AGIS Happenings 2010-2011

Avon Grove Intermediate School had a very successful year participating in the First in Math Program to support mathematics. We had 5 students who earned over 10, 000 stickers.
They are:
Daniel 13,125
Josh 12,419
Chris 12,031
Sophia 11,813
Isaac 10,002

Thanks for a great year!!!

The academic olympics was an all day event where the students were able to apply the knowledge that they have learned throughout the year in olympic type events. Awards were given in each of the subject areas based on overall performance.

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The Fifth Grade hosted the annual Probability Carnival. The probability carnival was an activity in which the entire 5th grade used mathematical reasoning and worked together to create a carnival game to test out theoretical versus experimental probability of an event occuring. The students created a game that had a 30 -40 % chance of winning, which is the typical percentange of a carnival game. Once this was accomplished, it was tested out at the carnival to see if what they expected to happen did. When they finished, they graphed the results to do a comparison and also answered reflection questions about their game.

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Our annual field day took place on Friday, June 3rd. Students in the entire school took place in activities such as the Hockey relay, 50-yard dash, sack race, marathon, and tug-a-war.

»View our Field Day Slideshow

Each year the Keystone Credit Union asks teachers to nominate students that have shown outstanding effort in a variety of ways in school, or possibly great improvement. This year we had six students nominated and two school winners. Congratulations to Marissa G. in Ms. King’s fourth grade, Lauren H. in Ms. Norris’ fifth grade, Emily D. in Mr. DeFelice’s sixth grade, and Jeremey N. in Mrs. Bolt’s sixth grade for being nominated!

Special congratulations to Itzayana . in Ms. Norris’ 5th grade room and Lizzie in Mrs. Drinker’s and Mr. DeFelice’s 6th grade rooms for being selected as school wide winners! These are all wonderful students and very deserving of this recognition.

On Friday, April 29th all of our students participated in an Awareness Walk on the school grounds. The walk combined the ACES walk (All Children Exercising Simultaneously) and the Autism Awareness Walk. Thank you for helping AGIS celebrate Autism Awareness Month and ACES!

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On May 11, 2011, third and fourth grade students at AGIS celebrated National Children’s Book Week with "Dr. Seuss Day". Opening ceremonies included a musical visit by “The Cat in the Hat” and an informative talk by “Dr. Seuss” himself. Students continued the celebration throughout the day by participating in various learning activities in their schoolhouses. At the closing ceremonies each classroom received an award.

»View our Seuss Day Slideshow

The last Friday of each month is a dedicated spirit day at AGIS. Those spirit day themes appear on the parent calendar in the newsletter. Our latest Spirit Day on April 29 was "Hat Day". As you can see from our photos, AGIS has great spirit!

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The AGIS Band performed "The Star Spangled Banner" just prior to the Wilmington Blue Rocks game on Friday evening, April 29th, 2011. The band performed the song from memory in front of about 5000 people (about 400 family members, including band members and some AGIS staff members, attended the game).

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On April 13th, fifty AGIS students joined together through Jump Rope for Heart to raise almost $4,000 for the American Heart Association. The money the students raised will go to kids in need of heart transplants and surgeries. The Jump Rope for Heart team had a blast as they jump roped their way to being Heart Heroes.

AGIS is extremely proud of fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Annie Norman, who was named The Citadel Heart of Learning recipient for the Avon Grove School District. This wonderful program seeks to recognize outstanding educators in Chester County. Parents, students, or staff members could nominate a teacher for this award. AGIS had ten teachers nominated.

Mrs. Norman was selected from over 2500 nominees as one of the county’s 15 recipients. Mrs. Norman received her award here at school in a surprise assembly. In attendance at the big moment were her fourth grade class, her teaching team members, her family, Dr. Massaro, and our administrative team.

Those of you who have had children in Mrs. Norman’s class are aware of the great care and effort she gives each day to her students. She is very deserving of this honor and we wish her well as she moves on to the final reception where three overall winners will be selected.

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The PTA sponsored their second annual "Muffins for Moms" breakfast here at AGI the week of March 7th. Each day a different house was featured. The purpose of the event was to emphasize and celebrate the importance of moms' involvement in their child's education.

