January 27, 2006

Preventing Depression in Multi-Exceptional Kids
Some gifted students have other exceptionalities like bipolar disorder, processing disorders, or dyslexia. These students are labeled as Twice- or Multi-Exceptional. You are invited to attend a free presentation co-sponsored by the LPS Gifted & Talented Advisory Council, LPS Twice-Exceptional Task Force, and the Special Services Advisory Committee. This session is open to interested parents, teachers and administrators. “Preventing Depression in Multi-Exceptional Kids” takes place on Wednesday, February 22nd, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. in the ESC Board Room. The speaker is Dr. Maureen Niehart, licensed clinical child psychologist. Space is limited. Call Barb Bolen to reserve a spot: 303-347-3473. Please contact Melinda Ness, GT District Coordinator if you have questions: 303-347-3477.

Career Day 2006 for LPS High School Students
Rotary Club of Littleton Sunrise is hosting Career Day 2006 for LPS High School Students and Denver area at-risk high school students on February 24th from noon to 5 p.m. at Arapahoe Community College. Local business people are invited to have a table where students can visit to learn about the industry, career options, and skills and education needed to start that career path. Scholarship applications will be available, tours of Arapahoe Community College will be given, and there will be a presentation about college opportunities from College in Colorado. For more information contact Mark Ryan of Snelling Personnel at 303.794.4331.

Department Spotlight – Performing Arts
The Arapahoe Singers have begun their 2nd annual “Oldies But Goodies” tour. Over the next month they will be visiting nine nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult daycare facilities in the Littleton and Englewood area performing music from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.

The Continental League Music Festival Concert will be held on January 30th at Boettcher Concert Hall at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available for purchase by calling Kelly Parmenter at 303.347.6070 or at the door. Arapahoe High School will be represented by students in the Choir, Band and Orchestra.

The 2006 Colorado All State Choir Concert will be held on February 7th at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins. Five students are representing AHS.

The Arapahoe Band Concert/Denver Brass Concert will take place at 6:00 pm in our Theater on February 17th. Arapahoe, Powell and Newton bands will perform. Tickets are available for purchase for $5 – please call Ed Cannava at 303.347.6031. A reception will take place in the cafeteria immediately following the concert.

Jazz Band will be offering a free concert on February 23rd in the Cafeteria at 7:00. The price is right and there will be refreshments.

"Barefoot In the Park" will open on Thursday, February 2nd and run through Saturday February 4th. Tickets are $5 and are available at both lunches, or call Frank Earley at 303.347.6032.

Auditions for the Spring Musical, "The Sound of Music", are scheduled for February 13th and 14th with dance auditions on February 15th. See call board for details or call Frank Earley at 303.347.6032.

Photo of the Week
Ron Booth accepts the trophy for winning state from the AHS Cheers at the winter assembly. Photo by Rebecca Schroeder/Calumet.

January 20, 2006

School Improvement Plan
Arapahoe’s School Improvement Plan is now available online. This plan lists the goals that we have set for AHS as a school, and monitors our progress towards achieving those goals.

American Mathematics Competition
The prestigious American Mathematics Competition is fast approaching. The A Version is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31st during 2nd and 3rd hours in the Forum at AHS. Talented math students are encouraged to participate. High scoring students are invited to the next challenging event called the American Invitational Mathematics Exam; a 3 hour competition scheduled for Tuesday, March 7th. Many reputable universities and colleges request students’ AMC score on their entrance application. Students may pick up an application with practice problems from their math teacher or from Mrs. Lobser in the Enrichment Room.

Summer Internship and Leadership Program Opportunities
Interested Sophomores and Juniors should come to the Post Grad Center to check out summer internship and leadership program opportunities.

Department Spotlight – Math Department
The Math Department provides a Math Lab which is available to all math students at Arapahoe. The Math Lab is located in the math office and offers free individual tutoring. The tutors are members of the AHS National Honor Society. Tutoring is available every period every day. Tutors wear an identification badge which says “Math Lab Tutor”. Students can get free individualized help during any period of the week so please encourage your students to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Photo of the Week
This photo was taken last week in Mrs. Davis' English World Literature class. Students in Mrs. Davis' and Ms. Gaffney’s classes participated in a human behavior experiment. Photo by Kelley Robinson/Arapahoe Herald.

