Avon Central Schools

They’ve got spirit, yes they do. They’ve got spirit, how ‘bout you?! Great time (as usual) at our high school’s fall pep rally Friday afternoon. Full photo album over on our Facebook page at the link below. Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=100064703294390&set=a.943779524455482

Our first ever Avon Elementary School SOAR Week was a huge success! Our goals for SOAR Week were twofold. First, we wanted to provide some special activities and lessons for our younger students centered on STEAM and social-emotional learning, among other topics. Ian Smith, an innovative program specialist who runs our Elementary School Library and STEAM program, led different STEAM lessons for different grade levels centered on the basic concepts of programming, trial and error and iterative design. School Psychologist Katherine Wonderly led the SEL lessons, which she dubbed the “Coping Skills Cafe.” “We had a ‘menu’ of strategies for students to sample that they could use when they might need to calm down their big or uncomfortable feelings,” Wonderly explained. “The strategies we focused on were taking deep breaths, journaling, coloring/drawing, and using play dough for sculpting. We also, time permitting, had students take a survey to self-assess what strategies they liked best and thought they would use the most. Second, these special STEAM and SEL lessons gave our teachers a chance to come together and go over results from the benchmark assessments our students completed last year. This data allowed our teachers to see where students are excelling and struggling so they can refine instructional plans and improve student learning outcomes for the coming school year - it was a win-win! (Photos courtesy of Amanda Schroeder and Christie DeWald)

Tomorrow. 7 p.m. The turf. Be there.

REMINDER: This year, for the first time, our high school students will celebrate homecoming with a parade centered on the theme of “Avon River Hawks: Better Together.” We're aiming for a truly human-powered parade experience. Students in each graduating class will become the centerpiece of each float - pushing, pulling or wearing their creations. The centerpiece of each class’s float will be a spirit board. The front side of the board will reflect the chosen homecoming theme and incorporate each class's unique take on school spirit. The parade will begin in the high school parking lot promptly at 6 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 4. From the high school parking lot, the parade will proceed down Clinton Street, past the Avon Nursing Home, the middle school parking lot and the football stadium. Then, it will turn left at the entrance to the elementary school, proceed past the school and turn left again after the football field. The parade will then proceed down the walkway between the football field and the tennis courts and conclude near the concessions area. See the attached image for a map showing the parade route. We’re super excited to see what our students come up with and hope you can find a few minutes to come out and show your support!

A new high school course is helping students gain a better understanding of the real-world applications for some of the mathematical concepts they learn in school. “We started discussing the possibility of a new course with High School Principal Ryan Wagner last year,” said Mike Dale, an engineering and technology teacher who’s co-teaching the new Geometry by Design course with Ann Tiede, a high school math teacher. “His charge to us was to create a course that would allow students to put math into action and explore some of its real-world applications.” For their first project of the school year, Dale’s and Tiede’s students have been designing a beverage coaster holder. “Students did the math for the smaller, actual-sized version of the coaster holder they’ve been designing in Autodesk Inventor, our CAD software,” explained Dale. “Then, they went outside to the parking lot and used their calculations to lay out the coaster on a larger scale using tape to ensure their design would work.” Future projects will largely depend on what students are interested in. “We’ve got a 3D printer and a laser cutter, so we’ll probably look to work those into future projects,” Dale said. Tiede, who’s used to lecturing at a board at the front of a classroom “where we’re not really putting the math we're learning into action,” thinks it’s good for students to see how math can apply to real-world endeavors - especially the acts of design and construction. “Plus now,” said Tiede, “when a student asks me ‘When am I ever going to use this in the real world?’ I have an answer.” 14 students are currently enrolled in Geometry by Design. The course runs the entire school year. (Photos courtesy of Mike Dale and Ann Tiede)

Some MAJOR Braveheart vibes at our cross country program's senior night yesterday as local bagpiper Kevin Angus played his Scottish bagpipes across the course as athletes ran. Swap the gently rolling fields of the Genesee Valley with the mountainous crags of the Scottish Highlands, add a few sheep, some kilts and maybe a claymore or two and you’d never know the difference! Head Coach Josh Williams heard Angus perform at a wedding and decided to hire him to come play at senior night. As Avon’s cross country course features multiple switchbacks, runners had a few opportunities to take in the stirring skirl of Angus’s pipes throughout the race. “I just wanted to do something cool for the seniors on their night that honored their hard work and sacrifice,” said Williams. Senior boys co-captain Hunter R. called the experience “truly incredible.” “The live bagpipe music set the competitive atmosphere up perfectly for a well executed race,” said Hunter. “Really a joy and a pleasure to have Mr. Angus out there on the course with us.” Head on over to our YouTube channel at the link below for a clip of Kevin playing. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL24oHRAyOs (Photos courtesy of Jess Soucy)

