All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 251 - 300 of 532
Even though she is only a freshman, Arts Student of the Week Prugh Dunfee has already chalked up an impressive list of accomplishments in her first year at Niwot High School. She is a member of the Chamber Singers and the District Honor Choir, she had a role in the Niwot High School production of "Beauty and the Beast," and she is a valued student in the NHS Music Theater Class. "She is in Chamber Singers as a freshman," said Dunfee's drama teacher Laura Walters, "and has auditioned into our...
Interested in learning about the importance of mental health for adolescents? Then come to Boulder Country Day School to hear Dr. Lisa Damour discuss her new book, "The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents." Dr. Damour has also written books about raising teenage girls. She graduated with honors from Yale University and worked for the Yale Child Study Center before earning her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan. She...
Jasper Allison has been listening to music and playing drums his entire life. "Music has always been a necessity for me," Allison said. "I don't think of it as an interest, but rather a part of my personality and who I am, and just kind of me." The 16-year-old musician is a junior at Niwot High School. His music teacher, Wade Hendricks, nominated him for Arts Student of the Week. Allison has taken advantage of the many music opportunities the high school has to offer. He has been in the...
This past Wednesday thousands of schools across America participated in a walkout protesting gun violence and school shootings. One of the participating schools was Niwot High School. Hundreds of Niwot High students participated in the walkout, which lasted 30 minutes between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. The first 20 minutes consisted of speeches from a variety of students while the last 10 minutes consisted of a march around the school with students leading a chant. The speeches mainly focused on...
A few weeks before opening night, students from Erie Middle School came to see a special performance of Niwot High School's "Beauty and the Beast." "All the kids absolutely loved it!" said NHS freshman and actress Micah McGhee. "Afterwards, we had some time for questions. When the microphone was handed to one of the middle schoolers, they said something along the lines of, 'Cheese grater, whoever you are, we love you!'" McGhee, who performed the part, added, "I will honestly never forget that....
As a technical theater student at Niwot High School, Claire Plath has had the opportunity to learn about all aspects of theater production. From set design and construction to lighting and sound, she has gained a wide range of knowledge and skills that she can apply to any situation. She has enjoyed being part of the Niwot High productions, including plays, musicals, and concerts. "It has been a great experience to learn how to work together as a team to create a successful performance," Plath...
When she was five years old, Sarah Depestele loved to watch her father sketch cars. "That's when I started drawing seriously," Depestele said. "And that's because my dad loved drawing cars. He drew a lot of Porches and Bugattis. So, I drew. They didn't look like anything, but...they looked kind of like cars." That early interest has endured as part of Depestele's studies at Niwot High School, where she has taken both Beginning and Intermediate Drawing. Beth Collier, who teaches art at NHS,...
With Director Amanda Foust and choreographer Ashley Mouw at the helm, the Niwot High School's "Beauty and the Beast" cast delivered mesmerizing performances March 9, 10 and 11, that dazzled with color, movement, and passion. The costumes were a feast for the eyes. From the fantastical enchanted objects to the striking and complex Beast costume, every element of attire was crafted with meticulous attention to detail. And the sets were no less impressive, transporting the audience with seamless...
Arts Student of the Week Kennah Brackett first became passionate about music in middle school when she started taking music courses and composing. "Music gives me a warm, comforting feeling that nothing else can," Brackett said. "I also really appreciate the time and effort that someone has to put in to become good. I think it is really fun to work hard towards something so rewarding." "I have been singing for as long as I can remember," Brackett said, "mainly singing along to Disney songs in...
Last week, four middle students from Sunset Middle School participated in the 2023 Colorado Middle All State Choir concert, along with students from across the state. In this highly competitive performance-reportedly more than 1,000 students auditioned and approximately 400 were accepted-this was a key opportunity for young singers, and one Sunset takes seriously. "It is a huge honor to come and have this experience," said choir teacher Anna Hansil. "They've worked really hard and they should...
This year is the start of a new type of performance for Sunset Middle School students. Instead of a typical music concert or art show, the fine arts departments coordinated and organized a showcase dubbed Open Mic Night. Students from the various choirs, band, orchestra, drama and even visual arts classes came together Feb. 13 to perform and show their work to their friends and families. With approximately 120 student performances, many students were in more than one performance group, or...
As a young girl, Anastasia Williams loved the sound of the flute. "I can't remember a time when it wasn't my favorite instrument," Williams said. "When I was in third grade, I started taking flute lessons--my arms were finally long enough to be able to play it properly--and I have been playing ever since." Williams loves music, she said, "because it is emotion and math blended together into a harmonious whole. I enjoy making music because I will never be able to do it perfectly, because there...
