Awards and Achievements
2012-2013 School Year
As of:
The Colorado State Pupil Transportation Association (CSPTA) named Thompson School District Fleet Manager Terry Ruddick as its "Fleet Person of the Year."
Thompson Valley High School student Daniel Grine and Berthoud High School student Stefani Messick were recipients of the Daniels Scholarship. Daniels Scholars are chosen for their exceptional character, leadership, and commitment to giving back to the community.
The district's JROTC Raider Teams traveled to Canon City and placed first in the overall team competition. They placed first in four of the six events with additional second and third place showings. The Raider Teams also traveled to Fountain-Fort Carson High School for the annual Pikes Peak Raider Challenge. They placed second overall with three first-place finishes, two second-place finishes and a fourth-place finish. Raider competitions include orienteering, the Army physical fitness test, a 400-500 meter litter obstacle course carry, a 5K run, an agility course and a mystery event.
Turner Middle School students competed at the Vex Robotics World Championship. The team was chosen to compete against 72 other teams from across the country using a prototype robotic kit intended for next year's worldwide competition. The team traveled to Anaheim, Calif., and competed in 20 matches where two robots were paired to accomplish a specific task. The Turner team placed 26th overall.
Staff and students from the Loveland High School Geometry in Construction program competed at the state Skills USA competition. School honorees included: Gold Winners in Community Service – Andrea DeVore, Emily Little and Valeria Meza; Silver Winners in Community Service – Brianna Bennett, Gavin Gleason and Jackie Nunnally; Silver Winners in Chapter Display – Rikki Nye, Julie Carr and Ellen McCurdy; Silver Winner in Construction – Micah Oswald; Silver Winner in Prepared Speech – Brianna Bennett; and New State Skills officers – Andrea DeVore and Emily Little. In addition, Scott Burke and Anne Larson were chosen as Colorado Skills USA Advisors of the Year.
Thompson's World Languages students placed at the UNC World Language Day State Competition. In Cultural Play: LHS French IV/V – 1st place for French; LHS Spanish IV – 2nd place for Spanish; and TVHS Spanish IV – 3rd place for Spanish. In Spanish: Christa Bouchard (TVHS) – 1st place in extemporaneous speaking; Gavin Stewart (LHS) – 4th place in extemporaneous speaking; and Dan Lara (TVHS) – 1st place in art. In French: Kyle Gibbens (LHS) – 1st place in individual talent; Anne Li Meisel (LHS) – 2nd place in extemporaneous speaking; Jack Brown (LHS) – 4th place in poetry recitation; Lillian Egan (LHS) – 4rd place in art; LHS French IV video commercial – 1st place; LHS French IV video competition – 2nd place; and LHS French V video competition – 3rd place.
Winona Elementary students competed in the state Odyssey of the Mind competition in a problem titled "The Email Must Go Through." The team placed 1st in their age group (Division 1) and will represent Colorado at the Odyssey of the Mind 2013 World Finals at Michigan State University.
Andria Kelly of Thompson Valley High School was one of two students in Colorado to receive a $10,000 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship from the Comcast Foundation. This scholarship is for students who demonstrate leadership abilities in school activities and reflect a strong commitment to community service.
A portion of the Loveland High School Crimson Regiment performed in Disney World's Magic Kingdom Electric Night Parade. This prestigious honor is reserved for only the finest marching units in the USA. Loveland High School was selected by sending in an audition video and resume for evaluation. The sound of Loveland High's award-winning marching band entertained the 75,000 plus audience members who lined the streets of Main Street USA.
Tammie Rempe, director of Nutrition Services, was selected as Colorado School Nutrition Association Director of the Year.
B. F. Kitchen Elementary School was recognized as a Healthy School Champion by the Colorado Legacy Foundation and Colorado Department of Education and was awarded $5,000. The school also received $1,000 from the New York Road Runners for piloting National Standards Based Physical Education Curriculum lessons on running and lifetime fitness.
A Mountain View High School team competed at the 2013 FCCLA State Conference. The school took eight competitors and finished with six gold medals, two silver medals, two national qualifiers and one new state officer.
