Greetings Ospreys,

It's a big time of year for our seniors, who will be submitting rough drafts of their Senior Theses by midnight tonight. It's no small feat, researching and writing a college-level paper on a subject of their own choosing, and it's gratifying to see them dig into this rigorous academic work.

Many seniors are also hearing from colleges with admissions decisions (congratulations to Lucy Donnaway, who heard she got into Dennison College today!). Plans for graduation are underway and seniors will be diving into their Senior Project Action Projects before we know it. We're not quite ready to let these Osprey fly out of the Nest, but we love seeing them begin to settle into their plans for the next stage of their lives!

Thanks so much to all the students who sold coffee for the Desert Sun Coffee Fundraiser, and all who made purchases, too! Student Council raised over $1200 for Osprey Week scholarships.

We're so excited to adventure with each other on trails and rivers, around town, here, there and everywhere next week. Osprey Week is a special time, and we know that lots of learning and bonding lies ahead as we head out to ski, make art, explore Baja, backpack, create culinary treats and more.

Review the Osprey Week Itineraries to make sure you know where and when your group is meeting for the start of the week together. Itineraries also include emergency contact information and general plans for each day.

Please note the Hub Bus will continue to operate as normal next week, providing transportation to/from AHS for those who are meeting on campus. Catered lunch will not be available next week.

We also are pleased to share that we have confirmed we will continue to offer the Hub Bus in the 2023/23 school year, thanks to our ongoing partnership with Durango 9R.

Calendar and Schedule Adjustments due to Snow Days

The snow just keeps coming this winter! Due to the 5 snow days we've had, we need to make some adjustments to our daily schedule and add 1 day to the calendar so we are meeting state requirements.

Revised Daily Schedule for Spring 2023

Revised 2022/23 School Calendar

We sent word out to students today that our Daily Schedule will shift after Spring Break, starting 5 minutes earlier and ending the day 5 minutes later, now going from 8:20-3:35. Lunch has also been shortened, to make up time. In addition, we've added one day to the calendar, May 30.

This Weekend's Events

Head over to iAM Music this evening to hear our student musicians at the Student Showcase!

Student Council invites all students to gather at Chapman Ice Rink for Ospreys on Ice tomorrow evening. StuCo has rented out the rink, and admission plus skate rental is FREE!

Sophomore Model United Nations Tackles the Afghanistan Crisis

Michael Jantz '24 and Mia Macon '24, Animas Quill

It’s no question that there are problems in this world that are difficult to even speak about, let alone solve. There are a variety of global problems set on fire by the blow-torch of COVID-19. Since 2020, the citizens of Afghanistan have undergone famine, economical troubles, a seizure of government power by a corrupt party, and very little help from other countries. While the United Nations have worked to help the people of Afghanistan, there are many factors and possible solutions in play to work through this crisis. 

During this past semester, the 10th grade class at Animas High School has taken a deep-dive into the Afghanistan crisis and the procedures done by the UN to help countries when faced with issues like Afghanistan's. Their knowledge and research was displayed this Tuesday, March 7th in teacher Sara Price’s classroom. When asked about the development leading up to this project, one of the chairs mentioned, “It’s cool that we’re working on a real-world problem and that it’s not just something that was randomly decided upon.”

Walking in the classroom, it was apparent how much preparation the students had put in to represent their countries. Horizontal rows of chairs lined Sara’s room with tables in the front where the participants were seated, each student with a paper plaque in front of them with the name of their country on it. These papers were used as a method of role call to confirm which countries were cooperating in the meeting. Chair member Jasey Eoff asked whether the individual countries are ready to speak, to which they responded by holding their paper up and stating, “present and voting.” Using this formality a second time, each country was given the opportunity to vouch for an amount of time they find suitable for speaking about their position on Afghanistan’s crisis. A student proposed a motion of having 2 minutes to present their case only to be met with mixed reception, where one said that it is “just enough time” and another that it is “far too much time.” In another vote, the country representatives raised their papers to decide on a time of 1 minute and 30 seconds. All of these moves are modeled after the parliamentary procedure that the actual Model United Nations uses, something Sara’s classes have worked on extensively.

Russia (Cassidy Hayden) presented first. Opening the case, she made their position clear; “As of this year, more than two-thirds of Afghanistan needs humanitarian aid, 90% of the population doesn’t have enough food and is at risk of starvation, families have had to sell their children for money to afford food, and parents are drugging their kids so they don’t feel hunger pains.” Russia continued to explain that as a result of countries at the conference not participating in national aid towards Afghanistan, including themselves, the population of Afghanistan cannot “afford to survive.” Once their main proposition was done and Russia was opened to questions, the Russian representative explained their stance on cooperating with the Taliban. They made it clear that working with the Taliban was not a preferable option and that they would only do so under conditions where the Taliban became more inclusive of groups that were discriminated against.

