Dear AMS Cougar Families,

Asheville Middle School is one of seven schools within Buncombe County that is designated as a Community School. With support from the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County and in partnership with a powerful network of community partners, we aim to make our school a hub of service to ensure "all children and youth learn, grow, and thrive in a healthy, vibrant, and connected community" (unitedwayabc.org). This partnership is what allows us to have resources such as the Asheville City Schools Foundation's In Real Life (IRL) after school program, our Blue Ridge Health Cougar Care Center, United Way Community Nights featuring Homework Diner, and a Community School Coordinator. This past week leaders in the Community School movement across the United States convened in Asheville for their national retreat, and a group of them came to Asheville Middle School one afternoon to tour and learn about our community partnerships. They were blown away at the many opportunities that this partnership has created for our students. Seeing it through their eyes, I also marvelled at what a blessing these resources are for our students and families.

One core element of a Community School is a commitment to partnerships and building relationships. As a school, we can not do the work of educating our students alone. Here are some ways that we currently need your support:

• We have 82 students that we are hoping to support through our "Holiday Joy" project. We currently only have 20 students sponsored. Please consider supporting a student either through purchasing items on their wish list or making a donation. Consider recruiting others in your family to also participate. The article below my opening letter gives more details. To sign up, just email our social worker, Fredericka.pasley@acsgmail.net.
• If you are looking to make year end financial donations to good causes, here are some to consider:

- We need donations to support scholarships for our eighth grade students going to D.C.

- We need donations to support paying off meal charges for students

• If you want to be prepared to volunteer for field trips and other activities, please go ahead and sign up for a volunter training and complete a short background check. (Details in a section below)

As I look ahead at this Thanksgiving week, I am struck by how very thankful I am for all of the individuals who make up our Cougar family. We have amazing students who come to campus each day ready to learn and lead. We have supportive parents that partner with us to grow their students into responsible young adults. We have a dedicated faculty that go above and beyond to create innovative lessons and engage our students. We have phenomenal specialists who support our students' needs. We have hardworking educational support staff that get students here on the bus, keep our building clean, run our office, cook hot meals, make sure our tech works, support our students when they do not feel well, secure our campus, and help students engage in the classroom. We have athletic coaches who help our students understand that they are scholars first and athletes second. We have staff and community members who have stepped up to support clubs and academic competitions so that our students can pursue their interests. We have a team of substitutes who support us when staff members are out. We have the community partners that help us fulfill our mission. Thank you to everyone who is a part of our work at AMS. I hope you each have a terrific Thanksgiving Break.

I have a couple of other critical announcements for this short two-day school week:

• On Monday all students will be participating in a Turkey Trot sponsored by our elective team. Students should come prepared with the layers they need to be comfortable outside during their electives. We could use some parent volunteers to help on the course. Please email Kathryn Meinert at kathryn.meinert@acsgmail.net if you are able and interested in supporting.
• Seventh grade students who are interested in being AMS Ambassadors for tours should turn in their completed application on Monday, November 21. The short forms are available in the main office, the seventh grade office, and with the seventh grade counselor.
  
• MATHCOUNTS will meet Tuesday at 7:45 instead of Thursday this week. It is not too late to join! Reach out to Coach Dr. Eunmee Koh at ekoh@unca.edu or the faculty sponsor Andy Weatherly at andy.weatherly@acsgmail.net.
• The school office will be closed Wednesday through Friday.

Finally, I want to congratulate Asheville Middle School EC teacher, Kaysee Grogan, on being featured by WLOS this week in their Thanks to Teacher segment. You can check out the video here.

Here is to another great week at Asheville Middle School!

Sincerely,

Jo Landreth

Principal

Asheville Middle School

Season’s Greetings to AMS Families,

Let’s share the Holiday Joy! This is the time of year when we can come together to support our families and students! As we are aware, the holidays have been a challenge to a growing percentage of our students experiencing poverty.

I am reaching out to you in an effort to help support in providing students' holiday assistance for Christmas. Thanks to your support last year, The Holiday Joy Project provided 70 students with meaningful gifts. Once again, this year, we are appealing to your sense of community to ensure our families have a wonderful holiday season with gifts.

The “Holiday Joy” Project: You can help make a difference by:

• sponsor a student’s wish list

• make a financial donation (online or by check)

Please fill out this Holiday Joy Project Interest Form if you are interested in contributing. Each interested sponsor will receive a Student Wishlist in early November. All sponsored student wishlists and donations should be turned in at AMS by Tuesday, December 6th. Gift distribution will be Friday, December 16th.

