Inside this issue:

Honor Roll 3

Parent Information 4

Counseling Corner 5

Green Council News 6

APPC News 8

Corporation News 9

Calendar 12

1251 N. DAN JONES ROAD, AVON, IN 46123 PHONE: 317-544-5500 FAX: 317-544-5501

March 2013 PARENT NEWSLETTER

Frank Perkins - Principal Ginger Davis - Assistant Principal Beth Ornelas - Grade 7 Counselor Allison West - Grade 8 Counselor

Please help us help your child by requiring regular school attendance.

“Preparing for Tomorrow . . .Today”

Upcoming Events:

March 12, 13, 14, 15 - Quarterly Exams March 16 - ISSMA Organizational Contest March 21 - Staff Development (one-hour delay for students) March 22 - Report Cards sent home March 25 - April 8 - Spring Break - No School

Daylight Savings Time begins March 10!

Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour.

Dear Parent or Guardian, ISTEP+ testing begins on Tuesday, March 5. This important standardized test is given to all Indiana public school students in grades 3-8. The ISTEP+ results provide important information regarding how well your child understands the Indiana Academic Standards. The results are also a piece of data that is used to determine which courses your child will take next year. Our middle school students will be tested in math, language arts and social studies (7th grade only). The test itself is divided into two different components and given at two different times during the second semester. The first part of the test is called the Applied Skills test, and it consists of essay and open-ended type questions. In addition to covering the regular course curriculum, our teach-ers and students have been reviewing previously learned material. We developed a list of Test Taking Tips and included it in this newsletter. Please encourage your child to become familiar with these tips to reinforce good test taking habits. Frank Perkins, Principal

March 2013 Page 2

SHORT ANSWER Test Taking Tips

Before the Test

Get a good night’s sleep, at least nine hours is recommended.

Eat breakfast the morning of a test. Having food in your stomach will give you energy and help you focus, but avoid heavy foods and sugar which can make you groggy.

Go to the restroom before walking into the exam room. You don't want to waste any time worrying about this during the test.

Do not bring a cell phone into the testing area. Any use of a cell phone will cause your test to be-

come invalid.

During the Test

When you first receive your test, do a quick survey of that test so that you know how to efficiently

budget your time. Don't rush but pace yourself.

Don’t spend too much time on any one problem, especially if you have trouble understanding the question. If you decide to skip a question make sure that you write down the number of that question so that you won’t forget to come back to answer it.

Always read the entire question carefully, looking for key words. Don't make assumptions about what the question might be asking. Some short answer questions have multiple parts.

Think through your answer before you start writing. You may be given a pre-writing space to get your thoughts organized. Using a Thinking Map or outline can be helpful.

Write legibly. If the graders can't read what you wrote, they'll most likely mark it wrong. Neatness counts.

Restate the question and provide the answer in the first sentence of your essay. Let the reader know exactly where your essay is going.

Support each topic with specific examples.

Write a concluding sentence. This is often just a restatement of your opening sentence.

Do not leave an answer blank. Show your work and write down your thoughts. Even if you don't get the exact answer, partial credit is usually awarded.

Don't worry if others finish before you. Focus on the test in front of you.

When you are finished, re-read all of your answers. Make sure that you have answered all the ques-tions. Only change an answer if you misread or misinterpreted the question. Look for spelling, gram-mar and content errors. Remember, neatness is important.

Keep a positive attitude throughout the test and try to stay relaxed. Have faith in yourself. We are all

behind you!

March 2013 Page 3

AVON MIDDLE SCHOOL NORTH SECOND QUARTER HONOR ROLL STUDENTS

Grade 8 - High Honor Roll

(Students that earned an A– or above in all subjects)

Jonathan Ball, Leah Bode, Samantha Branham, Rebecca Brown, Cale Camacho, Mitchell Demerly, Kaleigh Dennison, Kiley Dowers, Nicole Dwenger, Duncan Emsweller, Carl Erbowor-Becksen, Jordan Foster, Abigail Gulley, Nathan Heim, Jessica Hess, Colette Jackson, Elze Kaupaite, Justin Kopp, Jasmine Le, Ryan Maddox, Austin Mock, Taylor Nicholson, Rushi Patel, Kenneth Patterson, Keion Powell, Emily Rasmussen, Kelly Roy, Ehryn Shaw, Cassandra Stall, Rebecca Stein, Alyssia Weber

Grade 8 - Honor Roll

(Students that earned a B– or above in all subjects)

