Many thanks to all who turned out for the Back to School Social and Osprey Night at Steamworks this past week.  Both were festive gatherings in support of our school, and we appreciate the chance events like these give our community to connect.   Sean's Annual State of the School Address highlighted successes and areas of growth; you can read it here if you missed it.  We are grateful for the generous support for these events from Bank of Colorado, the Rochester Hotel and Steamworks.

The two Chautauquan performers we had at school this week, thanks to the generosity of Colorado Humanities, brought early American history alive.  This is the third year we've had Chautauquans at AHS.  After his performance on Wednesday, Steve Edenbo, who has portrayed Thomas Jefferson across the country for the past 18 years, shared that he loved the informed, challenging questions our "exceptional" students asked, and he praised them for how engaged they were.

Chautauquan Thomas Jefferson in the Nest

Looking ahead to next week, juniors and their families are strongly encouraged to attend the Junior College Night Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 at AHS, where college counselor Jess Adams will share important information about the college application process, scholarships and financial aid.  The AHS Board of Directors will also meet Wednesday 5:30 to 7:30 on campus and all are welcome.

School photos and student IDs will be available next week. Our tech guru and testing coordinator, Dusty Grannis, will send out more information, so stay tuned.

We are seeking community members who would like to join committees and working groups in support of our school.  The School Excellence Committee meets monthly and is tasked with cultivating, supporting and promoting academic and cultural excellence at AHS.  We like to have parent representation from all grades, and don't currently have a senior parent on the committee.  If you are interested in learning more, contact SEC Chair Linda Fitts-Liberman at [email protected].  

The Animas High School Building Corporation (AHSBC) is also looking for new members.  The AHSBC is a secondary Board to the Animas High School Board and is tasked with holding the liability of the loan on the buildings and land, navigating contracts with its partners and working toward a permanent site location for Animas High School. The AHSBC is a working board and is in need of an attorney and other individuals who would like to be a part of this process.  The group meets monthly and time commitment is about 5-10 hours a month. Contact Sean Woytek for more info at [email protected].

	seniors at the top of Animas Mountain, considering ideas for senior project

School counselor Erin Skyles is spearheading a Health and Wellness Committee made up of students, staff, parents and community members who would like to help us further develop programming that supports the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students, with a focus on substance use/abuse, suicide prevention, mental health, healthy relationships and more. The committee will meet twice monthly. If you are interested, contact Erin at [email protected].

The AHS Fall Fundraiser and Silent Auction will be held on November 15 from 6:00 to 9:00 at the Henry Strater Theater. We are forming a Fall Fundraiser Working Group to help create a successful and fun event and are seeking help orchestrating the silent auction, getting the word out and helping on the day of the event. Please contact Ashley Hein at [email protected] to volunteer or for more information about event sponsorship opportunities.

AHS needs to hire a couple more substitute teachers for the school year.  Please spread the word if you know someone who would be great with our students.  Information about how to apply  here.

Christine and Hannah's advisory groups enjoying Osprey Night at Steamworks

We are reviewing all vaccination records and will contact families if a student is missing a vaccine or needs an updated exemption form, which must be resubmitted each year.  Please refer to the list of state-mandated vaccines for questions about requirements; if you have questions about vaccines in general, this is a useful resource from the Colorado Department of Public Health.

Finally, we're sending the AHS Mountain Biking Team off to Granby for the third race of the season this weekend and wishing our Ospreys the very best of luck.

Have a great weekend and thanks for all you do to help the Ospreys soar!