The Animas Quill

06/09/2024

Freshpeople arrived to school on Thursday morning to discover they would be meeting the ghost of an historical figure they had heard about obscurely throughout their schooling. Chautauqua speaker Brain Fox Ellis took the 9th graders back in history through his theatrical characterization of 19th Century American author Edgar Allan Poe.

Freshpeople in Lauren Lucky’s math class have been exploring a unit problem based on Poe’s thrilling story “The Pit and the Pendulum.” This complex and hypothetical problem gave an appetizer to the mind of Poe.

Brian painted a colorful picture through his impersonation, giving students a better understanding of the character than one would get from reading his literature.

Chautauqua offers an opportunity to actually interact with historical figures. The actors are amazing and really do the work to embody these characters and bring them to life for audiences.

“We have for many years worked with the Colorado Humanities to bring Chautauqua speakers to Animas and some years we have done it as a whole school, at like a NEST meeting, and some years we decide that it will just be with one grade,” shared AHS Dean of Community Outreach Libby Cowles.

Ninth grader Alexy Latimer-Paul said, “It was really interesting to see that someone is really this passionate about acting as Edgar Allen Poe, and really getting into that role. It’s really cool to see someone make a living off such a unique sort of acting. It is also really cool to see how much he memorized for this one specific role, considering he has had many others. as well as it is very interesting how much he knew about his life, this guy like really seemed to know and believe everything he was saying was quite interesting to see.”

The actor gave a personal perspective on Poe’s literature, giving his opinion on inspiration: “Artists struggle for the truth, beauty embodies the truth.” Brians’s impersonation of Poe is an art form in itself as he seemed to truly embody the character.

Story by Rosie LeCompte and Annamae O’Keefe

06/09/2024

Who Cares? Ospreys Do!

In it’s first days as a club at Animas, the newly founded “Who Cares? Club” has already begun to accomplish their goal of being a force for good. Faculty sponsor Christine Imming shared the mission of the club is “to promote a feeling of belonging among the students at Animas High School, make a positive difference at [our school], make sure everyone has a safe space, [and build a stronger community.”

Last Friday, the members of the Who Cares? Club hosted an ice cream social during which they passed out sundaes to every student who volunteered to pull weeds from the school’s garden. This was the first of many events they have planned to benefit the students of Animas.

One of their next projects is going to be a “care closet,” a space where any students in need will be able to find, borrow, or take extra clothes, feminine and general hygiene products, deodorant, shampoo, undergarments, and more.

Throughout the quarter and year, the Who Cares? Club hopes to make Animas the most inclusive and welcome space possible for all students, present and future. If you are interested in learning more about the club activities or joining, reach out to Christine in the front office!

Story by Makenna Bard

04/09/2024

Some cool immersive learning went down last Thursday in Drew Semel’s Digital Photography elective when the students built their own camera obscura in the conference room.

Drew was inspired by a summer visit to the George Eastman photography museum in Rochester, New York, where he happened to walk into a camera obscura exhibit.

Drew shared, “This year, each student will have a digital camera. I’ve asked students to begin to tackle and understand HOW a digital camera works. My hope was that by getting inside the camera obscura and playing with the different size apertures, this activity would help students make the jump to the amazing machine they are now using.”

The students were engaged, just as Drew hoped. He continued, “It was pure MAGIC - students were asking amazing questions and I kind of thought that simply the experience would spark their minds to be curious and tackle this somewhat difficult concept of understanding how to capture light!”

Story by Lacy Ruggiero

29/08/2024

First X-Block! 💪🚴🏽‍♂️🏸🏌🏼‍♂️🧘🏽‍♀️⚔️

29/05/2024

Beyond The Nest: Animas Experiential Education
We launched our Experiential Education program this school year with the hiring of Ashley Carruth as Dean of Experiential Education and hit the ground running. Between Osprey Blocks, Intro to Backcountry Skiing and Avalanche Education and Intro to Outdoor Recreation electives, an entire 9th grade class camping trip to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, Sophomore Inspire Week, and our first annual Animas Wilderness Experience (AWE), our Ospreys had numerous opportunities to soar “beyond the nest”. We could not have pulled off these experiences without the support of our community. From ski tuning clinics at 2nd Avenue Sports, to donated backpacker meals from Farm to Summit and equipment donations from our families, every little bit helped!