"Twins," The philosopher Hippocrates once conjectured, "are like one another for the following reasons. First, the places are alike in which they grow; then they were secreted together; then they grow by the same nourishment, and at birth they reach together the light of day." Arts Student of the Week, Niwot High School freshman Gwen Ashack, might agree with Hippocrates, but only up to a point. "I have one brother," Ashack said. "I'm a twin. He doesn't enjoy art as much as I do, but we both...
Books provide the reader with an incredible number of benefits, including a sense of connectedness with community and an escape from a potentially difficult everyday life. However, not everyone has the same access to books that many of us take for granted. Local prisons suffer from a "horrendous lack of books," explained Lily Sykes, a junior at Niwot High School. Sykes is spearheading the project, "Books Behind Bars," a book drive with the goal of providing much needed books to prisons. "I...
Every year at Niwot High School, members of all parts of the school come together to create a musical. This year, the show is Beauty and the Beast. It was especially designed to be aimed towards kids this year, explained Ms. Amanda Foust, one of the teachers in charge of the production. Members of the cast are "on tour" at elementary schools where they perform a few songs in full costumes so younger children can experience the show. But the show's not only great for the kids. "I feel like...
Mimi Archibold, this week's Arts Student of the Week, was motivated to become an actress by watching her sisters, and she had many to choose from. Archibold has eight older siblings. "When I was really young," Archibold said, "I watched two of my older siblings perform in plays with a small theatre company and later I watched my sister, Mary, star in half the plays she did at Niwot. I'd say she's probably been my biggest motivator when it came to acting." Every time she listens to a new musical...
Although she has experimented with many artistic mediums, including painting, drawing with graphite and pen and ink, ceramics, and multimedia sculptures, Niwot High School senior Hannah Geiling most enjoys working with Prismacolor pencils. "I enjoy the slow nature of the medium that calls for lots of layering and blending," Geiling said. "And overall, just really getting to play with color theory." Geiling takes influence from artists in pop culture, especially musical artists such as Melanie...
Boulder Country Day School will present the thought-provoking film, "This Is [NOT] Who We Are," on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school. The screening will be followed by a Q & A session with the film's director, Katrina Miller. This event is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in attending can register at www.bouldercountryday.org. A synopsis of the film, provided by the school, states, "Boulder, Colorado, prides itself on being beautiful, welcoming, and inclusive....
Since 2008, the Mwebaza Foundation has been building collaborative partnerships between schools in Uganda and Colorado. As an educational organization, the foundation works with students to inspire global citizens through cross-cultural learning opportunities and global studies curricula that foster global understandings and deepen worldviews. What started as a pen-pal exchange between Dale Peterson's first-grade class at Niwot Elementary School and Namatovu Catherine's elementary school...
"Ever since I was in elementary school," Najla Onofre Valles admits, "I've been wanting to use a guitar and learn how to play it. I just thought it would be something really fun to do." Valles, who was selected by NHS' Orchestra Director Keynes Chen as Arts Student of the Week, developed an interest in mariachi while she was still a student at Sunset Middle School. When the school started a mariachi class, Valles immediately signed up. "I thought it would be cool to be in a mariachi class," she...
Close to 200 speech and debate competitors gathered on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27 and 28, for the CHSAA 3A Speech and Debate State Tournament. Fourteen events were slated to take place over the span of the event, with a champion named in each event and an overall school champion taking an ultimate prize. Schools from as far away as Steamboat Springs and the state's other mountain regions competed against local teams. Niwot's team, coached by Niwot High School alumnus Evan Clark, competed with...
Over the holiday season, Niwot High School was represented by senior Paris Stephens at the London New Year's Day Parade. She performed with Varsity Spirit All-Americans in an exclusive performance at Piccadilly Square. Stephens has cheered for Niwot High School for the past four years. Beginning in 1987, the London New Year's Day Parade has attracted over 10,000 participants from the USA, UK, Europe and beyond, delighting a street audience of over 500,000 and a TV audience, which reaches more...
Some of the best middle school choir students in the area came to Niwot High School last week for a district-wide honor choir concert. Despite the start of a mid-winter snowstorm, more than 100 students filled the stage, performing eight songs for an auditorium filled with parents and friends. Students represented 13 schools, with choir teachers from each school taking the stage as the concert began to thank students, their parents and Niwot High School as a host. The evening consisted of three...
Greta Stauch has a passion for choral music. The Niwot High School sophomore describes the music as "a group of people attempting to blend their voices into one sound with as much beauty as possible." Succeeding in choir, she said, "requires a deep understanding of vocal technique as well as music as a whole. Sight reading and music theory skills play a large part in contributing to a strong choral group." Laura Walters, the Choral Music Director at Niwot High School, selected Stauch as the...
