All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Heatherwood Elementary is getting a much-anticipated facelift thanks to a Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) bond approved by voters in 2014. This $6.2 million project broke ground in February, and the essential portions of the project will be completed in time for school to start this coming August. During the renovation, the building will receive routine repair and maintenance, as well as security upgrades. Though these changes aren’t always visible, they are significant. “It’s impor...
Heatherwood Elementary students had two opportunities this winter to show off their smarts. In December, students competed in the National Geographic Geography Bee, and in January, students completed in the Heatherwood Spelling Bee. Both bees are new to Heatherwood this year, thanks to new TAG (talented and gifted) teacher Jennifer Arreola. Heatherwood Principal Genna Jaramillio said, "The Geography Bee and Spelling Bee are great learning experiences for our students and are a great addition to...
Ever wanted to start a small business? Heatherwood fourth-graders know how. This spring, students in Ms. Runyon’s and Mrs. Zimmerman’s classes studied economics through a unit called mini-society. During the unit, students paired up to form companies. Each company earned seed money, called Husky Bucks, by doing chores around the classroom, such as stacking chairs or taking attendance. Companies used their bucks to buy supplies and create products. Some students made items to sell and others cre...
Karen Hannahoe, choir festival clinician at Rocky Mountain Christian Academy’s (RMCA) first middle school choir festival, had some advice for some 470 middle school choir students, “Be grateful. Be humble. Be kind.” The event, which took place at Rocky Mountain Christian Church on March 14, included performances from seven local schools, with critique sessions and whole group activities led by Hannahoe, choir teacher at Nevin Platt Middle School in Boulder. The festival itself was the brain...
With summer just a few months away, families and students are busy registering for camps and booking vacation plans. One Sunset Middle School eighth grader, Aleah Keppler, already knows what she is doing this summer. She was selected to attend the NYC Summer Academy hosted by The School of The New York Times. “My parents get The New York Times and there was an ad in the paper,” Aleah said when explaining how she learned about the program. “When we first found out about it we realized it was a lo...
Attending a Niwot High School theater production is always a treat. But this March, the audience could walk away with an even bigger prize. During the March 10 matinee performance of The Foreigner, the theater department will be auctioning off four tickets to the Broadway hit musical Hamilton, currently playing a sold-out run at Denver’s Buell Theater. The Hamilton tickets, along with other items donated by local Niwot and Longmont businesses will be part of a silent auction held in the NHS a...
In the fall of 2018, Twin Peaks Charter Academy in Longmont will launch a new program to attract the youngest students. In mid-February, the school’s board of directors approved the addition of a preschool program to the K-12 school. The program was the brainchild of K-5 Principal Amber Coniff and Executive Director Joe Mehsling, who both started at the school in 2016. They noticed many St. Vrain schools have preschool programs and wanted to give Twin Peaks families the opportunity to start their three to five-year-olds at the school instead o...
Pain is a major reason people don’t love riding their bikes. Maybe their right hand always falls asleep, or the balls of their feet ache, or their saddle leaves them sore after a long ride. Fortunately, Niwot bike fitter Ivan O’Gorman can help novice and dedicated cyclists fall in love with their bikes all over again. O’Gorman opened the IOG Bike Fit and Consulting studio in Niwot in July, 2017 and offers a variety of cycling services which aim to make riders more comfortable and effic...
In the Niwot community, Scott Tibbitts is known as an entrepreneur. Tibbits is the founder of the company, Katasi, and his distraction-free driving product, the Groove, recently hit the market. But at Niwot Elementary School, Tibbits is known for a different role: the school’s favorite storyteller. “I like that he always does this spooky voice when it’s spooky,” said third grader Luke VanMiddlesworth. “I also like how he makes them up by himself.” On the last school day in December, Tibbitts vis...
Roots, stems, leaves and more! Heatherwood first-graders are learning about plants this fall. As part of this unit of study, students took a field trip to Growing Gardens in north Boulder on Oct. 10, where they observed and tasted plants like carrots and sage, planted seeds to take home, studied bees, and even sampled fresh honey. Growing Gardens is a non-profit organization founded in 1998. Its mission is to cultivate community through sustainable urban agriculture....
