Peak to Peak has TWO teams in the national finals for the Paradigm Challenge. Each team has won a minimum of $200, with an educator grant of $100. This summer judges will determine who wins the top three prizes, ranging from $2000- $10,000 for each level. If they go on to the grand prize, they will win $100,000 to take their innovation to the next level (and 5K for the school).
Our two teams are:
Elementary Level -
Penelope Letter (4th grade)
Ivy Letter (2nd grade), , "Turtle Jackets for Helping Homelessness"
High School Level -
Kate Berg (12th grade), , "Repurposing Orange Pulp for Bioplastic"
Brook Mueller-Scott (5th grade) won another medal in fencing during the season's fifth in-house tournament of the Fencing Academy of Denver/Parker held on May 19. She competed in the co-ed Y10 Mixed 2007 and 2008 Saber group. This was the end-of-season tournament and all points for the season were tabulated and Brook received a trophy for third place overall among all competitors.
This year's stock market game closed a few weeks ago and for the second year in a row, a team of middle school students took first place, even beating the high school students. It truly is a game where everyone has an equal chance and all will learn more about the economy and markets.
This year, the team composed completely of high school students, the Unnamed, took 3rd place. Coming in Second was The Stock Jocks, but taking home first place and free water world tickets was the middle school team named Three's and Charm. Team members Diya Narasimhan (6th grade), Serendipity Fox-Smith (6th grade), and Anjana Radha (6th grade) grew their portfolio to $112,149! Congratulate them on their big win and maybe they'll share a stock tip or two!
The High School Girls' 4 x 800 meter relay team won the state title! This year's all 11th grade relay group of Tiana Bradfield, Jenna Howard, Quinn McConnell and Anna Shults convincingly won the race with a time of 9:20.84. It was the fifth straight 3,200-meter relay state title for the Pumas. Read more on BoCo Preps article. Overall, on the strength of 5 scoring athletes, our P2P girls took 3rd as a team at the state track championships. A valiant effort on the part of those 5 competing in multiple events for the sake of their teammates!
Photo by BoCo Preps.
The following Middle School French students participated in the National French Contest and earned medals:
Emily Kirkfield: Silver medal (2nd in Chapter and 7th in Nation)
Natalie Sievers: Silver (3rd in Chapter and 8th in Nation)
Isabelle Entin: Bronze medal (7th in Chapter and 13th in Nation)
Anne Nevadomski: Bronze. (5th in Chapter and 11th in Nation)
Pierre Shade: Bronze ( 8th in Chapter and 14th in Nation)
Nikolai Woeger: Bronze (5th in Chapter and 11th in Nation)
The following students received Honorable Mention Certificates:
Cayla Bowen
Quinn Burns
Emily Cain
Logan Corcilius
Madeleine Dierking
Lucas Dotson
Brode Gustafon
Joey Hoffman
Eva Locke
Vasilisa Malenkiy
Faith Peddycord
Andrew Plute
The High School Girls Tennis team won the 3A state team title, and the Somasundaram twins made history with the #1 and #2 singles titles.
Peak to Peak senior, Gia Tran, was selected as a Class of 2018 Boettcher Scholar. "The Boettcher Scholarship is a prestigious merit-based academic scholarship awarded to graduating Colorado high school students. Award recipients, on average, rank in the top 2% of their graduating classes and have an average SAT score around 1400."
Our fabulous teachers Michelle Eckstein (technology), Megan Hensen (4th grade), Marti Oliva (3rd grade), and Sheena Kelly (teacher-librarian, not pictured) won a $5,000 grant from CenturyLink to support Virtual Reality technology for our students.
Declan Hiller (8th grade), Sophia Du (8th grade), and Andrew Plute (7th grade) participated in the 2018 Colorado State Mathcounts Competition this year after each placed in the top 10% in the regional Boulder Chapter competition. Out of 50 teams and hundreds of competitors from across the state, Declan placed 52nd, Sophia placed 97th, and Andrew placed 98th. The subject matter in the competition primarily covers geometry, counting & probability, number theory, and algebra.
At the state level National History Day contest our students did us proud, as always. Hadley Olsen, Stella Bishop, Emily Leonard, and Jaroldeen Oveson (all 8th grade) advanced from the district round to represent Peak to Peak in the Live Performance, Website, and Research Paper categories. Jaroldeen placed third overall in Junior Research Paper, just one place away from an invitation to Nationals.
Peak to Peak teams found success a this year's Battle of the Books.
8th grade team - 1st place
Nivedita Prabhu, Caitlyn Dodson, Natti Jaraschatrkaew, Sydney Boonstra, and Emily Post
7th grade team - 3rd Place
Andrew Plute, Natalie Sievers, Pranaya Kansara, and Ryan Taylor (not pictured)
6th grade team - 1st Place
Rita Saini, Shreya Senthilkumar, Anjana Radha, Ava Sommer, and Sidd Nareddy
4th grade team - 2nd Place
Saatwik Rishi Das , Drew Kraft, Ramshreyas Mangu, Ingrid Veres, and Amanda Zou
3rd grade team - 1st Place
Kyra Rein, Lila Eikel, Walker Miley, Henry Fitzgerald, and Katherine Zerwekh Reardon
Congratulations to the Peak to Peak Girls Tennis team who won first place at the regional championship last week! The entire team has qualified for state, which is a first in Peak to Peak history. Be sure to wish the following athletes good luck at the state tournament!
First place regional winners:
Trisha Somasundaram (11th grade) - #1 singles
Trini Somasundaram (11th grade) - #2 singles
Tiffany Tran (9th grade) - #3 singles
Madison Lin (9th grade) and Isabella Brakhage (9th grade) - #3 doubles
Claire Franz (11th grade) and Paige Burns (10th grade) - #4 doubles
Akanksha Nelacanti (11th grade) received a certificate of achievement in Math and Science from Colorado School of Mines. This award is given to one junior in each high school across the state of Colorado. Our high school counselors nominated ?Akanksha for this award. As a part of this recognition, she will also receive a scholarship from the college if she chooses to attend Colorado School of Mines.
Taylor Gallo (10th grade) and her team, Golden Girls, are champions! Taylor's team competed in the Summit Championships for Allstar Cheerleading. This is an elite event that requires an invitation to attend.
A number of 7th grade Spanish students attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2018 National Spanish Examinations.
Students from Peak to Peak earned a total of 3 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze medals along with 16 honorable mentions. “Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with over 150,000 students participating in 2018.”
Gold Medal winners (pictured): Lea Cook, Kate Remund, Caleb Frank
Silver Medal winners: Aneesh Movva, Daniel Schultheiss, Matt Lieng
Bronze Medal winners : Reece Digiacomo, Kyra Doubrava, Amanda Skinner, Simon Holstein, Lucas Briggs
The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades 6 through 12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
The Foothills Kiwanis club honored two of our shining stars for their service to the community through Peak to Peak's Key Club. Nabhur Lamsal (12th grade) was recognized for serving as Peak to Peak's Key Club President for three years. English teacher, Ms. Medina, presented Nabur with a recognition plaque and Nabhur's parents were on hand to hear Ms. Medina's tribute.
