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

May 1, 2025 - E-Learning Day

May 12, 2025 - 8th Grade Job Shadow Day

May 14, 2025 - Cultural Fair

May 23, 2025 - Oriole Flight (May 27 is the rain date)

Upcoming ILEARN Test Dates:

April 22 - 24: ELA (Tuesday through Thursday)

April 29 - 30: Math (Tuesday-Wednesday)

May 8 - 9: Biology (Thursday - Friday)

AEF will be doing Honor an Educator again this year. Families can purchase a sign for $10 to help us honor our amazing ACSC teachers and staff! Signs will be delivered to school and administrative buildings starting April 16th. Signs are available for purchase through April 25.

Scott Adams - Athletic Director

Joni Johnson - Athletic Trainer

4/15 HOME vs. Franklin Central Jr. High 5:30PM

4/16 AWAY vs. Zionsville West Middle School 5:30PM

Good luck!

HOME golf matches will be at Oak Tree Golf Course

4/15 HOME vs. Lebanon JHS 5:30PM

4/17 AWAY vs. Franklin Central JHS 5:30PM

Good luck!

4/17 HOME vs. Franklin Central JHS 5:30PM

Good luck!

4/15 HOME vs. Paul Hadley 4:30PM

4/16 AWAY vs. Brownsburg East MS 5:15PM

Good luck!

4/14 AWAY vs. Paul Hadley 5:00PM

4/17 HOME vs. Brownsburg West MS 5:30PM

Good luck!

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.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU:

Riley Hackett

Sharif Aziz

Raevyn Perez

Michaela Fallowfield

Alex Loyer

Jaime Bell

Abigail Ford

Patrick Umeh

Braxton Dotlich

Morgan Jones

Noah Pruneda

Ellie Clark

Madelynn Kane

Brennan Greene

Derek Byrd

Iaan Mora Fulca

Gad Boualou

Simon Tapa

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.

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.

Ms. Costello, Mrs. Dugan, Mrs. Williams & Mr. Uhl

In Language Arts, students will start the week with the practice ILearn test. They will spend the rest of the week analyzing narrator’s perspective and reliability and argument, using the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. Next week in Social Studies, we will finish our current unit with our test on Friday. Math will be continuing to review probability and will be taking the Unit test on Tuesday (4/15). Pre-Algebra will be continuing their functions unit and will be taking the unit test on Friday (4/18). Next week, in Science, we will continue learning about Mechanical Energy. Students are gearing up for a big project where they will construct roller coasters out of paper!

Mrs. Barnes, Mr. Blackmore, Mrs. Boroff & Ms. Weinstein

In Language Arts, students will continue their work with Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". Next week, we will pivot from a general discussion of the story into a debate on whether or not it is fair to prosecute those who might be suffering from psychological impairments. We currently have a quiz over Stems List 13 planned for April 18th. Math students will complete their unit on probability and take their test on Friday, April 18. Pre-Algebra students will complete their unit on measurements of 2D and 3D shapes and take their test on Friday, April 18. In Science, we have started out unit on energy. We've been discussing kinetic energy, potential energy, and how to calculate each. Next week, we will be looking at mechanical energy and applying these concepts to a rubber band lab. We will also be introducing our big roller coaster project, by creating a "baby coaster." If you would be interested in helping to copy pages next week (April 14th - 18th) during the day for building the coaster, please message Mrs. Barnes. This is a huge "building" project that requires many different pieces for the students to create their roller coasters. Social Studies students will be finishing the short unit on China with Mao Zedong and modern China. Our unit quiz will be on Friday 4/18. Students will be receiving a review sheet on Thursday 4/17, there are review activities already posted in Schoology in the black folder at the top of the social studies page. They can start reviewing now.

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 learn about the M’Naghten Rule and apply it in analyzing the narrator in The Tell Tale Heart.

Mr. Thoennes - Students will be reading stories by Edgar Allan Poe while focusing on mood and tone.

