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Aspen Valley High School
Puma Periodical
Volume XVIII, Issue V The Winter Edition January, 2017
CALENDAR
January
2nd & 3rd: Teacher
Workdays
(No students)
4th: First Day Hexter 4
16th: Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day
(District closed)
17th: New Student
Information Night
@ 4:30
24th: Aspen Valley
Advisory Committee
(AVAC) @ 4:30
February 10th: Professional
Learning Day
(No students)
15th: Grade Day
Sign-Off Day
16th: Grade Day
17th: PLC
(No students)
20th: President’s Day
(District closed)
21st: First Day Hexter 5
From the Principal’s Desk
- By George Stone
Happy New Year! With a brand-new
year comes the excitement of new
beginnings, an opportunity to start
fresh. No exception at AVHS! We
would like to propose a New Year’s
resolution (or two!) for you to
consider adopting with your student:
Monitor Academics Thanks to the ease of the
Parent Portal, parents can verify
when assignments have been turned
in and what assignments are still
outstanding. Please call us if you
have questions about how to utilize
this important tool.
Communication is key!
Talk to your students about what
they’ve learned in class, about their
homework and upcoming exams.
Always keep in close contact with
teachers, too. Get into the good
habit of taking time each evening
to review and sign your student’s
planner, checking for important
notes there. Remember, also,
every Tuesday Ms. Mang hosts an
After-School Homework Club for
those who could use a little extra
help!
Improve Attendance Woody Allen famously said,
“80% of success is showing up.”
That percent seems a little high,
but it highlights the importance of
attendance: Your student needs to
be present to succeed.
District 20 has built into the
school calendar Professional Learning
Days, where each month students
have a day or two of no school. Help
your student maintain that AVHS
90% attendance contract by trying
to schedule appointments on those
dates. Of course, emergencies arise,
but limiting time out of school
benefits all of us and helps your
student succeed!
Better Attitude With second semester also
frequently comes Cabin Fever/Spring
Fever/Senioritis - call it what you will,
students can get easily sidetracked
this time of year. Carve out time in
your busy weekends for fun activities
with your teen, talk openly about your
own experiences with school when you
were younger, and then really listen to
what your student has to say. Build
good memories. Before you know it,
graduation will be here!
Happy New Year!
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 2
Student of the Week is going great -
the winners are thrilled when their names
are announced during each Wednesday’s
all-school assembly!
Due to holiday breaks, we’ve had less time
at school these past two months, but have
two outstanding students awarded in
December, whom we proudly congratulate:
Levi & Alexandra!
Thank you for encouraging your
student to strive for this
prestigious award!
AVHS December Hang-Out was a
great success, with lots of food,
music, games, and fun!
And thanks to your generous
contributions, we had a blast
decorating - and eating! - our
holiday cookies! Thank you!
Thank you for
participating in
our Aspen Valley
Fundraiser.
With everyone
pitching in,
we raised $544!
Thank you!
Due to the combination of semester finals and Winter Break, Student Council wasn’t able to get
January’s events in this month’s newsletter. Please catch up with them in next month’s edition!
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 3
BREAKFAST & LUNCH Prices
Aspen Valley Campus Daily: $2.60 Entrée ONLY: $2.40 Reduced Lunch Daily: $ .40 High School Breakfast: $1.45 High School Reduced Breakfast: No Cost Daily Double $1.75
ASPEN VALLEY
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
MEETING
Tuesday, 1/24/2017
District
Closed
(No School!)
Monday,
1/16/2017,
MLK Jr. Day
ASPEN VALLEY NEW STUDENT
INFORMATION NIGHT! Tuesday, 1/17/2017,
4:30 p.m.
Fun Fact: After the Year of the
Monkey (2016) comes
the Year of the Rooster,
which begins January 28,
2017. The Rooster being
the sign of dawn and
awakening, triumph and success can only be
achieved at the price of hard work and patience
in 2017. https://www.karmaweather.com/2017-year-of-the-fire-rooster
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 4
Buy A Bracelet or Just Donate!
You’ll not only be helping to protect America’s precious wildlife and the habitats they depend upon, you’ll also be encouraging a lifelong love of nature.
Choose the animal you would like to donate to.The animal with the most donations will be the animal we adopt.
Students will come
during Thursday Puma to
sell Bracelets.
Donations can be made
anytime to your puma
teacher
This plant is a member of the grass family. The pod can range on color from dark grey to light white. It is commonly found along stream banks throughout the tropics.
Tears of St. Peter
This legume plant relative has tubular red flowers that are favorite nectar sources for hummingbirds and toucanettes.
Machete Flower Tree
Help Ms. Chavez’s Environmental class support !
Please consider buying rainforest, sustainably harvested, seed bracelets for just $5 each!
Available through January 18th!
With the funds raised, one of the five animals shown above will be “adopted.” Remember to vote for your favorite animal!
The Machete Flower Tree This legume plant relative has tubular red flowers that are favorite nectar sources for hummingbirds and toucanettes.
Tears of St. Peter This plant is a member of the grass family. The pod can range in color from dark gray to light white. It is commonly found along stream banks throughout the topics.
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 5
Senior Meetings
Seniors meet every month on the first
Thursday in the Multi-Purpose Room,
during Puma. Please remind your senior
to attend and bring his/her planner to
every meeting.