»View our Muffins for Mom Slideshow

The West Grove Avondale Rotary Club donated dictionaries to all AGIS third graders as part of the school’s I Love To Read Month celebrations. This project is part of the club’s worldwide literacy project. Members shared their love of reading with the students during the assemblies and the PTA also provided students with I Love To Read pencils!

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The last Friday of each month is a dedicated spirit day at AGIS. Those spirit day themes appear on the parent calendar in the newsletter. This year's February spirit day theme was "Tie Day." As you can see from our photos, AGIS has great spirit!

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Several students from our PTA Reflections Program that have moved on from the regional competition to the state competition. This is quite an accomplishment as the quality of the projects is extremely high at the regional level. Congratulations and good luck to the following AGIS Reflections regional winners: Nick P.-Photography Rhiannon A.,-Musical Composition, Jayne M.,-Dance Choreography, Rachel B.& Isabella P.,-Visual Arts, Lena H.,-Literature.

AGI just completed its school level science fair as part of the Chester County Intermediate Unit’s Science Fair Program. We had 18 individuals or teams and 15 teams or individuals moving on the March 3rd or 4th competition in Downingtown. Check out our Feb 3rd newsletter for more details on participants. Special thanks to Mr. Phil Conzentio and Mrs. Lauren McManus for coordinating the event. Great job everyone and good luck to those moving on!

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Eight sixth-graders from Avon Grove Intermediate School were selected to perform in the 2011 Chester County Elementary School Band Fest scheduled February 15 at Fugett Middle School in West Chester. They are Sadie S., clarinet; Megan G., flute; Imani K.; Andrew E., trumpet; Julia C., clarinet; Cameron T., percussion; Karl F., percussion; and William C., trumpet. The band is comprised of many of the top second- and third-year instrumental music students in Chester County.

Kudos to Ms. Fenza’s grade five AT class for their great effort in the annual Knowledge Master Open competition. During this computer based competition which tests many subjects as well as general knowledge our team placed third out the 13 teams in Pennsylvania and 32nd out of 206 teams nationally! Way to go team!!

Our thirty grade 5 and 6 spelling bee finalists competed on February 3rd for the titles of AGIS champion and runner up. Each finalist earned their way to the finals in their homeroom or language arts spelling bee. All of our competitors are winners for reaching the finals.

Congratulations to Brian our champion and Ciara our runner up as well. Brian will represent our school at the Chester County Intermediate Unit finals on February 17th in Downingtown. Special thanks to our school coordinator Mrs. Lucy Rosen for her help organizing the event.

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Christmas came to the AGIS community this year as always. But did you know that one of the reasons was that Mrs. Lynch’s third grade students wrote persuasive letters to the Grinch to convince him not to steal Christmas? Well it is true. Each student composed a letter with specific details for the Grinch to consider. Their writing and sharing with the Grinch was excellent.

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The AGIS Flute Ensemble is made up from the flute players in the band. They performed holiday music for students at Penn London Elementary on December 21. Their repertoire included Jingle Bells, Jolly Old St. Nick, Up On The Housetop, The First Noel, Joy To The World, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

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November’s spirit day theme was Patriotic Day in honor of Veterans Day and American Education Week being in November. Check out some of our red, white and blue pride!

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The PTA had their annual recognition program for their Reflections program recently. All students received certificates and finalists also received medals.

Our PTA committee included Mrs. Traci Kveragas (chair person), Mrs. Michelle Reilly, Mrs. Kim Shavor and Mrs. Tonya Washington.

»View our Reflections Slideshow

Thanks to the Lions Club for their generous support of our school's Robotics Club. They stopped by during one of the teams sessions recently to present one of our club coordinators, Mr. Sean Murray, with a donation of $500.

AGIS collected 2567 food items during October as we joined with the local YMCA for this project.

Pictured here our Mr. Whitmer (our school's coordinator), Ben Y., Matt P., Emily Y., Jake G, and Sam G. (our student collection counter volunteers) and Mr. Bill Kanas (YMCA coordinator).

