Vista PEAK Preparatory senior Kristin Noll will play in the 87th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Nov. 28.

Kristin Noll is passionate about her music. The Vista PEAK Preparatory senior has honed her craft on the flute, and her years of practice are paying huge dividends.

Noll will play the flute in Macy's Great American Marching Band during the 87th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 28 in New York City. Honoring America's finest high school musicians, this band will be comprised of select students from each of the fifty states. The musicians are under the direction of Auburn University's Dr. Richard Good and Assistant Director Barry Houser, of the University of Illinois.  More than 40 flags and dancers will complement the 185 musicians.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is internationally recognized as the official start of the holiday season and world-famous as a uniquely American entertainment extravaganza.

The Great American Marching Band will take a position among the gigantic helium balloons, impressive floats carrying celebrities and the nation's top marching bands. Stepping off from Central Park, 2.5 million spectators lining the parade route will cheer the band. Arriving at Macy's Herald Square, the band will perform for celebrity hosts, a grandstand audience and more than 50 million TV viewers watching the live broadcast on NBC, which begins at 9 a.m. on channel 9.

The Saluting America program recently recognized students from several metro districts, including APS, for their work to honor our nation’s veterans and active duty personnel. 

As part of Saluting America’s Tribute Contest, students created essays, videos, art, or other creative works to express their gratitude for our military members who have served and are currently serving.

Congratulations to the following Saluting America winners:

K – 2nd Grade Level
Arianne Mazzotta’s Class
Vista PEAK Exploratory

• Kiera Burton
• Athena Eichenberger
• Brandon Harrison
• Marcus Henning
• Riley Hettich
• Hayleigh Inman
• Champion Johnson
• Janelle Johnson
• Shara Kelsey
• Emma Lawson
• Cory Major
• James Medina
• Mia Ortiz
• Bella Rose Ramirez
• Grant Reeves
• Emiliano Rodriguez
• Henry Romero Salazar
• Michelle Samarou
• Brooklyn Santiago
• Aiden Saycocie
• Matthew Smith
• Natalie Wysluzaly

3rd – 5th Grade Level
Virginia Court Elementary

• Hannah Evans Shoenberger 

Middle School Level
Vista PEAK Exploratory

• Brianna Santizo

High School Level
Kim Culhane’s Class
Vista PEAK Preparatory

• Lyric Anderson
• Jasmine Atunes
• Austin Bartsch
• Ron Dobbs
• Hector Garcia
• Jeremy Ferm
• Zachary Nichols
• Valeria Ramos Gonzalez
• Isabelle Salas Renteria

Gateway High School student Karla
Garcia interns at the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

APS students are graduating from high school more prepared than ever for college and careers, thanks in part to the Executive Internship Program.

Offered through a partnership with Pickens Technical College, the program gives high school students the opportunity to spend one or two semesters working in business organizations, government and community agencies, educational institutions or other areas. Although intern responsibilities differ greatly from site to site, students generally serve as special assistants to team members, attending meetings and conferences, preparing reports and participating in organizational activities.

All interns attend weekly seminars on communication skills, human relations, leadership development and career exploration. Students refine their social and intellectual skills and initiate their own learning experiences.

Interns may also earn awards for completing 100 or more hours of community service.

Click here to see how this semester's interns celebrated their success.

Gateway's Samuel Feldman interns in the Media Relations department at the University of Denver.

William Smith student Gerardo Sanchez helps a veterinarian administer a shot at Broadview Animal Clinic.

Vista PEAK Preparatory students play a selection during their set at Denver's Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge.

Blow baby, blow!

Students from Vista PEAK Preparatory Jazz Band recently took advantage of a great opportunity to play live at Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge. The sweet-sounding Bison joined the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra for "MJO Presents,"  an innovative program that supports jazz in local schools. Each month, the MJO features a different high school jazz ensemble in a joint concert. The young musicians from Vista PEAK gained the valuable experience of performing in a nationally recognized jazz club with a professional bigband.

Parent University participants learned how to line and salsa dance.

Vista PEAK Preparatory abounds with student diversity, a quality staff members are extremely proud of. And to show how much of a strength their school's diversity is, staff worked with parent volunteers to organize the first-ever Parent University. The event allowed parents the opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the cultural qualities that make Vista PEAK such an attractive learning environment. 

An African drumming group joined the Vista PEAK jazz band in playing a bevy of selections to kick off the event. Afterwards, parents chose different learning opportunities to engage in, including courses in drumming, line dancing and yoga as well as techniques in pottery painting. Many parents also attended breakout sessions, including one on how to ensure student safety on social media.

To round out the evening, guests enjoyed A Taste of Vista PEAK, a cultural potluck featuring the likes of Kielbasa sausage, homemade Italian meatballs and authentic Mexican cuisine.

Staff members plan to continue this event next year! 

