We are looking forward to welcoming you to Animas High School next Monday!
Hopefully you have had a chance to read the Welcome Letter we sent to families last week, chock full of information about the start of the school year; if not, you can view that letter here.
Our 9th grade students will spend the first three days of the school year in Advisory groups, engaged in a wide range of orientation activities that will set them up for success in the year ahead. Our fabulous 9th grade Advisors are Sara Price, Kyle Edmondson, Christine Imming and Torrey Baldwin. All days begin and end at AHS, with a start time of 8:25 and release at 3:25.

  • Monday activities are all on campus, and due to our staggered start, 9th graders will be the only students at school. The Hub Bus will run daily, beginning this day. Please note that we are not able to offer the Hub Bus service to DHS on Monday afternoons, due to early release at Durango 9R schools. Students should bring a sack lunch this day.
  • Tuesday, 9th graders will meet at school in the morning and then travel to Bayfield, where they will engage in a series of team-building activities led by AHS Founder Phil Bryson, whose organization, On the Edge, has been facilitating leadership programs for over 20 years.  Activities will include low and high ropes course elements. We will follow the principle of challenge by choice, ensuring that all students are safe, supported and appropriately challenged. We have brought students to Phil’s ropes course for several years now, and it is really a fantastic way to frame meaningful conversations about our Habits of Heart and Mind: Perseverance, Advocacy, Perspective, Evidence and Refinement. Please wear comfortable outdoor clothing and sneakers; you will be wearing a harness for high ropes elements so a skirt is not a great idea this day! Dress in layers for weather and bring a sack lunch, water bottle, small notebook and pen. Please make sure that your student has any emergency medication that could possibly be needed (e.g. EPI Pens, inhalers, Glucagon) with him/her prior to leaving home in the morning on Tuesday.
  • Wednesday, students in all grades will be on campus for the day, and we will end the day with our first NEST Meeting of the year, gathering together as a full school community to kick off the year. Catered lunch begins on this day.
  • Thursday is the first day of academic classes for all students. This is the first day that students will need their laptop computers; please leave them home Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

All students will have their school photos taken on Thursday for Student ID Cards, which will be issued within the first two weeks of school. We have installed a new security system on our campus, and students and staff will need to use ID Cards to enter our buildings.
Please complete the attached waiver AND permission slip and either email them to [email protected] or turn them in to your Advisor on Monday.  
Enjoy the final stretch of your summer and, as always, please feel free to reach out with any questions!
All best,
Libby