Special-education committee to meet
The Special Education Advisory Committee invites parents, educators and community members to learn about advocating for with special-needs students at 5:15 p.m. today at San Juan BOCES, on the third floor of the Durango School District administration building, 201 East 12th St.
For more information, call 769-4797.
Mountain Middle announces openings
Mountain Middle School currently has openings.
For more information and enrollment procedures, visit www.mountainmiddleschool.org or call Heidi Martinez at 828-5600.
Center offers enrollment for home-schoolers
The Pine River Community Learning Center will offer open enrollment for home-schooling students Thursday.
The center’s Family Education Resources Program works directly with families to help home-schooled children excel in their primary and secondary education, especially by offering classes and group activities such as field trips to supplement individual curriculums. The center also provides standardized testing and tutoring.
Retired Ignacio science teacher Danny Jaques will lead the center’s full-day program for middle- and high-school aged students. Jaques will be a home-school coordinator and supervise the Destination Imagination and Knowledge Bowl programs. He has been taking La Plata County students to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., since 1992, and will continue to do so.
Home-school coordinator Karen Edmonds will lead a full-day program for kindergarten to fifth-grade students. Edmonds, who has bachelor’s degree in English and a Colorado K-6 teaching license, has taught in a variety of settings and held numerous volunteer positions during the last 30 years as a youth leader and teacher.
An open house and enrollment will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday on campus at 535 Candelaria Drive in Ignacio (on the hill above Ignacio High School). Pizza will be provided.
For more information, visit www.prclc.org or call 563-0681.
Durango Arts Center to offer adult art class
Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave., will offer an adult introductory visual art class called “Pocket Sketching” with four sessions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 16 to 19.
This quick-draw technique allows anyone to journal and sketch/paint by using a 4-inch by 6-inch art pad, a pen, a small paint set, a brush and a film canister of water.
The cost is $400 for nonmembers and $360 for members.
For more information, go to the arts center, visit www.DurangoArts.org or call 259-2606.
Local students named to outdoor team
These local students have been named as members of Fort Lewis College’s Student Outdoor Leadership Team through Outdoor Pursuits: Courtney Ott of Mancos, Eva Altermatt of Durango and Jared Nilsson of Durango
Members of the team will lead peers on backcountry trips through the mountains and desert of the Four Corners.
Selection for this position is based on outdoor experience, leadership, professionalism, dedication to the Outdoor Pursuits mission and performance during a three-week training.
For more information, visit www.fortlewis.edu/op.
Bus funding available to visit local monument
With the assistance of recent grants, Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance is helping students travel to the Anasazi Heritage Center or Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
Empire Electric Association awarded $1,000 to the newly formed Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance on July 25.
The alliance dedicated $1,000 of its awarded grant of $20,000 from Conservation Lands Foundation to match the donation to be used for its Bucks for Buses campaign.
Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated solely to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and the Anasazi Heritage Center.
The Bucks for Buses program will assist in providing bus funding for classroom teachers to bring their students on field trips to either the Anasazi Heritage Center or Canyons of the Ancients National Monument for guided lessons.
Interested teachers should call Diane McBride at 882-5628 to apply for funding.
For more information about the alliance or to contribute to the Bucks for Buses campaign, call McBride.
Clay Room to offer children’s art classes
The Clay Room, 171 East Seventh St. (in the alley), is registering children for art classes, which begin Sept. 9.
Classes are available for children ages 1.6 to 12 years and older. Classes will be offered for toddlers, preschoolers and home-schooled students. There also will be after-school art classes in a variety of materials.
A 10 percent discount will be applied to students who register before Sept. 6.
For more information or to register, call Bonnie Ward at 426-9685, visit www.theclayroomofdurango.com or visit the business.
Space camp barbecue to be held Sunday
Students interested in attending Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., in 2014, are invited to attend an informational barbecue at 4 p.m. Sunday at Santa Rita Park.
This event will be hosted by Four Corners Space Camp. Diana Wright and Danny Jaques will answer questions and provide fundraising opportunities for team members.
Durango is seeking school-board candidates
Durango School District 9-R is seeking candidates to run for six of seven board seats, which are set to open at the end of the current term.
To qualify, a candidate must have been a registered elector and a resident of the school district for at least 12 consecutive months before the election, and a current resident of the director district that they may represent.
No one can serve who has been convicted of an offense against a child.
Elected board members must have a broad view of the district, be nonpartisan and possess immediate skills and knowledge about kindergarten to 12th-grade education.
The district desires candidates who are dedicated, trustworthy and fair, and can dedicate time to attend events, work sessions and board meetings.
Applications and petitions are available from Jane Schold at the administration building, 201 E. 12th St.
All applications and petitions must be turned in by Aug. 30.
Durango schools to host open houses
Durango School District 9-R schools will host these open houses:
5 to 7 p.m. today at the Durango Big Picture High School.
6 to 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Animas Valley Elementary School.
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Florida Mesa Elementary School.
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary School.
5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at Park Elementary School.
4:15 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at Sunnyside Elementary School.
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 at Needham Elementary School.
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Riverview Elementary School.
Animas High School announces events
Animas High School announces these events:
There are a limited number of openings for ninth, 10th and 11th grades. For more information, call 247-2474 or visit www.animashighschool.com.
The Back to School Picnic will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 5 in the gazebo of Rotary Park. Ninth-grade parents are asked to bring appetizers or salads, 10th- and 11th-grade parents a main dish and 12th-grade parents a dessert. Participants will meet advisers and teachers and hear from Head of School Jake Lauer.
AHS will host open houses from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 7, 14, 21 and 28 at its new Twin Buttes campus. No reservations are needed. The entrance is 1.7 miles west of the DoubleTree Hotel on U.S. Highway 160.
Herald Staff
