There's a renewed energy at the nest upon our return from Osprey Week and spring break, with students and staff engaged in projects that they'll share at All School Exhibition on April 27, right before juniors head off for their LINK internships.  We gave Osprey Week groups a moment this week to reconnect and reflect on their adventures, with a goal of supporting new relationships and helping us bring positive school culture from the field to the classroom.  It was great to see all those smiles as groups gathered!

	reliving the fun of the college road trip Osprey Week

Lots of excitement in the nest today about the AHS Prom, which is tomorrow night from 8:00 to midnight at the Derailed PourHouse.  Big shout out to senior Grant Gibson for all his hard work in organizing prom, and to his parents Lisa and Todd, owners of the PourHouse, for closing down the restaurant for he evening so our students can have such a fun venue.  Thank you, too to Osprey parents Marla Stills, Sara Voorhees and Donna Chase for all they've done to make Osprey After Prom happen!   We still need a few  parents to help serve food and chaperone at After Prom from 11:30 to 2:00am.  Please contact Marla Stills at marla.stills@gmail.com or 970-749-8694 as soon as possible if you can help provide a fun, safe, drug and alcohol-free evening for our students in the wee hours.  We are still accepting donations to offset After Prom costs, as well, which you can make online here or by bringing a check to the main office. Please indicate your donation is for "After Prom."

Happy Birthday to our hardworking head of school, Sean, who we celebrated this week!

Freshmen kicked off our spring testing with the PSAT9 this week; juniors will take the SAT next Tuesday and sophomores will take the PSAT10 on Wednesday.  PARCC and CMAS are the following week for 9th and 11th grade, respectively.  Thank you to our IT Director Dusty Grannis for all his work coordinating our assessment program, and to our teachers for helping students develop the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that set them up for success on college entrance exams.

The School Excellence Committee meets Monday of next week, 4:30 to 5:30, and the AHS Board of Directors meets Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30.  Both meetings are on campus and open to the public.

Also next week, we encourage parents and community members to join us for a special Osprey Parent Talk on Thursday evening from 5:15 to 6:30 at AHS with guest speaker Lynn Riemer, president of ACT on Drugs, a Colorado non-profit with a mission of educating parents, teens and professionals about substance abuse and its impact on developing brains and bodies.  Ms. Riemer will also speak to our entire student body on Friday of next week during a NEST Meeting from 11:00 to noon.  She spoke in Durango last school year and we were impressed by the breadth of her knowledge and her engaging presentation style.  We are bringing her to our school community because we believe that students and families need to be well-informed about the negative impacts drug and alcohol abuse has on teens, and we hope to see a strong turnout Thursday evening.

	seniors Michaelan Apted and Eli Cagan at the Creativity Festivity opening

Also on Thursday, the AHS Spring Art Show opens in the Underground at the Irish Embassy with a reception from 5:00 to 7:00 featuring live music from students in the class of 2020.  All 9th graders and students who transferred to AHS this year will display work they created in Roxy McKnight and Britt Gordon's art classes.  We also have Osprey artwork on display at the Durango Art Center through April 16 as part of their annual Creativity Festivity.  Be sure to stop by either venue to see some beautiful work from our students!

Finally, it is with some sadness that we share the news that four staff members will not be returning next year, in addition to Matt Dooley, whose departure we announced previously.   Arava Geva, Brian Morgan, Jenny Mackenzie and Aliza Cruz will all be heading off to new adventures at the end of this school year.  Read more below to learn about their plans and hear their thoughts about their time at AHS. This of course means that we'll be hiring to fill their positions; visit our website here to see job openings and please help us spread the word if you know someone who would be a great fit for our school.  It's hard to say good-bye to teachers who have given so much to our school and we wish them all the very best!

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for all you do to help the Ospreys soar!