ABMS Weekly News
January 13, 2023
REMEMBER THERE IS NO SCHOOL MONDAY, JAN 16
This Week's Tireless Teachers
NEW - NO MORE CARDBOARD NEEDED
NEW - TOPICS SHARED WITH STUDENTS AT GRADE LEVEL MEETINGS
ABMS administrators held grade level meetings this week where they met with students from each grade level. The meetings allowed administration to review expectations with students at each grade level and areas where students can improve in the 2nd semester so students can continue to experience growth. The purpose of the meetings is to set our students up for success.
All students heard reminders about student expectations regarding the following areas:
Attendance and tardies
Cell phone and backpacks
Completing school work in a quality manner and on time
Technology reminders and Chromebook use
Importance of how we treat each other
Making positive choices
In addition, each grade level had specific information shared. This included:
6th grade heard how we want students to take more ownership of their learning
7th grade learned about leadership opportunities
8th grade learned about upcoming enrollment events for high school at BVSW and high school transition events.
NEW - ENROLLMENT INFORMATION FOR 2023-24
Enrollment information will be shared with students in the next few weeks as we begin to plan for 2023-2024. These dates are tentative as they may change but it provides an overall timeline. Enrollment is the process where students and families complete the classes they want to take for the upcoming school year.
5th grade
Jan 26 - 5th grade parent Night 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. ABMS Commons
5th grade student visits to ABMS 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. for elective fair;
Feb 1 and Feb 2 is TCE
Feb 3 is Morse
Feb 6 is WSE
Enrollment forms due via google forms February 24
6th - 7th grades
Counselors will visit with students on Jan. 30th and 31st during Flex. The Visits with current 6th & 7th grade will have ½ of each grade level on each day.
Feb. 6th - Current 6th & 7th Grade enrollment forms due via google forms
8th grade
January 20th from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 8th grade students will go to BVSW for the Enrollment Informational Day and Elective Showcase.
Students will hear from BVSW counselors on enrollment information and students will tour BVSW elective classes and learn about opportunities.
January 25th from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. is New Timberwolf Night at BVSW.
This is a very important event so please put on your calendars.
This event is for both parents/guardians and the 8th grade students.
Families will receive enrollment cards and learn about core classes, electives, athletics, activities and clubs.
January 27th from 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. at BVSW Library is Q/A session for ABMS parents/guardians with BVSW counselors
BVSW counselors will be available to answer enrollment questions.
February 1st the 8th grade students and teachers from 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. will take field trip to CAPS
This field trip provides all 8th graders the opportunity to be informed about educational opportunities high school juniors and seniors have in Blue Valley at CAPS (Center for Advanced Professional Studies).
February 1st the high school enrollment cards are due to our middle school counselors
February 2nd and February 3rd BVSW counselors go to ABMS to enroll 8th grade students for 2023-2024
This will occur over 2 school days and counselors will work with students individually/small groups to enroll for high school.
February 28th from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. at ABMS is the BVSW Athletic Showcase
8th grade students will meet the BVSW athletic coaches and learn about summer camps
March – The Blue Valley Summer Virtual School Enrollment Opens in StudentVue (more information to be shared later)
NEW - 2nd SEMESTER COURSE FEES FOR SPECIFIC ELECTIVE CLASSES NOW OPEN
Families- Please check to make sure you have completed paying your student’s course fees. Remember, course fees are assigned based on your student’s enrollment. Take a moment to log in to ParentVUE to see if any course fees were assigned. The course fees were assigned on January 10 for elective classes including Art, Pre-Engineering, Robotics, Foods, and My Style. The amount of fees varies based upon if it is a nine week course or a semester class.
Please note:
- Not all courses will have associated fees. To check if your student is enrolled in a class with associated course fees, login to ParentVUE.
- Course fees are posted for the second semester only.
- If your student dropped a course after the course drop deadline, they are responsible for paying any fees associated with that course.
If you have any questions regarding course fees, please contact our main office at 913-624-2300.
NEW - SPRING PLAY REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
Spring Play Rehearsal Schedule:
*No Rehearsal Monday the 16th.
*Tuesday the 17th - Friday the 20th ALL of ACT 2 (Scenes 6-8) are required at rehearsal from 3:00-4:00PM
*Tuesday the 17th and Wednesday the 18th Advertising Crew is required at rehearsal from 3:00-4:00PM
To see the full play rehearsal CAST calendar, please follow this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CCslkf3tfwgCqAm9iZxVJ-ym1J_7WfJ8HTCw3wFKWZk/edit?usp=sharing
To see the full play rehearsal CREW calendar, please follow this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19xFOQeMrsft1enFnVOfKSAbrczKD_lrXiu-4-7NS4dA/edit?usp=sharing
NEW - MATH COUNTS
Math Counts meeting will be on Tuesday from 3-4 in room 304!