Imagine a place in Gunbarrel where neighbors can chat, check out the latest books and even create objects with a 3-D printer. Boulder Public Library is currently drafting its 10-year Master Plan, which includes plans to open a branch library in Gunbarrel. On Oct. 5, the library hosted an open house at the Boulder Rural Fire Rescue station to give community members the opportunity to preview the goals for the master plan and provide their feedback. The event was one of several, which have been...
Boy Scout Troop 161 of Niwot joined Eric Bergeson and Fernando Tapia at Niwot Wheel Works to learn about the intricacies of bike maintenance on Monday, Sept. 25. The boys, under the leadership of troop master Justin Brooks, are working on their Boy Scout Cycling Badge, which is a required merit badge for the Eagle Scout level of achievement. The boys learned how to properly repair a flat and practiced replacing the tube. They also learned how to do a basic safety check and keep their bikes...
The Yesteryears Farm Show in Longmont has been a family tradition for Niwot’s Slepicka family since 1990. The event, held annually during the last weekend in August, celebrates the history of farming through displays and demonstrations of antique farm equipment. Known for their antique tractor collection, which they display at their property on 79th Street in Niwot, Jerry and Marsha Slepicka are fixtures at the show. “We want to make sure to keep history alive,” Marsha explained when asked...
Niwot High School’s new assistant principal, Zach Pinkerton, is thrilled to be back in Colorado. With two young children, ages three and six months, Pinkerton and his wife are grateful for the opportunity to move from California, where they lived for the past 15 years, to be near both his and her parents. “I was lucky enough to find Niwot High School,” Pinkerton said. “The schools that I’ve worked at are very similar to Niwot. It’s almost like the same school transported 1,200 miles east in a wa...
What’s keeping you from riding your bike this summer? Flat tire? Bent derailleur? Busted chain? Niwot’s newest bike shop, Niwot Wheel Works, is open ready to help. This service-focused shop, located in the former Rockin’ Robin’s building, opened its doors on Aug. 2, and will host its grand opening during the First Friday Art Walk on Sept. 1. When asked to describe the vision for his new business, shop owner Eric Bergeson was quick to reply. “First of all, we are a bike shop for everybody...
The skies were clear over the Front Range at lunchtime on Monday, Aug. 21. Students at Heatherwood Elementary in Gunbarrel grabbed their protective glasses and headed outside for a solar eclipse party. “It was really cool that it could get so dark and cold and the sun get so small so fast and then it all just comes back,” fifth grader Joy Allen said of her eclipse experience. “The temperature really surprised me,” said third grader Simon Schmidt, who measured a temperature drop of 12 degrees...
The IBM Connector Trail, which links the Longmont to Boulder (LoBo) trail to the Boulder Reservoir trail system, officially opened on Tuesday, June 27, just in time for Bike to Work Day on June 28. “It’s about time,” commented Rod Bolls, who was out running the trail Friday morning. Bolls, who lives in Gunbarrel North, said he has been eagerly anticipating the trail’s opening for years, though he understands the county has been behind on its infrastructure projects due to the 2013 floods....
The Washington Post, which recently named Niwot High School to its U.S. Most Challenging School’s list, confirmed what NHS students and staff already know - the school does an excellent job of preparing students for success in college and beyond. But it’s not just the AP and IB classes that make the school great. Four exceptional IB students from the Class of 2017, Vidhya Dev, Eva Kitlen, Tina Mo, and Qing Xia, spoke to the Courier about how a variety of aspects of their four years at Niwot hav...
Dark clouds gathered on the horizon as students, families, and friends gathered at Niwot High School to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2017. Typically, graduation is held outdoors on the football field east of the school. But this year stormy weather drove the event inside. Teacher Jason Watkins, who has been at NHS for 20 years, said this was his first indoor graduation. Fortunately, the change in venue didn’t detract from the significance of the day for the more than 280 students w...
