Animas High School announces events
Animas High School will host these events:
Hannah Starbuck’s discrete math and precalculus students will share their research about mathematicians and branches of math not typically included in high school textbooks at an exhibition from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday in the AHS Commons.
Janae Hunderman’s Spanish 2 exhibition will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Commons. Students will perform original skits in Spanish.
Crystal Pennington’s Spanish 3 students will have an exhibition from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Studio &, 1027 Main Ave. The students will share presentations in Spanish about various artistic and literary movements ranging from Renaissance to modernism.
AHS seniors will be at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave., from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday and at Fort Lewis College’s Noble Hall from 5 to 8:30 p.m. to present their Model Senate Exhibition, which is the capstone to their study of American government. The public is welcome.
Winter Advisory Olympics will be held Friday. All AHS students will be released early at 12:30 p.m.
The AHS Board of Directors will meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on campus. All are welcome.
All AHS students will complete their end-of-semester Presentations of Learning from Dec. 17 to Dec. 19. Students will prepare for their presentations Monday and Tuesday during regular school hours. Student schedules for presentation days will vary.
The AHS Faculty and Staff Appreciation Lunch will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dec. 19 in the Commons. To help shop, decorate, prepare food, serve food or donate, visit http://vols.pt/kYJZ3y.
AHS Winter Holiday Break will be held from Dec. 20 to Jan. 4. Classes will resume Jan. 5.
For more information, visit www.animashighschool.com.
GED graduation ceremony to be held
The Durango Education Center will host its Winter GED Graduation Ceremony at 6 p.m. Dec. 18 at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.
Andy Burns, director of admissions at Fort Lewis College, will be the commencement speaker. Graduates, their families, friends and the public are invited. These graduates are the first to complete the new and more rigorous 2014 General Educational Development test.
For more information, call 385-4354.
Mountain Middle to present exhibition
Ed Whritner’s Mountain Middle School eighth-grade humanities students will present their Resiliency Café exhibition at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive.
Students examined resilient figures throughout U.S. history. They made connections between those figures and local people with stories of resilience. They also were asked to find their own attributes of resilience.
They critiqued various poems to analyze and apply literary devices, including metaphor, personification and simile to construct their own spoken-word poetry.
The poems will honor community members who students interviewed as well as articulate how those stories inspired the students.
People who attend will be encouraged to assess students’ professionalism and ability to demonstrate their learning.
School district 9-R seeking bus drivers
Durango School District 9-R is looking for candidates to join its transportation team.
The district will provide the training and assessment needed to become a successful school bus driver. The school district’s benefits package includes health insurance and personal and sick leave days.
For more information, visit http://durangoschools.org.
Photography students participate in fundraiser
Students in digital photography classes at Durango High School are participating in this year’s Festival of Trees, which is being held at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot Museum.
The theme of the tree is “100 Photographs.” Students created 100 fine-art photos this semester to decorate the tree.
The tree will be raffled off to raise money for Community Connections in Durango.
9-R school board to meet Tuesday
The Durango School District 9-R School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the board room of the administration building, 201 E. 12th St.
Sunnyside and Florida Mesa elementary schools will be highlighted.
9-R announces winter-break closures
All Durango School District 9-R schools will be closed for winter break from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.
Schools will be back in session Jan. 5.
The 9-R administration building will be closed to the public from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Volunteers sought for conference
Durango School District 9-R needs 30 to 40 volunteers for its second annual “Keys to High School Success and Beyond!” conference for eighth-grade boys about to transition to high school.
The boys will explore healthy relationships, positive self-image and advocacy. Through interactive workshops, students will work on skills in these areas.
Volunteers are needed to help with the conference, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 7.
To volunteer, email info@durango.k12.co.us before Jan. 30.
DHS Cares to benefit community organizations
Durango High School will host the first DHS Cares from Wednesday to Saturday.
People can drop off canned goods, toiletries, books and toys to help the community.
Manna Soup Kitchen, Volunteers of America Safe House and Mercy Regional Medical Center will benefit from the program.
For more information, call Madison Hoven at 259-1630, ext. 2212.
Needham to start new learning unit
Third-grade students at Needham Elementary School have started a new International Baccalaureate unit called “How We Organize Ourselves: Humans Have Created Systems to Meet Our Wants and Needs.”
This unit includes a study of philanthropy, economics and community needs.
Students will learn how the economic system works by creating and selling greeting cards. They will be selling the cards after school the week of Dec. 15.
Basin Printing will print the cards, which will include envelopes. Money raised from the cards will be donated to a nonprofit of the students’ choice.
Park Elementary to host holiday concert Dec. 18
Park Elementary School will host its holiday concert at 6 p.m. Dec. 18 in the Park Café.
The musical extravaganza will feature orchestra instructor Rusty Charpentier and the third- to fifth-grade orchestra students.
The third-grade students will showcase their skills on new ukuleles donated by the Park Parent Teacher Organization.
Shari Duhaime and Denise Leslie have been volunteering their time to teach the third-graders.
Kids’ Camp office announces closure
The Kids’ Camp office will be closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.
No registrations will be taken during this time. To ensure a child is registered for the week of Jan. 5 to Jan. 9, and to qualify for the early bird discount, registration must be received by Dec. 18.
Pathways to introduce outdoor program
Pathways to Independence, a special education program offered by the Durango School District 9-R for students 18 to 21 years old, is expanding its classroom into the outdoors.
The new program aims to expand students’ potential through meaningful and educational outdoor experiences.
The program is seeking donations of outdoor equipment, such as tents, head lamps, camping stoves, life jackets and camping gear. Financial donations toward the purchase of equipment also will be accepted.
For more information or to donate, visit http://durangoschools.org/pathways-independence.
Columbine Christian to present play
Columbine Christian School students will present the Christmas production of “A Play in a Manger” at 6 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Seventh Day Adventist Church auditorium, 1775 Florida Road.
Students will tell the story of the residents of Centerton who are preparing for an over-the-top production, but discover bigger isn’t always better.
The pre-kindergarten through first-grade students also will present the “Itty Bitty Christmas Play.” Admission is free.
For more information, visit www.columbinechristian.com.
Herald Staff