In addition, the Kiwanis Club President presented Ms. Medina with a service recognition plaque for her commitment as faculty adviser at Peak to Peak. Peak to Peak high school principal had this to say, "She's very deserving of this recognition, both for her well thought leadership and her creative inspiration with our student service leaders here at Peak to Peak."
April 2018
Peak to Peak members of Girl Scout Junior Troop 4251 earned their Bronze Award, the highest award that a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. They focused on the Girl Scout tenets of "Use Resources Wisely" and "Make the World a Better Place" with their Recycle Round-Up Project. During one week, the troop collected over 100 cubit feet of non-standard recyclable plastics and dropped them off at a collection site. They also educated friends, family, and class mates about recycling of plastics that are not accepted in typical curbside collection. Well done, Pumas!
Hope Peddycord (4th grade)
Emma Casini (5th grade)
Daphne Schweiger (4th grade)
Maya Budnick-Ash (5th grade)
Hailey Rasmussen ((4th grade; not pictured)
Peak to Peak had two Colorado Affiliate Winners of the National Committee for Women and Information Technology(NCWIT)'s Aspiration Awards in Computing this year. Congratulations to Arpita Bhutani (11th grade) and Makenna Turner (10th grade)!
"The NCWIT Award for AiC honors women in grades 9 through 12 who are active and interested in computing and technology, and encourages them to pursue their passions. Award for AiC recipients are chosen for their demonstrated interest and achievements in computing, proven leadership ability, academic performance, and plans for secondary education. To date, nearly 8,600 women have been honored with the Award for AiC. The NCWIT Award for AiC is sponsored by Apple, Bank of America, Microsoft, Motorola Solutions Foundation, and Symantec."
Two of our teachers were honored as 2018 green BVSD Sustainability Champions! Congratulations to Christie French, first grade teacher, and Monika Bunting, middle school English teacher.
Ms. French's nomination for this recognition lauded her as "an indoor air quality champion for BVSD." She has helped to implement several initiatives at Peak to Peak to address indoor air quality, green cleaning, and clutter reduction programs, all of which work to improve the air quality in the school.
Ms. Bunting was recognized for her commitment to minimizing our school's environmental impact. As an active member of the Wellness Advisory Council, she has "worked to re-energize our recycling program, presented meatless options to food services, and worked tirelessly to bring composting to our school sometime in the future."
Both teachers were inducted into the BVSD Superintendent's Honor Roll.
Three Peak to Peak seniors won prizes in the Colorado Humanities River of Words competition. Noorain Baig won first place, Rachel Thomas won second place, and Carolyn McAbee won honorable mention. They will be honored by Colorado's poet laureate in a ceremony at the Denver Public Library and will be published.
Aydin Gocemen (8th grade) and Ainsley Crist (8th grade) recently participated in The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair at Colorado State University. Ainsley Crist won second place in the state Plant Sciences Junior Division for her project "How Acidic Mine Drainage Affects Plant Growth."
She also won $525 in cash prizes, including the following special awards: Excellence in Mineral Science & Engineering Award from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration; the Trout Unlimited River Conservation Award; the USGS Excellence in Geological Research Award; the Excellence in Horticulture Award from the Colorado State University Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture; and a second nomination to enter the 2018 Broadcom Masters national science competition for middle school students.
Eight members of the Peak to Peak Model UN Club participated in the last conference of the year at Kent Denver on Saturday. Akriti Poudel (11th grade) won ‘Best Delegate’ for her work in a Historical Southern African Development Council, Shaan Sharma (10th grade) & Amber Sharma (12th grade) received an ‘Honorable Mention’ for their work in a Historical Southern African Development Council, and Kira Hensley (11th grade) & Kelly Song (11th grade) received an ‘Honorable Mention’ for their work in a LGBTQ Crisis Council.
The following 7th graders had their works received recognition in the Lafayette Youth Poetry Prize: Eliana Nelsen, Bethany Bell, and Abraham Sanchez. They will read their pieces during a community event at the end of April.
Aiyana Rockwell (10th grade) will be one of 115 girls competing in USA Basketball 2018 U17 National Team Trials at the end of this month, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The USA Basketball Developmental National Team Committee will select 12 finalists to represent the United States in this summer's 2018 FIBA World Cup in Belarus.
Twenty-three high school students attended World Language Day at the University of Northern Colorado. They spent the day using French and Spanish, and brought home 4 trophies. Pictured are Annelise Schirmer (10th grade; 3rd place in French poetry recitation), Ander deOnaindia (9th grade; 2nd place native French speaker extemporaneous speaking), Gibson Friedman (9th grade; 1st place level 1 speaking Spanish), and Kara Jensen (10th grade; 2nd place non-native French extemporaneous speaking).
Daniel Rui (10th grade) received an award for his score on the University of Northern Colorado Math Exam. He placed in the top 20.
Brook Mueller-Scott (5th grade) won the bronze medal in fencing during the season's fourth in-house tournament of the Fencing Academy of Denver/Parker held on April 8th. She competed in the co-ed Y10 Mixed 2007 and 2008 Saber group. This tournament was the largest to date for her, and she had to beat more competitors than ever to get on the podium.
Anna Shults (11th grade) was selected to represent Team USA as a member of the Youth (U18) Mountain Running Team set to compete in the International Mountain Running Youth (U18) Cup this June, in Lanzada, Italy.
Erin Byrne (10th grade) won 1st place in the Ice Skating Institute's Synchronized Championships Senior Youth Skating division, in Chicago.
Peak to Peak's Elementary technology teacher, Ms. Eckstein, contributed to the ThinkLink blog. She shared her experiences using VR (Virtual Reality) as a teaching tool in the classroom. The project she describes was funded by Peak to Peak's Innovation Fund along with Impact on Education Funds.
Peak to Peak senior Callista Zaronias "exemplifies excellence, integrity and determination," and was recognized with a Heart of Broomfield Youth Award.
Peak to Peak has four World Series of Innovation national winners! Izzy Hettmansperger (11th grade) and John Morreale (12th grade) won first place in the nation as judged by the executives at Coca-Cola for their project, "The Healthy Living Challenge." We are equally proud of Isabelle Ruble (10th grade) and Izzy Leutenegger (10th grade) who were awarded runner-up recognition in the Citibank "Decent Work Challenge."
Ash Hartnett (12th grade) received a Boulder Elks Club Scholarship Award.
February 2018
The following 8th grade students received awards for their Regional Science Fair projects:
Kendyl Fanger - 1st place in category - qualified for state, Broadcom Masters Award
Aydin Goceman - 1st place in category - qualified for state, Broadcom Masters Award
Ainsley Crist - 1st place in category - qualified for state, Broadcom Masters Award, 1st - Soil and Water Conservation Society Junior Level Award
Nivedita Prabhu - 3rd place in category, CU Chemistry Department - Junior Award
Nicholas Copanas - 2nd place in category
Noah Douglass - 3rd place in category
Clay Miller - 3rd place in category
Sartaj Singh - 3rd place in category
The following high school students received awards for their Regional Science Fair projects:
Bill Ray - 2nd place, Math and Computer Sciences - qualified for state
Navami Manangi - 2nd place, Microbiology - qualified for state
Gaia Malin qualified for the National Speech and Debate competition and will perform her Informative Speech this summer in Florida.
