Members of our Board of Education welcomed our varsity football team at their meeting earlier this week in recognition of their Section V Class D Championship-winning performance last month at Rush Henrietta!
Lorrie McLaughlin’s 11th period Earth science students decorated her classroom door with a Grinch/astronomy theme today - it came out great, don’t you think?!
Congratulations to the recipients of our inaugural KIC Award!
An acronym for Avon’s core values of kindness, integrity and community, teachers submit nominees quarterly for the award, which recognizes students who consistently exemplify the three values.
The KIC Award is the spiritual successor to our Braves Way Award, which we retired when we made the switch from our former “Braves” mascot to our current “River Hawks” one.
This morning, we recognized our KIC awardees with a special breakfast. Awardees were also presented with a certificate (and a gift card for a free pizza from Mark’s Pizzeria).
Our KIC awardees for the 1st quarter of the 2024-25 years are: Gianna N., Cale C., Hunter S., Brady D., Penelope S., Aaliya A., Ellie T., Julia S., Emma D., Ryan W., Aariana A., Rylee N., Paige T., Mollie G., Sophia F., Alexia R., Alex P., Qua Vear S., Molly M., Alana S., Hannah C., Nick S., Maria G. and Ellie T.
We know you’ll join us in congratulating our student musicians on a job well done at their Winter Band Concert earlier this week!
Audience members enjoyed music from our 5th/6th Grade Band under the direction of Mrs. Meaghan Stambaugh, Jr. High Band, Sr. High Band and Sr. High Jazz Band, all under the direction of Luke Selby.
Well done, Hawks!
Best of luck to our student musicians selected to perform in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra's annual Gala Holiday Pops concert series!
Students from across the Rochester region are nominated by their vocal music teachers or the Festival High School Chorale, which performs alongside the full RPO under the direction of Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik.
We had 6 students selected to participate this year - Hannah C., Emma D., Leticia G. Olivia N., Jackson L. and Teddy R.
They’ll head to Eastman Theater this afternoon to rehearse before their first performance tomorrow night - Friday, Dec. 20 - at 8 p.m. Additional performances are scheduled through Sunday, Dec. 23.
Click on the link below for ticketing information.
Congratulations, Hannah, Emma, Leticia, Olivia, Jackson and Teddy - we know you’ll do Avon proud!
Link: https://rpo.org/event/gala-holiday-pops/
BIG DUBS: Give it up for Avon’s own Chapter 3 PageTurners team, which earned its first win in quite some time against some quality competition yesterday at Pavilion Central Schools!
Avon went up against five teams from host Pavilion, Geneseo, Livonia and York central schools and came out on top in the competition, which quizzes team members on five books selected at the outset of the season.
Our PageTurners team of Hannah C., Amber C., Quinn F., Lynn F., Dom G., Emma R. and Shawn T. tried out a new strategy this year, said Coach Suzanne Freeman, our High School Library Media Specialist.
In past years, team members would read the books as early as possible with the intent of reading them a second time closer to competition. This year, the team read the titles as late as possible in an ultimately successful bid to maximize retention.
An EXTRA shout out goes to team member Shawn T., whose clutch answer about “The Leaving,” by Tara Altebrando - “Q: What did Miranda mention to Lucas that made him suspicious? A: The name of his dog - sealed the Hawks’ one-point win.
Final scores from yesterday’s competition are below:
1st: Avon (24 points)
T-2nd: Livonia (23 points)
T-2nd: Geneseo (23 points)
4th: Pavilion 1 (19 points)
5th: York (16 points)
6th: Pavilion 2 (15 points)
Our PageTurners are next in action March 18 at Geneseo.
(Photos courtesy of Suzanne Freeman)
DON’T FORGET: Our Winter Band Concert, which we were forced to reschedule because of last week’s snow day, is TONIGHT in our District Auditorium, 191 Clinton St., Avon, at 7 p.m.!
Student musicians in grades 5 through 12 will be performing tonight, so come on out and enjoy some holiday favorites courtesy of our students!
Our level 1 and level 2 PageTurners teams performed exceptionally well at their fall competitions earlier this month!
Our level 1 team, which consists of third, fourth and fifth graders, traveled to Caledonia-Mumford Dec. 4 and competed against teams from Cal-Mum, St. Agnes and Livonia.
“Avon came out on top for the first time in many years,” said PageTurners coach Jessica Mucci. “I am so proud of our reading River Hawks and their first place victory - their hard work really paid off!”
Scores from the level 1 meet are below:
1st: Avon (24 points)
2nd: St. Agnes (21 points)
3rd: Cal-Mum (18 points)
4th: Livonia (13 points)
Then, on Dec. 13, our level 2 team, which consists of sixth, seventh and eighth graders, traveled to Byron-Bergen and competed against teams from Byron-Bergen, Cal-Mum and York.
Avon placed a close second in this competition, which is particularly impressive given we only had 3 students on the team competing against teams of at least 6.
“This shows the dedication and hard work our river hawk readers put in,” said Mucci. “Avon proved that although small, they were mighty!”
Scores from the level 2 meet are below:
1st: Cal-Mum (29 points)
2nd: Avon (26 points)
3rd: York (14 points)
4th: Byron-Bergen (6 points)
Our teams’ next meets are in March.
Well done, PageTurners!
Shout out to Josh Williams for coming in to speak with our students about what his day-to-day as a multimedia producer with L3Harris looks like
Williams, our varsity cross country coach, has had an eventful career path that’s seen him photograph and report on protests in Chile, extradictions in Costa Rica, the comings and goings of New York City newsmakers, war in Iraq and life right here in Livingston County.
