The Middle School Girls Basketball teams advanced to the post-season tournament and the "A" team won the championship game placing 1st place in the league.

 

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Eddie Humphreys (8th grade) earned an impressive 2nd place on the floor, 3rd place on the pommel, 4th on the rings, and 5th place in the All-Around competition at the Blackjack Gymnastics Invitational in Las Vegas.

 

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Seven high school photographers had their work selected for the Month of Photography Teen. Printed works will be displayed at Red Rocks Community College for the next month.

 

Winners:

1. Ryan Wallis

2. Michael Gerber

3. Isabelle Schantz

4. Izzy Entin

5. Sasha Brazy

6. Nick Pineda

7. Hayden Connors

 

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A team of high school students working with our Innovation teacher, Ms. Letter, is the state winner in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition! Led by Alex Zou (11th grade) the team includes: Shreya Senthilkumar (11th grade), Tanishka Tagare (10th grade), Josephine Gaarder (9th grade), Amanda Zou (9th grade), and Penelope Letter (9th grade). The students have been diligently developing a water-testing device using light. After reading about how fire damage can impact pipes and cause benzene to leak into the water supplies as it did after the Paradise fire in California, this team of students wanted to use technology to create an instant test for benzene in water. Current lab testing takes time and can be prohibitively expensive, so these students are trying to prototype an equitable and economic way to test the water. Peak to Peak science teachers have offered their support making this a truly collaborative project. Mr. Schaefer helped them understand the chemical structure of benzene, Ms. Shedd helped them plan safe prototyping by substituting salicylic acid for safer prototyping, and Mr. Hankla demonstrated how to use a phone spectrometer, The team is one of 50 to advance to the next round. Way to innovate, Pumas!

 

Click here to read an article about the big win!

 

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Three Peak to Peak students finished up the ski racing season with great success. Soren Dumond (8th grade), Charlie Haskins (7th grade), and Felix Dumond (6th grade) participate on the BVSD Middle School Ski Racing team. The district-wide team took second place in this year's championship races. Soren placed 4th overall in the slalom race, then finished 6th and 8th in the two giant slalom races. Charlie finished 5th, 7th, and 6th in the same respective races. Felix also had a great day with 10th, 15th, and 16th place finishes. 

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High school science teacher, Sandra Shedd, received a $4,127 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation (TAF). These funds will support the Green Week group during the inaugural Peak Week experiential learning initiative this spring, in addition to supplementing the AP Environmental Science and 9th-grade Biology courses.

 

The goal of this project is to provide a robust experiential education program for 9-12 students in sustainable agricultural technology and the intersection of sustainable food systems and the resilience of human society in a changing climate.

 

For more information visit: http://www.toshiba.com/taf/

 

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Senior artist Leah Leeger just won a $1,000 art scholarship from the Colorado Scholastic Art committee for the (pictured) digital art drawing she created in AP Studio Art: 2D Design. She will be recognized at the Denver Art Museum along with her teacher, Heather Bertarelli, who will also be recognized for teaching the most Scholastic Art winners in Boulder Valley School District this year.

 

 

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2023 National Aspirations in Computing Award (NCWIT) Recipients Announced:

Quinn Burns (11th) received a National Winner

Shriya Biddala (12th) received a National Honorable Mention

 

Each year, U.S. high school students in grades 9 through 12 who are women, genderqueer, or non-binary are eligible to receive recognition for their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing, as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access, and plans for post-secondary education. This year, 40 winners and 360 honorable mentions were selected from more than 3,300 amazing, talented young applicants.

 

https://www.aspirations.org/news/2023-national-aspirations-in-computing-award-recipients-announced

 

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In a thrilling competition, our Peak to Peak middle school team came in 4th overall in the local standings at the MathCounts Competition.

 

Allison Duan competed in the head-to-head buzzer round and was placed 2nd as an individual. She will attend the state rounds in March.

 

Pictured: Michael Lu, Sam Hughes, Neva Joseph, and Allison Duan

Other individual participants: Sophia Alter, Agasyta Radha, Silas Saldden, Oliva Bolt, Joaquin Hoffer, and April Duan.

 

Learn more about MathCounts here,https://www.mathcounts.org/about/our-story

 

 

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Three Peak to Peak ninth-grade teams have advanced in the Diamond Challenge, the largest high school entrepreneurship competition in the country.

January 2023

Twenty-one middle school students competed in the North Regional Optimist Brain Bowl. Team 7B placed 1st in morning qualifications and qualified to compete in the state championship.

 

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Ranye Ezenekwe (10th grade) received a Silver Key 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Award for the West Region. Her piece is titled "The Girl Who Can't Speak Igbo" and the award is for the Personal Essay and Memoir category. In addition, Hailey Rasmussen (9th grade) won an Honorable Mention for her poem "Marine Me." The Scholastic program is the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens.