High school English teacher, Kristie Letter, and two of our high school students, Izzy Hettmansperger (11th grade) and John Douthit (11th grade), attended the 2018 International Problem-Based Learning conference in Santa Clara, California. The team displayed a poster that highlights the success of Peak to Peak's Innovation & Design class as a model of problem-based learning in a high school. Conference organizers commended the team as the only group who brought students. Our students introduced our innovation program to professors and educators from more than 10 other countries, while also learning about innovation programs around the world.
Mr. Benson, high school English teacher, shared his thoughts and gets a nod from "Inspire U.S." Inspire U.S. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to transform young leaders’ inspiration into action that improves our communities and strengthens our democracy.
Ryan Kuykendall (9th grade) and Vince Cornella (9th grade) advanced to the 5A State Wrestling quarterfinals.
Peak to Peak swimmers found success at this year's 3A State Championship:
Erika Schunk (12th grade) placed fourth in the breaststroke and sixth in the 100 free, and contributed to the team's success in all three relays.
Isabella Brakhage (9th grade) placed 14th in the 200 IM and 9th in the 100 breaststroke.
Grace Spakes (10th grade) and Jackie Boian (12th grade) helped the team earn a 10th place slot in the 200 meter relay.
There are seven Peak to Peak students who swam for the Centaurus Girls Swim team this year. The team placed 5th at the state championship meet this year, up from 11th last year.
The following 8th grade students advanced to represent Peak to Peak at the BVSD History Day contest.
Group Documentary:
Compromising With Conflict: Life In A German Prison Camp - Blake Wagner, Nathan Bailey, Caitlyn Dodson and Sophie Hodgson
Group Performance:
Conflict Forces a Compromise: Women in the Workforce During World War II - Hadley Olsen, Sophia Dunkin
Group Website:
Parental Advisory- The Battle for Music Cleanliness - Bethany Bass, Rebecca Hollis
Group Exhibit:
History of Biking Conflict and Compromise - Wyatt Regan, Keshav Joshi
The Anglo-Irish Treaty: A failed compromise leads to more conflict - Kendric Chen, Samvat Dangol
The Cold War:
Conflict to Compromise - Declan Hiller, Evan Toth
The Persian Gulf War - Nick Case, Nicholas Trainor
Individual Documentary:
American Filmmaking: The Making of the Hays Code - Natti Jaraschatrkaew
Bayard Rustin: A Forgotten Hero - Gianna Guido
Brazilian Redemocratization:
A Civilian Conflict and Military Compromise -Thomas Liu
Marathon Movement: The Enduring Conflict - Sophia DeSantis
Individual Website:
An Era of Change: Women in the 19th Century - Stella Bishop
The Cuban Missile Crisis - Anwita Gundu
The World Divided:
The Endangered Species Act - Emily Post
At the brink of the war: Henry Clay and the compromise that saves the union - Neeharika Hancock
Individual Exhibit:
Fight for the Throne: Mary vs. Elizabeth - Riley Cooper
The Comics Code Authority vs. The Creative Freedom of Comic Book Writers - Lyric Martin
The New York Draft Riots: America's Largest Civil Insurrection - Caroline Gable
The Brewer Foundation and New York University announced the "Sweet 16" finalists in the 17th annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) - the only contest that gives high school students around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy, and Peak to Peak's team advanced.
Kassen Qian (12th grade), Ayush Garg (10th grade), and Brandon Guo (10th grade) move on to the next level. Should the team reach the final eight, they will participate in the final rounds of debate in New York City this spring.
Peak to Peak had 21 students win 34 awards in this year's 7-state West-Region-at-Large Scholastic Writing competition, and several students are advancing to the national competition. Peak to Peak had more awards than any other school in the state.
Poetry:
Morgan Brantmeyer: Honorable mention - The Water in his Throat and The Hunters' Unemployment. Silver Key - Gardner and Yellowstone-An Ode to Heartbreak, When Ophelia wanted my girl, When my heart froze over
Lillian Dent: Honorable Mention - Ghosts of Out Pasts. Silver Key - Free Bleeding
Ziranda Dominguez: Silver Key - We The Dreamers and Together
Gaia Malin: Silver Key - Day 1: Surprise Me, Day 2: Just Hold Still, Day 3: Not So Far Away and Storytelling, Dandelions.
Alayna Mann: Silver Key - A Play on Words
Melissa Schirmer: Gold Key - The Long Shot
Anna Swarts: Silver Key - The Second Night of No Sleep, Untitled: Oil on Canvas, Too Close to Sarasota
Writing Portfolio:
Morgan Brantmeyer: Silver key - The Command of the Earth
Melissa Schirmer: Honorable Mention - Ink Spill
Critical Essay:
Naomi Burns: Honorable Mention on Music Matters
Nicholas Entin: Honorable Mention - E.T Etiquette
Aleksander Hall: Honorable Mention - Wind Power: A Necessity for Colorado
Claire Hankla: Honorable Mention - Recognizing Mental Illness: The 19th Century Shift into Insane Asylums
Kira Hensley: Silver Key - The United Nations' Failure to Properly Educate the Conflicted
Gaia Malin: Honorable Mention - LGBTQIA+ Soldiers in WWII and The Cold War and Their Impact on the Formation of a Queer Identity. Silver key - Thanksgiving: Kill Me Now
Chloe Stemm: Honorable Mention - The Atrocious Implications of Dress Codes
Ashley Tang: Gold Key - Creating a Meaningful Peformance
Bree Wee: Silver Key - Infections and Infantry: Closing the Gap Between the U.S Military and Humanitarian Aid
Kailey Zaronias: Gold Key - Integration Through Dance
Short Story:
Rebekah Doherty: Silver Key - Well Met
Humor:
Danae Fowler: Silver Key - A scholarly, Rhetorical Analysis of How Male Gametes are Akin to the Officials that Govern our World.
Desmond McReynolds: Honorable Mention - Genghis Khan Academy
Personal Essay & Memoir:
Gaia Malin: Silver key - Impact
Jessica Shuler: Gold Key - The Flash of Memory Before My Eyes
Callista Zaronias: Honorable Mention - An Everyday Olympian
The winners of Peak to Peak's 6th Annual Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest are as follows:
First place: Claire Hankla (12th grade)
Second place: Izzy Hettmansperger (11th grade)
Third place: Kailey Zaronias (11th grade)
Kassen Qian (12th grade), Navami Managi (12th grade), Brandon Guo (10th grade), Logan Hsia (11th grade), Bella Sicker (11th grade), and Andrew Woen (9th grade) qualifyied to compete at the Colorado State Speech & Debate Championships in March.
The following seniors qualified as finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program:
John Bass
Ashwin Datta
Adam Kiehl
Diego Olaya
"The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®)—which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.6 million entrants each year—and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements."
Ryan Kuykendall (9th grade) and Vince Cornella (9th grade) qualified for the 5A state wrestling tournament. Both athletes took first in their regional tournament. Vince ranked 1st in the state at 106lbs and Ryan ranked 8th at 113lbs.
