Oriole's Nest
September 23, 2022
Avon Middle School South
Email: msattendance@avon-schools.org
Website: https://www.avon-schools.org/mssouth
Location: 7199 East US Highway 36, Avon, IN, USA
Phone: 317-544-5700
Twitter: @avonsouth
ACSC 2022 - 2023 School Calendar
Thank you for your donations to the Mary Lee Maier Food Pantry!
Students and staff raised $275.00 to donate to the MLM Food Pantry during Hat Day this past Friday. Our donations will help many Avon families.
THANK YOU!
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
October 3, 2022 - Fundraiser Delivery of Items Sold
October 6, 2022 - Picture Retake Day
October 10 - 21, 2022 - Fall Break - NO SCHOOL!
November 8, 2022 - E-Learning Day - All students work from home this day
November 23 - 25, 2022 - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL!
Fundraiser Orders Delivery
Smaller orders that can be sent home with students on the bus will be given to students to take home, larger orders can be picked up at door #28 between 4:00 - 7:00PM.
8th Grade Visit to Area 31
Avon Middle School South will be taking 8th grade students to tour the Area 31 Career Center on October 3rd and 4th. Area 31 is a Career Center located on the Ben Davis High School campus. It provides juniors and seniors from Avon and other surrounding area schools with real-world work experience and prepares students for a high-wage, high-demand career right out of high school OR gives them a head start on a college degree. Students can earn college credits that can be transferred to a two or four year college.
Area 31 students attend career preparation classes for a half-day – either morning or afternoon – everyday. The other half of the day is spent at Avon High School. We are excited our 8th grade students will get to tour this facility and begin thinking about whether or not this is something that interests them as they progress through high school. Please direct any questions to Kasey Baughn, 8th Grade School Counselor (kmbaughn@avon-schools.org).
NOTE: If you would like for your child to opt out of the field trip, please contact Kasey Baughn by September 26, 2022.
You can learn more about the Area 31 program here: https://area31careercenter.com/
UPCOMING ATHLETIC EVENTS
Student Tailgate - September 29th
Students will be required to sit in a designated student section once the game starts, if not accompanied by an adult. The football games will end around 8:30pm. We ask that all parents are there to pick up their child at 174 South Avon Avenue (Football Stadium) before 8:30pm. You must pick-up your students from the main gate at the stadium no later than 8:30.
Thank you for your support in encouraging school spirit amongst our student body.
Will Mahan
Athletic Director
Football
7th grade: 9/29 HOME vs. Brownsburg West 5:00PM
8th grade: 9/29 HOME vs. Brownsburg West 6:15PM
Good luck!
Volleyball
9/28 County vs. North @ Cascade 5:30PM
9/29 County - time & location TBD
Good luck!
Cheerleading Announcement
Cheer will have their tryouts for the winter season on Monday, September 26th and Wednesday, September 28th. Tryouts will be from 6:30-8:00. Please enter door 14.
Boys Basketball Open Gym
Boys Basketball will begin pre-season open gyms on Wednesday's from 8:00 - 9:00AM before school. These workouts are optional and will be held every Wednesday. Please enter door 14.
A physical must have been completed after April 1, 2022 and uploaded to your PRIVIT account. If the student-athlete is not cleared in PRIVIT, they will not be able to participate. The required paperwork can be found by clicking on the links below.
Boys Basketball Try-Outs Announcement
Pick-up at door 14.
A physical must have been completed after April 1, 2022 and uploaded to your PRIVIT account. If the student-athlete is not cleared in PRIVIT, they will not be able to participate. The required paperwork can be found by clicking on the links below.
Girls Basketball Announcement
There will be a call-out meeting on Monday, November 21st for any girl interested in playing basketball. This meeting will be from 4:15-4:45PM.
Try-outs will be Thursday, December 1st, and Friday, December 2nd. Try-outs will run from 4:15-6:00PM.
