newsline april-may
DESCRIPTION
newsline for April and May 2011TRANSCRIPT
AGHS NEWSLINE
APRIL/MAY 2011
Avon Grove High School is accredited for Grades 9-12 by The Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools
Both federal and state laws require Superintendents provide military recruiters access to secondary school students. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, and Pennsylvania Act 10 (The Armed Forces Re-cruiting Act) reflect these requirements. They collec-tively require superintendents to provide military recruit-ers the same access to secondary school students as they provide to postsecondary institutions or to prospec-
tive employers.
To ensure we are in compliance with the collective laws, superintendents are required to provide names, addresses, and telephone listings of junior and senior year students to military recruiters, when requested, unless a parent has ―opted out‖ of providing such infor-mation. Act 10 requires the list of graduating seniors be made available to armed forces recruiters by the first
day of the academic year they graduate.
School districts must advise parents in writing of this obligation and give them at least 21 days to make a written request to be excluded from the list before it is made available for release (51 P.S. § 20222(a)). Par-ents must be notified of this obligation not later than the end of the student’s junior year. Military recruiters are entitled to request and receive these lists throughout
the year.
If parents do not wish their son’s or daughter’s informa-tion to be released, parents must send a signed request to that effect to Mr. Thomas Alexander, principal of
Avon Grove High School, by August, 2, 2011.
Additional background on this requirement may be found in the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Web site (www.pde.state.pa.us) in Basic Education Cir-cular (BEC) Access to Secondary Students. This BEC also contains the Family Educational Rights and Pri-
vacy Act (FERPA) information.
Main Office Directory
THOMAS M. ALEXANDER Principal
GARY A. BENASUTTI
Assistant Principal
JAMES CONNOR Assistant Principal/
Athletic Director
CHRISTOPHER MATSANKA Assistant Principal
MICHAEL BERARDI Assistant Principal/ Activities Director
TARA HILL
Administrative Assistant to the Principal
LYNNE STRAWHECKER
Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Principals
DANA CULLEY
Main Office Receptionist/Secretary
CHRISTINE KUDERKA
Activities/Athletic Secretary
EARLINE PERRY Athletic Dept. Aide
SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES 2011 – 2012 SCHOOL CALENDAR
At the February 24 meeting, the Avon Grove School District Board of School Directors approved the 2011-2012 school cal-endar (the calendar has been posted on the district and school web pages). The approved calendar is the second of two options presented for feedback earlier this month. In the event of school cancellations due to inclement weather next school year, makeup days will begin during the Spring Break
holiday.
2011-2012 SCHOOL YEAR
SPORTS INFORMATION
Tryouts for FALL 2011 SPORTS begin on Monday, August 15th. • It is strongly recommended that fall athletes call their doctor NOW to schedule
their June/July sports physical.
Sports physicals for the 2011-2012 school year must be performed after June 1st, 2011 according to PIAA rules & regulations.
• All paperwork to be cleared for Fall Sport tryouts is due August 4, 2011.
• Paperwork cannot be dated prior to June 1, 2011. • Paperwork will be accepted by the Main Office after June 1, 2011. • All student athletes must turn in a NEW Athletic Information & PIAA Medical Packet for the 2011-2012 school year. • Any questions, please call the Athletic Trainer’s office at 610-869-2446, x4768 after 1:00pm.
CLASS OF 2011 - GRADUATION INFORMATION
Location: The Bob Carpenter Center, University of Delaware, Route 896, Newark, Delaware (Directions will be provided at graduation practice) Time: 7 PM, Monday, June 13, 2011
Tickets: Everyone must have a ticket. Each student will be responsible for filling out and returning the PINK double sided ticket form/behavior contract. This form will be distributed to students in APRIL and is due back to Mr. Prescott in room 210 NO LATER THAN MAY 7th! Students may request up to a total of 8 tickets. If more tickets are required, they MAY be available after Graduation rehearsal, but please be aware that only EIGHT tickets per student are guaranteed. On the same PINK form,
students will also have the opportunity to request handicap tickets and parking tags. Tickets will be distributed at the end of Graduation practice on June 10th. Rehearsal: There will be one mandatory rehearsal for all graduates. The rehearsal will be at Avon Grove High School (beginning in the gym) on Friday, June 10th from 12:00-3:00 pm. At the end of this rehearsal, students will receive tickets, caps and gowns, directions to the Bob Carpenter Center, etc. Dress: Parents and graduates are encouraged to follow the guidelines below to respect the seriousness of the occasion. All graduates will be wearing maroon caps and gowns with gold tassels. Students should dress in business attire, additional guidelines are listed below: Male: Dress shirt, Tie, Dress pants, Shoes (No Sneakers or Sandals) Female: Dress or skirt and top, Dress shoes (No Sneakers or Flip-Flops)
Gowns: Caps and gowns will be distributed at Graduation practice. Students have
already paid the cap and gown fee, and if they owe ANY bills at the end of the year, students will NOT receive their cap, gown or tickets for Graduation. Behavior: Graduates, parents, and guests are expected to uphold proper decorum for
such a special event. The Graduation ceremony is one for which many par- ents have waited their child’s entire life. Disruptive behavior not only detracts from the speakers and the graduates on stage, it also diminishes the importance of the event. If a graduate behaves disruptively, he/she will not receive his/her diploma that evening. Students and parents will be required to sign a behavior contract which will be on the reverse side of the ticket request form.
