The Animas Quill

15/09/2026

Last Friday, the sophomore class headed over to Smith Field at Fort Lewis College to launch their first rocket prototypes.

The sophomores have spent the last few weeks learning about the science behind rocketry and how to make the best possible rocket using plastic bottles, tape, foam, and other materials to create a stable rocket that can fly and land through testing and experimentation and just a little competition.

“At this year's rocket launch, we saw the best set of prototype rockets we've ever seen at Animas,” shared 10th grade Physics teacher Julian Springer. “I think we saw a lot of young fledgling engineers trying things out and being brave and not being too worried if their ideas didn't work, but being willing to try new things and learn from what didn't work.”

The Physics class immediately jumped into this project just a few days into the year. They started by looking at past students' rockets and researching each piece, from the cone to the compression chamber.

Sophomore Galen Mark explained his experience with the process: “We did a lot of brainstorming before we built the rocket, drawings and test runs and such. The test run told us which ideas were good and which were bad, which parts we could change or improve upon and which parts we should keep for the final design.”

Not all rockets had a successful launch, which Julian expected to be the case. He described how some students were, “disappointed and frustrated. We had a lot of parachute failures or noise cones that didn't deploy properly. And I think it's telling that students cared so much that their rockets didn't do exactly what they hoped. And that's really kind of important and impactful because this is going to give them fuel to build better rockets next time.”

Julian emphasized this aspect of the process, declaring, “We failed fast. We failed with style. We failed forward. We failed to learn!”

Galen shared how his failure helped him see what could be better in future attempts: “Our parachute basically fell off. It wasn’t attached very well. The strings were too loose. We learned that we need a better system to attach it to make sure the strings are secure and don’t fully rip off.”

The sophomores go into the next phase of the project with new ideas on how to approach what’s to come. Galen continued, “Seeing the rocket launching high in the air gives us a scope of what the final launch will be like. What helped my partner and I was seeing other people’s launches and what worked well. Now we can incorporate the things that worked and the things that don’t.”

Camaraderie and competition are both motivating factors for future rocket launches. Galen’s partner Aspyn Hawkins added, “It was really interesting to see how everyone was interacting. It was both friendly and competitive, and we were motivated by the competition. Now that we know what to do, I have a good feeling about our chances!”

The refined rockets will be launched in the annual exhibition at Smith Field on November 11.

Story by Charleigh Arnett
Photos by Tommy Silvester-Jensen

15/09/2026

LINK is one of the best parts of an Animas education, as the Class of '27 experienced in the spring! Check out this awesome news feature by Genesis Cruz highlighting the program and some of last year's internships.

ATTENTION CURRENT JUNIORS! If you have not done so already, please make an appointment with Elliot ASAP to start vision questing the internship of your dreams. And keep pursuing your informational interviews!

And please remind your families about Wednesday night's informational Zoom meeting (link in the 11th grade newsletter)!

11/09/2026

Last Friday, the junior Humanities class held a mock trial between the British and the colonists to determine the validity of the Declaration of Independence as the justification for a new government.

"This trial helps students not only engage with the particulars of the arguments laid out in the Declaration of Independence, but it offers them an opportunity to use those arguments to create their own claims about governance, judge the claims made by students and the arguments made in the declaration," junior Humanities teacher Alec Johnson explained.

Junior Ofelia Russell felt the team representing the British put forth a better argument and was a little baffled that “[the judges] picked the one that was right in history, not the one that gave the best argument. [The British] had great questions, great arguments, and they just gave lots of claims and matched it up with evidence. The Americans didn’t give much evidence. I learned that without evidence and analysis to support the claim that you're making, it kind of makes no sense. It doesn't convince a person enough to believe your claim.”

Alec elaborated on the purpose of the assignment: "[The trial] allowed students to practice the thinking necessary to write about a topic but do it in a way that's more familiar… We talk every day for maybe hours, so that structure of organizing thoughts is very familiar and this allowed us to see that a good and well organized argument has similar structure both when written and when spoken."

