AMHS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Comet Family and Friends,

I am pleased to announce that our school district has its very own APP. This app can be found on the app store by simply searching Albany School District. While there are some adjustments that remain to be made, the live events, news, and events sections are up and running.

I hope you find the platform to be beneficial, increase your access to our district information, and keep you connected to all that the Albany School District has to offer.

Go Comets!

Mr. Soderberg

Greetings, Comet Nation,

We are off to a great start to the school year, the temperatures have started to drop, and the feeling of fall is certainly in the air. We are excited to share with our families and community all of the great things happening in the Albany MS/HS through this monthly newsletter. I look forward to watching our students grow academically, emotionally, and socially throughout the year along with the partnership with our families. If I can assist you in any way, please contact me.

Yours in Education,

Mr. Ritzert

4K-12 Principal

stuart.ritzert@albany.k12.wi.us

(608) 862-3135 ext 2412

If you or anyone you know is aware of a child between the ages of 3 and 21 who is suspected of having a disability please contact us.

If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

Kari Steck

Director of Special Education and Pupil Services

kari.steck@albany.k12.wi.us

608-862-3135 ext 2421

Hats, Hoods, Phones, Food, and Drink - Here are a couple of operational reminders as we begin the year. Students will be provided with more details on the first day of school.

• Please remind your child(ren) that wearing hats and hoods will not be allowed inside the school building
• Cell phones must be placed in the cell phone holder provided in each middle school and high school classroom
• Food and drink (other than water) will not be allowed into the classrooms.

If you are interested in having your child(s) photo retaken, picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 6. Order forms are available in the school office with Mrs. Doescher.

Big Brothers Big Sisters School Friends program returns to Albany

Welcome to the Albany School Friends program! We are very excited to continue to offer this free mentoring program to the youth of Green County. High School students are invited to apply to become mentors (Bigs) and elementary students (littles) are the lucky recipients of mentors in this wonderful program! If you are interested in being a mentor (high school students) or enrolling your child (grades 1- 5) please complete an application and return them to your school office as soon as possible. Deadline to enroll is October 5th. Applications are available in the school office from Mrs. Doescher.

The program will be held on Wednesdays from 2:45-3:30pm. We will be located in the cafeteria. We have games, crafts, activities, time to get help with schoolwork and a snack each session. If there is a school closing/early release due to weather or no school, Big Brothers Big Sisters will also be cancelled.

Albany School Program dates: October 26, 2022 through March 8, 2023

Deadline to turn in applications for High School Bigs & elementary littles to the office is October 5th! Don't miss out on all the fun!

Thanks again for your support!

The weight room will be open for MS/HS students on:

Monday: 3:30-4:30 pm

Wednesday 4:00-5:00 pm

Friday 3:30-4:30 pm

The Civics students have been learning about the foundations of the American Government the past few weeks. This includes the founding documents of our country, as well as the government systems in the world around us. Soon, we will begin planning for our Veterans Day celebration. The celebration will be on November 10th, starting at 10AM if you would like to join us!

In our 9th grade U.S. History class we have been reviewing the end of the American Civil War and the time period immediately after known as Reconstruction. We have explored the plans for the time period in healing the nation and why it ultimately failed. We recently started our next unit that focuses on the growth of industry at the turn of the 20th century when American went through a huge rise in industry and immigration.

Psychology is off to a great start. This is a very fast paced class so we are moving right along. We recently finished up our unit on the foundations of Psychology and recently started our unit on research methods. Our Global Issues class recently finished notes on a broad range of global issues to help generate ideas for an independent research project they recently started. We also focused on how to avoid bias and find reliable sources. Students will then present their research to their peers.

The 8th grade U.S. History students recently finished up a unit exploring the native tribes of Wisconsin. Students chose a tribe located here in the state and explored different aspects of their culture. The students then compiled their information into a presentation, which was then showcased to the rest of the class. The students did a great job!

ELA 7: Students reviewed literary genres and have started to learn and practice some close reading strategies (signposts).

ELA 8: Students have been reviewing parts of speech and parts of a sentence as well as starting our first novel, Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer.

Mr. Doescher's 5th & 6th grade ELA classes have had a busy start to the school year. A strong focus for the first month of September has been on the following ELA topics:

SPELLING

VOCABULARY

GENRES OF WRITING

IDENTIFICATION OF MAIN IDEAS OF READING SAMPLES

ASKING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

INFORMATIVE WRITING

In the coming weeks both 5th & 6th grades will start their first CLASS NOVEL for this school year. 6th grade students will also begin to prepare/organize for an opportunity to participate in the 2022 Albany Lions Club Peace Poster Contest.

Yearbook: The Yearbook Club has a fundraiser going on from October 1st-14th! See a yearbook member to order! Senior families please see the Senior Photo flyer for information about submitting senior pictures for the yearbook and the newspaper.

