Greeting AHS Students!
My name is Jake Lauer and I am the registrar for Animas High School. I have met many of you and I can't wait to meet everyone else. This summer and next school year I will be writing to you and talking to you about some important stuff. And I want you to know from the start that you are all a vital part of this school. I want to hear your ideas, your concerns, your frustrations, your joys. I am here to listen, to talk and to troubleshoot and to enjoy this experience with you.
On that note, I am writing you today about the first ever AHS Student Advisory Council meeting. Head of School Michael Ackerman and I met last Wednesday, May 20th with eight of your fellow students.
This was the first of many meetings this summer. The Council has been formed to allow students to begin shaping our school community and culture prior to our opening this August. The Council will be tackling some important issues, such as student government, student activities, etc. EVERYONE is invited to participate on the council. We will have two meetings each month. If you can, please attend all or some of the meetings. If you cannot attend, you can still participate. You can contact me with your ideas, thoughts and opinions about the issues the Council discusses. Below is a message to our student body drafted by the Council:
Dear Students of Animas High School,
As you may know, the first meeting of the Animas High School Student
Advisory Council (AHSSAC) took place on May 20th this past week. Eight
students attended the meeting in which they discussed many subjects
such as the AHS government set up and leadership to spearhead and ini-
tiate summer projects. The students decided that AHSSAC meetings will
take place every two weeks at the Durango Crossroads Building if possi-
ble. Emergency meetings can take place and will be announced via email
by the AHS registrar. We are asking students to please attend the meet-
ings so they can have a voice in school affairs.
We want students to be able to address school issues and openly discuss
them with other students. Other details will be sent later regarding the
exact time and place the next meeting will occur. Hope to see you there!
The Student Advisory Council
Here is a recap of our first meeting:
During our first meeting, the Council explored options for AHS student government. In a spirited discussion, students asked many questions: what will student government look like at AHS? How will students voices be represented and what opportunities for student leadership will exist at AHS?
The group reached the following conclusions:
• AHS will employ a democratic model of student government.
• The Council will determine a democratic structure of government at AHS.
• Students settled on the following four options for AHS student government:
1) Direct Democracy: Every student votes on every single issue with no one person acting as student body president/representative.
2) Representative Democracy- Students elect leaders to represent their ideas and opinions and the elected leadership will vote on issues.
3)Committee System- Students are elected/appointed to various committees that will tackle specific issues/areas. These committees will develop proposals and refine action steps. Then those proposals/steps would be presented to the entire student
body for vote/action.
4) Committee System/Representative Blend- This option allows many students to serve on particular committees presenting their recommendations to an executive council(elected leadership positions like a student body president/vp/etc.)Then the
executive body votes on the action/measure.
The Council decided its next meeting will at 4 p.m on Wednesday, June 3rd at the Durango Crossroads Building in Conference Room 100. During that meeting, the Council will vote to adopt one of the four student government options and make plans for implementation this fall. During student orientation in August, the Council will
present its plan(s) to the student body.
Additionally, the Council recognized the need for student action prior to our August 24th start date. The Council created a list of opportunities that exist for students to begin working on immediately. These include:
• Animas High School’s First Annual JAM FEST on June 6th 2009
• AHS Spanish Outreach presentation
• Paradise Island Summer Tubing Trip
• Student/Parent/Staff Olympics
If you are interested in helping plan and organize any of the events, please contact me.
We want to acknowledge the participation and efforts of the following students at our first advisory council meeting: the Seths,Nathan, Ashley, Cooper, Chad, Isabelle and Hank.
I personally can't wait for Animas High School to start. I hope you will all join us this summer as we give shape to our new school. If you have any questions, concerns or ideas, please contact me at jake.lauer@animashighschool.com Happy summer!
