Weekly News
December 22, 2020
Calendar Items
Monday, January 4 - Classes resume
Monday, January 4 - Friday, January 14 - Distance Learning continues
Friday, January 15 - No School
Monday, January 18 - No School - MLK Day
Tuesday, January 19 - Hybrid learning resumes
1st Semester
The end of the first semester is nearly here. Our students have had a great first semester of learning and we continue to see the positive impacts of our learning management system, Canvas, in our classrooms. As we gear up for the end of the semester, please take note of the important information below regarding grades and courses in Canvas.
End of Semester Information:
At the end of the day on Thursday, January 14th, courses in Canvas will conclude and will no longer be visible on the Canvas Parent app. A concluded course is only visible through the Canvas Website. To view first semester courses and grades after January 14th, open Canvas in a web browser, log in, and click on the Courses tab. Click View All Courses and scroll down to find the past enrollments. Access Past Enrollment guide (Video tutorial)
Final exam scores and other individual assignment grades can be viewed in Canvas. Semester grades reports will be published in ParentVUE in January.
Need some help?
Blue Valley has a variety of resources available for parent support on the district’s Canvas web page, www.bluevalleyk12.org/canvas.
School Play Information
Play auditions are coming up when we get back from Winter Break! Keep an eye out for more information then, including a Canvas course that will house all the important information. For now, if you are interested, you can go ahead and fill out this Play Audition Sign-Up Form here: https://forms.gle/XM8dtbG6j4MtsLnLA
Boys Basketball Starts January 4!
8th grade boys intermural basketball will begin January 4th. Below are several important items to know if your student would like to participate.
- Our teams will be led by Head Coach Andy Pastine – apastine@bluevalleyk12.org.
- Athletes competing with club teams will be able to participate in intermural basketball.
- Intermurals are open to 8th Grade boys enrolled in In-Person and VirtualED learning.
- Intermural teams will compete against intermural teams from other Blue Valley middle schools.
- Intermural teams will be coached by Aubry Bend coaches.
- After a few practices, coaches will assign players to teams based upon ability level.
- Administrators, coaches, and athletic trainers will collaborate to establish and utilize procedures to mitigate risks.
- Players and coaches will wear masks at all times.
- All participants will complete daily COVID temperature screenings.
- Students will need to arrange their own transportation to school for practices and home games. Transportation will be provided from a student’s home school for away games.
REQUIRED FORMS
- If your student will participate in intermural boys basketball, please fill out this Boys Basketball Sign-Up form.
- Each student participating in intermural sports must submit a completed 2020 Intermural Pre-Participation Packet to the ABMS office. This packet includes a permission form, a COVID-19 questionnaire, and a transportation consent and release form. This packet must be on file at ABMS prior to participation in an intermural practice or game. Families are encouraged to submit these to the ABMS office at their earliest convenience.
- If a student submitted a 2020 Intermural Pre-Participation Packet for cheerleading, cross country, or football, the student does not need to submit a second packet in order to participate in boys basketball.
- Physicals are not required to be submitted for students to compete in intermurals.
School Pictures
Mathcounts
Congratulations to the following students who will represent Aubry Bend Middle School as members of the Math Counts Team. Congratulations.
Suhani Busanelli, Alice Chen, Max Clark, Nandini Desai, Drew Havens, Sneh Kalra, Eli Mick, Cameron Paschke, Sriha Penugonda, Hank Rong, Luca Scalise, Abby Stevens, Diya Sunil, Jayan Vattigunta, Dane Weninger
PSAT Information
Any 8th Grader who took the PSAT this fall may now access their scores digitally. We should receive paper copies of the score reports in the future. When they arrive, we will pass them out to students, but in the meantime, scores may be accessed by one of the following methods below.
1) If a student put their email address on the answer sheet, they would have gotten an email saying that the score report was ready and would just follow the prompts in that email.
