Avon Central Schools

Avon alumna Sarina McDowell (Class of 2023), a freshman forward at Nazareth University, has been named Empire 8 co-Rookie of the Week! Sarina led the Golden Flyers in the two games last week with a scoring average of 18.5 points per game. She scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win over Keuka College and then added 18 points and seven rebounds at Houghton. She missed just three shots in the two games as she finished 15-for-18 (.833) from the field and was 7-for-10 from the free throw line. Congrats, Sarina! Read more here: https://nazathletics.com/news/2024/2/12/womens-basketball-mcdowell-named-empire-8-co-rookie-of-the-week.aspx?fbclid=IwAR1aho8S2ANr6B97DV33trd5p7XhqORpp9k2aWDI5G1OTsofLREysJm8ZWs

Yesterday afternoon, we hosted administrators from surrounding districts for a presentation from Dr. Rick Timbs, a retired school superintendent and school finance expert who assists districts with long-term financial planning. The session was aimed at helping schools to plan given COVID relief funds are coming to an end and New York State has proposed significant changes to school aid that, if approved, would negatively impact all schools in our region. At the end of the session, Dr. Timbs briefly addressed the pending state mandate for schools to purchase zero emissions school buses within the next five years. This was a helpful session for Genesee Valley BOCES superintendents and business officials to gain a deeper understanding of the proposed changes to the school funding formula and its impact on short and long-range financial planning.

Our swimmers will compete in the Section V Class C Swimming and Diving Championships tomorrow - Friday, Feb. 16 - at Churchville-Chili High School, 5786 Buffalo Rd., Churchville. Tickets are $7.30 and can be purchased online through GoFan at the link below. Section V will also livestream the championship at the link below. There is a fee to access the stream. Warm-ups start at 4 p.m. with races set to begin at 5:15 p.m. (time is approximate). Tickets link: https://gofan.co/event/1303167?schoolId=NYSPHSAAV Livestream link: https://vcloud.blueframetech.com/broadcast/ppv/921626

Mrs. Emily Schroeder’s freshmen global history students presented the fruits of their international interview projects last week in the High School Library. In addition to learning about foreign nations’ people, culture and history, the purpose of the assignment, said Schroeder, was for students to make personal connections to major events of the 20th century, practice the techniques of conducting personal interviews and collect authentic documents to help them better understand, appreciate and preserve the stories of their interview subjects. We stopped by a few of Schroeder’s classes last week to see what students took away from the project. See what they had to say in the video linked below! Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g6apkHG7Yg

Eighth grader James C. punched his ticket to the State Wrestling Championships in Albany later this month after placing 2nd in the Section V State Qualifiers Saturday at SUNY Brockport. James started out the day 2-0 with two technical falls in the quarters and semis to make the Division II 124-lbs finals where he fell via technical fall to 3-time defending Section V Class B1 Champion Chris Noto of Honeoye Falls-Lima. In the consolation finals, James earned the 3-0 decision over Robert Pullen of Waterloo to take 2nd place overall and qualify for the state championships. Congratulations to James and also to Ethan C., Connor D. and Patrick H., who finished their seasons Saturday at SUNY Brockport. (Photo courtesy of Bob Blair via ArmDrag.com)

All four of our divers placed at the Section V Class D Diving Championships Saturday at the Webster Aquatic Center! Leading the way for the Braves was senior Megan M., who took third place in the 11-dive event with 338.60 points. Next for Avon was senior Taylor S., who took 5th with 283.85 points. Molly M. and Izzy C. finished 10th and 11th overall with 264.20 and 263.65 points, respectively. Congrats, divers! (Photo courtesy of Section V)

Our combined Livonia-Geneseo-Avon Lakers indoor track teams competed Saturday at the Rochester Winter Track League Championships at Nazareth University. Our boys put up a bunch of PRs and top 6 finishes en route to a 9th place finish while our girls team scored 83 points and took 2nd overall. “Although we are a merged program, we pull from three small districts which makes this a huge achievement for us,” said Head Coach Jenna Williams. “Last year, the girls team finished second to last in their division with a score of 6 points. To see this kind of growth, passion, dedication, and teamwork on display has been nothing short of remarkable.” Top 6 finishers for the Lakers are listed below: Girls Blair W.: 1st, long jump Emily F.: 1st, pole vault; 5th 600-meter run Poppy T.: 2nd, pole vault Taila B.: 2nd, high jump Greyson H.: 3rd, shot put Isabelle E.: 3rd, weight throw; 6th shot put MacKenzie L.: 4th, shot put; 4th, weight throw Alaina T.: 4th, 3,000-meter run Katie P.: 4th, 1,000-meter run Olivia C.: 5th, 1,500-meter race walk Britney C.: 6th, 55-meter hurdles; 6th, 1,500-meter race walk Emily F., Katie P., Cheyenne S. and Rachael M.: 2nd, 4x400-meter relay Olivia C., Blair W., Ava C. and Taila B.: 4th, 4x200-meter relay Boys Caleb R.: 4th, 1000-meter run Callan R.: 5th, 55-meter hurdles Corey D.: 6th, 3,200-meter run Aiden B., Corey D., Wyatt K. and Andrew M.: 3rd, 4x800-meter relay Callan R., Nick S., Jayden C. and Jake B.: 6th, 4x200-meter relay

