Friday Falcon
Avon High School Newsletter September 2017 - Volume 1:2
Principal's Newsletter
Last December, I attended the New England Association Schools and Colleges (NEASC) annual conference in Boston. One of the presentations that I attended spoke about the future of technology in education and about how new educational technology was becoming disruptive to traditional approaches of educating our children. I was reminded of my undergraduate experience back in 1990 when I paid $25 to do an internet search, and had to wait two weeks for the results to come back. The keynote speaker pointed out that there are currently three and a half billion people globally connected to the internet and that this number was expected to increase to five billion by the end of the decade. He also pointed out that once someone had access to the internet, that they could "learn anything, anytime, anywhere with anyone." I believe that these new technologies are an opportunity to make a student's educational experience more personalized. We should strive to help our graduates become "technologically agile learners." We hope that our graduates are capable of utilizing a wide variety of devices and software, and are digitally literate. Research shows that the best outcomes are the result of a blended approach to learning, where high leverage, personalized learning experiences are integrated into our existing teaching, learning, and assessment practices.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter.
Best Regards,
Dave Peling
Principal, Avon High School
Congratulations Due
Statewide Testing - Avon High School is #6!
For a town by town comparison, click here.
COMMENDED STUDENTS IN THE 2018 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The principal, David Peling, of Avon High School announced that the following students have been named Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program: Carly Carpino, Tanvi Chadha, Luke A. Kimball, Benjamin R. Lampert, Angela M. Martinez, Catherine Martinez, Mohsin Mirza, Ryan J. Ollestad, Daniel I. Oprica, Manus Prasad, Jack H. Stokesbury, Shekar R. Sunderesh, Jennifer L. Wall, Humza Zaidi and Jason Zheng. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, was presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2018 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
“The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”
Press Release from National Merit Scholarship Corporation – September 2017
National Merit Semifinalists
The following students have been named Semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program: John Carroll, Ayushi Hegde, Caroline Nisbet, Maitreya Vyas, Alec Wang, Erin Weston and Kelly Zheng. Congratulations to everyone!
Regional and National Business Competition
Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders
Connecticut High School Coaches Associaiton Hall of Fame
Coach Dadario has led the girls' cross country and track teams since 1996. His career coaching record is impressive: 430 wins and 95 losses; four state championships; three state runner-up finishes and 12 league titles. His girls' teams have logged 7 cross country league titles and 11 undefeated seasons and his co-ed indoor and outdoor track teams have had just one losing season in 21 years.
Please join us in congratulating Al on his well-deserved accomplishments. Congratulations Al!
Avon High School Updates
CAPSTONE PROJECT - Graduation Requirement for Class of 2018
All Avon High School students are now required to complete a Capstone project as part of their graduation requirements. Through the Capstone project, students will independently tackle a complex real world problem or engage in an intellectual pursuit that is guided by a personal passion or intellectual curiosity. Students will ultimately demonstrate that they have acquired the requisite knowledge and skills through developing and implementing an action plan, and defending their process and product, results, or position to an authentic audience. The Capstone project is taken in student's senior year, but can be started in the summer prior to senior year. Completion of a Capstone project is a graduation requirement. Full details, including the timeline, are available in The Capstone Handbook, which is available on our website or just click here.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Last spring the Avon Board of Education revised the high school graduation requirements, moving from the required 25 credits for the class of 2019 back to the original 22.5 credits. The original requirements were maintained with four additional requirements to be managed within the 22.5 credits. These include a 1.0 credit of World Language, a 0.5 credit of personal finance, a 1.0 STEM elective credit, and a 0.5 credit for a Capstone project. With these changes the elective choices dropped from 7 credits to 4 credits. A complete breakdown of the credit requirements and elective choices can be found in the Course of Studies, which is available on our website.
ECE Courses Update
By enrolling in an ECE course, students could graduate from high school with an official UConn transcript verifying highly transferable college credits, better understanding of the academic requirements, a belief in his or her ability to succeed in college courses, a competitive advantage when applying to college, significant financial savings in paying for college, a head-start in a chosen field of study, and the potential to study abroad, volunteer and intern while in college and still graduate in four years.