Thirteen students from Cottonwood Plains Elementary and Coyote Ridge Elementary were selected to perform at the annual Colorado Music Educators Conference as part of the Colorado Elementary All-State Choir under the direction of Dr. Rollout Dilworth of Temple University. The Presto Choir, which consisted of 150 singers from throughout Colorado, performed seven selections of two and three-part music at the International Center of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
Ferguson High School received a 21st Century Schools supplemental grant of $33,000 to fund its summer program that allows students to create much of their own learning environment outside of the school walls. The six-week program will include individual study, artists-in-residence field trips, multiple-subject area workshops and more. Ferguson is a 2012 recipient of a five-year 21st Century Learning Centers Grant.
The CHSAA State Speech and Debate Tournament was held at Highlands Ranch High School with over 70 schools represented. Berthoud High School students Sarah Brickey and Melody Blackis placed as one of the top 16 Public Forum Debate teams in the state.
Thompson Education Foundation honored excellence in education by presenting six district staff members with Educator of the Year awards during the fifth annual Educator Appreciation Breakfast at Embassy Suites Loveland: Classified Educator of the Year – Leroy Cline, Ponderosa Elementary School; APT Educator of the Year – Linda Worthington, Transportation; Elementary Educator of the Year – Mary Kay Randall, Truscott Elementary School; Secondary Educator of the Year – Mike Felton, Loveland High School; Principal Educator of the Year – Larry Shores, Winona Elementary School; Thompson Education Foundation Educator of the Year – Lynn Gilbert, Conrad Ball Middle School. Each recipient received an art glass award and a $200 gift card. A foundation partnership with King Buick GMC provided two-month car leases for each category winner and a 24-month car lease for the Thompson Education Foundation Educator of the Year.
Approximately 60 individuals were honored by the Loveland Mountain View Rotary Club at its 10th celebration of "Heroes Among Us." The event recognizes adults in the Loveland and Berthoud communities identified by students in the middle and high schools as being significant role models and mentors. Many of the honorees were teachers within the district.
Thompson Valley High School students Nick Brubaker, Patrick Canny and Daniel Probasco won the "Inspire Award" at the FIRST Tech Challenge Colorado/Wyoming Regional Tournament at Regis University.
Truscott Elementary School student Marcelo Espinoza Diaz was chosen out of over 8,800 applications to be a National Pop Warner All-American Scholar. Students have to advance through the regional level to the national level and are selected based on a combination of academics, activities and achievements. Marcelo was one of eight Colorado 5th grade students to make Second Team.
A group of 21 8th grade students from Turner Middle School competed at the Longs Peak Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Accomplishments by Turner students include: Jessa Megenhardt – Pioneer of Science award from UNC; Sarah Howard – Honorable Mention for her work in Behavioral & Social Sciences and an invitation to compete in the Broadcom Master's Science Fair; Morgan Schachterle – Honorable Mention for her study of Forensic Sciences; Brianna Rivera – Honorable Mention for Engineering; Emma Vittetoe – Honorable Mention for studies in Medicine & Health; and Jack Klein – 2nd place in the Math & Computer Science category for his work on operating system efficiencies. Hailey Ferraro and Caleb Jordan also received invitations to compete in the Broadcom Master's Science Fair.
Thompson Valley High School and Loveland High School have been invited to join the Engineer Your World network, an innovative, year-long high school curriculum developed by faculty at The University of Texas at Austin and engineers from NASA. The program engages students in authentic engineering practices in a project-based environment as it scaffolds student learning over a series of interesting and socially relevant design challenges. The schools will be involved in the project June 2013 through Aug. 2014.
Robotics teams from around Colorado competed in the Colorado VEX Robotics State Championship hosted by CSU Pueblo. Berthoud High School took the most trophies. Team 1069D won the Excellence Award, the highest award of the competition, as well as the Robot Skills Champion designation. Another Berthoud High team, 1069B, along with 1826B (Faith Christian Academy) and 979C (Grandview High), won the Tournament Champion designations. These winners qualified for the VEX World Championships in Anaheim, Calif. The Judges Award was won by another Berthoud team, 1069E, and the Volunteer of the Year Award went to a Berthoud couple, Dan and Beth Schlagel.