Austin Alarie, Jasmine Alberts, Riley Banks, Cole Bartek, Diamond Battles, Andrew Benner, Georgia Bentrud, Jackson Berger, Crystal Blazek, Frank Bogan, Jacob Boyd, Emily Bridegroom, Christopher Brodasky, Robert Buetow, Alec Bur-cham, Riley Burton, Rus' sel Butts, Annalee Camacho, Nishma Chakraborty, Denzel Clark, Evan Cobb, Jeremy Costelle, Destiney Davis, Lauren Davis, Brady Dean, Hurshdeep Dhami, Jason Donner, Perry Drum, Paige Eichelberger, Gilbert Escobedo, Kaitlynn Fogwell, Lauren Francis, Zachary Funkhouser, Matthew Gaby, Destiny Glover, Rhys Grealish, Abigail Handlon, Emily Hannefey, Brandon Hatfield, Audrey Hay, Cole Hensley, Michaela Hess, Rachel Hubbard, Hunter John-son, Ikbir Kaur-Bassi, Rachel Kettering, Luke Kimery, Maurice Lacy, Gunnar Larson, Olivia Lazaro, Zackary Leech, Lauren Lekse, Bryce Lenz, Alyssa Madrigal, Brea Malone, Jacob McCalment, Joseph McCrocklin, Nina McGrew, Kayleigh McIn-tyre, Griffin McPhail, Ryan Michael, Taylor Mock, James Moeller, Shirlyn Mthethwa, Zachary Mullen, Christian Myers, Mary Najmon, Paige Nicholson, Carson Nihiser, Brittany Osman, Chelsea Owens, Natisha Pabla, Logan Para, Emily Par-sons, Dylan Patterson, Katelyn Qualls, Kirsten Marie Reyes, Ariahna Rodgers, Abigail Russo, Jay Sangani, Evan Schafer, Dorien Scheets, Katy Smith, Logan Smith, Mallory Smith, Trevor Snapp, Logan Springer, Stephanie Stegemann, Brooklyn Thomas, Alex Wilhoite, Ethan Willey, Jacob Woodrow, Zachary Zeis, Amanda Zoiss

Grade 7 - High Honor Roll (Students that earned an A– or above in all subjects)

Max Anderson, Yuritzi Avila-Robledo, James Burnell, Madison Carroll, Kristin Compton, Joseph Dougherty, Brayden Enz, Lauren Friars, Sierra Howell, Yooran Im, Kayla Jones, Drew Kobold, Ha Lang, Ryan Larson, Jonathan Le, Abigail Lee, Andrew Lewis, Mason Miranda, McKay Moran, Lazarus Nelson, Gabriele Rasdall, Miranda Schwent, Alexander Shoe-maker, Dawson Smith, Jesslynn Smith, Michaela Spinazze, Gillian Stopinski, Claire Sutton, Tyler Swartz, Julia Taylor, Mariah Van Hoose, Timothy Wilson, Alexander Zeigler, Carson Zeller

Grade 7 - Honor Roll

(Students that earned a B– or above in all subjects)

Keith Abramson, Zachary Adams, Ashley Aldridge, Derek Anderson, Annie Auth, James Baker, Kyndra Barker, Karalynn Barnett, Ishmael Bate, Cassandra Baxter, Zachary Bendel, Abigail Birch, Joseph Bredlow, Ryan Brodnik, Tyra Bruner, Samuel Bullock, Brandon Chappelle, Ava Cherry, Alexus Collier, Jacob Darney, Madison Delay, Nathan DeMyers, Lauren Dennig, Zachary Deurloo, Samantha Eastridge, Rebecca Edlund, Rylee Elder, Emma Finlinson, Briawna Francis, Madeline Garcia, Taylor Gillis, Ryan Gott, Dean Gracia, Ericka Gretzinger, Shelly Groves, Sydney Hamilton, William Harmon, Justin Heidorn, Noah Hicks, Thi Kim Ho, Kayla Hochgesang, Cali Howard-Klotz, Marissa Hulse, Alayna Iles, Adam Johns, Jason Jones, Payton Judd, Gloria Kaliman, Emilija Kaupaite, Naomi Keough, Nia Kimbrough, Bryce Koehl, Derek Kohn, Ryan Krueger, Jacob Landes, Kaley Larkin, Pauline Le, Allyson Lindsey, Emmett Long, Tiana Marsh, Brody McFadden, Meghan McLaughlin, Ethan Mickelson, Cameron Misner, Ambrose Monday, Clemette Briana Morris, Carol Mukorombindo, Alexa Murphy, Andrew Nguyen, Spencer Nguyen, Nolan Nihiser, Grace Oliver, Stephanie Paiz, Mallary Pflum, Christopher Prab-hakar, Marcus Readus, Tyler Riggles, Amna Rizvi, Madeline Roggy, Vincent Rondinella, Kyle Saylor, Julianna Sercer, Ava Smith, Luke Smith, Paige Snodgrass, Ryan Soel, Cameron Sowder, Autumn Stanbary, Yasmeen Terry, Lexi Tillman, Tay-lor Toney, Marissa True, Abigail Unrue, Brittany VanderBrink, Megan Vukusich, Austin Wagner, Hunter Wallace, Nicho-las Waterfield, Mitchell West, Jared Westcott, Nolan Whitesell, Carly Whiteside, McCarthar Williamson, Gwynne Wyatt