Coach Staal, the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Avon High School, host workouts for 2nd-8th graders on Wednesday nights. These workouts are from 6:00-7:00 at Avon High School. There is a $5 fee to participate in the workout.
A physical must have been completed after April 1, 2022 and uploaded to your PRIVIT account. If the student-athlete is not cleared in PRIVIT, they will not be able to participate. The required paperwork can be found by clicking on the links below.
All Out Boys Volleyball Club
The Indiana High School Athletic Association has announced that Boys’ Volleyball will become a sanctioned sport in the near future. In response to this, the Avon Boys’ Volleyball Club is wanting to establish a competitive travel team to learn and play the game before they get to high school. There will be try-outs for boys 14 years of age and younger. The club runs from October to February. If you would have any interest in exploring this opportunity, you can email avonboysvolleyball@gmail.com or alloutboysvolleyball@gmail.com
STUDENT INFORMATION
Smiles Club
The Smiles Club is a service group that does small acts of kindness to spread smiles around the community and school. We will have our first meeting on Wednesday the 28th if you want to come see what we're all about. We will meet in Mrs. Williams's room, C228 after school until 5:00. Bring a friend...hope to see you there!
Student Laptops
Please remind your student(s) to charge their computers each night.
2022 - 2023 Yearbook Cover Contest!
CALLING ALL ARTISTS!
Yearbook Cover Contest!
We are inviting students to show their school spirit by designing the front and back covers of the 2022-2023 Yearbook! Review the attached document with all the information for the contest!
Any questions should be sent to Mrs. Boroff and entries are due Tuesday, October 4.
Order a 2022 - 2023 AMS South Yearbook now!
Yearbooks for the 2022 - 2023 school year are now on sale!
Below is more information for ordering this years yearbook, there is a flyer and a link to Josten's webpage.
Celebrating Birthday's This Week!
Happy Birthday
to our students celebrating a birthday this week:
Maisie Burris
Gabriel Lamey
Alexander Holland
Ingrid Ndayishimiye
Marissa Kenworthy
Logan Kippenbrock
Jose Sierra
Cadence Kost
Leland Polgar
Marwa Azhar
Malik Butts
Veronica Trammell
Hermon Alemu
Muhammad Ejaz
Ryan Hess
Olivia Fisher
Alex Glidden
Jeremiah Brooks
Mouad Belhassan
NJHS Study Tables
National Junior Honor Society will offer after school study help sessions on Wednesday’s after school from 4:10 - 5:00PM. Students will then go to the front commons area and wait for the late bus or parent pick-up. During this time, there will be a supervisor with the students while they wait for the late bus to arrive. Students that will be a car rider home on these days can be picked up at door 1 at 5:00PM.
If your student will be staying for the study session and they need bus transportation home they must sign up for the late bus in the Guidance Office at lunch that day. For those students taking the late bus home, the bus will leave AMS South at 5:10pm.
TEAM NEWS
Each week your child's team will give an update about the current week or week ahead. Please find your child's team below for that information. In addition, you will find news from our Encore teachers, Media Center, and PE/Wellness teachers.
Cardinals News
Mrs. Dugan, Mrs. Williams, Mr. Schubert & Mr. Uhl
In Math7, we will be talking about the different properties of arithmetic (associative, commutative, distributive, etc). In Pre-Algebra, we will continue to work with algebraic equations and connecting them with tables and graphs. In Science, we will review for our Quarter 1 test, which covers the Engineering Design Process and Scientific Method. Our test is Wednesday, September 28th. After the test, we will move into our physical science unit! In Language Arts, students will begin our new unit, 7B: Character and Conflict. We will begin reading the play, A Raisin in the Sun, as the main text of our unit. Next week in Social Studies we will wrap up our unit on Economies!