Anna Shults (11th grade) qualified for the 2018 U.S. Ski and Snowboard Cross Country Junior National Championships.
Maddy Callaway (12th grade) who has qualified for the American Quarter Horse Youth Worlds in Oklahoma. Shown here on her horse Pumpkin, Maddy has also qualified as a high school open rider and will attend the Interscholastic Equestrian Association regional finals in Arizona.
The following students won Scholastic Art Awards:
Drawing and Illustration:
Sam Anderson (11th grade): Gold Key - Rashida
Chloe Eisen (7th grade): Silver Key- Emily is a Dog
Kailey Zaronias (11th Grade): Gold Key - A Bee's Abyss
The Peak to Peak Ethics Bowl team put months of rigorous/thoughtful preparation into regional ethics cases this year, and --as winner of the Colorado region--has an earned a spot in the national competition in Chapel Hill, NC, April 20-22.
March 2018
Taylor Gallo (10th grade) and her all-star cheerleading team, Golden Girls, won 1st place at the USA Nationals in Anaheim, California.
Winter Sports Awards:
Rachel Thomas: Girls Basketball - Metro League 1st Team All League
Max Higdon: Boys Basketball - Metro League Honorable Mention
Erika Schunk: Girls Swimming - Metro League Honorable Mention
Vince Cornella: Boys Wrestling - All Conference 1st Team, Front Range League All Academic
Senior Kassen Qian swept the one-on-one Lincoln Douglas Debate category at the Colorado Speech & Debate State Tournament. Peak to Peak can now claim to have Colorado's best debater two years in a row. Also rising to the occasion was sophomore Brandon Guo, who placed 3rd in State in Extemporaneous Speaking.
Peak to Peak had several Boulder Regional History Day winners. Emily Leonard (8th grade) and Hadley Olsen (8th grade) placed 3rd in Junior Group Performance. Stella Bishop (8th grade) placed 1st in Individual Website. Jaroldeen Oveson (8th grade) placed 2nd in the Junior Paper division. Chris Mather (12th grade) placed 3rd in the Senior Paper division.
Emily Struck (11th grade), Kelly Song (11th grade), and Chloe Stemm (11th grade) took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for the grades 10-12 division of the Anti-Defamation League's student essay contest, A Tribute to Moral Courage: Standing Up Against Injustice. They made a clean-sweep of the division for Peak to Peak across Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming! These three winners will be recognized and receive awards on April 24th at the Annual Governor's Holocaust Remembrance Program at Temple Emanuel in Denver.
Emily Skinner (10th grade) was cast in the Northglenn Youth Theatre production of the musical Big Fish.
Izzy Hettmansperger (11th grade) earned a National Silver Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Award competition. Izzy's project, titled "Dissimuler," was entered in the Comic Art category. She is one of the 48 Colorado writers and artists who won awards this year.
Peak to Peak has two teams that are the *top national finalists* in the World Series of Innovation! These teams have already won cash prizes as one of the top three in each category, but are now competing for a final judging prize and the community vote prize. Use the links provided below to read about these projects, watch the commercials the teams created, and support these students by voting for their projects! Everyone can vote for each project (since they are in different categories), and you can cast a new vote each day from now until March 22nd.
Izzy Hettmansperger (11th grade) and John Morreale (12th grade) for their Condom Cap Energy Drink to promote health and safe choices.
Isabelle Ruble (10th grade) and Izzy Leutenegger (10th grade) for their Dignify People Project, a website offering resources for people with disabilities.
The season sports previews show that Peak to Peak athletes are contenders:
Boys Swimming - Peak to Peak has swimmers participating with the Broomfield and Monarch teams
Boys Lacrosse - Peak to Peak has players participating with the Dawson and Centaurus teams
Jeffrey Li (10th grade) who won 3rd place in Division IV at the 41st Annual Broomfield Piano Festival.
Students participated in the 2018 Colorado High School Science Bowl. The two teams both made it out of the group round, finishing in the top 16 out of 41 total teams.
Sophomores AyushGarg and Brandon Guo qualified for the National Speech and Debate competition! These students will compete in Public Forum debate this summer in Florida.
Peak to Peak parent Angela Finan received a Heart of Broomfield award in the Education category. It comes as no surprise to our community who knows her as a warm, friendly, and ever-present volunteer. We are proud to have her in our community and are truly grateful for her hard work.
January 2018
Peak to Peak's FIRST Technology Challenge team advanced to the state level competition held at Regis University. The group is more commonly known as "The Robotics Club" which includes a number of students who contributed to the team's success.
The team members are: Weston Metzler (team co-captain, 12th grade), Matt Hartnett (team co-captain, 11th grade), Numair Baig (12th grade), Tyler O'dowd (12th grade), Akanksha Nelacanti (11th grade), Daniel Rui (10th grade), Gabriel Fromme (10th grade), Carter Post (10th grade), Makenna Turner (10th grade), Matthew Chen (9th grade), Prash Satish (10th grade), Ainsley Smith (10th grade), Charlie Dupras (10th grade), Florian Frick (10th grade), and Hyder Baig (9th grade).
A team of 10 Peak to Peak students represented our school at the prestigious 2018 Harvard Model UN Conference in Boston last week. Eight of our team members represented the country of Columbia in the Economic and Social Councils. The conference was attended by over 3,300 students from 200 secondary schools in 40 countries. In these councils, they worked with their peers to solve real-world problems currently facing the United Nations. They debated, wrote resolutions and position papers, and created alliances with each other. Their councils covered the international refugee crisis, the rights of the LGBT in all countries, the opioid crisis and the disparity between developed and developing nations regarding pharmaceutical distribution to areas in need, and the renegotiation of the Outer Space Treaty.
Two of our students, Numair Baig and Nick Hughes, applied and were accepted to take part in highly competitive small historical crisis councils. Over the course of the 4 days, they represented historical figures in the Indian Congress of 1966 and the Roman Senate of 63BCE. They were given multiple crisis situations that they could not prepare for in advance and that they had to successfully navigate. Both Numair and Nick were highly regarded in their councils and progressed their “character’s” agendas.
Akriti Poudel was one of 12 finalists (out of over 100 submissions) in the Social Impact Project contest. As a finalist, she attended a special breakfast with Nora O'Connell, Head of Advocacy and Policy at the international non-profit Save the Children.
In their spare time, they bundled up against the frigid weather and went sightseeing in Boston and walked the Harvard campus.
Team Members:
Numair Baig (12th)
Nick Hughes (12th)
Jordyn Hall (11th)
Akriti Poudel (11th)
Kelly Song (11th)
Kira Hensley (11th)
Sudeepti Nareddy (11th)
Rory Baxter (9th)
Sean Markham (9th)
Gayu Krishnan (9th)
Peak to Peak's Elementary School Spelling Bee winner was Ram Mangu (4th grade). The Middle School Spelling Bee winner was Siddharth Nareddy (6th grade). Ram and Siddarth will move on to the regional spelling bee competitions later this month.
Peak to Peak's own Kim McConnell has been selected by the U. S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as the Girls' High School Coach of the Year for the state of Colorado for the 2017 Cross Country season. "This honor is based upon the performance of the Peak to Peak High School team throughout the 2017 season and is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the student athletes, the coaching staff, and the administration of the school."
