AMS Weekly Update

Happy Friday, AMS families! Thank you for another great week! It is hard to believe that next week wraps up the first grading cycle. Teachers, administrators, and counselors are hard at work meeting with students to finalize grades and track down any missing assignments. Please encourage your student to be checking Student Portal to be sure that all work is turned in!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out. Remember to be the difference and have a great Bearcat Day!

mmusselwhite@aledoisd.org

MONDAY - OCTOBER 7

• AMS Game Day - Football
• 7th Grade C Team vs. Danny Jones - 6:00 @ AMS
• AMS Fall Band Concert
• McAnally Middle School - 6:00

TUESDAY - OCTOBER 8

• AMS Game Day - Football - AMS vs. Mansfield Worley
• SPIRIT LUNCHES - All 3 Lunches!
• 7th Grade @ AMS (6:00)
• 8th Grade @ Worley (6:00)

WEDNESDAY - OCTOBER 9

• Cross Country @ Tierra Verde
• Tennis @ Everman
• Volleyball @ Mansfield Danny Jones

THURSDAY - OCTOBER 10

• Student Holiday - Professional Learning Day

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 11

• Staff and Student Holiday (Happy Fall Break!)

We are proud to honor our Bearcat of Character for Teamwork, 8th Grader - Claire McNeal. Claire excels in fostering teamwork by actively sharing ideas, listening to others, organizing tasks, and analyzing information effectively. She consistently demonstrates respect for her classmates' viewpoints and learns from their perspectives. Beyond her classroom activities, Claire has shown remarkable empathy and leadership. Recently, she welcomed a new student—who has recently arrived in the country and is still learning English—into her group. Claire provided invaluable support by using a language practice app to assist her new friend and made a concerted effort to integrate her into the group.

We are excited to inform you about an upcoming Stop the Bleed training session that we will be offering to our students in middle and high school. This valuable training program teaches participants how to effectively respond to bleeding emergencies, equipping them with life-saving skills that can make a critical difference in emergency situations.

During the session, students will learn how to:

· Recognize life-threatening bleeding.

· Apply direct pressure to wounds.

· Use a tourniquet effectively.

We believe this training is an important opportunity for students to gain practical skills that can help them stay safe and assist others in times of need.

We would like to invite you to attend the training alongside your child to learn these valuable skills together. We are hoping you see this as a valuable opportunity that our students and community are better prepared for emergencies.

Training Date & Time:
Thursday, October 24, 2024 5:30-6 p.m.

Monday, October 28, 2024 5:30-6 p.m.

Location:
Daniel Ninth Grade Campus Cafeteria

If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP by October 22, 2024, to Kimberly Raymond, Deputy Superintendent, at Kraymond@aledoisd.org so we can plan accordingly.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school community a safer place.

Our AMS Fall Dance will be on Friday, October 18 from 6:00 - 8:00 in the MPC! This event is for current AMS 7th and 8th Graders ONLY and students must have their IDs to enter. Halloween attire (school appropriate and no face coverings) is encouraged!

Tickets will only be available through MySchoolBucks - $6.

Tickets will go on sale on Monday, October 7 and ticket sales will close on Thursday, October 17. Students must purchase tickets through MySchoolBucks to attend - no tickets will be sold at the door!

Pay for school fees/products on the MySchoolBucks Aledo Middle School Store:

Go to https://www.myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app.

Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID (you may already have a MySchoolBucks account if you apply money to your student’s school meal account online)

Add school items or invoices to your cart

Check out using your credit / debit card or electronic check

A program fee may apply.

If you need assistance with your MySchoolBucks account, you can find helpful how-to videos and answers to commonly asked questions by visiting myschoolbucks.com, or you can contact MySchoolBucks directly by logging into your account to start a chat conversation, or give them a call at (855) 832-5226.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated September 15 - October 15. Throughout the month we have shared important quotes and ideas from famous Hispanic Americans who have contributed their knowledge and efforts to our nation's rich history. We have also incorporated such activities into various classrooms.

Check out Mr. Arnold and Mr. Hickman's CTE classes - they spotlighted presentations of famous Hispanic STEM contributors!