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Ninth grader Penelope Letter's play was selected as a high school winner in this year's Denver Center's Young Playwriting Competition. Thanks to inspiration from theater teacher, Ms. Mylott, Penelope crafted a play about teens putting on a gone-wrong performance of Shakespeare. Penelope's *Players, Staged* will be featured at the New Play Summit with a professional reading on stage at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  

 

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Tenth grader Sydney Cusack's short film about cow manure (really!) has won accolades from the Climate Innovation Competition which nominated the film for the 2023 Colorado Environmental Film Festival next month. She's the first Peak to Peak filmmaker to have a piece featured at this annual event.

 

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Addison Matlosz (10th grade) is a member of the Broomfield High School JV Dance Team. The team placed first in their category at the CSCA JV & Freshmen Invitational, claiming the title of 2023 Colorado JV Hip Hop State Champions!

 

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Peak to Peak's 2023 Scholastic Art Award Winners:

 

 

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Peak To Peak Charter School, has earned the College Board's AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding access to AP Computer Science A (CSA). This award acknowledges 1,105 schools for their work toward equal gender representation during the 2021-22 school year. Peak to Peak is one of only 209 schools to be recognized for achieving this important result in AP CSA. This honor recognizes the outstanding work schools are doing to engage more female-identifying students in computer science. 

Students participating in Ms. Bertarell's AP Studio Art course were selected for the *Subject Matters* team exhibition. The artwork featured here will hang at the Evergreen Arts Center from January 12th-February 11th this winter. These students are eligible to win various art scholarships and awards as selected by jurors at the Evergreen Arts Center. Congratulations to: Lorelei Bell (11th grade), Micaela Kerrane (11th grade), Margaux Therond (12th grade), Zoe Trierweiler (12th grade), Jessica Wilcox (12th grade), Hayden Connors (11th grade), and Leah Legeer (12th grade)

Diya Shajikumar (5th grade) won the Level 5 Open (Girls 12's Singles) U.S. Tennis Association Tournament recently held in Wyoming. She won all the matches to secure first place.

December 2022

Mia Ritchie (11th grade) was named the Daily Camera's Gymnast of the Year. This linked article illustrates the obstacles she has had to overcome and how her dedication resulted in a stellar accomplishment.

A Peak to Peak Innovation team won the Grand Prize in the Corteva Agriscience People, Purpose Planet Challenge! Along with student teams from across the country, these Pumas grew their skills as social entrepreneurs by designing and pitching (via Zoom) their ideas to create healthier school communities through sustainability and agriculture to a panel of industry leaders. Their ideas to use hydroponics impressed the judges (as did their corny vegetable puns) and the prize included grant funding and a trip to Corteva Agriscience headquarters in Indianapolis for mentoring by environmentalists and scientists.

November 2022

All of Peak to Peak's high school fall sports athletes (Cross Country, Boys Golf, Boys Soccer, Softball, Boys Tennis, and Girls Volleyball) posted winning seasons and advanced to the post-season play. This is the first time in the school's history that all six fall sports have advanced in a single season.

Jacque Steven (9th grade) was selected to be a member of the Sugary Drinks Youth Steering Committee as a part of Boulder County Public Health. She will be using her previous national diabetes advocacy experience and efforts to create campaigns to reduce sugary drinks, speak at city council meetings, and support the passing of a policy to ensure healthy drinks in kids' meals. .

Saatwik Das (9th grade) was invited to display and discuss his Colorado Science & Engineering Fair project at the Colorado Rural Electric Association's Energy Innovations Summit. 

Yada Jaraschatrkaew (11th grade) won second place in the Colorado Art Education Association's Youth Art Month - Reimagine the Colorado Flag Art Contest. Her mixed piece, titled "Your Art, Your Voice," will be printed on a mug and was recognized for its innovative mark-making and design.

Ninth-grade student Isabel Swarr's art was selected by the city of Lafayette in the #whatmakeslafayettegreat call for pieces on sustainability. Her beautiful work "Sun" will be featured on recycling containers in Old Town Lafayette. 

Seven Peak to Peak students competed at the Loveland Speech and Debate Tournament: Neha Pesaramelli (9th grade), Dimitri Zaronias (9th grade), Amanda Zou (9th grade), Kavilaya Gokula Giridaran (9th grade), Lena Crotty (10th grade), Sidd Nareddy (11th grade), and Aditya Nandyal (11th grade). Sidd and Aditya earned 2nd place in Public Forum Debate and Lena landed 1st place honors in National Extemporaneous Speaking.

After playing in the State Championship Final Four, High School Boys Soccer advanced to play in the 3A state championship game, eventually taking 2nd place in the state.

For the second year in a row, the Broomfield Eagles gymnastics team won the CHSAA 5A state championship. This team, representing all of BVSD, includes 11th graders Sophia Pych and Mia Ritchie (2nd and 3rd from left, bottom row). Mia Ritchie is the team captain and placed 4th all-around. She also went on to the individual state tournament in floor exercises, balance beam, and vault, placing 5th in the state on the floor and 5th in the state on the beam.

At the 26th Annual Awards for Excellence in Environmental Education, three Peak to Peak superstars were honored at a special luncheon. Josie Karr, Stella Corzine, and Abby Fitzgerald (all 10th grade) won the Outstanding Young Environmental Leaders Award for 2022 for their work promoting sustainability, collaborating with teens around the world and showing how environmentalism intersects with careers.