Students from the National Junior Honor Society and the National Honor Society of Peak to Peak Charter School joined thousands of other student leaders at a Leadership Experience and Development (LEAD) Conference in Washington, DC on January 26-28.
LEAD Conferences offer experiential leadership skills development to students and advisors, and are a program of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), which also administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, and National Student Council.
Peak to Peak students attended workshops on improving leadership skills, problem solving, project planning, fundraising, team building, idea sharing, and networking. The 27 NJHS and NHS students were accompanied by Sheena Kelly, K-12 Teacher Librarian and NJHS sponsor, and Elizabeth Tarbutton, High School Mathematics teacher and NHS co-sponsor.
“The LEAD Conferences offer talented young people from across the country the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills in order to make a difference in their schools and communities,” said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP.
In addition to conference attendance, students toured the White House and Capitol Buildings, and the local colleges of George Washington University and Georgetown University. Students also visited some of the world-class Smithsonian museums and galleries, including the National Air and Space Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Vince Cornella (9th grade) won first place in his wrestling weight class at the Front Range League championships.
Peak to Peak's Innovation and Design-Thinking class had four teams advance to the final rounds of competition. These teams will be producing commercials that will compete in a national innovation showdown.
Daniel Rui (10th grade) was awarded The Royal Conservatory Music Development Program State Certificate of Excellency in Level 8 Piano for obtaining the highest mark in Colorado during the 2017 academic year.
Vince Cornella (9th grade) was awarded the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Top of the Rockies tournament.
Renay Ulibarri, Peak to Peak Charter School’s lead custodian, won a 2018 Impact on Education Award!
"When fighting the good fight on the educational battlefield, there is a certain kind of comrade you want at your side. Loyal, strong, dedicated to the mission, high performer under pressure, trustworthy, resilient – these are the primary qualities of our Impact on Education winner this year. However, Renay brings so much more to our school community than the admirable qualities of a tried-and-true soldier. Her daily vibrancy and genuine smile are infectious. In her fourteen years at our school, she has inspired positivity and gratitude in our students, staff, and parent/guardian community. If the buildings and campus she diligently cleans each day could speak, they would also join this ever-growing list of grateful Peak to Peak Pumas! Whether she’s guiding students in the proper separation of recycled goods versus trash, cleaning up a water spill outside a classroom, or giving compassionate but constructive feedback to a colleague on her custodial staff, Renay epitomizes partnership and dedication on our school campus each day. She is exactly the kind of person we treasure; she is the epitome of good character shining through."
Peak to Peak's Food Services program has received recognition for "Excellence in Food Safety" from The Partners for Food Safety Program (PFSP). PFSP is a voluntary program that recognizes restaurants and facilities in Boulder County who go above and beyond to keep visitors free from foodborne illness.
Tri-M is Peak to Peak's national honor society for student musicians. In addition to recognizing students who have gone above and beyond musically and academically, this group provides students with opportunities to perform, lead, and grow through community service. Seven students (violin, piano, voice, flute, guitar, etc) performed for people in the Lafayette community who have dementia. In preparation for this event, they met with a specialist who provided them with information and guidance about performing for people with dementia.
The Denver Center for Performing Arts (DCPA) named Callista Zaronias (12th grade) as one of the top ten young playwrights in the state.
The 2017-18 Regional High-School Playwriting Workshop and Competition is "a one-act playwriting competition designed for area high schools. Local playwrights and DCPA Education faculty taught 146 playwriting workshops in 57 Colorado schools. A record 3,002 high-school students participated in those workshops, which were held in every school district in the Denver-metro area and in 20 counties around the state."
The Brewer Foundation and New York University have announced the “Top 32” teams for the 17th annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF), and one of Peak to Peak's teams has advanced! The IPPF is the only contest that gives high school students around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.
Congratulations to Kassen Qian (12th grade), Ayush Garg (10th grade), and Brandon Guo (10th grade).
Peak to Peak's Class of 2018 has earned the Eliza Pickrell Routt Award from the Colorado Secretary of State for having registered 85% or more of eligible seniors. This is the second year in a row that Peak to Peak seniors have been recognized.
After a successful performance at the regional competition, the following 6th graders have advanced to the next level in this year's Brain Bowl competition:
Adi Ramaswamy
Luke Taylor
Kyle Thenvall
Tej Mathur
Kelly Song was invited to play at the Western States Honor Orchestra held at the University of Northern Colorado.
December 2017
Vince Cornella (9th grade) placed 3rd at the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nevada. His accomplishment earned him All American Honors. Vince is ranked 2nd in the state in the 106 lb wrestling weight class in the 5A division.
Miriam Grady (12th grade) and her US fencing team, won silver at the Burgos Women’s Épée Junior World Cup in Spain.
Members of Peak to Peak's National Art Honor Society had their art on display at the Super Mini Walnut Cafe in Lafayette, December 15 through January 30.
The high school cheerleaders took 10th place at the state competition. This was the first year that the Pumas had entered the competition in several years. They had a perfect routine with zero deductions.
The Speech & Debate team competed at one of the biggest tournaments of the yearat Cherry Creek HS. Sophomores Brandon Guo and Ayush Garg took home the 2nd Place trophy in Public Forum Debate and fellow 10th grader Paige Burns placed 6th overall in Humor Interp.
There are nine Peak to Peak students performing in The Colorado Conservatory of Dance's 25th anniversary production of The Nutcracker. Students range from 4th to 12th grade and have been rehearsing for this holiday classic since August. Well done, Pumas!
Back Row: Natalie Sievers (7th grade), Anne Nevadomski (7th grade), Kailey Zaronias (11th grade), Lina Davis (10th grade), Callista Zaronias (12th grade)
Front Row: Hope Peddycord (4th grade), Faith Peddycord (7th grade), Amelia Scott (8th), Grant Peddycord (7th grade)
The 7th Grade Boys Basketball Team are champions! They took 1st place this weekend in the Metro League end-of-season tournament. They defeated Jefferson Academy in a semi-final game and defeated Faith Christian in a come from behind victory to win the championship. Way to go, Pumas!
