With October 2nd being National Custodian Day, it is perfect timing to thank all of the amazing custodians in the Avonwroth School District. Every day our District is in operation, it takes our entire team across all departments to make our school days run smoothly and efficiently. This year is in some ways like every other year and in other ways, very different. In the areas of cleaning and sanitizing, our custodial staff has played a key role in putting measures in place to help keep our students and staff safe.

Help us send a shout out to our amazing custodians for the incredible work they are doing. The next time you see one of our custodians, please stop and thank them for all of their hard work. Their extra attention to detail and ensuring our buildings stay clean throughout the day and then completely sanitized at the end of each school day is both extremely important and extremely appreciated. You are all amazing and we appreciate you very much!

On September 24th we sent out this information but we would like to remind you that Avonworth School District will offer FREE MEALS to all children, up to age 18, beginning on October 1, 2020.

The USDA released waivers extending FREE MEALS through December 31, 2020 (contingent on available funding). One FREE breakfast meal and one FREE lunch meal, per child, per day.

This applies to ALL students, in all educational models—in-person, hybrid, and virtual! In addition, meals may be ordered for any additional children in your household under the age of 18! Please support our program and take advantage of our healthy meals!

Contact the Food Service Director with any questions or concerns.

412-366-6360 x 1612 or mschad@avonworth.k12.pa.us

The School Nutrition Staff will prepare, bundle, and package meals for all orders received. Parents must do their part by PLACING MEAL ORDERS! Meal orders are essential to ensure that enough meals are prepared, prevent food waste, and control costs.

Please visit the menu tabs on the Nutrition Services section of the District Website to order meals for your child by the school that they attend and their selected educational model. This link will take you to the Menu Tab: Menu Tab/Nutrition Services Webpage

Operation Safe Stop occurs during National School Bus Safety Week every October and provides an opportunity to remind the public of Bus Stop Safety Laws. This initiative is a combined effort of law enforcement agencies, school transportation providers, and PennDOT to raise public awareness about the potential consequences and reduce the occurrence of illegal school bus passes. Please review the following Pennsylvania Bus Stopping Laws and help keep our students safe at their bus stops.

• Motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from a school bus with red lights flashing and stop arm extended.
• Motorists must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped.
• Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must stop until the red lights have stopped flashing and the stop arm is withdrawn.

On September 24, 2020, the Avonworth School District held its first Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion meeting for the 2020-2021 school year. Over 100 individuals registered to attend this meeting with approximately 60 joining the meeting on September 24th. We were thrilled at the response and very happy to have so many voices present at the meeting.

During the meeting, we reviewed the history of this committee, actions that have occurred as a result of this committee, and discussed the direction the committee plans to take moving forward. Also, launched at the meeting were webpages that have been added to the Avonworth School District website highlighting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion efforts and stories from across the District. A link is provided below for you to access these webpages.

We hope that you will join us in our effort to promote equity and inclusion in the Avonworth School Community. A page was recently added to our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion webpages which will include diversity, equity, & inclusion resources. As this page was just added, we only have a couple of resources listed at this time. However, check back often to look for new resources added to the page.

Please use the link below to access our diversity, equity, & inclusion webpages.

We are very excited to be implementing Eureka Math in grades K-5 this school year. After a yearlong review of different math programs, our K-5 Math Team selected Eureka Math by Great Minds. This highly-rated math program will take our students beyond learning the process for solving math problems and help build their understanding of why that process works. A link has been provided below to a review of Eureka.

Our first grade wanted to share that they have begun the newly adopted Eureka Math curriculum and students are talking about number bonds and "rekenreks." Each student has brought home a "succeed" math book that accompanies the curriculum. This is an excellent resource with a parent page describing the concepts presented and additional practice pages for student use. The resources for first grade are similar for each grade.

To help our parents/guardians become familiar with Eureka Math, we will be announcing a math night in the near future. Stay tuned for more information.

As part of our data analysis and graphing math unit and the meteorology unit in Science, 6th-grade virtual students had the pleasure of virtually meeting with Aerographer's Mate Master Chief and Command Master Chief of Naval Meteorology and Oceanography, Patti Kelly. Master Chief Kelly (Avonworth Class of '97) spoke of her experience in the U.S. Navy, her role as a Navy Meteorologist, and exciting weather-related events. The students had many insightful questions and were appreciative of the time Master Chief Kelly spent with them.

