Wednesday, August 31, 2011

AHS student to broaden horizons in Africa

While her fellow juniors were out in the wilderness, Kyla Husted was probably packing. The Animas High School junior will be spending the upcoming school year in Ghana, Africa, on a full scholarship through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

She was one of 50 students across the country to be selected for the program, which sends students to study in countries with significant Muslim populations. The program was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with the goal of increasing cross-cultural dialogue and understanding between the United States and those countries.
Husted said she has always wanted to be an exchange student, so she jumped on the opportunity when she saw a flier advertising the program.

She will leave Sept. 7 and will be living in Kumasi, a city in the center of the West African country.
She sees the program as a way to take a small step toward world peace.

“There are so many misconceptions about Muslims and what they believe,” Husted said. “It’s always important to create more cultural understanding.”
She isn’t religious at home, but Husted said she was looking forward to participating in the religious practices of her host family.

It didn’t take long to convince AHS teacher John Fisher to support Husted’s application.
“The experience of international travel for a teenager, especially an American teenager, can really take them outside of themselves and broaden their perspective,” Fisher said. “Maybe more than anything else they can do.”

ecowan@durangoherald.com

See the article here:
http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20110831/NEWS05/708319969/-1/News05/High-school-students-go-solo#

High school students go solo New program gives Animas High juniors opportunity to reflect

By Emery Cowan Herald Staff Writer

Far from the back-to-school rush, Animas High School’s junior class spent the first 2½ days of school in the mountains doing orientation activities. The students’ main assignment was to spend 24 hours alone in the woods without books, electronics or other gadgets, not even a flashlight.

The solo trip, combined with introduction and debriefing activities, is a new experience crafted especially for the school’s junior class, Animas’ first since it was established two years ago. The goal is to encourage students to look inward as they embark on their final two years of high school, said AHS Head of School Michael Ackerman.

“As they start junior year, they’re into internships and college applications, and they’re out there figuring out the next step for themselves,” Ackerman said. “(The solo trip) is a very tangible ritual for students to mark the transition between thinking about the community and thinking about their individual journey.”

The students ventured out into the woods around Colvig Silver Camps east of Durango on the evening of Aug. 22, armed with a tarp, food and water.

They had a few journaling and reflection assignments, but for the most part, the time was a rare opportunity for students to be alone and think about their lives and the upcoming school year, said Jason St. Mary, a mentor and consultant who coordinated the trip for Animas High.

While making rounds among the students, St. Mary said he saw students singing, creating structures out of plants and rocks and building different housing structures with their tarps.

“Their creativity really comes out when there’s nothing else to do,” he said.

Hannah Williams said she took the time to write and think about past decisions. With nothing else to do, the reflections came more naturally, she said.

The students also connected the experience to the upcoming school year.

“It afforded us a chance to be self-sufficient and take matters into our own hands, and that’s going to be important as juniors with college and internships,” said Cooper Stowers. “Now you’re taking charge for what is going to happen in your future.”

ecowan@durangoherald.com


See the article here:

http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20110831/NEWS05/708319969/-1/News05/High-school-students-go-solo#


Animas High School junior Shawntell Stiner, 17, emerges from the woods after spending 24 hours alone during a wilderness solo experience at Colvig Silver Camps. The experience is a time for juniors to start focusing on their individual paths toward college. “We look at this as a year for them stepping out on their own,” Assistant Head of School Jake Lauer said. Stiner is the daughter of John and Cheryl Vogel.


Juniors Ryan Maloney, 17, left, and Cooper Stowers, 16, help secure a tarp as rain falls at Colvig Silver Camps. The junior class spent the first 2½ days of school at the camp doing orientation activities. Maloney is the son of Tom Maloney and Sharla Dyar, and Stowers is son of Mick and Bridget Stowers.

Durango Herald Education Briefs- 8/31/11

Animas High School announces events

Animas High School announces these events:

AHS is enrolling students for ninth- and 10th-grades. Students can enroll at www.animashighschool.com. For information and tours, call 247-2474.

The school has determined it has the capacity to enroll a limited number of new 11th-grade students for the 2011-2012 school year. For more information, call or visit the website.