Eligibility: All graduates must have all bills paid and obligations met in addition to meeting other Graduation requirements.
Photography: There will be a professional photographer who will film each student receiving his/her diploma. Chappell Photography will mail information about purchasing a picture to the home address. Flash photography is not permitted during the ceremony. Baccalaureate: This is a service organized by the Avon Grove Ministerium. Further
information will be sent out by the Ministerium.
Updates: Please look for more information in the coming months. If you
have questions please periodically check the webpage, email Mr. Prescott at [email protected], or call Mr. Prescott at the high school. Prom Information: Please contact Mrs. Hunter or Mrs. Carroll regarding Senior Prom
questions ([email protected] and [email protected]) Graduation Announcements and Favors:
Graduation announcements and novelties preordered from Student Services Company are expected to be delivered to the school in early May. The order pickup date will be announced via the morning announcements. Any specific questions or issues regarding these announcements should be directed to Student Services company at www.studentservicesco.com or 610- 539-1330. **** Mugs are delivered separately due to breakage. Expect them to be delivered a week later. Any remaining items can be picked up at the Graduation rehearsal.
2011 After-Prom
June 4th 11:00 pm - 3:00 am
For Jrs. & Srs. of AG
The Parent Association and SADD are organizing this event We need your help!
There are only two meetings left for planning this event!
Parents are encouraged to attend our meetings on: April 12th - 7:00 pm - Cafeteria May 10th - 7:00 pm - Cafeteria
If you cannot attend meetings please e-mail Tina Hanson ktrmhan-
[email protected] to get our mailings with all the updated information. **Please consider sending in a donation to help our event. Checks are made payable to AGHS Parent Association and mailed to the High School 257 State Road, West Grove, PA 19390 **
We would like to thank the fallowing families for their support: Johnson, McCamp-bell, Cosgrove, Pappa, Stouber, Turkington, Raimo, Williams, Mayhart, Blacker, Ly-ons, Esposito, & Reid, Darkow, Valentine, Hanson, Coleman, Peck, Vannelli, and
Petrella, Families
Upcoming fundraisers - car wash – May 1st & May 22nd we need parent and student volunteers
Contact Tina Hanson [email protected] to sign up. We are in great need of parent involvement – Please see the attached sheet for where you can help out. It’s an event you will be glad you were a part of. With entertainment like Laser tag, obstacle courses, bungee run, photo booths, great food, prizes and lots more! The students have an awesome, chaperoned night to enjoy after the senior prom. We expect over 600 students! Last year a student was overheard saying ―I thought this was going to be lame, but it was awesome‖ another student left a note for his mom saying ―thanks for telling to go, I had the best time!‖. It’s a wonderful way for our juniors and seniors to end their year.
If you cannot donate your time
Please consider sending us a contribution at your earliest convenience as we are ordering entertainment now
Checks are made payable to: AGHS Parents Association
Mail them to our attention at Avon Grove High School 257 State Road, West Grove, PA 19390
Name______________________________________________ Donation ____________ E-mail address ___________________________________ Phone#______________________ We need a family/families to coordinate the decorating of: Center Court
For the event can you volunteer to help with:
Set-up ________ (contact Tina Hanson [email protected]) Clean-up _______ (contact Tina Hanson [email protected])
Chaperone________ time available __________________
(indicate time avail. Between 10:00-3:00am) Contact Tina Hanson
(ktrmhanson@comcast .net
Prize donations ________ (contact Kim Brendle [email protected])
Food/beverage donations __________ (contact Karen Holveck
LIONS CLUB
BRENDAN CLEARY FEBRUARY
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Brendan Cleary has been named the Lions Club Student of the month for February. He is the son of Michael and Annette Cleary of West Grove. Brendan’s list of school activities in-cludes Cross Country, Indoor Track and Spring Track, Volleyball, Ice Hockey, FBLA and Robotics. He is also very involved in community activi-ties including Boy Scouts of America, AGALL Umpire and USA Youth Official for Ice Hockey. Brendan’s list of hon-ors includes the AP Scholar and AP Chemistry Award. Brendan plans on attending college to study Engineer-ing. He wishes to thank Mr. Murray, Mr. Zook, Mr. Bove and Mrs. Murphy for having the most influence on him at Avon Grove.