Also, Sra. Morao's Spanish I students travelled to and learned about all the Spanish speaking nations of the world, and they dove into the stories of influential Hispanic Americans in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Students researched and learned about a Hispanic-speaking country. They “traveled” with their passport (their journal) and created in one slide specific information about one of the Spanish-speaking countries. The students' slides were displayed in class for others to view. They took a tour of all the countries, to learn important information about each country. They gathered information about each country in their journal “Pasaporte.”

Then, they researched the background information and major achievements of famous Hispanic Americans such as singer Celia Cruz, baseball legend Roberto Clemente, author Isabel Allende, astronaut Ellen Ochoa, educator Jamie Escalante, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Selena Quintanilla, etc. and created a post card. The research activity included: important life details, challenge faced, life achievements, legacy and then the students described what the person means to them, what they saw that sparked their interest and why the selected him/her. what he/she is known for, and one questions you would love to ask them.

Dear Parents/Guardian:

Our school will do spinal screenings on October 16th & October 17th

State law requires that schools must screen students for abnormal spinal curvature in accordance with the following schedule:

· Girls will be screened two times, once at age 10 (or grade 5) and again at age 12 (or grade 7).

· Boys will be screened one time at age 13 or 14 (or grade 8).

The school nurse will check your child for signs of spinal problems like scoliosis.

Catching a spinal problem early can make the treatment much easier. Not treating spinal problems can lead to serious health problems.

The screening is simple. The nurse will look at your child’s back while he or she stands and bends forward.

What to wear the day of screening:

· Students should bring shorts to school for the exam.

· Girls need to wear a sports bra, camisole or two-piece swimsuit top underneath their shirt on exam day. It is recommended they remove their shirt for the screening.

· Boys and girls will be screened separately and one at a time.

The school will send you a letter if your child does not pass the screening. The letter will tell you how to follow up with a doctor.

This screening is not a medical exam. Your child still needs to see a doctor for checkups.

If you do not wish to have your child screened for religious reasons, you must submit an exemption to the school no later than Tuesday, October 8th

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Nurse Hammons

Aledo Middle School

Please see the consent forms below and plan to attend on October 18!

Friendly remind that CASH OR CHECK PAYMENTS ACCEPTED IN THE CAFETERIA ANYTIME and credit card payments can be made through MYSCHOOLBUCKS!

Go to aledoisd.org/childnutrition for more info.

First Nine-Week Report Cards Coming Soon!

The first nine-week report card grades will be accessible in Ascender Parent Portal on the afternoon of Friday, October 18. Paper report cards will not be sent home.

· Click here for instructions for accessing report card grades in Parent Portal.

Thank you for your continued support and for your partnership! Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have any specific questions related to grades.

As a reminder, we have streamlined absence reporting for all of our campuses for this school year. It is very important that we have documented reasons for absences so that we can ensure your student is given an excused absence when needed.

Each week we compete as grade levels for the highest weekly attendance rate! We also set goals to be better each year. See below for this week's winner and our Cycle 1 challenge.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

6th Grade - 96.94 (Increase from last week!)

7th Grade - 96.95 WEEKLY WINNER

8th Grade - 96.03

AMS - 96.65 (Increase from last week!)

CYCLE 1 CHALLENGE

Current Cycle 1 Averages

6th Grade - 97.37

7th Grade - 97.35

8th Grade - 97.15

AMS - 97.29 - WE HAVE 3 MORE DAYS TO MEET OUR GOAL! SEE YOU MONDAY!

2023-2024

6th Grade - 97.34

7th Grade - 97.06

8th Grade - 96.94

AMS - 97.11

Goal - 97.5

In the event that you need to deliver lunch to your student, please follow the steps below:

1. Please be sure that the lunch is clearly labeled with your student's first and last name.
2. Upon entering AMS, please place your student's lunch in the bin assigned to your student's grade level lunch.
3. The bins will be delivered at the start of each lunch period. Students will be responsible for getting their lunches from the bin.

Again, we request that you limit lunch deliveries when possible. Also, in order to limit distractions, we will not call students out of class to receive lunches.

Thank you for your help with this!

Email: mmusselwhite@aledoisd.org
Website: https://www.aledoisd.org/AMS
Location: 416 FM 1187, Aledo, TX, USA
Phone: (817)441-5198
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AledoMSBearcats
Twitter: @aledo_ms