Author: matt.beall@tsd.org

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The OtterCares Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary with a reception at Colorado State University. Attended by Otter Products employees and members of the community, the event culminated with the awarding of $320,000 in grants to support local education initiatives. Among the awards, Thompson Education Foundation received a $50,000 grant which will be utilized to create a Business Hub at Thompson School District’s new Career and Technical Education Center. The center, which will be located at the site of the recently closed Van Buren Elementary School, is currently under construction and will open for students next fall. The glass-walled Business Hub will be the first thing that visitors will see when entering the main assembly area of the building. It is the place where business and education will intersect and where connections between the business community and TSD students will be made on a daily basis.

Over $22.2 million in postsecondary scholarships were awarded to Thompson School District’s graduating class of 2019.

High Plains School counselor Danielle Case was named 2019 Multi-Level School Counselor of the Year by the Colorado School Counselor Association.

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Chore Champion from Loveland High School (TSD Entrepreneurship team of Kayson Marler and Julian Sanchez) took second place at the INCubatoredu National Pitch competition in Chicago.

During the 2018-2019 school year, 3,730 volunteers donated 77,232 hours to Thompson School District.

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Thompson School District’s Entrepreneurship Program Pitch Night winners Kayson Marler and Julian Sanchez from Loveland High School have been selected as one of five teams to compete in the INCubatoredu National Pitch competition in Chicago with their product Chore Champion. They were selected from 39 entries. This is the first time TSD has submitted a team for the competition.

Thompson Education Foundation awarded four 2019-2020 Great Idea Grants to Thompson School District staff to implement innovative projects in education and instruction to enhance the learning experience of students. The recipients were: Danny Hollweg, Loveland High School, for Genius Hour: Podcast & Film Editing Studio; Nicole Keener, Ferguson High School, for A Picture Plus a Thousand Words (Photography & Marketing in the Digital Age); Diane Arnette, Thompson Online Campus, for GAME ON: Build 2 Game Design Capacity Computers; and Janice Marchman, Bill Reed Middle School, for Multimedia Photo Project.

Fifty-four Thompson School District students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in 2019. The district developed the Seal of Biliteracy to honor students who have attained high-level skills in both English and another language. The seal appears on the student’s official transcript to certify to colleges and employers that he or she has demonstrated proficiency in multiple languages. Six students earned the seal in French, one in Thai, two in German, and 46 in Spanish.

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In its 34th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company named Loveland High School junior Laurin Krings the 2018-2019 Gatorade Colorado Softball Player of the Year. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Krings as Colorado’s best high school softball player. Krings is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award.

Dual Language Schools chose Truscott Elementary School as the May Dual Language School of the Month. Dual Language Schools is a national community organization that promotes dual language education.