September 29, 2006

School Pictures
School pictures are here. Students need to pick them up in room E-8. These are the pictures that will be used in the 2007 yearbook so it is important for students to claim their photos and determine whether or not they wish a retake.

Retake date is Wednesday, October 4th from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This schedule covers both lunches as well as 3rd and part of 5th hour class times. Photographer questions can be answered by Daniel Reynolds Photographics at 303-346-2772.

Warrior Sculpture
The Class of 2005 is proud to present its gift to AHS. A bronze sculpture of the AHS warrior has been mounted on the west wall of the atrium in the study center.

The sculptor, Rik Sargent, spent the last year and a half creating a clay mold, having the bronze poured at a foundry, and adding a patina of colors. Brad Camp, an AHS parent, created the letters for the quote that runs next to the sculpture:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have
imagined. - Henry David Thoreau

Department Spotlight – Mathematics
The Math Department is implementing the new mathematics curriculum in algebra and geometry. New textbooks have been purchased from McDougal Littell. The supplementary materials include note-taking guides for students. Online resources are available to students at http://www.classzone.com/.

Monica Lobser, the Gifted and Talented facilitator, has registered AHS for a series of five mathematics competitions sponsored by National Assessment and Testing. The tests vary in format from individual effort to team competitions. The first test was held on September 28th. It is a thirty-minute test of 100 questions covering a wide variety of topics. Students may participate in all or just some of the National Assessment and Testing competitions. See Mrs. Lobser or Mrs. Blechschmidt for further information. Everyone is welcome!

Photo of the Week
Brittany Farrell and Kyle McClintock, sophomores, compete in the Ice Blocking relay during lunch. The Senior Class won this event. Lunch games, clothing themes and contests at the Friday pep rally are all part of the Homecoming competition between classes. Photo by Caley Kolb/Calumet.

September 21, 2006

Homecoming Week
Next week is homecoming week. For all the details, visit the AHS Web Page and click on more info next to Homecoming Week Schedule.

Assembly Schedule on Monday and Friday
We will have assemblies on both Monday and Friday next week. To view the bell schedules, visit the AHS Web Page and click on more info next to Monday Assembly Schedule or Friday Assembly Schedule.

Broncos Wives Food Drive
AHS is once again participating in the Broncos Wives Food Drive. Boxes will be located in the front office, guidance office, library and several classrooms. Please encourage your child to donate non perishable food items from September 25th through October 20th.

A discount of $1 will be offered on homecoming tickets for students who bring in canned foods at the time of purchasing their homecoming ticket during the week of September 25th.

Thank You from the Muse
The Tattered Cover reported that a total of $1593.32 was spent on Saturday the 9th for the fundraiser that benefited the Muse magazine. The Muse made over one hundred dollars from this event, which we will put toward printing costs for this year’s magazine. Thank you for the extraordinary community support for our creative students here at Arapahoe! Look for a similar event in the spring.

Arapahoe Marching Invitational
The Warrior Marching Band would like to invite you to the Arapahoe Marching Invitational at LPS Stadium this Saturday, September 23rd. Twenty bands will be performing in a Prelims/Finals Competition beginning at 10:30 am. Arapahoe performs at 4:00pm and 9:45pm – be sure to catch our “New Orleans Jazz Revival” Show.

Department Spotlight – Library
The library media center is pleased to welcome back library clerks Karla Brachtenbach and Sue Louch and to announce the addition of Tracy Murphy as the new librarian. Ms. B, as she is known by the students, is returning to the library for her seventh year. Ms. Louch started with us last January and is enjoying getting to know what Arapahoe is like at the start of a school year. Mr. Murphy comes to Arapahoe with experience as a social studies teacher, high school and middle school librarian, and as a technology staff developer. All three staff members look forward to assisting students with completing their assignments and helping them to achieve their academic best.

We have new Dell computers in our computer lab located across the hall in room C22. We now have five inch letters and numbers to use with the Ellison die cut machine located in the workroom area to meet poster and bulletin board needs. Lastly, in addition to print resources, the library offers 28 computers for student drop-in access. The library is open Monday through Thursdays 7:00 to 3:30 and Fridays 7:00 to 3:00.

