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!
20 days ago, Matt Leader
PLEASE SHARE, this important message for parents of our senior students!
20 days ago, Matt Leader
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!
21 days ago, Matt Leader
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!
21 days ago, Matt Leader
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!
22 days ago, Matt Leader
Our junior varsity football team got the 48-20 win over visiting Haverling Monday night on the turf.
Shout out to Danette DeNoto for the photos and go Hawks!
22 days ago, Matt Leader
Our boys cross country runners remained unbeaten through the second week of league play defeating Alexander, Pembroke, and Keshequa Tuesday in a quad meet at host Alexander.
The Hawks were led by Finn S. who set his league personal best with a time of 16:37, taking first place overall. The time is the fastest for boys in league racing this season as Finn dropped nearly 50 seconds from his time last week in Holley.
Hunter R. (18:10), Wyatt K. (17:54), and Caleb C. (20:36) were a few of the Hawks who set personal bests on the hilly Alexander course.
“Finn continues to improve each week. Regardless of the course and the who’s in the field each race is an opportunity and there are lessons to be learned,” said Head Coach Josh Williams. “Our boys team is looking forward to next week's race in Geneseo.”
Our boys are now 6-0 on the season.
On the girls side, Maria G. set a personal best with a time of 20:08, the fastest recorded so far this season in league competition.
Our girls won over Pembroke and Keshequa and fell to Alexander.
“Maria is learning to race with a new engine,” said Williams. “She continues to improve physically and mentally. As her coach I couldn't be more proud of what she has achieved and what’s in her future.”
The Avon girls moved to 4-2 on the season and are likewise next in action against Geneseo next week.
"Both the boys and the girls are putting in an incredible effort and we have a team culture that's positive and supportive for all runners - regardless of where they are in the pack." said Williams. "Coach Kennell, Coach Baumer and Coach Christine all set an incredible example of being positive and rising to the challenge in front of them. We definitely have something special coming together here."
(Photo courtesy of Josh Williams)
22 days ago, Matt Leader
Spotted a crew out tearing up asphalt in our elementary school parking lot the other day.
Can’t believe this construction zone will soon be the site of our new elementary school playground, installation of which should begin in just a few short weeks - so exciting!
23 days ago, Matt Leader
Mrs. Liz Stroud’s 4th graders did a super cool (and super quick) printmaking project this afternoon in art class with Mrs. Nicole Rowley.
First, students chose a paint color. Then, they used a brayer, or roller, to spread the paint out on their blocks.
After that they chose a few leaves from a selection Mrs. Rowley had collected from outside earlier in the day, arranged them on the block, placed a piece of paper atop the leaves and rolled the paper.
After they were done rolling, students’ papers were covered in paint everywhere except where they’d placed the leaves.
Students then repeated the process with a different color to create a layered effect - the results were impressive!
Thanks to Mrs. Rowley for letting us stop by!
28 days ago, Matt Leader
We happened to stop by the High School Library this morning and bumped into students in Mary Keymel’s new intro to agriculture class.
Keymel’s students kicked off the new school year researching careers in the ag industry.
“I wanted them to realize the industry doesn’t consist solely of your typical farmer,” said Keymel. “There’s a lot of ancillary and ag-adjacent careers out there that are only going to become more important as time goes on.”
After conducting research, Keymel’s students created a presentation in Canva, printed it out, then presented their findings to classmates.
28 days ago, Matt Leader
Never forget.
29 days ago, Matt Leader
Our varsity boys cross country team opened league competition yesterday with a clean sweep of Holley, Kendall and defending Section V Class D1 Champion Oakfield-Alabama/Elba.
Finn S. was the overall boys winner with a time of 17:27, beating second place finisher Logan Clark, who ran a 17:50.
It was the first time in five years that Avon was able to defeat OAE, giving them their first league loss since 2019.
"OAE has dominated the league for a reason with a great coaching staff and athletes with a passion for running, so to compete with them is a big statement for our program,” said Head Coach Josh Williams. “As cool as this win is, our focus is on a league title and to compete at sectionals - lots of work to do the rest of the way."
Breakthrough performances by sophomore Wyatt K. (18:14) and freshman Luigi M. (18:18) helped seal the win for the River Hawks.
"Last year Jordan M and Hunter R. came on board and added a new dimension to our program and this year, we bring in some young talent that gives us depth," said Williams. "A very special win for the boys made possible by the entire roster working hard to push each other every day.”
