Oriole's Nest
April 12, 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 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 - schedule below
May 7, 2024 Orchestra Concert - more information to come
May 9, 2024 - Band Concert - more information to come
May 13, 2024 - 8th Grade Only - Job Shadowing/College Visit - see more information below
May 14, 2024 - Choir Concert - more information to come
May 16, 2024 - School Dance - more information to come
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
8th Grade Only - Job Shadowing/College Visit
Before Spring Break all 8th grade students received information regarding Job Shadowing/College Visit on Monday, May 13th. Hopefully your child has begun working on what they will be doing that day. Some students have already turned in their completed form to the guidance office (thank you for that). Don't wait until the last minute to decide who you will shadow that day or what college you will visit. Completed forms are due in the guidance office by Tuesday, April 30.
A copy of the form was sent out via Parent Square on March 15th.
5/15 - AMS South Blood Drive
Please join us in serving the community and donate blood! Upcoming blood drive on May 15.
Click here to donate: https://donate.indiana.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/166946
UPCOMING ATHLETIC EVENTS AND INFORMATION
Mr. Will Mahan, Athletic Director/Dean of Students
Ms. Joni Johnson, Athletic Trainer
Girls Tennis
4/16 HOME vs. Zionsville MS 5:30PM
4/18 HOME vs. Westfield MS 5:30PM
Good luck!
Boys Golf
4/15 AWAY vs. Franklin Central Jr. High School 5:30PM
4/17 AWAY vs. Brownsburg East MS 5:00PM
4/18 HOME vs. Plainfield MS 5:15PM
Good luck!
Track & Field
4/15 AWAY vs. Zionsville West MS 5:30PM
4/18 AWAY vs. Plainfield MS 5:30PM
Good luck!
Baseball
4/15 AWAY vs. Zionsville West MS 5:30PM
4/17 HOME vs. Tri-West MS 5:30PM
Good luck!
Softball
4/15 AWAY vs. Zionsville West MS 5:00PM
4/17 AWAY vs. Tri-West MS 5:30PM
Good luck!
Avon High School Softball Youth Night
Avon softball will be having youth night next Tuesday 4/16 vs HSE at 6pm. Kids get in free with their jersey on and there will be posters and autographs with the players after the games. We are trying to keep our youth involved with high school sports, we hope to see you there!
Athletic Physicals 2024/2025 School Year Important Information
In an effort to help prepare for the 2024-2025 school year, Hendricks Regional Health has set up physical days to provide high quality, low-cost pre-participation physical exams.
Who
2024-2025 middle school and high school students from Hendricks Regional Health-partnering schools needing a pre-participation physical.
When/Where
- Sunday, April 21 at HRH YMCA Avon – 301 Satori Parkway, Avon {Enter Door 15 on East side of the building}
- Sunday, April 28 at DePauw University (Indoor Tennis and Track) – 100 W Hanna St, Greencastle {Enter off of W. Hill Street}
- Sunday, April 28 at Wabash College Knowling Field House {Enter off Jennison Street Parking Lot}
- Sunday, May 5 at Hendricks Regional Health Danville Hospital –1000 E. Main Street, Danville {Enter through East Entrance}
Sign-Up Here!
https://www.hendricks.org/sportsphysicals
Cost
$25.00 A portion of the fee goes back to the schools.
What to Bring
- Physical Form — Completed printed paper copy of the IHSAA Pre-Participation History Form (updated form link to come after April 1st from IHSAA)
- Glasses/Contacts for vision testing (if necessary)
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
STUDENT INFORMATION
Celebrating Birthday's This Week!
Happy Birthday
to our students celebrating a birthday this week:
Ahna Dumes
Kiki Adenote
Lilly Speanos
Elyssa Wilson
Leah Croley
Jhonn Orozco Membreno
Avery Barber
Braxton Dotlich
Aylin Torres
Theodore Batman
Julva Mavinga
Michaela Fallowfield
Alex Loyer
Abigail Ford
Morgan Jones
Noah Pruneda
Brennan Greene
Harley Fernandes
Gad Boualou
Aniyah Higgins
Simon Tapa
Olivia Long
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 continue their work with “The Tell-Tale Heart” by completing a ToSEEEEC writing and having a debate. They will also learn the effect Poe’s writing had on the creation of Sherlock Holmes! In Science, we will learn about how rocks are constantly changing through the rock cycle. Students will begin their CSA for the unit on Thursday or Friday of next week. In Social Studies, we will continue learning about Modern China and finish the week with a test on Friday. In Math, we will be finding the area of 2D composite shapes, volume of 3D shapes, and taking the test over Unit 10 Module 9. In Pre-Algebra, we will be learning about dilations, similarity, and congruence as well as taking the test over Unit 13 Module 13.