Noelle Thompson (12th grade) earned a prestigious post-season golf award from the Colorado State Golf Association. Noelle was awarded the Grace Burke Award, an honor given to a female high school golfer who exhibits character, leadership, and personal integrity through their actions in competing and participating in various golf programs.

October 2022

The High School Cross Country Team had a great finish to a strong season. The boys' team placed 10th overall and the girls' team placed 8th in the state. Jack Cerrulo (10th grade) led the team with a 4th-place finish in the individual rankings.

For a couple of years, our community has been cheering on Ms. Harlow, our Elementary Library Teacher, as she fulfills a goal that is unreachable to many. Pictured here at the finish line with Ms. Manzanares, Middle School PE Teacher, Ms. Harlow completed a 100-mile run and race. Click this link to read Ms. Harlow's blog. 

The WOW Children’s Museum in Lafayette welcomed the winners of the Doodle Contest. Student winners signed the museum's art on the wall and enjoyed milk and cookies at their art opening. We had many Peak to Peak Elementary artists chosen, and it is an honor that their artwork now adorns the walls of the museum.

Peak to Peak was the first school in the state of Colorado to launch a fully electric bus fleet. No other school or school district in the state has met this bar as of this writing.

• “This charter school is 1st to have all-electric school bus fleet in Colorado” KDVR FOX31. 27 October 2022

• “Peak to Peak Charter School unveils state’s first all-electric school bus fleet” The Daily Camera. 27 October 2022

• “Peak to Peak Charter School launches all-electric school bus fleet” CBS News Colorado. 27 October 2022

The High School Boys Soccer Team advanced to the state finals and was ranked as the #7 team for the post-season tournament.

The High School Softball team won the regional tournament and moved on to the state tournament. This is the second year in a row the team has made it to the state tournament.

The High School Boy’s Golf team finished in 6th place at the state championship tournament. Jack Brayman (9th grade) was a standout athlete and led the team by finishing in 5th place overall, followed by Om Mathur (10th grade) who finished 20th, Jack Winter (11th grade) who finished 40th, and George Grady (11th grade) finished 64th. Jack Brayman earned 1st Team All State, Om Mathur earned 2nd Team All State, and Jack Winter received an Honorable Mention.

The Middle School Cross Country team had an excellent season. The boys team took home top honors at the Bulldog Invitational and resoundingly won the Middle School Athletic League Championship.

The Middle School “C” Volleyball team recently participated in a local tournament where they won 5 out of their 7 games.

September 2022

The High School Boys Varsity Tennis team won first place at the Longmont Boys Tennis Invitational.

Seniors Alexandra Flint and Aneesh Movva who were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

Stella Corzine (10th grade), Abby Fitzgerald (10th grade), and Josie Karr (10th grade) have won Colorado's Excellence in Environmental Education award and will be celebrated at the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education luncheon in November. These three made recycling and composting videos for the school, invented eco-innovations, led an international environmental discussion with One Voice for Change, and recently presented on the All-Careers initiative to local leadership. Click this link to read more about this award.

The High School Boys Golf Team placed second at their regional tournament and have qualified to compete in the 3A State Tournament. George Grady (11th grade) placed 5th, Jack Winter (11th grade) placed 6th, Jack Brayman (9th grade) placed 9th, and Om Mathur (10th grade) placed 12th. Of particular note, Jack is only the second freshman in the team's 21-year history at Peak to Peak to be named to the 1st All-Metro League.

Peak to Peak's High School JV Girls Volleyball team won 1st place at the 41st Annual Bennett Invitational Tournament.

Damian Gorsevski (7th grade) earned an honorable mention in The Author of Tomorrow contest. The annual contest, which attracts thousands of entries from preteens and teens across the nation, is designed to find the adventure writers of the future. An excerpt from Damian’s work, The Prey in the Night, will be featured on the contest’s website. Click here to learn more.

August 2022

Simon Holstein (12th grade), Jack Davila (12th grade), and Julian Zerwekh-Reardon (12th grade) enjoyed a great tournament win with the Monarch Colorado Prep Hockey League team. The team beat Resurrection Christian in a close championship game after a nail-biter semi-final that went into overtime and a 3-round shootout.

 

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Prisha Jain (7th grade) earned 2nd place as an overall gymnast at the CARA Gymnastics State Championship Competition this summer. She also received medals in several individual events. 

 

Summer 2022

Peak to Peak students sent a project they designed on a United Launch Alliance’s intern sport rocket. Philip Fischer (10th grade) and Calvin Johnson (10th grade) made improvements to a project they created last year for this summer's launch. They even had the opportunity to meet with the United Launch Alliance CEO to discuss their project

 

Click here to read the article.

 

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Wyatt Harrison (rising 7th grader) was a finalist in the worldwide math and art Mathigon competition. 

Click here to see Wyatt's design.

 

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Kourtney Rathke (rising 11th grader) was named BoCo Preps Athlete of the Year.

Click here to read the article.

 

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