Our wrestlers will compete tomorrow - Saturday, Feb. 10 - at the Section V State Qualifiers at SUNY Brockport. Matches begin at 9 a.m. (time is approximate). Finals tickets are $7.30. All-day passes are $13.60. The event will be livestreamed. There is a fee to access the streams. Use the link below to access Section V’s State Qualifiers webpage which includes information about and links to ticketing and livestreaming options. https://sectionv.org/news/2024/2/6/boys-wrestling-ticketing-merchandise-and-broadcast-information-for-state-qualfiers.aspx

Avon divers will compete at the Section V Class D Diving Championships tomorrow - Saturday, Feb. 10 - at the Webster Aquatic Center, 875 Ridge Rd., Webster. Warm-ups begin at 9 a.m. The meet starts at 11:15 a.m. (times are approximate). Tickets are $7.30 and can be purchased online through GoFan at the link below. The event will be livestreamed via Section V at the link below. There is a fee to access the stream. Tickets link: https://gofan.co/event/1295826?schoolId=NYSPHSAAV&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rst&referrer_name=activity_scheduler&utm_campaign=rst_schedule_page Livestream link: https://vcloud.blueframetech.com/broadcast/ppv/921381

For the vast majority of our students, their bus driver is the first person they see on their way into school in the morning and the last person they see on their way home in the afternoon. This morning, we gathered members of our Transportation Department at Peppermints Family Restaurant to thank them for the work they put in each and every day to get our students where they need to go quickly and safely. We appreciate you!

Mark your calendars, Avon. This Friday, Feb. 9, our Middle School Student Council is sponsoring TWO awesome events - one for 5th and 6th graders and one for 7th and 8th graders! First up is the 5th/6th Grade Fun Night from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Middle School Gymnasium. We’ll have pizza, movies, board games and a whole lot more. Then, from 7 to 9 p.m., the gym will transform into the venue for the 7th/8th Grade Dance complete with games, a photo booth and a live DJ! Admission is $6 for each event. Teachers will also be chaperoning both events, so parents don’t need to stay. We hope to see you Friday for our forthcoming, festive functions, which are firmly fated to be fully flush with farcical frivolity!

Over the past few weeks, students in Mr. Mike Dale’s sophomore principles of engineering class have been working to design, build and improve machines as part of their units on gear ratios and fluid dynamics. Working in small groups, Dale’s students created a box-crusher, a forklift, a wrecking ball and a crane using gears, hydraulic and pneumatic systems and a range of out-of-the-box and custom, 3D-printed parts. We stopped by this afternoon to see how they all work - check it out at the link below! Link: https://youtu.be/zFpmkFF6QVQ

Join us in congratulations Avon eighth grader James C., who captured the Section V Class B2 124-lb Wrestling Championship Saturday at East Rochester High School! James pinned his first two opponents inside 2 minutes to make the finals where he earned a 15-0 technical fall victory to claim his first sectional title. In addition to capturing the 124-lb title, James was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for the lightweight divisions. Other top finishers for Avon-Geneseo at sectionals were: • Connor D. (Avon), who took second place at 101 lbs • Ethan C. (Geneseo), who took third at 215 lbs • Brady D. (Avon,) who took sixth at 190 lbs • Patrick H. (Geneseo), who took fifth at 285 lbs James and his fellow, top 5 sectional finishers will compete at the Section V State Qualifiers this Saturday, Feb. 10, at SUNY Brockport. (Photos courtesy of Armdrag.com)

Shout out to our student musicians selected for All-County II this weekend at Letchworth Central Schools! Students selected for Senior Chorus and Junior Band will perform tomorrow at Letchworth alongside the best student musicians in the Genesee Valley! Avon students selected for All-County II are: Senior Chorus (Grades 10-12) • Emma D. (soprano) • Isis S. (soprano) • Hannah C. (alto) • Olivia N. (alto) • Mason B. (tenor) • Sean M. (bass) Junior Band (Grades 7-9) • Stephen B. (flute) • Gerard L. (clarinet) • Elena G. (clarinet) • Megan K. (bass clarinet) • Zuniel C. (trombone) • Avery D. (trombone) • Julia S. (tuba) (Photo courtesy of Luke Selby)

