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

Nov. 11 - Veterans Day Program - more information below

Nov. 27 - 29 - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL!!!

AMSS is having a donor recruitment competition!! The team that recruits the most donors will earn extra after lunch gym time the week before Thanksgiving!! Hopefully your student asks you if you are available to donate- please forward the link to family and friends as well!!

Please note that we have had to change the time of our Veterans Day Program to ensure our parking lot is clear for our buses to arrive for dismissal.

Our program will be at 2:10PM, Monday, Nov. 11, all other information on the flyer below is correct.

Scott Adams - Athletic Director

Joni Johnson - Athletic Trainer

11/14 AWAY vs. Lynhurst 5:30PM

11/15 AWAY @ AHS - Midnight Madness 6:00PM

Tryouts will be on November 14 & November 15 - after school until 6:00PM.

Pick up will be at door #14 at 6PM

All students trying out for a sport must have a current sports physical and PRIVIT account completed before trying out. Information below.

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:

Finn Herman

Addy Leissner

Sophia Wonnell

Franklin Wright

Mikias Fecadu

Levi Reed

Jamison Quash

Beckett Wagner

Tarik Alemu

Addison Glidden

Taha Agha

Nathan Gebreyesus

Easton Amon

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 be finishing Unit 7B. Their essay is due by the beginning of class on Tuesday. We will continue working on it on Monday during class. On Thursday, they will begin their Unit 7B Assessment and finish on Friday if needed. Math will be beginning their unit on slope. Pre-Algebra will continue learning about linear expressions and take the Unit 6 test on Friday (11/15). In Social Studies, we will begin discussing the Middle East. Next week, in Science, we will be learning about the organelles of the cell. Students have a quiz on November 26th. If your student will not be here, please message me on ParentSquare.

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

In Language Arts, students will be submitting the Argumentative Essay over Unit 7B by the start of class Monday. The rest of the week will be spent preparing for our Unit test, which will start on Thursday and be finished Friday in class. In Science, we have been busy learning about prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Next week we will learn about the organelles that help cells to function. I am excited for us to use microscopes to take a closer look at cells. I will have very high expectations for students' use and behavior with the microscopes as they are a very expensive piece of science equipment. Math students will be reviewing and takin their Proportions Test on Wednesday, November 13. Their next unit will be covering slope and graphing on a coordinate plane. Pre-Algebra students are taking their exponents test on Monday, November 11 and then will start their unit on Simplifying Algebraic Expressions. In Social Studies, we will be starting our new NAMECA unit. North Africa, Middle East, & Central Asia. We will start with learning the country in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and the main physical features. We will also learn about the spread of Islam, the end of the Ottoman Empire, and the golden age of Islam. Do you know who Ibn Battuta is? You’ll find out next week!

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

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

Language Arts

Mrs. Ringham - Language Arts students will read the story “Sucker” and analyze it for character development and conflict. They will also plot the storyline. They will take their Unit test on Thursday, November 14. All late work for the Unit is due Friday, November 15.

Mr. Thoennes - Students will be reading the short story “Sucker” by Carson McCullers, culminating in their unit B assessment at the end of the week.

Math & Pre-Algebra

Mrs. Schaffer - In Math 7, students will begin Chapter 12, focusing on graphing and comparing proportional relationships, and interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the line. In Pre-Algebra, students will continue their progress in Chapter 6, where they’ll explore algebraic and linear expressions. They’ll be expanding their skills in simplifying expressions, as well as adding, subtracting, and factoring linear expressions.

Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will learn about proportional relationships and slope.

Science

Mrs. Miller - In Science we will be learning about the organelles that are found in cells. We will also begin starting our lab looking at plant and animal cells where we will be looking for characteristics to determine which cell is a plant cell and which cell is an animal cell. Our next quiz will be on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

Ms. Schaber - Students will be diving deeper into cells. This week we will be learning all about the cell's organelles.

Social Studies

Mr. Leach - Social Studies students will be staring our new unit on Northern Africa & the Middle East. All late work will be due by 11/14. We will be learning about all of the countries in this area of the world, their locations on a map as well as their geography.

Mr. McDonald - Students will learn about the geography of the Middle East and North Africa.

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

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

Language Arts

Mrs. Zimmerman - Students will continue reading the third and final volume of Frankenstein.

Mr. Thoennes - Students will continue reading the graphic novel version of Frankenstein and will be taking the Volume II quiz at the end of the week.

Pre-Algebra & Algebra

Mrs. DeBow - Pre-algebra students will test over linear functions on Wednesday. Algebra students will investigate exponential growth and decay.

Mrs. Shambaugh - Students will take the Chapter 4 test on Wednesday 11/13. We will then explore various kinds of linear equations, including lines with fractional slope.

Science

Mr. Goson - Science students will be continuing our genetics unit by taking a look at non-mendelian genetics and creating Punnett squares using them. Biology students will be continuing our chemistry unit by looking at how to tell when a chemical reaction occurs.

Ms. Schaber - Students will continue in our genetics journey. This week we will be learning about nonmendelian genetics.

Social Studies

Mrs. Mellen - On Monday, we will be doing Veterans Day Activities. For the rest of the week, we will be doing a project and reviewing for our Unit 4 Test on Friday, November 15th. All missing work is due by November 15th as well. Students will also be having a quiz over their King George book on Wednesday, November 13th. They will get an optional study guide on Monday, November 11th for them to complete and help them study.

