Los Alamos High School Astronomy Club President Daniel Kim and members reported on the Solar Eclipse event hosted by the club, and thanked LAHS, Los Alamos County, NJROTC, Dr. Galen Gisler and club sponsor Deborah Grothaus for their support and participation to make the event a success. Courtesy/LAPS
The Los Alamos High School Administration team, including from left, Athletic Director Ann Stewart, Assistant Principals Ryan Finn and Suzanne Montoya and Principal Renee Dunwoody, presented the LAHS report for the School Board during the meeting held last week in the Topper Library. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
The LAPS School Board met last Oct. 26 at Los Alamos High School. School Board President Antonio Jaurigue opened the meeting by recognizing the LAHS Astronomy Club and their sponsor, Debbie Grothaus. The club was part of the team which hosted the Solar Eclipse event at the high school on Oct. 14. Club President Daniel Kim thanked Los Alamos High School, Los Alamos County, the NJROTC, Dr. Galen Gisler and Mrs. Grothaus for their support and participation to make the event a success.
The LAHS admin team gave the high school report, highlighting the Topper Virtual Academy (TVA) which currently has an enrollment of 56. Teacher Melissa Laeser discussed how the academy works, and three students — Iris Hansel, Dilynn Arnett and Wyatt Bullion-Braithwaite — shared their perspective and why TVA works best for them.
Principal Renee Dunwoody reflected on the school’s vision and mission, and the three key factors driving the high school environment: connect, protect, respect. There are currently just under 1,200 students enrolled at the high school.
Assistant Principal Suzanne Montoya spoke about the school’s adoption of Los Alamos Solutions for Successful Outcomes (LASSO) which is part of their Safe and Civil Schools training. She noted that part of this is the implementation of Multi-Layered Systems of Support (MLSS) including PBIS (behavior/discipline), RTI (academic) and SEL (social/community). The continuous cycle of improvement engages the entire staff in a process which aims to create positive change. She told the school board that LAHS is currently working on attendance, cell phones and supervision.
Athletic Director Ann Stewart gave an update on athletics at the school, including the wrap up of fall sports and the start of winter sports, including boys and girls basketball, wrestling and swimming, in November. She also mentioned the new turf and scoreboard at Sullivan Field, as well as the new scoreboard in Griffith Gym.
Assistant Principal Ryan Finn wrapped up the presentation by talking about the clubs and activities available to students, including six new clubs that just started this year. He said that the Student Council hosted a successful Homecoming, and are currently collecting food for LA Cares. Student Council also stepped in and hosted nine student councils from around northeast New Mexico for the New Mexico Association of Student Councils (NMASC) District Fall Conference.
The School Board approved the reclassification of Topper Freshman Academy (TFA) which will integrate TFA into Los Alamos High School. Combining the schools will simplify bookkeeping in PowerSchool and Visions for teachers and administrators. TFA will continue as a program within LAHS for the benefit of 9th graders.
School Board members also heard about the procedures for reviewing the school calendar which will include engaging students in the process.
The next School Board meeting is at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the School Boardroom.
