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Puma Spotlight 2023-24
May 2024
Two Peak to Peak students have made the national high school finals top four of the Future Creatures challenge. Emma Strong and Neva Joseph (both class of '27) designed projects imagining how animals in the Amazon might adapt due to climate change. Emma imagined changes for the Red-Bellied Piranha, while Neva showed how the Macaws might adapt. They are competing for the grand prize announced at the end of the month, but have already won prizes from Future Engineers for their vision, their artistry and the way they applied innovative design to thinking about animal adaptation. You can see their projects on the FutureEngineers.org page.
Emily Soesilo ('26) was the student speaker at the Invest in Girls event. She did a fabulous job speaking to about 200 community members about her experience in the Invest in Girls program encouraging community involvement and investment in the community! She spoke especially well on the topics of equity and personal financial literacy! Way to go, Emily!
Ritu Murari’s ('30) art work was an ‘Honorable Mention’ in the ‘Junior Duck Stamp Program Conservation and Design Contest’ for the middle school age group. Congratulations, Ritu!
Congratulations to Jihyo Shin ('27) for being named a finalist in the international Games for Change competition. Jihyo designed a game called EarthGlam where players take on the role of fashion designers who have to combat Fast Fashion and teach about the eco-impact of fashion. Top judges from Hasbro found her game extraordinary, she is a top ten winner, and is now competing in the finals! Good luck, Jihyo!
Congrats to Will Rigney ('26), Mateo Hoffer ('24), Gavin Keogh ('25), and David Brady ('27) who represented Monarch High School at the 2024 Boys 5A State Swimming and Diving Championships. Way to go Pumas!
Samuel Coronado (26) was selected for the Courage Award by the Monarch High School Swim Team for his commitment to improving his skills, making time for extra practices, and reaching out to coaches for additional feedback— all as a first-time team swimmer! Congratulations, Samuel!
Kunwoo ('31) and Sunwoo ('33) competed in the Math Kangaroo 2024 competition. Both students were ranked 2nd in the state and in the top 20 nationally for their respective grade levels. Way to go!
Peak to Peak students won the Ciena Solutions Challenge for 2024 and were invited to present at the international YouthMADE webinar for their Tree Team Myco-remediation project earlier this month. The students spoke about Peak to Peak's September Tree Summit, empowering teens to plant trees, their work with Boulder Mushroom to run a soil remediation science experiment on campus using mushroom bodies, as well as the two Miyawaki Mini-forests they planted near the baseball fields. Thirty tenth graders prepared the soil in October using donated cardboard and the "soil lasagna" method. Then, in April, ninth graders worked with several community organizations to complete planting of more than 60 new trees on our campus. All trees were donated by the Tree Trust and Cool Boulder after everyone collaborated at the Tree Summit. Great things are growing!
Mason ('30) & Reed ('32) Widman take home gold and silver at the Utah Mountain Cup hockey tournament. Hard work pays off!
Avery Pascoe (class of 2032) was awarded a competitive scholarship for her ballroom dance performance at the NUVO Dance Convention in Westminster, CO last month. Avery is invited to continue her training at the national level at Dancerpalooza in Los Angeles, CA this upcoming July. Congratulations, Avery!
Congratulations Kourtney! If you have to miss your own graduation, this is a pretty good reason!
3A Track and Field State Championship
Molly Kollachov and Josie Adams are the 3A state champions for #2 doubles! Congratulations, Pumas!
April 2024
Sofia Griepentrog ('26) received the Most Improved Sophomore Award and Avery Zerwekh Reardon ('25) received the Most Determined Junior Award for the Winter season with the Monarch High School swim Team. Congrats!