You may contact me at fredericka.pasley@acsgmail.net or via phone at 828-747-8049.

We truly appreciate your continued support of our students and community!

Financial contributions are as follows:

Checks should be made out to: Asheville Middle School

(Memo: “AMS Holiday Joy Project”)

Mail to: Fredericka Pasley 211 South French Broad Ave. Asheville, NC 28801

Online: Here is the direct link to ACSF donation Paypal page. Once there, donors can select the "Use this donation for" dropdown and choose (“AHS/AMS Hands Up! Program”).

Thank you so very much for your kind generosity!

Fredericka Pasley, BSW

School Social Worker AMS

Dear AMS PTO Members,

Great news! This fall, PTO provided two educator grants for special projects (drama club start up and a literature/books request for 8th grade), supported the 8th grade fall social, hosted an educator luncheon, sold spirit wear at sports events, participated in the AMS Open House, held a fundraiser (Flower Chrysanthemum’s sale), and joined School Improvement Team and Resource Team meetings. We are just getting started!

We have many opportunities for AMS families to support our students and educators! Please consider where your talents and time could contribute to these key events and actions:

AMS Educator Appreciation Week. December 12-16th . Sign up to help us celebrate and bring joy to AMS Educators! They work so hard for our students. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090b48adad29a7fd0-teacher

AMS Spirit Wear Sales. a variety of dates are available to sell at sports and music events in December. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084ea8a72ea7fe3-amsfall

8th Grade Graduation Dance. A committee of families/parents will meet in January to start planning. Come help us make the end of 8th grade memorable for our students! We’re looking for 8 members. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084EA8A72EA7FE3-amsmontford

AMS Spring Carnival. AMS PTO is considering a spring carnival fundraiser event. We’ll need a robust committee of families/parents to take part in leadership and planning. We’ll start conversations in January.https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084EA8A72EA7FE3-amsspring

The AMS Capstone Trip Fundraising Committee is looking for items from local businesses that they can use in a silent auction to support our eighth-grade students on the Washington, DC Trip. If you are able to provide any items of value that could be used to raffle off/auction at an event in January, please contact Joe Hooten, at joe.hooten@acsgmail.net

ACS Volunteer Training Schedule for 2022-2023

All level II volunteer training will be held virtually for the 2022-2023 school year. There are 20 slots available for each session. The sessions last 30 minutes. Please register at the Sign-up Genius link below

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4BA5A92BABFB6-acsvolunteer1

You will need to attend the entire session in order to receive credit for the training. Once the training session starts, you will not be allowed into the Zoom session. Attendance will be taken at the end of each session.

Tuesday, December 6, at 5:30 PM (Boardroom at 85 Mountain Street)

Wednesday, December 14, at 12:00 PM (Virtual)

Friday, January 13, at 12:00 PM (Virtual)

Monday, January 23, at 12:00 PM (Virtual)

Monday, January 30, at 12:00 PM (Virtual)

Link to the Background Check form: https://bib.com/secure-volunteer/ASHEVILLE-CITY-SCHOOLS/home

Just a reminder from the AMS Family and Student Handbook:

Requests for educational leave should be completed and submitted to the principal at least two weeks in advance of the planned travel. No more than five days will be approved, and families must submit this form and students must submit the assigned work to have the absence coded as educational leave.

In order for an absence to be considered educational, the student must meet educational goals and standards as outlined in the Standard Course of Study. All standards are available here on the NC Department of Public Instruction website. These standards must be listed out on the form.

Educational Leave Form

School Health Program

A Division of the MAHEC Family Health Center

When to Keep Your Student Home from School

There are times when your student should not attend school. Keeping your student home at these times will prevent the spread of illness to other students at school. If you have questions, please contact your School Nurse, Lina Lam at 828-708-5328.

ILLNESS WHAT TO DO?

Difficulty breathing or other signs of serious illness - Keep student home. See Healthcare Provider.

**See COVID-19

Chickenpox

Keep student home until they have no new sores for 24 hours AND all sores are dried and crusted.

**During an outbreak of chickenpox, students who are NOT vaccinated for chickenpox (Varicella) and have been in close contact with someone sick with the infection will not be allowed at school for 21 days after they were last exposed to chickenpox, even if not sick.