March 2013 Page 4

Two Hour Delays, Early Dismissals,

Cancellation of School

Please visit the ACSC website for important

information about Avon Community School

Corporation's process regarding two hour

delays, early dismissals and school cancel-

lations. Here is the link to the letter from Dr.

Hoernemann: http://www.avon-schools.org/

cms/lib02/IN01001885/Centricity/

Domain/4432/2_Hour_Delay_2.pdf.

News from the Nurse

Reminder:

Students are not permitted to carry water bottles

in the school building unless documentation from

their doctor is provided to the school nurse.

Avon Community School Corporation has added

the 2013-14 Immunization Requirements quick

reference guide to the District Health Ser-

vices webpage Immunization Requirements for

2013-2014 School Year. The exclusion date

for the 2013-14 school year is August 28,

2013. Students with delinquent records will be

excluded if their immunization records do not

comply with the state required immuniza-

tions. Parents/students may contact the

building nurse with any questions.

Congratulations to the following Spanish students who were selected by

their peers and Senora Clark as “Estudiantes Espectaculares” (Spectacular

Students) for February 2013.

1st Conner “Pablo” Hutchings

2nd Amanda “Carla” Thompson

3rd Jeremy “Nacho” Costelle

5th Jasmine “Jasmin” Le

6th Austin “Javi” Mock

7th Riley “Alejandra” Banks

Choir Director’s Corner

All seventh grade choir members will participate in a Festival Day, where professional music judges

will be brought in to hear them and give them feed-back and scores. This will take place during the

school day during choir classes on Wednesday,

March 20. Unfortunately, this is for the students

only; parents are not invited. However, you are invited to our Spring Choir Concert on Monday, May 13. On the Festival Day, all seventh grade

choir students will need to wear their choir uni-forms (khaki pants, short-sleeved black choir polos,

and dark-colored dress shoes) to school for the day.

Eighth grade choir students will be participating in the ISSMA Organizational Choir Contest held on Saturday, March 16, at Avon Middle School

North. Specific performance times will be pub-lished as soon as they are available from the

state. All eighth grade choir students need to at-tend this performance as a part of their choir

grades, as indicated in the choir handbook. They will need to wear their complete choir uniforms (Khaki pants, short-sleeved black choir polos, and

dark-colored dress shoes) for that performance.

March 2013 Page 5

Beth Ornelas Seventh Grade Counselor

(317) 544-5500 ext. 5517

A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true

joy. -Thomas Carlyle

Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expec-tation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one

day someone might do the same for you. -Princess Diana

ISTEP+ Applied Skills Test Dates-March 5, 6, 7

The Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+) is used to show

student achievement while providing educators with the opportunity to see how well Indiana

students are measuring up to our state's academic standards. Students will take the

ISTEP+ test during the months of March (part 1) and April (Part 2). To read more about the

specifics of ISTEP+, what is on the test at each grade level, when the testing windows are,

etc., click on the link below:

http://www.doe.in.gov/achievement/assessment/istep-grades-3-8

Helpful Hints:

Please be sure that your child is present for each testing day.

Your child should be well rested for school. Please make sure he/she gets a good

night’s sleep.

Breakfast is very important. Please be sure your child eats breakfast every morning.

UPDATED GUIDANCE WEBPAGE

Check out the updated Guidance webpage! Both students and parents will find helpful

information on such topics as improving study skills, note-taking, and reducing test taking

anxiety. Parents will also find helpful internet resources they can access. The website is

updated often. Be sure to check back frequently for new information.

Important Dates:

March 5, 6, 7-ISTEP+ Applied Skills Test Dates

March 10-Daylight Saving Time begins

March 22-Report Cards issued-Please ask your child to see his/her report card. The report

card will be sent home with your child, not mailed.