Fall sports awards:
Cross Country
Kim McConnell- Coach of the Year
Andrew Baxter- Honorable Mention
Allison Beasley- 1st Team/ 3A State Champion
Cole Beasley- 2nd Team
Tiana Bradfield- 1st Team/3A State Champion
Ben Cunningham- Honorable Mention
Justin Hager-Honorable Mention
Jenna Howard- 2nd Team/3A State Champion
Ryan Kuykendall- 1st Team
Quinn McConnell- 1st Team/3A State Champion
Ethan Monarksi- 2nd Team
Anna Shults- 1st Team/3A State Champion
Elle Triem- 2nd Team/3A State Champion
Isabelle Ruble- 3A State Champion
Angela Li- 3A State Champion
Boys Golf
John Thornbury- Coach of the Year
Ian Thorpe- 1st Team/3A State Champion/1st Team All State/1st Team All Region Boulder County
Nishant Datta- 2nd Team/3A State Champion/2nd Team All State/Honorable Mention All Region Boulder County
Davis Long- 2nd Team/3A State Individual Champion/1st Team All State/ 1st Team All Region Boulder County
Suchit Sharma- Honorable Mention
Ethan Tartaglia- Honorable Mention/3A State Champion/Honorable Mention All Region Boulder County
Softball
Morgan Brantmeyer- 1st Team
Claire Hankla- 1st Team
Heather Holtgreive- 1st Team
Boys Tennis
Brett Finan- 4A State Singles Champion/4A Player of the Year/1st Team All State
Volleyball
Arianna Greenspan-Honorable Mention
Tyler Feddema- 2nd Team
Haley Frederking- 1st Team
Soccer
Robert Pezzuti- Honorable Mention
Allen Zheng- 1st Team
Nate Fangman- Honorable Mention
Brendan Lefkowicz- 1st Team
Jessica Shuler, 12th grade, has earned the honor of being appointed to the 2018 United States Archery Team in the Junior Women's Barebow division. Her hard work has allowed her to maintain her ranking as the #2 Junior Women's Barebow in the US. Jessica must compete in several national tournaments every year to earn a national ranking and a USAT spot. She is currently training in hopes of qualifying to compete internationally next fall.
The Speech and Debate team had an successful meet at Northridge HS. Bella Sicker placed 3rd in International Extemp and 1st in National Extemp; Angela Li placed 3rd in Program Oral Interp, Chloe Hodgson placed 6th in Original Oratory; Gaia Malin and Delaney Cohn placed 1st in Duo Interp; Ayush Garg and Brandon Guo placed 6th in Public Forum debate; Leonard Sheraer placed 7th in Lincoln Douglas debate; and Ben Blankenship placed 4th in Informative Speaking.
November 2017
Brook Mueller-Scott (5th grade) won the bronze medal in fencing during the season's second in-house tournament of the Fencing Academy of Denver/Parker held on November 12, 2017 in Littleton, CO. She competed in the Y10 Mixed 2007 and 2008 Saber group.
Students found success at the Michael Adams Poetry Prize. This contest, named in memory of poet Michael Adams, aims to cultivate and inspire an appreciation of poetry and is a celebration of Lafayette’s commitment to the arts.
Ziranda Dominguez (12th grade) won first place in written Spanish, Danae Rodriguez (11th grade) won first in Spanish spoken word. Gaby Colin (12th grade) and Andy Aguirre (12th grade) won honorable mention.
"Anna Shults placed fourth overall and was one of six total runners from NXR Southwest to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals on Dec. 2 in Portland, Ore."
Anna ran a tough, rainy, and muddy race this weekend with the top 200 high school girl runners from around the country. She earned a respectable 52nd place finish. View results of participants.
Six Peak to Peak students were part of the Erie High football squad's successful 11-2 season and played against Palmer Ridge (13-0) for the 3A State Championships. Peak to Peak players include:
Alejandro Antillon, 10th grade
Brian Graylin, 11th grade
Dylan Hall, 10th grade
Gus Fonseca-Walker, 9th grade
Ian McDonald, 11th grade
Sam Baker, 10th grade
Quinn McConnell (11th grade) was named as the BOCO Preps Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year for the third year in a row.
Peak to Peak's new Heritage Speakers class was featured in an article that appeared in the Daily Camera.
"Lafayette's Peak to Peak Charter started a Spanish class for heritage speakers this fall, creating a community for the school's small but growing Latino population.
Heritage speakers generally are those who have been exposed to Spanish regularly in their homes. Already bilingual, though sometimes missing formal Spanish instruction, typical Spanish language classes aren't a good fit.
'It's not engaging for a second-language learner,' said Elizabeth Leach, who co-teaches the class with Evelyn Firman. 'We want to harness student strengths in English and Spanish. We're letting them use what they already know so being bilingual feels like an asset rather than a challenge.' " Read more in the article.
The Speech and Debate season began with Peak to Peak students showing their prowess. Over the Thanksgiving break several students celebrated success at the Castle Classic meet.
Pictured left to right are:
Delaney Cohn (12th grade) & Gaia Malin (12th grade)- 4th place in Duo Interpretation
Shreeya Basrur (12th grade) - 4th place in Poetry Interpretation
Kassen Qian (12th grade) - 1st place in Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Students in Ms. Letter's Innovation and Design Thinking class were selected as state finalists for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenge. The class used VR and Thinglink --special thanks to Ms. Eckstein-- to create Empathy Experiences where students can experience what walking in someone else's shoes might be like.
The Lafayette Jazz Ultimate Frisbee team took 3rd place at the State Ultimate Tournament.
Jazz is a co-ed team combining Peak to Peak students and Centaurus students. Members from Peak to Peak include: Sam Goertzen, Connor Cahoon, Scott Mccall, Ben Blankenship, Heider Iacometti, Presh Satish, Gabe Fromme, Gibson Friedman, and Ben McCloskey. The team is coached by Middle school English teacher, Mr. Rozinsky and Peak to Peak alumnus, Josh Goertzen.
Ashley Tang (11th grade) was selected for the Try on Teaching program at CU. Outstanding high school juniors who participate in this 12-week program during the Spring 2018 semester get extensive experience teaching young band or orchestra students during weekly rehearsals of the University of Colorado Middle School Ensemble program.
Parker Remund (10th grade) who earned his Eagle Scout badge.
Eighteen students spent the entire day on Saturday debating and discussing real world problems of refugees, arctic drilling, national security and historical events at a Model UN conference at Cherokee Trails High School. Mana Setayesh (9th) and Vikas Muralidharan (9th) received honorable mention awards. Ash Hartnett (12th), Sudeepti Nareddy (11th) and Jordyn Hall (11th) earned Outstanding Delegation awards. Kira Hensley (11th), Kelly Song (11th), Ayush Chitrakar (12th) and Robin Peterson (12th) earned Best Delegation awards.
Thirty Peak to Peak students completed the paper and pencil math test consisting of challenging questions focusing on probability, geometric principals, and number theory. Warren Chen and Ava Sommer were two of only eight 6th-graders in the state to qualify. Other qualifiers included Sophia Du and Declan Hiller from the 8th grade class, Paris Kiehl and Madison Lin from the 9th grade class, Ayush Garg, Brandon Guo, and Daniel Rui from the 10th grade class, Brian Wee from the 11th grade class, and Alayna Mann and Adam Kiehl from the 12th grade class. Daniel Rui was only one question off from a perfect score, something only accomplished by 25 participants out of over 700.
Three Class of 2018 athletes signed with a college or university to play their respective sports as follows:
Ian Thorpe: Men's golf, Iona College
Haley Frederking: Volleyball, Fort Hays State University
Miriam Grady: Fencing, University of Notre Dame
MSN published a list of the top public middle schools in every state, and Peak to Peak's middle school came out on top for Colorado.
"When it comes to American public schools, early childhood education and high school achievement tend to dominate the conversation -- while middle school quality tends to take a backseat. Despite the apparent lack of emphasis, children spend some of their most pivotal years of development in middle school." Read more on the Daily Camera article.
Peak to Peak has been named as the Best Public School (K-8) in East Boulder County, by the Boulder Weekly.