Niwot Elementary School third-grader Oskar Leopold and his brother, kindergartener Teddy Leopold, won first prize in the Water Education Colorado's "Water '22 Student Showcase" competition awarded earlier this fall. They competed in the kindergarten through fifth grade category. Their task was to show how water interacts with and affects us all as Coloradoans. Their efforts earned them a $1,000 prize in this 18 and under student contest. They were also recently featured on a social media and...
"There is a kind of closeness in the theater," the musical composer John Kander once said. "The rehearsal pianist, the head carpenter, the stage manager, the star of the show-all are family." Niwot High School student Aiden Sagner agrees with this sentiment completely. "I would describe theater as a really tight-knit community," Sagner acknowledged while describing his experience in theater at NHS. "No matter what show you are working on, everyone there is super close because everyone is...
Four Sunset Middle School students and nine Niwot High School students have been selected to perform in the Spring 2023 Colorado All State choirs. Charlotte Stauch, Bryce Grayless, Athil Henderson and Camryn Bell, eighth grade students at Sunset Middle School, will participate in the Colorado Middle School All State Choir, a two-day event held at the Denver Convention Center on Mar. 9 and 10. Stauch and Grayless are in the Triplo Choir, which is made up of soprano and alto voices. Henderson and...
During the first week of December, the Niwot High School Jazz Band played in an unusual venue. Instead of performing in the school auditorium, where such performances have been held in the past, the band played on the Learning Stairs, the central staircase at NHS sweeping up from the ground level. "It was really cool," said alto saxophonist Sebastian Aguirre, this week's Arts Student of the Week. "because there were a lot of people. In the auditorium you can't see people because of all the...
The 13th annual Niwot Elementary School Spelling Bee was held Wednesday. Dec. 7. The first place winner was fifth-grader Eden Himmerick, who won third place in last year's competition. Fifth-grader Joey Marcoux won second place. Third place was a three-way tie between fifth-graders Sophie Shaw and Genevieve Ciminski, and fourth-grader Nika Magginetti. The winning word was "blasphemous." Himmerick's first-place finish won her a copy of the "New Oxford American Dictionary" and she will advance to...
Arts Student of the Week Mya Wells has fond memories of the music that surrounded her during her childhood in California. "My mom was born in Mexico. In the morning she'd sing mariachi songs while she made me breakfast, forcing me to dance with her," Wells recalled. Those early experiences inspired her to become a musician. "It just came very naturally to me," she said. Later, when Wells attended Westview Middle School, she took up violin. "Everyone had to choose an instrument. So I said, 'I...
Although ReyLynn Killinger specializes in beautifully drafted, intricate graphite portraits, the Niwot High School senior gets especially excited when she talks about her work as a make-up artist. "I am completely self-taught," Killinger explained, "and it's important to me, because I feel like it's an extension of my art. Other people can see it. I walk around and it's on me. It's a part of me." She has also explored creating prom make-up and face paint art on a few people but, Killinger is...
As part of its 50-year anniversary celebration, Niwot High School is creating a Hall of Fame to recognize teachers, coaches, players, students, administrators, and community members who have played a significant role in the history of the school, or gone on to make important contributions to society. “This is our capstone project for our 50th anniversary celebration,” Athletic Director Joe Brown said. Initially, a small group consisting of Brown, Principal Eric Rauschkolb, coaches, community members and past administrators will receive and eva...
For someone who has always been interested in theater, Paige Ioerger knew at an early age that acting was not her calling. "I did a little of it when I was young," Ioerger said, "but I've stepped away from that. I have a little bit of stage fright, so I can't really do the onstage thing. But I did a little bit when I was younger." In elementary school she had small roles, singing in the chorus of shows. "I did that for 'The Little Mermaid' when I was in first grade, and then I did the same...
If there is one art form Niwot High School senior Mark Crochiere would encourage people to try, it would be ceramics. "Just try out ceramics," Crochiere says. "It's not for everyone, but you can't find out until you try. It's an intimidating thing to start. But I would encourage people to try it out. You never know." It is a passion he enjoys sharing. According to his art teacher, Beth Collier, "Mark is a very inspiring Advanced Ceramics student. He is so hard working and creative." From a very...
By the time the curtain rises for the opening night of the Niwot High School theater production "Noises Off," the student actors and stage crew will have clocked more than 150 hours of rehearsal time. Two casts alternate shows on Nov. 10th, 11th, and 12th, performing on a magnificent set designed by Jason Watkins, the NHS teacher in charge of stage technology. To design the set, Watkins used inspiration from pictures online and made a 3-D model to figure out the inner workings of it, making...
Shefali Joshi has an earnest curiosity about the world which lights up her face when she talks about her studies and her plans for the future. This curiosity led the Niwot High School sophomore to take an introductory course in Python programming, switch her foreign language requirement from Spanish to French, and take classes in industrial design at The Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools. It was Joshi's enthusiasm for her studies that led Crystal Hinds, Art Educator at Niwot High Sch...