The Peak to Peak Ethics Bowl team placed 10th in the nation at the National High School Ethics Bowl in Chapel Hill, NC. This year, nearly 400 schools from across the country participated in regional ethics bowls to qualify. The students discussed moral dilemmas ranging from xenotransplantation to smartphones in schools to Taylor Swift's fandom. Way to go, Pumas! Pictured: Anahita Khorashahi ('24), Sanjita Balaji ('24), Anders Sicker ('25), Sidd Nareddy ('24), Tej Mathur ('24), Anjana Radha ('24)
Peak to Peak's elementary Battle of the Books teams all took home medals at the BVSD competition earlier this month! 152 teams competed from 43 different BVSD schools. Congratulations, Pumas! 3rd grade ('33) won 3rd place - Clara Wirz, Delia Smith, Sunwoo Kim, Sawyer Wirz, and Henry Montrois 4th grade ('32) won 2nd place - Aarjav Jain, Adele Acaley, Walden Boone, Arrin Petkar, and Greta Beaudin 5th grade ('31) won 2nd place - Jayna Sessions, Naina Joseph, Scarlett Aakre, Simone Donohoe, and Brody Flanhofer
Two of Peak to Peak's ninth graders ('27) earned Inspiration Awards in the 2024 Teen Dreams Video Competition for their visions for change. This international video competition asks students to innovate solutions to the U.N.'s Sustainability Goals in conjunction with the Teen Dreams Co Lab which empowers young people to make sustainable change in the world. Neva Joseph's "Eco Charge" helps make communities more sustainable Caitlyn Power's "Reusable Pads for Period Poverty" helps solve for gender equality These students have been invited to be a part of the international teen hubs to make their dreams for sustainable change come true. Congratulations to these changemakers!
Alison Duan ('27) and Tanush Shekhar ('26) were invited to attend the Colorado Math Awards reception in early May, where they will be honored as two of the top 60 math students in the state of Colorado. Congratulations!
Ms. Shea received two generous grants from the Lafayette Arts Commission and Dog House Music Studio, which allowed five Peak to Peak students to receive a recording session with a professional sound engineer. Congrats to Vix Douglass ('25) and their band Opposing Gravity, Trinley Olsen ('27) featuring Lhadze Olsen ('25), Ahmed Miracle ('25), Mishael Rodriguez Colin ('27), and Isabel Swarr ('26)! After an initial consultation with the team at the music studio, the student musicians prepared their tracks at home and then returned for a four-hour recording session where they multi-tracked different parts of their song, added some spice, and collaborated with the engineer to expand their vision into a fully realized track. To hear the final tracks, go to https://tinyurl.com/P2PRecording
Ashton Zurek ('24) was honored with the Broomfield Youth Recognition Award. This wonderful program recognizes youth in our community who have overcome adversity and done great things. Way to go, Puma!
Tanishka Tagare and Ranye Ezenekwe (both class of 2025) have won a Level 2 finalist prize for the Metaverse for SDG's Global Prize & VR Competition! Their project used VR to address the Sustainable Development Goals in their chosen area of "Combating Desertification" and has won $7500. Ranye and Tanishka joined the Teen Dreams CoLab international think tank in their Climate Change Hub after receiving recognition for their climate change videos in the TeenDreams Video Competition in ninth grade. Their work in this hub for the last two years has led to international collaboration and projects such as this one to raise awareness and find solutions for Climate Change issues. Exponential Destiny is looking to showcase this work in 2024 when they participate in UN Summits. You can view their summary video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q2p6rC__GEY
Shreya Sethilkumar (Class of 2024) has been selected as a CBS Colorado Future Leaders winner, recognizing students who excel in STEM fields and are ready to change the world. CBS filmed a profile on Shreya that aired this past week, and she won a thousand dollars to pursue higher education. Congratulations, Shreya! You can view the video and read the article here: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/future-leaders-winner-uses-science-to-solve-problems-across-colorado-world/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
Sophia Drake (Class of 2027) recently had the honor of receiving a YouthBiz Stars award from Young Americans Center for Financial Education in celebration of Colorado's top youth entrepreneurs. Sophia placed 1st in the 12-15 age category for her jewelry business, Sophia Madeline Studio. She received a $2000 check for her future business endeavors as well as a year long mentorship with Veena Dandapani of Pagaya Technologies.
Three talented students (Class of 2026) have won Scholastic Art and Writing Awards in the West Writing Region at Large (which covers seven states!) Chelsey Streifel - Gold Key - Poetry "Waiting for Time" Skye Williams - Gold Key - Short Story "Fire and Ash" Penelope Letter - Honorable Mention - Dramatic Script "Players, Staged" Skye and Chelsey's literary masterpieces are now on to the national competition!
