Members of Aspen High School's Hope Squad have activities planned for Hope Week - Nov, 10-15.

The Hope Squad's purpose and mission is to foster human connections, community and hope.

Learn more about the AHS Hope Squad here.

Aspen Middle School Robotics Teams came home from a weekend of competition with Champion Trophies in hand.

The students competed in the FIRST Lego League Challenge, a friendly competition for teams of students grades 4 - 8 using skills in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering - they built and programmed a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game.

They also participated in a research project to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem utilizing the design cycle.

The team is coached by George Helfenstine and mentored by Will Gilmore. (photos by Molly Gilmore)

Here are the results

Lightning Strikes Twice Team:

• 1st place in the Robot Game (out of 40 teams)

• 1st place Champions (that is overall for the whole competition)

• Invitation to the State Championship on December 7 in Denver
• Team Members: Nicco DiMaria, Tamir Finesliver, Sam Gilmore, Ember LaPenna, Lorelei LaPenna, and Hailey Ward

Steep 'n Deep Team:

• 4th place in the Robot Game (out of 40 teams)

• Judges Award recognizing their hard work, core values, and talent as a 1st year team
• Team Members: Isla Gilmore, Beck Dorr, Felix Garfield, Evelyn Van Arsdale

Poached Gears Team:

• 2nd Place Core Value Award
• Team Members: Teodora Milinovic, Sunny Guthre, Liam Daniels, Annabella Maupin, Finn Zubrod, Marcel Miracle, Macsen Hembury

You are inivited to FocusedKids and a Slice!

Nov. 14 at Aspen Elementary School

5:30 p.m. for dinner and 6 p.m. for learning skills presentation

Please join us for a fantastic family-strengthening event that will support your parenting for years to come - with dinner, free childcare and the chance to connect and learn together.

FocusedKids will be presenting a powerful opportunity for social and emotional skill-building for parents and caregivers.

FocusedKids is a brain-Based Social Emotional Skills for Children, Teachers, and Parents.

Aspen Public Education Fund (APEF) is currently looking for a new board member.

A selected individual or individuals will begin a four-year term in March 2025.

Factors for consideration include, but are not limited to previous board experience, financial and/or legal expertise, and school district involvement.

APEF Board Member Roles and Responsibilities:

In November 2012, voters within the City of Aspen approved a 0.3% tax increase for the purpose of supporting public K-12 education in the Aspen School District.

Voters approved an extension of the tax in November 2016 and again in November 2020.

Revenues from this tax total approximately $3.25 million per year and are used to support programs; technology; special education; professional development; and, the recruitment, training and retention of staff.

APEF was formed to act as the recipient and disburser of the designated sales tax revenues. As a Colorado non-profit corporation, the Fund operates exclusively for educational and charitable purposes pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Fund is governed by a 7-person Board of Directors. APEF was established as an instrument for collecting and disbursing sales tax revenues from the City. It does not receive, or transfer gifts or donations intended for the District.

The Board meets two to three times per year to review the District’s grant requests pursuant to the amount of projected income realized by the annual sales tax.

The APEF Board exists to serve only in an oversight role as it relates to accountability of monies earned through the 0.3% tax allocation. The Board is prohibited from unilaterally adding any item to the District’s list of grant requests or from distributing proceeds for any item not requested by the District. It does review financial information to ensure that the district’s grant expenditures are in the areas approved by the voters and are not unreasonable.

It does not review or comment on district policies, curriculum, administration, alternative funding mechanisms, and so forth.

Conflict of Interest & How to Apply

As a non-profit board that oversees the disbursement of public funds, it is important that members do not have any actual or perceived conflicts of interest. As a result, we will not accept applications from individuals with any of the following:

current district staff or members of the Board of Education, and their spouses or partners; and, members of district-affiliated groups including the District Financial Advisory Board, District Accountability Committee, School Accountability Committees, and Aspen Education Foundation.

Applicants must reside within the Roaring Fork Valley.

For more information about APEF, click here.

Interested applicants should submit a letter of intent and current resume by March 30, 2024, to hwkenny@verizon.net.

Photo: Front row L to R: Mike Timme, Heather Kenny, and Peter Waanders. Back row L to R: Elizabeth Parker, Gwen Levy, ASD Superintendent Tharyn Mulberry, and Community School Principal Casey White.

