Oriole's Nest
August 16, 2024
Avon Middle School South
We Are South, We Are One!
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
Click below to take you the ACSC 2024 - 2025 School Calendar
Upcoming Important Dates
Oct. 14 - 25 - Fall Break - NO SCHOOL!!!
Nov. 11 - Veterans Day Program - more information below
Nov. 27 - 29 - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL!!!
🎩👒 Hat Day - Oct. 11 👒🎩
Veterans Day Program
ATHLETIC INFORMATION
Scott Adams - Athletic Director
Joni Johnson - Athletic Trainer
EventLink - Ticket Purchasing for all Athletic Events
Avon Middle School South will be offering an online ticket option for all athletic events. Online tickets will be available for purchase on the platform EventLink. These tickets will become available for purchase ten days prior to the date of the event. We encourage you to download the EventLink application on your mobile device from the App Store or Google Play Store.
All athletic tickets cost $5. Children between the ages 0 and 5 years old will be free in addition to adults who are 62 years old and older. When purchasing a ticket online through EventLink, there will be a service fee included.
IMPORTANT STUDENT INFORAMTION
Area 31 Career Center
Our 8th grade students visited Area 31 Career Center the week. Here are a few photos from their experience!
🎂STUDENTS CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK!🎂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU:
Isaiah Tubbs
Isabel Phelps
Lincoln Knowlton
Azavian Wibisono
Bryson Leach
Marian Archer
Hiba Marzak
Matteo Cuminotti
Giedon Unyime-Ede
Travis Williams
Kalkidan Lemma
Jude Lough
Sabrina Stewart
Mina Arnold
NJHS STUDY TABLES
Study Tables
National Junior Honor Society will offer after school study help sessions on Wednesday’s after school from 4:10 - 5:00PM.
During this time, there will be a NJHS teacher sponsor 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. Students will then go to the front commons area and wait for the late bus or parent pick-up.
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
Ms. Costello, Mrs. Dugan, Mrs. Williams & Mr. Uhl
In Language Arts, students will finish reading A Raisin in the Sun. They will take their Act 2 quiz on Wednesday and finish the play on Thursday. On Friday, they will take a cumulative stems quiz over lists 1-4 for possible bonus points. Next week in Social Studies students will have their civilization test on Wednesday 10/9 and we will be reviewing the two days prior. Next week in Science, we will be studying for our test on Friday, October 11th. Math will begin learning about proportional relationships. Pre-Algebra will begin learning about monomials and exponents.
Grizzlies News
Mrs. Barnes, Mr. Blackmore, Mrs. Boroff/Ms. Cintas & Ms. Weinstein
In Science, we will be preparing for our end of unit test on Thursday, October 10th over natural resources and human impact. Students will receive a study guide on Tuesday (10/8) that will count towards their overall test grade. It is NOT OPTIONAL. We will have some time in class to work on these. Anything unfinished would need to be completed by day of test. Math students are beginning their unit on proportional relationships. There is no homework this coming week due to fall break. It is a great time to make sure you do not have any missing work! Pre-Algebra students are finishing their percents unit and taking the test on Wednesday, October 9. They will then begin their unit on exponents and scientific notation. There is no homework this coming week due to fall break. It is a great time to make sure you do not have any missing work! Social Studies students will be having a Unit test over Ancient Civilizations on Wednesday October 9th. Students will receive the review sheet on Monday, and we will spend all of Tuesday in class studying and completing the review sheet. There is an entire folder at the top of the Schoology page for unit 3 study materials. I suggest studying 5-10 minutes per day leading up to the test. There are Quizlet digital flashcards, it will make games AND practice quizzes of the material. In Language Arts students will be finishing our read-through of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Additionally, students should be preparing for a 100 question multiple choice Stems Quiz on Friday the 11th! Don't forget to study so you can earn your extra credit!
Jaguars News
Mr. Leach, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Ringham & Mrs. Schaffer
Mr. McDonald, Ms. Schaber, Mrs. Shambaugh & Mr. Thoennes
Language Arts
Mrs. Ringham - In Language Arts, students will finish reading A Raisin in the Sun, take a quiz over Act 2, and have a test over the first 100 stems of the year.
Mr. Thoennes - Students will be reading act 2 of A Raisin in the Sun. They will have their Stems Quiz on October 11th.
