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AV PTA LETTER
Dear AV Community,
WOW! As I reflect on the past year and all that has transpired in our small school, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation. Our AV community never wavered during such an unpredictable, ever-changing, ever-challenging period of time. We not only faced the sudden, upside down flip of our scheduled, planned lives and routines, but we also had to say goodbye to a beloved, longtime principal.
Yet, as a group we embraced these disruptions with open hearts, open minds, and creativity. We welcomed our new principal and did our best to embrace the new path that the pandemic forced upon us in a manner that truly reflected our values and our commitment to community. As parents, students, teachers, and staff members, we found unity by supporting each other and hitting the road running toward success! Principal Sinclair brought her unique style and new ideas, finding ways to inspire and set goals, all while staying true to the values and the heart of AV. In fact, despite having to face such challenges and hardships, we grew stronger as a school and as a community. Collectively, we all found ways to keep driving forward, showing our children, our teachers, and our community what it means to be AV-strong.
Two years ago, Megan and I set out as a team excited to fill the shoes of past AV PTA leaders and to continue building from the strong base we are so fortunate to have established at AV. When the world suddenly stopped and shifted in a new direction, we decided we had a very clear new vision to uphold; no matter what “school” would look like, our goal would be to keep the spirit of AV strong and ever present.
This could not have happened without all of your support, dedication, and unrelenting efforts and hard work. As a united team of staff members, teachers, parents, and students, we worked from our classrooms and our living rooms toward a common goal of making the 2020-21 school year an exceptional year. The PTA created programs and events to enhance the school experience; you found new ways to help our teachers inside and outside the classroom; and together we brought new life to the entire school despite the limitations of imposed physical distance. So to all of you, thank you!!
In this year alone, we were able to bring ukuleles into the homes of every fifth grader, covid-friendly appreciation lunches for our teachers and staff, monthly supply pick-ups for classrooms, monthly art projects for at home or in the classroom, lunch bunches, virtual get togethers, weekly workouts to bring physical and social connection, a virtual movie night, story nights, book fairs, a science night, a parent party, the AV Golden Shoe Adventure, weekly Ink Drinkers Club meetings, an extraordinary new campus mural, behind the scenes technology support for every class, new spirit wear designs, special assemblies, weekly assemblies, parent education nights, fifth grade carnival, drive-thru promotion, and even visits from our beloved Whiskers.
As I prepare to leave AV with my third child, my heart is full of both joy and sadness. I will forever be grateful for all my time at this school and for all the years of memories AV has given me. I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve the AV community, especially during this past year, and I will forever feel a part of the AV family.
Have a wonderful summer. I look forward to seeing what AV has in store for 2021-2022, both the return of well-loved programs from the past and the continuation of some of the new ideas discovered during this time.
Yours Truly,
Karissa Adams
