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

December 17 - 19 - NWEA testing Math

December 23 - January 6 - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break!!!

Math NWEA December 17-19 (testing will occur during your students regular scheduled Math class)

Hello. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. I wanted to reach out with a couple of reminders as the weather is getting colder and illnesses are rising. Students are not allowed to have any medications with them in their lockers, backpacks, computer bags, etc. If they need medication (prescription and/or over the counter) during the school day, it must be kept in the nurse’s clinic. I do have Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and TUMs. Please make sure that if you are ok with your student having these medications that you update the form in school care. If not, I must call every time your student needs any of those meds for permission/consent. There are also forms that need to be filled out before I can administer any medications that are brought from home. This also includes a change of doses in medications if the student already has a form on file. Parents must bring in any medication that is a controlled substance. Students should never bring those in themselves. The forms can be found on the Avon School website under quick links and then the nursing tab. There is one for prescription medications and one for over-the-counter medications. If needed, I can send a form home with your student. I will not be able to administer the medication without a signed form for consent.

Please remember that if your child is sick and has a fever and/or is vomiting, they must remain home until they are fever free without fever reducing medications and/or without vomiting for 24 hours.

Please remind your child(ren), that if they are feeling ill during the school day, they should come to the clinic to be assessed to determine if they need to go home or not. Students are not allowed to call or text home on cell phones during the school day.

If your child(ren) have restrictions, please make sure we receive a doctor’s note, so we can make sure their teachers know and provide accommodations as needed.

Thank you,

Dr. Peo

Principal AMS South

Mrs. Heather Smith, BSN

AMS South School Nurse

Thank you to all of our families that helped by donating to Project ANGEL to benefit the Mary Lee Maier Food Pantry. Your donations will help feed many families in our community! The below picture is 1 day of food collection, amazing!!!

Mrs. Williams and her Smiles Club students making star ornaments this past Wednesday, see photos below.

AHS will start communicating with the current 8th graders in mid January about our Class of 2029 Parent Night but wondering if you would mind to add this date to your upcoming parent communications.

Class of 2029 Parent Night

February 4, 2025

7:00pm-8:30pm

AHS Auditorium, Enter Door 38

Strength & conditioning club has been cancelled for Monday, 12/16.

Scott Adams - Athletic Director

Joni Johnson - Athletic Trainer

12/16 AWAY vs. Tri-West 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:

Lucia Imel

Jeffrey Zimmerman

Brennan Wiles

Brenna Toole

Annaliese Patterson

Charlie AustinSofia Cackowski

Yodahe Dawit

Dannely Espinoza-Maliano

Moira Sanders

Adrian Quinonez

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

Math will be taking the Linear Expressions Test on Tuesday (12/17). Then they will be taking Math NWEA Wednesday-Friday (12/18-12/20). Pre-Algebra will continue learning how to solve two-step equations. Then they will be taking Math NWEA Wednesday-Friday (12/18-12/20). Next week in Social Studies, we will finish our unit on the middle east with our final test on Wednesday 12/18. In Language Arts, students are wrapping up Unit 7E: Frida & Diego. They will take their unit assessment on Tuesday. They will finish the unit by taking a closer look at one type of art and showing off their art skills…maybe ones they don’t even know they have! Next week in Science, we will be studying for our FINAL test of the semester! Our test is on Thursday, December 19th and will cover everything we learned in Quarter 2. This includes the following:

• Eukaryotic vs. Prokaryotic cells
• Characteristics of Life
• Levels of Organization
• Organelles
• Body systems and how they are connected

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

In Science, our organ research poster project is due by the end of class Monday. We will have our end of unit test on Thursday, December 19th. It will review some of our previous unit content over cells and organelles as well as our current content relating to body systems and how different systems work together to accomplish the body's tasks. Math students will be setting goals for next semester and NWEA. The students will be taking Math NWEA Tuesday through Thursday. Next week in Language Arts, we will conclude not just the first semester, but also our Frida and Diego Unit as well! We are currently scheduled to take our Stems and Skills Quiz on Monday 12/16, and we will begin our Unit test over Unit 7E on Tuesday the 17th. Late work for the first semester has been accepted up until Sunday 12/15 at 11:59, and students have been encouraged to message me to establish a grade recovery plan if they need additional support. Have a great break! Next week is our last week of the semester and last week before break! The last day to turn in late work for any class is Wednesday 12/18! Social Studies students will have their North Africa and Southwest Asia unit test on Wednesday 12/18. Students will be given their study guide on Monday 12/16. We will have two days in class to review everything from the spread of Islam, Ottoman Empire, Arab Israeli conflict, Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis, Persian Gulf Wars, 9/11 and war on terror, Arab Spring, to the war in Syria! Thursday and Friday next week we will be doing a country research project. Students can pick any country from North Africa, Southwest Asia, or Central Asia to research and create a small poster.