Math & Pre-Algebra
Mrs. Schaffer - Math students will begin Unit 4 Module 1 where they will analyze multiple representations of proportional relationships. In Pre-Algebra, students will begin Unit 5 Module 5, where they will develop and use the Laws of Exponents to evaluate, simplify, and perform computations with expressions with powers.
Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will continue exploring proportional relationships.
Science
Mrs. Miller - Science students will be reviewing for our TEST over Natural Resources and Human Impact. We will have a study guide and class time to prepare for our exam.
Ms. Schaber - Students will continue to learn about natural resources. We will be taking their test over the topic on Thursday.
Social Studies
Mr. Leach - In Social Studies, students will be finishing up out 3rd unit. We will be taking our Unit Test on 10/9. All late work for this unit is due by 10/11.
Mr. McDonald - In Social Studies, students will be finishing up out 3rd unit. We will be taking our Unit Test on 10/9. All late work for this unit is due by 10/11.
Foresters News
Mrs. DeBow, Mr. Goson, Mrs. Mellen & Mrs. Zimmerman
Mr. McDonald, Ms. Schaber, Mrs. Shambaugh & Mr. Thoennes
Language Arts
Mrs. Zimmerman - Students will continue working through Volume 2 of Frankenstein. Students are encouraged to use the Blooket link for extra practice of the vocabulary.
Mr. Thoennes - Students will continue reading the graphic novel version of Frankenstein. They will also be taking a vocabulary quiz on 10/11 and a quiz over Volume 1 of Frankenstein on 10/10.
Pre-Algebra & Algebra
Mrs. DeBow - Algebra students take their Ch 3 test on Tuesday, October 8. Pre-algebra students take their Ch 3 test on Wednesday, October 9.
Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will finish Chapter 3 with a test on Wednesday, 10/9. This covers solving multistep equations and determining the number of solutions of an equation.
Science
Mr. Goson - Science students next week we will begin our genetics unit by learning about traits how they are inherited by offspring. Biology students will be taking an assessment over the second part of ecology that we have covered in the last few weeks.
Ms. Schaber - Students will start a new unit beginning Monday. The unit we will be starting is genetics!
Social Studies
Mrs. Mellen - Next week, we will be reviewing and testing over Unit 3. We will also be doing activities to wrap up our knowledge of content learned in Quarter 1. Students have until Friday, October 11th to complete the Orange Belt for extra credit.
Mr. McDonald - Next week, we will be reviewing and testing over Unit 3. We will also be doing activities to wrap up our knowledge of content learned in Quarter 1.
Mrs. DeBow's Algebra
Algebra students have learned to solve a variety of different types of equations this year. We spent the day up at the board practicing solving all of these types of equations with partners. Below are a few photos, enjoy!
Greyhounds News
Mrs. Warthan, Ms. Kegley, Mr. Casey & Mr. Osen
In Science, students will begin investigating the principles of heredity. Biology students will be testing over Ecology Part 2 exam on Wednesday 10/9. In Pre-Algebra, students will take the unit 3 test. The Algebra test scheduled for October 4 has been postponed until October 8. Students will begin solving systems of equations. In Social Studies, students will be taking a Unit 3 test over the causes of the American Revolution. Language Arts classes will be finishing volume one of Frankenstein and taking a quiz over volume one Friday.
Panthers News
Mrs. Cadle, Mr. Garrison, Mrs. Hood & Mr. Williams
In Science, we are going to begin working on our Heredity/genetics unit. Biology classes will be wrapping up the Biobottles activity and taking our Ecology Part 2 Test on Friday, October 11. In Language Arts, students will finish Volume I of Frankenstein and take a quiz over it on Thursday. They will have a vocabulary quiz over words 1-40 on Friday. Social Studies students will be wrapping up Unit 3 Road to Revolution this week. On Monday we will review and on Tuesday we will test. In Pre-Algebra, students will review and test over Chapter 3. The focus of the test will be representing patterns in tables, graphs, and equations, determining if an equation has one solution, no solution, or infinitely many solutions, and solving and checking solutions to equations. Algebra students will review and test over Chapter 3: exponent rules, multiplying and dividing polynomials, and solving multivariable equations. We will introduce Chapter 4 topics by practicing writing equations to model situations.
Encore News
Señora Barker (Spanish), Mrs. Hauptmann (Japanese), Mr. Parr (Computer Science),
Mrs. Leonard (Art), Mr. McFarlin (Engineering and Technology), Mr. Wolf (Robotics),
Mrs. Snyder (Flight & Space and Medical Detectives),
and Mr. Tarnowski (Digital Literacy & Communication)
Spanish
Students will have a quiz on gustar and then give a presentation on their likes and dislikes on Friday.
