Avery High School

Good evening, If you are scheduled to take the driver's ed class over Spring Break, please make note of the following changes: Due to Mr. Greene having to attend a conference at the end of the week, the class has been adjusted to begin on April 18 (Good Friday), rather than Monday, April 21. The new dates and times are as follows: April 18-19, 21-23, 8:30 am to 2:30 pm each day. Please adjust your calendars accordingly. If you have any questions please email and let me know. Please note, if you have not signed up for this class, it is full. Please use the student services tab on the ACHS Website to sign up for a class if you need. Thank you.

With the warmer approaching, I want to take the opportunity to review some of Avery High School’s dress code policies. The dress code can be found in the Student Handbook on pages 14 and 15. The handbook can be found on our website under Student Essentials. All shirts, sweaters, tops, and dresses must cover both shoulders and underarm and may not expose the midriff or lower back (no crop tops) while walking, standing, or sitting. Shirts or blouses that are excessively tight, sheer, or low-cut and expose cleavage may not be worn. No shirts tucked under bra or tied to make them shorter. Shorts, skirts, and dresses must be mid thigh or longer. Track shorts are inappropriate and prohibited during the school day. No super tight spandex. No pajamas, pajama pants, or bedroom slippers may be worn. Students may not wear garments that advertise or promote alcohol, drugs, tobacco, or violence. No sunglasses are to be worn in school. Students who are not following the dress code will be asked to change into appropriate clothing. If students are asked to change and continue to wear the same clothing to school, they will be subject to disciplinary action. Thank you for your cooperation. Please contact the school with any questions.

Good evening, Tomorrow at the Rock Gym in Newland is a free prom dress event, along with free $50 gift cards for tuxedo rentals in Elizabethton (limited supply). Guys, show up at 11:00 AM for gift cards. The dress event begins at noon. The hundreds of dresses are free for all students attending the prom!

Good evening, Report cards for the third grading period will be sent home with students tomorrow. The third grading period ended on March 21st. During the third grading period, there were 7 remote learning days. On these remote days, teachers assigned work for students to complete. Students had 3 days once we returned to school to turn in the remote work. If students did not turn in the assigned remote work, the student was coded with an absence on the dates the remote work was not turned in. Avery County High School’s attendance policy has been in place for a number of years. The attendance policy can be found in the ACHS student handbook. The handbook is posted on our website under Student Essentials. The attendance policy is on page 6. The policy states “Students missing more than 10 days in a semester will receive an “FF” (failure due to absences) on their report card.” If your child has an “FF” in any classes, they missed more than 10 days during the grading period. It is possible for students to pass the class for the semester if they do not miss more than 3 days, excused or unexcused, for the remainder of the school year. I will meet with students to complete an attendance contract for the remainder of the school year. Students who have missed more than 10 days for the semester will need to fill out an attendance appeal. The attendance appeal committee will meet to review appeals and make decisions about approving or denying the attendance appeals. Attendance appeals will be available in the front office the first week of May. Our goal is for students to come to school on a consistent basis to be able to pass their classes and earn the credits required to graduate from high school. We appreciate your support with ensuring students are coming to school consistently. Please call the school with any questions. Thank you and have a good evening.

Dear parents, we want to make an announcement in regards to the upcoming Driver Education class scheduled over spring break. Due to an unforeseen schedule change in a conference that our staff needs to attend, we have to shift the dates for our Spring Break class. The class will now take place on Friday, April 18, Saturday, April 19, and Monday through Wednesday, April 21-23. The times for the class will be 8:30 am to 2:30 pm in the Media Center of the High School. Thank you for understanding, if you have any questions you may email Mr. Greene at phillipgreene@averyschools.net.