Meeting Dates: January 5
February 2
March 2
April 6
May 4
IT’S NOT TOO SOON TO BE THINKING ABOUT … GRADUATION!
Congratulations parents of 2017 seniors - the fun is just beginning! Please remember, in order to graduate, each student must complete the AVHS requirements as listed at www.asd20.org/avhs through the Parent Gateway;
click on the Parent/Student link. A tip: Frequently seniors put themselves in a bind in completing
the 180 hours/18 weeks job/work shadowing or 72 hours Community Service. Please: Plan ahead!
Ms. Mang is our Senior Class Liaison. Contact her at [email protected]. Keep an eye on this page as we get closer to graduation!
By now you’ve probably heard the news that, for at least the next five years, Colorado has switched
from the ACT test to the SAT test. Articles abound online about the change.
We just want you to know that Colorado’s SAT date is: Tuesday, April 51th.
For Cap & Gown, Announcements,
Class Ring, all of your graduation bling,
contact: Joe Adducci
(719)633-8228
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 6
Title Presented By Date Location
Target Audience
Type of Presentation
Choice Enrollment
Information Night
Sue Judy, Central
Registry Supervisor, &
Allison Cortez, Director
for Communicaton.
1/10/2017
6:30 PM
EAC, 1110
Chapel Hills
Dr., Spruce
I & II
Parents/Guardians Discussion
This session will describe the laws and policies surrounding the Choice enrollment process and help parents navigate the Choice enrollment application.
Full: No
Title Presented By Date Location
Target Audience
Type of Presentation
Let’s Talk Emotions Maureen Lang &
Clark Maxon,
Learning Services.
2/21/2017
6:30 PM
EAC, 1110
Chapel Hills
Dr., Spruce
I & II
Parents of pre-K
to 12th grade
students
Interactive workshop
Family life is the first place that we learn to recognize, understand, and mange our emotions. How can we, as parents, provide our children with the experiences that they will need to make sense of their feelings and the feelings of others? How can we demonstrate the importance of ‘choice’ when responding to our own feelings and the feelings of others?
Join us for an interactive workshop to learn about the science of emotional intelligence and how we can apply the skills of emotional intelligence in our homes. You’ll learn how to use emotional intelligence to help build trusting relationships at home while developing skills which will serve your child for a lifetime.
Full: No
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 7
Parenting teens is a difficult task — and one that keeps changing as your teen matures. When you spend more time having yelling matches and pushing each other’s buttons, it’s time for a truce. We have six great ideas for starting the new year off on the right foot with your teen No matter how patient and calm a parent you strive to be, teens can be a challenge to your parenting skills. Start the new year off with a fresh set of teen parenting tools and see if you can tame the teen beast.
Deborah Gilboa, M.D. — also known as Dr. G — is a board certified family physician, parenting expert, writer and mother of four who loves to help parents increase their knowledge and follow the parenting instincts they already have. We asked Dr. G to share some New Year's resolutions for parents of teens.
Share a hobby "Ask your teen to make a list of five different activities that they would like to learn more about or do once a week or month with you," says Dr. G. "Then choose one of those hobbies and put it on your schedules. Make this time an argument-free zone, treated like you would a friends-night-out, a safe zone for both of you to focus on a common task and enjoy each other." In order to keep the momentum going, make the rule that you can each only cancel once in the next three months.
Let your teen make some mistakes It's hard to watch your teen make a mistake — but important for their growth. "We all want to protect our chil-dren, but none of us can protect adults from their own actions," Dr. G shares. "As our kids are in this transi-tion time, let them make some errors in judgment and then let them live with the consequences. This cy-cle — making a mistake, suffering consequences and then facing another decision — is crucial to building resilient adults and builds confidence too." Stepping back and watching them figure things out may be diffi-cult, but it's necessary.
Make your teen your cruise director Planning your family fun time for the new year? Resolve to let your teen take charge, and watch what hap-pens. "Decide on a budget and a timeframe and then ask your teen to plan a trip for the two of you or for your family. When they ask why, explain that you’d just like to have fun together," says Dr. G. "Give them a budget and a list of what it covers — lodging, food, transportation, entertainment. Then do whatever they suggest. They may be surprised at your compliance, and you’ll be amazed at the relationship building."
Don't judge out loud Are you feeling a bit squeamish about that new friend with the glow-in-the-dark hair? Watch what you say to your daughter about her friend. Your teen is smart enough to know how you probably feel about her edgy pals, but unless they are truly a danger to her don't engage in a debate. A better approach would be to ask more positive questions about the friendship — what they have in common, like art or music — or invite the friend over for dinner. Your teen will be surprised and also be making her own decisions about relationships. http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/980167/new-years-resolutions-for-parents-of-teens
Find more tips at http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/980167/new-years-resolutions-for-parents-of-teens
PAREN TI NG
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 8
Volume XVIII, Issue V Puma Periodical Page 9
Providing Input to the Pumas
In our ongoing efforts to promote open and honest communication, we are offering this opportunity for our parent
community to provide informal feedback and input. Look for this feature in every newsletter, and please feel free to
let us know what you think! Mail, fax, or send this sheet to the AVHS office c/o George Stone, Principal.
Dear Mr. Stone:
Just wanted to let you know . . .
Positives:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Concerns:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signed,
Phone Number: ____________________________ email address: _____________________________________
Aspen Valley High School Address:
1450 Chapel Hills Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Telephone: (719) 234-6000