Our varsity cross country program celebrated 10 special seniors at yesterday’s home meet against Byron-Bergen, Attica and Wheatland-Chili. “We’ve got a special group of seniors across the board this year,” said Head Coach Josh Williams. “We needed a strong performance tonight and we crushed it. Resilient with complete faith in one another, they are inspired by the heart of the hawk.” The boys swept the meet to keep pace in their tight battle with Livonia for the league championship while the girls hung with wins over Attica and Wheatland-Chili to go with a tough loss to Byron-Bergen “It was a nice double victory for the girls as four-year varsity runners Lena K. (27:20) and Paige P. (26:30) earned the 50th league win of their careers,” said Williams, now in his third year of coaching. “Sarah W. (24:55) stepped forward nicely as the first River Hawk runner to finish as she continues to improve.” The boys swept the meet including a tough win against perennial powerhouse Byron-Bergen. “That was a great race and as a result we have four runners who are 18 minutes and faster,” said Williams. “It’s full steam ahead the rest of this season as our athletes are ready to step forward.” There are two weeks left in the league battle, with sectionals to follow Nov. 2. The River Hawks are next in action Tuesday, Oct. 8 when they’ll host Notre Dame Batavia, Pavilion, York and Perry and home. (Photos courtesy of Jess Soucy)

Members of our senior chorus had the incredible opportunity last week of attending a vocal master class with baritone Fredrick Redd and soprano Melissa Wimbish, who were in town for a performance with the Rochester Oratorio Society at RIT. Wimbish’s career highlights include the 50th anniversary of Bernstein’s MASS at The Kennedy Center, Alice in the US-premiere of HARRIET by Hilda Paredes at Yellow Barn Music Festival, Mysteries of the Macabre with the Baltimore Symphony and the role of Nimue in the Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Camelot at Shakespeare Theatre D.C. Redd counts the formidable and titular “Emperor Jones" and the enigmatic Dom Frollo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" among his more than 300 acting credits. The baritone’s magnetic presence also extends to the Metropolitan Opera Guild, where he’s enraptured listeners with excerpts from the timeless "Rigoletto" and his debut in the Emmy-nominated production of "Porgy & Bess" at the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center where he recently returned as a featured artist in the world premiere of “Stonewall.” Before their performance at RIT, Redd and Wimbish stopped by our district auditorium Friday to lead a vocal master class. After listening to our entire senior chorus perform, the pair worked one-on-one with a few individual members chosen by Chorus Director Kristen Maxfield. Emma D., Hannah C., Jackson L. and Paul P. all performed a selection for Redd and Wimbish, who then offered feedback and advice for how students could improve their pieces. The master class wrapped up with a Q&A during which Redd and Wimbish offered an unvarnished look at their careers and industry. “This was an incredible opportunity for our students,” said Maxfield. “Fred and Melissa are at the top of their profession and for our students to be able to benefit from their skill and expertise was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” A huge thank you to our former chorus teacher, Cynthia Towler, the Rochester Oratorio Society and, of course, to Fred and Melissa for making this master class possible!

Homecoming Week is almost here! Activities in the high school kick off Sept. 30 with Minion Monday, so make sure you start thinking about your theme day outfits NOW!

Athletic Director Andy Englert hosted the first captain’s corner of the school year this morning in our high school cafeteria. Englert began offering these sessions last year as a way of helping Avon athletes chosen as captains of their respective sports team build leadership skills. “I want to make sure we’re putting these student athletes in a position to lead their teammates and act as advocates for their peers,” said Englert. “Ultimately, we want their positions as captains to mean more than wearing a ‘C’ on their chests.” This morning’s session centered on helping captains identify strengths and areas in need of improvement on their sports teams and how to go about trying to make positive changes. “I’m really proud of the 17 captains who attended this morning’s session,” said Englert. “They bought in and were really engaged throughout the whole process.” (Photos courtesy of Andy Englert)

Construction has gone VERTICAL at the main entrance to our High School! Crews were out this morning putting up structural steel that will ultimately support the new canopy over the entrance. This aspect of our capital project should wrap up by the end of next week. Exciting!