In seventh grade, Sophie Arnett-Simon traveled with her family to New York City for spring break. While they were there, they saw "Wicked" on Broadway. The moment the show started, Arnett-Simon knew that was what she wanted to do in life. For a few years she convinced herself this dream was impossible, but now she is fully engaged in musical theater at Niwot High School, studying advanced drama and preparing for her role as Tim in the NHS fall production of "Noises Off," a play by Michael Frayn....
Niwot High School got a head start on Halloween with the school's first annual Fall Fest after school on Friday, Oct. 21. Children of all ages enjoyed a variety of booths sponsored by an array of NHS clubs and organizations, including corn hole, face painting, crafts and trunk or treat vehicles. The Student Council organized the event and invited the community to attend the free event. Principal Eric Rauschkolb was on hand to welcome participants, as were Athletics and Activities Director Joe...
Discipline is a trait Kaitlyn Duncan developed at an early age. Duncan, the Niwot High School Arts Student of the Week, is a section leader in the Niwot Band flute section. Growing up, she tried to take advantage of as many opportunities as she could to better herself, not only playing the flute, but also becoming a leader in general. As a result she practiced hard, taking flute lessons and working on her management skills. She has developed those skills as part of another of her interests,...
The Niwot High School Student Council, led by students Jamie Williamson and Sadie Warren, with the assistance of faculty advisor Leah Messinger, is hosting the Niwot Community Fall Fest. It will take place on Friday, Oct. 21, from 4-6 p.m. at the Niwot High School front parking lot. This event will be open to the public and there will be plenty of fun activities for elementary school-aged kids. Many NHS clubs and sports teams will be setting up tables with their own activities such as pumpkin painting, face painting, spikeball, cornhole, and...
Keynes Chen, the Niwot High School Orchestra Director and the Assistant Director of Band, said his student, John Hu, "has shown dedication and strong leadership ever since he was a freshman at NHS." Hu is currently a junior and the principal violist in all three of the high school orchestras including Sinfonia, Conservatory, and the Symphony Orchestra. "He always knows his music well," Chen said, "and I can definitely count on him during rehearsals and performances." It is this dedication to...
When you listen to Paige Hahn talk about her daily schedule, it is easy to get the impression that this dynamic Niwot High School junior never sleeps. Her coursework in the high school International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB) includes IB History of Europe, IB Math, IB English, IB Spanish and IB Biology, in addition to her contributions to technical theater. It was Jason Watkins, technical director for theater at NHS, who nominated Hahn for Arts Student of the Week. "Paige is the current...
"Every child is an artist," Pablo Picasso once said. "The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." In her four years in the art program at Niwot High School, Ruby Walker has matured as an artist and her work has improved immensely. "Ruby is a dedicated and creative IB Visual Arts student," NHS art teacher, Beth Collier, said. "She is in her senior year, and it has been my pleasure to have had Ruby for much of her time at NHS. She has been growing and stretching as an artist, and...
Boulder Country Day School will host a high school fair for all Boulder County middle school students on Oct. 12, 2022, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. This is the ninth year that Boulder Country Day has held this event. This year the fair will again be attended by over 60 schools, including local and regional public and private schools, as well as boarding schools from across the nation. "This is a golden opportunity for middle school students to consider all of the options available to them at one single...
Niwot High School student Hannah Rudolph has an energetic optimism that drives her to succeed. She is an artist, a singer, and a cheerleader. She plays guitar and she played flute for three years in middle school. She is also the only student in the history of Niwot High School who has performed in all five choirs: Chamber Singers, Evenstar, Tenor/Bass choir, Treble choir and Sedalia. Laura Walters, the Choral Music Director at NHS, selected Rudolph as Art Student of the Week. "Hannah is a...
Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Niwot sponsored the Shine Prom again on Sept. 17, as part of the church's ministry to special needs students. Niwot High cheerleaders and others lined the entrance to the building as students, along with their partners, arrived, decked out in formal dresses and suits....
Niwot High School senior Jessi Lehman clearly remembers her experience as a trumpet player in middle school. "There were definitely a lot more boys in the trumpet section," Lehman said, "Pesky middle school boys. And being one of only two girls, I always had a feeling they didn't really think I should be there." But the stereotypical attitude regarding musical instruments and gender that once dominated the music scene did not have a negative effect on the senior's desire to pursue her interests....
Special to the Courier from Boulder Country Day School At Boulder Country Day, a commitment to helping each student discover their unique excellence underlies our entire approach — beginning with our firm belief in the benefits of a preschool-through-eighth grade community. While a student body ranging from age 2 ½ to age 14 is certainly a diverse group, we have observed first-hand, year after year, the positive impact of an educational environment that promotes growth and maturity, while also encouraging children to remain connected to the wo...