Grizzlies News
Mrs. Barnes, Mrs. Boroff, Mrs. Schroer & Ms. Weinstein
Next week in Language Arts, we are starting Unit 7B: Character and Conflict. This is often a student-favorite unit as we dive into the screenplay A Raisin in the Sun and take turns playing characters and reading through the play out loud as a class. We will be kicking things off with a Gallery Walk and American Dream activity to get us into the mindset we need to appreciate the Younger family and their struggles. In Science, we started our week with our Scientific Method Test. I saw improvements in many test scores since the beginning of the school year. Students have been working to communicate the scientific method by creating comic strips. I am looking forward to reading these. We have also started our catapult lab. Students have been doing research about different ways to make small catapults with everyday materials. We will be using the Engineering Design Process to create working prototypes. Next week, we will wrap up Quarter 1 with review for our Big Test on Wednesday (Sept 28th). This test will review the order of the steps in both the Scientific Method and the Engineering Design Process, as well as asking students to be able to apply those steps to a given scenario. It will also include the 4 types of variables we have learned about. Math students will be continuing their rational number computation unit and starting to study for their test on Wednesday, October 5. Pre-Algebra students will be continuing their study of the connections between solving and graphing linear equation. Their upcoming test will be Friday, October 7. In Social Studies, students will continue to dive into the unit on economics. After learning about the four types of economics systems, they will dig into the industrial pyramid and developed, developing, and newly industrialized countries and how that affects someone’s standard of living.
Jaguars News
Mrs. Cassida, Ms. Hatton, Mrs. Ringham & Ms. Schaber
Ms. Costello, Ms. Gawrys, Mr. Thoennes & Mr. Walker
Language Arts
Mrs. Ringham - Language Arts will begin a new unit by building background knowledge about life in Chicago during the late 1950s to prepare them to read the play “A Raisin in the Sun” through that lens. They will analyze how an author develops character and conflict in a story.
Mr. Thoennes - In Language Arts, we will be starting Unit 8B and introducing the play A Raisin in the Sun.
Math & Pre-Algebra
Mrs. Cassida - In Math, students will wrap up operations with rational numbers with a test on Friday. Pre-Algebra students will continue in Unit 3 with the distributive property and linear equations.
Ms. Costello - In Math, we will be taking the Chapter 3 Test on Tuesday (9/27), then will begin Chapter 4.
Science
Ms. Schaber - Science students will be reviewing for and taking their unit test over the scientific method and the engineering design process. We will then be introducing our next unit.
Ms. Gawrys - In Science, we will be taking our Q1 Exam on Wednesday and doing a fun experiment to get us ready for states of matter!
Social Studies
Ms. Hatton - Social Studies students will continue to learn about the basics of economics including economic sectors, development, and trade.
Mr. Walker - In Social Studies, we will be working on the different aspects of economics.
Ms. Hatton's Social Studies Classes
Below are some pictures of students in Ms. Hatton's Social Studies classes building straw towers. Enjoy!
Foresters News
Mrs. DeBow, Mr. Gullion, Ms. Tobin & Mrs. Zimmerman
Ms. Costello, Ms. Gawrys, Mr. Thoennes & Mr. Walker
Language Arts
Mrs. Zimmerman - In Language Arts students will continue reading Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass.
Mr. Thoennes - In Language Arts, we will continue to read about Frederick Douglass while we look at the injustices during the time of slavery.
Pre-Algebra & Algebra
Mrs. DeBow - Next week, Pre-Algebra students will test over Chapter 3 on Tuesday 9/27. Algebra students will test over Chapter 3 on Thursday 9/29.
Ms. Costello - In Math, we will be finishing chapter 3, begin reviewing, and then will take the Chapter 3 Test on Friday (9/30).
Science
Ms. Tobin - In Science, we will be taking a quiz on the characteristics of life and spontaneous generation on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Ms. Gawrys - In Science, we will be working through the characteristics of life and taking a quiz on Thursday.
Social Studies
Mr. Gullion - Social Studies will be looking at the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Mr. Walker - In Social Studies, we will be finishing up the Road to Revolution with a test next Friday.