Vista PEAK Preparatory student Kristin Noll is sure to have a future in music, if she so decides.

Noll recently participated in the 63^rd annual Colorado All-State Band at the University of Colorado at Greeley, marking the second consecutive year that Noll qualified for the ensembles. This year, she qualified for the top flute section in the top band competing with the strongest players from all 4A and 5A high schools in Colorado.

Congratulations on this amazing honor, Kristin!

Alfredo Juarez, Jr.

The Aurora Public Schools class of 2014 is just weeks away from graduation, and this year's top graduates are leading the pack. 

Students graduating with the top ten grade point averages celebrated their success with their families, the APS Board of Education and staff members during a ceremony at the Professional Learning and Conference Center. Principals at each of the schools lauded students and thanked them for always being positive role models to their respective student bodies.

Durga Niroula

Aurora Central High School
1. Alfredo Juarez, Jr. - V
2. Dhalia Gomez
3. Michelle Isom
4. Jesus Ortega Barraza
5. Vinh Pham
6. Dillon Elliot
7. Isaac Gwa
8. Areli Herrera Hernandez
9. Daniel Ibarra
10. Isela Villa Vazquez

Jin Joo Baek

Aurora West College Preparatory Academy
1. Durga Niroula - V
2. Isabel Saucedo
3. Cinthya Lopez
4. Andrea Gomez
5. Amber Rivera
6. Jazmin Beltran
7. De’Jah Travis
8. Crystal Armas
9. Chelsea Tiongco-Price
10. D’Angelo Brown

Tania Gonzalez

Gateway High School
1. Jin Joo Baek – V
2. Brandon Kahil Thomas
3. Michelle Aguayo Gutierrez
4. Octavio Rosas Torres, Jr.
5. Matthew Mason
6. Karina Reynoso
7. Sara Cardona
8. Benjamin Muratov
9. Marisa Duran
10. Carolina Sanchez Serrano

Do Hun Park

Hinkley High School
1. Tania Gonzalez – V
2. Salamasina Fifita
3. Brooke Martinez
4. Ryan Vincent
5. Ian Stevenson
6. Erik Kaminen
7. Luke Purcell
8. Victoria Ramirez-Solis
9. Jose Pizana
10. Annie Ngo

Alyssa Allen

Rangeview High School
1. Do Hun Park - V
2. Se Ra Lee
3. Natalie Harcrow
4. Anna LaForge
5. Alexandrea Sunhee Yun
6. Sara Kim
7. Meskerem Amenu Nemomsa
8. Summer Knoshaug
9. Kasandra Marshall
10. Jocelyn Newberry

Vista PEAK Preparatory 9-12
1. Rune Brown – *
2. Brianna Johnston
3. Alyssa Allen – V
4. Wyatt Fisher
5. Dana Belcher – *
6. Sierra Voltura
7. Rebekah Tresslar
8. Ayodeji Sanusi
9. Nick Cisneros
10. Mirna Marquez
11. Heather Bach
12. Sierra Duplessis

V – Valedictorian
* – Graduating Junior

Gateway High School earned the first ever APS Futures football championship. Photo courtesy Debi Ferm

A host of seventh- and eighth-grade students from Aurora Public Schools had a spring they will never forget.

Students participated in the inaugural year of the APS Futures Program, a true middle school football feeder program for APS high schools. Sponsored by a grant from the Denver Broncos, the APS Activities and Athletics Department hopes the program will help give middle school students a head start on their high school football careers and convince them to stay in APS through graduation. 

After six weeks of games, Gateway High School and Vista PEAK Preparatory 9-12 faced off for the championship, with the Olympians cruising to a 52-16 victory.

All players and coaches also attended an end-of-year dinner and awards ceremony at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Congratulations to all participants on a great year!

Congratulations to the nearly 2,900 students who recently graduated from Aurora Public Schools. The graduating class of 2014 earned more than $10 million in scholarships!

Our preschoolers from Kids Tech, the class of 2027, also celebrated their graduation as they prepare to head to kindergarten.

A special congratulations goes out to the graduates of Aurora West College Preparatory Academy and Vista PEAK Preparatory, who represented the schools' inaugural graduating classes.

View the slideshow below for a look at some of this year's graduates.

Vista PEAK Exploratory planned a unique ceremony to get eighth-graders excited about the next chapter of their lives. The celebration happened on the last day of the 2013-2014 school year.

The entire student body cheered for eighth-graders who walked the symbolic P-20 path to their high school, Vista PEAK Preparatory. Younger students at Vista PEAK made signs, formed a human tunnel, and chanted “Eighth Graders!” as the students walked to their new school.

“It was really cute and nice,” said Alexa Serratore who admitted being nervous about starting high school.

She said the event helped ease some of her nerves because she got a chance to meet her high school teachers. Serratore plans to play volleyball in high school and is excited to work on her photography.

