December 16, 2005

Final Exams December 16th – 21st
Final Exams have begun. View the full schedule at the AHS Website - click on more info beneath Final Exam Schedule.

Winter Break
The last day for students is Wednesday, December 21st. Teachers have an in-service day on Thursday, December 22nd. Students and teachers return on Monday, January 9th.

First Semester Grades
Grades are not due until Monday, January 9th, but most grades will be submitted and available on the LPS Campus Portal by the end of the day on Thursday, December 22nd. (Once you login to the portal, click on Schedule, then on individual classes. Within the Grading Task Summary for that class, look at the Semester Grade. Once it’s in green – not yellow – it’s the final grade.) Report cards will be printed and distributed on Wednesday, January 18th.

Junior ACT Assessment NCAA Voucher
If you are a Junior who plans on participating in Division I or II NCAA Collegiate Sports please see Mrs. Oeinck in the Guidance Center regarding the ACT State Assessment voucher before January 11, 2006.

Toy Drive a Huge Success
Thank you Warriors for your generosity! Thanks to all of you, the AHS Toys for Tots was a huge success. We collected over 1800 toys, and we will deliver over 600 toys to Fletcher Elementary today. In addition, you have made donations to help children at the Denver Indian Health and Human Services Center, five different shelters, and ten different families in need. You are truly a caring community.

CCHE Remediation Report
Many of you have seen reports about the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) Report on Colorado college freshmen required to take remedial courses due to their high school experience. At Arapahoe we too have faced the fact that we can do better with our students, but you should be very proud that with this recent information only one high school in the state has received a better rating.

For those of you who are not familiar with this topic, a study was done by CCHE on the percentage of students who graduate from Colorado’s high schools that require remediation at the state’s public 2- and 4-year institutions (only students who go to public institutions are included – private colleges in Colorado and out of state colleges are not included). The report breaks down remediation rates by high school and district. Statewide, 30% of college freshmen needed at least one remedial course. Arapahoe had a rate of 10.14%. The only school of our size with a lower remediation rate was Fairview in Boulder, at 9.87%. The LPS district rate requiring remediation is 22.98%. This is the third lowest in the state behind Boulder Valley and Douglas County of school districts that have greater than 300 students enrolled.

Download a full copy of the CCHE report or view results for Arapahoe .

December 9, 2005

School Accountability Reports
The state of Colorado just released the 2004-05 School Accountability Reports. Once again, Arapahoe was rated as Excellent. You can download the full report.

Final Exams December 16th – 21st
Final Exams are fast approaching. View the full schedule at the AHS Website - click on more info beneath Final Exam Schedule.

Winter Break
The last day for students is Wednesday, December 21st. Teachers have an in-service day on Thursday, December 22nd. Students and teachers return on Monday, January 9th.

Congratulations to AHS Cheers
The Arapahoe Cheerleaders are 5A State Champs. Congratulations!

Toy Drive Wrapping Party
The Wrapping Party will be held Monday, December 12th right after school in the cafeteria. Please come help wrap and get the toys ready for delivery. You can also help deliver the toys. We will be going to Fletcher Elementary on Friday, December 16th. We will leave right after final exams, about 12:15 p.m. If you would like to go, please sign up and get a permission slip in the Attendance Office.

Department Spotlight – World Languages
The World Languages Office has been extremely busy this semester adjusting to new books and new curriculum. We congratulate the teachers and students on their efforts to adapt to the changes that are constantly occurring. Please be aware that students with a grade of “D” will now be permitted to continue to the next level. However, students who are struggling will find the next semester even more challenging.

French Club would like to thank all of you who have contributed to our portion of the “Toys for Tots” drive. We took on the task of providing a toy for each third and fourth grade student at Fletcher Elementary. We won’t quite meet our goal, but the generosity that many of you have shown is truly heartwarming. Additionally, we had a lovely holiday “Crepe Party”. Another “merci” to all of you who contributed.

December 2, 2005

Arapahoe Singers Holiday Performances
The Arapahoe Singers will be performing at the following:
December 10              9:30 – 10:30 am            Hammonds Candies Candy Cane Festival
December 10              1:00 – 2:00  pm             Larimer Square
December 10              3:00 – 3:30 pm              Denver Pavilions
December 17              6:00 – 6:30 pm              Denver Zoo Lights

They will also be caroling the AHS halls on December 14th during 5th hour and will be performing as part of our Choir and Orchestra Concert at AHS on December 8th at 7:00 pm.

Jazz I and the Dry Creek Dixie Dawgs at Dazzle
Tickets are now on sale for Jazz I and The Dry Creek Dixie Dawgs’ performance at Dazzle’s Jazz Club in Downtown Denver, on Monday, December 5th. Professional Jazz Vocalist Barbara Paris will be singing with Jazz I, and the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra will perform following Arapahoe’s set. Performances start at 7 pm, and the cost is just $10, which will get you into the December 5th event as well as a future Dazzle’s jazz concert. Tickets are now available from any Jazz I student, or they can also be purchased in the Band Office.

Junior ACT Assessment NCAA Voucher
If you are a Junior who plans on participating in Division I or II NCAA Collegiate Sports please see Mrs. Oeinck in the Guidance Center regarding the ACT State Assessment voucher before January 11, 2006.

Freshmen Cramfest
Link Crew is sponsoring Cramfest on Tuesday, December 13th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm in the cafeteria. Cramfest is a freshmen only event, where they have the opportunity to ask their teachers and Link Crew leaders questions about finals in December. Freshmen only need to bring themselves and their study materials because snacks and drinks will be provided. Hope to see all the freshmen there!

Department Spotlight – Family and Consumer Sciences
The Gingerbread Houses from our Gourmet Foods class are now on display in the FCS showcase. Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding houses: Greg Zamell, Antton Mattern, Candace Knutson, Lindsay Ratterman, Jessica Schulthies, Stephanie George, and Katie Hamlin. Stop by and see our darling holiday village.

Our Interior Design classes are busy with their final projects: a miniature room. This project allows students to demonstrate their interior design skills while creating a room in one inch scale. Almost everything in each room is made by our talented students. Look for these rooms to be on display right after winter break.

Perhaps you have seen some of our electronic babies out and about. Each semester our Child Development and Relationships students have the opportunity to participate in a parenting simulation with our Baby-Think-It-Over program. This simulation gives our students a realistic feel of the amount of work it takes to care for an infant. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to offer this hands-on program to our students.

Our Foods and Nutrition students are working hard on their final meal projects. This week students are busy planning and shopping for their meal project and next week they will be preparing and serving to themselves and several invited guests. This project allows students to utilize their newly acquired cooking skills as well as providing them the opportunity to plan a meal, consider nutritional requirements, locate recipes, and become wise shopping consumers. This is a great opportunity for our students especially with the holiday season approaching.

Our FCCLA chapter is also gearing up for the holiday season. Many of them are participating in the Toys for Tots drive. Our chapter has also adopted a local family and will provide them with gifts for each family member as well as their holiday meal. They will be delivering to our family the 21st of December. To support this project we are once again selling Gifts-In-A-Jar. These one quart jars include the ingredients for a food item (cookies, muffins, soups, etc) and the recipe to complete them. They have a decorative fabric top. Each sells for $10.00 and make an excellent holiday gift. Anyone interested in purchasing these should call Patti Rains at 303-347-6026 or email her at prains@lps.k12.co.us.