AES Students in grades 3-6 come together digitally each week to participate in virtual drop-in classes hosted by the school counselor, Mrs. Alaina Schrader. In Origami class, students practice patience, growth mindset, and flexible thinking. In Directed Doodling class, students flex their creative muscles and fight negative self-talk & perfectionism. Brain Yoga is a class modeled after a game young adult Author & writer, Jason Reynolds, leads weekly on his Instagram live where he challenges young people to make a new invention/creation out of two random objects. In this class, students learn entrepreneurship, stretch their imaginations, and earn a spot on Mrs. Schrader's wall of fame for having great ideas. These classes allow students to meet other students in different grades, help keep students busy & engaged, and foster community & connection during a strange and challenging time.

Students and families can visit http://aescounseling.weebly.com/classes--drop-ins.html for more information and to see specific class offerings.

The fourth-grade virtual academy students have been working hard every day! Mrs. Tepe focuses on math instruction and has been teaching place value. Mr. Leibach is focusing on reading instruction and is currently teaching the difference between literal and figurative meanings.

Prior to the start of this school year, Avonworth's teacher took part in professional development with Eric Sheninger, a leader across the Country in digital learning. Although many of our teachers had experimented and used a variety of digital learning tools last spring, Mr. Sheninger did an excellent job modeling and expanding on these tools for our teachers. In fourth grade, and across the District, Avonworth teachers are engaging students in learning while using tools like Peardeck, Flipgrid, and Padlet. We encourage you to ask your children about how these tools are enhancing their learning experience, especially those in our virtual academy.

If there is one thing that is a certainty, it's the talent of our Avonworth students. Avonworth artists have been working hard both at home and in the Art Studio this year. Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Villani have loved seeing students stay creative in this new format! Keep up the great work Mrs. Croft, Mrs. Villani, and Avonworth artists!

Why not mix learning and creativity? Not only are students in Mrs. James' Videography class learning about videography, but they are also integrating lessons about conflict resolution. Students have been busy creating stop-motion videos with a focus on the theme of "conflict." Some students are choosing to resolve their conflict before the end of their mini-movies and some are leaving it as a cliff-hanger. All of the students have unique and engaging stories developing and will begin adding dialogue and foley in the coming weeks!

We are proud to announce that Avonworth School District has earned the EVERFI Champion Seal, awarded annually to North American school districts who’ve made an exemplary commitment to whole-child education.

This recognition acknowledges our dedication to transformational change in the interest of equity and the well-being of all students. This honor is provided by EVERFI, a digital education organization focused on helping educators address the most challenging issues affecting society, including financial literacy, social-emotional learning, health and wellness, inclusion, and college and career readiness.

We are honored to be one of fewer than five percent of districts across the nation to earn the EVERFI Student Impact Champion designation. Our educators are dedicated to teaching the whole child because we know that it not only impacts how healthy and productive students are during their time with Avonworth but also their well-being and success far beyond the K-12 years.

Congratulations to the 2020-2021 seniors that have been accepted into Avonworth's chapter of the National Honor Society for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to COVID, we were not able to have our usual recognition ceremony that would have taken place last spring.

To gain acceptance, each senior had to meet high standards in the four pillars of the National Honor Society (leadership, scholarship, character, and service), and they all proved to be exemplary in these categories. The first group of students to be inducted into Avonworth's National Honor Society was all the way back in 1939. Therefore, these seniors represent a long tradition of excellence at Avonworth. For the full list of seniors that have been inducted, please click on the link below.

Congratulations to all 52 seniors that have been accepted into the Avonworth National Honor Society!

The name Helsel is synonymous with musical excellence. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that Lea Helsel has recently been recognized on the national level for her musical genius. Lea Helsel has been selected to participate in the 2020 NAfME All-National Honors Orchestra! Lea is the second student in three years from Avonworth to be selected for all-national recognition, following in the footsteps of her older brother Lukas! Congratulations Lea! Amazing!

Avonworth freshman golfer, Kai Carlson, led the way for the team this year as the top score in every match which culminated in an overall team record of 10-2. Kai's exceptional play earned him a spot in the WPIAL Championship which was played on October 1 at Allegheny Country Club. To get to the WPIAL Championship round, Kai finished first in the section qualifier with a score of 81 at Pheasant Ridge Golf Club. Carlson would need the confidence gained from the section qualifier as the stakes were high in this year's WPIAL Championship compared to years past. Normally, 18 players advance to regionals before moving on to the PIAA Championship. This year, with modifications in place due to COVID, only 12 players would advance directly from the WPIAL Championship to the PIAA.

