August 29, 2018
RAMS: Think. Choose. Believe.
#RAMSpride
Welcome students and families to the 2018-19 school year at the Amsterdam High School.
All of us here at AHS are excited to to have students returning to our hallways and classrooms. This year brings with it some new and improved changes.
You will see our Portrait of a Graduate (at right) introduced as a reminder of how important the high school experience is to guide our students to think creatively and critically, make healthy choices, become responsible global citizens and champions of their own success. You will see a new and improved cell phone protocol, a nine-period schedule, a new Testing & Learning Center (TLC) and the introduction of P-TECH and pathways programs right here in our own hallways.
Inside this newsletter you will find basic information pertaining to many important items necessary for our students’ success. Please take time to read through the information and mark your calendars for the dates highlighted inside.
Be sure to return the address verification form if there have been any changes to your contact information. Please take special notice of the cell phone policy being implemented at AHS and the times when you will be able to contact your child if needed. Also pay close attention to our attendance policy and practice — a missed school day is a lost opportunity for a child to learn.
Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school year, or about 18 days, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence. And remember, the academic impact of missing that much school is the same whether the absences are excused or unexcused.
I am honored to serve as interim principal here at Amsterdam High School, the very place I graduated from many years ago! It is a privilege to be a part of a community where parents, teachers and students care for each other and strive to build relationships that promote academic and social growth.
Feel free to contact me anytime at 518-843-4932 x.1011 or mdowning@gasd.org.
Once again, welcome back!
Dr. M. Downing