However, we want to specifically acknowledge , , and for their very generous donations of outdoor equipment. Without this support, we would not be able to provide these meaningful experiences to our student body. Please consider shopping locally for your next outdoor gear purchase and support these businesses!

24/05/2024

Watch the senior impersonations on the Quill’s You Tube channel!

https://youtu.be/7hx1NrzCMKs?si=ATitmIZxfJFqAfOF

22/05/2024

Link in Bio and News from the Nest!

18/05/2024

Day One of the “Where the Starts Collide” music festival rocked downtown Durango! Get down to Santa Rita Park today for Day Two! Congrats to and for accomplishing one of the most impressive and engaged senior projects in AHS history! 🤩🎸🤘🦅✨

07/05/2024

Special thanks to our awesome parents for hooking up our teachers with a “farm stand” for Teacher Appreciation Week! Milk and cookies, yum yum!

03/05/2024

Last Saturday, AHS class of 2018 alumnus Liam Foster opened doors for his fellow physics-loving Ospreys by giving them a window into his current endeavors. He offered an online version of a high school outreach program to AHS students. The online lab in particle physics was developed by researchers at CERN and the ATLAS research group at UC Berkeley. The participants were AHS students Brayden Harms, Alex Larson, Wells Wait, Liam Lacey, and Max Magee.

As an Animas grad, he is passionate about helping other Ospreys spread their wings and reach their goals. This program allows students to connect with real-world professionals in rural Durango that they might not otherwise have access to.

Liam commented, “I had a great high school experience, but it was necessarily limited by being located in a rural area. I wanted to offer the type of advanced program that is only available in cities to inspire others.”

Sophomore Max Magee shared, “It was really cool to learn about different types of particles. It expanded my drive and exploration in Physics. I was already interested in particles, but now I am considering some career paths in it.”

When Liam was an Animas student, he did his LINK internship at CERN, an international cooperative particle accelerator in Switzerland. This organization conducts some of the most complex physics in the world and throughout history. Liam is now working with the ATLAS group to obtain his PhD in Particle Physics from UC Berkeley. He hopes to continue research at CERN as a career, where his research will take him back to Geneva in the summer of 2024.

Much gratitude to for continuing to share his mathematical genius with the Animas community!

30/04/2024

🪩 💃🏻 🕺🏻 🪩

26/04/2024

🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻

See you at prom tomorrow, disco dancers!

26/04/2024

Congrats to the junior class on their beautiful work last night at exhibition! Another milestone in the books, the juniors are ready to depart next week for their LINK internships!

25/04/2024

Super fun tropical beach party today!

Tomorrow: DISCO!!! 🕺🏻

24/04/2024

24/04/2024

Yay, Colors!

Tomorrow is tropical beach party!

23/04/2024

We love Anything but a Backpack Day!

Tomorrow: monochromatic!

19/04/2024

SPIRIT WEEK, OSPREYS!

06/04/2024

Congrats to the and the improv troupe on a wildly entertaining opening night! You have another chance to catch tonight’s performance at 7pm at the center! Only $5 for students and teachers. Check it out!

Shout out to all of the performers in our theatre electives on their beautiful work!

05/04/2024

Come see the show this weekend at the Durango Arts Center! 🎭

15/03/2024

On Wednesday March 13th, AHS juniors ventured downtown to City Hall to enact the inaugural Mock City Council meeting as part of their “How to Citizen” Humanities project. Students played the roles of City Councilors and other key city officials, as well as representing members of the public and the press. The main substance of this meeting was to discuss potential proposed improvements to the skateboarding facilities at Schneider Park.
Two groups of students representing engaged citizens did extensive research and offered proposals on how to improve the skatepark. One group proposed to repair cracked concrete, add lights, and a year round water fountain, and the other group advocated to build a roof over the facility with built in lights. Both groups of students argued passionately for the idea they worked on.
The AHS City Councilors ultimately decided to go for the less expensive proposal for the repairs, lights, and water fountain. “Mayor” Plant O’Kane shared her logic for her vote: “I voted based on the information we were given. There wasn’t as much information as I hoped for the roof project, and the budget wasn’t specific enough. There were some counterpoints I heard from the public participation that swayed my thinking.”
Marlow Mullens was part of the group that proposed a new roof over the skatepark. Although the City Council voted against his proposal, Marlow learned a lot about being a citizen. He shared, “I learned how to participate in our community and how the system works to get new things in our town. It takes a lot of work and research and collaboration. You have to know your stuff to get it done.”
11th grade Humanities teacher Alex Johnson commented, “I hope for students to get a couple things: one, I want them to have a better understanding than I did when I was younger about how local politics function, as well as a sense of personal authority that they can get involved in and it’s not unattainable, or inexcusable. I also hope they get an experience of agency and they can identify a thing that they feel is important and they want to make a change in.”

