Many thanks to everyone who volunteered or donated at our annual blood drive today.
We ended up collecting 21 units of blood today, one more than last year’s total of 20 - well done, Hawks!
THROWBACK THURSDAY: All the way to 2007, when our Interscholastic Competition in English team under the leadership of Head Coach Mr. Jeff Kennell captured the ICE Cup at SUNY Geneseo.
Seemed appropriate given the success of our 2025 ICE team at last week’s competition to feature another winning ICE team from Avon’s past!
We want to thank Mike Scrivens and Ryan Dempsey of Campus Construction Management for coming to speak with students Wednesday as part of our Career Conversations series where we bring in professionals from a variety of industries to speak about some of the different career options available to them after graduation.
Scrivens, a recruitment and engagement specialist for Campus, and Dempsey, a project manager, gave a lot of solid, usable information yesterday, speaking with students about different career paths available in the construction industry, educational requirements, day to day job responsibilities and earnings potential.
Campus is also managing our district’s ongoing capital project, so Scrivens and Dempsey were able to bring students through some of the work that’s been completed in our schools thus far as well as designs and renderings for future work in our buildings which will be getting underway soon as part of phase II of our capital project.
No, you weren’t seeing things - that really WAS members of our Interscholastic Competition in English team featured in 13-WHAM’s “Bright Spot” segment during last night’s 6 p.m. broadcast!
You can check out the segment on 13-WHAM’s website at the link below.
One last shout out to our ICE team members on their terrific performances last week and one last congratulations to The Scarlett Letterheads for their second place team finish - love to see our Hawks flying high!
Link: https://13wham.com/features/bright-spot/bright-spot-genesee-valley-boces-celebrates-student-creativity-at-annual-ice-competition
Huge congratulations to senior Trevor S., who scored the 1,000th point of his varsity basketball career last night during the Hawks’ 65-54 win over Rochester Prep.
The key point came in the fourth quarter with 23.9 seconds left in the game.
After catching the inbound pass from Ryan H., Trevor was quickly fouled by a Rochester Prep defender and went to the line for two free throws.
He sank the first, then the second, to put the Hawks up 63-54 and reach the 1,000th point mark.
Trevor is now breathing some rarified air as one of only 5 Avon student athletes to score 1,000 career points mark during their time as Braves and, now, Hawks.
Members of Avon’s 1,000-point club members are:
• Sarina McDowell: 1,433 points (2018-2023)
• Michael Rowland: 1,180 points (2019-2024)
• Keni Read: 1,123 points (2015-2020)
• Zach Colvin: 1,039 points (2017-2022)
• Trevor S.: 1,002 points (2020-2025)
The Hawks, now 8-1 on the season, are next in action this Friday, Jan. 17, when they’ll host the 5-5 Letchworth Legends at home.
Click on the link below for a video of Trevor scoring his 1,000th point, courtesy of Amanda Church of Avon Sports Boosters.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9OyTEIN_4
Our National Honor Society chapter is hosting its annual Red Cross Blood Drive this Friday, Jan. 17, in our High School Gymnasium, 245 Clinton St., Avon.
Those 17 years of age and up can donate and 16-year-olds can donate if they submit a completed parental consent form.
To schedule an appointment, call 1 (800) 733-2767, go online to RedCrossBlood.com and enter “14414” in the “Make an Appointment” search bar or scan the QR in the image below.
Visitors to the district will need to check in at the main office, then follow signage to the gymnasium.
Those who donate Friday will be automatically entered for a chance to win two tickets to this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, La.
Last year, we collected 20 units of blood. This year, our goal is 38 units. To meet that, we’ll need Avon to turn out, so we hope to see you Friday!
The Livingston County News recently published a great piece on former Avon faculty member Georgiana Sheldon, who went on to shatter glass ceilings as the first woman to serve on the Federal Power Commission in President Jimmy Carter’s administration
Sheldon, who’s listed as an English and dramatics teacher in our 1946 and 1947 yearbooks, appeared well-liked by her students during her brief teaching stint in Avon.
In 1946, she served as an advisor for the graduating class which saw fit to thank her and fellow advisor Grace E. Cooper for their “competent guidance and wise counsel.”
As advisors, Cooper and Sheldon “have withheld nothing in giving us the full benefit of their talents in any venture we have undertaken,” wrote the Class of 1946. “Their ability to perceive our troubles and personalities has steered us through the seemingly mammoth maze of scholastic and social achievement. We sorrowfully leave and shall never forget their genuine interest in our individual activities and their appreciation of life’s humorous phases which have made shorter the path to knowledge.”
The following year, Avon’s Class of 1947 name Sheldon a favorite faculty member and dedicated that year’s edition of The Avalon to her and Mr. Howard D. Austin “in token of our appreciation for their splendid assistance and timely advice in all our undertakings.”
Check out the LCN's article at the link below.
Link: https://www.thelcn.com/news/an-avonian-in-d-c-how-a-local-woman-helped-set-carter-s-energy-policy/article_440cccb8-cdfc-11ef-b899-13f6ffa2085e.html
Save it, bag it and bring it… to our Class of 2025’s upcoming clothing drive!
We are seeking gently used men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, coats, shoes, scarves, handbags, wallets, fashion accessories, belts, backpacks, bedding, comforters, blankets, sheets, towels, linen, tablecloths, curtains and pillows.
There are two drop-off dates. Both will be in the Avon Middle School parking lot at 191 Clinton St. The first is Friday, Jan. 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. The second is Saturday, Jan. 18 from 9 to 11 a.m.
Please place clothes and textiles into bags before donating. All items must be clean and in sell-able condition.
Funds raised through the drive will help pay for the Class of 2025’s Senior Bash so clean out those closets, bag up those items and help us meet our goal of collecting 250 bags!
Questions? Reach out to Kelly Montague at avonseniorbash@gmail.com.
Let us be the first to wish you a Happy New Year, Hawks!
Merry Christmas, Hawks!
This past week, Elementary School Social Worker Baylee Barrett was recognized alongside colleagues from across the GLOW Region by New York State School Social Workers’ Association President Wendy Castiglia!
Back in November, at the annual NYSSWA conference, GLOW Region social workers swept the association’s awards, with 7 of 7 honorees from from our local area, Barrett among them!
Congratulations to Baylee and the other GLOW Region social workers!
(Photo courtesy of Lyndsay Herkimer)
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!