NEW - SCHOOL SPELLING BEE
ABMS Spelling Bee - Parents are invited!!
The ABMS Spelling Bee will be held on Thursday, January 19th in the library starting promptly at 3:15 p.m.
Please contact Cynthia Knight, sponsor, at
csknight@bluevalleyk12.org with any questions.
NEW - COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUB
Community Service Club - our next meeting will be on Thursday, January 26 from 3-3:30pm in Mrs. Vail's room (310). We will be working on our next service project. Please join us, even if you've never been to Community Service Club before!
NEW - DIVERSITY CLUB
Diversity Club - our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 31 from 3-3:30pm in Mrs. Vail's room (310). Please join us! We are always looking for more club members!
NEW - FROM STUDENT SERVICES
NEW - BV SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCE FAIR
REVIEW - 3RD QUARTER REMINDERS
The start of the 3rd quarter after many days off for winter break can be challenging for students. While the rest and time with family is great, getting back into the school routine and habits is something some students may need help with. Some reminders to help your student get off to a strong start in this quarter:
Help students get back into school routine by reinforcing positive habits about sleep. Also remind your student about routines with time and place to do homework, and organization habits.
Remind your child they will need their chromebook fully charged for each day of school.
Check with your student about what school materials they may need replaced or new materials purchased including pencils, paper, sticky notes, binders. Some students may have misplaced these items or need additional ones, so we encourage you to visit with them.
NEW - From 6th Grade
ELA:
Students started the Argumentative Essay Unit this week in ELA. We learned about claim, stance, evidence, and what makes an argument valid. Students began researching our first topic, “Should Cellphones be allowed in the Classroom?”. We will spend the next week reading and evaluating valid sources to determine what side of the claim each student will write about.
SS:
This week students learned about the geography and the government systems that were in place in ancient Greece. We also introduced a project that we will be working on over the next couple of months. Be sure to ask your child what they decided to do for their project. (There are lots of options!) Next week we'll be learning about the Golden Age of Athens.
Math:
Students in both integrated and advanced will continue working on adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals next week. Lenson and Redlin will have a quiz on dividing decimals on Friday, January 20th. Students can review pages 169-194 in their volume one textbook to prepare for this quiz.
Science:
This week Science classes examined the different layers of our Earth and the characteristics that make up those layers. Next week, we will be working with the density of these layers and how they are different in range of size by completing two labs.
General News:
**Please remind your student that they are expected to come to school with a FULLY CHARGED chromebook daily. We do not have chargers available in class, and we are noticing a big increase in low batteries.
NEW - From 7th Grade
ELA:
Students will be concluding their reading of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle next week. We will then visit the library for some additional research on gender roles and social classes in the 1800’s. This will be incorporated into their Summative Assignment for the novel.
SS:
This week students learned the difference between primary and secondary sources, the importance of studying history and how to think like a historian. We also looked at the Five Themes of Geography and how they relate to Kansas.
Science:
This week Science classes examined the different layers of our Earth and the characteristics that make up those layers. Next week, we will be working with the density of these layers and how they are different in range of size by completing two labs.
Advanced Math:
In Advanced Math, we have been learning about scale, scale factor, and similarity. This will be super helpful for the student’s Arcade Project in Science! We are moving into proportions next week!
General News:
**Please remind your student that they are expected to come to school with a FULLY CHARGED chromebook daily. We do not have chargers available in class, and we are noticing a big increase in low batteries.
NEW - From 8th Grade
ELA:
Students will continue reading Night by Elie Wiesel this week as homework. We will be having in depth class discussions along with classroom assignments relating to this quarter’s learning targets.
Science:
This week we have been focusing on chemical reactions and will continue with more next week while we look at the energy involved. Then students will start researching a synthetic fiber and its contributions to society. Their research will culminate in making a superhero character that emulates the properties of their material.
General News:
**Please remind your student that they are expected to come to school with a FULLY CHARGED chromebook daily. We do not have chargers available in class, and we are noticing a big increase in low batteries.
NEW - From Elective Classes
Choir 8th Grade
Tuesday, January 17, Elementary Choir Tour, 9:35-2:50
Wear uniform to school, bring money for lunch out or a sack lunch
Thursday, January 19, SW area Choir Festival, 8:15-11:15
Wear uniform to school
Orchestra (all grades):