Forty-one years ago, Susan Burnett stepped up to the chalkboard in her first classroom. Always up for a new challenge, Burnett has held many titles at many schools over her long career, including assistant principal at Niwot High, but in her heart, she’s always been a teacher. For Burnett, the call to education was clear. “When I was about third or fourth grade, I wanted to be just like my teachers,” Burnett said, recalling the path to her career. “I’ve just been in education the whole tim...
At the beginning of May, The Washington Post’s Education Columnist Jay Matthews released his annual rankings of how well the nation’s top high schools challenge their students. This list, called America’s Most Challenging High Schools, ranked Niwot High School at number 360 in the country, which is in the top two percent of all US high schools, and number three in Colorado, the first public school behind charter schools Peak to Peak in Lafayette and Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora. Accor...
The IBM Connector Trail between the LOBO Trail and the Coot Lake Trail south of Tom Watson Park near the IBM plant was initially scheduled to open May 16, but construction issues have pushed out the opening by at least a month. “Unfortunately the IBM trail project ran into some delays as we worked through some technical items with the railroad,” said Andrew Barth, communications director for Boulder County Transportation. “Both the county and the railroad owner want to make sure that everyone who rides or walks along and under the tracks remai...
For the last two years, Niwot High School’s Education Foundation has hosted a spring festival to showcase the work of aspiring student filmmakers. But when the foundation announced that it would no longer be able to support the event, NHS teachers Jim Asmus and Jason Watkins teamed up to ensure the show would go on. In the process of taking over the festival, Asmus and Watkins made several changes, including renaming the event the St. Vrain Valley Student Film Festival. “That was because I’m...
Heatherwood Elementary second graders are singing and dancing about economics this spring. The students have spent the last six weeks working with professionals from the Boulder theater group, The Catamounts, to create an original, curriculum-based production. This second-grade tradition began in 2011, when teacher Jolie Evans teamed up with her longtime friend Amanda Berg Wilson of The Catamounts to bring theater education to Heatherwood. Berg Wilson had recently moved to Boulder from Chicago...
Girl Scout Troop 179 is on a journey to Get Moving. The eleven Heatherwood Elementary fourth graders of Troop 179 have spent the school year exploring the theme of movement and energy through an intensive, collaborative study called a journey. “We’re learning about all types of energy,” troop leader Nancy Renken said of the project, which requires more in-depth study than a typical girl scout badge. “One part of the journey was animal energy. Observing animals in nature is a little tricky so I reached out to Greenwood [Wildlife Rehabil...
Each spring since 1988, the Colorado Council for Economics Education (CCEE) presents the Koebel Enterprising Teacher of the Year Award to an educator who demonstrates excellence in the teaching of economics and personal financial literacy. This year the council has selected Niwot High School economics teacher Ken Benson to receive this prestigious award. Benson currently teaches four sections of economics at NHS, two for the IB (International Baccalaureate) program and two AP (Advanced Placement) courses. Benson also sponsors the school’s Econ...
Niwot Elementary was hoping for good weather for the school’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, and Saturday, April 8, turned out to be a perfect sunny spring day. “It was so important to be outside today because where you’re sitting is Ward Field,” principal Nancy Pitz told the audience of past and present Niwot Elementary staff, students, and families as she introduced the field’s namesake and the celebration’s keynote speaker, Terri Ward. Ward was a fifth grade student at Niwot Elementary when th...
“We know you’re guilty.” Fourth grader Eden Zenz and her classmates accuse Kim Lancaster, director of St. Vrain’s APEX Homeschool Enrichment Program, the moment she walks into their Literature Detectives class in the sanctuary of Vinelife Church in Gunbarrel. The students are using clues prepared by their teacher to solve a whodunit as part of their unit on the novel Chasing Vermeer. Their list of suspects includes Lancaster and several other APEX staff. This scene is much like a typical...
Third, fourth and fifth graders at Niwot Elementary felt a mixture of curiosity, excitement and pride as they filed into the gym for the Skype assembly with their sister school Mwebaza Infant Primary School in Kyengera, Uganda. It was Mwebaza Day on March 14, an annual celebration of the school’s partnership with Mwebaza. “I’m excited about seeing our pen pals,” said third grader Payton Johnson, who has enjoyed trading letters across continents. “We actually helped build a school for those kid...