Statistics became a common theme between the countries in their efforts to explain the agony the citizens of Afghanistan were experiencing. Germany (Nils Hansen) opened their presentation to the representatives with a similar presentation of statistics while also incorporating how they have been affected by the second World War. “Germany strongly believes in improving the lives of the Afghan refugees. Giving refugees a roof over their head and an adequate source of food is crucial to their survival.” Shortly after, Germany also detailed how 95% of Afghans are in hunger, and 97% are in poverty.

While statistics were used to highlight the struggles of the Afghan people, they were also used to explain that social issues involving those who don’t subscribe to Islam do not need to be prioritized as one of Afghanistan’s cornerstone humanitarian issues. Iran (Marlow Mullens) told the representatives that they are in full support of a Muslim government and feel it is necessary to eliminate the Taliban. They suggested military enforcements to “not exactly eliminate” the Taliban, but curve its violence on the nation of Afghanistan. With a Muslim government being a key aspect in Iran’s support of Afghanistan, one country representative questions Iran on how they will aid those who don’t follow Islam. They mentioned that 95% of the country practices Islam and that it is up for debate how the other 5% will have their needs met in a country that might not accept them. Correcting the representative, Iran spoke about how it is actually 99% of Afghanistan’s population following the law of Islam. In their response to the representative, they implied a question; if it is only 1% of the Afghan people that do not follow Islam, how much should the country have to prioritize their needs?

After the conferences had been completed, Sara had only positivity in her description of the results: “I actually think that they exceeded my standards. I know that [MUN] can be really transformative, and we watched students who are seen as adolescents and teenagers step up and show adults that they have the capacity to problem-solve major world issues.” The three different conferences Sara had conducted all represented new ways of thinking from her students. Describing the groups and their consensuses on Afghanistan’s issues at the end, she stated that “I found it unexpected that all three did completely different things. One [group] was pretty 50/50, one they reached full consensus, and one, they vetoed both resolutions.” Sara felt that the Model United Nations conferences were an excellent way for her students to discuss issues on a real-world scale. “I think that the two biggest things [to take away] are how to collaborate and reach consensus with other humans, especially when you have different perspectives…I also want them to realize that solving our world’s issues takes a lot of negotiation, a lot of compromise, and a willingness to find a middle ground.” 

We're Hiring! Seeking Humanities Teacher Applicants

It's with a heavy heart that we share the news that after 12 years as an Osprey, Humanities teacher Sara Price will be leaving the Nest. Sara's deep love of learning paired with her well-honed project development have established her as a truly outstanding teacher who will be deeply missed. Sara started at AHS as a student teacher, moved into our Inclusion Department for a short stint, and has positively impacted hundreds of Ospreys over the years. She's taking a step away from teaching to explore other career options, possibly including a return to school to become a counselor. We're so grateful for her years of service to the school and the excellence she models.

Sara's shoes will be hard to fill, but we're hoping to attract some great candidates so we can hire an inspiring, talented educator to join our Humanities Department. Job description and information about how to apply can be found on the Employment Opportunities page of our website. Please help spread the word!

Seeking Host Family for Spanish Exchange Student for 2023/24 School Year

We held our enrollment lottery this week and offered admission to the largest group of new students ever. With waitlists for 9th, 10th and 11th grades, interest in our school is strong!

One family that was thrilled to learn they could enroll their student next fall is the Frago family from Spain, whose daughter Inés would like to spend the year at AHS on exchange from Barcelona. Inés' family learned about Animas through former world language teacher Susy Raleigh, and they would love to connect with any families who might be interested in welcoming Inés to stay with them for part or all of next school year. If you'd like to learn more, please reach out to our dean of enrollment and community outreach at libby.cowles@animashighschool.com. We'd love to help support Inés' desire to spend the year with us!

Yearbook

Pre-order your yearbook here for $40 by April 1! Yearbooks will be delivered in mid-June at a summer signing party. Questions? Email quill@animashighschool.com.

We hope that every Osprey has a fantastic Osprey Week experience next week and we can't wait to hear the stories and see the photos from everyone's adventures!

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

Upcoming Events

iAM Music Student Showcase: Fri. 3/10, 7-9pm at iAM Music

Ospreys on Ice: Sat. 3/11, 6:45-8:15pm at Chapman Ice Rink

Osprey Week (no regular classes): Mon. 3/13 through Fri. 3/17

Spring Break (no classes): Mon. 3/20 through Fri. 3/24

Professional Development Day (no classes): Mon. 3/27

Teen Mental Health First Aid (11th grade): Wed. 3/29

Campus Tour for Prospective Families: Thurs. 3/30, 8:45am; RSVP here

NEST Meeting: Osprey Week Presentations(special schedule): Thurs. 3/30, 10am

TWIGS Happy Hour: Thurs. 3/30, Anarchy Brewing Company

Spirit Week: Mon. 4/10 through Fri. 4/15

PSAT/SAT Testing Date (9th-11th grades): early release after testing: Wed. 4/12

Junior/Senior Prom: Sat. 4/15

LINK Internships (11th grade): Mon. 4/17 through Fri. 5/5