Math & Pre-Algebra

Mrs. Schaffer - Math and Pre-Algebra students will be reviewing key 7th grade math standards in preparation for the upcoming state standardized test. This review will help reinforce their understanding and boost their confidence as they approach the test.

Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will begin learning about data and statistics.

Science

Mrs. Miller - Science students will be discussing mechanical energy and how energy transfers from one form to another.

Ms. Schaber - Students will continue to learn about mechanical energy. Students will be completing a CSA over mechanical energy on Friday 4/18.

Social Studies

Mr. Leach - In Social Studies, students have been learning about the Chinese Civil War and will start learning about communist China. Our China Test will be on 4/18.

Mr. McDonald - Students will learn about Communist China and Mao Zedong.

Mrs. DeBow, Mr. Goson, Mrs. Mellen & Mrs. Zimmerman

Mr. McDonald, Ms. Schaber, Mrs. Shambaugh & Mr. Thoennes

Language Arts

Mrs. Zimmerman - On Monday, April 14th, students will complete the ILEARN Performance Task practice test.

Mr. Thoennes - Students will start their Space Race Unit, learning about different advances in space technology and the impact those advances mad

Pre-Algebra & Algebra

Mrs. DeBow - Pre-algebra students will test over probability on Tuesday, April 15. Algebra students will apply systems of inequalities to real-world situations.

Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will take the Probability Test on Tuesday, April 15. We will then begin our unit on solving and graphing inequalities.

Science

Mr. Goson - Science: Students will continue our chemical changes unit by observing and partaking in designing chemical reactions. We will have a quiz over Lewis diagrams, classifications of matter, and physical vs chemical changes on Friday, April 18th. Biology students will be wrapping up their genetics and heredity unit. On Friday, April 11th, I sent a study guide home with students. This study guide will cover all the topics that will be on the test. We will be testing over the unit on Friday, April 18th.

Ms. Schaber - Students will continue to learn about chemical reactions. They will then be taking a quiz over Lewis dot structures, chemical bonding, types of matter and chemical reactions on Friday 4/18.

Social Studies

Mrs. Mellen - Next week, we will be talking about the Oregon Trail and finishing up the Gold Rush. Our test is on Friday 4/18.

Mr. McDonald - Students will take their Unit 9 Test over Westward Expansion.

Mrs. Warthan, Ms. Kegley, Mr. Casey & Mr. Osen

Science: Students will be examining the signs of a chemical reaction.

Biology: Students will be preparing for their genetic disorder projects.

Pre-Algebra: Students will test over probability of compound events on Tuesday. During the remainder of the week, students will begin solving linear inequalities.

Algebra: Students will solve systems of inequalities.

Social Studies: Students will be reviewing manifest destiny and the California gold rush in preparation for their Unit 9 Test.

Language Arts: Students will be starting the Space Race Unit (our final unit) and taking a practice test for the ILearn Performance Task.

Mrs. Cadle, Mr. Garrison, Mrs. Hood & Mr. Williams

Science: Students will continue on with chemistry part 2. Our focus, this week, will be on how to identify if a chemical reaction occurred. We will be taking a quiz over chemistry part 2 on Friday, April 18. A practice quiz will be given on the 17th so they have a studying aide.

Biology: Students will wrap up their genetics and heredity unit with a genetic linkage lab and begin the human genetic disorder project. Their test over genetics and heredity will be on Friday, April 18. A study guide has been given, extra copies are available on Schoology.

Language Arts: Students will be taking a required ILEARN practice test on Monday. We will be looking over some sample ILEARN items and beginning their next ELA unit, The Space Race, for the rest of the week.

Social Studies: In Social Studies, students will be creating a presentation on a social reformer of the 1800s. They'll also be wrapping up Unit 9 Manifest Destiny with a test on Friday.