January 13, 2006

First Semester Report Cards
Report cards will be distributed today (Friday, January 13th) during 3rd period. For those students who don’t have a third period today, they can pick up their report cards in the guidance center. Just a reminder that we will not be printing 6-week and 12-week progress reports this semester since they are available online. All parents are eligible for a parent portal account, and all students have an account as well. If any parent does not have access to the Internet, you may ask your student to print a copy here at school or stop by the main office and we can print one for you.

No School on Monday
There will be no school on Monday, January 16th due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

Assembly Schedule Next Friday
We will have the Winter Assembly next Friday, January 20th. This assembly includes the famous Faculty Dance number. We will be running an altered bell schedule next Friday. You can view the schedule on the AHS Home Page, scroll down to Winter Assembly January 20th Bell Schedule, and click on more info.

Winter Dance
The Winter Dance will be held Saturday, January 21st from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. in the AHS Cafeteria. This year’s theme is “A Night at the Grammys.” Tickets will go on sale beginning next Tuesday during each lunch in the cafeteria. You will want to buy your tickets in advance for only $10/person because the price will increase that night at the door to $15/person.

This dance is semi-formal in attire. Therefore, you will not be permitted in the door wearing jeans, shorts, or other attire that is inconsistent with the AHS dress code. Also, only sophomores, juniors and seniors that are current Arapahoe students will be permitted to bring outside guests. Forms for these guests are due no later than, Thursday, January 19th, at 3:00 p.m. and are available in the Guidance Center from Mrs. Sisler. No middle school students will be permitted to attend. We greatly appreciate your support on these issues!

Jazz Ensemble I at CMEA
The Arapahoe High School Jazz Ensemble I has been selected to perform a feature concert at the 2006 Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA) Annual Clinic/Conference held January 19th – 21st at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. The invitation to present this special concert at the CMEA Clinic/Conference was made as a result of a taped audition/ application that drew numerous entries. The Arapahoe Jazz Ensemble I is one of three high school Jazz bands in the state chosen to present a feature concert. This is a great honor for the Arapahoe Band Program and Littleton Public Schools, and represents an opportunity for our district to be in a positive spotlight at a very well attended music educator conference.

Jazz Ensemble I will present its special CMEA performance on Thursday, January 19th at 10:20 a.m. in the Broadmoor Hall A – North of the Broadmoor Hotel. In addition to the CMEA Performance at the Broadmoor, we will be presenting a special preview concert for our parents and community on Tuesday, January 17th at 7:00 p.m. at the Hudson Gardens Event Center (2888 W. Maplewood Ave, Littleton). The preview concert cost is just $5.00, and all are encouraged to attend.

You can purchase tickets to the preview concert by calling Dr. Ed Cannava, Arapahoe’s Director of Bands, at 303-347-6031, or emailing him at ecannava@lps.k12.co.us . Please make checks payable to the Arapahoe Band Boosters. Tickets will also be available at the door. Thanks so much for helping to make this a memorable experience for the students of the Arapahoe Jazz Ensemble I.

Department Spotlight – Media Center
Welcome back to a new semester and this one has started out with a bang. Many of the freshman Language Arts classes are beginning their persuasive essays. This week the library staff talked about researching on the Internet and introduced the subscription sites that are available to our students. These sites offer reliable information for research and can be accessed from home with school provided user passwords and I.D.’s. Ask your student if they have picked up these passwords for use at home.

We have also been doing several book talks for assigned outside reading. Some of the new titles shared with classes are:

The Education of a Coach – The story of New England Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick

We Beat the Street; How a Friendship Pact Lead to Success – The story of three black men who struggled together to get out of the ghetto and become doctors.

Never Stop Pushing; The Inspiring True Story of a Boy’s Struggle to Survive and Triumph – The story of Rulon Gardner’s journey from a Wyoming dairy farm to the Olympics.

Here’s to good reading.