Grizzlies News
Mrs. Barnes, Mr. Blackmore, Mrs. Boroff & Ms. Weinstein
In Language Arts, students will be continuing their work analyzing poetry, but we will also start work on a "Mini-Debate" project over some of the themes that we have discussed in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart". Students will also be preparing for the English I-LEARN Examination, which will take place across the 23rd and 24th of this month. Math students will be studying and preparing for their 3D shapes Test on Thursday, April 18. Pre-Algebra students will be finishing up their unit on transformations on a coordinate plane and will begin reviewing for their test on Tuesday, April 23. In Science, we will continue our unit on rocks and the rock cycle. We are studying the differences between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. We’ll have a lab that will model the process of the rock cycle and begin our rock cycle project that will be due during the week of April 22nd. Social Studies students will be finishing up the unit on China. We will explore the reign of Mao Zedong, cultural revolution, great leap forward, and the modern country of China today. Students will be tested on the unit on Friday 4/19. Students will have access to study materials on Monday 4/15 and will be given their review sheet on Wednesday 4/17. There will be digital flashcards on quizlet.com and review games on blooket.
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 explore other stories by Edgar Allan Poe and learn about the genre of literature that he invented.
Mr. Thoennes - Students will be debating The Tell-Tale Art and if the narrator is truly insane.
Math & Pre-Algebra
Mrs. Schaffer - Math classes will wrap our work with Geometric Figures by finding volume of compound figures. We will take our unit test on Thursday! Pre-Algebra classes will have finished our unit on transformations and will take our unit test on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we will start our new unit on functions.
Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will calculate the area and volume of geometric shapes. The unit test will be Thursday, April 18.
Science
Mrs. Miller - Science students will be discussing the rock cycle, involving the three types of rocks and the processes that occur during the cycle to create them. We will be starting our Rock Cycle project about mid-week, so please have your child bring their colored pencils/crayons/markers to class.
Ms. Schaber - Students will be learning about the rock cycle. They will be completing a lab over the rock cycle and then starting their CSA over the rock cycle.
Social Studies
Mr. Leach - Social Studies students will be learning about Censorship in China and getting ready for our China Test 4/19.
Mr. McDonald - Students will take their Chinese History Quiz.
Foresters News
Mrs. DeBow, Mr. Goson, Mrs. Mellen & Mrs. Zimmerman
Mr. McDonald, Ms. Schaber, Mrs. Shambaugh & Mr. Thoennes
Language Arts
Mrs. Zimmerman - Students will take their Frankenstein Volume II quiz on Tuesday, April 16th.
Mr. Thoennes - Students will be looking at the Creature’s tale and continuing Volume 2 of Frankenstein.
Pre-Algebra & Algebra
Mrs. DeBow - Pre-Algebra students will practice transformations on the coordinate plane. Algebra students will work with probabilities of two-way frequency tables.
Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will perform geometric transformations on the coordinate plane. The unit test will be Monday, April 22.
Science
Mr. Goson - Next week students will learn how to determine whether a reaction shows a physical or chemical change. We will also cover the law of conservation of mass, then students will take a quiz Friday, April 19th, that covers the topics we have been discussing in class.
Ms. Schaber - Students will be diving deeper into reactions. We will be completing some labs over reactions and then taking a quiz on classification of matter, Lewis dot structures, and chemical bonding.
Mrs. Hood -Biology students finalize their genetics and heredity unit with our genetics disorder research project. Friday, 4-19 we will have a test covering genetics and heredity.
Social Studies
Mrs. Mellen - Next week, we will be studying the Oregon Trail and getting ready for our test next Friday, April 19th.
Mr. McDonald - Students will take their Unit 9 Test over Manifest Destiny.
Greyhounds News
Mrs. Warthan, Ms. Kegley, Mr. Casey & Mr. Osen
In Science, students will be investigating chemical reactions and testing over chemistry on Friday. Biology students will be investigating genetic disorders and testing over genetics on Friday. In Pre-Algebra, students will continue working with transformations on the coordinate plane. Algebra students will be studying Association in two-way tables. Social Studies students will prepare for their Unit 9 test over Manifest Destiny. In Language Arts, students will be reading about Creatures perspective in Frankenstein and taking the Volume 2 Quiz.
Panthers News
Mrs. Hood, Mr. Rodgers, Mrs. Taylor & Mr. Williams
In Language Arts, students will finish and be quizzed over Volume II of Frankenstein. Pre-Algebra will continue our unit on transformations. We will be combining multiple transformations and detailing the order of transformations done to get from a pre-image to the image. We will wrap up our week with the review and our test will be Monday, April 15th. Algebra students will begin working on our last unit covering Data and Statistics. We will be discussing sampling methods, biased questions, and exploring joint, relative, and conditional frequencies using tables. We will also complete an 8th Grade Standards review to brush up on topics covered in ILEARN that are not part of the Algebra curriculum. Science students will be wrapping up chemical and physical changes. Friday, 4-19 we will have a quiz over chemistry part II (everything we have learned since spring break). Biology students finalize their genetics and heredity unit with our genetic disorder research project. Friday, 4-19 we will have a test covering genetics and heredity. Social Studies: On Friday, there will be a test on Manifest Destiny. The test will cover the Texas Revolution, Mexican American War, California Gold Rush, and Reform Movements.