Greyhounds News
Mrs. Warthan, Ms. Kegley, Mr. Casey & Mr. Osen
In Science, students will compare spontaneous generation and germ theory. Biology students will investigate ecological populations. In Algebra, students will be solving different types of equations and solving word problems by writing equations. Chapter 3 test on Thursday. Pre-Algebra students will take Unit 3 test on Tuesday. The remainder of the week will be spent finding connections between linear representations. Social Studies students will be identifying various causes of the Revolutionary War. In Language Arts, students will continue reading The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass where we learn about justice in slave holding societies.
Greyhound Team Information:
Please make sure to have a charged computer every day!
Panthers News
Mrs. Hood, Mr. Rodgers, Mrs. Taylor & Mr. Williams
Pre-Algebra classes will be review on Monday in preparation for our test on Tuesday. Our new unit is the start of graphing, slope and slope intercept form of linear equations. As always students will be working on IXL this week. They must complete 10 diagnostic questions and move 4 skills to 90. In Algebra, we are reviewing for our Systems of Equations Test on Tuesday. Our next unit will cover exponents and exponential growth. Students will be exploring the differences between linear, quadratic and exponential functions. Language Arts classes will be reading and working with Chapters 2-4 of Frederick Douglass. If time permits, they will have a quiz over Chapters 1-4 and vocabulary for those chapters. In Science, we will investigate the impacts of water on living things. We will have a quiz on Thursday 9-29 over characteristics of life and what living things need to survive. We will then begin classification of life studies. Biology classes will finish our population growth and sustainability studies. We will end the week creating Ecological footprint posters. In Social Studies, we are having a test over Unit 3 (Causes of the Revolution) on Friday. Study guides will be handed out tomorrow and we will do some review activities during the upcoming week.
Encore News & World Languages
Señora Barker (Spanish), Mrs. Hauptmann (Japanese), Mr. Parr (Computer Science), Mrs. Leonard (Art), Mrs. Gleissner (FACS), Mr. Hamsley (Engineering and Technology), Mr. Wolf (Robotics) and Mrs. Snyder (Flight & Space and Medical Detectives)
Spanish
Next week students will be starting a new chapter that discusses how to express one’s like and dislikes.
Japanese
Next week students are continuing with hiragana characters; also seasons and weather.
Computer Science
7th grade: Students are wrapping up their Final project and playing their creations.
8th grade: Final Workdays in Shark Tank project and presentations!
Art
7th grade: Next week 7th grade will create a self portrait collage.
8th grade: Next week 8th graders will create a three dimensional landscape sculpture using the elements of unity and Emphasis. We will have a root beer float pitch in Friday, September 30 to put our hand made ceramic mugs to use.
7th & 8th grade FACS
7th and 8th grade students will continue working on their sewing projects. 7th graders will practice hand stitching and button sewing. 8th graders will also practice hand stitching and button sewing; they will also get to practice with sewing machines and make a pillow to take home!
7th grade Engineering and Design
Students will be finishing up their middle houses.
8th grade Gateway to Technology
Students will be finishing their hydroponics gardens.
Flight & Space
Students are working on and completing their final project for the class. Students will complete a Mission to Mars that includes choosing a crew, scheduling that crew, choosing a rocket to launch, choosing a location to land, and building and testing a Mars Rover.
Medical Detectives
Students are working on and completing their final project for the class. Students will become real epidemiologists and solve the case of the mysterious toxin spreading through Montgomery Hills. They will review medical files, patient interviews, and food menus to decide where the toxin is coming from.
Robotics
For our final week, students will continue building a billboard that will be coded to start and stop spinning with the push of a button.
PE/Wellness News
Mrs. Fair, Mrs. Lucas & Mr. Jackson
PE students will be completing their final week in their unit rotations. Students will be taking unit assessments, finishing fitness tests, and taking a quarter assessment this week. Students should be bringing their uniforms home on Friday so that they can be clean and ready for the next round of PE this school year.
Music Department News
Mr. Abbey (Band), Ms. Szymkow (Band), Mr. Zimmerman (Choir) & Mr. Miller (Orchestra)
Band
Jazz Band and Pep Band will not meet the week of October 3rd. Make-up assignments are due before Friday, September 30th to get credit for any late or missing assignments.
