Oriole's Nest
April 5, 2024
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 2023 - 2024 School Calendar
ACSC 2024 - 2025 School Calendar
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
April 8, 2024 E-Learning Day - Students will complete schoolwork at home on this day, more information to come.
April 19, 2024 - Students vs. Teachers Dodgeball Tournament 4:05 - 6:30PM - Students check Schoology for more information or send Mrs. Barnes or Mrs. Shambaugh a Schoology message. Students will need to be picked by 6PM at door #13.
April 23, 2024 - ILEARN Testing begins - see below for testing schedule
E-Learning Day 4/8/2024
Please watch for a ParentSquare message from Mr. Chapin regarding expectations for our E-Learning Day.
ILEARN Testing Schedule
ELA
Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)
- Tuesday, April 23 & Wednesday, April 24
Performance Task (PT)
- Thursday, April 25 & Friday, April 26
Math
Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)
- Tuesday, April 30 & Wednesday, May 1
Performance Task (PT)
- Thursday, May 2
Biology
Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)
- Thursday, May 9
Crochet Club Retreat
Mrs. Koontz & Mrs. Dugan will be hosting a Crochet Club Retreat after school on Tuesday, April 9. See below for more information.
Restaurant Food during Lunches
Federal School Lunch Guidelines do not allow students to have food from local restaurants in the school cafeteria. A few students have recently asked their parents to drop off food for them and their friends to eat during their lunchtime. Please say no if your child asks you to do this.
We can only allow parents to bring in food from a nearby restaurant for your child when you are staying to eat lunch with your child during his or her scheduled lunch time. Your child's friends will not be allowed to eat lunch with you and your child.
Thank you for helping us follow the school lunch guidelines.
Dan Chapin
UPCOMING ATHLETIC EVENTS AND INFORMATION
Mr. Will Mahan, Athletic Director/Dean of Students
Ms. Joni Johnson, Athletic Trainer
Girls Tennis
4/9 - AWAY vs. Paul Hadley Jr. High 5:30PM
4/10 - AWAY vs. AMS North 5:15PM
4/13 - AWAY vs. Avon South Round Robin 5:15PM at Avon High School
Good luck!
Baseball
4/9 - AWAY vs. Lebanon MS 5:30PM
4/11 - AWAY vs. Franklin Central JR. HS 5:30PM
Good luck!
Track & Field
4/9 - HOME vs. Indianapolis Christian/Paul Hadley JHS 5:30PM
4/11 - AWAY vs. Brownsburg West MS 5:30PM
Good luck!
Student Season Passes - South Hosted Athletic Events
The season pass for students is offered through EventLink. EventLink is the online ticket platform that we use for athletic events at South. The student will simply need to show the barcode via cellphone to the ticket taker when entering a game.
The link to purchase this ticket is below:
https://websites.eventlink.com/s/avon-middle-school-south/Tickets/Passes/2900/276
AMS South Spirit Wear Sales - Sales end April 11th
Attached you will find a document containing a QR code for a Spirit Wear store for Avon South that opened today. There is a nice variety of different brands and different options of gear to choose from. We have partnered with Shirt Tales in Plainfield to create this store. The two options to receive the items ordered are in-store pickup and having the items shipped to the address you provide during the check-out process. Additionally, we wanted to offer items that have the flexibility to be worn at other Avon schools as our students will be transitioning to the high school in the next few years. Several items have "South" on them while others do not. Lastly, there is the capability to make several items sport specific for our spring sport teams. For example, you could order an item and choose the option "track & field" under the logo.
The link to the website is below if you prefer a link over the QR code.
All Products | Avon South (inksoft.com)
We are excited to continue to build our school corporation's brand as we welcomed the new logo this past summer!
Thank you,
Will Mahan
STUDENT INFORMATION
Celebrating Birthday's This Week!