March 2013 Page 6

“Specialty” Recycling Available!!

A gentle reminder for all our returning 8th grade fami-

lies, and a happy announcement for all our new 7th grade

families- we have a specialty recycling center in the

media center where students can drop off old cell

phones, used batteries, plastic bags, and empty ink car-

tridges.

All students need to do is bring in the item, drop it off

in the MC, and we will take care of the rest!

Volume: 3 Issue: 7 March 2013

Get your home energy

assessment!!!

Eligibility Requirements:

-Single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes,

quadplexes or mobile homes, occupied by

the owner

-Non-owner occupied homes where occu-

pants have the electric service in their

name

-Homes 10 years or older

-Homes that have not had a utility-

sponsored assessment in the last 3 years

-Electric service must be provided through

Vectren, Duke Energy, IMPA, NIPSCO, Indi-

anapolis Power & Light or Indiana Michigan

Power

*See attached enrollment guide!*

Home Energy

Assessment AND help

the Outdoor Learning

Center!!!

ACSC has partnered with

Energizing Indiana to of-

fer Residential Home

Energy Assessments. The assessments can help you

raise your home’s per-

formance, lower energy bills and improve in-home

air quality. It only takes

one hour and every household that completes

a Home Energy Assess-

ment will receive a com-prehensive report and the

free Energy Savings Kit.

In addition, ACSC will re-ceive $25 per completed

assessment. All proceeds

will benefit the Avon Out-

door Learning Center. You

do not have to live in

Avon to earn the Outdoor

Learning Center $25!

March 2013 Page 7

March 2013 Page 8

The Avon Parent Partnership Committee (APPC) is comprised of two parent representatives

from each building. The purpose of the APPC is to facilitate communication between parents

and administrators on academic issues in the Avon Community School Corporation.

The February meeting began at 6:30 p.m. with Dr. McMahon updating the committee on the

Arts and Enrichment Camps running March 25-29 and April 1-5, at AISW from 9:00am-

3:00pm during Spring Break 2013. Mr. Chris Kates and Mrs. Wendy Natalie will be the camp

directors. Camp updates and a course catalog will be posted on the school webpage this

week. Currently, the first week of camp has 19 camp opportunities and the second week has

11 options. Camps will be mostly geared toward K-8; however there will be options for 9-12.

Cost of the camp is $130.00 per student per week and registration will be held February 15-

March 1st online as well as a paper form. Twelve students will be needed per camp opportu-

nity with each camp limited to 32 students. Parents will provide transportation and a sack

lunch for their student. The YMCA Before and After Care Program will be available for an ad-

ditional cost. Future scholarship funds may be available next year if the camps are success-

ful.

Next, Dr. DeKoninck shared information on the RISE Evaluation Process for Teachers. The

new process focuses on teachers increasing student achievement growth. Teachers now will

only receive an increase in compensation if they are designated as “effective” or “highly effec-

tive”. The evaluation process looks at teacher performance in planning, instruction, and lead-

ership as well as student growth and core professionalism. All pieces will factor into the

teachers evaluation. Overall this process has brought about more purposeful communication

between teachers and administrators. Also highlighted by Dr. DeKoninck was the new board

policy adopted regarding high school courses taken while students are in middle school. Stu-

dents will have the option to have these grades and credits placed on their high school tran-

script. If the grade is on the transcript, it will be part of the students’ grade point average. In

addition, Dr. DeKoninck shared information regarding online courses available via the Indi-

ana Online Academy through CIESC (Central Indiana Education Services Center). This has

been a great option for students as 1,016 courses were taken this past year compared to 604

the previous year. Next, Dr. DeKoninck discussed the administration’s desire to receive feed-

back from parents, students and staff on the balanced calendar option. A Survey Monkey will

be sent out to gather opinions and information. Dr. DeKoninck updated the committee on the

search for a new high school principal. The position has been posted and the goal will be to

have a new principal recommended to the board by late spring. Lastly, Dr. DeKoninck dis-

cussed school delays and snow days. The decision is a process taking into account many fac-

tors with an effort to make the best decision with the latest weather information. The deci-

sion to delay or close school will normally occur in the morning. The meeting adjourned at

8:00 p.m. The next meeting will be on Monday, March 4th from 6:30-8:00 p.m.

March 2013 Page 9

Introducing the Spring Break Intercession

Avon Academic and Arts Enrichment Camp!

The full Course Catalog can be found on the front page of the Avon Community School Corporation website. Click on the picture (like the one on the right) and it will take you to the course catalog and registration forms.