The Loveland Sculpture Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding opportunities and appreciation for sculpture, awarded $10,000 to Thompson School District art programs. The money was raised through the Loveland Sculpture Invitational, the largest annual outdoor sculpture show and sale in the nation.
Caleb Jordan, an 8th grade student at Turner Middle School, entered a "Fuel Up to Play 60" essay contest sponsored by the NFL and Western Dairy Association. He won an Xbox 360 Kinect kiosk, complete with a monitor and five games, to be used at Turner to encourage students to eat healthy and be active 60 minutes every day.
The Erion Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to Bill Reed Middle School to upgrade the sound system in the historic school's auditorium. As part of the grant agreement, the school was asked to raise $1,200 for a "scrim," which is used as a backdrop to create the illusion of a solid wall or an empty canvas for various lighting effects.
Molly Sederberg, Spanish teacher at Thompson Valley High School, was awarded the 2013 Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers "New Educator Award." This state award is presented to a world language educator in the first five years of teaching who exhibits a great deal of potential in developing ideas for world language education.
Kendra Omlid, German teacher at Loveland High School and Thompson Valley High School, was the recipient of the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language "Kris Wells Memorial Creativity Award." This state honor is presented to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional creativity and innovation in the field of world languages, whether in teaching, administration, or materials development.
Several Thompson School District staff members joined representatives from the Colorado Legacy Foundation, the Colorado Department of Education and others as Gov. John Hickenlooper announced a $5.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant for the Colorado Integration Project will expand Colorado's efforts to help increase high school graduation rates and better prepare students for success in college and careers. Thompson is one of 13 districts participating in the project.
The work of LISA students as well as Gifted and Talented students from Bill Reed Middle School, Lucile Erwin Middle School, Walt Clark Middle School and Mountain View High School was featured in a photography show called The Mural Project: A Portrait of Loveland Through Young Eyes at the Loveland Museum and Gallery.
At Monroe Elementary, 130 students participated in the Sign Choir. Several students within the Hearing Department from all three levels – elementary, middle and high school – assisted with the choir, which learned several songs in sign language. The Sign Choir held a performance for their families at Mountain View High School.
Van Buren teacher Stephanie Stewart earned funding from DonorsChoose.org to support her classroom project called iListen and iLearn. She recognized that children develop fluent reading skills, in part, by listening to fluent reading. She requested four iPod touch devices to be utilized in a Reading Center for her classroom. The individual iPods will allow each child to listen to a story that is of high interest to them. In addition to listening to stories, students will also be able to use the iPods to access a variety of literacy-focused apps which will help them study sight words and spelling patterns in a way that is fun and motivating.
Adapted P.E. teacher Brad Nelson was named Colorado Teacher of the Year by the Colorado Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (COAHPERD), which is the state and national association for Physical Education.
Mountain View High School senior Madison Polansky was named Miss Loveland Valentine 2012-2013 during a Chamber of Commerce luncheon with the Thompson Valley Rotary Club.
Conrad Ball Middle School staff facilitated several sessions on best practices for launching a 1:1 iPad initiative and other strategies for effective instruction at the Colorado "School to Watch" Conference in Commerce City. Educators from across the state attended this conference hosted by the Colorado Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE).
School sites made progress with recycling in September following assemblies regarding diverting waste such as paper, plastics and aluminum from the landfill. The schools were: Walt Clark Middle School, from 29% to 38%; Stansberry Elementary School, 12% to 22%; Laurene Edmondson Elementary School, 25% to 42%; Van Buren Elementary School, 19% to 32%; Lincoln Elementary School, 13% to 32%; and the Loveland Head Start, 0% to 20%.
School teams placed in the Thompson Robotics Expo at Loveland High School: Research Project 1st place – Ivy Stockwell Elementary School's Team Senior Senseis; Research Project 2nd place – Garfield Elementary School's Team Old School Generation; Robot Design 2nd place – Lucile Erwin Middle School's Team LEMS C; VEX Robotics Skills Challenge winner and Programming Skills Challenge winner – Berthoud High School's 1069E Critical Mass. More than 400 students participated with 50 LEGO teams and 25 VEX teams.
The Loveland High School Softball Team won the Class 5A State Championship.