Happy Birthday
to our students celebrating a birthday this week:
Wyatt Tennery
Shawn Adjei
Navpreet Kaur
Yuen Qiu
Dornesha Jicin
Yazan Al Neis
Levi Wyatt
Riley Hackett
Logan Hodge
Levi Burroughs
Luke Fultz
Sharif Aziz
Raevyn Perez
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 Language Arts, students will be working on their first short story in our new unit, Unit 7D: Poetry & Poe. They will read “The Tell-Tale Heart” and analyze this classic piece of literature, showing their understanding through both writing and discussion. In Social Studies, we will continue discussing historical events in East Asia. In Science, we will explore how rocks are created and change over time. Students will learn how different processes, such as weathering and uplift, contribute to the creation and destruction of rock. In Math, we will be finding the volume and surface area of 3D shapes as well as the area of 2D composite shapes.
In Pre-Algebra, we will begin our unit on transformations (translations, reflections, rotations, and dilations).
Grizzlies News
Mrs. Barnes, Mr. Blackmore, Mrs. Boroff & Ms. Weinstein
All E-Learning assignments for Language Arts will be posted by 9AM Monday morning. Students can expect to have a short Amplify quiz as a part of their E-learning for next week. Additionally, we will be continuing our work studying poetry through studying Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." In Science, we will have a short quiz on Monday as part of the E-Learning Day assignments along with an activity about the solar eclipse. All E-Learning assignments will be posted on Schoology. The remainder of next week we will start the next Earth Science unit looking at the 3 different types of rocks and the rock cycle. Math E-Learning work for Monday, April 8 will be found on top of our class Schoology page. If your student has questions, they can message me on Schoology. Math students will be continuing the unit on 3D shapes, they will be learning more about Volume and Surface Area. We will also be taking the math practice I-Learn on Thursday, April 11. The next test is scheduled for Thursday, April 18. Pre-Algebra students will be beginning their unit on translating images on a coordinate plane. We will also be taking the math practice I-Learn on Thursday, April 11. The next test is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23. E-learning assignment for Social Studies will be posted on Friday. Students will receive their worksheet in class on Friday, it will also be posted on Schoology. They can access the daily folder, watch the videos, and complete the activities on the worksheet. It will be due when we get back to school on Tuesday. Students will need to continue to work on their international food project at home. ALL FOOD PROJECTS ARE DUE FRIDAY APRIL 12th. Students should have had approval for recipes by the end of last week. If this did not happen, it needs to ASAP or there could be a penalty on their final score. Food and extra credit can be dropped off on the day in the office or brought with your student to school. We will have refrigerators and microwaves to heat up food as the day goes on. Students who do not turn in their projects may not be able to participate in the international food day on Friday.
Jaguars News
Mr. Leach, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Ringham & Mrs. Schaffer
Mr. McDonald, Ms. Schaber, Mrs. Shambaugh & Mr. Thoennes
Language Arts
Mrs. Ringham - Language Arts students will read “The Tell Tale Heart” and explore narrator reliability. They will also begin preparation for a debate over the sanity of the narrator using the M’Naghten Rule.
Mr. Thoennes - Students will be reading some of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, including the Tell Tale Heart.
Math & Pre-Algebra
Mrs. Schaffer - Math 7 students will continue to practice with circumference and area of circles and will begin calculating volume and surface area of prisms. In Pre-Algebra students will test on congruence and similarity of images after transformations on the coordinate plane. We will also learn how we can use similar triangles for indirect measurement.
Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will calculate the area and volume of geometric shapes.
Science
Mrs. Miller - Science students will be having a quiz to review the theory of Continental Drift, Plate Tectonics and Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition. At the end of the week, we will start discussions about different types of rock and how they are formed.
Ms. Schaber - Next week in science students on the e-learning day will take a quiz on continental drift, plate tectonics, weathering, and erosion. After this, we will be learning more about the types of rocks.
Social Studies
Mr. Leach - In Social Studies students are learning about the geography of China as well as the late Dynasties.