The Brewer Foundation and New York University have announced the “Top 64” teams for the 17th annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF), and Peak to Peak has two teams who have been selected this year! The IPPF is the only contest that gives high school students around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.
Congratulations to the following:
Team 1- Kassen Qian (12th grade), Ayush Garg (10th grade), and Brandon Guo (10th grade)
Team 2- William Alexander (11th grade), Naomi Burns (11th grade), and Isabella Sicker (11th grade)
Morgan Brantmeyer (12th grade) played in the All-State softball game. Morgan joined players from the top teams in the state and proudly hit a three-run homer during the game.
Señor Matthews was selected as a University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award winner! He was nominated by Peak to Peak alumna, Rebecca Thompson, who is currently studying at the university, where entering students may nominate an influential high school educator who challenged them intellectually, opened new realms of discovery, or channeled their interested for intellectual growth.
October 2017
Tessa Hirt (2nd grade) was featured on the local news for her "Handstands for Cans" campaign, collecting non-perishable food items to donate to the Sister Carmen Center.
Brook Mueller-Scott (5th grade) won the silver medal in fencing during the in-house tournament of the Fencing Academy of Denver/Parker held in October.
Brett Finan was named as the BoCo Preps "Player of the Year!"
The Girls Cross Country team won the 3A state championship meet. In the individual race, Peak to Peak runners finished 1st - Quinn McConnell (11th grade), 2nd - Anna Shults (11th grade), and 3rd - Tiana Bradfield (11th grade).
The Boys Cross Country team finished in third place at the 3A state championship meet. This was a huge upset given the teams 15th place season finish.
The following 36 students were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society:
Alec Babineau
Elizabeth Boian
Lea Cook
Samantha De Crescenzo
Kyra Doubrava
Noah Douglass
Kendyl Fanger
Ian Faussett
Caleb Foster
Sierra Gilliam
Patrick Grady
Caleb Harris
Lauren Hudson
Ananya Kar
Anna Karr
Millie Keogh
Trey Klinger
Michael Liao
Thomas Liu
Nihar Manangi
Marcus Matsuda
Kalena Maxwell
Clay Miller
Anne Nevadomski
Bailey Patterson
Katelyn Remund
Maya Schweiger
Sartaj Singh
Amanda Skinner
Megan Skinner
Nathaniel Starbuck
Evan Toth
Linh Tran
Ryan Wallis
Matthew Wengryn
Jessica Wilcox
The following 35 students were inducted into the National Honor Society:
Baxter, Andrew Curtis
Berchtold, Anya Leah
Burns, Naomi Elise
Burns, Paige Emilie
Cook, Abigail Lynde
Dunkin, Lily Ann
Finan, Keeli Rose
Garg, Ayush
Gentry, Eleanor Lindsay
Goyal, Vithika
Kaufman, Danna Elizabeth
Kim, Andrew Youngjun
Li, Angela HeYin
McCallan, Thomas Alexander
Mitchell, Theodore Walter
Moore, Mikayla Taylor
Osuna, Valeria
Perez, Christina Elizabeth
Post, Carter John
Poudel, Akriti
Rockwell, Aiyana Mai
Ruble, Isabelle
Rui, Daniel Kaecheung
Satish, Prashasth
Schantz, Amelia Bertille
Schneider, Zachary Cole
Sharma, Shaan Kumar
Sicker, Isabella Caterina
Stahoviak, William Kai
Stevens, Aidan Michael
Stewart, Annabel Wade
Sur, Sohan Neal
Swain, Ritvik
Turner, Makenna Jasmine
Wilson, Jack Harry Schumacher
Last spring, freshman Andrew Asper, completed his final Eagle Scout requirement by working on a service project to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado. He invested 104 hours of time and 50 volunteers invested over 220 hours to help him raise awareness for epilepsy. Boy Scout Troop 212 and friends and family celebrated Andrew's Eagle Scout accomplishment with a formal Eagle Scout Court of Honor.
Several Peak to Peak students were winners of the Lafayette Annual Window Painting Contest which is a part of the city's fall festival. Congratulations to the following students:
Audrey Good (Kindergarten) - 1st place for Grade Level K-1
Molly Sessions (1st grade) - 2nd place for Grade Level K-1
Abbey Brende (6th grade) - 1st place for Grade Level 5-6
Elizabeth Coyle (5th grade) - 3rd place for Grade Level 5-6
Owyn Wyatt (7th grade) - 1st place for Grade Level 7-10
Roxy Poppick (10th grade) - 3rd place for Grade Level 7-10
Brett Finan, 11th grade, won the 4A state tennis singles championship title and was also named as the athlete of the week.
Peak to Peak's honor roll for the Spring Semester, 2017 are:
Peak to Peak students and teachers were featured in this 9News story about the importance of teaching Colorado's Latino history. Sra. Firman and Sra. Leach led the first year of our Heritage Speakers course, taking a new step in helping students reach full academic bi-literacy. This story was a part of the 9News Hispanic Heritage Month series.
Nineteen Model UN Club students attended the first conference of the season. Each team represented Peak to Peak extremely well. Kassen Qian (12th grade) received a Best Delegate award. Shaan Sharma (10th grade), Ayush Garg (10th grade), Robin Peterson (12th grade), and Ayush Chitrakar (12th grade) all received Outstanding Delegate Awards. Jeffrey Li (10th grade) and Leonard Shearer (10th grade) received an Honorable Mention award. For many this was their first conference ever.
Peak to Peak Girls Cross Country won the league title! Outstanding finishes by Quinn McConnell (11th grade) at 1st, Anna Shults (11th grade) at 2nd, Tianna Bradfield (11th grade) at 3rd, and Allison Beasley (9th grade) at 7th.
The Boys Cross Country team also had a very respectable 3rd place finish overall.
The Peak to Peak Boys Tennis Team finished second at the regional tournament. The Pumas qualified four players for the state championship tournament: Brett Finan (11th grade) #1 singles, Teo Cariov (11th grade) #2 singles, Ishan Kumar (12th grade) #3 singles, and Alexander Preston (11th grade) and Daniel Rui (10th grade) #4 doubles.
The Boys High School Golf team won the 3A Championship title. Congratulations to Ethan Tartaglia (12th grade), Ian Thorpe (12th grade), Nishant Datta (12th grade) and Davis Long (10th grade) who was also the top individual winner.
"Peak to Peak golf coach John Thornbury had a feeling about his team.
What he might not have been so sure about was how clutch his Pumas would be when it mattered most."
Adam Kiehl, 12th grade, won first place at Senior Scholarship Day at Colorado State University. The program is for seniors who participate in a writing workshop and then craft an essay to compete for scholarship opportunities. Students were also able to tour campus and learn about competitive academic enrichment programs such as the honors program and undergraduate research.
Ms. Tarbutton, high school math teacher, was recognized with a "Crystal Apple Award" presented by WAY-FM. The award nomination came from one of our Peak to Peak families. The Baxter family nominated Ms. Tarbutton for her commitment to their student's success at Peak to Peak and beyond.