Pre-Algebra: We will take our Probability Chapter Test on Tuesday, April 15 and start learning about solving and graphing inequalities on a number line.

Algebra: Over the next 2 weeks, we will continue to work with applications of inequalities, but we will also spend some dedicated time in class preparing for ILEARN. We have moved the Inequalities Test to Friday, April 25 to avoid giving them a math test on the same day as ILEARN testing.

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

Next week we will learn about Nicaragua and Guatemala. We will also work with a group called the Pulsera Project. We will sell fair trade bracelets to our school the week of April 21st. If you want to read about the Pulsera Project, check out the website. https://www.pulseraproject.org/

Japanese

The Japanese class topics will be: drawing katakana characters from memory, recognizing kanji characters, cherry blossoms in Japanese culture, and Shinto festivals.

Computer Science

7th graders will be learning about keyboard and mouse inputs, and conditional statements.

8th graders will be starting and working on their safe projects.

Art

In 7th & 8th grade art classes we just finished our charcoal projects and are beginning the portrait project. We will be using graphite pencils to draw a portrait of their choosing. We will be working on this for the next two weeks.

7th grade Engineering and Design & 8th grade Gateway to Technology

7th grade: Students will be starting to 3d model and build the Toaster tongs out of pine wood in the shop.

8th grade: Students will be starting to 3d model and build the Phone Stand project out of pine wood in the shop.

Digital Literacy & Communication

This week in Digital Literacy, we are starting our narrative writing unit! Classes will be doing a deep dive on writing techniques like dialogue and description, then learning about how those techniques can be used in visual media forms like film and comics.

Robotics

Robotics 1 – Students will finish mechanism builds and will be introduce to wind turbine project.

Robotics 2 – Students will finish pull toy projects before reviewing basic coding concepts and getting introduce to dragster project.

Flight & Space

Flight and Space will continue to work on their first project. They will be creating flight plans, scheduling a crew, and building an airplane. The students are very excited and always get super creative during this project.

Medical Detectives

Medical Detectives will wrap up their first project where they will play doctor and patient. They will interview each other to find out what disease their patient has. They will then begin the brain unit.

Mrs. Lucas, Mr. Jackson & Mr. Van Winkle

This week, we are excited to continue our Quarter 4 units. Dressing out is crucial for participation, accounting for 30% of the overall grade. Students should wear grey shirts, black shorts, and tennis shoes to every class.

We’re Back and Ready to Go!

We’ve been very impressed with how much students have retained since returning from Spring Break. Their focus and energy in class have been great, and we’re looking forward to a strong finish to the school year.

Upcoming Test

Our next Unit Test will be on Tuesday, April 15. Students should be reviewing the Blooket and study guides to help them prepare and do their best.

Study Resources Matter!

Students who utilized Blooket and study guides for test preparation have seen great success. We encourage all students to continue using these resources to prepare for upcoming assessments.
✅ Blookets are posted and available for students to review.
✅ Study guides are posted and available for students to review.

Quarter 4 Unit Progression

We will continue our units this week with the following transitions coming up:

• Ultimate Frisbee will transition to Pickleball
• Pickleball will transition to Fitness
• Fitness will transition to Ultimate Frisbee

Reminder

PE is a high school credit course, and the grade will be part of your student’s academic record. Please encourage your student to come prepared and actively participate each day.

Thank you for your continued support!

Ms. Lucas took her PE classes to the tennis courts this week to play pickleball with the nice weather earlier this week, enjoy a few photos below.

Mr. Basso (Band), Mr. Miller (Orchestra) & Mr. Nelson (Choir)

Band

Our band students continue to prepare for their next performances and are busy in class each day! Band parents: for more specific information, please consult Mr. Basso's band newsletter.

Choir

In choir we are working toward our Spring Concert, which will include a balance of new songs as well as old songs we have used throughout the year. Students have been working on identifying the "do" solfege syllable on a Grand Staff, as well as focusing on singing topics derived from our repertoire (diction, expression, phrasing, etc.) We are excited to celebrate the year with our Spring Concert on the evening of May 8.