Mr. McDonald - Students will learn about the history of China and the Mongol Empire.
Foresters News
Mrs. DeBow, Mr. Goson, Mrs. Mellen & Mrs. Zimmerman
Mr. McDonald, Ms. Schaber, Mrs. Shambaugh & Mr. Thoennes
Language Arts
Mrs. Zimmerman - Students will complete the reading of Volume II of Frankenstein. They will prep for their Volume II quiz on Friday, April 12th following the completion of the ILearn practice test on Thursday, April 11th.
Mr. Thoennes - Students will continue reading volume II of Frankenstein.
Pre-Algebra & Algebra
Mrs. DeBow - Pre-algebra students will learn to dilate and scale figures on the coordinate plane. Algebra students will test over Chapter 9-part B on Thursday.
Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will perform geometric transformations on the coordinate plane.
Science
Mr. Goson - Next week we will continue our chemistry unit by taking a look at ionic compounds and the ways molecules interact with one another physically and chemically.
Ms. Schaber - Next week in science students will continue learning about our new unit on chemical reactions. We will be diving deeper into the types of chemical bonds.
Mrs. Hood - Biology students will continue their studies with genetics, and understanding how to read and create pedigrees and karyotypes.
Social Studies
Mrs. Mellen - Next week, we will be looking at Texas Annexation, The Mexican American War, and the Gold Rush.
Mr. McDonald - Students will learn about the Mexican American War and The California Gold Rush.
Greyhounds News
Mrs. Warthan, Ms. Kegley, Mr. Casey & Mr. Osen
In Science, students will be investigating/constructing different atomic molecules. Biology classes will be investigating genetic linkage and chromosomal disorders. In Pre-Algebra, students will work with dilations and similar figures. Algebra students will take a test on solving and graphing inequalities. In Social Studies, students will understand the motivations for Westward Expansion. Language Arts classes will be paraphrasing to understand Frankenstein.
Panthers News
Mrs. Hood, Mr. Rodgers, Mrs. Taylor & Mr. Williams
In Language Arts, students will continue reading Volume II of Frankenstein. They will be analyzing the pictures representing the “monster’s” story. Science students will be investigating the solar eclipse and working on bonding types in Chemistry. Biology students will continue their studies with genetics, understanding how to read and create pedigrees and karyotypes. Pre-Algebra are working on transformations. We will be learning about rotations and students will be moving objects in a coordinate plane using multiple transformations at a time. We will also complete our ILEARN practice test on Friday. Algebra students will be completing our unit on one variable inequalities, linear inequalities, and systems of inequalities. Our test will be Thursday followed by the ILEARN practice test on Friday. Social Studies: What is Manifest Destiny, and how did it contribute to the approach of the Civil War? These are the questions we will address in the next two weeks.
Encore News & World Languages
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 be reviewing this week and preparing for their 3B assessment on Wednesday and Thursday. 3B review resources (Quizlet, Gimkit, stem changers list) are available at the bottom of this week’s folder in Schoology. Students will start unit 4A on Friday and will learn how to discuss activities they are doing and places they are going.
Japanese
The Japanese class topics will be recognizing kanji characters, cherry-blossom viewing, and festivals.
Computer Science
7th grade students will be starting their first project! 8th grade students will be working on inputs and outputs for their microbits.
Art
Next week students will finish their slab building mug and begin an exposed coil building vessel. We will use our hand made ceramic mugs on the last day of school for a root-beer float pitch in. I will post an ingredient sign up sheet on parent square in May.
7th grade Engineering and Design & 8th grade Gateway to Technology
7th & 8th grade students are starting to learn how to draw in 2d and 3d in a Multiview format. We are also starting Project 1 this week which is the Toaster Tongs.
Digital Literacy & Communication
This week in Digital Literacy, we focused on how to fact check and analyze what we see online as well as how hackers operate and how to secure your own information!