Our girls team went 2-1 on the day, topping Holley and Kendall but falling to Oakfield-Alabama/Elba.
Junior Maria G. was the overall winner with a time of 20:53, beating Caroline Luft of OAE with a time of 22:19.
Eighth grade call-up Sarah W. was the second Avon runner to cross the finish line in a time of 26:15 in her league debut.
"Every race Maria is getting stronger and she keeps improving,” said Williams. “Her tremendous work ethic and attitude fuel her progress. As the season continues our girls' times will improve and so will our ability to compete.The spark is there."
The River Hawks are next in action Tuesday, Sept. 17, when they’ll face host Alexander, Keshequa and Pembroke at 5 p.m.
(Photos courtesy of Josh Williams)
29 days ago, Matt Leader
Members of our Class of 2028 took a field trip to Camp Stella Maris yesterday as part of our Freshman Academy.
We usually offer four such academies in the first few months of the school year. The hope is to support our new high school students during what, for many, can be a difficult transition. Each session is designed to ease members of our freshman class into high school life and give them a chance to interact with peers and teachers in a setting outside of their usual classroom environment.
After arriving at camp yesterday morning, students broke up into groups, then rotated through different stations featuring activities designed to test their ability to work together to solve a common problem.
Many thanks to Camp Stella Maris for hosting us for the second straight year!
Full photo album over on our Facebook page at the link below.
Oh, and be sure to check out the video highlights we posted over on our YouTube channel, likewise at the link below.
Photo album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.921909679975800&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HITioXg5n84
about 1 month ago, Matt Leader
GREAT START: Friday night’s downpours couldn’t slow down our boys gold team of Finn S., Wyatt K. and Jordan M who placed 11th out of 109 teams in the feature race at Oakfield-Alabama’s Dash in the Dark relays.
Finn, a senior, was the top runner for our boys team with a time of 10:25 over the two-mile course. He showed that he is going to be a force all season placing in the top ten of the small school division.
Maria G., a junior, was our top girls runner with a time of 12:45.
Maria led the girls with an incredible performance, placing 11th overall in the small school division as an individual.
Friday’s relays also saw some breakout performances from younger River Hawks including freshman Luigi M. (11:37), 8th grade callup Owen H. (12:29) and Sarah W., (16:38), likewise an 8th grade call up.
"The River Hawks made an incredible statement against the toughest competition in Western New York," said Head Coach Josh Williams. "Hard work over the summer has set the stage for an exciting season."
Your River Hawks travel to Holley Tuesday to face defending sectional champion Oakfield-Alabama/Elba, Holley and Kendall.
(Photos courtesy of Josh Williams)
about 1 month ago, Matt Leader
Fudgesicle Friday for the win.
Good job this week, River Hawks - enjoy your weekend!
about 1 month ago, Matt Leader
Stopped by Avon Elementary this afternoon to see how work’s coming along as part of the capital improvement project district residents approved back in December 2022.
Tiling is going up FAST in the hallways - we think the green and white backsplash being used for the water fountain/water bottle refill stations look ESPECIALLY sharp!
We’ll be providing updates on capital project work as the year goes on, so make sure you follow along!
about 1 month ago, Matt Leader
Our varsity volleyball team is once again hosting a Wilson’s Beef Sticks fundraiser to help cover any costs it may incur this year and the next.
Each 15-stick pack costs $25 with a variety of different flavors to choose from.
The sale runs through Friday, Sept. 13. Use the link below to access the sales website.
We hope you’ll consider supporting our girls volleyball program by making a purchase today!
Link: https://app.scoreboard.coach/s/448095
about 1 month ago, Matt Leader
Our fifth graders wrapped up the first week of school with a game of capture the flag this morning during physical education with Ms. Congdon.
Apart from being a whole lot of fun, capture the flag is also a great game to practice our district’s three core values of kindness, integrity and community - kindness, in listening respectfully to teammates’ plans to capture the opposing flag; integrity, in acknowledging when you’ve been tagged by an opponent; and community, in working together with others to achieve a common goal.
Super proud of our fifth graders for displaying kindness, integrity and community this morning!
about 1 month ago, Matt Leader
Beginning of the year class meetings with Mr. Wagner. Talking about how to move through the 2024-25 school year with kindness, integrity and community.
#WeAreAvon