ThunderRidge Weekly Update
Happy Friday,
It’s been a great week here at TRHS! I’ve been able to get into a number of our classes lately and love getting to see your students in action. At the moment, our halls are being gradually transformed for Trick-or-Treat street coming up next Tuesday, 10/27 from 6:00-7:30PM. It’s one of the things I love most that we do and so appreciate Ms. Bennett for all her leadership with this event.
We hope you will bring your elementary age children, grandchildren, or neighbors to come in costume for safe, indoor trick-or-treating that will also give our community a chance to get to see the clubs and activities, sports teams, and classes we have here. It makes me so happy to see our students thinking through how to make a positive impact on our community. Thank you to all who are purchasing candy, costumes, materials, etc to support this fun event.
Earlier this week, we got to host Ranch View students as they had to evacuate their building. What a learning experience that was for all of us! I’ve heard from some of you with feedback and thoughts. If you have more to share, feel free to email me at ejwalhof@dcsdk12.org. Tips for you at your homes that came from that experience? Be sure everyone in your family knows where your fire extinguishers are and shut the door to any room with a fire in it on your way out the door (while calling 911).
On Wednesday, our welding teacher, Oscar Chaparro, got 4th place in the nation for welding teachers in a competition in Las Vegas sponsored by 3M. If you know Mr. Chaparro, be sure to congratulate him on being in the top 5 of welding teachers in the nation!
I was able to attend Senior Night for Girls Field Hockey on Thursday. We have a combined district team under the moniker of Mountain Vista (I know, it’s tough for me too!) and had two of our Seniors playing last night. It was a nailbiter! If you’ve never been to a field hockey game, I encourage you to attend next season. I kept thinking about the cardio skills of these students - wowzers!
Good luck to our Cheer team as they start their competition season! Please see the Athletics update below for highlights from all our sports teams.
I also love getting to connect with our students who have fun and unique interests outside of school. I got to chat this week with Michael Porter, one of our Seniors. On October 10th, he won the Canon City High School Fly Fishing Competition - a second year win as he was the Champion next year too. If you have a student who is interested in fishing, Michael is also the founder & president of the Thunderridge Fishing Club. They meet every other Wednesday and are looking to organize some fishing outings together. Don’t hesitate to email me your amazing student news as well.
If you’re like me, filling out your ballot may be on your agenda for this weekend. If you have questions or are looking to learn more about the 5A MLO Ballot initiative, you can learn more via the playlist found here. I thought the episodes explaining why a 2026 MLO is on the ballot and what DCSD is already doing to cut costs were particularly interesting given that they speak to questions I’ve heard folks rightfully ask.
Know folks who want to learn more about TRHS and all it has to offer - academically and otherwise? On Thursday November, 4th, please encourage them (or you) to join us for a redesigned, fun-filled evening learning about the academics, clubs, and activities TRHS has to offer.
Remember that there is no school on Friday November, 6th for our final professional development day of the semester.
Hugs,
Liz
Thursday, November 5
6:30-8:00pm
Legacy Campus
10035 Peoria St.
Lone Tree, CO 80134
Welcome to all K–12 students and families!
The CTE Career Path Expo will highlight the wide range of Postsecondary Readiness opportunities offered at each Douglas County School District (DCSD) high school and available to students across the district.
Featured programs include:
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Concurrent Enrollment
Work-Based Learning
Hear from students and teachers as they share how these programs help prepare students for future success.
Please RSVP: bit.ly/CTE-career-expo-2026
Questions? Contact Leslee Herre at lherre@dcsdk12.org.
Sponsored by: Douglas County School District's Postsecondary Readiness program, the District Accountability Committee, and the Foundation for Douglas County Schools.
Congratulations to ThunderRidge senior Michael Porter for winning the Canon City High School Fly Fishing Championship on Oct 10th! Michael is the founder & president of the Thunderridge Fishing Club. You can read all about the competition here.
Next Friday, October 30th, our IBDP science students will participate in the annual Group 4 Collaborative Science Project at the Highlands Ranch Backcountry Open Space.
The Group 4 project is a core requirement of the IB Diploma Programme, bringing together students across scientific disciplines—Biology, Physics, and Sports, Exercise, and Health Science (SEHS). Rather than analyzing science in isolation, students work in interdisciplinary teams to investigate real-world environmental and ecological questions in our local ecosystem.
While out at the Backcountry Open Space, the students are going to be focused on the following goals:
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Students pool their subject-specific knowledge to design and conduct field studies.
Field Data Collection & Analysis: Student groups will sample, observe, and test environmental indicators in the Backcountry Open Space.
Environmental Stewardship: Experiencing the local ecosystem firsthand fosters international-mindedness and localized ecological awareness.
Scientific Reflection & Communication: Teams will analyze their field findings back on campus and prepare collaborative presentations evaluating their methodologies and insights.
This will be an awesome opportunity for our IB Science students, and we look forward to seeing what they come up with in their fieldwork.