All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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As we approach NHS's 50-year anniversary celebration on Sept. 9, we take a look back at the Cougar mascot and its history. The first graduating class of 1974 selected the mascot. Sources say that it was nicknamed 'Carrie the Cougar.' While the "Carrie" moniker has been dropped, cougar pride remains fierce. A May 25-26, 1974, Longmont Times-Call newspaper clipping shows a picture of the unveiling event when a stuffed cougar was presented to the school. Marybeth Almquist Williams remembers the...
As the song says, "You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table, there'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done." For 2003 Niwot High School graduate and current professional poker player Adam DeMersseman, the dealing at this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is done. The count? A cool $262,300 in prize money and bragging rights as one of the top tournament players in the world. DeMersseman survived a grueling 7 days at the Main Event this July, taking...
Jude Dow-Hygelund graduated from Niwot High School this spring and has been accepted to CU Boulder to study piano performance. Wade Hendricks, Jude's teacher at the high school, spoke highly of his music student. "He is an amazing talented performer and composer/arranger," Hendricks said. Last year Jude relocated to Niwot from Eugene, Ore., and spent his last four months at the new school. "When you're moving your senior year of high school it's probably not going to be fun no matter what you...
Niwot High graduated senior Easten Leatherwood has just a few more weeks before he leaves for Durango to begin his college football career at Fort Lewis College. A 3A North Central 3 League All-Conference honorable mention last fall for Niwot football, he committed to the Division II Skyhawks in February and created a homecoming of sorts. Both of his parents attended Fort Lewis and Leatherwood grew up in Durango before moving to Longmont shortly after completing fourth grade. He said Fort Lewis...
When Eli Rose was in sixth grade, they remember watching their best friend learn to draw. "I thought it was so cool to be able to make something like that," Eli Rose said. "That's when I really started to draw and practice every day." Although they have only been at Niwot High School for one year, the artist Eli Rose (no last name used) has enjoyed the art classes and the opportunity those classes have offered them to experiment with different media, while still having enough freedom to express...
It's the children that drew them to teaching and what they'll miss the most in retirement. But two Niwot Elementary School teachers have decided it's time to focus on other things in life. "I came home crying Tuesday night. I'll miss those bright little faces," special education teacher Trish Norten said. She is retiring after teaching for 25 years, 10 in Niwot. First grade teacher Dale Peterson is leaving the school after 26 years of teaching first and second grade. With the exception of...
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 161B held its Court of Honor ceremony to award the rank of Eagle Scout to Wyatt Boyd and Cole Robinson May 16 at the Left Hand Grange No. 9. Boyd and Robinson are the 97th and 98th young men to be honored with the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 161 in less than 50 years since the troop's formation. Bruce Grinnell was the first to earn the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 161, and was a member of the first graduating class at Niwot High School in 1974. The names of...
Niwot High School freshman Claire Plath started her theater career at Altona Middle School, where she made the Honor Roll in sixth and seventh grades. Claire first became interested in theater after her mother took her and her sister to see "Les Miserables" when she was in sixth grade. Later that year, they also saw "Dear Evan Hansen." According to Claire, "The messages, and emotions that a single production can create for someone can be so strong, and life changing to a point where one can trul...
Canon Montgomery, an eighth-grade student at Boulder Country Day School in Gunbarrel, was recognized by the SIFMA Foundation as the Fall 2021 State Champion for Colorado in the InvestWrite competition. InvestWrite is the culminating activity of The Stock Market Game™, an online game in which students invest and manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and cash. For the Fall 2021 competition, students researched and determined an investment portfolio based on a p...
Niwot High School freshman Claire Plath started her theater career at Altona Middle School, where she made the Honor Roll in sixth and seventh grades. Claire first became interested in theater after her mother took her and her sister to see "Les Miserables" when she was in sixth grade. Later that year, they also saw "Dear Evan Hansen." According to Claire, "The messages, and emotions that a single production can create for someone can be so strong, and life changing to a point where one can trul...