On April 5th, three 9th grade ('27) teams made live pitches on stage at CU as part of the New Venture Challenge Finals. This is one of the largest collegiate entrepreneurship competitions in the U.S., and for the first time, high school students were included! Peak to Peak teams have been working on entrepreneurial projects that can change the world for the better. They used empathy to identify problems, ideated, researched existing solutions, created prototypes, wrote an executive summary, and filmed a video pitch that wowed the judges and landed them in the finals. Ash Brave and Oat Freshour's project "Autism: Don't Assume" rose to the top of the competition to earn the grand prize. Their idea for a customizable stuffed animal to employ those with autism while providing autistic representation wowed the judges who lauded its possibility to "change the world." Congrats! Two other amazing teams made the statewide finals and pitched amazing projects on Friday. Aayush Karki and Lucy Clements presented their innovative idea to make mycelium wall coverings that mitigate climate change and Riley Watson and Gaby Falter pitched a fashionable headband to relieve migraines. Way to go, innovators!
Emelia DuBien, Anaya Petkar, Dravin Rohit Kumar, Calvin Smith, and Om Kalra (class of 2030) represented Peak to Peak at the BVSD Battle of the Books competition this past weekend and won first place for 6th grade! Congratulations, team!
Agastya Radha, Anders Fitzgerald, Margot McCune, Silu Wang, & Maxwell Lucchetti (class of 2029) represented Peak to Peak at the BVSD Battle of the Books competition this past weekend and won first place for 7th grade! Great work, everyone!
Six middle school artists had their work selected to be featured at the BVSD Art Show that opened at the Lafayette Public Library yesterday. You can view their artwork in our social media post (no login required).
Eleven Peak to Peak artists were selected for the BVSD High School Art Show this Spring. Their works will be displayed at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder until May 4 and can be seen in the slideshow, below. Logan Conigliaro ('26) won first place in the mixed media category! Please look at the slideshow featuring their artwork.
March 2024
Last weekend, Rishi Gyambavantha (class of 2027) performed a solo violin recital at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Rishi was invited to perform as a first prize winner of the Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition Winners' Concert. Congratulations, Rishi!
Nandini Premduth (Class of 2028) placed 3rd in the Colorado USA Taekwondo state championship tournament conducted on March 9th at Palmer Ridge High School for the Sports Poomsae (Forms) category. Congratulations, Nandini!
This team of two competed in the Destination Imagination's NoCo Canyon regional tournament on March 2nd, where they presented their solution to the scientific challenge (a.k.a Blast from The Past), and won not just first place but also a special award for technical innovation in Rock Identification Artificial Intelligence. Their team, "Truth Seekers," is now moving on to the state DI challenge, where multiple Colorado school districts' top teams bring their solutions and compete against each other. Congratulations to Mili ('28) and Aadi ('26) Sobti, and good luck at the state competition!
Congratulations to the 14 students who competed in the Regional Science Fair last week! Anjana Radha (Class of 2024) took home 3rd place in Environment and Earth Sciences for her research into ozone production above major US cities. Dante Rozin (Class of 2024) received a special award from the Air Force for his work in airfoils for fire detection drones. JP Kerrane, Ethan Wang, and Aaron Chen's (all Class of 2024) VR model for psychological studies into liminal spaces earned them 3rd place in Behavioral and Social Studies. JP, Ethan, and Aaron also qualified for the Colorado State Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held in April.
Peak Robotics took second in the State Robotics Championship this weekend! The Fire Breathing Ducks (Tyler Roy ('25), Bennett Ross ('25), Tyler Holman ('25), and Pierce Ross ('27) made it to the finals at the State Robotics Tournament, qualifying them for the Vex Worlds Robotics Competition in April! Their coach shared, "Their journey to success began with an impressive start as the first-ranked team in their league, maintaining an undefeated record during league play. Throughout the season, they participated in numerous weekend tournaments, clinching titles such as Tournament Championship, Excellence Award, and Innovation Award. They were also Semi-Finalists at the Signature Event in Colorado Springs, which included many top teams from across the country." A second Peak to Peak team, The Basement Bots (Rohit Movva- '27, Alden Bradley- '27, Michael Lu- '27, Ellen Lu- '24, Aarnav Jain- '25, Tyler Johnson- '27), were very close to qualifying for state as well and have set a strong foundation for next year. Way to go, Pumas!
Five Peak to Peak students were invited to compete at the UNC Math Competition last weekend. Warren Chen ('24) placed 9th overall, and Allison Duan ('27) received an Honorable Mention out of 300 students in the 2nd round. Vyom Jain ('27), Bennett Ross ('25) and Ellen Lu ('24) were also invited to the event.