Our cross country runners traveled to Geneseo last night to face off against Geneseo, Warsaw, Mount Morris, Letchworth and Caledonia-Mumford/Le Roy. Our girls team was once again led by junior Maria G., who was the overall winner on the day with a time of 19:30, which set a course record. “Geneseo unveiled a new course and Maria crushed it,” said Head Coach Josh Williams. “In these races where she’s running alone there’s still a tremendous opportunity to learn and grow so we always look to be better and find new areas of improvement. Her willingness to be coachable and work on different areas is propelling her to a new level.” Other top finishers on our girls team were Sarah W. (25:21), Lena K. (28:40), Paige P. (29:01) and Lev S. (30:16). Our girls team went 3-2 on the day, topping Letchworth, Mount Morris and Warsaw and falling to Caledonia-Mumford/Le Roy and Geneseo. Our boys team had a solid day as well, going 4-1 with their sole loss coming to host Geneseo. Leading the way for the boys was freshman standout and dual sport athlete Luigi M. who, in the second league race of his career, dropped a minute to run a 17:18, good for third place overall. Other scorers for Avon were Wyatt K. (17:20), Hunter R. (17:21), Jordan M. (17:52) and eighth graders Owen H., who ran an 18:49. With four runners under 18 minutes, our boys team put up a Herculean effort with top runner and team captain Finn S. out with an injury. “The boys showed grit, it was a tough few days and they showed true class in the effort they put forward and how they carried themselves,” said Williams. “It’s going to be a thrilling stretch to sectionals and we are a team that believes in one another.” Our River Hawk runners are next in action this Saturday, Sept. 28, at Genesee Valley Park for the McQuaid Invitational, the largest meet in the Northeast. (Photos courtesy of Jess Soucy)

Avon students were among the more than 1,000 others from across the region at the Genesee County Fairgrounds in Batavia yesterday for GLOW with Your Hands, the career exploration event designed to give students in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties opportunities to learn more about career opportunities in local high-growth, high-demand industries. More than 65 business and career exhibitors in agriculture, manufacturing and other skilled trades attended this year’s event to present to students. This annual event is a great opportunity for our students to learn directly from professionals in a variety of industries and get a feel for what career they may wish to pursue after high school.

The Batavia Daily News will livestream our varsity football game against Oakfield-Alabama/Elba on its YouTube channel at the link below. The game starts at 7 p.m. (time is approximate). Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/c36Kx41cws4

Spotted Mr. Mike Dale’s principles of engineering students working on a pulley and lever system to pick up weights by increasing mechanical advantage. To perfect their machine, they’ll need to create a formula and solve for ideal mechanical advantage. (Photos courtesy of Mike Dale)

Avon staff members were BUSY at our first partial professional learning day of the year yesterday afternoon! Members of our district and building school safety teams assembled in the high school library for an emergency response protocol training from Altaris, a school safety consulting company. Altaris took safety team members through its SHELL response system, an acronym for shelter in place, hold in place, evacuate, lockout, lockdown. And in our middle school library, elementary and middle school teachers participated in a training Cooperative Classroom, our district’s new literacy curriculum. Learning isn’t just for students, you know!

PLEASE SHARE, this important message for parents of our senior students!

Many thanks to all the college and university representatives who attended this morning’s Rochester Area College Fair in our high school cafeteria: • Rochester Institute of Technology • SUNY Geneseo • Alfred University • St. John Fisher University • SUNY Brockport • Finger Lakes Community College • Houghton University • Keuka College • Monroe Community College • Genesee Community College • Nazareth University • Alfred State College • University of Rochester • Roberts Wesleyan College We hosted representatives from 14(!) different institutes of higher education this morning - lots of good exchanging of information with our juniors and seniors!

Mrs. Lorrie McLaughlin’s eighth grade science students took advantage of yesterday morning’s sunshine to go outside and test the paper airlines they’ve been designing in class. Students have been working on their planes for the past week or so, said McLaughlin, and have gone through a few different iterations, making improvements based on the scientific method. Shout out to the team of Michael S., Logan C. and Wyatt B., whose paper airplane traveled 1,830 centimeters during their test flight Wednesday morning - that’s more than 60 feet!

LOOKING SHARP: Some of the new furniture we ordered last year has started to arrive! Fourteen classrooms will be receiving new desks, chairs and tables this year - 5 in the high school, 3 in the middle school and 6 in the elementary school. Apart from modernizing student learning environments, this new furniture is more flexible, which will allow teachers to better meet the differing instructional needs of our students, better accommodates the technology our students use on a daily basis and will promote collaborative learning activities in our classrooms. Our district is also in the process of creating a furniture replacement schedule to ensure we’re making needed updates in an intentional and equitable manner across our three school buildings. Many thanks to our facilities staff for their hard work preparing classrooms for these new furniture pieces!