Photo of the Week
Kellen Gubbins hits practice golf shots at South Suburban Golf Course. During the practice he made a 40 foot putt. Currently the golf team is having one of its best seasons. Photo by Scott Bullock/Calumet.

September 15, 2006

No School on September 22nd
There will be no school next Friday, September 22nd, due to a teacher in-service day.

After Prom Meeting
On Tuesday, September 19th at 7:00 pm in room E9 there will be a meeting for parents interested in helping with After Prom. Volunteering for After Prom is a great way to meet other parents, have fun and help put on one of the best parties of the year for our children. Over 1,100 kids participated in last year’s event, so we need your help.

Positions range from chairing a hall (coordination of the decorating efforts for a hall), helping decorate, coordinating food, donations, prizes, to helping clean up. Wherever you volunteer, your efforts are greatly needed.

No matter what grade your child is in, or whether your child does not want to see you the night of After Prom; there is a job for everyone.

If you have an idea for a theme for this year, please bring it to the meeting, send it to Stefani Ernst at stefanisews@aol.com or call her at 303-689-0281.

Bringing Guests to the Homecoming Dance
If students are planning to bring a guest to the Homecoming dance they will need to fill out a guest form. The forms are in the Attendance Office, Main office, and the Dean of Student’s office.They are due by 3:00 on September 28th.

Department Spotlight – Language Arts Department
The MUSE – Arapahoe’s magazine of creative arts - is up and running, and the staff is breathing life into the magazine like the mad scientist in this painting by Arapahoe artist Jessica Ng.

We are thrilled to announce our officers: Co-Editors – Steven Doss and Dylan Pierpont; Art Board Editor – Lindsay Downs; Publicity Committee Director – Samantha Velez; Poetry Board Editor – Michelle Shebowich; Fiction Board Director – Annie Hathaway and Julia Brennan. We are currently putting together submission dates and our very first college essay contest! Submissions will be accepted through the Language Arts office for the contest up to October 13th and prizes will be food gift certificates to local restaurants. Encourage your junior or senior to submit their personal narrative to the contest; this would look wonderful on an application to state that they are a published writer!

We are also in the thick of fundraising. Our magazine is funded solely from bake sales, MUSE magazine sales, and donations. If anyone would care to contribute to the magazine, we would greatly appreciate any donation! You can mail responses to: Steve Miles, Language Arts Office, Arapahoe High School, 2201 E. Dry Creek Rd., Centennial, CO 80122. Thank you for your support of the literary arts. Our artists don’t often get the recognition they so aptly deserve; the talent is abundant and we are proud to give them a voice through the MUSE.

Photo of the Week
Students work on a lab assignment in chemistry. Photo by Kelsee Prado/Calumet.

September 8, 2006

Choir and Orchestra Pearl Harbor Trip Fundraiser at Coldstone Creamery
The Arapahoe High School Tour Choir and Orchestra will be performing on Veteran’s Day, November 11th, 2006, on the deck of the USS Missouri docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in a musical salute to America’s military veterans. We will present a free preview concert in the AHS Theatre on Tuesday, November 7th at 7:00 pm.

The students will host a fundraising evening at the Coldstone Creamery at Park Meadows, located on Yosemite, on Wednesday, September 13th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Just identify yourself as a supporter of the Choir and Orchestra and a portion of the proceeds from your purchase will be donated to our trip fund.

Please join us for an evening of ice cream and an evening of American and Patriotic Music.

School Sponsored Clubs
A list of AHS sponsored clubs is now available for download.

Guest Access to Wireless Network
The district has had to temporarily turn off guest access to our wireless network. By federal law, we must provide filtering of Internet content to our students. While we had been providing that filtering on the guest access, the district discovered that our license for the filtering software did not cover non-district machines. They are currently looking at funding options to resolve this issue. We are hopeful that we will be able to provide guest access again soon.

Homecoming Talent Show Auditions
Hey singers, dancers, comedians, musicians, and other talented students! The homecoming talent show auditions are on September 13th and 14th. Get your acts together now and sign up for a tryout time in the main office. MC’s are needed as well as acts! Good Luck!