Orchestra

Orchestra:

Congratulations again to all orchestras on fantastic ISSMA performances on Friday, March 7(Jazz Orchestra), Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15! Our students represented Avon South very well! We have received official confirmation that the bands and orchestra received the All Music Award presented by ISSMA this year. This is a first in the history of Avon North and South's Orchestra programs! Congratulations everyone!!!!

All new music is in the hands of students, and I'm hoping they are practicing even more at home than the beginning of the year because we only have 5 weeks until our Spring Concert on Thursday May 15th! You will hear music by Ariana Grade, Chappell Roan, Coldplay, and Adele at this concert with a few other standard orchestra tunes!

Parents of 8th grade students, the Orchestra Playing Final/High School Audition is due on April 23rd by midnight. We have gone over the final piece that students need to complete the video for their final. We will be spending a little time in class next week going over how to submit that and then also the day before it is due as well. Students should not be waiting until the last minute to practice for this final and should be practicing at home. If so, that will lead to added stress on their part. Everything they need to complete is in Schoology. Let me know if you have any questions.

String Step up night is at Avon MS North on Wednesday, April 23rd. If you would like to upgrade your student's instrument, please sign up at this link, and then show up to your appointment. If you are planning to upgrade that night, have your student bring their current rental with them to swap it out. You will enter Door 8 or 3. More information to come.

KING'S ISLAND

Students in 8th Grade Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra or AbC Orchestra qualify for our annual King's Island Trip. All payments were due by Friday, April 11. Chaperones need to complete by April 18th at the latest. Here is the registration form and website. This was sent out via ParentSquare in January: https://appiantours.groupcollect.com/v2/go/amssorc25

It's official - Avon Middle School North and South Orchestra and Band received the All Music Award this year! It is the first time for the South band since the 2018-2019 School year, and this will be the 4th time in the school's history that they have received this award. For South orchestra, this is the first time that South has ever received the All Music Award in the school's history.

Congratulations to Jeremy Basso, Cory Gates, Emma Cook, Vivian Szymkow, Carmen Smith, and Kyle Miller for providing every middle school music performance opportunity that ISSMA offers including Solo & Ensemble, Jazz Contest and Junior/Middle/Elementary Organization Contest!

Thank you for all of your support,

Kyle Miller

Mrs. Sever

Our first week back from Spring Break has been a busy one! April is Arab American History Month, and we are celebrating in the AMS South Library. We have a variety of books written by Arab American authors and featuring Arab American characters. These books will be on display to celebrate the month!

We had Mr. Tarnowski’s 8th grade Digital Literacy students in to research different issues that schools face. With this research, they created Canva posters to present their argument to their audience. We also had 7th and 8th grade ELA classes visit to checkout new books upon returning from break.

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.

If your child will be absent from school due to a virtual doctor appointment, whether leaving early or coming to school late, to ensure that the absence is excused we will need you to provide written documentation of the appointment from the doctor. Please be sure to ask your doctor to email you a note to provide to school for the appointment. You can either print the email out and send to school with your child to bring to the office, or you can email it to our attendance line at

msattendance@avon-schools.org.

It is our belief that students can best achieve academic success by being in school every day. We also understand that a student may occasionally have an opportunity to experience extraordinary opportunities that may result in a missed day of school. The principal or designee may grant a pre-arranged absence if the absence provides an extraordinary opportunity for the student and/or family. The request must be submitted at least five school days in advance of the requested absence. The student will be required to complete all missed work upon his/her return to school.

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

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

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.

Need help with Math and Science homework?

Call the Homework Hotline

1-877-ASK-ROSE

Click below to visit their website

www.askrose.org

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.

Please click on Community Flyers below to take you to the ACSC web page of all the Educational Flyers and Community Events Flyers happening in our community.