Our families are amazing! Thanks so much to all who donated healthy snacks for testing day yesterday to keep our 9th, 10th and 11th graders fueled during the PSAT/SAT. College entrance testing can be stressful and having good food available to all our students helped provide the stamina they needed!

It's a short week for students, with no classes tomorrow due to our Professional Development Day.

There are three more Elevated Nest Tours scheduled for this month, including one tomorrow morning:

RSVP here or just show up at the new school building site on Talon Drive at Fort Lewis College in closed-toed shoes if you'd like to join us!

The AHS Prom is this Saturday, April 16, 8-10:30pm at the Durango Elks Lodge. and Student Council is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt on campus Monday, with prizes for the students who find the most hidden eggs by the end of the day.

Juniors will take the CMAS Science test next Wednesday morning. As with this week's testing, to opt out parents or guardians must submit a written notice to libby.cowles@animashigschool.com. Juniors will be expected to attend the NEST Meeting during Advisory period, where the whole school will gather to hear about their LINK Internship plans, as well as XBlock classes Wednesday afternoon after they complete testing.

Join us for our April Online Osprey Parent Coffee next Friday, April 22, 8:30am via Google Meet at meet.google.com/suu-rwsd-ggy.

Ospreys, keep your calendars open for next Friday, April 22 when Student Council has created an Earth Day Hangout for students at Rotary Park from 5-7pm. Student Council’s goal is to give students a chance to connect between grade levels and outside of the classroom without the pressure of assignments and grades, and also kick off the departure of the juniors for their LINK Internships. Students are encouraged to bring games and snacks and are welcome to invite friends from outside of AHS too. The Hangout is open to prospective AHS students who want to get a feel for the AHS culture outside of school and meet the current students.

Kena Piel and Tara Whitney have created Equity for All Animal Welfare as part of their 20% Project in Humanities 9. Their plan is to spread awareness and collect items during their pet supply drive to support local homeless animals and shelters. Please consider donating dog food, soft dog toys (no bean bag type stuffing, batteries, or plastic), blankets, towels, collars or leashes. You can also support the drive with financial donations to their GoFundMe page. Email Tara and Kena at eaanimalw@gmail.com and follow them on instagram at @eaanimalw.

Ashley Carruth has been an integral part of the AHS community since 2012 and it is with a heavy heart mixed with deep gratitude and excitement for her next adventure that we share the news that she will not be returning to the Nest next fall.

It is with immense sadness that after a decade of teaching Humanities at Animas, I have made the very difficult decision of stepping away from the Nest in order to pursue my dream of expanding San Juan Mountain SOLES, an outdoor education and leadership development organization for high school female-identifying youth that I co-founded 7 years ago. I have a rare opportunity to attempt to grow the organization to serve more youth in our region and beyond and while I will surely miss my colleagues and students at Animas, I hope to work with many of our students in this new capacity. 

In her time at AHS, Ashley has modeled excellent teaching and learning, developed transformational projects, served as a cultural leader and positively impacted hundreds of students' lives. She leaves big shoes to fill in our Humanities Department. Please see the Employment Opportunities page on the AHS website and help us spread the word if you know an excellent educator who might be a good fit for our school community!

Professional Development Day (no classes): Fri. 4/15

Elevated Nest Tour: Fri. 4/15, 9am at new campus site

AHS Prom: Sat. 4/16, 8-10:30pm at Durango Elks Lodge

AHS Board Meeting: Thurs. 4/21, 5:30pm

Online Osprey Parent Coffee: Fri. 4/22, 8:30am

Elevated Nest Tour: Fri. 4/22, 1pm at new campus site

Earth Day Hangout Sponsored by StuCo: Fri. 4/22, 5pm at Rotary Park

LINK Internships (11th grade): Mon. 4/25 through Fri. 5/13

Elevated Nest Tour: Fri. 4/29, 9am at new campus site

Bears Ears Camping Trip (9th grade): Mon. 5/2 through Thurs. 5/5

Professional Development Day (no classes): Fri. 5/6

All School Exhibition: Thurs. 5/19

Senior Supper: Thurs, 5/26, 6pm at AHS

AHS Graduation: Fri. 5/27, 4pm

Transitional Presentations of Learning (9th through 11th grade): Tues. 5/31 through Fri. 6/3

Last Day of School: Fri. 6/3

First day of 2022/23 School Year: Mon. 8/22

Rigorous academics, where all students are prepared for college success

Culture of excellence, where students are held to high expectations

Strong student-faculty relationships, where students are well known.

Engaging learning, where students see the relevance in their education