ABMS Weekly News
August 26, 2022
NEW - Thank You Parents
Thank you to our parents and guardians for your participation in our Back to School Night! We appreciate your support of our school community and value your partnership in your child’s middle school experience.
NEW - This Week's Tireless Teacher
ABMS values the contributions of our students and staff and we strive to find meaningful ways to recognize members of our school community. This year our ABMS administration will recognize staff members with our “Tireless Teacher” recognition weekly when they go above and beyond to help students and staff. We go into a classroom and share with our students how that staff member contributes to our school community. This week we recognized both Chris Huggard and Jessica Meissner. Mr. Huggard gives so much of his time to help other staff so they are prepared for the school year and also welcomes our students each morning in our car line. Ms. Meissner also gives her time to support other staff on a daily basis and goes above and beyond to help students find success. Congratulations Mr. Huggard and Ms. Meissner.
NEW - School Picture Update
Monday, September 19th is our picture retake day for anyone who was unable to attend Wolverine Welcome.
NEW - Grade Level MAP Testing Schedule
NEW - Math Support Available
ABMS will provide Math support before/after school on specific days for any ABMS student during the fall semester. This will be located in the teachers classroom on that specific day and any ABMS student can go to that classroom to get Math support. Please note that for after school math support, students must have a ride home from their family as no bussing will be available. This academic support will start after Labor Day. If we don’t have math support on specific weeks that information will be shared with students and families. Here are some basic expectations for students who choose to attend the Math support:
Students must report to the designated Math classroom at the start of the support time period so teachers know which students need help. The student can leave when they feel like they have had their questions answered or they can stay the entire time but they need to be there at the beginning.
Students will be expected to either work quietly on Math homework until they need help from the teacher or come to the session with Math questions. The teacher may also use this time for students to complete Math tests from missed school days or re-takes as appropriate.
Students need to be quiet and work by themselves during the support time. If a student becomes too loud and doesn’t comply with the teacher's request then the student may be asked to leave the help session for that day.
NEW - Traffic Reminders for Drop Off and Pick Up
As a reminder, our school day runs from 7:51 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. To help our families understand our morning and afternoon drop off and pick up procedures, we have updated our Traffic Flow Map. See attached As families enter our north parking lot, there will be 2 lines of traffic that merge into 1 lane prior to the area where students exit the vehicle or get picked up in our drop off/pick up zone. As a reminder, in the morning on school days our front doors open at 7:20 a.m. so we ask that families please have students wait with them in the vehicle until 7:20 a.m. before they exit the vehicle to enter the building. The afternoon pickup process begins when school dismisses at 3:00 p.m. To ensure a safe and orderly drop off and pick up line, we need all vehicles to adhere to the following:
The front lot is for vehicles and the backlot (south) is for buses. Vehicles can use the back lot after buses have dropped off or picked up bus riders. Please notice on the Traffic Flow Map, for the AM drop off only, after our buses in the back lot (south side of building) exit by 7:40 a.m., families can also use that portion of our campus to drop off their child to enter the school.
In our front lot, Please pull your vehicle all the way forward to the front of the drop off/pick up line as this allows more vehicles within the drop off/pick up zone.
Please be patient with the traffic procedures as we are a building of over 800 students and it does require some time. In the afternoon, unless your personal calendar requires immediate pick up time you can pick your child up at 3:20 as the car line is much shorter. We also suggest car pooling as much as reasonably possible to reduce the number of vehicles.
Only have your child exit or enter your vehicle when you are in the drop off/pick up zone as this ensures students are going directly to and from the vehicle to a sidewalk.
Please be patient with other drivers as they follow our procedures so that we all are working together.
Please only use our designated drop off/pick up zones as this is the safest procedure for students and vehicles and we have staff monitoring these areas. ABMS does not have staff monitoring other areas between ABMS and BVSW.
NEW - From the District
New – District expectations for attending High School Athletics and Activities
Blue Valley families,
We are excited to have your families come to support our high school activities and athletics. It is great to see the entire community at these events. It is imperative that our parent community partner with us as we work to encourage positive elementary and middle school behavior at high school games or events.
We are asking that all elementary and middle school students enter the game with an adult and sit with that adult throughout the game. Please do not drop your child off at a district event without supervision as they will not be allowed to enter. It is challenging to monitor and keep all students safe without the help of our parent community. Thanks for your help with this protocol to make district events a great experience for all who attend. We hope to see your family cheering for our Blue Valley teams this school year.
Matt Ortman
Director of School Administration, Athletics and Activities
Blue Valley School District
New- District reminder about access to district technology if you travel outside the country
This important message is for any family or staff that will travel out of the United States during the school year. Please click here to read the restrictions and recommendations for Out of the Country travel. Blue Valley resources such as Canvas, Classlink, and school email are not accessible out of the country unless you have a personal device with a VPN on it.