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 161B held its Court of Honor ceremony to award the rank of Eagle Scout to Wyatt Boyd and Cole Robinson May 16 at the Left Hand Grange No. 9. Boyd and Robinson are the 97th and 98th young men to be honored with the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 161 in less than 50 years since the troop's formation. Bruce Grinnell was the first to earn the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 161, and was a member of the first graduating class at Niwot High School in 1974. The names of...
There's good news for the staff, administration, students, and families of Niwot High School. The school once again ranked well in the recently released 2022 U.S. News and World Report annual schools survey. NHS placed at the top of all 12 high schools surveyed in the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD), ranked fourth for high schools in combined Boulder and SVVSD boundaries, 36th in Colorado, and 1,174th nationally. The U.S. News survey is widely respected by educators and families each...
Niwot High School seniors are invited to participate in a car parade Thursday, May 19, at 5:30 p.m., a repeat of the p2021 Covid-year parade to honor seniors. The parade will start at Niwot High School, with cars lining up at 5:00 p.m. in the drop-off lanes of the high school parking lot. Seniors are advised to recruit an adult driver to allow undistracted celebrations by the students. The parade route will start at Niwot High School and proceed west on Niwot Road to Second Avenue, then travel...
When Niwot sophomore and guitar player Drew Moore was asked to play the upright bass in the orchestra, he took on the challenge and excelled at it. This student taking on a new challenge is nothing new, according to NHS orchestra director Keynes Chen. "Not only is Drew Moore an exceptional young bassist with enthusiasm for learning orchestra, he's also a fun student and a real team player," Chen wrote in an email. "Drew has shown up wherever and whenever he is needed," Chen wrote. "Even though...
On April 23, Up-a-Creek Robotics won both the World Championship of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC Team 1619) and the FIRST Tech Challenge Competition (FTC Team 11260), something that has never been achieved before simultaneously by any group. "We are the best in the world," one of the coaches exclaimed at the gathering held in Longmont to honor the teams. The World competition was held in Houston this year. FIRST is an acronym for For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and...
On March 2, 14-year-old Niwot High School student Joséphine Briggs finished as runner-up in the Colorado Poetry Out Loud contest. The statewide contest requires high school-aged students to memorize and recite multiple poems that meant something special to them. Briggs chose three poems: "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, "Spanglish" by Tato Laviera, and "Enough" by Suzanne Buffam. The first trial was to compete at her high school and then after getting picked by her school,...
Mary Ellen Coates, a Niwot High School Senior, is inspired by music. Asked about how she got her start in choir, Coates said she began in elementary school. While she was a member of the NHS Marching Band and played flute in the Symphonic Band, she was talked into singing in the choir by her former teacher. Coates said, "I hadn't really considered choir because the school rules stipulated that students couldn't do both band and choir." But the choir director lobbied for Coates to participate in...
The air was electric at the Longmont Dance Theater. Dancers flitted about the studio, chatting, practicing their moves, and making sure everything was ready for rehearsal. Clap, clap, clap–Executive Artistic Director Kristin Kingsley called the dancers to attention, made a few announcements, and the dancing began. "It's a lot of fun," said Apex high school junior Caroline Martin, grinning. "There's so much good energy and a lot of really wonderful dancing and talented dancers." That's the t...
Lyric Bishop is a Niwot High School junior interested in all aspects of art. Technical Theater teacher Jason Watkins said, "Lyric is an exceptional and profoundly optimistic person. Lyric is always uplifting to be around. No matter the stress or complexities of a show, Lyric can be depended upon to always come through to make a production the best it can be for the audience. Lyric has taken quite a few courses from us: 2D Design, Beginning, Intermediate & Advance Drawing, Digital Photography, Pr...
Late one night, Shining Mountain Waldorf senior and avid reader Will Barnett was flipping through A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami. While this night might have started like any other, it proved to be one that triggered an epiphany - every senior at Shining Mountain must create a senior project, and Barnett had many ideas. What if he explored the Arab-Isralei conflict or interned at a medical practice? But each idea was shot down: it wasn't interesting enough, or it didn't seem like it would...