An open house will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the school. Families of current students are invited to attend and meet the staff.

A mandatory college planning meeting for juniors will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at AHS. The meeting will be an overview of what to expect during the next year. Issues such as standardized testing, letters of recommendation, college visits and financial aid will be addressed with parents and students. The school will outline the student, parent and school responsibilities, and will hand out AHS’s College Planning Handbook.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Durangoan, wife see Arab Spring turn to summer of discontent Animas High graduate tells alma mater students how Egypt revolted


Talking about their experience in Egypt, Luke Bolton and his wife, Caity, explain to Animas High School students on Monday what they went through during that country’s revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president for the last 30 years.

By Dale Rodebaugh Herald Staff Writer

A Durangoan who saw firsthand the uprising that toppled Egypt’s 30-year president, Hosni Mubarak, has returned home to share the tale.

Luke Bolton, a Fulbright scholar and 2005 graduate of Durango High School, and wife, Caity, gave their impressions of the revolt and its aftermath Monday to students at Animas High School. They talked twice at Animas High and to students, at Bolton’s alma mater on Thursday. They spoke at Fort Lewis College Monday.

Luke Bolton graduated in 2009 with a degree in international relations and Middle Eastern studies from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Caity Bolton graduated from Bard in 2007 with a degree in anthropology and Africana studies. She earned a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies from New York University in 2010.

The Boltons arrived in Cairo in September. Luke received a scholarship through the Fulbright exchange program to study the role of Al-Azhar University, the center of Sunni Muslim learning, in people’s religious lives.

When Fulbright officials ordered scholars to leave Egypt, the Boltons flew to Nairobi, Kenya.

During a seven-week exile, the Boltons worked on social action programs with the Bahai community in Mombasa and Uganda.

The overall mood of the country was tense when they left, the Boltons said.

Upon returning to Cairo, they found army tanks or burned vehicles in the streets gone, Internet and cellphone service restored and people back to work.

“People – where the average wage is $80 a month – weren’t asking for much,” Luke Bolton said. “They want enough to live on, enough to have a home and send their children to school.”

They also want an end to repression and sham elections, Caity Bolton said.

“People don’t speak their minds,” she said. “They tend to censor themselves out of fear they may be betrayed to authorities.”

Young people and activists organized the rally through Facebook, Luke Bolton said.

Visiting the country, Luke Bolton said, would help because one in eight Egyptians is employed in some aspect of tourism.

The Boltons, who regularly finish sentences and ideas for each other, spoke earlier with The Durango Herald.

After the initial furor, the Boltons said the media appears indifferent to Egypt. Libya and Syria command their attention.

A lot is occurring in Cairo, however, as the country tries to figure out how a civilian government will take over from the military, now the central power, the Boltons said.

The populace is pessimistic because conditions have not improved, they said.

“There has been little change,” Luke Bolton said. “Just the top of the pyramid has been removed.”

Hooligan attacks on people gathered in Tahrir Square at the start of the holy Ramadan observation Aug. 1 was reminiscent of similar incidents at the start of protests, Bolton said.

It was discovered after the earlier attacks that the assailants were police or secret service agents.

In two weeks, Luke Bolton will be at Columbia University to begin studies for a master’s degree in social studies education. Caity Bolton will look for work with a nongovernmental organization.

daler@durangoherald.com

See the complete article here: http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20110830/NEWS01/708309943/Durangoan-wife-see-Arab-Spring-turn-to-summer-of-discontent

Monday, August 29, 2011

AHS Weekly Update- Week of August 29th, 2011

Happy Monday,

One week down, 38 more to go! Thanks to everyone who made AHS's 2011-12 student orientation week so successful!. Don't forget to check out pictures of student orientation on the school's Facebook account.
Please take a moment to review the following updates:

AHS Open House
AHS College Kick-Off Night
Standardized Test Prep for AHS Students
AHS Campus/Contact Information
Volunteers Still Needed
Follow Us Online



AHS Open House


Animas High School will be hosting an Open House event on Thursday, Sept. 1st, 2011. This is a fantastic opportunity for parents and guardians to meet their student's teachers an administrators and hear about what's in store for the 2011-12 school year. Open House starts promptly at 4 PM and will run until 6 PM. Upon arriving to campus, families will receive a schedule to coordinate their participation at the event. Please enter thru the Main Office Thursday evening.