With the pockets of spring-like weather this winter, hikers, runners, and cyclists have been flocking to local trails. Outdoor enthusiasts who frequent Gunbarrel’s White Rocks Trail will notice the bridge that connects the trail between Valmont Road and Phillips Road is still closed. Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) does, however, have plans to reopen the bridge in 2017. “We have it on our project list and hope to complete it by the end of the year,” said Phillip Yates, spoke...
Since a trail priority study in 2003 identified the need for a Longmont-to-Boulder (LOBO) regional trail system, Boulder County has worked to link 12 miles of trails through south Longmont, Niwot, Gunbarrel, and northeast Boulder. In May, the county will open the LOBO’s newest segment, the IBM Connector Trail. “One of the biggest things we wanted to accomplish was to enhance the safety of cyclists and pedestrians trying to reach Tom Watson Park, Coot Lake and Boulder Reservoir from the east sid...
Niwot High School senior Anya Berlova received a unique recognition for her art this past fall. Berlova was the first high school student to have an illustration in the annual calendar published by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). “It felt really amazing,” Berlova said when describing the moment at the chapter’s fall conference when she learned that her illustration was one of twelve selected for the calendar. “At first when they...
Chocolate and Valentine’s Day. The two were forever united in 1861 when British chocolate maker Richard Cadbury began selling chocolate candies in heart shaped boxes. For the Gunbarrel-based Concertos in Chocolate the two are still an intense and inseparable pair. “What’s unique about Valentine’s is all our customers come in within about ten days of Valentine’s Day,” said owner and self-titled chocolate composer Chris Widlar. “It’s funny that it’s very intense. Especially the four days before Va...
“Jazz music is our gift from America to the world,” musician Tony Gulizia told an audience of fifth graders at Niwot Elementary School during an assembly on January 27, which was sponsored by the Niwot-based Colorado Jazz Group. Primarily known for organizing Niwot’s Jazz on Second Avenue festival, Colorado Jazz Group, the non-profit jazz advocacy organization, has launched a new partnership with the award-winning Vail Colorado based Jazz Goes to School program to bring jazz education to front range elementary schools. “We want to reach a...
Clubs abound at Niwot High School, but one new offering, the Interact club, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Niwot, stands out because of its focus on service. “I’ve participated in various service opportunities, only to be disappointed by how impersonal and unrealistic they sometimes are,” said Vidhya Dev, NHS senior and club secretary. “Interact, however, is completely different. It is a club filled with people that truly want to help others.” The club started in the summer of 2015, after sev...
While most people are busy preparing for the upcoming winter holidays, Boulder Country Club (BCC) is already making plans for spring. The club has been selected by the University of Colorado Men’s Golf Program to host the 2017 Pac 12 championships April 28 through April 30. “It is a real honor for Boulder Country Club that the school selected us as the hosting course,” said Kate Kippenberger, the club’s communications and membership director. “We hosted the women’s [championship] event in 20...
Bells rang out holiday carols at Barnes and Noble as the Heatherwood Huskies Handbell Choir, led by the school’s new music teacher, Lynette Schulz, delighted families and shoppers during their debut performance, as part of the school’s music department book fair fundraiser. “I chose handbells to start with because I knew it would be something new, something the kids would be excited about,” Schulz said when explaining her decision to launch the group this past fall. She also felt it would b...
New teachers often inherit a treasure from their predecessors -a desk, a set of text books, maybe a syllabus. This fall Niwot High School (NHS) vocal music teacher Laura Marshall inherited an entire musical, the fall production of the popular Sondheim musical, “Into the Woods.” And she’s loving it. “The students auditioned back in the spring,” Erin Anderson, the play’s musical director said. Kimberly Watkins, who moved to Altona Middle School this fall, helped select the cast. “The studen...
