Our next three weeks are filled with culminating assessments, events and celebrations; please have a look at this letter, which we sent out yesterday, for help tracking it all.  More importantly, please be sure to take time to reach out and connect with one another in this final stretch.  It's a busy, special time and we want to be sure that relationships and support are right at the center of it all.

The School Excellence Committee meets next Monday, 4:30-5:30 at AHS and all are welcome.   This is the final weekend to complete the 2016-17 AHS Parent Survey, which will close Monday, May 15.  You can access the survey  here .  Our SEC, Board and administration will review feedback from surveys as we prioritize goals for the 2017-18 school year.  Let your voice be part of the process.

freshman Zach Holmgren shreds it on the new quarter pipe our Ospreys just built

Please be sure to join us for the Senior Project Exhibition next Thursday from 4:00 to 7:00 at the Powerhouse Science Center.  There are too many cool senior projects to mention here, but we've profiled two more below.  Join us for this final public exhibition of learning for the AHS Class of 2017.

	Kat Jackson chats with sophomore Amanda Studdard at All School Exhibition

Next Friday, we hope to see you all at the AHS End-of-Year Family Picnic,5:00-7:00 at Rotary Park.  We look forward to welcoming our incoming families, alumni and all current families to this informal potluck-style picnic in the park, organized by our Student Council and designed to provide a space for celebrating the year and giving us all time to socialize together.  We'll provide the lawn games, beverages and a little live music.  Please plan to bring some food to contribute as follows: last name A-F brings appetizers, G-L brings salads, M-R brings main dishes and S-Z brings desserts.  

Finally, we are thrilled to announce that we have hired Kat Jackson to teach Spanish at AHS next year. Kat comes to us with a wealth of language instruction experience, working with students of all ages, most recently at Animas Valley and Needham Elementary Schools (where she's affectionately known as "Senora Katalina"). She's also taught at the Durango Adult Education Center as well as Monash University in Australia. Kat is fluent in Spanish and also speaks French. She's a graduate of Fort Lewis College and has lived and worked in Ecuador and Spain. We are really excited for students to benefit from her enthusiasm, warmth and love of learning.

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