Mr. Leach, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Ringham & Mrs. Schaffer

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

Language Arts

Mrs. Ringham - Students will be taking their Frida and Diego unit test, creating a piece of art of their own in the style of one of the many artists we’ve studied this unit, and participating in a book tasting activity in Language Arts.

Mr. Thoennes - Students will be taking their Unit 7E test on Tuesday (12/17) and wrapping up their unit on art, Frida, and Diego.

Math & Pre-Algebra

Mrs. Schaffer - Math students are wrapping up Module 5 and will be taking a test on Tuesday. In Pre-Algebra, students will continue to work on Module 7, focusing on writing and solving equations. Additionally, all students will begin NWEA testing on Wednesday, which will continue through the end of the week.

Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will take the Unit 6 test (simplifying expressions) on Tuesday 12/17. They will take the Math NWEA test December 18-20.

Science

Mrs. Miller - In Science, we will be finishing up our semester with a couple of big class events. First, we will be finishing up our Human Body Organ Research Project on Monday, December 16, 2024. This is due at the end of class. Our second big event is our Cells and Human Body Systems TEST that will be on Thursday, December 19, 2024. This will cover what we have been learning in our Biology unit this quarter. If students have any missing work left to do for the quarter, it must be turned in by THURSDAY December, 19, 2024 to receive credit!

Ms. Schaber - Students will be finishing their CSA on Monday 12/16 (DUE AT THE END OF CLASS). On Thursday 12/19 students will be taking a test over all we have learned in biology.

Social Studies

Mr. Leach - Social Studies students are learning about what life today is line in the Middle East. Our Unit 5 test is next week on Dec 18th all late work for this unit is due by Dec 20th before we leave for break.

Mr. McDonald - Students will finish learning about The Middle East and North Africa, taking their Unit 5 test on Wednesday.

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

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

Language Arts

Mrs. Zimmerman - On Thursday, December 19th all argumentative essays and extra credit work will be due. All assignments turned in after will be late and extra credit will not be accepted if late.

Mr. Thoennes - Students will be writing their argumentative essays and starting the Holocaust Unit.

Pre-Algebra & Algebra

Mrs. DeBow - All students will NWEA test Wednesday – Friday. I’m so excited to see their growth and how much they’ve learned this semester.

Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will continue to work on finding slope through multiple representations. They will take the Math NWEA test December 18-20.

Science

Mr. Goson - Next week students will be reviewing for our final which we will take next Thursday, December 19. Students were given a study guide that they should turn in on the day of the final. Biology Students will wrap up their microbiology lab, then study for our Final. The final will take place over December 19and 20. Students received a study guide last week and are encouraged to understand the content from the study guide thoroughly to prepare for the final.

Ms. Schaber - Students will be reviewing for their semester 1 final which is on 12/19.

Social Studies

Mrs. Mellen - Next week, we will be wrapping up our unit on the Constitution. They have a test on Friday, 12/20. All missing work for the unit is due by Friday 12/20 also.

Mr. McDonald - Students will finish learning about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, taking their Unit 5 test on Friday.

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

Science: Students will review for their semester final on Thursday 12/19.

Biology: Biology will review for their semester final on Thursday 12/19 and Friday 12/20.

Pre-Algebra: NWEA Testing

Algebra: NWEA Testing

Social Studies: Students will understand their rights granted to them in the Bill of Rights.

Language Arts: Student will submit the final draft of their argumentative essay Wednesday, (12/18) and establish background knowledge about the Holocaust.

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

Science: Students will be reviewing for their final exam. We take our Final exam on Thursday 12-19. A study guide has been given and extra copies are available online.