AHS College Kick-Off Night

Animas High School will be holding a mandatory college counseling night for our Junior Class and their families on Tuesday, Sept. 6th from 6 to 7:30 PM at AHS. At least one parent/guardian of each 11th grade student should attend. Parents of students in other grades are welcome to attend, with the understanding that the evening’s focus is on the juniors.

The meeting is introduction to what to expect over the next 18 months. Junior year is very important in the college admissions cycle. Items such as standardized testing, letters of recommendation, college visits, and financial aid will be addressed with parents and their students. We will outline the student, parent, and school responsibilities, and we will hand out AHS's College Planning Handbook. Parents/guardians unable to attend the evening kick-off or those who have questions should contact college@animashighschool.com


Standardized Test Prep for AHS Students

In partnership with Animas Academics, Animas High School will offer standardized testing prep classes after-school this academic year. These courses will give participating students opportunity to adequately prepare for college entrance exams – the PSAT, SAT and ACT. Out of the 20 hours of instruction, an equal amount of number will be dedicated to the math, reading and writing sections.

Courses will run 5-6 weeks long. The first session will prepare students for the October 15 sitting of the PSAT. Courses in January and April will prepare students for the spring sittings of the ACT and SAT.

The fist course, offered for five weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays at AHS from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, will begin on Thursday, September 8th and end Tuesday, October 11. Juniors are strongly encouraged to participated in whichever prep course best meets their individual needs and schedule.

There is no cost to participate in the course, though participating students will need to purchase the Kaplan SAT 2012 book. Copies are available for purchase at Maria’s bookstore for about $20.

To register for the first session for PSAT prep or if you have questions, please contact college@animashighschool.com your student’s name, email, and phone number.


AHS Campus/Contact Information

Animas High School’s campus at 3206 Main Ave in Durango is open from 7AM to 4 PM everyday this week. The Main Office is staffed 8 AM to 4 PM daily. Please contact the school at 970-247-2474 with any questions or concerns you may have.

Remember, your student’s faculty advisor is your first point of contact here at school. Staff emails are always- firstname.lastname@animashighschool.com You may also leave a phone message for our staff via the Main Office.

Administrative office hours will begin the week of Sept. 5th and reservations can be made by calling the front desk-

HOS (Michael) Sept. Dates: 9/6, 9/19 9 AM to 12 Noon

AHOS (Jake) Sept. Dates: every Thursday 9 AM to 11 AM


Volunteers Still Needed

We still need your help! If you've got an hour (or more) to help out at AHS, we'd love to talk with you! Please contact volunteer@animashighschool.com to pitch in!


Follow Us Online

Don’t miss a second of the action! Follow all AHS happenings online:

Our Homepage:



Our Blog:



Our Facebook:

Monday, August 22, 2011

AHS Weekly Update- Week of August 22nd, 2011



Welcome Back to School!

We hope this email finds you well rested and recharged after the summer recess! Animas High School begins the 2011-12 school year today with students participating in orientation events all this week. Monday through Wednesday finds advisory groups dispatched to field experiences while Thursday and Friday will serve as our in-house, academic orientation for students.


Please take a second to review the following updates:

DHS Athletes Meeting

AHS Advisory Pot-Lucks

AHS Open House

AHS College Kick-Off Night

AHS Campus/Contact Information

Volunteers Still Needed




DHS Athletes Meeting


There will be a mandatory meeting for all fall athletes, parents, and coaches on Monday, August 22nd @ 7:00 p.m. in the Durango High Gym. Topics of discussion will include the philosophy of DHS athletic programs; athlete conduct code; sportsmanship of players, coaches and parents; eligibility requirements; booster club information; and the introduction of trainers and coaches. Following the main meeting in the gym, students and parents will meet with the individual coaches in designated areas.

