Niwot High School - June 2011

BY TINA EDEN

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Niwot High School Ranked 183rd by Newsweek

Each year Newsweek magazine ranks high schools throughout the country on “how hard school staffs work to challenge students with advanced-placement college-level courses and tests.” Three schools in Boulder County ranked in the top 250: Peak to Peak Charter ranked 6th, NHS 183rd and Fairview 204th.

The complete article is at www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/.

Ann Yang Receives Gates Millennium Scholarship

Senior Ann Yang is one of 1000 graduating seniors nationwide to receive a Gates Millennium Scholarship. There were 23,000 applicants. The good-through-graduation scholarship can be used at any college or university of the student’s choice. Yang plans on attending Colorado College in Colorado Springs to study International Political Economy.

The scholarship is awarded to African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American students with high academic and leadership promise. Yang, who has attended St. Vrain schools since kindergarten, said, “I am very honored and grateful,” and will, “walk in humility with it (scholarship).”

Superintendant Gives Talk At Niwot High School

St. Vrain Valley Superintendant Don Haddad spoke to a group of approximately 30 parents the evening of April 14 in the school library. Haddad is cautiously optimistic that despite a reduction in state funding for schools, St. Vrain will maintain quality education. He expects small increases in class size at the middle school and high school level of one student per class, but elementary class sizes will not be affected.

Principals for all the feeder schools as well as NHS principal Dennis Daly and his three assistant principals were present to answer the public’s questions. The public had queries ranging from math programs, to open enrollment, to substance abuse among teens.

Assistant Principal Jim Butterfield candidly addressed parental concerns, noting that some students were suspended because of underage alcohol consumption. “Schools experience what is present in society,” Haddad commented.

Kalbfleish Bench Reconfigured

Nicole Kalbfleish, a student at NHS in the late 1980s and early 1990s, died tragically in 1991. Her parents were active in the school and donated a bench in honor of their daughter. As part of the school’s renovation, the back of the bench was inlaid in the concrete along the front entrance. It reads, “This circle of friendship is dedicated to the students of Niwot High School in memory of Nicole Kalbfleish, 1975 - 1991. ‘Nikki had a smile, a gift for you and me.’”

After Prom All Night Party

“Cougaropoly” was the theme of this year’s after prom. Several hundred students came to the festivities in the small gym between midnight and 4 a.m. on April 17. Parent volunteers dealt blackjack and Texas hold ’em, served refreshments, and kept the party going throughout the night.