Biology: Students will finalize their egg experiment and work on understanding how particles move in and out of a cell using our bubble lab. Our Final Exam will be on Thursday 12-19 and Friday 12-20. A study guide has been given and extra copies are available online.

Language Arts: Students will be finishing their argumentative essays and submitting them on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, they will be doing some introduction activities for our next unit after break, The Holocaust: Memory and Meaning.

Social Studies: In Social Studies, we will have one more lesson for the Constitution Unit on Federalist vs Anti-Federalist. We will review the Constitution on Tuesday and Wednesday and then test over Unit 5 on Thursday.

Pre-Algebra: We continue practicing using slope as rate of change will take the NWEA test Wednesday-Friday to finish the semester!

Algebra: We will take a couple of days to look at math used in history and take the NWEA test Wednesday-Friday.

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 final exam on Thursday and Friday. The study guide for the final exam is due Wednesday. Please refer to my parentsquare sent on Wednesday, Dec 11 about the details.

Japanese

The Japanese class topics will be: New Year customs, wanting things, negative and past adjectives.

Computer Science

7th graders will be wrapping up their final project working with Mindstorm Lego.

8th graders will have their final work days and be presenting their final shark tank projects.

Art

For the final week in art class we are finishing painting our canopic jars, turning in any missing work by Wednesday, and using oil pastels to draw donuts and other deserts.

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

7th grade: Students will be racing their cars this week in a best of 2 races tournament to see which car was designed for speed and aerodynamics! Students are encouraged to color the car and make it stand out from the rest with a theme or design of their choice before race day.

8th Grade: Students will be going through the crash test course with their cars and safety designs to keep their egg safe from harm. I have challenged them to meet specific requirements to make the safest, fastest car possible. While also surviving a crash against a wall from 4 feet away. I will provide the egg and the wood for the car. Students are required to provide any additional supplies to keep the egg safe.

Digital Literacy & Communication

In the final week of Digital Literacy, 7th graders are presenting their Shark Tank Projects to guest teachers while 8th graders are undergoing our Mock Trial!

Robotics

Robotics 1 - Students will work to finish building and coding spinning billboard project.

Robotics 2 – Students will work to finish building, coding, and testing road trip project.

Flight & Space

Students will be wrapping up their final project. This has been a fun quarter. Thank you so much for being a great group!

Medical Detectives

Students will be wrapping up their final project. This has been a fun quarter. Thank you so much for being a great group!

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

This week PE students will have fitness tests which are 10% of their overall grade. We will be testing over sit ups, pushups, and the pacer test. We will also have our final exam over all 3 units. This is 20% of the overall grade. As a reminder, this is a high school credit course, so we want to make sure students do their very best on these tests. Make sure students are prepared by bringing their uniforms to class on Monday. Thank you!

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

Band

Thank you for a great Winter Concert and thank you for your donation of over 200 canned goods!

Be sure to check out the band newsletter!

Choir

In choir we are putting the final touches on our concert that has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, December 17th. We are also looking further into the aspect of the ISSMA grading sheet, which is used to assign ratings to our choirs when we go to contest in March.

Orchestra

We are wrapping up the semester by finishing late playing tests, getting more information on how 7th grade has increased their note literacy skills, and we will be sight-reading our ISSMA Contest Music.

There will be Solo & Ensemble help sessions:

Monday, December 16 - Before school 8:15 - 9am

Wednesday, December 18 - after school until 5pm

If your student signed up for Solo & Ensemble, it is the expectation that they are preparing that music on their own since they will be representing our school as performers. Please plan for them to attend some of these help sessions. Extra help sessions will be available after break as well.

Thank you, and Happy Holidays to all!

Mrs. Sever

Book overdue notices are being sent home as we approach Winter Break and the end of the second quarter. Please check your email and remind your students that they should return any books they are not currently reading. If you have an avid reader, they are welcome to check out books to have over break. I am hoping to get back the books that have been at the bottom of lockers since they were checked out in August.

If you have any questions, please email casever@avon-schools.org and include your student's name. Your students are also welcome to message Cassidy Sever on Schoology or stop by the library to check in with me. Thank you for your help!

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.