Christopher Cornejo, a fellow eighth-grade student, said he is also excited to start high school, but the feeling is a little bittersweet.

 “I’m going to miss my teachers,” he said.

Cornejo plans to play soccer and baseball in high school. He said he was happy to get so much encouragement from the entire Vista PEAK community.

“We had everybody supporting us and that was cool,” said Cornejo.

During the ceremony, Vista PEAK Preparatory teachers urged students to start picking extracurricular activities they would like to get involved in during the next school year.

Many administrators and teachers shared the same messages with students: “Don’t be scared. Get involved! Welcome to your new home!”

From left to right: Truman Garred, Garrett Rosa, Elizabeth Weiland

It’s a phenomenon sweeping the nation and social media by storm – a very icy storm, that is! To shed light on a deadly disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease, people are embracing what has been dubbed the Ice Bucket Challenge.

The rules are simple: Players pour a bucket of ice over their heads, post the video online and challenge others to do the same within 24 hours. If the person(s) challenged choose not to participate, they are encouraged to make a charitable donation to the cause. However, most people participate in the challenge and donate as well.

Vista PEAK Preparatory students recently enjoyed watching Director Garrett Rosa, office manager Elizabeth Weiland and dean of students Truman Garred prove how “cool” they are by getting drenched. Vista PEAK Preparatory Director Craig Lyle challenged all three with the icy deluge.

While trembling in soaked clothes and with chills shooting down their spines, each participant gladly announced their next hopeful ice bucket victims. Rosa challenges APS Superintendent Rico Munn and APS Chief Academic Officer John Youngquist. Weiland challenges Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Matt Crane and the Vista PEAK Preparatory Student Council. Lastly, Garred challenges Gateway High School Athletic Director Rob Varner and Vista PEAK Preparatory junior wrestler Marcus Guerra.

Vista PEAK Preparatory leaders plan to collect and donate funds to the ALS Association in support of their mission to find a cure and provide high-quality care for those living with the disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative illness that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord causing paralysis.

Vista PEAK Preparatory Registered Nurse Julie Thigpen knows about ALS all too well. She lost her father to the disease three and a half years ago. Her family had never heard of ALS before the diagnoses, like many others, so Thigpen is excited that awareness is spreading so widely.

APS applauds Rosa, Weiland and Garred for engaging themselves in the fight for a cure.

It’s a phenomenon sweeping the nation and social media by storm – a very icy storm, that is! To shed light on a deadly disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig’s disease, people are embracing what has been dubbed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative illness that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord causing paralysis.

The rules are simple: Players pour a bucket of ice over their heads, post the video online and challenge others to do the same within 24 hours. If the persons challenged choose not to participate, they are encouraged to make a charitable donation to the cause. However, most people participate in the challenge and donate as well.

APS students and staff are taking on the challenge and donating funds to the ALS Association in support of their mission to find a cure and provide high-quality care for those living with the disease.

Check out the videos below!

Hinkley High School Principal Matthew Willis and Inspire Students:

Vista PEAK Preparatory Director Garret Rosa, office manager Elizabeth Weiland and dean of students Truman Garred:

The Outsiders

Oct. 9-10 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.

Vista PEAK Preparatory | 24500 E. 6th Ave. 80018

If APS high school auditorium walls could talk, they would tell everyone not to miss out on this fall’s incredible drama productions! Come support the arts as young, aspiring actors and actresses leave their hearts on stage in the following plays:

Treasure Island
Sept. 25-27 at 7 p.m.
Gateway High School | 1300 S. Sable Blvd. 80012

Godspell
Sept. 25-27 at 7 p.m.
Rangeview High School | 17599 E. Iliff Ave. 80013

The Outsiders
Oct. 9-10 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.
Vista PEAK Preparatory | 24500 E. 6th Ave. 80018

In the Heights
Nov. 13-15 at 7 p.m.
Hinkley High School | 1250 Chambers Rd. 80011

Metamorphoses
Nov. 13-15 at 7 p.m.
Aurora Central High School | 11700 E. 11th Ave. 80010

The Odd Couple
Nov. 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 7 p.m.
Aurora West College Preparatory Academy | 10100 E. 13th Ave. 80010

It’s an unfortunate truth that a significant number of children go to school and to bed with empty stomachs most days. This fact does not sit well for Vista PEAK Preparatory students and they decided to do something about it.

Instead of spending their days off from school leisurely, a group of Vista PEAK Preparatory juniors and seniors assisted Food Bank of the Rockies with providing food and supplies to Colorado’s hunger-relief programs, including programs specifically designed to feed hungry children.

In just two and a half hours of volunteer work at the organization’s warehouse, students had set up enough pallets to distribute food to more than 3,742 children! Food bank staff expressed how impressed they were with the students’ enthusiasm, diligence and teamwork.