NEW - From Student Services
NEW - From our Social Worker
Dear Wolverine Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
My name is Amanda Solsburg and I am the School Social Worker at Aubry Bend Middle School. As part of my role at ABM, I help connect students and their families to resources at school and in the community to improve their well-being. As such, I want to inform you of some of the programs available at no cost to help families who may need extra support.
Weekend Food Packs: Each Friday during the school year students receive a bag of non-perishable food items.
Giving The Basics: Provides basic hygiene and cleaning products.
Other resources: The school does not directly provide the following resources, but I can help families connect to these resources in the community. They include but are not limited to:
- Beds
- Car seats
- Counseling/therapy
- Dental care
- Food
- Health insurance
- Holiday gifts and meals
- Medical care
- Mentoring
- Parenting issues/support
- Substance use
- Support groups
- Rent
- Utilities
- Vision
If you are interested in or would like more information about any of these services, please contact me directly at (913) 624-2338 or email me at AHSolsburg@bluevalleyk12.org.
NEW - Course Fees
Questions regarding fee payments should be directed to Sharon Jirak, ABMS Bookkeeper, sjirak@bluevalleyk12.org
NEW - PTO Concessions Sign Up
NEW - PTO Meeting Coming Up
Next PTO meeting is in person and on line at NOON on 9/9 in the library. Lunch will be provided!
NEW - PTO Thank You
Thanks to all who visited us at Back to School Night and took home a sign, a PTO membership or made a donation! You are the best!!
NEW - From 6th Grade
ELA:
ELA had a great start this week. Students visited the library to learn about all the resources in the library, and each student checked out a free reading book. Ask your student what they are reading. Students also completed their first writing assignment by creating a letter to their teacher sharing information about themselves. ELA classes also previewed Quarter 1 Class Notes.
SS:
Social studies started analyzing historical documents this week. We looked at pictures/artifacts to try to determine which civilization they were from and what we could learn about those people. We also talked about the characteristics that make up a civilization.
Math:
Math classes completed Unit 0 this week. Students are ready to begin Unit 1 - Geometry. We will be looking at taking apart shapes to find the area of irregular polygons.
Science:
Science classes finished all lab safety and most of our introduction to science lessons last week. Next week, sixth grade will have two labs where students will be practicing the techniques discussed and more about the structure of a lab in class. The Science teachers have enjoyed getting to know our students and we are looking forward to a great year at ABMS.
NEW - From 7th Grade
ELA: Students have had a great start to the school year! We have jumped right into what it means to write an Objective Summary of an article or short story. All students have been to the library twice now, and they should have a library book checked out. Ask them about their novel! Next Up: citations when writing.
SS:
Our 7th graders had a great 1st week! We learned the Five Themes of Geography this week. Ask your child about Mr. Help! Next week we will begin our first unit learning how geographers show information on maps and practice locating places using latitude and longitude.
Math:
What a great start to the school year! We are continuing our unit on Math mindset with activities used to strengthen fraction sense and operations.
Science:
This week we continued getting to know our students! They decorated lab coats, which allowed us to learn about their interests and hobbies. We also reinforced our class expectations and introduced the concept of standards-based grading through mastery levels. Don't forget to ask your student how they saved Sam from his capsized boat! (Don't worry, he's a gummy worm!) Next week, we will focus our attention on CER (claim, evidence, reasoning). This activity will require independent problem solving, as well as peer collaboration.
If your student has Mrs. Molde, please consider following her class Instagram: mrs.molde_
Please send a DM with your name, and which student you are the legal guardian of! Enjoy this snapshot of our last two weeks: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16n3vD2t-AAifG_xXmMkVQm5AyFn-4LwEL7wZHNedIjQ/edit?usp=sharing
NEW - From 8th Grade
Math 8: Students will be using similar triangles within the coordinate plane to show that the slope of a linear equation is constant. They will also be working on finding the slope of a graph visually as well as mathematically. We will finish up the week graphing proportional equations.
Science:
Farris’ class has a quiz on the Scientific Method on Monday. We will then move to energy.
Moss’ class will be finishing up our first lesson over Work, Force and Energy. We will be having a short quiz over these concepts on Thursday.
NEW - From Elective Classes
Orchestra:
Reminder! 7th and 8th grade orchestras are performing next Thursday morning for the BVEF Community Breakfast. This is an honor! You must be at ABMS by 6:15 AM so that we can load the bus and leave by 6:30. Wear your green Aubry Bend polo shirt and black pants or skirt (past the knees, no shorts). Muffins will be provided.
REVIEW - Musical Information
Musical: SHREK The Musical JR
Auditions for singing/acting:
Acting and Singing Auditions will be on Monday, August 29 and Wednesday, August 31. Students will sign up for a time slot between 3-6pm on either day. Sign up for a timeslot at https://sites.google.com/view/abmsmusical. Auditions will be done in a group setting in the choir room. All will audition by singing as a group. Students who want to be selected as a lead role will need to sing solo during that audition timeslot. All students will prepare a monologue from the audition packet. Memorization is preferred, but they can also be read, if needed. ALL students who audition will be in the cast.