Get the Weekly Warrior, Daily Announcements and Breaking News Via Email
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Department Spotlight – World Languages Department
The World Languages Department is proud to announce the addition of three new teachers. Mimi Xu is here teaching Chinese this year and Mark Lindrud and Sophia (Sofi) DiSepio are teaching Spanish. We are also very happy to have Sharon Lovitt back this year to help alleviate the class sizes in Spanish. We are using our books for the second year this year and finding more effective ways to teach from them. If your French or Spanish student has forgotten to bring his/her book home or doesn’t want to lug it around, he/she may access the information from the company website which can be found on the inside cover of the book. Please note that the majority of the teachers in our department have web sites so it should be easy for parents and students both to access homework or other information. We’re off to a great start!

Photo of the Week
Junior varsity football played Chaparral on September 2nd. The Warriors won 14-13 in an exciting game. Photo by Madison Fletcher/Calumet.

September 1, 2006

No School on Monday
There will be no school on Monday, September 4th, due to the Labor Day holiday.

Did You Know Presentation
Many parents asked where they could find a copy of the Did You Know presentation that was shown in the gym during Back to School Night. You can find it here. Please keep in mind that this was originally created to be shown in a faculty meeting at the beginning of the year, not at Back to School Night. The blog it is posted on is a staff development blog for AHS.

Muse Fundraiser at Tattered Cover
Isn't it great to have the new Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch? Independent booksellers like Tattered Cover help our communities by raising awareness of local writers and artists, valuing and preserving our freedom of expression, encouraging literacy at all ages, and partnering with schools to support writing and creative endeavors.

The Muse, Arapahoe’s magazine of creative arts, is produced and written entirely by our talented students, and because it is relatively new, it is still building a financial base. When we approached the Tattered Cover about a collaborative venture, they were excited about creating an event in which the community could support their local bookstore while simultaneously helping a school creative arts magazine.

What we came up with was a special day, Saturday September 9th, when the Highlands Ranch Tattered Cover will donate a percentage of their book sales toward the Arapahoe Muse. All you have to do is print this coupon and give it to the cashier when you make your purchases on Saturday the 9th.

Our creative writers and artists here at Arapahoe are counting on community support to keep our student-run magazine afloat and thriving; thank you for supporting literacy and writing by shopping at the Tattered Cover September 9th.

Seniors – Yearbook Memory Blocks
Parents of seniors (Class of 2007) should be receiving a letter regarding Memory Blocks for the yearbook; it should arrive just before or just after Labor Day. Each family has been assigned to one of the yearbook students, so your letter will come directly from them. Don’t hesitate to call them if you have questions or need help. If sport teams or other activities that your student is involved in would like spots, the same forms apply.

The deadline for all Memory Blocks is October 16th; all orders must be in so they can be assigned to pages and the final page count given to the publisher. If you need another copy of the prices and/or order form you can download them: Memory Blocks , Order Form. These files are in Adobe PDF format and can be emailed to others and printed and used for ordering.

The yearbook phone number is 303-347-6028 and you can reach us by e-mail at ccrozier@lps.k12.co.us .

September Newsletter
The September Drumbeat is now available online.

Department Spotlight – Family and Consumer Sciences Department
The Family and Consumer Sciences department is excited about the new school year. New in our department is the establishment of a small computer lab located in E3, our main classroom. Eventually four computer stations will be up and running for students in our Fashion and Interior Design Programs. Numerous software programs – including computer aided drafting, computer generated patterns, databases, and tutorial software - have been integrated into our curriculum, so this will allow students easy access to software during their class and the school day. We hope someday to have an embroidery machine hooked to the computers as well.

Both our Fashion Design and Interior Design programs are now offered to students as a year-long career pathway program. While students can still take a single semester (Level I), they are encouraged to complete the two semesters in order to complete the program. This is exciting news as we are one of a select few schools in Colorado that has these programs available.

Our youth organization, FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) is in the process of selecting officers and planning our activities for the year. Any student interested in this community service oriented club should plan to attend our next meeting on Thursday, September 7th in room E3 at 2:20. Officer applications are available from Mrs. Rains.

Photo of the Week
Girls’ junior varsity softball competes against Columbine Wednesday, August 30th. Photo by Lindsay Hess, Calumet.