In November, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) will be asking voters to approve an operational mill levy, ballot measure 3A. Though the ballot language states the levy would support the district’s ongoing construction, technology and maintenance expenses, the school district envisions it as a way to provide for much more. Since the State of Colorado began cutting education spending during the recession in 2009-2010, using a legislative maneuver called the negative factor, BVSD’s funding has...
The Niwot High School drama department aims to keep its audiences guessing with its upcoming play, Murder in the House of Horrors. “It is the first interactive play that Niwot has ever done, and is shaping up to be a ton of fun,” Drama Teacher and Director Erin Murphy said. The play is set in the Hamilton Museum where audience members attend a lecture by Dr. Dirk Carlson, as part of the museum’s Monsters, Murderers and Mad Men Speaker Series. During the talk, the projector malfunctions and t...
Homecoming weekend wouldn’t be complete without a reunion, and this year the class of 1976 celebrated its 40th. “For us being the first class that went four years at Niwot, it’s kind of a big thing,” reunion coordinator Terri Ward said. The reunion consisted of a happy hour at Bootstrap Brewery in Niwot on Friday, which included pint glasses printed with a cougar logo from the 70s. In addition, more than 50 members of the Class of ‘76 and their spouses enjoyed a dinner together at Fox Hill Coun...
Genna Jaramillo loves to learn. From the time she was a high school senior serving as her school’s mascot, T-Doug the Cardinal, to stepping into the role of principal at Heatherwood Elementary School, Jaramillo has been dedicated to schools and education. Born and raised on the bayou, Jaramillo received her undergraduate and graduate degree from Louisiana State University and is still a proud Tigers fan. From there, Jaramillo taught first grade in Houston, Texas, where access to new t...
On May 28, the Niwot High School (NHS) class of 2016 received their diplomas, stepped off the stage and launched into their futures. For several of these high-achieving students, their high school experiences and achievements have opened the door to exceptional post-college opportunities. International Baccalaureate (IB) students Joanna Liu, Mohika Nagpal and Joshua McInerney received a perfect score of 36 on their ACT exams, gaining them entrance to three of the nation’s top universities, w...
During the last four years, Principal Brent Caldwell has brought many positive changes to Heatherwood Elementary, including the creation of a new vision and mission statement, a significant upgrade to the technology available at the school, and the introduction of the Design Thinking philosophy. Even though Caldwell will leave Heatherwood at the end of the school year to assume the principal role at Boulder Valley School District’s new PreK-8 school in Erie, he is confident Heatherwood’s sta...
The end of the school year is always full of emotion as graduating students say farewell and transition to the next phase of their lives. These final days are especially poignant for the three Niwot High School (NHS) teachers who will retire at the end of the school year. Tom Kajiwara: Physical Education In 2000, Tom Kajiwara was a stay-at-home dad when former NHS principal Dennis Daly invited him to join the football coaching staff. During that year a food science position opened up unexpectedl...
The campsite reservations are made. The kids can’t wait to roast marshmallows and throw rocks in the creek. Even the dog is excited to chase sticks and the occasional deer. But as the trip approaches, your apprehension increases. What should we pack? What should we eat? And is it really camping if my gear fills the entire back-half of my SUV instead of just my backpack? Gunbarrel resident and camping expert Dawn Bitz doesn’t want you to worry. In fact, the whole reason she founded GH Outdoor Inc., and its lifestyle brand Grasshaven, is to mak...
A new play structure. The best backpack ever. Over 300 Heatherwood Elementary School parents and students used the Design Thinking method to dream up solutions for common elementary school problems, at the first ever family challenge night on Thursday, April 7. Participants worked together as a family to design and build a product prototype, which they presented to a classroom of participants. “I liked all the colors and using all the puff balls,” second grader Kaitlyn Tschoepe said as she exp...
With the submission deadline for the second annual Niwot Student Film Festival rapidly approaching, NHS teacher Jim Asmus is helping his digital film editing students prepare their entries. All students in Asmus’ year-long video class are assigned to create a film that meets the festival’s requirements. Though submission to the festival is optional, Asmus encourages all students to enter. “The biggest reason for students to participate is to experience the audience watching their film, and t...