Mr. McDonald - Students will take their Unit 4 test over the American Revolution.

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

Science

Students will be investigating non-mendelian traits and punnett squares.

Biology

Students will be investigating chemical reactions.

Pre-Algebra

Students will be taking the Unit 4 test on Wednesday and then studying systems of equations.

Algebra

Students will be studying exponential growth.

Social Studies

Students will understand how the Battle of Yorktown was a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

Language Arts

Students will be taking a quiz over Frankenstein Volume 2 and starting the last volume of the book.

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

In Science, we will work on understanding what non-Mendelian traits are and how the environment factors can impact one's traits. Biology students will be wrapping up our chemistry lesson with a quiz over everything since fall break. A practice quiz has been given. Extra copies are on Schoology. The quiz will be on Wednesday, November 13. The remainder of the week we will introduce characteristics of life and do a bacterial study to better understand unicellular life. Language Arts students will be finishing Volume II of Frankenstein and taking a quiz over Volume II either Thursday or Friday. In Social Studies, we will be starting Unit 5 on the U.S. Constitution. Students will be learning about the Articles of Confederation and the compromises at the Constitutional Convention. In Pre-Algebra, we will complete our closure activities and test over Chapter 4 on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The test will be focused on moving between the different ways to represent a pattern: tables, graphs, and equations. We will begin Chapter 5 by solving equations that have fractions. Algebra students will be exploring exponential grow and decay and how it is modeled. We will also be working with data and scatter plots to determine what kind of growth/trend is occurring and creating models to represent the data and make predictions.

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 students will continue to practice describing themselves and other in Spanish using the verb ser and working with adjective to make them match the subject in gender and number.

Japanese

The Japanese class topics will be: blended sounds, test over all the hiragana (recognition), the verbs “go”, “come” and “return”.

Computer Science

7th graders will be moving onto velocity and collision detection. They will also be starting their next project which is creating their own side-scrolling game.

8th graders will be starting to design and create their safe project.

Art

In art, we are finishing a portrait project and will be beginning a painting project. We will be using tempera paint which is washable from clothing but if your student would like an apron or something to wear while painting they may bring something in.

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

7th and 8th Grade: Students will be ending project one and starting project two. 7th grade will be starting the Puzzle cube project and 8th grade will be stating the Light box Project. Students should be bringing home their first project this week if they have not already.

Digital Literacy & Communication

This week in Digital Literacy, 7th graders are learning how to analyze different types of digital media, such as short films, comics, and podcasts, while 8th graders are learning about what goes into creating a film!

Robotics

Robotics 1 – Students will be working to design and build a wind turbine using VEX V5 components.

Robotics 2 – Students will be working to design, build, and code a dragster project using VEX V5 components.

Flight & Space

Flight and Space will begin their first project. They need to create a flight map, schedule a crew, and build a model airplane. The students are very excited to build their planes.

Medical Detectives

Medical Detectives will be learning about the nervous system and the brain. We will learn how the nervous system works and also what happens when it doesn't work properly.

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

PE students will continue their units of Volleyball, Basketball, and Fitness this week, As a reminder, please continue to be prepared with PE uniforms and tennis shoes each day. Here are some pictures from our current units.

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

Band

The Symphonic Band has been busy preparing for the Veteran's Day Program while all other classes have been working on music for our Winter Concert (December 10th). Please be sure to read the Band Newsletter for all the other happenings of the South Band!

Choir

We are working steadily on our Winter Concert music as well as finishing up the Musical production. Both are scheduled for the week we come back from Thanksgiving break.

Orchestra

All: New music is in student hands now, and we are back in full swing! Please keep encouraging your students to practice and play for you at home. When you are excited about what they are learning, they will be too!

Playing tests and quizzes are coming up soon - check in with your students about these.

Winter Orchestra Concert is Thursday, December 12th We will have two concerts that night: 7th Grade will be at 6:30pm, and 8th Grade/Chamber will be at 7:30pm.

Solo & Ensemble information has been passed out. Please refer to the ParentSquare message sent by Mr. Miller. The registration form is attached here as well.

Mrs. Sever

November is Native American Heritage Month. In the library and on Sora, we have a variety of books written by Native American authors and featuring Native American characters and culture. In honor of this celebration, I wanted to highlight one of Indiana’s Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees for 2024-2025, The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls, by James Bird.

Benjamin Waterfalls comes from a broken home, and the quickest fix he’s found for his life is to fill that emptiness with stuff he steals and then sells. But he’s been caught one too many times, and when he appears before a tough judge, his mother proposes sending him to “boot camp” at the Ojibwe reservation where they used to live.

Soon he is on his way to Grand Portage, Minnesota, to live with his father – the man Benny hasn’t seen in years. Not only is “boot camp” not what he expects, but his rehabilitation seems to be in the hands of the tribal leader’s daughter, who wears a mask. Why? Finding the answer to this and so many other questions prove tougher than any military-style boot camp. Will answers be enough for Benny to turn his life around and embrace his second chance?

– Blurb courtesy of Macmillan Publishers

To read more about Benjamin and his discoveries, check out The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls from the AMS South library!

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.