Robbie Wells, Nolan Kvan, Alexis Pop, Phoebe Gribble, and Akhil Ramaswamy (all Class of 2028) took 4th at the Championship Brain Bowl Tournament! They took on 8th grade teams from all over the state in head-to-head academic trivia. Their success was preceded by their 4th-place finish at the Northern Regional Tournament last month.
Sam Hughes (Class of 2027) recently won third place in the Ringling College of Art and Design's Storytellers of Tomorrow competition! Sam's game, "Kiwi RPG," is lauded by judges for its combination of a "cute premise" and a "grim game of survival" as players assume the role of kiwi birds. With over 500 entries spanning four continents, Sam's amazing design was "a standout" according to the judges. Congratulations, Sam!
Congratulations to Peak to Peak's Mock Trial Team for another fantastic showing at the Boulder Regional Mock Trial Tournament. The students presented a court case in real courtrooms, including opening statements, direct and cross-examinations, and closing arguments. The kids learn the actual rules of evidence to make objections and motions during the trial. This year, twelve teams competed with over one hundred students participating. Kayla Kerrane (Class of 2024) was given the award for best cross-examination--among 144 cross-examinations! Awesome job, Pumas!
February 2024
Congratulations to Abby Fitzgerald and Sydney Lewis (both Class of '25) for auditioning and being accepted into the 2024 Colorado All State Choir! From February 8th-10th, these two worked hard in all-day rehearsals in downtown Denver with their fabulous clinicians, Jing Ling-Tam and Dr. Rene Clausen! This culminated in a concert at the famed Buell Theater in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where they performed with over 600 phenomenal singers from all across Colorado. Abby and Sydney gave excellent performances and represented Peak to Peak at the highest level of choral singing. Way to go Pumas!
Ranye Ezenekwe, Emma Casini, and Tanishka Tagare (all Class of 2025) have been working with Teen Dreams and the Global Co Lab Network since their ninth-grade years and are making amazing things happen. They recently finished the production of a documentary: Youth Voices on the UN Goals — Changing the World Together. For the past 8 months, they have collaborated with professional filmmakers and directors to produce a 20-minute piece on how youth can become global changemakers. Emma and Ranye are both featured in this film! Last week, Ranye and Tanishka flew to Orange County, CA, to premier the documentary at the Ocean Institute. The students hope this compelling production will incentivize young people to embrace sustainability and activism. Here is the link to the 20-minute documentary: https://drive.google.com/.../1KTc7rlXfscCyw0mGknoGg9.../view
Kayla Pascoe (class of 2033) was awarded a competitive scholarship for her tap dance performance at the 24Seven Dance Convention in Denver, CO on Saturday, February 3, 2024. Kayla is invited to continue her training at the national level at Dancerpalooza in Los Angeles, CA this upcoming July. Congratulations, Kayla!
Not one but TWO Peak to Peak teams have advanced to the semi-final Pitching Round of the international Diamond Challenge, the biggest high school entrepreneurship competition in the world. They will now prepare pitches for business leaders who will evaluate their amazing social entrepreneurship solutions. Matthias Kundert and Sona Karande's idea Ride for Roofs is a ride-sharing app specifically for those who struggle with mobility due to disability. Inisha Pokhrel and Avi Kaplan's concept, Scent Bear, creates a stuffed animal that combines aromatherapy and AI to assist with mental health. Both teams will have only a five-minute pitch to convince the judges of how their big ideas can improve the world! Congrats to these innovators!Not one but TWO Peak to Peak teams have advanced to the semi-final Pitching Round of the international Diamond Challenge, the biggest high school entrepreneurship competition in the world. They will now prepare pitches for business leaders who will evaluate their amazing social entrepreneurship solutions. Matthias Kundert and Sona Karande's idea Ride for Roofs is a ride-sharing app specifically for those who struggle with mobility due to disability. Inisha Pokhrel and Avi Kaplan's concept, Scent Bear, creates a stuffed animal that combines aromatherapy and AI to assist with mental health. Both teams will have only a five-minute pitch to convince the judges of how their big ideas can improve the world! Congrats to these innovators!