Audition packets were handed out at lunch and can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/abmsmusical
After those auditions, the directors will post a call-back list for students we needed to hear again before making the final cast list. Callbacks will be held on Thursday, Sept. 1 from 3-4pm in the choir room. The callback list of students will be posted at https://sites.google.com/view/abmsmusical around 7pm on Wednesday, August 31.
The complete cast list will be posted on Friday, Sept. 2 after school at at https://sites.google.com/view/abmsmusical
Auditions for featured dancers:
Dance auditions will be held from 3-4pm on Tuesday, August 30 in the commons. Dancers should wear dance shoes or tennis shoes and clothing they can move well in.
All who audition to be a featured dancer will be placed either in the feature dance group or the chorus in the cast. They may also audition for acting/singing, if they wish to be considered for a lead role.
Crew:
Each crew member must fill out an interest form and rank the 8 crews in their order of preference. Mrs. Vail will do her best to assign each student to one of their preferred crews. Forms are due by Wednesday, August 31 to Mrs. Vail or the front office. They can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/abmsmusical
8th Grade Student Directors and Stage Managers
Mrs. Vail (director) came to all lunches on Monday, August 22 to explain these roles for 8th graders only. Forms are due by Wednesday, August 31 to Mrs. Vail or the front office. A copy can be found at at https://sites.google.com/view/abmsmusical
All questions - please contact Kim Vail at KSVail@bluevalleyk12.org
REVIEW - Upcoming Dates and Events at ABMS
August 29
Cheer/Dance will begin on August 29. **Please remember to have your online account created and all forms signed and uploaded prior to Monday's practice after school.
Musical Auditions are from August 29 - September 1. The musical is open to any ABMS student and information will be shared with students during lunch periods and in the parent newsletter.
REVIEW - Canvas Helpful Hints for Families
How to be an Observer of your child’s Canvas Account. In order to be an observer of your child’s Canvas account, you need to pair with their Canvas account. If a parent/guardian has already been paired with their student, there is no need to pair again Parents/Guardians can sign up as an observer in Canvas. Observers can link their Canvas account to their student's accounts so they can see assignment dues dates, announcements, and other course content. An observer account can be created either through the web or on the Canvas Parent App. There is a simple process for adding additional students or families new to the district. Students may also generate their own pair code that allows parents/guardians to pair to their child’s Canvas page. , click here for student instructions. Things to Note about Pair Codes: Pair codes are only needed to set up and link to an observer account. Parent/Guardian will use a pair code when creating a new account, click here to learn how to create a new account. If a parent/guardian already has an account, they use the new pair code to link to the new student, click here to view this process. Pair codes are one-time use only. If you need two observer accounts, have them use one code, then you can generate the second code. Pair codes expire after 7 days from when they were generated.
REVIEW - Information on School Lunch Program
The USDA ended the nationwide free meals that were available for all students last year. This means families will now need to pay for breakfast or lunch the full price unless your family has been approved for the Free and Reduced Meal program after July 1 of the current year. *Students participating in the school meal program must select a “student meal” (1/2 c. fruit or vegetable serving with two other food groups (protein, grain, dairy, vegetable) to qualify for student meal and be charged accordingly. Anything outside of what is considered a student meal (a la carte, second entrees, extra items, etc.) will be charged to a student’s account. To add funding to your child’s account, visit the TITAN School Systems payment website.
Students will have a choice from an extensive variety of entrée options and a wide selection of fruits and vegetables from our harvest bar along with milk and/or juice. Students will enter their student ID at the register.
REVIEW - PTO Meeting Dates
The PTO Meets typically on the first Friday of the month. Due to the Labor Day holiday, our September meeting will be Friday, September 9th at noon. We will be in person as well as on zoom for this meeting only. Lunch will be provided. Future dates are as follows with the zoom link to follow:
September 9th 12 noon IN PERSON and ZOOM
October 7th 12 noon ZOOM
November 4th 12 noon ZOOM
December 2nd 12 noon ZOOM
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
January 6th 2023 12 noon ZOOM
February 3rd 12 noon ZOOM
March 3rd 12 noon ZOOM
April 7th 12 noon ZOOM
May 5th 12 noon IN PERSON and ZOOM
REVIEW - PTO Website
Be in the KNOW with ABMS PTO! Check out our UPDATED PTO website for more information about meetings, events, and PTO Board and Committees.
While you are there, you can sign up to for a PTO position. We have lots of different options available!
Remember to INVEST IN ABMS (you can use the square above).
REVIEW - PTO Social Media
Please follow ABMS PTO on:
ABMS PTO FACEBOOK PAGE - @AubryBendMSPTO
ABMS PTO INSTAGRAM PAGE. @ABMSPTO
ABMS PTO TWITTER PAGE @AbmsPto