Tiger Tracks March

Dear Families,

Happy April! I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the arrival of spring. As we step into the final months of the school year, there is much to celebrate and look forward to.

I am very proud of the results our students have achieved on state assessments in the past! On the 2024 NYS assessment, Akron Middle School ranked among the top schools in Erie 1 BOCES: Grade 6 ELA: #1, Grade 7 ELA: #1, Grade 8 ELA: #3, Grade 6 Math: #6, Grade 7 Math: #2, and Grade 8 Math: #3. These outstanding rankings reflect the dedication and hard work of our students, teachers, and families—thank you for your continued support!

Upcoming Dates

As we approach the next round of state testing, please note the following assessment dates:

• ELA Assessments: April 24 and April 25, 2025
• Math Assessments: May 7 and May 8, 2025
• Grade 8 Science Assessment: May 14, 2025

Assessment-Based Final Exam Option
To reduce over-testing, we are offering a new option for students who take the state assessments. If a student takes the state assessment, we will use that data to assign the student a grade for taking the exam.

• If the student/parent is happy with the grade and it is at or above 65%, the student will not be required to take our local Math and/or ELA final examination in June.
• If a student/parent is not satisfied with the grade, the student may take their final examination in June to replace their assessment grade.

This proposal is completely optional and will not be forced on anyone. It is simply a personal choice for families who wish to reduce over-testing while still maintaining academic accountability.

Thank you for your ongoing support in making our school a vibrant and welcoming place for all students. Here's t o a wonderful spring ahead!

Mr. Caprio

During the month of February, students and staff focused on the character counts pillar of Caring. Students were selected that consistently demonstrated a strong sense of caring and compassion toward others. The following students were selected and enjoyed a Character Counts Ice Cream Celebration!

Sixth Grade - Tucker Horsefall, Kaleb Stone, Kate Ceratt, Anthony Rebmann, and Henry Fleming

Seventh Grade - Jase Gangloff, MJ Gehl, Carissa Martek, Tucker Outten, and Hannah Kowalski

Eighth Grade - Wyatt Paxton, Jackson Nice, and Elsa Cottle

For the month of March, the Akron Middle School is focusing on the pillar of Responsibility. Students can earn Tiger Tickets for demonstrating responsibility what by:

• Taking ownership of their actions
• Prioritizing and managing tasks
• Respecting others

Tiger Tickets can be earned from teachers in their classroom, faculty and staff by demonstrating the character counts traits or good behavior. With these tickets students can:

• Purchase rewards from teachers
• Purchase Akron T-shirts from the main office
• Put Tiger Tickets into a drawing to win a gift card

1 - All County Rehearsal for grades 5/6 @ Sweet Home MS

4 - Spanish Club

6 - ECMEA Music Festival Rehersal @ Grand Island HS

7 - ECMEA Music Festival Concert @ Grand Island HS

12 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00

14 - Musical Production @ 7:00 in the Aud

15 - Musical Production @ 1:00 in the Aud

15 - Musical Production @ 7:00 in the Aud

17 - HS/MS Orchestra Dress Rehearsal (9th period)

18 - Music and Munchies @ 7:00 in the HS Cafe

26 - Board of Education meeting @ 7:00

29 - Cabaret Concert @ 2:00 in Gym 1

1 - Spanish Club

4 - Conference Day - No School for Students

14-18 - Spring Recess - No School

22 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00

24-25 - ELA State Test (During School)

17 - Spring Sports Begin

25 - Spring Sport Pictures

7 - 5:00 Mod Lacrosse @ Wilson

9 - 5:00 Mod Lacrosse vs. Lancaster (Home - Field 3)

23 - 5:00 Mod Lacrosse vs. N. Tonawanda (Home - Field 3)

25 - 5:00 Mod Lacrosse vs. Lockport (Home - Field 3)

30 - 5:00 Mod Lacrosse @ Iroquois

Code: 21939

Akron 6th graders will be traveling to the Bisons annual School Kids Day that is scheduled for Thursday, May 29 against Charlotte (11:05 a.m.) It's the perfect combination of learning and fun! Each Bisons School Kids Day includes an educational theme and the team makes full use of the BisonsTV HD scoreboard to teach important lessons. The theme for School Kids Day is “The Arts of Buffalo”, the art, music, and architecture of our city.