Soren DuMond (Class of 2027) alpine ski races for Eldora Ski and Snowboard Club. Soren races GS, Slalom, Super G, and also competed in his first Downhill event in Aspen. Soren finished 22nd in slalom and 25th out of 50 of the best athletes in Colorado at the U16 Qualifiers in Winter Park. Congrats, Puma!
Congrats to these Peak to Peak swimmers swimming for Monarch High School: Avery Zerwekh Reardon (2025), Katherine Zerwekh Reardon (2027), Kyra Rein (2027), Sophia Griepentrog (2025), Isabel Swarr (2026), and Miriam Altunsoy (2026). All six students qualified for the Front Range League "A" Championships held on Friday, February 2nd and Saturday, February 3rd. In addition, Avery, Katherine, and Isabel will be competing in the 4A State Meet this week! Good luck, Pumas!
Congratulations to the eleven Peak to Peak swimmers who helped the combined Centaurus swim team win their conference meet for a second year in a row! The girls cheered each other on as many of them swam for personal records. This week Abby Fitzgerald, Josie Karr, and Virginia Walsh (all Class of 2025) will move on to the State Championship meet! Congratulations, Pumas!
Congratulations to Peak to Peak's High School Ethics Bowl team for winning the Colorado Bowl this Saturday and moving forward to the divisional playoff against the winner of the Oklahoma meet. Way to go, Pumas!
January 2024
Congratulations to Edwin Kim (Class of 2025)! Edwin, who plays cello in Peak to Peak's Chamber Honors Orchestra, auditioned for and was accepted to the 2024 All State Orchestra. This week, Edwin will rehearse and perform under the direction of the well-renowned festival conductor, Scott Laird. Out of many students, Edwin is one of 28 cellists to make the two All State Orchestras. Edwin will travel to Fort Collins this weekend to represent Peak to Peak in the festival and concert on Feb. 3 at CSU. Please join us in congratulating Edwin on this achievement!
Congratulations to Peak to Peak freshman, Sona Karande! Sona, a 9th-grader who plays clarinet in Peak to Peak's Wind Symphony and piano and clarinet outside of school in the Longmont Youth Symphony Orchestra, auditioned for and was accepted into the 2024 High School Combined League Honor Band (CLHB) on clarinet. CLHB is an audition-only group for students in northern Colorado. Sona was selected as Fourth Chair (1st Clarinet Part) out of the 18 clarinet players also chosen for the ensemble. Each year, numerous students try out for an opportunity to join the band and work with some of the leading conductors in the region. These talented, young musicians gather for a day of rehearsal followed by an evening performance. This year's concert will be held at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley on February 20. Please join us in congratulating Sona on this achievement!
After 20 rounds, Abram Antman (class of 2029) won our middle school spelling bee with the correct spelling of “penultimate.” Pranav Sankar (class of 2030) is the first runner up. Abram will represent Peak to Peak at the Boulder Valley Regional Spelling Bee on March 16 at Nevin Platt Middle School. Way to go Pumas!
19 Peak to Peak students received Scholastic Art Awards this year! This prestigious national program has been an annual event in Colorado since 1947. Each year, thousands of Colorado youth enter an average of 5,000 pieces of artwork into the program with the Colorado Art Region of Scholastic Art & Writing. Judges look for work that best exemplifies originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. The selected artworks will be displayed digitally and physically at the Denver Art Museum and 40 West Gallery in Denver starting in early February 2024. You can view their art in the slideshow below, or on our social media pages.
Congratulations to Aditya Nandyal (Class of 2024) who was named a Regional Finalist in the Coca-Cola Scholars Program! This is a huge accomplishment - these students have progressed to the second stage of selection after the review of 1,514 Semifinalists who were chosen from among more than 103,800 applicants hoping to be named Coca-Cola Scholars this year. Regional Finalists will participate in virtual interviews with a committee of Scholar alumni and staff members in the coming weeks. After these interviews are complete, 150 of the 250 Regional Finalists will become Coca-Cola Scholars, receive a $20,000 scholarship, and be honored at the 2024 Scholars Banquet on April 25 in Atlanta.
