Weekly Digest

We are excited to announce our upcoming Book Swap event! This is a great opportunity for students to refresh their home libraries by exchanging gently used books for new reading adventures.

Drop-Off: The week of March 31st in the north and south building lobbies. Please send in any gently used books that your family is ready to pass along. 

Book "Shopping": April 8th-9th in the front circle. Students and families will have the opportunity to select new-to-them books for free from the donated books.

Thank you for supporting a love of reading! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact karyn.spencer-hogan@bvsd.org

The 2025 Peak Gala committee extends our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s event so special! Thanks to your generosity, we are thrilled to share that we raised just over $135,000 in support of our school.

A special shoutout goes to our incredible auction item donors, sponsors, and dedicated committee members who put in countless hours to bring this event to life. We have a handful of items that were not previously visible for bidding but now are, in addition to printed copies of the 15 different elementary art prints. To purchase, please visit our auction site. 

If you purchased an auction item but weren’t able to pick it up, please email p2p.friends@bvsd.org to arrange a pickup. Many certificates can be sent via email, but all physical items must be picked up at the school.

During the event, Director of Operations, Jen Douglas, and High School Principal, Josh Benson, shared reflections on Peak to Peak’s 25-year journey and the impact of our community’s support. To see a quick snapshot of our early years, please check out this video sent to all attendees prior to the gala. They also highlighted our efforts to replenish the Peak Innovation & Experiential Learning Fund, which is entirely funded by donations. This fund fuels innovative teaching and unique learning opportunities for students and provides immediate financial support for unique projects requested by any K-12 staff member that is unable to be covered through our school budget. You can learn more by watching this short video and support the fund here. (Both videos are also available on our Peak to Peak YouTube channel.)

Photos taken at our photo booth can be viewed online!

Once again, thank you for making this year’s gala such a success—whether you donated, attended, or bid from home. We are so grateful for your support!

1. Kristianna Vedvik, Director of Human Resources, presented the employee survey results from Employers Council to the Board. Staff continues to report overall job satisfaction with a few areas of opportunity mostly centered on communication and compensation.

2. The principals reported to us on each of their levels. Josh Benson spoke about our Peak to Peak internal climate survey results. Melissa Christensen shared with us that the literacy curriculum committee has picked a new literacy curriculum for elementary for next year; we will hear more about this once the committee has an action plan. Clara Quinlan reported on the work her staff is doing to solve the anxiety related to incoming new Peak to Peak middle school students and families.

3. Lisa Jones reported on the Equity Committee's work and presented a draft of a framework the school could use going forward when making decisions.

4. Polly Breit from CCS came and presented her company's report on Peak to Peak's fundraising feasibility study. This is one piece of information we are collecting following Jen Douglas' lead on Long Term Facility Planning. The Board plans to have a robust work session in June to make some decisions about our goals around Long Term Facilities.

5. Jen Douglas presented the first budget introduction for next year. There are many variables that we are waiting on, including per pupil funding (PPR) and our charter contract negotiations, that will influence this work.

6. Our next meeting is April 2nd at 5pm in the CCC.

Please remember to order your child's yearbook and have your custom pages finished by March 31st. You can order the yearbook at TreeRing.com. Our school code is 1015361813341879. Yearbooks will be delivered to students at school on May 16th. If you have any questions or need to double check to see if you already ordered a yearbook, please contact Kathleen Roberg at kathleen.roberg@bvsd.org.

March is National Reading Month!

Student Council (StuCo) invites all elementary students to participate in the following activities:

• March 7th-14th: Bookmark Decorating Contest
  • Complete the form (available through your homeroom teacher) and design a bookmark. Top designs will be turned into REAL bookmarks and available to all students through the library.
• March 21st: Storybook Character Dress Up Day
  • Dress up like your favorite character from a book!
• Beginning March 17th: Mystery Reader Online Edition
  • Continuing the tradition from past years, Student Council members will read picture books to you and your classmates. Links to videos will be made available. (Details coming soon!)

BVSD, in partnership with the Parent Engagement Network and the Digital Media Treatment & Education Center, invites families to a presentation exploring the effects of digital media and screen time on children's mental health and development. Experts Tracy Markle and Dr. Brett Kennedy will provide insights into how smart devices, social media, and video gaming influence brain development, self-esteem, academic performance, and emotional well-being.

Presentations catered by grade level are offered at various school locations across the district from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

• Elementary presentations are offered on Thursdays:
  • March 13th (Emerald ES)
  • April 17th (Whittier ES)
  • April 24th (Bear Creek ES)

Event Information and RSVP link: Parent Presentation Series - The Balancing Act: Screen Time, Mental Health, & Academic Performance

BVSD, in partnership with the Parent Engagement Network and the Digital Media Treatment & Education Center, invites families to a presentation exploring the effects of digital media and screen time on children's mental health and development. Experts Tracy Markle and Dr. Brett Kennedy will provide insights into how smart devices, social media, and video gaming influence brain development, self-esteem, academic performance, and emotional well-being. 

Presentations catered by grade level are offered at various school locations across the district from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

• Middle school presentations are offered on Wednesdays:
  • April 2nd (Angevine MS)
  • April 23rd (Manhattan MS)
  • May 7th (Louisville MS).

Event Information and RSVP link: Parent Presentation Series - The Balancing Act: Screen Time, Mental Health, & Academic Performance

Our first Peak Week course launched last night, and we can't wait to hear about the life-changing experiences our students will have, both near and far, when they return.