Japanese
In Japanese, we continue with hiragana n and h groups, handakuten, reading words written in hiragana, and making suggestions.
Computer Science
7th grade students will be working on sprites and text for them to be able to do their first project when we get back from break.
8th grade students will be working towards their first project which is the blink project!
Art
In art, we will continue talking about the elements and principles of art and will be turning in our mandala project Friday 10/11 before fall break.
7th grade Engineering and Design & 8th grade Gateway to Technology
7th grade & 8th grade - Students will be practicing measuring using inches and centimeters early in the week. We will transition to learning how to use Tinkercad as our 3D modeling software later in the week.
Digital Literacy & Communication
This week in Digital Literacy, 7th graders are learning about how to be critical thinkers online by lateral reading and preventing hacking, while 8th graders are learning about the positive and negative effects that social media and AI can have on us.
Robotics
Robotics 1 – Students will be introduced to gear ratios and will begin constructing various gear mechanisms.
Robotics 2 – Students will be introduced to pull toy project and will begin planning and construction of the project.
Flight & Space
We will learn about the concepts of flying, such as the four forces of flight and Newton's Laws.
Medical Detectives
Students will learn how to take vitals on a patient and practice taking them on each other.
PE/Wellness
Mrs. Lucas, Mr. Jackson & Mr. Van Winkle
Welcome to 2nd Quarter PE. During this quarter of PE, we will be teaching units involving basketball, volleyball, and components of fitness. This week we have gone over our rules, expectations and assigned lockers for PE. We also established our warmup routine and enjoyed a day of cardio outside. On next week we will begin our units for this quarter. Students should be prepared by having a grey shirt and black shorts for class every day. IF you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher. Have a great week!
Music Dept. News
Mr. Basso (Band), Mr. Miller (Orchestra) & Mr. Nelson (Choir)
Band
Great concert this week!
Be sure to check out the band newsletter this Sunday!
Choir
In choir we are finalizing repertoire for the Veteran's Day program, as well as getting a fantastic head start on the music for our Winter Concert. It is so great to get started on Winter music before Fall Break, and we are excited to share what we've been working on!
Orchestra
Congratulations to all orchestra students on fantastic concerts the past two weeks! Check out the highlights below! Students are receiving new music and will be preparing for our next concert on December 12. Have a great Fall Break!
7th & 8th Grade Orchestra Concert
Media Moments with Mrs. Sever
Mrs. 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 middle school graphic novel called Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Epstein.
How can you be yourself when no one sees the real you?
Five students meet in the school cafeteria when they’re forced to complete their school community service hours.
There’s George: the brain
Sara: the loner
Dayara: the tough kid
Nico: the rich kid
Miguel: the athlete
Although they’re sure they have nothing in common with each other, some people see them as all the same… just five Spanish-speaking kids. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help… or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school. - Provided by ChristinaGonzalez.com
To read about this fun bunch of students, check out a copy of Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Epstein from the AMS South library!
OFFICE PROCEDURES
AMS South's Attendance Policy
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 leaving early for a doctor/dentist appointment, please provide doctor/dentist verification to ensure that the absence is excused.
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 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.
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.
Virtual Doctor's Appointments
Pre-Arranged Absences
No more than three days of pre-arranged absences will be approved each year.
Pre-arranged absences will not be granted during the following circumstances:
- NWEA and ILEARN testing
- End of Quarter Assessments
- Last three days of a semester
- 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.
You can either print this form out and complete the information requested and send into school with your child to bring to the front office, or you can fill it out and email it to our attendance email address at msattendance@avon-schools.org
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
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, 2024 - July 18, 2025
- It is up to you to renew yearly.
- Enrollment Deadline: September 6, 2024
- Cost is prorated for policies purchased after September.
Homework Hotline
Need help with Math and Science homework?
Call the Homework Hotline
1-877-ASK-ROSE
Click below to visit their website
STUDENT HANDBOOK
COMMUNITY NEWS
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, see district calendar for these dates) at Avon Intermediate School East, southside of building enter door #13.
Please do not arrive before 4:30PM due to AIS bus/school traffic
Enrollment is simple. Please complete your 2024 - 2025 enrollment before you shop. Below you will find more information for enrollment, please click the link below.