June 9, 2020
Dear APHS Students, Parents and Guardians,
There’s lots of new information below so be sure to check out this edition of the newsletter! Students, stay the course and please stay connected with your teachers and on top of your assignments; you are truly on the home stretch! The last day of school is 6/19/2020. We know you can do it! Parents & guardians, please check with your student &/or their teachers to make sure that they are still engaged. As a school-home team, we can work collaboratively to help your student finish the year successfully!
Sincerely yours,
Mr. Quiles, Mrs. Mein and Mrs. Leach
Student Texbooks, Materials & Supplies Return and Pick-ups of Items
On June 15th, 16th and June 17th APHS will open a curbside service in front of the high school, allowing students to drop-off items which we need to collect back, as well as pick up items which they will need from us, before closing school for the 2019-2020 year.
These services will be available as follows:
- Monday, June 15th from 8:30 am-11:30 am (APHS textbooks & library books & materials only) NOTE: We will not allow anyone into the drive thru area after 11:30 am that day due to the Senior Reverse Parade that immediately follows these two collections.
- Tuesday, June 16th from 9-12 and 1-6
- Wednesday, June 17th from 9-12 and 1-6
Additional Details:
Art Department Distribution-One Day Only (6/17)
Artwork distribution is an exception to the above schedule. The art teachers will have communicated previously with students and their families that this impacts.
*Artwork distribution will occur on Wednesday, June 17th from 9am-12pm & 1-6 pm only.
Music Department Instrument Collection-One Day Only (6/16)
Instrument collection is an expectation to the above schedule. Mr. Blostein has already been in touch with the families that this impacts.
*Instrument collection will occur on Tuesday, June 16th only from 10 am-12 pm.
District TechnologyDepartment-(6/16 & 6/17)
All borrowed technology equipment (Chromebooks, hot spots, graphing calculators etc.) need to be returned during the collection dates. Please note: We will not be collecting the chromebooks that are assigned to current Freshman class.
A table will be set up curbside in the front of the building for each of the following functions on 6/16 & 6/17 from 9 am-12 pm & 1pm-6 pm these two days unless otherwise noted:
Collections:
- Student Technology collection (6/16 & 6/17-times as noted above)
- APHS Textbook/Instructional Material collection (plus 6/15 from 8:30-11:30 am)
- Questar Textbook collection for Out of District Students (6/17 from 4:00-7:00 pm only)
- Library Materials collection (plus 6/15 from 8:30 am-11:30 am)
- Instrument Collection (6/16 from 10 am-12:00 pm only)
Distributions:
- Senior Award distribution (6/16 & 6/17-times as noted above)
- Medication distribution (6/16 & 6/17-times as noted above)
- Artwork distribution (6/17 only-times noted above)
- Yearbook distribution (6/16 & 6/17-times as noted above)
We ask that when you pull up curbside to collect or turn in items, please wear a mask for your safety and that of our employees. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Mein at meinc@apcsd.org.
Thank you!
School Budget Update:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued an Executive Order on Sunday, June 7 extending the deadline to submit absentee ballots for the School Budget vote and Board of Education Election.
To be counted, all hand-delivered ballots must still be received by the District by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9. All ballots submitted after June 9 will be accepted only by mail and must be received via mail by Tuesday, June 16. We encourage anyone who wishes to vote to return their absentee ballot as soon as possible to ensure it is received in time.
Please follow all instructions on the ballot and be sure to include your name, address and signature on the return envelope. Failure to include the necessary information will void the ballot.
For more information on the 2020-2021 school budget and for bios on the candidates running for the Board of Education, click here.
Attention Seniors:
The Counseling Center needs to know what your post high school plans are. If you have not already done so, please use the following link and provide us with the information we need regarding your college, military or work plans after graduation. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTTNc5e-KN57Zh9ASGQ7lsMttLwX6Dp3_4nujGp6Wi1hpdsg/viewform?usp=sf_link
iHeart Radio Commercial…featuring Senior Class President Gabby Skiba
Thank you Jillian, at iHeart Radio and to Gabby for being part of this special project. Gabby’s commercial for Averill Park High School will air the week of June 8th & will rotate with 3 other Capital Region schools. You can try to listen for Gabby’s message each day live on the radio at KISS102.3, Wild Country 99.9 & 99.5 The River!
Below are links from each radio station with a copy of the commercial for you to listen to now as well. Thanks again iHeart Radio for this opportunity and thank you Gabby for representing APHS!
Senior Class Events and Items that are Needed
Seniors, please see this message from Mr. Quiles for information about upcoming events and graduation.
There are 3 items that need attention this week by you:
- Graduation Content Needed-Please check your school email address and look for emails from 2 companies that we contracted to help put together the graduation production. The companies are: Marching Order & Stage Clip. Student submissions of content (pictures and videos) for the graduation production are due to Marching Order and Stage Clip by this Friday, June 12th. Be sure that students have checked their school email for communication from these companies, and have responded accordingly.