ROTARY CLUB
MAYA TURNER
FEBRUARY STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Maya Turner has been named the Ro-
tary Student of the month for February.
Maya is the daughter of Torey and
Develle Turner of West Grove. Maya is
involved in many school activities such
as Volleyball, Basketball and National
Honor Society. Maya also volunteers at
ABVM Church. She has also been on
the High Honor Roll for both her fresh-
man and sophomore years and Second
Team All League Chesmont during her
Junior year for Volleyball and Basketball.
Maya plans on attending college and ma-
joring in Sports and Entertainment Mark-
ing. She feels that Mrs. Young and Mrs.
Laxton have influenced her most at Avon
Grove.
LIONS CLUB
TYLER MATHENY MARCH
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Tyler Matheny has been named the Lions Club Student of the month for March. He is the son of Mike Matheny and Janine Bastic of West Grove. Ty-ler’s list of school activities includes Varsity Diving Captain, Golden Cho-rale, Tri-M Officer, School Musicals and Plays, GSA and Enact. Tyler’s list of honors includes the French IV Lan-guage Award and the AP Language and Composition Award. Tyler plans on attending college either at Cornell or William and Mary. He wishes to thank Mrs. Leiti, Miss Henning and Madame DeFrate for having the most influence on him at Avon Grove.
ROTARY CLUB
KEVIN MASCITELLI MARCH
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Kevin Mascitelli has been named the
Rotary Student of the month for March.
Kevin is the son of Diane and Frank Mas-
citelli of Lincoln University. Kevin is in-
volved in many school activities such as
Football, Track, and Student Council Vice
President for Sophomore and Junior
year, National Honor Society and Choir.
Kevin also volunteers at Congressman
Joe Pitt’s office. Kevin plans on attend-
ing college and would like to major in
Law, Policies or Business. He feels that
Mrs. Gray, Mr. McCloskey and Mrs.
Kokoska have influenced him most at
Avon Grove.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL Dear Parents: This has been another extraordinary year. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be part of your child’s life. You have undoubtedly heard me share so often how special the secondary years are. We see students enter AGHS as young teenagers and witness their change to young adults. Then, after what seems like a brief time, we send them off to their lives after high school. It never ceases to amaze me how much change takes place during their four years at AGHS. We are grateful for the wonderful support and encouragement we draw from our community and par-ents. The support does not diminish as the years progress—in fact it seems to get even stronger each year. As you know, Graduation ceremonies will be held at the Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware on Monday, June 13 at 7:00 p.m. Preparations are well underway for the Senior Prom on Saturday, June 4, 2011. The Parent Association has been busy all year, under the leadership of Tina Hanson, preparing for an exciting After Prom Party. The seniors are encouraged to participate in this fun and safe environment so as not to jeopardize their Graduation day in some negative man-ner. We want our students to have a fantastic time and a memorable experience. The third marking period has come to a close, but the year has not ended. The education of our stu-dents will continue to the very last hour of the school year. This is not time for students to coast into the home stretch, so please help us keep them focused as the weather warms and concentrating on schoolwork becomes increasingly more difficult. Parents of seniors – It is very important that you remember that if a student fails two courses in his or her senior year, he/she will forfeit his/her privilege of graduating on stage. A student must complete 24 credits as prescribed in the student handbook and the student must have completed a graduation project in order to meet the requirements of a diploma. We ask parents to closely monitor their child’s fourth marking period grades because an “F” in both the third and the fourth marking periods in any course will result in failing the course. Beginning with the graduating Class of 2007, Board Policy #217 states that students must score in the Proficient or Advanced ranges on both Reading and Math PSSA exams in order to graduate. Students who score in the Basic or Below Basic ranges on either the PSSA Reading or Math exams will have the opportunity to exhibit proficiency through alternate assessment measures (i.e., Study Island).
This is the final edition of the Newsline for the 2010– 2011 school year. We hope it has been an in-
formative tool in providing information about our students and school. If you have any suggestions
on improvements, changes or ideas you would like to see in next year’s edition, please do not hesi-
tate to drop us a note. Have a safe and enjoyable summer vacation!
Sincerely,
Thomas M. Alexander Principal