Throughout this semester the junior class is studying the history of the United States working towards the final question of, "Does the government work the way it's supposed to?" This mock trial was the culmination of a week spent learning about and analyzing the Declaration of Independence.

Junior Allyra Meeker reflected on how she is making sense of the core ideas of the trial: “The Declaration of Independence was created to protect the people from an abusive government. I am noticing, as I'm researching all of this and getting to know the Declaration of Independence and the whole reason behind why we made it, looking at how our government is right now,the only question in my mind is: isn't this the whole reason why we made the Declaration of Independence? So, we could have this freedom that our government is now taking away?”

Students will continue on their journey through the history of the United States and will discuss and write on their thoughts on our complex history. This week, they have been digging into the social contract between people and the government, which feeds the bigger inquiry into whether or not the existence of a government is justified.

Stay tuned for more deep political thinking from the juniors!

Story by Emiliano McCauley-Cortes

04/09/2026

For the third year in a row, Drew Semel and his 6th period Digital Photography students started their course by turning the conference room behind Dave’s office into a “camera obscura” in order to understand the magic behind how cameras work.

Directly translating to “dark room,” a camera obscura is a photographic phenomenon that utilizes a dark space to project an image through a pinhole. The aspiring photographers covered the conference room in black plastic sheets to black it out, leaving behind a tiny hole to allow light to pass through so you can project an outside image onto the opposite wall. The holes were created using different circular objects, like mason jar lids, cups, or a washer. The hole works as a lens, which the students experimented with to determine how the size of the lens changes the projected image.

Drew shared the purpose of his lesson: “Making the camera obscura is a building block to get to use real cameras. My hope is that students will make a connection with the camera obscura and the settings on an actual camera. It's such a visceral, hands-on way to understand how the camera actually works.”

This lesson helped students understand how the camera display works and how a camera's internal mechanisms function, specifically the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Senior Balin Hall explained his learning: “[The camera obscura] projected the scene of the outside world onto the wall. There's a thing called the triangle in photography, and there are different legs of the triangle. If you change the size of the lens or the amount of light that's coming through or the shutter speed, it will change the image.”

Drew clarified the learning: “When all the students get an actual digital camera in their hands and they have to make some determinations about how long the exposure is and how big the aperture the hole is and some of the other settings, they'll think back to standing in that room because they've used a more primitive version.”

Read the full story at animasquill.org!

https://animasquill.org/1152/news/digital-photography-students-get-inside-the-camera/

Story by New Quillspreys

02/09/2026

28/08/2026

Welcome to our new segment Deep Thoughts with Dave!

What are you doing every day to support each other and help others as well as yourself? Answer in the comments.

22/08/2026

SENIOR SUNRISE 💚💛

The Class of 2027 reunited to start the new school year by climbing the Skysteps at sunrise, an Animas tradition and rite of passage.

Students collected at the top of the trail to hear speeches of motivation, advice, gratitude, and appreciation both from classmates and staff.

Senior Humanities teacher Jessica McCallum gushed: “This was one of the most memorable senior sunrises in all my years at Animas. I have never seen so many students take the mic to drop inspired wisdom on their peers and teachers. My heart feels so lifted for the year ahead. The class of 2027 is already bringing out the best in us and each other!”

New senior Kay Sherman described the feeling of entering a new community at Animas, stating “normally when you go to a new school it's kind of scary, but walking into AHS I made friends within 5 minutes, everyone is very welcoming… I couldn't stop smiling!”

As the sun rose over our senior year, we were reminded of who we used to be, and who we are becoming.

Story by Vivian Van Delden

13/08/2026

YEARBOOKS ARE HERE! They will be available for pickup starting next Wednesday!

(Graduates: if you leave for college before then, check in with Jessica or Bridget to grab yours!)

04/06/2026

Free computer programming workshop at FLC!

23/05/2026

SENIOR IMPERSONATIONS 🔥🤡❤️🍿

We love you, Class of 2026!!!

Watch the full cut on the Quill’s YouTube!