- Social Media Slide Needed-If you have not already done so, please send Mrs. Leach (if your last name begins with A-N) or Mrs. Mein (if your last name begins with N-Z). These slides are separate from the content that you need to submit for graduation. We are posting on APCSD social media sites senior slides each day. After they are all done, Mrs. Mein will send the senior class a copy of the entire slideshow.
- The Senior Reverse Parade is coming! Put 6/15 on your calendars and we look forward to seeing you then. Be on the lookout for more detailed information as we arrive closer to the event. Contact Mrs. Leach if you have any questions at leachr@apcsd.org.
- Graduation-We are looking forward to celebrating Graduation with you on June 27th, and will continue to send out more detailed information as we arrive closer to the event.
Class of 2021 Senior Photo Sessions
Senior Photo sessions will be at the Lifetouch Studio in Glenmont in June and July. (The Studio is working on dates now…) June session notifications will be by email and July notifications will be by both email and mail communications. We will be using the drape / tux, provided by the Studio, which will be steamed between sittings. The cap / gown will also be disinfected between sittings. All precautions have been taken for health and safety. The cost of the sitting is $15, which includes at least 10 proofs with 2 outfit changes if wanted. Due to the size of the photography studio, only one student is allowed at one time. Parents will not be allowed in the studio at the time of the sitting because they cannot maintain social distancing mandates with 3 people in the room. LifeTouch will be diligent in not overlapping sittings so no one should have to wait. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through all of this together. Senior Photo / Yearbook Questions: baileya@apcsd.org / blosteinm@apcsd.org
Attention Parents & Guardians of the Class of 2020
As a fun way to round out the year for our senior class, we are asking all parents & guardians to please make a single Google Slide or PowerPoint slide for your graduating senior. You can include picture(s), quotes, hilights of accomplishements, etc. on the slide. As we receive the slides, we will take them and have our communications specialist post a group of slides each day on our Social Media sites to celebrate the Class of 2020. So be sure to check our social media sites daily.
We still need slides from several of the seniors. Please send your child’s slide to us asap. We don’t want any of our graduates to be left out! For students with a last name that begins with the letters A-M, please send your slides to leachr@apcsd.org and for those with last names beginning with N-Z, please send your completed slide to meinc@apcsd.org
K-12 Student Art Exhibit at Sand Lake Center for the Arts
The virtual Kindergraten through 12th grade Art Exhibit at the Sand Lake Center For the Arts is online! See the full online gallery here.
News for Students, Parents & Guardians
- Siena is offering Summer Reading Programs. Click here on the link to find out more information: https://www.www.averillpark.k12.ny.us/https://www.averillpark.k12.ny.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Siena_College_Reading_Programs__June_2020_1.pdf
- Click the link below to connect to the Remote Learning Parent University https://sites.google.com/apcsd.org/onlinelearning/family-resources/parent-resources?authuser=0
- If you or your family feels they need additional support during this time, please use this link for a list of local Mental Health and Addiction Resource. Mental Health and Addiction Resources and New York State Parent Portal
Students Stay Connected
- Students, please check your APCSD email daily. Your teachers, counselors and administrators are using this as the primary means for communicating with you! Teachers have all established daily “office hours” that they are available to you. These hours are located within their folders on the Online Resources page: https://sites.google.com/apcsd.org/onlinelearning/home. Take advantage of this time with your teachers to stay connected.
- Speaking of staying connected, students, to stay connected with us, the APHS Leadership Team, by joining our Google Classroom “Averill Park High School Administration Connections”. All you need to join is the following code: whh5oj2 Many of you have already joined, our goal is to have ALL of you join to stay connected with us.
- One way to not feel overwhelmed and to keep on a routine is to follow your regular schedule. To help you with this, here’s the A/B day line up for this week: Monday, 6/8=A-day; Tuesday, 6/9=B-day; Wednesday 6/10=A-day; Thursday, 6/11=B-day; Friday, 6/12=A-day. Here is a weekly planning form you can use to help keep you organized and on top of assignments. Parents & guardians, please help support your child(ren) with their virtual learning by monitoring their online learning & assignments. All teachers have set ‘office hours’ that they are available for students. The Student Support Team (SST) is working collaboratively to monitor student connectivity and continue to be in touch with folks that the SST team determines to be needed.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if there is anything you need. This can be done via email, or by calling the high school at 674-7002. This line will be monitored daily, and you will receive a call back within one business day.
Stay safe and be well!
Mr. Quiles, Mrs. Mein & Mrs. Leach
Our emails are as follows:
Mr. Quiles (High School Principal)- quilesh@apcsd.org
Mrs. Mein (Assistant Principal, Grades 9 and 11)- meinc@apcsd.org
Mrs. Leach (Assistant Principal Grades 10 and 12)- leachr@apcsd.org