Abilene Middle School

Day 4 of Kindness Week is all about being kind as members of a TEAM!

Day 3 of Kindness Week found us celebrating that there is always time to be kind through a Decades Day! 6th graders represented the 60s, 7th grade the 70s, and 8th grade the 80s. It was a groovy, awesome, and rad time all around 🤪

On Day 2 of AMS Kindness Week, we are doing a "Kindness Hula"! During lunch this week, students can "catch" kids performing acts of kindness and fill out a card to explain what they see. The grade level with the highest number of acts of kindness is crowned the winner 🏆 :)

We are celebrating Kindness Week at AMS, and on Monday, we were getting "Comfy with Kindness"! Each day this week is themed, but the most important part of the week is that students are participating in small acts of kindness each day, and we end the week with "Kindness in the Community" service projects throughout Abilene.

Longhorn families! Here are some reminders of upcoming events and important dates over the next couple weeks.

Also, don't forget to head out to tonight's high school football game against Wamego to watch our AMS Band students perform at halftime!

🏀 Tuesday, October 28: Girls’ Basketball
Girls’ Basketball will play at home against Chapman. Games start at 4:30.

🧡 Friday, October 31: Kindness Week – Kindness in the Community
Friday will mark the end of our 2025 Kindness Week. Students will be participating in various Kindness in the Community activities in the afternoon.

🏀 Monday, November 3: Girls’ Basketball
Girls’ Basketball will play at Sacred Heart. Games start at 4:30.

🏀 Thursday, November 6: End of Quarter 1
Girls’ Basketball will play at home against Marysville. Games start at 4:30.

🤼‍♂️ Saturday, November 7: Boys’ Wrestling
Boys’ Wrestling will compete at Emporia. Matches start at 9 a.m.

AMS celebrated 278 of our 347 students qualifying for the Quarter 1 Behavior Celebration today. The 7th grade team of teachers planned a huge escape room/scavenger hunt for the kids, and they had a BLAST!

The AMS and AHS vocal music students and directors put on an amazing evening of music tonight!

Congratulations to this week's AMS Students of the Week! This sweet, sweet group of awesome kiddos exemplify everything we hope to see in our Longhorns - they are kind, they work hard for themselves in classes but also to support their peers and their teachers, and they carry themselves with respect and positivity! Way to go, Longhorns :)
6th grade - P. Siemer, C. Shartzer
7th grade - J. Benton, W. Kollhoff
8th grade - A. Kraft, T. Medina Contreras

AMS Families - please stop by the AMS Commons on Wednesday, October 22 during conferences to learn about community resources available in Abilene (and enter prize drawings!)

Please enjoy our October "AMS Connect" Newsletter - we are celebrating learning this month!

Longhorn Families, in order to give all teachers ample time to finalize Quarter 1 grades:

6th and 7th Grade students have until 11 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15 to submit any missing assignments from Quarter 1 that are still being accepted by their teachers.

8th Grade students have until 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15 to submit any missing assignments from Quarter 1 that are still being accepted by their teachers.

Congratulations to this week's AMS Students of the Week! This is a particularly sweet and kind group of students who also happen to be excellent students. These kiddos show respect to their teachers, their peers, and themselves on a daily basis and make us proud to call them Longhorns! Keep up the great effort, group :)
6th grade - B. Hoover, J. Wilson
7th grade - G. Friedrich, B. Schmersey
8th grade - B. Brooks, E. Wondrasek

Longhorn families! Here are some reminders of upcoming events and important dates over the next couple weeks.

🏐 Saturday, October 11: Volleyball
The 7th and 8th grade volleyball teams will play their last games of the season at their respective NCKL tournaments this Saturday. 7th grade girls will play at Clay Center, and 8th grade girls play at Concordia. Games start at 9 a.m. for both tournaments.

🏈 Tuesday, October 14: Football
The 7th and 8th Grade Football teams will wrap up their season with games at Marysville. The 7th Grade game starts at 4:30 with the 8th grade game following at approximately 6:15.

🏃 Thursday, October 16: Volleyball
The AMS Cross Country teams will run their last races of the season at the NCKL meet in Wamego. Races start at 4.

🧡 Friday, October 17: End of Quarter 1
Friday, October 17 marks the last day of the first quarter! Students will have a 1:00 dismissal. Make sure you’re talking with your students about getting any missing assignments in as grades for Quarter 1 will be finalized on this day.

🎵 Tuesday, October 21: Fall Fantastical
Vocal students from AHS and AMS will be putting on their Fall Fantastical show. Performances begin at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and children 5 and under are free.

AMS Families - remember to complete our Parent/Teacher Conference Survey to help us schedule a meeting time that fits into your schedule. Use this link to find the survey: https://forms.office.com/r/07bx2RrGai
Thanks!

Congratulations to this week's AMS Students of the Week! This group includes students who exemplify all of our Five Star Values - respect in and out of the classroom, perseverance in their roles as students and as active members of sports, clubs, and activities, accountability for their own actions and as good role models for their peers, integrity for doing the right thing when no one is watching, and cooperation in all areas (and 2 of them are sisters, so that's saying a lot!). Excellent work, Longhorns!
6th grade - H. Gilliland, R. Griffith
7th grade - P. Adney, B. Black
8th grade - C. Vinduska, J. Perez Pecina, K. Gilliland

Our table is full once again. If you see something that belongs to your student, please encourage him or her to pick it up. Thanks!

We appreciate our AMS custodial team every day, but today, we get to spoil them a little! Happy Custodial Appreciation Day to Diane, Shaun, and Jewell 🧡💙

Congratulations to our October Staff Member of the Month - Mr. Peterson!

Staff Member of the Month is voted on by students, and students are given the option of sharing why they believe their chosen staff member deserves recognition. Along with being kind and funny, these are some of the things students had to say about Mr. Peterson:

"Last year he was so helpful and willing to do anything to try and help me and everyone else out. He also made class very fun for everyone."
"Because whenever I need help with something he is patient with me."
"He is always ready to help a student out with their homework!"

We are so grateful to have Mr. Peterson as part of our Longhorn team!

AMS Families - please use the link below to fill out this year's Parent/Teacher Planning Survey. This helps us know how best to schedule your child's conference time. Thank you!

https://forms.office.com/r/07bx2RrGai