Students will be leaving the school around 8:30 and returning before the start of 9th period. The 6th graders will have a chance to experience the inner harbor and the small naval and memorial park before the game begins at 11.

Lunch will be included, however, students are always more than welcome to bring their own lunch!

From the voices of Quinn O’Malley & Connor Rooney

Hey AMS! After careful selection, this March, We have welcomed five new 6th graders to Middle School Government. They will help us continue to represent all student voices of our middle school.

The month of March is long! To help break it up we will be celebrating a Spirit Week March 17-21, “March Madness”! Be on the lookout for dress up days and ways to show your school spirit!

In Creative Design and Engineering (CDE) the eighth graders wrapped up their unit on civil engineering with a design challenge: design and construct the most efficient cantilever. This structure had to have a low dead load (low amount of weight of all materials used to build the structure) to carry a large live load (weights hung within the last 2 inches of the structure).

1st place went to Colten Hilton and Mitchel Krieger, 2nd place went to Jordyn Rosenberg and Lyla Pechuman and 3rd place went to Brooke Warren and Lilly Abrams! First place winners received $100 to donate to a charity of their choice; Colten and Mitchel chose to donate the winnings to The Patricia Allen Fund. This fund was developed with the input of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen to benefit the critical care teams at Oishei Children's Hospital (OCH). 100% of donations are directly used for the care of Western New York’s kids and families. All students were creative and applied important skills and knowledge to construct these cantilevers. Additionally, students all selected very worthy charities. They will have another opportunity to win their charitable donation with our next design challenge.

The Tiger’s Den school store will continue to be open Tuesday-Thursday 9th period.

Follow us @akronschoolstore on Instagram! We post updates on promotions, sampling, and everything the school store has to offer.

Mental Health Minute: March 2025

We all know that winter gets a little longer in the home stretch. The 5 C’s of Mental Health can

help with that! That is, connection, compassion, coping, community, and care; these

elements can help you build resilience, reduce stress, and improve your quality of life…

see below for further explanation:

• Connection: Positive relationships with others and institutions
• Compassion: Showing kindness and understanding to others
• Coping: Using strategies to deal with challenges
• Community: Feeling part of a group or community
• Care: Taking care of yourself and others

You can apply the 5 C's to mental health challenges, parenting issues, and adult

struggles to help support yourself and the ones you love!

The saying goes, March "goes in like a lion and out like a lamb."

It is still winter for most of the month, and then it turns to spring, with new growth and nicer weather. Daylight Savings Time also occurs in March, springing forward an hour.

This is a great time to regroup and see what is working and what isn't. The winter leaves us less motivated at times, but it is important to remember the end goals.

As the weather improves, more people, especially kids, will be outside and going places, on foot, on bikes, in vehicles and other ways of transportation. Stay aware of your surroundings, remind your kiddos to pay more attention to bike lanes, cross walks, and other areas where people may be out. Remind them to look both ways before crossing, to have a buddy, and to communicate where they will be with you.

Make sure their school work is getting done before they go out and do something. This will help keep them on track in school and teach them discipline and responsibility.

Reach out for help if there are any concerns or problems and always communicate.

Stay safe and Go Tigers!

Here is a link to set up/access your parent/student PowerSchool Account! https://ps.akronschools.org/public/

Want to make your life easier? Instead of calling in when your student is absent, needs to be signed out, coming in late, etc., email your students' building attendance email as follows:

Elementary: esattendance@akronk12.org

Middle: msattendance@akronk12.org

HIgh: hsattendance@akronk12.org

If your student is feeling sick remember they can touch base with our knowledgeable nurses to determine if a sign out is necessary!