Congratulations to Shreya Senthilkumar (Class of 2024) and Alex Henry (Class of 2025) for auditioning and being accepted into the 2024 Combined League Honor Choir! This ensemble selects singers from Colorado high schools North of I-70 and East of the continental divide. Both of our Puma singers were selected for the Mixed Choir under the direction of Dr. Seth Pendergast, Assistant Professor of Music Education at Colorado State University. On January 17th, these two made the trip up to the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, where they worked hard all day in clinics and rehearsals from 8:00am right up through the 7:00pm concert! They both cherished the experience of making joyful music (and some new friends) with hundreds of singers from across Northeast Colorado. Way to go Pumas!
Siddharth Nareddy (Class of 2024) was recently selected as one of two students in Colorado to represent the state as part of the US Senate Youth Program. As part of this program, Sidd will be going to Washington DC for a week in March, alongside Senator Bennet and Senator Hickenlooper, to meet with federal policy officials and learn more about government. Sidd will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for his undergraduate studies. Amazing work, Sidd! You can read more about Sidd and the US Senate Youth Program here.
Amrita Saini (Class of 2024) was named a Scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2024, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. The competition is owned and produced by Society for Science. Amrita will receive a $2,000 award and Peak to Peak will receive $2,000 as well. This is an amazing accomplishment! Throughout its history, the competition’s alumni have been honored with 13 Nobel Prizes, 11 National Medals of Science, six Breakthrough Prizes, 21 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, and two Fields Medals. This year, the Science Talent Search received more applicants than they've seen in over five decades. Congratulations, Amrita! Very impressive!
Ethan Soesilo (Class of 2030) was part of the Colorado All-Star Swim Team as one of the top 12 swimmers in the state for 11-12 Boys. He joined Team Colorado to compete at the Midwest All-Star Championship meet in Iowa against the best in the Midwest (Jan 6-7, 2024). Way to go, Ethan!
Peak to Peak ninth graders have won the Congressional App Challenge! Joe Neguese just announced the winners from Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. Shibani Senthilkumar (Class of 2027) has taken first place for her app MedifyAI, which uses artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes. "MedifyAI is an interactive medical app that helps identify and diagnose symptoms through AI, find solutions, find a hospital, and notify/call and automatically send your location to contacts or authorities in case of an emergency."
Peak to Peak ninth graders have won the Congressional App Challenge! Joe Neguese just announced the winners from Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. [Left to Right] Joshua Velayo, Alden Bradley, Pierce Ross, and Rohit Movva (Class of 2027) won second place with their app Course Rescheduler to help students and counselors manage schedule changes. "Course Scheduler helps to reschedule a student's schedule. Users must first sign up for an account to save their past schedules, which they will be able to log back into later."
Congratulations to Jacque Steven, (Class of 2026) for auditioning and being accepted into the 2024 Colorado All-State Concert Band. Out of hundreds of auditions from across the state, Jacque was selected to be the bass trombonist in this ensemble. Students will have two-and-a-half days of intensive rehearsals working on challenging music. The ensemble will be conducted by Dr. Michael Golemo, who is the Director of Band at Iowa State University. The weekend will culminate with a final performance of the 110-piece ensemble on April 6, 2024 at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, Colorado. Great job, Puma! Way to go in proudly representing Peak to Peak at the state’s highest level! May be an image of 1 person, trumpet, oboe, saxophone, clarinet and brass
December 2023
Congratulations to Warren Chen (Class of 2024) who performed in the National American Invitational Math Competition for upper high school students last month. He will now be competing in the International competition, in February 2024. This is the 3rd year he has qualified for the AIME 4-hour competition. Good luck, Warren!
Congratulations to Peak to Peak freshman, Shaan Karande! November turned out to be an eventful month for 9th grader, Shaan Karande, who plays tenor saxophone in Peak to Peak's Advanced Jazz Band and piano outside of school. Shaan auditioned for and was accepted into this year's 2024 Colorado Small School All-State Jazz Band on piano. The All-State Jazz Band is highly selective, with numerous high school students in all grades from all across the state auditioning. This is the third time in P2P’s history that a band member has made the Colorado All-State Jazz Band. Students will have two-and-a-half days of intensive rehearsals culminating with a final performance on January 27, 2024, at the historic Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. Shaan’s selection to the All-State Jazz Band comes on the heels of playing piano with the Combined League High School Honor Jazz Band, another audition-only group that brings together talented young musicians in Northeast Colorado for a day of rehearsal and an evening performance. Both ensembles offer the opportunity to work with some of the leading conductors in the state. Please join us in congratulating Shaan on his hard work and achievements!