For full story, see News from the Nest or animasquill.org!
Story by Taryn Valverde

14/03/2024

On Tuesday, March 12th, Osprey Ecology students migrated to the Student Union at Fort Lewis College for the Resilience Youth Summit event hosted by Mountain Studies Institute.
Mike’s Ecology class was invited by Community Science Director Amanda Kuenzi, who was a guest speaker in Mike’s class the week before, to join their Youth Summit, either to present their posters in a gallery walk or offer a presentation on a topic they have studied.
Mike shared, “It’s very fun to be able to watch students from Cortez to Ignacio and be a part of an event that was student run. Students did most of the talking and organization for the event. Everything went very smoothly and all the students presented with excellence and expertise, it was also amazing to see our Osprey Block work finally be presented.”

kuenzi

Story by Desmond Tsosie

12/03/2024

It has been a long road for the Durango Demons Men’s Hockey team; however, it was well worth it. Last Tuesday, March 5th, after a grueling competition against the Summit High Tigers from Breckenridge, the Demons won the state championship at the University of Denver Magness Arena. The final score of the game was 4-2.
After starting 2-5, the Demons rallied an impressive comeback effort, finishing the regular season 14-6. It is only the second year that the team has been a part of the CHSAA program, marking a rapid rise to the top of their Class 4A bracket.
Animas High School senior Eli Holden is a left wing and has been playing with the varsity team since 10th grade. This is the first time that an Animas High School student has been a part of a state champion team.
Eli is known on his team for being an “enforcer”; he hits hard, but always has a positive attitude and tries to spread team spirit. A midseason shoulder injury didn’t hold him back from a strong finish. He played in the championship game with great energy and grit.
After reflecting on the season, Eli commented that it was a “slow start, but a fairy tale ending. I couldn’t ask for a better way to end my high school career. I am so lucky to be a part of this team, all the players, coaches, and families will forever be with me and the championship run. BBW!”
Congrats to Eli and the whole DHS championship team!

Story by Finn Scarpella and Zoe Ramsey

08/03/2024

Jenny McKenzie’s Spanish 3 classes held a celebration today in the Commons to complete their Bolivian culture unit. During this unit, students watched a movie that talked about Bolivian colonization and have also been reading a book called El Ekeko, that includes themes of magic and Bolivian culture.
For the celebration, the students made Bolivian street foods such as rellenos de papa, buñuelos, helado de canela, and empanadas de queso.
Jenny shared, “I hope that my students take away learning how to continue to grow their language skills, but also expand their perspective of the world and combine the fun of stories and magic with developing and understanding with complex themes.”
Check out the projects in the hall by Jenny’s classroom where you will see original legends and tales written by our peers as well as some new perspectives and additions to the book -.

08/03/2024

Julian Springer’s 10th-grade physics class had their “Making Waves” Exhibition last night, March 7th.
To show their knowledge of many different kinds of waves including sound, light, and color, students created art, sound demonstrations, music performances and more. The 10th graders were able to tell us the science behind their chosen topic, and the impact is has on society and the world. The essential question for this project was“How do waves transmit information and energy?”
Prior to the exhibition, Julian’s students learned that all waves are vibrations that travel through space and time from one location to another. Julian shared that the goal for this project was “to identify how waves interact with the physical world and each other, together allowing us to transmit both energy and information.”
Maily Lancaster, who did a project on avalanche propagation, shared “I really liked making my project, I learned how to do deeper research into a broad topic and doing a hands on demonstration helped me expand my learning on avalanches”
Thalia Campbell did her project on the lenses of glasses and how they correct the light hitting the retina. She shared “One thing I learned is that doing an exhibition project by myself is not as stressful as I thought it would be, and once I got my sources I was pretty much done with it.”
Beautiful work, sophomores!

Story by Violet Basley