Hello, 12th Grade Parents- Class of 2020!
Can you believe that fall is here and we are already in the month of October? Our students will be having a fun filled October!
We could use parent support with the senior camping trip. Please see below for details.
Core Classes:
A summary of activities and lessons are listed under each class below. Please click on the links to access teachers digital portfolio. DP's are a huge resource for students and parents. Please check them out.
Humanities
We just have to start by saying we are
loving the class of 2020!!!!!
What a deep thinking bunch of scholars! This month, we are diving deeper into philosophies of justice by reading Harvard Professor Michael J. Sandel's
New York Times
bestselling book,
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
through which he explains several philosophies of justice that have most influenced our U.S. political and justice systems: Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, John Rawls' Justice as Fairness, Deontology and Aristotle's virtue ethics. We will then consider other perspectives on justice from different cultures, including environmental justice.
To apply these philosophies to the real world, we'll study a case study in our own backyard involving energy development and environmental justice with regards to oil and gas leases on sacred lands near Chaco Canyon.
San Juan Citizens Alliance
has agreed to work with our students to help them understand multiple perspectives on this issue. Students will be asked to explore what justice means on this issue from the perspective of the stakeholders they hear from as well as the philosophies we've studied thus far in class. To really get a hands-on experience, we will go on a
senior class field trip to Chaco Canyon on October 23-24
.
Learn more about the field trip and access permission forms
here
.
The Senior team is really looking forward to spending that time with the senior class and hope several parents can join us. Contact
ashley.carruth@animashighschool.com
for more information.
Math
We are moving through our IMP unit quickly. Students are investigating the unit question: How likely is a candidate to win an election given they won 53% of the vote in a 400 person poll? So far, they have developed binomial probability theory, and examined the normal curve through integrals in order to determine percentile. They just completed the formula to determine variance and mean in the absence of data, and are moving into combining these concepts to get a confidence interval. I expect them to be putting this all together in a final assessment by the middle of October, after which we will move on to develop additional techniques - correlations, chi square, t-test - in preparation for an independent statistical research project (ideally linked to their emerging senior project research).
Advisory Happenings:
Seniors who are serving as Bridge Program mentors had their first opportunity to get to know their 9th grade mentees during an Advisory activity on October 2. We encourage Bridge mentors to provide ongoing support to their mentees by checking in, offering advice about how to navigate high school and spending time together. Bridge mentors will accompany the class of 2023 on a field trip to AHS co-founder Phil Bryson's
On the Edge ropes course
in Bayfield on Friday, October 18.
More info and permission slips coming soon!
Career and College Prep:
Seniors are trucking along with college applications. Please support your students this month since it can tend to be stressful and it's important to celebrate the small successes like turning in a college application or completing the FAFSA. Speaking of the FAFSA- please make sure to prioritize completing the FAFSA this month. The sooner this document is submitted the more access to potential aid your family can receive for college. Additionally, please mark your calendars for Thursday, October 10 from 5:30-7:30pm for the
Senior/Parent Financial Aid/Scholarship Information Session
I will be holding at Animas High School. Quote for the month:
"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"
Special Events:
How You Can Support Your Student this Month:
How about going to Chaco Canyon?
What Would You Like to Know?
Would you like to meet more parents and grow connection? Do you have a thought or suggestion on how we can support our students?
I’d love to hear from you, please let me know if you enjoy getting this parent letter. We are grateful that you are a part of the AHS community.
Bev Vaughn
:: Class of 2020 Parent Liaison:: Animas High School