Camps operate Monday - Friday from 9:00am - 3:00pm at Avon Intermediate School West.

On-site early drop-off and late pick-up care will be available at an additional cost through the YMCA with registration available through our website.

The per student price for one week of camp is $130.00.

March 2013 Page 10

Opportunity to donate to the Avon Outdoor Learning Center Do you want FREE light bulbs, low-flow shower heads, sink aerators, a surge protector and pipe wrap? Do you also want the Avon Outdoor Learning Center to receive $25? If you said yes to either question, then sign up for an Energizing Indiana Home Energy Assess-ment! ACSC has partnered with Energizing Indiana to offer Residential Home Energy Assess-ments. The assessments can help you raise your home’s performance, lower energy bills and im-prove in-home air quality. It only takes one hour and every household that completes a Home En-ergy Assessment will receive a comprehensive report and the free Energy Savings Kit. In addition, ACSC will receive $25 per completed assessment. All proceeds will benefit the Avon Outdoor Learning Center. You do not have to live in Avon to earn the Outdoor Learning Center $25! Please see the attached Enrollment Guide to see if you qualify! Please feel free to visit http://www.energizingindiana.com/ for more information. Click on the following link for more information about the Avon Outdoor Learning Center http://www.avon-schools.org/Page/262 .

Set up your FREE home

energy assessment

today!

$25 will be donated to the

OLC upon completion of

your assessment and you

will receive these items

free!

March 2013 Page 11

NOTICE TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS

AVON COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION

2012-13

SCHOOL CALL-OFF, EARLY DISMISSAL AND DELAYED OPENING PROCEDURES

At times it is possible that school may be called off, dismissed early or delayed in opening because of weather and road conditions or failures of heat, water, etc. in school buildings. If this occurs, school officials will notify TV and radio stations that have offered to make “NO SCHOOL” announcements.

These stations have offered to make our announcements:

Announcements will also be posted on the district webpage and social media pages:

www.avon-schools.org (District Website)

www.facebook.com/Avon.Schools (Facebook)

www.twitter.com/OrioleTweets (Twitter)

Every effort will be made to arrive at a decision and notify the TV/radio stations and post on our district webpage and social media pages by 6:00 a.m. if school is to be called off or delayed by an hour or two. Announcements will be made/posted EACH DAY there will be no school.

✮Students and parents are requested to not call school officials on mornings when weather conditions

are questionable. It is important that telephone lines be free to gather information and communicate

with TV and radio stations.✮

On school days when weather conditions worsen during the day, it is possible that school officials may determine that it is neces-sary to dismiss school early. Parents are urged to keep tuned to our cooperating TV/radio stations or to view our district webpage or social media pages on such days so that they may be made aware if schools are going to be dismissed early. SPECIAL CARE AND ARRANGEMENTS SHOULD BE MADE IN ADVANCE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF EARLY SCHOOL DISMISSALS IN CASES WHERE BOTH PARENTS WORK AND NO ONE IS AT HOME DURING THE SCHOOL DAY TO CARE FOR CHILDREN.

WRTV TV – 6

WCBK – FM 102.3 Martinsville

WISH TV – 8 WEDJ – FM 107.1 Indianapolis

WTHR TV – 13

WXIN TV – 59

AVON MIDDLE SCHOOL NORTH Important Dates

2012-2013

March 12, 13, 14, 15 Quarterly Exams March 16 (Saturday) ISSMA Organizational Contest March 21 (Thursday) Staff Development (K-12 on one-hour delay) March 22 (Friday) REPORT CARDS SENT HOME WITH STUDENTS March 22 (Friday) Parent Newsletter Posted March 25 (Monday) Spring Break Begins NO SCHOOL April 8 (Monday) Return to School April 25 (Thursday) Staff Development (K-12 on one-hour delay) April 30 (Tuesday) Parent Newsletter Posted May 3 (Friday) Progress Reports Issued May 9 (Thursday) Orchestra & Show Choir Concert 6:30 pm May 13 (Monday) 7 & 8 Grade Choir Concert 6:30 pm May 14 (Tuesday) 7 & 8 Grade Band Concert 6:30 pm May 23 (Thursday) Academic Awards Night 6:00 pm May 27 (Monday) MEMORIAL DAY NO SCHOOL May 28, 29, 30, 31 Quarterly Exams May 31 (Friday) Parent Newsletter Posted May 31 (Friday) Last Day of School June 3 Teacher Record Day June 4, 5, 6 Make - up Days (if needed) June 7 Report Cards Mailed Home * Dates and times are subject to change.