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 begin our next unit discussing “Where are you going?” and “What are you doing?” Students have new unit vocab and will be discussing verbs Ir (to go) and Ir + a + infinitives (going to _______).
Japanese
The Japanese class topics will be drawing katakana from memory, recognizing kanji, and making plans.
Computer Science
7th graders will be working on the draw loops, making sprites move, and starting their next project in making an animated scene! 8th graders will be starting and working on their 2nd project which is the create a safe project.
Art
Next week students are creating an exposed coil building vessel with clay.
7th grade Engineering and Design & 8th grade Gateway to Technology
7th and 8th grade - We will be starting to 3d model our toaster tongs this week and also begin cutting them out of wood.
Digital Literacy & Communication
This week in Digital Literacy we completed our How To Demonstration Projects by writing procedures, peer editing them, and recording tutorials!
Robotics
Robotics 1- Students will finish building gear mechanisms and will begin designing wind turbine project.
Robotics 2 – Students will finish construction of pull toy project and will begin designing and building dragster project.
Medical Detectives
Students will learn how to diagnose patients by reading their files and using a disease dictionary to help decide what their patient has.
Flight & Space
We will be wrapping up the flight unit. Students will learn how to schedule a crew and then begin their first project.
PE/Wellness News
Mrs. Fair, Mrs. Lucas & Mr. Jackson
PE students will have a unit assessment on Tuesday and will need to bring their laptops to class. Current units are ultimate frisbee, pickleball, and fitness. Study guides are posted in Schoology. Students will spend the remainder of the week in their new units. As a reminder, PE students need to have a gray shirt, black shorts, and tennis shoes each day.
Music Department News
Mr. Basso (Band), Ms. Szymkow (Band), Mr. Miller (Orchestra) & Mr. Nelson (Choir)
Band
All band classes are working on their 3 songs for the spring concert slated for Thursday, May 9th. Please get this date added to your family calendar if it isn't already.
8th grade band students have their King's Island money and permission slips due this week!
Choir
Choir classes will continuing to work on our Spring Concert music. Kids are singing in more parts than they ever have! 8th graders began singing in four-part harmony, and 7th grade began singing in three-part. This is a huge step forward, and we are very excited to continue work for the next few weeks.
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: Money 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 has visited our classes to hand out high school audition and final information. This information on Schoology as well. This is a required part of students' grades, and it is due May 8th by midnight. Students should have completed the 3 scales already and should be focusing on the "General Etude" or "Symphony" excerpt, and should primarily be working on this on their own. There are practice videos to go along with the materials to help students that were created by the HS orchestra students.
SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION: Avon MS Summer Camp is June 24-28 at AMS North from 9-11:45am. Registration forms have been passed out to students. Camp Fee is $115, and the form is due by May 17th.
Thank you!
-Mr. Miller
Media Moments with Ms. Sever
Media Center
Ms. Sever
April is Arab American Heritage Month. In the library and on Sora, we have a variety of books written by Arab authors and featuring Arab characters and cultures. In honor of this celebration, I wanted to highlight The Turtle of Oman, a middle grade novel, by Naomi Shihab Nye.
Aref does not want to leave Oman. He does not want to leave his elementary school, his friends, or his beloved grandfather, Sidi. He does not want to live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his parents will go to graduate school. His mother is desperate for him to pack his suitcase—but he refuses. Finally, she calls Sidi for help. But rather than pack, Aref and Sidi go on a series of adventures. They visit the camp of a thousand stars deep in the desert, they sleep on Sidi’s roof, they fish in the Gulf of Oman and dream about going to India, they travel to the nature reserve to watch the sea turtles. At each stop, Sidi finds a small stone that he later slips into Aref’s suitcase—mementos of home. – Blurb courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers
To learn more about Aref and his move across continents, check out The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye.from the AMS South Library or Sora!
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
Ivy Tech Summer Camp Information
Hello Ivy Tech Champions! Ivy Tech will be offering a summer camp for middle school aged students this summer focused on Information Technology. We typically do not work with the area middle schools, and we don’t have a list of middle schools’ counselors. Would you be willing to forward this information on to the middle school counselors for the schools that feed into your high school? Thank you and we appreciate your help and assistance. Please feel free to share as you see fit with those who work with students in this age group.
Here is the registration link to the Summer CyberPatriot Camp that the Ivy Tech School of IT is hosting June 10-14. There is no fee for students to attend. The link is set to accept a request of up to 4 tickets per registration. Camp information and a daily agenda is provided in the link.
We are accepting a total of 20 students for the camp. Students need to provide their own transportation each day.
Click here to sign up!
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.