Anyone that plays or watches golf knows how up-and-down a round of golf can be. Kai certainly experienced that in this tense WPIAL Championship round. With a 30-yard chip-in on hole 3, Kai was at the top of the leaderboard and at even par after 4 holes. With the course set up long and challenging for the championship round, Carlson found some trouble and carded some bogies and a double on some of the holes in the middle of the round. The final stretch would prove who could keep their nerves together and hold on to make it into the top 12. Carlson did just that as he parred the challenging final three holes to card an 81, finish 8th overall, and advance to the PIAA Championship! Congratulations Kai and best of luck at States!

The Avonworth Golf Team had a very strong season with a final record of 10-2, which is one the best record for the golf team in over a decade.

In their final match of the season, Avonworth earned its 10th victory beating Eden Christian Academy with a score of 186 to 194 at Clover Hill Golf Course. Freshman Kai Carlson led the way with a one-over-par score of 33 followed by Brandon Sapolsky (+4) Shane Root (+4) and Nathan Scrabis (+5).

With the season coming to a close, it was time for the WPIAL team playoffs and the individual WPIAL qualifier. Avonworth brought one of the strongest groups of players to the individual section qualifier which was played at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course. With the course set up to challenge the players, only Avonworth's Kai Carlson was able to advance. Kai delivered the top score in the section at 81. Congratulations to all of the Avonworth golfers on an amazing season and incredible effort in the individual WPIAL qualifier as Avonworth had 4 of the top 7 golfers in the event!

Next up, Kai will be heading to the PIAA Championship and the team will compete in the WPIAL team playoffs which begin the week of October 12. Good luck to Kai on his individual quest and to the entire team in the playoffs!

Individual Qualifier Scores from Pheasant Ridge

1 Kai Carlson (fr) 81 Avonworth
2 Andrew Parker 82 North Catholic
3 Luke Gronbeck 82 Eden Christian
4 Ethan Ellis 87 North Catholic
— number to qualify was 87 ————————-
T5 Brandon Sapolsky (fr) 89 Avonworth
T5 Mason Donovan(sr) 89 Avonworth
7 Shane Root (so) 90 Avonworth

15 Nathan Scrabis(sr) 95 Avonworth

21 Nick Slater (sr) 101 Avonworth

This past Monday evening the Lopes took on South Allegheny High School. The boys put on an offensive display by burying a total of 10 goals. Addison Dextor got the scoring started at the 28:00 minute mark. Six minutes later Anthony Mundorf scored. With a final tally of 7-0 at the end of the first half, additional goals were scored by Connor Whalen, Jason Witherall, Ralfi Gonzales (2 goals), and MIke Osekowski.

Three additional goals were scored in the second half. Anthony Mundorf and Mike Osekowski scored their second goals of the night and Henry Wagner put in the final goal of the contest.

Keep up the great work boys as you head into the second half of the season!

The varsity girl's volleyball team suffered a tough 3-0 loss to North Catholic last week as they finished off the first half of section play with a record of 5-2. Then, Thursday rolled around and the girls righted the ship with a commanding 3-0 victory over Carlynton. Senior Captain Sasha Kosko led the team effort finishing the match with 7 kills and 5 digs. Also contributing was sophomore middle hitter Sophie Culley who remained the rock the offense needed. Culley ended the night with a team-high 10 kills and an impressive 69.2% hitting percentage. Congratulations Lady Lopes and keep up the incredible teamwork in the second half of section play!

With the beautiful weather this fall, our varsity girls and boys cross country teams have taken advantage and run very well against their competition. Congratulations to the boys who tallied a 10-1 overall record and 5-1 in the section. Congratulations to the girls who tallied a 4-3 overall record and 4-2 in the section.

After becoming Section 2 WPIAL Champs last year and reaching the Section 2 PIAA Championship game, the Lopes Football Team made the move up to Section 3 play for the 2020-2021 season. The season got off to a great start with a strong 35-0 victory over Quaker Valley. Junior running back Ian Syam and sophomore quarterback Nate Harper led the way for the Lopes. Syam finished with 125 yards rushing and Harper had over 100 yards passing along with one TD pass.

The Lopes record is currently 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

The high school yearbook has begun accepting senior portraits. Seniors and their families can submit their photos to be printed in the yearbook through our website (click on the link below). The deadline for portraits will be December 18, 2020. Information about the 2021 yearbook will be posted to the high school announcements in the near future.

The Avonworth Counseling Department, in coordination with Moon Area High School and Quaker Valley High School College Counselors, is hosting virtual high school visits and information sessions.

Dates, times, and links can be found in the document below.

October 5: Athletic Committee Meeting, 6:30 PM

October 5: School Board Work Session, 7:30 PM

October 12: No School for Students

October 12: Curriculum Committee Meeting, 6:30 PM

Octo ber 12: School Board Regular Meeting, 7:30 PM

October 14, 15: Flu Clinic