a team of Osprey artists spent yesterday afternoon creating a mural for the bump out at 2nd Deli & Spirits--be sure to check it out next time you're downtown!

Thanks to senior Riley Douglas and junior Cooper Machicek for exemplifying perseverance by creating Junior and Senior Prom Days this week at school. There are so many losses and disappointments in this COVD year, but these two students took it upon themselves to bring some of the Animas joy and silliness back to campus by inviting their peers to dress up and take prom photos.

As a reminder, students will not have classes Friday April 30, as staff will be engaged in our final PD Day for the year. In addition, we will not offer Hub Bus transportation on Monday April 26 as Durango 9R schools are not in session that date.

We will work with 9th and 10th grade students during their in-person days next week to help them select electives for next year and complete the course request process in Infinite Campus. Please be sure to review elective offerings together and talk about your students' postsecondary goals to help them make informed choices in the course request process using the 2021-22 AHS Course Catalog and this letter. New students enrolling for fall 2022 will receive detailed information about this process in the next couple of weeks.

Juniors and their families are encouraged to attend the Rising Senior College Night next Wednesday, April 28 at 5:30 via this Zoom link. Jess Morrison will share information about requesting letters of recommendation, creating college lists, testing, admissions essays and more.

For her Senior Project, Lindsay Levine researched sustainability initiatives in the fashion industry and now, for her action project, she's offering up her time and talents to the community through the Sustainable Wardrobe Revamp Initiative. Contact her directly (see below) if you have a clothing item that could use alterations or repair!

Lindsay has also gone through the AHS Professional Dress Closet to do clothing repairs. With Transitional Presentations of Learning just five weeks away, now is the time to make sure 9th, 10th and 11th grade students have appropriate clothing ready to go. For TPOLs, students must wear a button-down shirt and tie, shirt with finished neck, sweater or blouse; a nice pair of slacks (no jeans), skirt or dress; dark socks to match trousers and dress shoes (no sneakers, no excessively high heels). 

If you have clothing you'd like to donate to our Professional Dress Closet, please contact libby.cowles@animashghschool.com. Students can ask any trusted adult on campus if they would like to borrow clothing from the closet for TPOLs.

We are excited to partner with local event producer John Oakes again this year as we plan for another non-traditional, COVD-safe graduation ceremony for Friday, May 28. We are working to finalize our outdoor venue and will keep senior families updated as details fall into place.

We're looking forward to bringing Senior Supper back after calling it off last year. This very special tradition the night before graduation, just for seniors and staff, is our final chance to celebrate seniors before they fly out of the Nest. It will need to look a little different than it has in the past, but we feel confident we can pull off something special for the class of 2021. Historically, we have gathered a committee of junior parents to organize Senior Supper as a way for junior families to support the senior families. Interested in helping? Reach out to Libby.

Juniors had school photos taken today and freshmen and sophomore photos will be next week. Now is the time to order your yearbook! The 2020-21 AHS Yearbook is available for purchase for $30 on the Jostens website. The yearbook will be released at an AHS event this summer, likely in July, so that we can include photos from end-of-year activities including graduation and TPOLs.

Students will receive a semester of XBlock credit if they can demonstrate they have completed 40 hours of wellness-supporting activities between January 1 and June 4, when the spring semester ends. To receive credit, submit both forms below:

As a reminder, all AHS students are required to have 3 years of XBlock credit to graduate!

Founding AHS science teacher Colleen Dunning and class of 2014 alumna Jessie Dvirnak are both working at LPCHS these days, and they've reached out to us for help with a "Baby Shower" donation drive to support the Humane Society's foster program, which helps 500 puppies and kittens a year. We will have collection boxes on campus for folks to drop off donations starting next week. Local store Pet Haus has the wish list and supplies on hand, or you can shop online via wish lists on Amazon or Chewy.com. Let's work together to help the fine folks at the Humane Society have a successful drive!

No Hub Bus: Mon. 4/26

LINK Internships (11th grade): Mon. 4/26 through Fri. 5/14

School Excellence Committee Meeting: Wed. 4/28, 5pm

Rising Senior College Night (11th grade families): Wed. 4/28, 5:30pm

Professional Development Day for Staff (no classes): Fri. 4/30

College and Career Information Night (9th grade families): Wed. 5/5, 5:30pm

Graduation Deadline for Seniors (student speeches due): Fri. 5/7 (see details here)

Senior Project TED Talks: Thurs. 5/20 through Wed. 5/26

Senior Supper: Thurs. 5/17 6-8pm at AHS

Graduation: Fri. 5/28, 4pm, location TBA

Memorial Day Holiday (no classes): Mon. 5/31

Transitional Presentations of Learning: Tues. 6/1 through Fri. 6/4

Last Day of School: Fri. 6/4

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