September 2017
Kate Berg, 12th grade, was featured in the Boulder Daily Camera's student spotlight: "Kate is part of a group of Peak to Peak students who create payloads for the United Launch Alliance's intern rocket launches. She also works with a teen outdoor volunteer group." Read more in the Daily Camera article.
Paige Mowery, 11th grade, has been selected as a national winner of an Adventure Capital (AdCap) competition. "AdCap is a program that inspires, empowers, and motivates creative, curious, and brave student entrepreneurs who wish to make changes in school and community health and wellness." Paige's project features tasting samples as a key opportunity to reduce food waste. She is being flown to Ann Arbor, Michigan to meet with business professionals and hone her award-winning plan. She will also receive $2000 for an innovative food project to be implemented at Peak to Peak.
Peak to Peak’s Art Honor Society displayed artwork at the East Simpson Coffee House in Lafayette. Peak to Peak is the first high school to have an art show at this local establishment.
There will be an opening celebration on September 21st (details below) with live music and a food truck.
414 East Simpson
Lafayette, CO
September 21st, 5-8pm
Peak to Peak's Varsity Cross Country runners raced in the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Orange County, CA. The girls were 6th as a team in the Sweepstakes division (the top tier competitive race division). The boys were 6th in the Varsity Gold race (the third tier competitive race division).
Quinn McConnell (11th grade) was 4th overall individual in the Sweepstakes race, running 3 miles in 16:01. Anna Shults (11th grade) was 15th in the Sweepstakes race. William Ledden (10th grade) was 10th in Varsity Gold race.
Congratulations to the following students who have been named as National Merit Semifinalists:
John Bass
Ashwin Datta
Capri Huffman
Adam Kiehl
Diego Olaya
"Of the 1.6 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores (calculated by doubling the sum of the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math Test scores) qualify for recognition in the National Merit® Scholarship Program."
The following students received commendation from the National Merit program and should also be recognized for their accomplishments:
Peak to Peak's Girls Cross Country Team placed third at the St. Vrain Invitational competing against 4A and 5A teams. The Boy's team placed third in their division and was recognized as one of the top ten teams in the state early in the season.
The High School Softball team who won the 2017 Sheridan Tournament.
Peak to Peak’s Art Honor Society had artwork on display at the East Simpson Coffee House in Lafayette. Peak to Peak is the first high school to have an art show at this local establishment. There was an opening celebration with live music and a food truck.
Thanks to the support of the Peak to Peak community, Peak to Peak was ranked by Niche as the #1 Charter School in Colorado at the Elementary, Middle, and High School levels! Not only that, but the school was also at the top of the heap for all public schools in Colorado and across the nation.
Ethan Tartaglia, 12th grade, was named as the Daily Camera's Athlete of the Week.
Eliana Secunda, 12th grade, has been selected as a member of the US Figure Skating Team USA 2017-2018 International Selection Pool. Eleven years of dedication and hard work are paying off with selection to this elite group.
Isabelle Hettmansperger, 11th grade, had her artwork featured in the Daily Camera's School Report:
Louisville's City Manager included Peak to Peak sophomore, Gabe Fromme, in her regular commendations and kudos. Gabe is a lifeguard at the Louisville Recreation/Senior Center and was recognized for providing excellent customer service this summer.
"Maia Drugmand was 10 and a Peak to Peak Charter School fifth-grader when she first started assembling and painting turtle magnets as a fundraiser to help kids with life-threatening medical conditions.
Now 16 and an incoming junior at Lafayette's Peak to Peak, she's sponsored four "wishes" through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado by selling the colorful shell creatures and is looking to sponsor a fifth." Read more in the Daily Camera article.
The Boys High School Golf team set the all time single meet metro league scoring record last week with a score of 281 (-7). They topped a record that had been held for 17 years!
Summer 2017
Robin Peterson, 12th grade was chosen to attend Girls Nation as one of only two 'Senators' from CO!
"Participants are known as “senators” and are selected from the 50 ALA Girls State sessions held in each U.S. state. At the state level, the girls focus on responsible citizenship and study local, county and state government processes. Two outstanding citizens are then chosen to represent their state at ALA Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. where the focus moves to the federal government.
A key component of the ALA Girls Nation program involves mock senate sessions complete with caucusing and debating of bills. Topics ranging from personal to political interests ensure that the debates are lively and passionate. Campaigns are held to elect party officials, an ALA Girls Nation president and vice president."
Robin at lunch with Senator Bennett:
One of the Denver-based television stations, 9News, and the Boulder Daily Camera both covered a story about Peak to Peak students who participated in United Alliance rocket launch.
Rising 7th grader, Alexandra Dalton, was selected as a Broadcom MASTERS nominee for the national middle school science competition. Only 10% of science fair projects nationwide are selected for this opportunity.
Poetry:
Morgan Brantmeyer - Honorable Mention for The Water in his Throat and The Hunters' Unemployment. Silver key for Gardner and Yellowstone-An Ode to Heartbreak, When my Heart Froze Over, When Ophelia wanted my girl
Lillian Dent - Honorable Mention for Ghosts of Our Pasts. Silver key on Free Bleeding
Ziranda Dominguez - Silver key on We the Dreamers and Together
Gaia Malin - Silver key on Day 1: Surprise Me, Day 2: Just Hold Still, Day 3: Not So Far Away and Storytelling, Dandelions
Alayna Mann - Silver key on A Play on Words
Melissa Schirmer - Gold key on The Long Shot
Anna Swarts - Silver key on The Second Night of No Sleep, Untitled: Oil on Canvas, Too Close to Sarasota
Writing Porfolio:
Morgan Brantmeyer - Silver key for When my Heart Froze Over and The Command of the Earth
Melissa Schirmer - Honorable Mention on Ink Spill
Critical Essay:
Naomi Burns - Honorable Mention for Music Matters
Nicholas Entin - Honorable Mention on E.T. Etiquette
Aleksander Hall - Honorable Mention on Wind Power: A Necessity for Colorado
Claire Hankla - Honorable Mention on Recognizing Mental Illness: The 19th Century Shift into Insane Asylums
Kira Hensley - Silver key on The United Nations’ Failure to Properly Educate the Conflicted
Gaia Malin - Honorable Mention on LGBTQIA+ Soldiers in WWII and The Cold War and Their Impact On the Formation of a Queer Identity. Silver key on Thanksgiving: Kill Me Now
Akriti Poudel - Honorable Mention on Conspicuous Consumption
Chloe Stemm - Honorable Mention on The Atrocious Implications Of Dress Codes
Ashley Tang - Gold key on Creating a Meaningful Performance
Brian Wee - Silver key on Infections and Infantry: Closing the Gap Between the U.S. Military and Humanitarian Aid
Cailey Zaronias - Gold key on Integration Through Dance
Short Story:
Rebekah Doherty - Silver Key on Well Met
Humor:
Danae Fowler - Silver key on A Scholarly, Rhetorical Analysis of How Male Gametes are Akin to the Officials that Govern our World
Desmond McReynolds - Honorable Mention on Genghis Khan Academy
Personal Essay & Memoir:
Gaia Malin - Silver key on Impact
Jessica Shuler - Gold Key on The Flash of Memory Before My Eyes
Callista Zaronias - Honorable Mention on An Everyday Olympian