SENIOR PORTRAITS: SENIOR PHOTOS ARE DUE BY DECEMBER 15th. Any Senior that does not have a photo will still be included in the yearbook and their most recent school photo will be used.

Your Senior Portrait submission(s) should include the following:

✓ Digital format

✓ 300 resolution minimum

✓ JPEG file

✓ Color photograph

✓ School appropriate clothing

✓ ONE PHOTO MUST BE A Vertical pose of a head and shoulder shot

(see examples above)

You may submit up to THREE photos, but one must be a vertical, head and shoulder shot for the newspaper, and then up to two additional photos of your choice for the yearbook. If you do not submit more than one photo the Yearbook Club will use the same photo for both the yearbook as well as the newspaper. The Yearbook Club may have to adjust the photo for the newspaper (such as cropping). While we try to avoid making any alterations to the photos, if changes are needed this may alter the quality of the photo.

Senior Photos can be sent to the yearbook adviser in one of the following ways:

*Email: sarah.nienhaus@albany.k12.wi.us

*Drop off printed pictures, a CD/Flash drive, etc. to the Albany District Office in an envelope addressed to: Sarah Nienhaus/Yearbook Adviser. Please also include instructions regarding what should be done with the printed pictures/CD/Flashdrive etc. when finished.

BUSINESS ADS AND SENIOR TRIBUTES: Space is available for businesses and parents to give a personal message. Details will be sent out regarding the pricing of these business ad and Senior Tribute spaces.

PHOTOS: If you have any photos from any school games, matches, activities/events, please feel free to share them with us. We would love to have your pictures in the yearbook! You can send photos to Sarah Nienhaus via email (sarah.nienhaus@albany.k12.wi.us) or you can drop off printed pictures, a CD/Flash drive, etc. to the District Office in an envelope addressed to: Sarah Nienhaus/Yearbook Adviser.

Geometry will be discussing deductive reasoning and writing proofs of geometric theorems.

Algebra 2 will be exploring ways to model and analyze real-life scenarios using quadratic functions.

Foundations of Algebra has been working on rigid transformations of polygons and will be extending our transformations to include dilations of figures.

Statistics students have been learning the foundational aspects and usage of statistics in our everyday life. They will begin learning how probability theory informs statistical analysis and decision-making.

PreCalculus will continue deepening their knowledge of functions by discussing piecewise functions and function discontinuities.

Calculus class will be exploring limits and how the concept of infinity allows math to extend past algebra 2.

The Senior Math students will be learning how accuracy and precision affect the measurements and possible errors of measurements in the real world.

The Albany FFA hosted their first meeting of the year on September 12th. We cooked hot dogs for our activity. We talked about Food for America, new chapter T-shirts and they have chosen plants for their plant sale in the spring.

On September 20th Ms. Ryan had three FFA officers attend Food for America. This was hosted at Spring Grove Dairy by Parkview FFA and Brodhead FFA. Our Albany Students taught the 4th graders about Syrup Production.

Future FFA Events:

FFA Fruit Sale is starting soon!

Next FFA Meeting: Monday, October 3rd. At 7:30pm in the Ag room.

Our Activity will be Pumpkin Bowling and Apple Bobbing.

World Dairy Expo! 10/4/2022

Hosting Fall Leadership Workshop 10/5/2022

Hello Families! This piece of news is coming to you from Mrs. Hull (formerly known as Miss V). I hope your families are easing into the school year well and are able to enjoy this fall weather! Some new information from my room is that we have a new math curriculum for 6th grade students, called Illustrative. This curriculum is correlated with Bridges (which they had last year). They have a student book that is so nicely laid out and colorful to help them with their content this year. 5th grade students are still using Bridges, and 7th and 8th graders are still using Big Ideas. Students usually have a handful of problems as homework, but I do provide work time in class. Take a moment in the next week or so and ask your student what they have learned in math so far this year!

Talk to you all soon!

• Albany now has Spanish class for 6th graders! They are off to a great start and just finished up learning how to say the alphabet in Spanish and are pros at singing "Los Pollitos Dicen".
• Spanish 1 learned vocabulary focused around opening/closing doors and telling time. They used this vocabulary to retell a short film.
• Spanish 2 had a scary unit all about "El Cucuy"! They can tell you all about Cucuy and how they are used to discipline naughty children.
• Spanish 3 learned all about Gauchos in Argentina and compared these with American cowboys.
• Spanish 4 has dug deep into the history behind the word "gringo", looking into all the possibilities of how this word came to be and all the varying definitions of it nowadays.

Students have been preparing for their fall fitness testing. Students will be setting individual goals to help them improve their fitness levels in all areas of physical fitness. Students have also begun their flag football unit. Flag football is a game that comes with many physical and emotional benefits including health benefits, teamwork, discipline, and socialization.

