your own home garden to show the kids in class, providing seeds and containers for students to grow their own food at home...etc.
If you are interested in helping with this process or you have some ideas on how to keep our kiddos involved with the gardening process, please contact Sarah Daye.
PTA Online Store
Purchasing shirts/totes, PTA memberships, marquee messages and various fundraiser items is so easy through our on-line store!
Visit our on-line store here to explore the possibilities! We appreciate your continued support of our little pink school!
2020-2021 PTA Board: William Peterson and Anne Millaire
William Peterson, PTA President
Hi my name is William Peterson and I have the pleasure of serving as ABE's PTA President. This is my second year on the PTA Board (previously VP of Programs) and I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve again. My family has been at ABE since 2015 when our oldest child, Abigail (5th Grade), attended Mrs. Bolender's Kindergarten class. Since then, we have added Katelyn (3rd Grade) and Charles (1st Grade) to ABE's enrollment. Sadly, this is the last year that all my children will be in the same school together.
Some personal facts about myself, I am a die hard Auburn University fanatic. Mainly because all of my money went there almost 20 years ago, but also because it is where I met my better half, Jennifer - so I think it was money well spent! We moved to Jacksonville in 2007 from Augusta, GA and have called Atlantic Beach home since July 2013. Outside of keeping up with my 3 children, my main hobby is jogging around AB, particularly early morning runs when all you can hear are the waves crashing. It is by far my most peaceful moment of the day! I wish I could tell you that I have a very dynamic personality with many hobbies but I have an Engineering degree so I'm predisposed to have a boring personality. But if you ever need anything fixed or tinkered with, I'm your man!
That's me in a nutshell. I know, not much but I am what I am. Please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments, and/or suggestions in regards to ABE and the PTA. I look forward to interacting with you.
Anne Millaire, VP of Communications
Hi there, my name is Anne Millaire and
I will be serving as the VP of
Communications. This is a new position and it is also my first year on the PTA Board. I am very excited - with a hint of nervousness - as I step into unknown territory. However, our volunteers are one of a kind and I know we will all work together to make this a fun, safe and adventurous school year for all of us to remember. I am hoping to be the liaison between the teachers, students, parents and the PTA Chairs/volunteers by passing along important updates and keeping you informed throughout the year.
I have been actively involved in volunteering at the school throughout the years and I was the 5 Star Coordinator last year. My family joined ABE in 2015 when my oldest one started 1st grade with Mrs. Hullender. We fell in love with the teachers, the energy of community and the parents (some who have become life-time friends – you know who you are ?). My son automatically had to follow the Atlantic Beach vibe and entered VPK in 2016. ABE is not our neighborhood school but we are so blessed to give our children the experience the little pink school has to offer. My daughter is moving on to middle school this year but my son has 3 more years to enjoy all ABE has to offer.
Besides keeping up with my 3 children (including my 48 year old hubby), I am a realtor. My husband and I created our own brokerage company about 4 years ago. We have been fixing and flipping houses for over 10 years successfully and “Chip and Joanna” can’t hold a candle to us – haha, just kidding. I like to take on challenges, especially those outside my comfort zone. I am working on starting an E-Bike rental company and hope to run the business by the beginning of 2021. When I do have time to myself, I like to walk, bike, try new foods and watch some girly movies.
I know this year will be very special in its own way; the PTA Board is here to listen to you and help as much as we can. Please don’t hesitate to contact any one of us.
Dolphin Fest
Our beloved Dolphin Fest will not be the same event we have come to love this year; BUT we are working to maintain it's essence to make sure it's still an event we all will love.
The event will focus around a virtual Silent Auction. Class Baskets and Teacher Treats will still happen but will look different.
Efforts this year will be concentrated around our local businesses to help show them love during this pandemic crisis that has been devastating for so many of them.
If you are a local business, frequent a local business or know someone with a local business, please contact Joy Carson. Our silent auction can be fabulous with your support.
Teacher Appreciation
We are so grateful for the wonderful ABE teachers! To express our gratitude, teachers were treated to breakfast, treats and supplies to make their first day even more special. Thanks to all who worked to make this happen!
Volunteer of the Month: August
It is with sincere gratefulness that we thank our August Volunteer of the Month: Dee Lowe. While we were preparing our kids to return to school in this new upside world of masks and social distancing, or setting up our homes for school;
Dee made the extra effort to make sure our teachers were showered with love and food.
Now more than ever our teachers need to
feel appreciated, and Dee helped that happen in such an important way. Thank you so much Dee for taking such great care of our teachers!
Business Partners
We are pleased to announce our 2020-2021 Business Partners!
Donations from our Business Partners specifically assist programs that impact students directly, and without the continued partnership of Business Partners and PTA Members, these programs would not be possible. As ABE Lights the Way for Leadership and Learning in our 2020-2021 school year, ABE PTA is committed to ensuring our Business Partner program continues with exposure to ABE families and students both in-person and virtually.
Platinum
Fishman Pediatric Dentistry
Bach to Rock Jacksonville Beach
MBody Yoga
HC Brands
Gold
The Brace Place
Farmers Insurance Jim Jordan Agency
Aqua East Surf Shop
Jacksonville Mom
Jax Surf & Paddle
Jumpin’ Jax House of Food
Mathnasium Beach Blvd.
Johnson's Cabinetry & Flooring, Inc.
Beaches Wellfest
Silver
The Tutoring Center
Palm Insurance - Tom Alford
Bronze
The Healing Playroom
Dolphin Donation Partners
HC Brands
Rockaway
Sumo Design Studio
If you know a local business interested in becoming a part of our Business Program, we want to know!
Contact Lindy Mullen, Business Partner Liasion or visit