First grader Emmett Gmeinder won Artist of the Week on Artsonia. He received a plaque and $50 award and Katy Mathes, elementary art teacher, received $100 for classroom supplies. Ms. Mathes purchased new paintbrushes that will benefit all elementary artists! Congratulations, Emmett!
November 2023
Some of our high school Cross Country athletes elected to travel to Mesa, Arizona over the Fall break to compete in the off-season Nike Cross Regional Southwest meet. The girls team placed 1st and the boys team placed 3rd overall. Way to go Pumas, and way to represent our school!
Om Mathur (class of 2025) was named Player of the Year by the Boulder Camera for his achievements in Boys' Golf this season. Congratulations, Om!
BVSD's water polo team, which includes several Peak to Peak athletes, won the Colorado state high school water polo championship! This was their third win in four years. Way to go!
Liesl Seeber (class of 2033) and Hannah Holman's (class of 2032) Broomfield soccer team took first in the Veterans Cup Soccer Tournament in Colorado Springs this weekend. Congratulations, Pumas!
Congratulations to the following high school students who successfully competed in the prestigious UNC math competition recently. They will be attending the 2nd round in the Spring Semester. Amanda Zou, Tanush Shekhar, Warren Chen, Bennett Ross, Ellen Lu, Vyom Jain
Sydney Cusack (class of 2025) was recognized at last weekend's Colorado Art Education Association conference for her submission in the Youth Art Month State Flag competition. Sydney's work was selected as the first runner-up out of hundreds of student applicants across the state and will be made into a flag for display at the Youth Art Month Museum. Congratulations, Sydney!
Emma Casini (class of 2025) spent 10/23-10/27/23 in New York City, where she was one of 150 delegates accepted from over 2000 applicants from around the world to participate in the Global Peace Summit 2023. There they discussed worldwide challenges and issues, sought viable solutions, listened to leaders from various countries with different perspectives and ideas, and built connections and friendships with peers from around the globe, seeking common ground and cooperation. In addition, Emma was one of a handful of delegates who were invited to attend a private event at the Pakistani consulate where the Ambassador spoke.
United Soccer Coaches and MaxPreps announced the High School Player of the week for their on-field efforts from October 23rd-29th. Peak to Peak's very own varsity soccer player, Jorden Gyaltsen, was selected to represent Colorado. Way to go, Puma!
Jacque Steven (class of 2026) auditioned for and has been accepted into the 2023 CSU High School Honor Band Festival. Jacque was selected from hundreds of applicants throughout the western region; the three-day festival will take place in December at the University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Students will get the opportunity to work with guest clinicians and conductors to enhance the student’s experience, providing invaluable insight and expertise. In addition to rehearsals, students enjoy several concerts given by CSU faculty and student ensembles. The experience is capped off with a performance by the Honor Wind Symphony and the Festival Concert Band in the beautiful, world-class Griffin Concert Hall. This is the first time that a Peak to Peak band member has made this ensemble. Join us in congratulating Jacque for a job well done. Way to represent Peak to Peak, Jacque!
Congratulations to the Broomfield High School gymnastics team, representing all of BVSD, for winning the 5A regionals tournament last Saturday. Mia Ritchie (class of 2024) placed 5th on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on floor,1st on beam, and 2nd all-around. Sophia Pych (class of 2024) placed 9th on the beam. Liv Cornella (class of 2027) represented Peak to Peak as well. The team moved onto the 5A State Championship this past Thursday where they took 2nd overall. Mia placed 4th in the state competition for floor. Great job!
Peak to Peak was one of 16 Colorado schools to receive Governor Polis' Science Bright Spot Awards for high achievement in Science. Peak to Peak will receive a $50,000 award that can be used to purchase educational technology, offer professional development, and other opportunities that will benefit students' learning experiences. Governor Polis said, “By highlighting the top sixteen schools in the state for science achievement, we are shining a light on what works. We look forward to finding out what works at these schools and helping more students excel in science. Improving science education will help students and our state." We are so proud of our students!
Peak to Peak won the ReSource Central Renew Our School SPARK! Competition. Innovation class assistants (with the help of ninth graders) measured our energy usage (lights, electricity, heat, etc.), analyzed what these results meant, and devised plans to improve. Yay, energy efficiency, and yay, Pumas!