Avon High School Open House
UpComing Events
October 2nd - AHS Financial Aid Night at 6:30pm
October 3rd - AHS Study Tour Mandatory Meeting at 2:10pm - Mr. Abram's room, W117
October 11th - PSAT's
October 16th - AHS PTO Meeting at 7:45am
October 16th - AHS Booster Club Meeting at 7pm
October 18th - MotoPhoto Makeup Photo Day
October 23rd - F.A.M.E. Meeting at 7pm
November 10th & 11th - Parent -Teacher Conferences (sign up information to follow)
AHS Reminders
Attendance Update
Parents are encouraged to leave messages on the Absence/Attendance voicemail rather than calling the main office. This includes Early Dismissals and/or Tardies. Messages left on that voicemail are picked up on a regular basis for constant updates in PowerSchool.
Thank you!
Yearbook
Avon MotoPhoto
11East Main Street
Avon, CT 06001
(860)470-7939
Community Conversation: "Your Voice Matters - Selecting the Avon Superintendent of Schools"
The Board of Education will be hosting two evening opportunities for community members to share their insight on the selection of the next Avon Superintendent of Schools.
The Avon Board of Education has contracted with search consultant, Dr. Joseph Erardi, to facilitate one hour meetings dedicated to gathering community input for the superintendent's hiring process. These meeting are open to the public and will be held on October 4th and October 11th in the Community Room of Avon High School, 510 West Avon Road, and begins at 7:00pm.
If you are unable to attend the above mentioned gatherings, you are invited to drop in anytime between 7:00pm and 8:00pm on either October 16th or 23rd to share your thoughts with Dr. Erardi.
Any Avon resident needing additional information on the community conversation should contact Dr. Erardi at (860)417-3111.
School Counselling News
Seniors
- Students with October or November application deadlines MUST see their School Counselors as soon as possible.
- We ask that all families complete our Transcript Request Form. Completion of this form will ensure that all of your AHS college application materials are processed in a timely fashion. For additional information, please review our College Planning Checklist.
- On Monday, October 2nd, at 6:30 pm in the AHS Auditorium, we will be hosting a presentation that will provide a general overview of the Financial Aid process. To best plan for the night, we kindly ask that you please RVSP by using the following: Financial Aid Night RSVP.
- Starting Sunday, October 1st, FAFSA and CSS Profile will both be available online for you to complete.
Juniors and Sophomores
- We would like to remind that all juniors and sophomores will be sitting for the PSAT during the school day on Wednesday, October 11th, 2017. Pre-registration is underway. Additional information about scores and next steps will be sent in late November/early December.
- On Monday, October 2nd, at 6:30 pm in the AHS Auditorium, we will be hosting a presentation that will provide a general overview of the Financial Aid process. To best plan for the night, we kindly ask that you please RVSP by using the following: Financial Aid Night RSVP.
Freshmen
- We look forward to meeting with you in small groups on the PSAT Day (10/11/17). During this meeting with your School Counselor, you will discuss your transition to the high school, goal setting, and other exciting experiences that will occur throughout the year.
Welcome back Class of 2018 and Families!
It is finally here- Senior year! We have an exciting and busy year ahead of us. Your School Counselors look forward to meeting with you individually to discuss your college/post-secondary process. We ask that seniors coordinate these individualized meetings with their parents, and set up an initial meeting with their School Counselor using the Avon Gmail Calendar. We ask that after the student/parent/counselor meeting, each student follows up with the counselor on a regular basis.
In addition to these individual and family meetings, we will be hosting a Financial Aid Night presented by the University of Hartford on Monday, October 2, at 6:30 in the AHS Auditorium. We are encouraging senior and junior students and parents to attend this program where helpful information will be distributed, including updates regarding the new FAFSA timeline. To best plan for the evening, we ask that you please RSVP, by clicking here. Also, just as a reminder, if you are preparing for additional ACT/SAT testing, there is a free personalized prep program for both tests embedded into Naviance. These can be accessed by clicking “Test Prep” on your Naviance home page.
To complement our meetings throughout the year, we are including links to a few important documents:
The first is a timeline that outlines many important topics and dates throughout the year.
Finally, we have two very important documents that are related to the college application process: College Planning Checklist and our electronic Transcript Request Form.
In addition to these resources, we ask that you regularly visit our department website (http://avonhighschoolcounselingdepartment.weebly.com/) for important information/updates, and helpful links. As always, if at any point in time you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your counselor, as we are just a visit, phone call or email away.
-Your AHS School Counseling Team
Peter Ettlinger, Andrew Ellrod, Lissa Irvine, Laura Sullivan, and Heather Toyen
Lucia Esposito (School Counseling Secretary)
Welcome back Class of 2019 and Families!