AHS Advisory Pot-Lucks

Advisory groups will be sponsoring pot-luck gatherings this Thursday, August 25th from 4:30 to 6 PM. This is an exciting opportuntity to meet your student’s advisor and network with other advisory families. Specific details for each gathering will be solidified by student advisors. Pleae contact your student’s faculty advisor for additional information or questions about the pot-luck events.

AHS Open House

Animas High School will be hosting an Open House event on Thursday, Sept. 1st, 2011. This is a fantastic opportunity for parents and guardians to meet their student's teachers an administrators and hear about what's in store for the 2011-12 school year. Open House starts promptly at 4 PM and will run until 6 PM. Upon arriving at campus, families will receive a schedule to coordinate their participation in this event. Look for more details regarding Open House in next week's update.

AHS College Kick-Off Night

Animas High School will be holding a mandatory college counseling night for our Junior Class and their families on Tuesday, Sept. 6th from 6 to 7:30 PM at AHS. This is a big year for our eleventh graders and we are excited to support students in their quest towards college admittance. Parents/guardians unable to attend the evening kick-off or those who have questions should contactcollege@animashighschool.com

AHS Campus/Contact Information

Animas High School’s campus at 3206 Main Ave in Durango is open from 7AM to 4 PM everyday this week. The Main Office is staffed 8 AM to 4 PM daily. Please contact the school at 970-247-2474 with any questions or concerns you may have.

Remember, your student’s faculty advisor is your first point of contact here at school. All staff are available via email and families should have received a faculty contact list as part of the recent home mailing. You may also leave a phone message for staff via the Main Office. Administrative office hours will begin the week of Sept. 5th and reservations can be made by calling the front desk.

Volunteers Still Needed

We really appreciate all the volunteer help here at campus lately! Even though students begin orientation today, we still need your help! If you've got an hour (or more) to help out at AHS, we'd love to talk with you! Please contact PAC@animashighschool.com to pitch in!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Durango Herald 08/20/2011 | So long, summertime

The Durango Herald 08/20/2011 | So long, summertime

From the article:

With its first class of juniors, Animas High School will be putting more emphasis on college preparation, including advising and test preparation, said Head of School Michael Ackerman.
The school's efforts will be helped along by a $375,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Education. The curriculum for juniors will include a nearly monthlong, full-time internship to give students a "deep dive" into the experience, Ackerman said.
Other changes the 190 students enrolled in the school can expect: two new math teachers; chemistry labs at Fort Lewis College; and a 5,000-square-foot expansion of the school, located in a former strip mall.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Animas High School Awarded College Prep Grant

The Durango Herald 08/08/2011 | Animas High School awarded $375,000 toward college prep

Animas High School awarded $375,000 toward college prep
By Emery Cowan


Animas High School's goal of sending 100 percent of its students to college was given a big boost last week when the charter school received a $375,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Education.

The three-year grant will pay for the high school to hire a college counselor and college adviser and provide free ACT and SAT test-preparation classes for all its students, AHS Head of School Michael Ackerman, said.

Those classes will be especially important for Animas students because of the school's alternative teaching style, Ackerman said.

"We're inherently a school that doesn't teach the test, but we also recognize the importance of how to take the test," he said. Classes will teach students those standardized test-taking strategies.

Ackerman said he also expects the grant money to cover class trips to colleges and college fairs in the region.

The grant coincides with the first year the charter will have an 11th-grade class, and the idea is to offer for free the college-preparatory activities that students would normally do on their own time and money, Ackerman said.

Ramping up its postsecondary-related resources is necessary for the school to fulfill its mission as a college-prep school, he said.

"It is one of our fundamental values to have a rock-solid college counseling department," he said. "If kids are coming here for college, then we better have the best college-prep program to meet that goal."

This year, the department of education gave a total of $5 million to 90 secondary schools through the School Counselor Corps grant program. The goals of the grant are to help more students prepare for and move on to postsecondary education.

ecowan@durangoherald.com

The Durango Herald 08/09/2011 | Heritage Celebration announces lineup

AHS involved with another Heritage Celebration!

The Durango Herald 08/09/2011 | Heritage Celebration announces lineup