In addition to chronicling his professional career, Williams imparted a few of the lessons he’s learned over 2-1/2 decades worth of failures and successes and sought to impress on students the importance of planning in turning a dream into a goal.
Thank you, Coach Williams!
JOSH & JOSH: This morning, our varsity cross country coach, Josh Williams, stopped by our High School Library to speak with students about his career arc as a photographer, U.S. military servicemember, journalist and videographer (among a bunch of other stuff).
While recalling the launch of his online news website, The Genesee Sun, Williams pulled up a few screenshots from news videos he produced in The Sun’s early days and wouldn’t you know it, one of them featured an interview with Avon’s own Josh H. when he was a pre-schooler at the St. Agnes School back!
Given Josh H. was in the library for Williams’ presentation, we obviously had to re-create the photo nearly 13 years later!
Spoiler alert: Josh H., now a senior in our high school, is a bit taller than he was back in 2012.
And if you’re interested in checking out The Sun’s video, which centered on an art class pottery project, we’ve put a link to it below. We’ve got a feeling you may recognize a few other faces, too!
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlb-YnRZlAg
Avon Central School is closed today due to the weather.
Want to show someone you care, but only have $1? Boy, are you in luck!
Starting Wednesday, Dec, 11, members of our National Honor Society chapter will be selling candy cane grams outside our high school cafeteria during lunches.
Not only is this a great way to brighten someone’s day, it’s also a fundraiser for our NHS chapter and helps finance its charitable efforts throughout the year.
The candy cane gram sale runs through Wednesday, Dec. 18, so make sure you stop by and spread a smile (or 6) this holiday season!
Our first graders had a great time at Genesee Country Village & Museum!
Students participated in the living history museum’s “Home for the Holidays” tour. Guides led the way through the museum’s historic village where students participated in several hands-on holiday activities.
Students met a circa 1840s Santa Claus and participated in a reading of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” heard stories from a member of the Onondaga Turtle Clan, played a game of dreidel, made music in an African drum circle, learned how home bakers made gingerbread in the 19th Century and a whole lot more!
What a great way to kick off the holiday season!
Huge shout out to junior Jessie C., who was named to the New York Volleyball Coaches Association’s All-State Fifth Team for Class C!
An outside hitter, Jessie led the Hawks in service points (177) and aces (60) this season while also contributing 280 digs and 158 kills.
This past season was our varsity volleyball team’s most successful in recent memory as the Hawks went 10-6 through the regular season, earned the #2 seed in the Section V Class C1 Tournament and progressed to the finals where they fell in a hard-fought match to Le Roy.
Way to go, Jessie!
PLEASE SHARE: All after-school activities have been cancelled today - Thursday, Dec. 5 - due to inclement weather.
Stay warm and safe, Hawks - we’ll see you tomorrow!
REMINDER: To take the clerk/typist civil service exam Livingston County has scheduled at Avon High School on Dec. 14, you MUST pre-register online no later than tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 4 p.m.!
Visit Livingston County’s Civil Service Jobs webpage at the link below for more information and to register. The Dec. 14 exam begins at 9 a.m. at Avon High School, 245 Clinton St., Avon.
Link: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/livingstoncounty/transferjobs?
Move over, Miranda Cosgrove - there’s a new Summer Hathaway bursting onto the band-managing scene!
That’s right, Avon’s own eighth grade wunderkind Quinn K. is starring in the JCC of Greater Rochester’s upcoming production of “School of Rock: The Musical” and appeared on WROC-TV, News 8 this morning alongside co-star Evan J. Miller to promote the show!
Click on the link below to see Quinn’s segment.
Based on the 2003 Jack Black film, this fish-out-of-water musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There, he turns a class of straight-A students into a mind-blowing rock band with roof-raising energy.
Quinn portrays Summer Hathaway, the no-nonsense class factotum who, while tone-deaf, harbors an innate (and shrewd) business sense that helps spur the band to ever-greater heights (once she and Dewey stop bickering, that is).
“School of Rock” debuts Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at JCC’s CenterStage Theater, 1200 Edgewood Ave., Rochester.
For ticketing information, click on the link below.
Oh, and break a leg, Quinn!
News 8 link: https://www.rochesterfirst.com/entertainment-news/school-of-rock-taking-the-stage-at-jcc/
Tickets link: https://jccrochester.org/arts-culture/centerstage/#upcoming
“In south Louisiana, we live practically between fact and fiction,” Etha Simien Amling is wont to say.
A genealogist, author, historian and mother to high school English teacher Mrs. Cordula Kennell, Amling straddled the fact-fiction line Monday morning as she regaled Kennell’s creative writing students with some of ghostly tales she’s collected from Louisiana’s St. Landry Parish and beyond over the past several years.
From the paralyzing power of the Kooshma to soul-stealing escapades of the devil himself, Amling recounted a few of the thousands of unexplained stories that thrive in the deep south.
And while students enjoyed a small sampling of the region’s folklore, Amling stressed there’s always more to explore. After all, she said: “Everybody in Louisiana has a ghost story to tell!”
Visit our YouTube channel at the link below to hear some of the stories Amling shared with our students this morning. We’ve put time stamps in the video description so you can jump directly to each of Amling’s stories.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgNQk-cIA5M
Happy Thanksgiving, Hawks - may your day be full of food, family and festive cheer!
We stopped down at the elementary school this afternoon to see how things are coming along with the new playground and boy - things are coming along quickly!
Kind of wishing we were back in elementary school if we’re being honest - we’d be on that thing in a flash!