It was the trifecta of assignments.

Eighth -graders were asked to think about a favorite moment from their recent three-day Outdoor Education trips.

Then, they did some research on artists, their styles and their mediums and chose one they would like to emulate.

Then came the tough part, said eighth-grader Jozy Swallows. She wanted to paint the reflection of the mountains in the lake. "But that was kinda hard,”she said.

She did a slight pivot and focused only on the mountains. But instead of choosing one -- she did a mountain mash-up of sorts. She used both pencil and watercolor. 

“It’s a mix of Maroon Bells, Snowmass and Capital,” she said.

The eighth-grade core was a buzz this week with students showing their art and talking about the inspiration behind it with fellow students, parents and teachers.

“This is me coming out of my solo,” eighth-grader Sloane Alexander said about her painting. “It was one of my favorite moments. The sun was shining and it was just so beautiful.”

She chose artist George Seurat to emulate – she had seen his work in the Art Institute of Chicago. She liked how his paintings were a series of dots and were continuous on the canvas. 

“I don’t know if we will be graded," she said. "But for me, it was about remembering our ODE. If we put effort and thought into (the assignment)  it will be rewarding whether it’s graded or just saving a memory.”

Karl Klavins likes artist Megan Coyle, who uses mixed media for her art. He used Aspen leaves to create the illusion of waves in his artwork. 

Silas DelGrasso liked Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans and Emmy Nelson chose artist Roy Lichtenstein and emulated his graphic art. 

Cat Saul’s self portrait received high praise from visitors. She used spray paint and oil pastels to emulate the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

“I like the materials and his style and his use of the materials,” she said.

Her parents are fans of his art and, “they thought this was cool,” she said of her self portrait in the woods. “They said they would put it up.”

If you go: 5:30 p.m. Monday Nov. 4 in the Aspen High School Library. Parents and students welcome!

Aspen School District Aviation & Aeronautics instructor Kate Short wants to inspire future aviators.

She comes back to ASD this school year as the Aviation & Aeronautics teacher. She taught aviation at ASD 2019-2021.

She is excited to partner with Aspen Flight Academy (AFA) – together they are training future pilots and aeronautical engineers, she said.

“It’s really great being back here,” Short said. “I want to have really engaging and informative classes; I want students to leave knowing more about aviation and aeronautics; and I want them to be curious about the possibilities.”

Short and AFA board members and instructors are hosting an information meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Aspen High School Library for parents of current aviation students and aspiring aviation students. Both parents and students are welcome to attend.

They will talk about the ASD and AFA programs, what is involved, how students can become pilots by the end of high school, and all of the aviation possibilities.

  Then, Short will show parents and students the classroom and simulators. 

“Once you get in the plane, you are hooked and you are off on a new adventure,” she said about her first time flying with a flight instructor.

ASD has a Diamond DA40 simulator – the same type of plane students would eventually learn to fly in the AFA.

“It’s a beautiful, turbo charged diesel that performs well in this altitude,” Short said.

She knows. She’s flown a variety of planes for corporate and private businesses and has been a flight instructor for students at all levels. Her ASD classes are for students in grades 7-12.

In her classes students get their first “flight experience” on small simulators where they learn the process, learn how to deal with emergencies, and practice stalling the plane and then recovering - something they will have to perform for their pilot license exam.

Advanced students can further their aviation schooling through AFA. Short gives them the theory where they learn to think like pilots and engineers. AFA gives them hands-on flight instruction. Some students, Short said, are taking her class and flight lessons simultaneously.

“We are really lucky to partner with the Aspen Flight Academy ,” she said. “This is something special that is not available to many teens, she said.

Completing ASD courses and AFA pilot training sets students up to be private pilots and go on to further their training at university, with the Air Force Academy and beyond.

Short hosts open lunch hours on Wednesdays for students who want information on the program and scholarships available for flight school, which include local, state and federal resources.

Photo: ASD's new Aviation & Aeronautics Teacher Kate Short talks with an Aspen Times reporter about the aviation program.

Take a break. Put on your headphones.

Listen. Enjoy!

(stay to the end for awesome John Denver music)