Choir
Students will be finishing up any theory work in Unit 1 in their books. There will be an open mic event on Friday, September 30th. All students are encouraged to sing a song for the class, if they want to.
Orchestra
All classes recorded music we have been working on. Please check out our recordings on Schoology! Continue to support your students by making sure they bring their instruments home a few times a week and practice for about 45 - 60 minutes per week. Thank you!
Media Moments with Ms. Sever
Media Center
Ms. Sever
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th to October 15th each year. In the library and on Sora, we have a variety of books written by Hispanic authors and featuring Hispanic characters and culture. This week, I would like to highlight a Pura Belpré Award-Winning Book called Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar.
Ruthie Mizrahi and her family recently emigrated from Castro’s Cuba to New York City. Just when she’s finally beginning to gain confidence in her mastery of English—and enjoying her reign as her neighborhood’s hopscotch queen—a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined her to her bed for a long recovery. As Ruthie’s world shrinks because of her inability to move, her powers of observation and her heart grow larger and she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are as human beings, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can sweeten even the worst of times. – Provided by Penguin Random House
To read about Ruthie and her new life in New York City, check out a copy of Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar from the AMS South library!
OFFICE PROCEDURES
AMS South's Attendance Policy & Early Dismissal Proceedures
ABSENCE PROCEDURE
If a student is absent from school, the PARENT must call the school by 10:00 A.M. to report the absence. If no call is received, the automated school system will make an effort to contact the parent, but if NO PARENT CALL has been received by 3:00 P.M. the day following the absence, the student will be charged with an unexcused absence. You may also send an email to us to notify us of your child's absence at msattendance@avon-schools.org.
EARLY DISMISSALS
** Please be advised that we cannot take early dismissal information over the telephone. **
If your child needs to leave school early during the school day please send a note in with your child to bring to the office first thing in the morning or email us at
msattendance@avon-schools.org with all the necessary information: students name, date and time picking up, and the name of the person picking your child up if someone other than a parent or guardian will be picking up. This email will go directly to the front office secretaries and they will be able to get your child an early dismissal pass so that they can be in the front office when you are ready to pick them up. If you are unable to email us we will need you to come into the office with your valid ID, once we verify it is a parent/guardian picking up we will be able to call the student down for dismissal.
If someone other than a parent or guardian will be picking up your child we MUST have this information in writing from a parent/guardian. Please include his or her name on the note or email. Once we verify their photo ID then the student can sign out and leave.
If leaving early for a doctor/dentist/orthodontist appointment, please provide verification note from the appointment to the main office to ensure that the absence is excused.
Using this email will ensure your child will get a pass out of class to be in the office. Please do not use Parent Square to send a message to your child's teachers as we cannot guarantee that this message will get to the front office to get your child a pass. Our teachers are very busy throughout the day and may not be able to check Parent Square often, or if the teacher is out that day we would not get that message in the front office in time to get your child an early dismissal pass.
We want to make sure that your information is getting to the right person in a timely manner, and hopefully prevent any miscommunication or missed messages.
Pre-Arranged Absences
It is our belief that students can best achieve academic success by being in school every day. We also understand that a student may occasionally have an opportunity to experience extraordinary opportunities that may result in a missed day of school. The principal or designee may grant a pre-arranged absence, if the absence provides an extraordinary opportunity for the student and/or family. The request must be submitted at least five school days in advance of the requested absence. The student will be required to complete all missed work upon his/her return to school.
No more than three days of pre-arranged absences will be approved each year. Pre-arranged absences may not be granted during the following circumstances:
- I-Learn
- During semester exams
- When the requested absence would push the student’s attendance record into excessive absence status or if the student has surpassed the allowable number of absences.