“This is just one way our students are showing their leadership skills,” said Kimberly Ausman, Vista PEAK Preparatory educational assistant and E2020 online specialist. “The feedback we received shows the caliber of students we are helping to grow in the Vista PEAK community.

Several students found the experience so fulfilling that they signed up to continue volunteering. APS applauds every student who gives unselfishly of their time to make a difference in others’ lives.

Story by Alaysha Powell
APS Communication Team Intern

HOSA Students arrange pink yard flamingos into various shapes to show their support.

Vista Peak Preparatory 9-12 Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) recently raised money for breast cancer awareness by selling pink yard flamingos and ribbons.

“Every member of HOSA was expected to sell two flamingos,” according to Katie Law-Balding. “But most of them sold many more than that.”

HOSA is a career and technical association for students who are interested in the medical field. This was the program’s first year at Vista Peak Preparatory.

By the end of two weeks, HOSA raised nearly 400 dollars. All proceeds went to the Susan G. Koman Fund to help find a cure for breast cancer.

Story by Alaysha Powell
APS Communication Team Intern

On December 9, the Executive Internship Program (EIP) held its largest Sponsor Appreciation Banquet ever. High school seniors Mikeala Cook (Rangeview), Mary Royston (Hinkley), Brandon Swearengin (Vista PEAK), and William Witt (Rangeview) served as hosts for the event.The EIP Advisory Committee presented Mikeala Cook and Luke Robinson (Rangeview) with a $300 scholarship.

More than 270 family, friends and APS administrators attended the event. During the program, interns gave short speeches and presented their sponsors with small awards.

A majority of the students earned the Bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award by completing 100 or more community service hours.

A special shout out goes to the following students:

• Maria Recendes (Aurora West) and Luke Robinson (Rangeview) who received the Silver Award for completing more than 175 hours of community service.
• Brandon Swearengin (Vista PEAK)  and Yadap Adhikari (Aurora Central) who received the Gold Award for completing over 250 hours of community service.

The EIP is offered through Pickens Technical College. The program gives students an opportunity to work at various businesses and organizations to learn important job skills.

Intern Luke Robinson receives his scholarship

Guests enjoy their meal before the ceremony.

The conclusion of the 2014-15 winter semester marks the beginning of a new chapter in life for Aurora Public Schools’ mid-year graduates.

Thirty graduates participated in a ceremony on Dec. 17 to commemorate the completion of their academic requirements before the end of the school year.

The graduating class included students from APS Online, Aurora Central, Gateway, Hinkley, Rangeview and Vista PEAK Preparatory high schools and the Rebound Ombudsman Program.

The commencement began with a performance by City of Aurora Poet Laureate Jovan Mays, who delivered a piece titled “500,000 Lights.” In this moving poem, Mays encouraged students to be the lights that paint any dark horizons. “Let your radiance run rapid. Let your brilliance touch everything,” said Mays.

Following the ceremony, graduates held their diplomas with pride as they greeted their family and friends with smiles bigger than life.

Congratulations, Class of 2014!

Check out the slideshow below to get a glimpse into the night these graduates turned over a new leaf!

Top (left to right): Jessy Davis and Miranda Cox. Bottom (left to right): Autumn Schmidt and Tristana Whetten.

Congratulations to Vista PEAK Preparatory students Jessy Davis, Miranda Cox, Autumn Schmidt and Tristana Whetten for earning a spot in the 2015 Colorado All-State Concert Band! This is the third consecutive year APS has had a presence in the band through Vista PEAK Preparatory.

"I couldn't be more proud of these four ladies and their commitment to our band program,” said Vista PEAK Preparatory Instrumental Music Teacher Zachary Trimbell. “Qualifying for State Band is very difficult and they have met that challenge. I'm excited to hear them rehearse and perform with the top instrumentalists in our state."

The concert will be held on Saturday, April 11 at 4 p.m. in the University of Northern Colorado’s Monfort Concert Hall.

APS is proud to be represented by such talented students.

Gateway High School students prepare to perform Seussical the Musical.

Aurora Public Schools’ theater students are gearing up to showcase their many talents in upcoming high school musicals and plays. Gather up your family and friends and come support today’s future stars.

Seussical the Musical
Gateway High School
Feb 26-28 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.

Once Upon a Mattress
Vista PEAK Preparatory
March 5-7 at 7 p.m. and March 7 at 2 p.m.

Urinetown the Musical
Aurora Central High School
March 5-7 at 7 p.m.

The Diviners
Hinkley High School
March 5-7 at 7 p.m.

Cinderella's Glass Slipper
Aurora West College Preparatory Academy
April 11 and 12 at 7 p.m.

Up the Down Staircase
Vista PEAK Preparatory
April 30 and May 1 at 7 p.m.