Good evening, This Tuesday, March 11th will be a busy one. Our freshmen class will be visiting Mayland Community College for the day. Permission forms were sent home last week for this trip. Since all teachers and staff will be involved with chaperoning this trip, administering the Pre-ACT, or the ACT, there will be no staff to supervise students who aren’t on the field trip. All freshmen need to attend the trip. Freshmen who don’t go on the field trip will be counted absent. All sophomores will be taking the Pre-ACT. This is a state required test. Sophomores will need to be present on March 11th. All juniors will be taking the ACT. This is a state required test. Juniors will need to be present on March 11th. Since all staff and teachers will either be chaperoning on the trip, administering the Pre-ACT, or ACT, all seniors will have a remote learning day. Teachers of seniors will assign remote day work. Students will need to complete the work and turn it in on Wednesday. Students who don’t turn in the work will be counted absent. The only students who need to be on campus Tuesday are sophomores and juniors. Freshmen will leave campus by 8:30 to go to MCC. Please call the school with any questions. Thank you.

Good morning, We will have Registration Night for the parents of all rising 10th and 11th grade students tomorrow night, March 4th. The session for rising 10th graders will begin at 5:30 in the mini theatre. The session for rising 11th graders will begin at 6:30 in the mini theatre. During this event, we will explain the registration process, the various classes and CTE pathways that are offered, parents can sign up for individual registration meetings with a counselor, our various clubs that are offered will be set up i n the cafeteria, and JROTC will be set up outside of the cafeteria. Parents will be able to gain access for the Parent Portal in Infinite Campus. Please bring a picture ID to be given the access letter for the Parent Portal. We look forward to seeing you! Please call the school with any questions. Thank you.

Our men's basketball team will play @ South Stanley tomorrow beginning at 6:00. If you are attending, please see the information below. Tickets must be purchased through GoFan ($7 + $1 GoFan surcharge). We do not have a cash option at the gate. No outside food or drinks are allowed inside the gym (this includes Stanley/Yeti Cups). Stanly County Schools has a clear bag policy (see attachment) and security checks will be done at the gate. Game Time: 6:00 Link to tickets: https://gofan.co/event/3295505?schoolId=NC2172

This is a reminder that today is the last day to order a yearbook for this school year. Please visit the Jostens website to order a yearbook. Thank you.

The basketball conference tournament games will be played this evening. The men's basketball team will play Mitchell High at Mitchell High beginning at 5:30. The women's basketball team will play Owen High at Mountain Heritage beginning at 7:00. We wish our basketball teams the best of luck!

The Homecoming Dance that was scheduled for this Saturday has been rescheduled for March 15th. Thank you.

We have sent an email to students with a link to gauge interest to reschedule the Homecoming Dance to March 15th. Please remind your child to fill out the form if they would be able to attend the dance on March 15th. This needs to be done by tomorrow, Friday. Thank you.

ACS District Spelling Bee is LIVE NOW Click the link to watch now: https://youtube.com/live/TYBXjfqnosE?feature=share

Students enrolled in Mayland’s Public Speaking, American History II, Sociology and Interpersonal Communications courses. Your classes will start on Monday, February 3rd. Please see Mr O'Hagan in Student Services if you have questions about your courses or using your Moodle account to access them.

Please see the attached information about pictures on February 4th.

For Seniors - the FAFSA Night event that was scheduled for this evening will be rescheduled for a later date. We will let you know the date that it will be rescheduled. Thank you.

Just to remind you that we will be having a FAFSA Night this upcoming Monday, January 27 from 5:30pm-7:00 pm in the library! Also we will be having a FAFSA raffle with different prizes like Owala water bottles, a book bag, JBL speakers, and more! If you have any questions, please see Alex in Student Services.

As of right now, Avery County Schools will operate on a regular schedule tomorrow, January 27th. Buses cannot run on the following roads: Arnett, John Greer, and Reuben Wooten. The roads will be checked in the morning. If there is change in schedule, a notification should go out by 5:30am. Be safe!

Avery High's assistant principal, Amanda Grindstaff, has been named as the Director of Child Nutrition for Avery County Schools. Mr. Randy Little will serve as the assistant principal for Avery High School for the remainder of this school year. Mr. Little has currently been one of our Social Studies teachers. Mr. Little was a teacher and administrator for over 30 years in Elizabethton, TN. Congratulations to both of these Avery County Schools employees!

Good evening, Avery County Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay tomorrow, January 23rd. The bell schedule is listed below. 1st block: 10:10-11:15 2nd block: 11:20-12:25 3rd block: 12:30-1:1:55 1st lunch: 12:30-12:55 2nd lunch: 1:05-1:30 4th block: 2:00-3:05