n
OtterCares Foundation donated $10,000 to Cottonwood Plains Elementary School for their new innovation lab. CPES is transforming their computer lab and library into an innovative learning environment for students by implementing a multimedia studio, collaboration den, makerspace and robotics/coding room in the space. They will use the funding to purchase new and innovative materials and technology that will assist in preparing students for Thompson’s Strive 2025 Strategic Plan.
n
Yesenia Perez, third grade Dual Language Immersion teacher at Cottonwood Plains Elementary School, was chosen to be recognized by the University of Colorado’s School of Education for her outstanding teaching career. She will be recognized at a CU basketball game. Perez is in the Thompson School District Cohort Program in the Masters of Arts in Education Equity and Cultural Diversity (EECD) with a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) endorsement at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The Thompson Cohort Program started in the fall of 2017 and ten candidates will be graduating this spring. The cohort was put together by the University of Colorado Boulder Bueno Center for Multicultural Education.
Fifth grader Simone Rings of Loveland Classical Schools won the elementary school level and eighth grader Tate Charboneau of Bill Reed Middle School won the middle school level of the Thompson School District Spelling Bee at Mountain View High School. The top six finishers in the middle school level will go on to compete at the state level. The top three elementary students were: 1st – Simone Rings, Loveland Classical Schools; 2nd – Valentina Bartels, Big Thompson Elementary; and 3rd – Kate Ward, Ponderosa Elementary. The top six middle school students were: 1st – Tate Charboneau, Bill Reed MS; 2nd – Ty Bakker, Bill Reed MS; 3rd – Kailey Sellers, Walt Clark MS; 4th – Cayden Fone, Conrad Ball MS; 5th – Cecilia Kotra, Loveland Classical Schools; and 6th – Aidan Stricker, High Plains School.
n
Truscott Elementary School principal Karen Hanford and Cottonwood Plains Elementary School principal Eric Harting received the “Friends of World Language Award” from the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers (CCFLT). Both campuses serve as Dual Language Immersion schools within the district. The CCFLT recognized several of Colorado’s outstanding world language students, teachers, professors, school administrators, academic departments and other state leaders who have enriched the communities in which they live, learn and teach at their annual spring conference.
Nine Thompson School District middle school students will compete at the Longs Peak Regional Science Fair in Greeley. The students qualified at the district science fair, which included 47 elementary school projects and 19 middle school projects. All middle school winners are eligible to compete in the regional science fair as long as they completed their paperwork. The district science fair middle school winners are as follows:
n
Chemistry
n
1st place – Jack Houchin, Turner MS, “Electric Alchemy: Electroplating”
n
2nd place – Hailey Flanigan, Bill Reed MS, “Penny Cleaning Experiment”
n
3rd place – Kaelin Dugan, Walt Clark MS, “Walking Water”
n
Honorable Mention – Makenna Witting, Turner MS, “The Magical Floating Paperclip”
n
Environmental, Plant, Earth, Energy & Transportation
n
1st place – Grant Barkeen, Turner MS, “Hydroponic Strawberries”
n
2nd place – Bryan Lawless, Turner MS, “Efficient Energy”
n
3rd place – Avyanna Vu, Lucile Erwin MS, “Twirling Solar Circuits”
n
Engineering
n
1st place – Rhee McDermid, Turner MS, “Levitation of a Halbach Array”
n
2nd place – Auden Wolf, Turner MS, “Which Bridge is Stronger?”
n
3rd place – Carson Bagley, Turner MS, “Performance and Speed of Robots”
n
Physics
n
1st place – Daniel Mahoney, Turner MS, “Into the Wild Blue Yonder”
n
2nd place – Ian Curry, Turner MS, “Paper Airplane Launcher”
n
The Loveland Chamber of Commerce presented Thompson School District’s Leader In Me program with a $10,000 donation. The gift was made possible through the work of this year’s Leadership Loveland team. Based at Carrie Martin Elementary School, the Leader in Me program brings Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s famous “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” into the school setting where students can begin to develop these very important skills at an early age. Carrie Martin Elementary School principal Anne Marie Sanchez accepted the donation on behalf of the program.
The following Thompson School District students have been named as Boettcher Scholarship semifinalists: Kimberly Blough and Callie Hartel from Berthoud High School; Audrey Bankes and Alix Huhta from Loveland High School; and Madzie Boyles from Thompson Valley High School.
n
Carrie Martin Elementary School 5th graders Marley, Celia, Kerington and Alexandra took 3rd place at the State of Colorado Fall 2019 Mentored Stock Market Experience. They earned 4.3% interest on their portfolio in six weeks.
n
Two Thompson School District students earned All-American honors at the 2019 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. Jackson Shorten, a sophomore at Mountain View High School, had a top five finish in the boys 15-16 division with a time of 15:55. Cadence Lapp, a sophomore at Loveland High School, took fifth place in the girls 15-16 division with a time of 19:19.
Loveland High School sophomore Samantha Griffin won 1st place in the Youth Showcase at the Photographic Society of America International Conference with her photograph “Lake Gull.”