Nine students from Cottonwood Plains Elementary and six from Coyote Ridge Elementary participated with the combined Presto and Vivace Choirs directed by Don Ester, Ball State University, and Elaine Quilichini, artistic director of the Calgary Girls Chorus, at the 2012 Colorado Music Educators Association Conference.
Mountain View High School math teacher Tiffany Utoft was selected to serve with a team of educators on Colorado's District Sample Curriculum Project. She will participate in the creation of sample curricula based on the new Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) for Mathematics. Utoft will be working with other educators on the high school blueprints in November. Mountain View High School recently earned accreditation from Project Lead the Way (PLTW). PLTW is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S. MVHS is the only PLTW accredited school in Northern Colorado. Students in the program can receive concurrent credit at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Mountain View High School teacher Bruce Moore was nominated by Stanford freshman and MVHS graduate Luis Garcia to receive Stanford University's Teacher Tribute Initiative, which recognizes exceptional teachers that played a significant role in the student's intellectual, academic, social and personal development.
District students achieved the National Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar honor for tests taken last spring. National AP Scholar honors go to students with a 4 or higher score on a 5-point scale on the AP tests. From Loveland High School were: Risa Venbega, Ian Collett and Nabeel Moin; from Thompson Valley High School was Kyle Kluherz; and from Mountain View High School was Sabine Berzins.
The following students are National Merit finalists: Gavin Stewart, Loveland High School; and Nathaniel Ver Steeg, Berthoud High School. Thompson Valley High School student Natalie Howard is a commended student.
Thompson teachers and administrators are collaborating internally and with other agencies and districts on literacy and teacher effectiveness as part of a major collaboration between the Colorado Legacy Foundation and the Colorado Department of Education. Thompson is a pilot district in implementing the state evaluation model as part of the teacher effectiveness portion of Senate Bill 191. The district is also a leader in designing teaching models for the new state academic standards with the Literacy Design Collaborative.
Carrie Martin Elementary School will receive a grant from I Am A Leader Foundation to receive leadership training for The Leader in Me project at the school. The grant includes about $50,000 over the course of five years. The Leader in Me helps schools establish a culture of character and leadership with its staff, students and school community.
Aaron Estevez-Miller, the 2012 IB Programme Valedictorian who graduated summa cum laude, accepted one of 40 2012 Boettcher scholarships in the state. As a Boettcher Scholar, Estevez-Miller had the privilege of identifying one teacher to honor, a teacher who impacted his life and made a significant contribution to his growth and education. He selected his IB Language Arts teacher, Betty Aten. She was recognized at the annual Boettcher Teacher Awards ceremony. In addition to a plaque, Aten received a check for $1,000 to benefit the students of Loveland High School.
Several Thompson School District staff members joined representatives from the Colorado Legacy Foundation, the Colorado Department of Education and others as Gov. John Hickenlooper announced a $5.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant for the Colorado Integration Project will expand Colorado's efforts to help increase high school graduation rates and better prepare students for success in college and careers. Thompson is one of 13 districts participating in the project.
The work of LISA students as well as Gifted and Talented students from Bill Reed Middle School, Lucile Erwin Middle School, Walt Clark Middle School and Mountain View High School was featured in a photography show called The Mural Project: A Portrait of Loveland Through Young Eyes at the Loveland Museum and Gallery.
At Monroe Elementary, 130 students participated in the Sign Choir. Several students within the Hearing Department from all three levels – elementary, middle and high school – assisted with the choir, which learned several songs in sign language. The Sign Choir held a performance for their families at Mountain View High School.
Van Buren teacher Stephanie Stewart earned funding from DonorsChoose.org to support her classroom project called iListen and iLearn. She recognized that children develop fluent reading skills, in part, by listening to fluent reading. She requested four iPod touch devices to be utilized in a Reading Center for her classroom. The individual iPods will allow each child to listen to a story that is of high interest to them. In addition to listening to stories, students will also be able to use the iPods to access a variety of literacy-focused apps which will help them study sight words and spelling patterns in a way that is fun and motivating.
Adapted P.E. teacher Brad Nelson was named Colorado Teacher of the Year by the Colorado Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (COAHPERD), which is the state and national association for Physical Education.