Niwot High senior Tyler Atkins manned a table in front of Niwot Market on Sunday, March 27, collecting donations for the school's food pantry. Atkins and partner Sadie Connolly (not pictured) conducted the donation drive as part of their International Baccalaureate CAS project. Earlier this year, the two noticed that the pantry, which serves underprivileged students at NHS, "went by the wayside," during the pandemic, and decided to help replenish it....
From last month's issue of Niwot High's student newspaper, the Green + Black, comes this cartoon by Daniela Garcia titled "Under the Marshall Stars."...
Flagstaff Academy's middle school is once again being recognized as a Colorado Trailblazer Schools to Watch by The Colorado Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE). Flagstaff is the only charter school in the state to hold the Schools to Watch designation, having also received the designation in 2019. Flagstaff, along with 100+ schools across the nation, will be recognized at the National Schools to Watch Conference in June in Washington, DC. The school is a public charter school in...
Mya McGovern has always had a creative side, and, since coming to Niwot High as a freshman in 2020, she has been taking advantage of opportunities to develop it. So far, the sophomore has taken the 2D Design class twice, plus 3D Design, and Beginning Sculpture, which quickly became her favorite. "I really like sculpture best, because it's more hands-on, and you get to really create something, instead of just a drawing," the sophomore said. McGovern finds more "creative freedom" in abstract art,...
Months after the Marshall Fire, many of those impacted are still coping with what happened. Area students, fundraising through schools and in conjunction with Niwot businesses, have been doing what they can to offer support. Some of the major efforts happening currently are centered around school community groups. At Niwot High School, senior Mercer Stauch, President of National Honor Society and a full IB program candidate, is working with a team of Honor Society members on a classroom coin dri...
Flagstaff Academy sixth-grader Mandy Roth received the top junior division award, "Best in Show," and also the Office of Naval Research Award at the Boulder County Regional Science Fair on Feb. 26. Roth's submission, "Does Jumping Higher Result in a Dog Landing with More Force?", explores the forces that active dogs are subject to on a daily basis. "I could not be more proud of Mandy," Flagstaff Academy sixth-grade science teacher Boone Starr said. "There were 300 Flagstaff Academy middle...
Niwot sophomore Ava Pres started playing the cello as a sixth-grader at Sunset Middle, but long before that, the instrument became a source of fascination to her, thanks to some sibling rivalry. "When I was really little, my brother started playing the cello," she said. "It was really funny, because I wasn't allowed to touch the cello that he played, so I was always really curious what it sounded like and what it would be like to play." Her brother's cello career didn't last, but Pres has made...
As the lights dimmed in the Niwot High School auditorium, people settled into their seats for another ordinary high school musical. That's not at all what they got. This year, Niwot's theater department presented "Mamma Mia" - a classic show about marriage and life on a Greek Island, all with the backtrack of the famous 70s pop group ABBA. The show revolves around Sophie (played by Hazel Rinehart), a 20-year-old woman getting married on the island she's lived on for her whole life. She wants...
When Niwot senior and trombone player Alexis Marez learned that he had been named first chair for the All-District honor band earlier this year, he was not sure how to take it. "I guess I shouldn't have been, but I was surprised to hear that I was even nominated for first chair," he said. "I haven't gotten anything like that before. There was a total of around 10 trombones, and to be the first one in the entire district, it was surreal." It was also well deserved, according to NHS band director...
If being a well-rounded student means engaging with a wide range of opportunities for learning and success at school, then the term applies to Niwot senior Mercer Stauch, whose list of high school accomplishments isn't just long, but also varied. Whether in the classroom, on the track, or, most recently, on the stage for Niwot, Stauch almost never says no to a challenge, or fails to reach a goal. Being well-rounded doesn't mean you can't have passions, and for Stauch, music and performing have...