Junior year is a time for you to continue to build upon your academic and personal resumes. Your School Counselors look forward to working with you as we begin the transition planning for the next chapter after AHS. In January, at the end of the first semester/start of the second semester, we would like to meet with all juniors and their families to walk you through the college/post-secondary process. We ask that juniors coordinate these individualized meetings with their parents, and set up an initial meeting with their School Counselor using the Avon Gmail Calendar. We ask that after the student/parent/counselor meeting, that each student follows up with the counselor on a regular basis.
In addition to these individual and family meetings, we will be hosting a Financial Aid Night presented by the University of Hartford on Monday, October 2, at 6:30 in the AHS Auditorium. We are encouraging senior and junior students and parents to attend this program where helpful information will be distributed, including updates regarding the new FAFSA timeline. To best plan for the evening, we ask that you please RSVP, by clicking here. We will be hosting a Post-Secondary Planning Night designed for juniors and their families on December 11, 2017. We are excited to announce that we will once again be hosting a joint college fair with Simsbury High School at AHS, with a tentative date of Tuesday, March 27. For updates on this event and more, please visit our department website by using the link below.
Regarding standardized testing, there are a few dates that are important to note. On Wednesday, October 11, all juniors will complete the PSAT at no cost. This will provide valuable practice and feedback for the SAT. You can click on the following to access additional information on the PSAT program. We are in the third year of the state of Connecticut requiring all eleventh graders to take the SAT without writing. All juniors will test on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. No pre-registration is required for either of these two assessments. As you start to prepare for the ACT/SAT, we wanted to let you know there is a free personalized prep program for both tests embedded into Naviance. These can be accessed by clicking “Test Prep” on your Naviance home page.
To complement our meetings throughout the year, we are including a few links to documents that we thought you might find of interest. The first of which is a timeline that outlines many important topics and dates throughout the year. The second is a reminder of the many academic resources that are available to all students at AHS.
In addition to these resources, we ask that you regularly visit our department website (http://avonhighschoolcounselingdepartment.weebly.com/) for important information/updates, and helpful links. As always, if at any point in time you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your counselor, as we are just a visit, phone call or email away.
-Your AHS School Counseling Team
Peter Ettlinger, Andrew Ellrod, Lissa Irvine, Laura Sullivan, and Heather Toyen
Lucia Esposito (School Counseling Secretary)
Welcome back Class of 2020 and Families!
As you start the mid-way point of your time at AHS, it is a time for you to continue to build upon your academic and personal resumes. Your School Counselors look forward to working with you as you continue to explore your strengths and how they might relate to post-high school planning. We will be hosting a Post-Secondary Planning Night designed for juniors and their families on December 11, 2017, but sophomores are welcome to attend. We also will be meeting in small small groups in early March to complete and review a personality and interest inventory located in Naviance.
Tentatively scheduled for March 28, we look forward to hosting our annual Career Fair. While we have many programs scheduled during the year, our doors are always open.
Regarding standardized testing, there is a noteworthy date. On Wednesday, October 11, all sophomores will complete the PSAT, in school, at no cost. No pre-registration is required. This will provide valuable practice and feedback for the SAT. You can click on the following to access additional information on the PSAT program.
To complement our meetings this year, we are including a few additional links to documents that we thought you might find of interest. The first of which is a timeline that outlines many important topics and dates throughout the year. The second is a reminder of the many academic support services that are available to all students at AHS.
In addition to these included resources, we ask that you regularly visit our department website (http://avonhighschoolcounselingdepartment.weebly.com/) for important information/updates, and helpful links. As always, if at any point in time you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your counselor, as we are just a visit, phone call or email away.
-Your AHS School Counseling Team
Peter Ettlinger, Andrew Ellrod, Lissa Irvine, Laura Sullivan, and Heather Toyen
Lucia Esposito (School Counseling Secretary)
Welcome Class of 2021 and Families!
As you begin your high school journey, we want to introduce ourselves and highlight some of the interactions we will have this year. Your School Counselors look forward to working with you as you explore your strengths and grow, not only as a student, but as a person as well. Part of this will include small group meetings with your Counselor in October and March. During these meetings, we will discuss the transition to high school, supports that are available to you, goal setting, and the importance of getting involved at AHS. You will also complete and review a Learning Styles inventory located in Naviance. While we have these meetings scheduled during the year, please know that our doors are always open.
