February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Since 2006, February has been observed as an important time to raise awareness about the serious issue of dating violence in high schools, colleges and communities across the nation.

In 2008, the US Senate unanimously approved S. Res. 710 declaring the first week of February as "National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week," and on January 25, 2010, the Senate expanded the observance by declaring the month of February as "National Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month"

• One-third of high school and college students will have been in an abusive relationship by the time they graduate.
• 20% of teens report that they have been hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner.
• 50% - 80% of teens have reported knowing others who were involved in violent relationships.
• Young women, ages 16 to 24 years, experience the highest rates of relationship violence.
If you feel that you are in an abusive dating relationship, tell someone. Here are some resources that can help you develop a safety plan:
DoVES (Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center) 1-800-367-7075 or 1-913-367-0363 (Atchison Area)
National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline 1-866-331-9474
National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
Talk to your school resources officer or guidance counselor.

*DoVES is also available on Facebook

Thank You

I wanted to take a minute to tell everyone who attended AHS's Parent/Teacher Conferences a big thank you! It was so nice to be able to talk to you about your son or daughter. If you were not able to attend conferences last week and are still interested in talking to teachers, please let us know and we will get a meeting set up.

Congratulations Wrestling Team!

Congrats to Ed Crouse and the Wrestling team for winning the League Championship on Wednesday.

Also congrats for winning individual championships to Kenny Gulley, Cody Calhoon, Montana Christesen, Geoffrey Vaughn and Rasmus Karlsson.

Seth Hefner had two HUGE wins on the day and Sean Kratchman competed on a very badly injured ankle against Sumner in a key match.

Members of the wrestling team are: Kyle Mason, Kenny Gulley, Cody Calhoon, Jeff Wallingford, Seth Hefner, Montana Christeson, Tim Swingle, Mac Cory, Geoffrey Vaughn, Ben Miller, Tyler Hunt, Taylor Funk, Jordan Thomas, Dustin Goza, Chris Carter-Martin and Rasmus Karlsson.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Just a reminder that conferences are next Tuesday and Thursday, February 15 and 17th. They run from 3:30-7:00. We would love to see a great turn out of parents! There will be cookies and drinks provided. If you cannot make either conference we would be more than happy to set up another meeting to better meet your needs. Hope to see you all next week.

Technology Use

We've been talking quite a bit over the last few years about technology and it's purpose and use in schools. There are so many articles out there about the Ipad, computers, Ipod touches, cell phones, mp3 players and the list could go on and on. For myself technology is a huge positive addition to my life. I use it from everything to talking to people to helping me organize myself and keeping me up to date with important tasks and appointments. Our students use it for much more than just talking to each other. Technology has become a life line to others. What makes me the most nervous about this, although I support Facebook and email and other forms of digital communication, I am not sure if we are truly teaching our students the most appropriate use of these types of technology. I have found a particularly good website that gives parents and teachers resources to help students use technology appropriately. The site is called Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org). Check it out!

Staff Day

Last week AHS had Royal Courts. This week includes Spirit Days, coronation of the Royal Courts King and Queen at the basketball games, and the Royal Courts dance. I would say my favorite day last week would be Staff Day. Kids and staff members decided to dress like a teacher or staff member. We had some great outfits! The most widely seen person around the school was none other than our Health/PE teacher Mr. Watkins. Everywhere I looked it seemed that he was there. I didn't know we had so many of him! Thank you for all the staff and students who participated in this day! I sure had a great time seeing multiple staff members!

SNOW DAY!

What a day! Snow is falling, wind is howling. I hope you are all in a nice warm house enjoying the day off.