Niwot's silver and green take on new meaning as the school has been recognized by the Youth Sustainability Board as a Green Star School. The program is part of a collaboration between Eco-Cycle and schools within Boulder County. Certification is recognized when schools are able to reduce up to two-thirds of their waste. "For the students, this [certification] means that sustainability and commitment to the environment have become more top-of-mind as we try to waste less," said senior member of t...
Jonah Fahlin has always had an artistic side, which he started exploring through digital art. Since coming to Niwot High, however, the sophomore has taken a more hands-on approach to expressing himself, and opened up new worlds of creativity. "As of recently, I've gotten more into things in the real world, like pencils, canvas, and paper," he said. "I really like to draw on paper. No matter what class I'm in, I'm always doodling. I just really enjoy it." During the fall semester, Fahlin took...
A group of school children sits or stands at the front of the class, one apart from the rest. One, or perhaps a few adults sit at a table facing the children with a crowd of parents and students behind them. It's the spelling bee. Since at least 2018, Sunset Middle School has hosted the event with varying levels of participation, this year, there was a record number of 18 participants and according to co-hosters Tanya Gaurmer (language) and Katie Silverberg (special education), it was "a huge...
The Colorado League of Charter Schools has named two Flagstaff Academy Charter School teachers as finalists for the 2022 Charter School "Educator of the Year" award. Flagstaff Academy elementary school science resource teacher Stacy Wolff, and sixth-grade language arts teacher Leha Moskoff are two of eight finalists. Wolff is in her 11th year at Flagstaff Academy Charter School as the kindergarten through fifth grade science resource teacher. Wolff teaches an inquiry-based, hands-on science lab...
Just days after her grand finale at the Class 4A state swim and dive championships, Niwot standout Mary Codevilla found herself in the spotlight once again. On Feb. 16, the seven-time individual champion was a featured speaker at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly completed Aquatics Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools, a facility she called "absolutely amazing." "I know all of the swimmers in the district are extremely thankful to be able to swim in this pool, especially with the limited...
Flagstaff Academy Charter School Librarian Denise von Minden is the only charter school librarian in the state of Colorado to earn a Highly Effective Schools Through Libraries (HESTL) designation. HESTL is a program of the Colorado State Library within the Colorado Department of Education and funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This designation is granted to recognize outstanding school library programs and librarians. Flagstaff Academy librarian earns 'Highly...
As both a featured performer and student dance director for Niwot High's upcoming production of "Mamma Mia", senior Aliyah Backus doesn't have a lot of leisure time these days. But the talented dancer is gaining a new appreciation for her craft, and picking up valuable skills along the way. "I'm learning more and more with every single rehearsal that we have," Backus said of her new role on the stage. "It's difficult, especially with the fact that I'm in a lot of the numbers that I'm teaching...
On Nov. 1, Front Range Community College (FRCC) announced that the college has received approval from the Higher Learning Commission to offer a new degree—a two-year Associate of Engineering Science (AES). FRCC is the first community college in the state of Colorado to offer this type of degree. Though FRCC has previously offered an engineering pathway for students wanting to pursue a bachelor's degree in engineering, the process of transferring FRCC credits to an accredited four-year program was often complicated since transfer agreements d...
The holiday spirit was in overdrive at the inaugural Festival of Lights, a dazzling open-air celebration held at Flagstaff Academy (2040 Miller Drive, Longmont) on Dec. 9. The event featured 20 original light displays created by staff, students, and families using their cars and a variety of decorating styles, ranging from simple and understated, to seasonal mayhem. For Flagstaff Executive Principal Katie Gustafson, the cheerful event was a positive way for the school's community to reconnect af...
Evelyn Mason is a naturally gifted musician who has been playing piano and violin since a very young age. Now a junior at Niwot High, she is the longtime concertmaster for the school’s symphony orchestra, and is a “good role model for her peers”, according to director Keynes Chen. “She has consistently performed at an exemplary level,” he wrote in an email. “Her leadership contribution to our orchestra program is well noted by everyone, and she has earned the respect and love from her peers through her passion, high spirit, friendlines...