The Library is a busy and exciting place! I am so excited to welcome back our students to a newly renovated space! Keep your eyes peeled for even more new furniture in the next couple of weeks! Each grade level has had the opportunity to visit and checkout books at least once this year! Our youngest students have been learning to follow library rules, the different parts of a book, and how to choose just right books. They have also been honing their critical thinking skills on our new Lego wall. You may have seen some interesting book marks coming home as well! The second graders have completed a scavenger hunt featuring all of the different parts of a computer and are starting to learn to type!

Third and fourth grade students have been learning to express themselves through using Google Tools and have taken a deeper look at the different parts of the computer.

Fifth Grade students have been learning how to protect their information using strong passwords, about how, why, and who makes media, goal setting, and how to use links in presentations.

We’re off to a great start to the 2022-23 school year in Choir! The middle school students will be going to Conference on November 14th in Monticello where a number of area schools will participate in singing songs for a clinician. We’ve started working on the songs in preparation. The high school students have been working on a song for our Veteran’s Day program. We’re determining songs for our Winter Concert now and will begin rehearsing those shortly. I’m enjoying working with the students of Albany.

Welcome Back to Band!

Albany band students have hit the ground running, here’s a quick recap of the summer and school year so far:

• 5th grade: We had our first-ever beginner band camp this summer, and lots of our newbie band students also took summer lessons! The 5th-grade band is working hard in their method books, learning all about their new instruments and how to read music.

• 6th grade: Some dedicated 6th-grade band students returned for summer lessons, and now the 6th-grade band is beginning to dive deep into their concert music!

7th/8th grade & High School: The busiest group by far, the 7th-12th grade band had summer marching band camp to prepare for their TWO parades this late summer/early fall. Sneak a peek at the pics below to see how the marching band looked in August’s Albany Riverfest parade and then again at the Monroe Cheese Days parade in September! Now that they’re done marching for a little while, you can find these hard-working band members prepping for numerous things: conference band, Veteran’s Day, pep band, solo/ensemble, and our concert.

The Technology Education students have been working on several projects so far this year. Students are currently working on Drywall repair, welding, video editing, Co2 car design and creating cutting boards. Comet Media students will be releasing their first video on Friday.

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year from the Albany School District counselors!

This is going to be an exciting year! We are here to help support students academically, socially/emotionally, and on their career development journey. We will utilize classroom Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, small group opportunities, or individual support to aid in student growth and development. We want students to feel successful in all areas of life as they navigate their school years and support may look different with different ages or needs. We operate under a partnership model! We want to work with and in partnership with the people that are most important in students' lives!

If we can support your student at school, please do not hesitate to reach out. Ms. Megan Schulz, megan.schulz@albany.k12.wi.us and Mrs. Marisa Liggett, marisa.liggett@albany.k12.wi.us

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Skill of the Month:

Self-Awareness - Ability to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they may influence behavior across a variety of settings.

• Identifying emotions
• Demonstrating honesty and integrity
• Being able to link feelings, values, and thoughts
• Examining prejudices and biases
• Having a growth mindset
• Developing interests and a sense of purpose

Information found at casel.org

What going on in Mr. Foley’s Classes:

8th Graders: We are just starting a short unit in Microsoft Excel 2016. Ask your child about their Skittles Project. Also, ask them what the difference between a row and column is.

7th Graders: We are hitting the Touch Typing Keyboard Hard. Ask your child how many words they are typing per minute - you might be surprised.

Personal Finance: We just got done with the Checkbook Reconciliation Unit. We might have to revisit it again. WE are starting a “Zero-Based Budget, so they know where all their money is going. If you do not know where your money is going you cannot save money. Please have conversations with your child(ren) about the importance of saving money. WE all know it is important, but please reinforce this at home.

Accounting I: We are going over different account titles and if a debit or credit increases that particular account. They are all catching on pretty fast, but still need some reinforcements. Accounting is FUN!!!!! Just ask you child.

Sports Management: Just finished a project on their favorite sports team. Please ask them what unique fact they found out about their team. Next we are going on to redesigning their sports team logo.

In 7th and 8th grade science, the students are busy collecting leaves and/or insects as part of their taxonomy project. The students were tasked with collecting 20 different specimens, identifying each one, and displaying them for their middle school audience. Please ask a 7th or 8th grader how it's going!

In 5th and 6th grade science, the students just finished sharpening their measuring skills. The students measured length, mass, and volume of different objects. Our next unit will surround living things and their progression through Earth's history. The students have created Earth timelines and have hung them from my classroom ceiling. They turned out GREAT!

In partnership with parents and the community, the Albany School District

provides an innovative learning environment that supports a foundation that

prepares students to achieve their individual potential.

Website: https://www.albany.k12.wi.us/
Location: 309 Vinton Street, Albany, WI, USA
Phone: 6088623135