October 2023
Arrin Petkar (Class of 2032) was recognized in the 4th Annual Juried Youth Art Show at the Erie Community Library for her artwork. Her piece won the People’s Choice Award for the 9-11 age category. Great work, Puma!
Emory Vazquez (Class of 2025) was selected as a recipient of the 2023 Youth Impact Award in the Masters Division. He was honored at this year's Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented Award Ceremony in Loveland for his work on helping the elderly become technologically literate. His student-led nonprofit, Connect Digital Inclusion Labs, hosts free tech help days at the public library, gives computer lessons at local senior living facilities, and volunteers with the EFAA and Sister Carmen to increase digital literacy and inclusion while leveraging their tech skills to help close the digital divide. Thanks for all you and your team do to make our community better, Emory!
The boys' cross country team took 2nd place at the Metro League Meet. Congrats, Pumas!
The Girls' Cross Country team took first place at the Metro League meet! Way to go, Pumas!
Boys' Tennis took 2nd in Regionals last month. Go team!
Lindsay Roy (Class of 2029) took first in the district cross-country invitational! Way to go, Lindsay!
Congratulations to Om Mathur (Class of 2025) and the Boys' Golf Team! Om won the state championship for 3A Boys' Golf and the Peak to Peak team placed second overall. Way to go, Pumas!
September 2023
Vivaan Bhardwaj (Class of 2026) won first place for #2 Singles in the Longmont Boys Tennis Invitational Tournament held on September 23, 2023. Way to go, Vivaan!
Peak to Peak boys golf team won the Class 3A Region 2 tournament at CommonGround golf course. Great job, Pumas! Read more about the team's win.
High School English Teacher, Karen Amidon, has been named among 12 fellows in the 2023-2024 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellowship. Ms. Amidon, along with the other selected teachers, "will focus on a range of education issues important to Colorado's students and communities, including school quality, chronic absenteeism, elementary students reading and writing achievement, as well as teacher preparation and the recruitment and retention of teachers of color."
Read more about this impressive cohort here.
August 2023
Junior Alexandra Eschmeyer ('25) was just named to ESPN's top 60 recruits in the country for the Class of 2025. Congrats Alex!!!
High School Math Teacher and Head Girls' Basketball Coach, Joe Howard was selected as Colorado's 2023 Most Valuable Coach/Teacher according to Dairy Max and the Colorado Rapids! He wins a smoothie machine, a thousand dollars for his classroom, and Rapids swag. Congrats, Coach Howard!
Prisha Jain ('28) earned 1st place as an overall gymnast in her division at the CARA Gymnastics State Championship Competition this summer. She also received 1st place in individual events (Bars and Floor).
High School Artists, Hailey Power ('24) & Harper Riss ('24), Designs Selected for Cherry Creek Arts Van
Summer 2023
After a solid performance at State with a Runner Up finish which wears a first for Peak to Peak girls golf, we have two of our players making the CHSAA All State Teams. 1st Team All State is Noelle Thompson ('23) and 2nd Team All State is Shriya Sharma ('25). Click here to read the full article in BOCO Preps.
"Peak to Peak junior Kourtney Rathke ('24) highlighted the Class 3A effort as its CHSAA athlete of the year for the second straight season after securing victory in both the pole vault (13 feet, 3A state meet record) and the long jump (18-2), all while placing second in the triple jump (37-0.75) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.71)."
The Peak to Peak High School Yearbook received recognition as a Gold Level yearbook for the Jostens National Yearbook Program of Excellence. Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of Excellence Awards are presented twice a year, in spring and in fall based on the yearbook’s arrival date at the school. The award was presented to the Peak to Peak yearbook program for achieving defined criteria in between one and three of the following categories: creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement, and successfully managing the yearbook creation process.
Ziba Ahamad ('24) received the 2023 Princeton Prize in Race Relations. "The Princeton Prize in Race Relations (PPRR) was founded in the fall of 2003. Founder Henry Von Kohorn '66 recognized the need to support and encourage young high school students committed to fostering positive race relations within their communities. Henry's vision was founded on the notion that early encouragement, reward and support for these students would motivate them to continue this critical work in college and beyond. Further, that these students would create a virtuous cycle that would continue to foster positive race relations well beyond the scope of their initial projects."