Her winning word may have been 'mystified', but fifth grader Sylvia Madry was anything but as she outlasted 11 other contestants to take first place in the 13th annual Niwot Elementary spelling bee, held Dec. 1. The repeat champion correctly spelled a total of 14 words, including 'technique', 'drudgery', and 'permanence', but it was the first round word she found most memorable afterwards. "My favorite word was 'mink', because the definition was hilarious," she said. For the win, Madry received...
On a chilly Thursday night, the courtyard behind Front Range Community College's (FRCC) classroom building was dark and still. But voices could be heard; behind a massive tree, a white dome hid, and in it, a group of students and community members learned about the stars. "The college needs to be connected to the community," said Anthony Smith, an astronomy professor at FRCC, and host of that night's event. "That's why I'm really happy we're finally actually doing some PR and some outreach. I...
Senior Tessa Whittaker hasn't been a Niwot High student for long, but she's making up for lost time in the school's vocal music department, according to choir director Laura Walters. Though a recent transfer, the talented singer has quickly become "an amazing leader" that other students look to for guidance. "Tessa is always upbeat and brings such a positive energy to her choirs," Roberts wrote in an email interview. "In one of the choirs, she took the initiative to create a group chat so...
One day in 2012, a group of moms got together for lunch. All of them had gone to college, and all were part of PEO International, which seeks to help women with their higher education goals. With children of their own, many of whom would soon graduate high school, these mothers wondered how they would best be able to help them. Inspired, they began an annual Q&A event that included counselors, parents of students who had graduated, students who were now in college, and there was one aim–how d...
Niwot sophomore Julian Wu took up photography as a middle schooler and has been seeing the world a little differently ever since. "Photography is a really great medium of art," he said. "You just need a camera and great positioning." Living in Niwot has given Wu an appreciation for the changing textures of a rural landscape. "Especially in different seasons. I like to go to the same spot and take photos a few times each year." Most of Wu's photos are shot on either his cell phone or a "dinky...
November has been a busy month for Niwot High athletics, but the playing field isn't the only place where the Cougars have been winning trophies. On Nov. 5, a team of six seniors and two juniors from Mr. Benson's AP Economics class took on 32 other Colorado high schools in the Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge, held at the University of Denver. For 60 minutes, the aspiring wolves of Wall Street bought and sold stock in simulated transactions, trying to grow an initial $500,000...
November is turning out to be eventful for Niwot junior Lucas Haratsaris, a talented saxophonist in the school's advanced jazz band. On Nov. 13, he submitted an audition for the Colorado All-State Jazz Band, which band director Wade Hendricks described as "incredibly challenging to get into." He followed that up on Nov. 15 with a day of rehearsing and performing with the Combined League Honor Jazz Band, a group composed of the upper quadrant of Colorado band students. To top it off, after...
Live theater returned to the Niwot High stage on Nov. 5 with "Peter and the Starcatcher," and at least one of the cast members was thrilled to be back in front of a live audience. Junior Hosannah Adams starred as Black Stache, the play's comedic foil, and hearing crowd reaction in real time again is definitely something she missed. "It was the best, best feeling of my year so far," she said. "I can't compare anything to that feeling.... The whole cast just took a deep breath and was in awe when...
Live theater returns to the Niwot High stage starting on Nov. 5 with the premiere of "Peter and the Starcatcher," a semi-musical reimagining of the Peter Pan story that explores his life before Neverland. Bringing the title character to life is senior Ethan Rauschkolb, a veteran of the NHS stage who said he is thrilled to be back in front of a live audience. "Opening is November 5th, and we're super excited about it," he said of the upcoming production, the first non-virtual one in more than 18...
Growing up, Mina O'Dell loved to copy the colorful cartoon characters she watched on T.V., and, over the years, that turned into a passion for painting and drawing. Now as a sophomore at Niwot, she is exploring a new medium that is challenging her perspectives. "I really like sculpting because it's so much different from drawing and painting," she said. "Because with a drawing, you can only see one point of view of the art that you're making. Whereas with sculpting, you can really put detail...