2) If a student didn’t put their email address on the answer sheet, they can get their scores by going to this website. The key is that students use the exact same name that they bubbled in on the PSAT answer sheet. The attached document would help you see what name the student bubbled in case there are issues with this process.
· Invest in ABMS/PTO membership - Make your year-end tax donation! Any and all support is very much appreciated!! Log into ParentVue to donate.
· AMAZON SMILE - Did you know you can support ABMS by shopping through Amazon Smile? It's an easy way to help, but you must shop through our link.
· "BE IN THE KNOW WITH ABMS PTO"- Be sure to follow us on FB (@AubryBendMSPTO) and twitter (@AbmsPto).
· SCHOOL DIRECTORY - Directories are ready for pick up! If yours does not come home with your kiddo, be sure to stop by the office to grab it. Thank you!
· SNACK CART - Through the Student Services team and in partnership with our teacher grant chairperson (and your INVEST in ABMS), PTO was able to fill a "snack cart" for the counselors to have as a special surprise for the staff. Such a fun way to lift their spirits during the day!
· PIE DROP - THANK YOU to everyone who donated pies for this fun holiday event!
· HOLIDAY BAGS - THANK YOU to all of the families who helped fill bags. Our holiday elves were busy delivering them last Friday!
· HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL WINTER BREAK! CHEERS TO 2021!!
ABMS Library Webpage
This is just a reminder that our Library Webpage contains a wealth of information and resources for all ABMS students. It’s updated regularly with new resources, book recommendations via First Chapter Fridays and/or Book Trailers, and monthly Choice Boards. There’s links to our social media pages. Pay attention to the TABS that lead to our online databases and other educational resources. If you haven’t been on lately, take a look! ABMS Library Webpage
The 6th grade team wishes you a happy and healthy winter break!
The 7th Grade Team wishes everyone a happy, relaxing and safe Winter Break!
SAVE THE DATE
January 13th
New Timberwolf Night: Athletics and Activities Involvement 2021-2022
Please join us virtually on Wednesday, January 13th for an informational night for all incoming freshmen for the 2021-2022 school year. This night will be an opportunity for all incoming freshmen to learn how to get involved at Southwest! Coaches and sponsors from our athletic teams and activities programs will be available to answer questions and present information to students and families regarding their programs.
This night is dedicated for athletic and activity involvement only. More information regarding high school enrollment will be provided at a later time.
Remember back on December 11 when I told you that I wanted you to have the most accurate information and dates to be able to plan for the end of first semester and the beginning of second semester? Remember when I told you that I hate retracting incorrect information to replace it with correct information? Remember 2020? HAHA
I’m going to try this again and include an updated snapshot of important dates below.
- January 4 – First day of school after winter break – full day of classes (7:41-2:50) – Distance Mode Continues
- January 14 – Last day of 1st semester – full day of classes (7:41-2:50)
- January 15 – No School for Students – End of first quarter
- January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – No School
- January 19 – First day of 3rd quarter – full day of class (7:41-2:50) – Hybrid Mode Begins
(More specific information about the hybrid mode and second semester calendar will be available after winter break.)
- February 25 and 26 – No school EC-12; parent-teacher conferences
- March 15-19 – Spring Break
- April 22 – Professional learning day shifted from April 19 to April 23 (this means school will now be in session on April 19)
A complete copy of the revised 2020-21 school year calendar can be found online.
Our office will be closed over the winter break and will reopen January 4 at 7:30 a.m.
I hope you and your family are able to enjoy the break and recharge for what will surely be an amazing 2021! Thank you for your continued support of ABMS! We value our community and want you to know that you can trust us.
Sincerely,
Diana Tate, Principal
Aubry Bend Middle School
Email: AubryBendMiddle@bluevalleyk12.org
Website: www.bluevalleyk12.org/ABM
Location: 12501 West 175th Street, Overland Park, KS, USA
Phone: 913-624-2300
Facebook: facebook.com/Smore
Twitter: @smorenewsletter