NEWS FROM THE NEST  
August 28, 2015
Greetings Osprey Community,

Dan Thurber's 9th grade advisory working together to get everyone through the spider web
What a great first week!  Our teachers can't stop raving about how amazing our students are and how excited they are for the year ahead--and we hope that mirrors what you're hearing at home, too.  A range of Student Orientation activities, including AHS co-founder Phil Bryson's ropes course (thank you On the Edge Productions), Senior Sunrise at the college and a slightly soggy but totally fun Amazing Race in downtown Durango, all helped get the year started on a positive note.  "This is the best start to the year that I can remember!" says Jessica McCallum, who has been with us since year two.

Many thanks to those who joined us last night for Parent Orientation.  If you were unable to join us, please know that you can reach out to our teachers and staff via email at any time to check in or set a time to meet.  

Lori Fisher's advisory making their way through the Amazing Race
Catered Lunch begins on Monday of next week, and all students have received instructions via their school email accounts about how to pay for and order lunch.  Many thanks to those parent volunteers who have already signed up to serve lunch to our students.  We are still looking for help on Mondays and Tuesdays, 11:15 to 12:15.  If you can help, please contact Laurel in the main office.  

Also, as a reminder, students need to check in with Laurel in the Main Office if they arrive to school late and before leaving campus at any time during the day.  Laurel is the keeper of the Pre-Excused Absence Form; we ask students to get these signed by teachers and parents before any days they know they will miss due to travel or other obligations as a way to make sure they don't fall behind in their classes.  Finally, please remember we need a parent/guardian to call us at (970) 247-2474 when a student is home sick.

Senior Sunrise
Next Wednesday evening from 5:00 to 7:00, college counselor Jess Adams will offer a Senior/Parent College Night in the Commons.  Please join us to learn more about the college application timeline, how to start the scholarship process and more.  If you'd like to let Jess know more about questions you hope will be addressed in the presentation, share your feedback through this online form.  Don't worry if you can't make it--Jess will be sharing lots of information with seniors and families throughout the year and you can always contact her directly with your questions at collegecounseling@animashighschool.com.

Juniors considering the mystery ingredients in Steve Smith's Chemistry class
Thursday of next week, we'll host our first
Power Lunch of the year, welcoming Officers Martingale and Martinez from the Durango Police Department to campus to share their experiences in law enforcement.  Power Lunches give students a chance to hear from folks in our community doing interesting work, and they happen monthly.  If you would like to be a Power Lunch presenter or are interested in potentially mentoring a junior in March for LINK , please contact our internship coordinator, Janae Hunderman at internship@animashighschool.com .  

Thanks for all you do to help the Ospreys soar!
Upcoming AHS Events  
View the 2015-16 AHS School Calendar here



AHS Loaner Laptop Program

Students who would like to borrow a school laptop for the year will be able to do so starting on  Monday.  Our new fleet of computers are business grade, and therefore very durable. All laptops have the following software on them: Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, Adobe Acrobat Creative Suite CS4, Google Drive and Google Chrome.  

We ask for a signed Laptop Lease Agreement and refundable $100 deposit for each loaner laptop.  Students should see IT Director Dusty Grannis in his office or email his at tech@animashighschool.com for more information.

AHS Board of Directors

The AHS Board of Directors welcomes new member Linda Fitts-Liberman, who brings extensive experience in marketing and public relations to her role.  Linda has served on the AHS School Excellence Committee, and as AHS Parent Advisory Committee president. She is also parent to Hannah, a senior, and Ari, a 9th grader at AHS.

Please stay tuned to learn more about open seats on the Board and its committees, as well as how we will fill seats for parent-elected Board Members.



Parent Advisory Committee

PAC plays a critical role in helping our school refine programs and provide an excellent education to each and every student.  The Parent Advisory Committee is open to all parents and guardians.  They meet on the second Tuesday of each month, from 8:30 to 10:00am at Carver's in downtown Durango and the first PAC Meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, September 8th.  Attending PAC Meetings is a great way to stay connected, share feedback and get involved.  Please read more here to learn about all that PAC does.

We are seeking new leadership for PAC, since Linda is moving on to the Board.  If you're interested in becoming PAC President, please review the job description and contact Assistant Head of School Libby Cowles at libby.cowles@animashighschool.com.



College Corner: PSATs
All juniors will be taking the PSAT exam this year during the school day, on campus, on Wednesday, October 28th.   Additionally,  a limited number of 9th and 10th grade students have an option to take the exam if they are interested. 
 
All 9th and 10th grade students were emailed a PSAT sign up document. If your child is interested in taking the PSAT this year,  please make sure to have them fill out the sign up sheet they received in their email. Their name will be added to the list and Dusty will be in contact with them in September with time and location information.
 
Please direct questions to College Counselor Jess Adams at 
collegecounseling@animashighschool.com.

Osprey Appreciations
 Many thanks to local business SolarCity for their extremely generous donation of 100 brand new laptops for our students! Thanks, too, to former AHS Board Member John Witchel for his donation of the hard drives and chargers that we need to get the laptops up and running.  We are so grateful for this support!

We would also like to acknowledge Fort Lewis College as our Advertising and Engagement Sponsor.  Because of this generous support, we will soon be up and running with two monitors streaming photos, announcements and more in each of our buildings.

For More Photos and Updates...
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Contact Us
Phone: (970) 247-2474
Fax: (970) 247-2483
www.animashighschool.com