Michael R.’s record-setting shot came in the fourth quarter last night off a feed from junior forward Brody M. After getting the ball in the short corner, Michael pulled up and sank a 6-foot floater to give Avon the 53-48 lead and capture the career points record. Check out the special moment at the link below! Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHK3yddUco

Get out some pen and paper, Braves Nation. Time to re-write the record books. A huge congratulations to senior Michael R., who moved into sole ownership of our boys basketball career points record last night during Avon’s 64-59 win over York. Michael, who finished the night with 13 points and 7 rebounds, now has 1,048 career points, breaking the old record of 1,041 set by Zach Colvin in 2022. Did we mention we’ve got 3 regular season games left to go? Incredible! Teammate Trevor S. led the Braves in York last night, amassing 5 assists, 6 rebounds and 25 points. Josh H. also had a big night with 20 points and 7 assists. The Braves are next in action tomorrow - Friday, Feb. 2 - at home against an 8-8 Warsaw squad. (Photos courtesy of Doug McFarland Photography)

Mark your calendars for the Avon PTA’s “Let’s GLOW Family Valentine’s Dance” coming up this Saturday, Feb. 3, in our Elementary School Gymnasium, 161 Clinton St., Avon. While the dance is free, PTA volunteers will be accepting donations for the Avon Food Pantry. At present, the pantry is particularly in need of cereal, oatmeal, syrup, cake mix, brownie mix and spaghetti sauce. Thank you in advance for your generosity! PLEASE NOTE: PreK - 4th Grade students MUST be accompanied by a parent/adult. Parents/adults MAY accompany 5th-8th Grade students, but it’s not required. We hope to see you there!

Last week was the Great Kindness Challenge in Avon Elementary School and to help our younger students get in the spreading kindness spirit, Counselor Alexis McTarnaghan decided to partner up with Six Sprouts Farm Market on Lakeville Road in East Avon. “They were so kind and ordered a bunch of coffee sleeves for me, so I had each of our students in the elementary school write a kind message or color something that represents kindness on the sleeves,” McTarnaghan explained. “I brought the sleeves down to them and they’ve been handing them out whenever someone purchases a hot coffee!” Our kiddos came up with some GREAT designs so if you see someone coming out of Six Sprouts gripping a hot coffee with a big smile on their face, you know why! A huge thank you to the folks over at Six Sprouts Farm Market for their willingness to partner on this! (Photos courtesy of Six Sprouts Farm Market)

Our LivCo Special Needs Resource Fair this past weekend was a huge success! We had more than 40 attendees and 40 vendors handing out information on everything from recreation programs and summer camps to transition support services and respite care. “We got a good number of people from beyond Avon too,” said Kerri Levine, Avon’s director of pupil personnel services. “We also had representatives from some other local schools who attended to bring information back to their districts’ families.” Levine said her hope is to turn the fair into an annual event and thanked Avon parent Becky Stewart, who helped organize the fair, with making it such a success. “Finding resources to support a child with any type of disability can be overwhelming,” said Stewart. “It can be difficult to know where to start. So many times, families miss out on supports that can have true positive impacts on their child’s life. Our goal with this was to connect families with support so their children can thrive and I think we did just that.” (Photos courtesy of Kerri Levine and Becky Stewart)

Best of luck to the 18 (!) Avon students who will perform alongside the best musicians the Genesee Valley has to offer this weekend at the All-County I Festival at Keshequa Central Schools. Student musicians from each of the Genesee Valley School Music Association’s 12 component school districts selected for 5/6 band, junior chorus and high school jazz band will rehearse together as groups this afternoon and tomorrow morning before a concert Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Members of the Elementary Band were selected based on teacher recommendations while members of the Junior Chorus and High School Jazz Band were selected following an audition process at solo-festival. Avon students selected for one of these prestigious ensembles were: Elementary Band (Grades 5 and 6) • Eli B. (clarinet) • Tyler B. (alto saxophone) • Preston M. (alto saxophone) • Carson E. (trumpet) • Samuel D. (trumpet) • Gavin S. (trombone) • Owen S. (trombone) • Caitlyn L. (trombone) • Finley H. (tuba) Junior Chorus (Grades 7-9) • Clara D. (soprano) • Ellie T. (soprano) • Quinn K. (soprano) • Lucy M. (alto) • Delaney J. (alto) • Alanna S. (alto) • Gabe R. (tenor) • Jackson L. (tenor) • Wyatt K. (tenor) • Teddy R. (bass) (Photo courtesy of Meaghan Stambaugh)