Greetings Ospreys,

The Nest has been abuzz with creative teaching and learning this week as we've embarked upon our inaugural Osprey Blocks. These three-week long intensive courses are allowing us to get off campus more frequently, moving learning from classrooms to the community and beautiful wild places.

We're heading into a long weekend, with no AHS classes on Monday. Students who are taking concurrent enrollment classes should note that Fort Lewis College does not have a holiday on Monday.

Next week, we will host our first Parent Coffee of the year on Friday morning at 8:30 in the AHS Commons. All are welcome--come to check in on the start of the year, share ideas and connect with head of school Rebecca Ruland and other families. We'd love to see you!

The Adventures in Aquaponics class, led by Madi Neukirch, Lauren Lucky and Antonio Accuna, started this week with a visit to Escalante Middle School to view the hydroponic food growing system they've created there. Students gathered insights and ideas, then set upon designing their own systems in smaller groups.

After a Thursday supply run to Home Depot, they're now beginning the building process, making good use of our MakerSpace as they put their learning and ideation into action. If all goes according to plan, it won't be long before we have fresh lettuce, strawberries, basil and more growing in water right here on campus.

Spanish teachers Kat Jackson and Jenny McKenzie have been working with the Baja Bound class to prepare them for their upcoming trip to Todos Santos, where they will visit an elementary school and high school, take a cooking class, learn about local history and explore the beautiful beaches and sea. Their discussions around the ethics of conscious tourism have been fortified by a viewing of the documentary film Patrimonio at Kat's house, examining a conflict in Todos Santos surrounding the construction of an eco-tourism resort. Plenty of simulations en Español have helped the students practice important language skills, like asking for directions, grocery shopping and more. The group is off to Baja on Wednesday for their immersive weeklong journey.

This morning, the Documentary Film: Transformative Educational Experiences Osprey Block, led by Drew Semel and Jessica McCallum, ventured down to the Gaslight Theatre for a private screening of the Academy Award winning film Icarus for inspiration. Earlier in the week, they were joined by Durango local Jane Julian, programmer for the upcoming Port Townsend Film Festival, who connected them via zoom with filmmaker Owen Dubeck for a conversation about his short film Abundance: The Farmlink Story. These experiences are helping the group build their skills and knowledge as they work together to create their own film chronicling our very first Osprey Blocks. Students are dipping into other Osprey Block classes to get film footage and conducting interviews of peers and staff, with an ultimate goal of entering their finished product in local film festivals. We can't wait to see it!

Elliot Baglini and Peter Bradley's Emergency Response in our Community Osprey Block has visited the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District in Bayfield and Silverton Medical Rescue this week, getting the opportunity to get hands-on with emergency equipment and hearing firsthand what it takes to enter this important career field. They are working towards Wilderness First Aid and CPR/AED certifications through an in-depth, 16 hour course provided through Desert Mountain Medicine. In addition, this group is studying the discrepancies that exist between rural and urban areas, in terms of access to medical care, and considering the impact this has on rural healthcare responders. It's exciting to see the wheels turning as many students consider future career goals in this field.

The In Search of Ikigai class has spent the week beginning the process of developing a personal philosophy of meaning and purpose--no small task! Next week, they will split into two groups for fieldwork and exploration, with one, led by Ashley Carruth and Ande Lloyd embarking on a backpacking trip in the beautiful San Juan mountains and the other camping by the Piedra River with Erin Skyles and Salome Raiszadeh. A day hike in Horse Gulch this week, paired with intentional community development, mindfulness and trip planning has the group working towards their goal of supporting a life of wellbeing.

The Four Corners region is filled with beautiful, sacred sites, and students in Native Warriors of the Southwest, led by Rebecca Ruland, Genevieve Buzan-Dansereau, Sarah Brockett and Oliver Kennedy, were lucky enough to visit some of them this week, beginning their Osprey Block with a tour of Balcony House at Mesa Verde and a camping trip at Chaco Canyon that included a hike on the Publo Alta Trail. The group is charting regional Native American history from pre-colonization to post-colonization and into the modern day. They will turn their attention to the difficult but important history of Indian boarding schools next week along with a study of the Pulitzer Prize finalist There, There by Tommy Orange, a contemporary novel which follows twelve characters from Native communities all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow

The Special Relativity group, led by Kyle Edmondson, John Grotenhuis and Emma Boone, has been deeply immersed in mathematical theory this week, wrapping their brains around Einstein's theory, starting with some basic assumptions about how light moves, and then mathematically generating the ideas of time dilation, length contraction and mass energy equivalence. A trip to San Juan College's planetarium this week helped bring the learning alive. The group will travel to Albuquerque next week to visit the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the Nuclear Museum, with an eye towards generating ideas for the exhibition they plan to create at AHS to help all of us understand more about Einstein's theory. A literary study of Andy Weir's novel Project Hail Mary is helping students consider the cultural impacts of scientific discovery.

The Water in the West group, led by Julian Springer, Lori Fisher and Mike Bienkowski, has spent the week preparing for next week's river trip through Ruby-Horsethief Canyon by studying the history, politics, ecology, geology and hydrology of the Colorado River watershed. A spirited debate about water rights and policy demonstrated authentic student engagement today, and the group has spent plenty of collaborative time together planning for the self-supported four-day, three-night trip, which begins Tuesday. The group will travel in rafts and inflatable kayaks and Lori, Julian and Mike are excited to share their expertise and love of the river with the students.

Last but not least, the Britt Bladsell, Dave Farkas and Cameron Elder's Wilderness Exploration and Landscape Studies group will be a bit further down the Colorado River next week, departing at 4:30am on Tuesday for their put in at Potash, just south of Moab. They'll canoe 52 miles down to Spanish Bottom, where jet boats from Tex's Riverways will meet them and transport them back upriver. In preparation for the trip, the class hosted Moab-based ornithologist Molly Taylor and Jim White with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to build background knowledge on the ecology of the region. Students have created nature journals to bring on the river, each including information they've researched and will share about various plants and wildlife.

Osprey Blocks are a heavy lift for our hard-working, creative and dedicated teachers. They are creating new classes that don't fit into neat molds of a seven-period day, adjusting plans daily and often extending their workday well beyond the typical school day. That said, the depth of engagement and learning we're seeing, paired with the authentic, trusting relationships that are being created through these shared experiences are noteworthy and inspiring. There's simply no way we could pull off an ambitious, innovative start to the year like this without the support we receive from our families and community partners. Thank you to all who have stepped in, in ways large and small.

Thank you, too, to Durango Devo for use of their vans during Osprey Week. Be sure to check out the Durango Devo Film Fest in a couple of weeks--tickets are on sale now.

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

Upcoming Events

Fall Osprey Blocks (regular classes do not meet): Mon. 8/28 through Fri. 9/15

Labor Day Holiday (no classes): Mon. 9/4

TWIGS Parent Coffee: Fri. 9/8, 8:30am

TWIGS Buds Meeting: Mon. 9/11, 6pm

Men in Heels Fundraiser for Women's Resource Center: Tues. 9/12, 5:30pm

Professional Development Day (no classes): Mon. 9/18

Regular Classes Resume: Tues. 9/19

1st Quarter XBlock Classes Begin: Wed. 9/20

Durango Open Studio Tour: Sat. 9/23 and Sun. 9/24

Fall Break (no classes): Fri. 10/6 through Mon. 10/9