March 23, 2007

No School Next Week
There will be no school next week, March 26th – 30th, due to Spring Break.

AHS Tom-Toms Informational Meeting
The Arapahoe Tom-Toms Poms/Dance Team will hold an informational meeting on Thursday, April 12th at 7:00 pm in the Forum.

“My Baby’s Graduating” Ads
The staff of the Arapahoe Herald reminds senior parents that the deadline for "My Baby's Graduating" ads is April 2nd; this is immediately after Spring Break. The ads will be run in the May issue. An order form was included in the latest Drumbeat (parent newsletter) on the last page. You can also print the order form by using this link.

If you have questions, you may contact the Arapahoe Herald at 303-347-6028 or arapherald@comcast.net.

Wish Week
Student Council is presenting the 6th annual Wish Week April 2nd – April 6th at Arapahoe High School. This year we have adopted a 7 year old girl named Caley who has Osteogenesis Impefecta. Her wish is to have a hot tub. We are attempting to raise $8000 to make sure that Caley’s wish comes true. We have several events throughout the week to raise the money beginning with a concert on Tuesday April 3rd in the Theater. The CU Buffoons, an all male acappella group, will be performing. On Wednesday, April 4th, there will be concert performed in the cafeteria by Arapahoe’s own Bobblehead Budda. This is a band made up of students from AHS. On Thursday, April 5th, we will have the traditional Seniors vs. Staff basketball game in the Gym. All ticket prices are $3 for students and $5 for adults and all the proceeds go directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Any donations can be sent to Arapahoe High School, 2201 East Dry Creek Rd, Centennial, CO 80122. Any donations are tax deductible and checks should be made out to Arapahoe High School – Wish Week. We appreciate your support for this great cause.

Choir Auditions
Auditions for the 2007-2008 AHS Choirs will be held during the week of April 23rd. Audition information and sign up sheets are available in the choir room. Please see Ms. Parmenter for further information.

Parent and Student Survey
Parents and Students - we need your input! Your voice is important to help us be the best we can be! Please take the Arapahoe High School Survey available online March 1st – April 15th.

Parent Survey

Student Survey

March 16, 2007

Bring Your Parent To School Night – Democracy in Afghanistan
On April 23rd, the AHS Social Studies Department, along with Amnesty International is sponsoring a Bring Your Parent To School Night. The focus of the evening will be on the election process in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. The evening begins at 6:30 pm in the AHS Theater with a viewing of A Hell Of A Nation, a 45 minute documentary produced at Stanford University, which shows how elections were conducted after the Taliban fell from power. After the viewing the president of Denver's Muslim League, Muhammad Noorzai, who is from Afghanistan, will speak about democracy in the Islamic world. Many of our students have been reading The Kite Runner and this evening will be a nice opportunity for them to ask questions about Afghanistan.

Parent and Student Survey
Parents and Students - we need your input! Your voice is important to help us be the best we can be! Please take the Arapahoe High School Survey available online March 1st – April 15th.

Parent Survey

Student Survey

Spring Sports Schedule Online
The spring sports schedule is available online. Please keep in mind that – due to weather – the schedule changes frequently.

Department Spotlight – Family and Consumer Sciences Department
The Family and Consumer Sciences department is excited to have Mrs. Kristi Mize student teaching with us this semester. Kristi is originally from Texas and is finishing her degree at Johnson & Wales University in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. The main class that she is working with is Independent Living, but she is also working with the Cultural Foods, Interior Design and Fashion Design students. Currently Kristi is working on a project with the Interior Design II students teaching them about Sustainable Design – a growing trend in the industry. She also completed a fun Feng Shui project with them. Cultural Foods will be studying German cuisine next and will enjoy a visit from Chef de la Torre from Johnson and Wales. They will also be enjoying chef demonstrators from both Johnson and Wales and the Colorado Institute of Art in the near future. Kristi is doing a great job and we will miss her when she leaves us in May! Jenner Lewis, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, recently attended WAIT Training. This is a nationwide program highly recognized for teaching abstinence. Jennifer attended free of charge thanks to a grant and has found the information invaluable for both her Teen Choices and Relationship classes. Our FCCLA chapter took dinner to Sacred Heart House last Friday night. This is a shelter in Denver for homeless women and their children. It is a great experience for our chapter and an opportunity to learn about homelessness and the services that this unique shelter provides. We also took games as a donation for the children in the house to play with. The students served spaghetti, tossed salad, garlic bread, pop, and cookies. Students are now preparing for our state conference in April. Good job FCCLA!

March 9, 2007

CSAP Next Week – March 12th – 15th
Visit this page for the schedule and all the details.

Parent and Student Survey
Parents and Students - we need your input! Your voice is important to help us be the best we can be! Please take the Arapahoe High School Survey available online March 1st – April 15th.

Parent Survey

Student Survey

The Arapahoe Warrior Special Olympics Basketball Team Finished 10-0
“Ten and 0!” that’s what the members of the Arapahoe Warrior Special Olympics Basketball team are saying after their recent defeat of Mountain Vista High School during the March Madness 2007 Tournament. The coed team, organized by Special Education teacher Sheila Pepe and coached by her husband, Rich Pepe, is composed of Special Education players and AHS student partners.

“It was our first undefeated season!” said head coach Pepe.

The players and partners really came together as a team and played some terrific basketball,” said one of the volunteer assistant coaches. Special thanks to our three assistant coaches: Trux Simmons, Cheryl Stinson and Frank Louder.

So congratulations to the Arapahoe Warrior Special Olympics Basketball Team and a special thanks to the volunteers, parents and supporters who made this year, 2007, the team’s finest season yet. Look for a trophy commemorating this achievement in the school’s awards area soon. Join us next season!