Robotics
Robotics 1 – Students will continue building and analyzing various gear mechanisms using the VEX V5 components.
Robotics 2 - Students will continue to design and build their pull toy projects using VEX V5 pieces.
Medical Detectives
8th Grade Medical Detectives will learn about the disease agents that make us sick. They will also begin their E.Coli lab.
Flight & Space
7th grade Flight and Space will learn about the parts of an airplane that makes it fly. They will also learn how to schedule a flight crew.
PE/Wellness News
Mrs. Fair, Mrs. Lucas & Mr. Jackson
PE students will have an e-learning assignment on Monday along with all other classes. Students need to make sure they complete this activity using Schoology. When we return on Tuesday, students need to remember to bring their PE clothes and tennis shoes. We will continue our units of pickleball, ultimate frisbee and fitness.
Below are a few photos of students playing pickleball, enjoy!
Music Department News
Mr. Basso (Band), Ms. Szymkow (Band), Mr. Miller (Orchestra) & Mr. Nelson (Choir)
Band
It's great to be back from spring break! All band classes have been working hard on their music for the spring concert slated for May 9th. We can't wait to perform this music! It's been a ton of fun so far.
All 8th grade brass and woodwinds have a very important assignment due on Monday, April 8th by 9pm. All students are being asked to complete the high school band placement music regardless of their intent for high school band. This will ensure that all students get placed in one of the 5 levels of band class next year.
Choir
We are starting our Spring Concert music this week. Little more of a time crunch to have it ready, but we will be brave!
Orchestra
Students are hard at work on their new music! We only have a short time before our May concert. Keep encouraging these students to play for you at home, even if it is only a couple of measures.
8th Grade/Chamber King's Island Trip: Monday and forms are due NO LATER than April 19th. See ParentSquare for details and registration form.
Spring Concert: Tuesday, May 7th @ 6:30pm. Students report at 5:45pm. All students are required to stay for the entirety of the program. 7th Grade students will wear their all black concert polos, pants and shoes. 8th grade students are encouraged to wear their own version of nice concert clothing. In the past, students have worn nice dresses, khakis with a shirt and tie, etc. This is their last concert at the MS, and we want to have them look their own personal best.
8th Grade HS Audition/Playing Test Final: Mr. Powell is visiting our class next Tuesday, April 9th to hand out high school audition and final information. This will be on Schoology as well. This is a required part of students' grades.
Thank you!
-Mr. Miller
Media Moments with Ms. Sever
Media Center
Ms. Sever
April is School Library Month! In honor of this celebration, I wanted to share some insight into what happens every day in the AMS South library. For the week of April 1st – 5th, the library had 10 classes come for a checkout visit in the library. There are around 1,000 books currently checked out from the library, so we have plenty of readers in our school population! The library is more than just a place for books! We also assist with research, curriculum integration, reader’s advisory, and technology training on databases and Sora. As the school librarian, I am so thankful to work with the wonderful students and families at AMS South. Look to future editions of the Oriole’s Nest for more information about library activities!
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 DISMISSAL INFORMATION
** 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 Absence Form
• 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.
Below is our Pre-Arranged Absence form.
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
GUIDANCE OFFICE NEWS
21st CENTURY SCHOLARS
7th and 8th grade parents: Your children may be eligible for a college scholarship!
If your child qualifies for free and reduced lunch they are automatically enrolled in the 21st Century Scholars Program.
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. 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. Please note this insurance does not cover accidental loss of the laptop, and families will be charged the full replacement cost for a lost device.
- Coverage Term: July 18, 2023 - July 18, 2024
- It is up to you to renew yearly.
STUDENT HANDBOOK
COMMUNITY NEWS
Homework Hotline
Need help with Math and Science homework?
Call the Homework Hotline
1-877-ASK-ROSE
Click below to visit their website
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 2023 - 2024 enrollment before you shop. Below you will find more information for enrollment, please click the link below.