Mountain View High School senior Madison Polansky was named Miss Loveland Valentine 2012-2013 during a Chamber of Commerce luncheon with the Thompson Valley Rotary Club.
Conrad Ball Middle School staff facilitated several sessions on best practices for launching a 1:1 iPad initiative and other strategies for effective instruction at the Colorado "School to Watch" Conference in Commerce City. Educators from across the state attended this conference hosted by the Colorado Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE).
School sites made progress with recycling in September following assemblies regarding diverting waste such as paper, plastics and aluminum from the landfill. The schools were: Walt Clark Middle School, from 29% to 38%; Stansberry Elementary School, 12% to 22%; Laurene Edmondson Elementary School, 25% to 42%; Van Buren Elementary School, 19% to 32%; Lincoln Elementary School, 13% to 32%; and the Loveland Head Start, 0% to 20%.
School teams placed in the Thompson Robotics Expo at Loveland High School: Research Project 1st place – Ivy Stockwell Elementary School's Team Senior Senseis; Research Project 2nd place – Garfield Elementary School's Team Old School Generation; Robot Design 2nd place – Lucile Erwin Middle School's Team LEMS C; VEX Robotics Skills Challenge winner and Programming Skills Challenge winner – Berthoud High School's 1069E Critical Mass. More than 400 students participated with 50 LEGO teams and 25 VEX teams.
The Loveland High School Softball Team won the Class 5A State Championship.
Nine students from Cottonwood Plains Elementary and six from Coyote Ridge Elementary participated with the combined Presto and Vivace Choirs directed by Don Ester, Ball State University, and Elaine Quilichini, artistic director of the Calgary Girls Chorus, at the 2012 Colorado Music Educators Association Conference.
Mountain View High School math teacher Tiffany Utoft was selected to serve with a team of educators on Colorado's District Sample Curriculum Project. She will participate in the creation of sample curricula based on the new Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) for Mathematics. Utoft will be working with other educators on the high school blueprints in November.
Mountain View High School recently earned accreditation from Project Lead the Way (PLTW). PLTW is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S. MVHS is the only PLTW accredited school in Northern Colorado. Students in the program can receive concurrent credit at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Mountain View High School teacher Bruce Moore was nominated by Stanford freshman and MVHS graduate Luis Garcia to receive Stanford University's Teacher Tribute Initiative, which recognizes exceptional teachers that played a significant role in the student's intellectual, academic, social and personal development.
District students achieved the National Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar honor for tests taken last spring. National AP Scholar honors go to students with a 4 or higher score on a 5-point scale on the AP tests. From Loveland High School were: Risa Venbega, Ian Collett and Nabeel Moin; from Thompson Valley High School was Kyle Kluherz; and from Mountain View High School was Sabine Berzins.
The following students are National Merit finalists: Gavin Stewart, Loveland High School; and Nathaniel Ver Steeg, Berthoud High School. Thompson Valley High School student Natalie Howard is a commended student.
Thompson teachers and administrators are collaborating internally and with other agencies and districts on literacy and teacher effectiveness as part of a major collaboration between the Colorado Legacy Foundation and the Colorado Department of Education. Thompson is a pilot district in implementing the state evaluation model as part of the teacher effectiveness portion of Senate Bill 191. The district is also a leader in designing teaching models for the new state academic standards with the Literacy Design Collaborative.
Carrie Martin Elementary School will receive a grant from I Am A Leader Foundation to receive leadership training for The Leader in Me project at the school. The grant includes about $50,000 over the course of five years. The Leader in Me helps schools establish a culture of character and leadership with its staff, students and school community.
Aaron Estevez-Miller, the 2012 IB Programme Valedictorian who graduated summa cum laude, accepted one of 40 2012 Boettcher scholarships in the state. As a Boettcher Scholar, Estevez-Miller had the privilege of identifying one teacher to honor, a teacher who impacted his life and made a significant contribution to his growth and education. He selected his IB Language Arts teacher, Betty Aten. She was recognized at the annual Boettcher Teacher Awards ceremony. In addition to a plaque, Aten received a check for $1,000 to benefit the students of Loveland High School.