COVID-19 (positive antigen or PCR/molecular test)

Keep student home until:

• It has been at least 5 days after the first day of symptoms (or specimen collection date if asymptomatic); AND

• It has been at least 24 hours since the student had a fever (without using fever reducing medicine); AND

• Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving

**Student should wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days after the first day of symptoms to minimize the risk of infecting others, unless an exemption to mask use applies. The student may remove their mask sooner following 2 sequential negative tests 48 hours apart.

COVID-19 symptoms, including: • Fever or chills • Cough • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing • Fatigue • Muscle or body aches • Headache • New loss of taste or smell • Sore throat • Congestion or runny nose • Nausea or vomiting • Diarrhea

Keep student home until:

• Student has received a negative PCR/molecular test for COVID 19 OR an alternate diagnosis from a healthcare provider AND: o It has been at least 24 hours since the student had a fever (without using fever reducing medicine); AND
• They have felt well for at least 24 hours

OR

• It has been at least 5 days after the first day of symptoms AND It has been at least 24 hours since the student had a fever (without using fever reducing medicine); AND Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving

**Unless student has received a negative PCR/molecular test or alternate diagnosis, they should wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days after the first day of symptoms to minimize the risk of infecting others, unless an exemption to mask use applies. The student may remove their mask sooner following 2 sequential negative tests 48 hours apart.

Diarrhea that cannot be controlled and/or has blood/mucus in it or with a fever

Keep student home. See Healthcare Provider.

**See COVID-19

Fever with oral temperature 100.4 F or higher and not feeling well enough to participate in class. Keep student home until fever-free for 24 hours without using fever- reducing medicine such as Motrin or Tylenol

**See COVID-19

Head lice

If lice are first found at school, student may stay until end of the day but may not return until treatment has been started and all live lice are gone.

Illness that prevents the student from taking part in class activities easily - Student may return to school when able to take part in activities.

Impetigo

Keep student home until 24 hours after antibiotics have been started.

MRSA

Keep student home if sore is draining and cannot be covered with a clean, dry bandage. Keep student home if they cannot keep from picking at sore.

Pink eye with white or yellow discharge or eye pain - Keep student home until seen by a healthcare provider and 24 hours after 1st dose of medicine, if prescribed.

Rash with fever or behavior change - Keep student home until seen by a healthcare provider and treated if needed.

Ringworm

If ringworm is first found at school, student may stay until end of the day if it can be covered. Student may not return until treatment has been started. Area must remain covered until completely healed.

Scabies

Student must stay home until after treatment is complete.

Strep throat

Keep student home until 24 hours after antibiotics have been started.

Vomiting 2 or more times within 24 hours- Keep student home until able to tolerate regular diet.

**See COVID-19

Monday, November 21: AMS Turkey Trot during each grade level elective (dress in layers)

Tuesday, November 22: MATHCOUNTS (7:45 AM) (Change from Thursday for the short week)

Tuesday, November 22: Wrestling @ home vs. Erwin (4:30 PM)

Wednesday, November 23: Annual Leave Day; no school for students (OFFICE CLOSED)

Thursday, November 24: Holiday; no school for students (OFFICE CLOSED)

Friday, November 25: Holiday; no school for students (OFFICE CLOSED)

Week of November 29-December 2: Progress reports for 2nd quarter go home

Tuesday, November 29: Basketball v. Valley Springs @ home (4:30 PM Girls followed by Boys)

Tuesday, November 29: Wrestling @ Valley Springs (4:30 PM)

Tuesday, November 29: United Way Cougar Community Night Featuring HW Diner (5:00 PM)

Thursday, December 1: MATHCOUNTS meeting (7:45 AM)

Thursday, December 1: AMS Speech & Debate meeting (3:30 PM)

Thursday, December 1: Basketball @ Cane Creek (4:30 PM Girls followed by Boys)

Thursday, December 1: Wrestling @ Cane Creek (4:30 PM)

PAST TWO WEEKS, BUT IMPORTANT TO PLAN FOR NOW:

Tuesday, November 29: United Way Cougar Community Night Featuring HW Diner (5:00 PM)

Tuesday, December 6: Winter Band Concert @ AHS/SILSA (7 PM)

Saturday, December 10: Asheville Bands 5K @ AMS

Tuesday, December 13: United Way Cougar Community Night Featuring HW Diner (5:00 PM)

Thursday, December 15: Winter Strings and Chorus Concert (7 PM)

Monday, December 19-Sunday, January 1- Winter Break; No School for Students. (OFFICE CLOSED 12/20-1/1)