While we encourage all of our Peak Week participants to 'unplug' and be fully present for their experience, we know that circumstances may arise where you need to be in touch with your student.

For on-site courses, if you need to reach your student, please call the Main Office (303-453-4601).

For off-site courses, if you need to speak with someone urgently and cannot reach the course leader, please contact Josh Benson (joshua.benson@bvsd.org or 303-453-4738).

Wishing all of our students a safe and memorable Peak Week experience!

Current 9th-grade parents and guardians, please mark your calendars for Session #3 of our Counseling Parent/Guardian Curriculum Night on April 22nd at 6:00 pm featuring Mark DeBord from the College Funding Coach. 

BVSD, in partnership with the Parent Engagement Network and the Digital Media Treatment & Education Center, invites families to a presentation exploring the effects of digital media and screen time on children's mental health and development. Experts Tracy Markle and Dr. Brett Kennedy will provide insights into how smart devices, social media, and video gaming influence brain development, self-esteem, academic performance, and emotional well-being.

Presentations catered by grade level are offered at various school locations across the district from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

• High school presentations are offered on Wednesdays:
  • March 12th (New Vista HS)
  • April 9th (Monarch HS)
  • April 30th (Broomfield HS).

Event Information and RSVP link: Parent Presentation Series - The Balancing Act: Screen Time, Mental Health, & Academic Performance

Thursday afternoon, hundreds of students and staff packed the halls of the middle school to surprise Jake Cousins, Middle School World History Teacher, with the news that they are a 2025 Impact on Education Award Winner!

From the Impact Nomination: "Jake Cousins creates inquiry-driven, creative, and safe learning spaces that expand students’ capacity to think critically and independently. Each student knows that they are capable, valued, and seen as a unique individual in Cousins' presence, consistently encouraged forward in their growth as a scholar and human. From sponsoring our QSU to launching our first-ever Dungeons and Dragons club, Jake intentionally chooses the middle years – inspiring, dynamic, and magically messy – to walk alongside young adults as their mentor and champion."

Jake and the other BVSD award winners will be honored at the Impact Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 30th. Please join us in congratulating Cousins on this well-deserved award!

20 Peak to Peak high schoolers participated in the BVSD Regional Science Fair last month, with over half of them receiving awards in their category. Winners from the regional science fair have the chance to compete at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF) in Fort Collins next month.

The following students will compete at CSEF:

• Jack Cerullo ('25) & Tanush Shekhar ('26) took second place in Math with their project "Revolutionizing CryoET: Novel Simulation Techniques for ML-Based Tomogram Labeling"
• Aarnav Jain ('25) & Calvin Johnson ('25) placed second in Psychology with their project "Sympathetic Nervous System Activation Effects on Short-Term Memory in a Virtual Environment"
• Divy Pandey ('27) won first place in Biomedical and Health Sciences for her project "Simulating Cardiovascular Flow in a Fontan Heart"
• Neha Pesaramelli ('26) took second in Chemistry "Measuring Chemical Kinetics in High School Labs"
• Amanda Zou ('26) & Jenny Xu (Fairview) placed first in Biology for their project "Disrupting PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 Genes for CRISPR Gene Editing Technology for Hypercholesterolaemia Treatment" and also qualified for the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)!

The following students also received awards for their projects:

• Carly Graziano ('25) received the Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award and the Stockholm Junior Regional Water Prize for her project "Too Hot to Handle: Investigating Climate’s Aquatic Impact on Freshwater Shrimp Behavior"
• Saatwik Das ('26) placed second in Astronomy with his project "Correcting Deviation in Quantum Metrology Optical Spectrum Analysis Using NMovel Frequency Comb Technology"
• Colin Drake ('25), Aidan Krusinski ('25), and Emory Vasquez ('25) placed 3rd in Math & Computer Science for their project "NilVec"

Peak to Peak Honorable Mentions: Sebastian Sermeno-Urroz, Ranye Ezenekwe, Erica El-Hehiawy, Elsie Sladden, Quentin Bona, Vishal Karimuthu, Will Rigney, Aadi Sobti, and Anders Sicker

Three Peak to Peak students took 2nd place in the Tune-Up Tournament for Boulder Valley Girls Softball Association.

Congratulations to Elyssa Nerstad ('30), Campbell Weiss ('31), and Julianna Nerstad ('32)!

These competitive swimmers were part of the 2025 CSI 14 & Under Age Group State Championships, where their Flatiron Swimming Team placed 1st among all Small Teams! 

Congratulations to Ethan Soesilo ('30, pictured left), Sophia Banjo ('28, pictured right), Natalie Wand ('29), Hadley Wright ('31), Liesl Seeber ('33), and Dillon Zhang ('34)!

Vyom Jain (Class of 2027) was selected to shadow Colorado legislator Elizabeth Velasco on the Senate and House floor at the annual Legislative Day at the Capitol. Selected students have the unique and informative opportunity to spend a day at the Capitol shadowing a Colorado legislator on the Senate or House floor, attending committee meetings, and having lunch with them and their aides. What a unique opportunity!

Do you have a student or staff celebration to share with us? Submit accomplishments and photos for the Puma Spotlight with this form!

We can't be there for every moment, but we know you are there with your cameras. By sharing your photos through this form, we can share the story of your Puma moment with our community.