To complement our time together this year, we are including a few links to important documents for your use and reference this year. The first of which, is a timeline that outlines many important topics and dates throughout the year. The second, is a listing to help you become aware of the many academic support services that are available to all students at AHS. The final attachment is a brochure that highlights the transition to the high school.
In addition to these included resources, we ask that you regularly visit our department website (http://avonhighschoolcounselingdepartment.weebly.com/) for important information/updates, and helpful links. We look forward to meeting you and working together this year. As always, if at any point in time you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your counselor, as we are just a visit, phone call or email away.
-Your AHS School Counseling Team
Peter Ettlinger, Andrew Ellrod, Lissa Irvine, Laura Sullivan, and Heather Toyen
Lucia Esposito (School Counseling Secretary)Avon High School's Athletics Booster Club
Please click here to see the latest Bulletin from the Booster Club and all of the exciting and informative news they have to share.
Falcon 5K
F.A.M.E. - Avon's Music Booster Club
Come join F.A.M.E., Avon High School's Music Booster Club. Friends of Avon Music Education (F.A.M.E.) is a music and theater booster club at Avon High School which supports each of the music disciplines along with the theater department. Our organization was founded in 1996 by a group of parents who were interested in supporting the AHS music program.
Our first meeting of the school year will take place on Monday, September 25 at 7 pm in the Choir Room. All are welcome. Any questions? Please contact any of our board members:
Robin Lazinsk (rdlazinsk@hotmail.com ), President
Gwendolyn Hahn (Gwenhahn64@gmail.com), Vice President
Lynne Zemaitis (lzemaitis1973@gmail.com) and
Susan Lybeck (susanlybeck@hotmail.com), Secretaries
Meredith Jobe (the4jobes@gmail.com), Treasurer
Student Activities and Clubs
Avon High School GSA - The meetings for the Gay Straight Alliance at Avon High School will be on Friday after school in room W202. All are welcome. See Mrs. LaBrosse or send an email to jlabrosse@avon.k12.ct.us for more information.
The Avon High School Math Team has started practicing for it first meet on October 11th at Bristol Eastern High School. The team is practicing on Tuesdays after school in Mr. Lukowicz's room, W210. See Mr. Lukowicz or Mrs. LaBrosse for more information.
Science Olympiad
The AHS Science Olympiad team is currently looking for grade 9-12 students that have enthusiasm for science and a competitive spirit. We will be competing in the CT Science Olympiad competition at UCONN on April 7, 2018. Students will prepare for competition in 23 different STEM focused events. Events vary in format including written test, laboratory inquiry, and some require to students to build a device to bring to competition to compete with. Our first team meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 18th at 2:30 in Room N200. Please contact our faculty supervisors with questions.
Andrea Galuska - agaluska@avon.k12.ct.us
Janet Loynes - jloynes@avon.k12.ct.us
Greg Dunford - gdunford@avon.k12.ct.us
AHS Theater
Language Arts
By Jenna Aylsworth
We are excited to be rolling out a brand new Capstone project at Avon High School! All AHS graduating seniors will be completing an inquiry-based research project that will culminate in a presentation during which they will reveal their “product” and defend their position. Possible inquiry areas--and the related research questions and sub-topics--are wide-ranging and open-ended, so students have the flexibility to acquire new learning and demonstrate the skills they’ve learned throughout their years at Avon Public Schools, all while focusing on something they’re excited about. So far, students have proposed projects ranging from a thesis-driven paper examining how (and how should) the FDA regulates the cosmetic industry to writing a graphic novel to best portray the Filipino-American experience to discovering the best and most environmentally sound way to refit an engine.
Important due date: 9/22 all students must submit proposals via google classroom.
For more information, click the link below to see the handbook.
Physics
World Languages
By Naomi Bravin
Marine Biology
On September 22nd the Marine Biology classes visited Bluff Point State Park in Groton, CT to complete a sampling of the local marine flora and fauna. Student’s were encouraged to sample using seine nets, hand nets and even fishing poles! These organisms were carefully brought back alive to Avon High School and will serve as potential inhabitants for the student’s tanks. These ‘inhabitants’ will also be counted, classified, identified and recorded in detail. This information will be added to the current database so as to allow for future comparisons (not only for AHS marine biology students but also other school's that participate in Project Seine / Connecticut Sea Grant).