AMS South Visitors Policy
For Visitors to our Building
Avon Schools require all visitors to check-in at the front office using our visitor management system, Safe Visitor. This system requires visitors to scan their driver's license or state identification card for a check of their record. A temporary badge is provided to all visitors to wear while in our buildings. As our visitors leave school, they scan and return that badge to front office staff.
Entering the Building
Anyone entering our building beyond the front office will need to have a valid photo ID with them so that they can be checked in through our Safe Visitor Solutions system. You will be given a badge to wear while in the building so that you are identified as a visitor. When leaving you will return to the front office so that we can check you out of Safe Visitor Solutions and take your badge.
Visiting Students during Lunch
At this time, we are allowing parents/guardians to have lunch with their child during their specified lunch time in our commons area outside of the cafeteria. Parents must follow our policy for entering our building listed above; present a valid photo ID and be checked into our Safe Visitor system. Please take note that this process may take a few minutes to get you checked into our system so please allow for a few extra minutes for that process.
**If someone other than a parent/guardian would like to have lunch with your student, we MUST have that information in writing in advance from a parent/guardian. You can either send a note in with your student to bring to the office when they arrive at school in the morning, or you can email our attendance line with the information at msattendance@avon-schools.org
BUILDING ACCESS
Please be prepared to identify yourself, provide a valid photo ID, and provide a reason for your visit when you arrive. Thank you for your patience in adapting to the updated and more secure system.
21st CENTURY SCHOLARS
7th and 8th grade parents: Your children may be eligible for a college scholarship!
View the form below for more information.
STUDENT LAPTOP RENTAL INSURANCE
Worth Ave. Group Laptop Insurance
Avon Community Schools has chosen Worth Ave. Group as the vendor of choice to insure school-issued laptops rented by students. Insurance with Worth Ave. Group will protect the device against: Accidental Damage, Theft, Fire, Flood, Natural Disasters, Power Surge and Vandalism. This insurance policy will provide full replacement cost coverage and will protect the item worldwide (on and off school grounds). The policy is also transferable to a replacement unit. Insurance plans may be purchased online.
- Coverage Term: July 18, 2022 - July 18, 2023
- It is up to you to renew yearly.
- Deadline to Purchase Coverage: September 5, 2022
- Yearly Insurance Rates:
- 6th-12 Grade: Lenovo 11e Laptop $45.00
- Costs are prorated for enrollment after September 5.
STUDENT HANDBOOK
COMMUNITY NEWS
Avon Education Foundation Upcoming Events
Homework Hotline
Need help with Math and Science homework?
Call the Homework Hotline
1-877-ASK-ROSE
Click below to visit their website
Avon High School Athletic Events
The Avon High School Athletic Administrators asked us to pass along the following information regarding middle school students attending football games. Please read carefully as students must purchase tickets online prior to showing up at the stadium.
Students must have a digital ticket or All Sport Pass for entry. Tickets are $7 this year for Varsity events. To expedite entry, the ticket should be purchased ahead of time via the link with a credit card. Ticket info for purchasing online single event tickets and/or All Sport Passes (which will be sent to the purchaser’s phone) can be found at https://websites.eventlink.com/s/avon-high-school/Tickets. Tickets can be purchased on the link provided for Home and Away events throughout the school year.
K-8 STUDENTS ATTENDING FOOTBALL EVENTS AT AVON HIGH SCHOOL - It is highly encouraged that all elementary and middle school students be accompanied by a paid adult. Unsupervised students will be required to sit in the middle school section on the SW corner of the Football Stadium and will not be allowed to wonder around. Backpacks, shoestring bags, and sports equipment (footballs, frisbees, etc.) are not permitted at AHS athletic events.
Mary Lee Maier Community Pantry Information
The Mary Lee Maier Community Pantry is available to Avon school families and employees.
Every Thursday from 5:00 - 6:00PM (when school is in session)
at Avon Intermediate School East
Please do not arrive before 4:30PM due to AIS bus/school traffic
Enrollment is simple. Please complete your 2022 - 2023 enrollment before you shop. Below you will find more information for enrollment, please click the link below.