School News
Seventy-five students participated in the 24-hour Hunger Challenge and had the opportunity to empathize with people who feel hungry in the Southern-Tier. Students were provided a sample backpack containing five food items—one protein, two grains, one dairy, and one fruit/ vegetable. They journaled about their experience and earned community service hours for completing the challenge. ASMS raised $1,355 for the Food Bank of the Southern Tier’s Backpack Program. Backpacks help feed over 2,000 hungry students in our community during weekends and school breaks. The Food Bank will also accept monetary donations of cash or checks payable to “Food Bank of the Southern Tier,” in an envelope labeled Backpack Program Food.
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Sophia Verkleeran, a sophomore at Williams College and ASMS alumni class of 2017 earned two national titles in the NCAA DIII Swimming and Diving Championship meet this past weekend. Verkleeran swam powerfully in the 200-meter Individual Medley and the 200-meter backstroke with a new personal record time of 1:57.66. Verkleeren was honored as the Swimmer of the Meet, a well-deserved award as her performance propelled the teams’ overall advancement from 13th to 6th seed. The Ephwomen of Williams College placed 4th in the nation to close their 2022-2023 season. Join ASMS in celebrating Sophia Verkleren’s scholarly and athletic excellence.
7th-grade artists have explored modern and contemporary artists whose work fit the theme of "heroes" with their art teacher, Kendra Echevarria. Artists include Frida Kahlo, Virgil Ortiz, Jason Garcia, Marie Watt, Martine Gutierrez, Bisa Butler, Nickolas Muray, and Dulce Pinzón. Students then reflected on whom they considered a hero and created artwork to honor and memorialize them. The student exhibition, Honoring Our Heroes: Past, Present & Beyond, is on view now at the Kids Rockwell Art Lab in Corning until May 30th. Check out the 7th-grade student artwork and read their meaningful artist statements in person this spring.
ASMS students went 22 rounds during their school spelling bee. Seventh-grade ELA teacher, Mrs. Maureen Mines emphasized, “It's worth pointing out that all preparation was done on the students' own time. They studied so hard that we weren't sure if anyone would ever get eliminated!” Our two school champions, Cecilia He and Matthew Han, proceeded to the Corning Rotary Club Regional Spelling Bee, held at Corning-Painted Post Middle School on Saturday, March 11th. It was their first time competing in the regional competition. Seventy-four local scholars were registered for the event and there were only 16 contestants remaining by the third round. Matthew placed 12th and Cecilia placed 2nd. Sara Sisson, 6th grade ELA teacher expressed, "I am so proud of Cecilia for her accomplishments! She earned her top spot in the bee with months of hard work spent studying spelling words, their definitions, their origins, and parts of speech. Cecilia is a great example of how hard work and preparation really do pay off. I can't wait to see what else you accomplish when you set your mind to it, Cecilia!" The 2022 Champions were Cyrus Law (1st) and Sharon Hwang (2nd), both are ASMS students as well. Join us in congratulating the hard work our scholars have put in for their accomplishments.
Saturday, February 18th the ASMS’ team, Griddy Gang, competed in the First Lego League Challenge championship tournament at Nichols School in Buffalo, NY. Additionally, there were ASMS students present who are members of the teams; The Children of Apollo and Rio Supernova. The Griddy Gang took home first place in the Robot Design Award. Rio Supernova took home the third place Chapionship Award, third place Robot Performance Award. Their coach, Derek Law, and ASMS parent won third place in the Coach/Mentor Award.
Griddy Gang
Justin Li
Daemon Wadsworth
Graham Wightman
Jayden Dong
Kris Shenoy
Silas Interlicchia-Hunt
Fiona Peterson
Justin Brown
Kaila Mantey (not pictured)
Rio Supernova
Cyrus
Sharon
Dominik
The Children of Apollo
Ella Yarnell
Mira Simons
Adriana Alonzo
Join us in congratulating twenty-one ASMS students for being selected for the Steuben All-County Band and Chorus Festivals! Our students have worked hard throughout the school year to improve their instrumental and choral music skills. We are proud of their efforts and congratulate them on their accomplishments! Festival A takes place March 3-4, 2023 at Hornell High School and Festival B takes place March 17-18 at Bath Middle School.