Thanks Parents for Healthy Choices!

We appreciate the wonderful parent support we see related to special events including classroom parties. As you know we ask parents to always check with the homeroom teacher prior to sending in any food items. We also ask that parents consider sending in healthy choices or alternatives for celebrations. At our fall celebrations in October we saw some wonderful examples of tasty healthy snacks for classrooms. Thank you to parents for always checking with teachers on this and for helping us consider ways to offer healthy snacks along with the other items they might send in.

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Each year over the past several years our PTA has helped us bring a Bully Free School assembly to all students. This year's assembly included presenter, Mr. Jay Banks. He focused on simple strategies for students to avoid bully situations. Those included STAMP (Stay away from bullies, Tell someone, Avoid bad situations, Make friends, Project confidence). He used humor and student participation to help everyone get the message. Mr. Banks' program aligns well with what our counselors already do related to bully free strategies here at school.

The last Friday of each month is a dedicated spirit day at AGIS. Those spirit day themes appear on the parent calendar in the newsletter. This year's October spirit day theme was "Halloween Costumes." As you can see from our photos, AGIS has great spirit!

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On October 28th students and parents were treated to a special night of storytelling and story reading as part of our first literacy activity of the year. Organized by our PTA coordinator, Mrs. Diedre Young, and Mrs. Patti Hill one of our reading specialists, students were invited to dress in costumes and come to school for a special evening. At various locations in the school staff members came dressed in costume and read some of their favorite stories to families. The evening culminated with local story teller, Mr. Bill Wood, sharing tales with everyone in the cafeteria. Mr. Wood came back for all third grades on October 29th to do a story telling assembly for them in the audion.

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Career Day is an opportunity for parents, relatives, and friends to participate in our student’s educational experience. This year we had over 50 presenters provide purposeful information about their careers to 5th and 6th grade students. The students selected 3 presenters that they were interested in and watched and participated in activities to help them understand the many aspects of a professional's career. We had many great presenters including: police officers, lawyers, a professional golfer, scientists, chef, engineers, etc.

»View our Career Day Slideshow

The PTA sponsored their second annual "Donuts for Dads" breakfast here at AGI the week of October 18th. Each day a different house was featured. The purpose of the event was to emphasize and celebrate the importance of dads' involvement in their child's education.

»View our Donuts for Dads Slideshow

Red Ribbon Week was celebrated during the week of October 18 – 22 at AGIS. Students participated in activities to learn the importance of living a drug-free lifestyle. Each homeroom signed a red ribbon as a pledge to be drug free and posted their ribbon outside of their doors. Every morning during the announcements a fact was given about the history of red ribbon week and the dangers of drugs and alcohol. On Friday the students participated in a trivia contest, answering questions about the facts they learned during the morning announcements. Red Ribbon Week was a great success this year.

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AGIS recently held summer reading recognition assemblies. Students that achieved the four book summer reading goal received certificates from the school and pencils from the PTA. Check out some of our great readers in these photos!

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The last Friday of each month is a dedicated spirit day at AGIS. Those spirit day themes appear on the parent calendar in the newsletter. This year's first spirit day theme was School House Colors Day. As you can see from our photos, AGIS has great spirit!

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The AGI Ambassadors Program is one of two service organizations open to 6th graders at our school. In the Spring of 5th grade, students are given the opportunity to apply to become an Ambassador. Interested students complete a job application and obtain a reference from a current teacher. Out of the approximately 50 students that apply from each house, 12 are selected to train as Ambassadors.

These 48 students perform many useful services for our school. Their main responsibility is to meet new students in the office on their first day of school, and escort them to their classrooms. They introduce them to their teacher, make sure they know how to get to their bus, and take them on a tour of the school. Ambassadors also serve as Career Day escorts, tour guides when the 2nd graders visit AGI in the spring, and go into classrooms to promote our school theme activities.

These wonderful students are always ready to lend a helping hand to the Counselors and the Administration when the need arises.

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Check this page often for more exciting events at AGIS this school year. Also, check out the events from last year: Events 2009-2010