Working With Students With OCD: Strategies for Parents & Teachers
All parents and teachers are invited to attend a presentation which is co-sponsored by the LPS Gifted & Talented Advisory Council, LPS Twice-Exceptional Task Force and the Special Services Advisory Committee. It’s titled “Working with Students with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder): Strategies for Parents & Teachers.” It’s scheduled for Monday, March 19th, 2007, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the ESC Board Room. The speaker is Dr. Judy Reaven of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Director of the Autism & Developmental Disorders Clinic of JFK Partners. Space is limited so contact Barb Bolen at 303-347-3475 to register. Call Melinda Ness, LPS Coordinator for Gifted & Talented with questions at 303-347-3477.

Department Spotlight – Business Department
Exciting things are happening in the AHS Business Department! We are pleased to announce that we will be offering several new courses next year to help prepare students for college and a possible career in business.

New marketing classes include Sports & Entertainment Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Both of these courses are for juniors and seniors that have taken one year of marketing coursework. New technology courses include Web Design I and Web Design II. These two courses are open to students in grades 9-12.

Please click on this link (pdf) to review the detailed course descriptions for these new courses along with all other business courses in the newly published 2007/2008 Pathfinder.

Another exciting opportunity for all students who enrolled in our Personal Finance class this year is coming soon! The Colorado Business Bank in Littleton will be sponsoring a $1,000 college scholarship each year for an AHS senior that successfully completes this course. Scholarship application information will be available early in April. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to help finance your college education.

Students who believe they are eligible for a Business Department Certificate of Proficiency may pick up an application in the business office starting in April. Certificates of proficiency are awarded to students who have earned a grade of B or better in a series of business classes. These certificates include Business Management, Business Technology, Accounting and Marketing. These certificates are impressive credentials on college and job applications. If you need more information, please contact the business department.

Our clubs have been very busy competing. DECA, an association of marketing students, qualified 47 students to attend state competition at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs at the end of February. Congratulations to the three National DECA qualifiers who will compete in Orlando, Florida in April.

FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America, had 57 students compete in district competition in February at Johnson and Wales University. 42 members placed in the top ten of their competitive categories. Congratulations to the 17 members who qualified for state competition in Vail in April.

Photo of the Week
Spring sports have begun! The first varsity baseball game is March 9th at Cherokee Trail at 3:30 p.m. Photo by Madison Fletcher/Calumet.

March 1, 2007

No School on March 2nd
There will be no school on Friday, March 2nd, due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Class of 2011 Freshmen Showcase on March 5th
The incoming Freshmen Class of 2011 and their parents are invited to attend the Freshmen Showcase Evening scheduled for Monday, March 5th in the AHS Gymnasium at 7:00 pm. Information regarding academic, athletic, and activity programs at Arapahoe will be shared. The evening is a great introduction to life at AHS. Download more information.

Basketball State Playoffs
The Girls Basketball team won Wednesday night and will play Highlands Ranch on Friday, March 2nd at 7:45 pm at the Denver Coliseum.

The Boys Basketball team won last Saturday and will travel to the Budweiser Event Center on Thursday, March 1st, to play Monarch High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

Department Spotlight – Art Department
March is "National Youth Art Month" and our Arapahoe artists are celebrating by displaying their imagination and creativity at the Curtis Arts & Humanities Center, 2349 East Orchard Road. Their works of art will be on display all month with an Opening Reception on Thursday, March 1, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Come enjoy!

The 3rd Annual Arapahoe "Art Attack" will be April 17th – 21st in the Theater Hallway. This is a show exclusively for the students of Arapahoe High School sponsored by our Arapahoe PTO. This is our "show of shows" for the year which provides recognition for our students as well as prizes for outstanding work. Students may enter two pieces of artwork in the following categories: Acrylic painting, Watercolor painting, Jewelry, Sculpture & Ceramics, Black & white photography, Colored photography, Digital photography, Printmaking, Black& white drawing, Colored drawing, Design, and Multi Media. The entry deadline is Friday, April 6th. "Best of Show" will be awarded in each category plus Superintendent's Choice and Principal's Choice. This is a celebration of both the wonderful work of our students and an opportunity to share with the public our department and art curriculum. We invite you to join us at our Reception and Award Ceremony on Tuesday, April 17th at 7:00 p.m!

Every year selected pieces of artwork are displayed at the Southglenn Public Library for a year. A panel from the library selects these chosen pieces of artwork during our "Art Attack" display. Students are notified and invited by the library to a special reception in their honor. This is a wonderful partnership we have established with the library and such a wonderful way to showcase our talented Arapahoe artists!

The "best of the best" are selected to represent their school at the 2007 Continental League High School Fine Arts Show at the Curtis Arts & Humanities Center. The show will be April 19th – 28th with a special reception on Thursday, April 19th from 5:30 -7:00 p.m. The show is sponsored by the Continental League High School Activities Division of CHSAA. Congratulations to our super elite artists of Arapahoe!

The Art Department is delighted to again have a partnership with DJ and Nancy Hallowell of the "Frame It Up" gift and frame shop located across the street from Arapahoe. Each month an outstanding Senior artist was featured with their framed work (compliments of the "Frame It Up") on display for that month. On Thursday evening, May 17th, the "Frame It Up" will host a year-end celebration for nine outstanding artists, family and friends from Arapahoe. Come celebrate with us and join us in thanking DJ and Nancy and their staff for supporting the visual arts in our community!

Photo of the Week
Students participate in the dance portion of auditions for the spring musical “Music Man.” The theatrical production will be performed for audiences April 18th-21st. Photo by Megan Dawley/Calumet.