FESTIVAL A:
Kai Bronfenbrenner
Mercy Biribuze
Giuliana Marino
Ava McGroarty
Noah Mower
Joelle Starns
Adriana Alonzo
Madison Brown
Fiona Cowley
Josh Fajardo
Max Fishleder
Elise Gulati
Joey Kiczenski
Mika Kunigonis
Aidan McGroarty
Nithik Navin
Bradley Smith
Caroline Welch
Chloe Wightman
Soojin Yoon
April Zheng
FESTIVAL B:
Kai Bronfenbrenner
Naomi Dates
Ava McGroarty
Oskar Sauer
Remy Seymour
Sophie Stoker
Adriana Alonzo
Lee Caprarella
Josh Fajardo
Elliott Haralson
Andrea Marjanovic
Aubree Schwind
Chloe Wightman
April Zheng
ASMS stakeholders have spent countless hours conducting an in-depth self-study that examines all aspects of the school community including mission and culture, governance, educational program, student and student services, finance and school operations, parents, faculty and non-teaching personnel, community relations, and communications. As of February 10, 2023, ASMS has received official notification of our accreditation from the New York State Association of Independent Schools. ASMS is now accredited by Middle States and NYSAIS, confirming the quality of our program, and association with schools alike state-wide. Click the link to see the official NYSAIS Accreditation letter.
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On Sunday, February 5th, ASMS students gathered at the Salvation Army of Corning and participated in the Shepherd’s Table dinner program. Students and parent chaperones prepared and served a meal to approximately 40-60 individuals at the Salvation Army on Denison Parkway. The kids prepared deli sandwiches this year. They helped with slicing rolls, onions, and tomatoes, assembling the sandwiches, bagging, serving, and cleaning.
ASMS students kept the news to themselves after competing in the Math Counts competition in Rochester on Saturday, February 4th. Ms.Akiba and her competitors would reply with monotone remarks when their peers and teachers questioned how they did. At our all-school assembly, they successfully surprised our school community with the news that as a team they earned second place! Cyrus Law took fifth place and received a Special Recognition Award in the individual competition. Now we wait to see the final scores and if they are going to compete at the state level.
Seventh-grade student, Sydney (left), started the new year with new accomplishments. Her IEA riding team took 1st place at the regional competition in Rochester on January 22nd. Sydney rode 4 times, twice as an individual and twice for her team. She earned four 1st place ribbons! This means she and her team get to go on to the Zone 2 competition, where they will compete against riders from all around NY state!
7th graders at ASMS spent the start of the year learning computer-assisted design (CAD) and engineering process by designing and 3D printing rubber band-driven cars. The goal was to create a car that would:
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fit in a 180cm x 120cm x120cm sizing box
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travel 3 meters using stored energy from a rubber band
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be aesthetically appealing
On Friday, student engineers went the distance for doughnuts as they rallied and raced their cars with their science teacher, Mrs. Killian. Students performed experiments and evaluated their prototypes to maximize the success of their final designs.
13 ASMS students received the honor of being selected to perform in the Junior High Area All State Festival. The students listed below all performed a NYSSMA solo in April and performed at a high level and received scores that were eligible for nomination. The students in the ensembles range from 7th-9th grade in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegany counties. The festival will take place November 4th and 5th at Hornell School District.
Orchestra:
Cyrus
Band:
Josh
Soojin
Matthew
Elise
Owen
Mixed Chorus:
Chloe
Adriana
Becca
Ella
Andrea
Amaia
Aubree
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For the first time in three years, we have begun a school year with an opening that marks our new normal. We are back to facilitating all-school events such as assemblies, band, and field trips. The school is filled with the feeling of joy and optimism for the year ahead. Last week, we kicked off the year with our first community service morning and an afternoon full of events that support a positive school culture. Students worked with their advisory groups to document checkpoints around campus. ASMS was roaring with laughter and joy at the close of our opening weeks. Additionally, there are many new faces and familiar faces in new roles for the 2022-2023 academic year. Please join us in congratulating our new and veteran faculty on their new positions.
Lydia Caprarella- 6/7 Social Studies
Sara Sisson- 6th grade ELA
Michael Conte- 6th grade Math
Maya Patel- 6th grade Science
Kim Nightingale- Academic Head of School