Good News Bulletin

Elizabeth High School senior Shaye Lovato worked hard to earn a rare and prestigious appointment to the United States Air Force Academy.

Lt. Col. Neil Jesse made the first presentation at the EHS Spring Awards Ceremony on Tuesday when he formally announced Shaye’s appointment.

Those selected by the Air Force Academy commit to four years of college and military training. Each graduates as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force and serves for at least eight years after graduation, five of which must be active duty and the remainder can be served as inactive reserve. Shaye said she hopes to have a career of 20 years or more.

“Shaye’s selection to the Air Force Academy is the first in my nine years at EHS,” said Principal Bret McClendon. “We're very proud of her. She is a very deserving individual, and we know she's going to do wonderful things.”

Look for a full story here next week about Shaye's journey to become one of 1,100 cadets chosen nationwide out of more than 10,000 applicants.

The EHS Spring Awards Night featured scores of students who excel in the classroom. Outstanding athletes were honored with the TJ McAskill Award, thousands of dollars in scholarships were awarded, and departments honored top students in their subject areas.

After each class' honor-roll students took the stage to be honored, Principal Bret McClendon announced the list of 12 graduating valedictorians -- and noted that those students still need to maintain their high grades for the remainder of the school year to stay on the list.

USAFA Acceptance

Shaye Lovato

TJ Shriner Award

Cooper Connelley, Lauren Rohlwing

Scholarships

Maverix Broadband: Jake Burdick and Emma Warren ($2,500 each)

Cypress Creek Renewables: Trenton Miller and Lauren Rohlwing ($1,000 each)

McAskill Scholarship: Jordan Martinez and Norah Vair ($500 each)

American Legion Post #82: Jordan Martinez ($2,000)

TJ Shriner Award: Cooper Connelley and Lauren Rohlwing

Golden Ratchet: Trysten LeBlanc and Trenton Miller ($500 each)

Elizabeth Education Foundation: Leslye Gonzalez and Samual Malakowski ($1,000 each)

Elizabeth Alumni Association: Ryken Angel and Jake Burdick ($2,000 each); Trenton Miller ($1,000)

Elizabeth Fire Dept: Lauren Rohlwing and Kiley Sparks ($1,000 each)

Cardinal Club: Meghan Benkendorf, Cooper Connelley, Jordan Martinez and Lauren Rohlwing ($1,000 each); Jake Burdick, Paisley Gammel, Landen David Moore and Kiley Sparks ($500 each); Lincoln Glazebrook, Emily Sagaser and Bridget Wasilewski ($250 each)

ACT for Poverty: Bryleigh Adams, Jake Burdick and Jordan Lust ($1,000 each)

Future Freedom Foundation Scholarship: Lincoln Glazebrook and Jordan Martinez ($1,500 each)

Art Department Awards

Alyssa Edwards, Salem Facundus, Caleb Lokken, Sydney McIntosh

Business Department Awards

Bailey Loomis, Julian Milster, Norah Vair, Hayvin Wilder

English Department Awards

Gretchen Alltop, Kylie Church, Erica Hefty, Ryan McDonald, Tyler Swineford

EZTV Awards

Elijah Angerman, Avery Goettge

Family and Consumer Sciences Department Awards

Kylie Church, Luke Ferland, Addison Mayers, Titan Toupin

Industrial Arts Department Awards

Kaylee Dererra, Alex Evans

Instrumental Music Department Awards

Drake Baker, Ann Jones, Jamie Seehusen

Internships

Ben Doremus, Lincoln Glazebrook, Elisa Roden

Journalism Department Awards

Avery Goettge, Samuel Johnson, AJ Tichota

Math Department Awards

Brenna Kilkenny, Abigail Monchak, Lauren Rohlwing, Tyler Swineford, Spencer Tobler,

PE and Health Department Awards

Meghan Benkendorf, Lauralie Schaal, Arianna Toaipa, Cooper Widhalm

Science Department Awards

Caleb Dunn, Caden Farnsworth, Julio Mata-Bautista, Bradley Richardson, Josh Taylor

Social Studies Department Awards

Aidan Callahan, Charlie Crofts, Shaye Lovato, Samantha Maynard, Abbie Whetten

Spanish Department Awards

Brooke Burris, Samantha Guth, Joseph McKeown, Jessica VanAernam, Skylar Whittaker

Technology Department Awards

Noah Jones, Evelyn Malakowski, Spencer Tobler

Theatre Department Awards

Ava Davie, Trenton Miller, Nevaeh Schmitz, Ava Thielen

Vocal Music Department Awards

Parker Campbell, Jasmine Lundgren

Freshman Honor Roll

Bailey Barnhart, Taelynn Berglund, Brooke Burris, Coltan Calahan, Kobe Chinn, Kylie Church, Bryce Coffey, Halli Connelley, Riley Crofts, Molly Dunagan, Rebecca Engel, Isabel Fletcher, Emalee Guhl, Francesca Hayes, Kimber Heideman, Amanda Jeffs, Devon Johnson, Bennett Lambert, Hailey Mannick, Madison Martin, Julio Mata-Bautista, Isabella McCasland, Abbygale McMurray, Olivia Monchak, Gisele Moyes, Annabelle Nelson, Alexis Nieto, Fiona Norwood, Seraphina Perrault, Finnegan Quinby, Cole Robinson, Isaac Roden, Ellie Ryan, Olivia Saavedra, David Savage, Samarah Schmitz, Liam Spear, Cameron Spencer, Jonathon Spencer, Aaron Webster, Skylar Whittaker

Sophomore Honor Roll

Lacy Antinora, Ryan Baxter, Naomi Cantrall, Calla Crookshanks, Tyler Deering, Madilyn Franklin, Samantha Guth, Hailey Hendrickson, Mylie Hicks, Ann Jones, Brenna Kilkenny, Naomi King, Jackson Lawson, Page Lindsay, Stephanie Lunt, Samantha Maynard, Imogene Mott, Alexis Murphy, Alaina Petersen, Gabriella Petoia, Zackary Snow, Pepper Spangler, Riley Sullivan, Jessica VanAernam

Junior Honor Roll

Elijah Angerman, Shiloh Bridgham, Charlie Crofts, Ava Davie, Allison Dillard, Elena Engel, Aiden Guth, Josephine Hayes, Charles Heffernan, Brinley Heideman, Nele Heise, Elizabeth Kaumeyer, Lannie Keele, Piper Loeks, Jasmine Lundgren, Evelyn Malakowski, Brooklyn Martin, Emily Meyer, Julian Milster, Abigail Monchak, Liliana Mott, Samantha Mowbray, Mauricio Munoz Varela, Elisa Oehlschlaeger Kruse, Bradley Richardson, Patrick Rock, Ava Thielen, Arianna Toaipa, Begona Tobio, Spencer Tobler, Amaya Tunstill, Montana Webster, Abbie Whetten Chacon

Senior Honor Roll

Ryken Angel, Hayden Baker, Elijah Bohler, Cameron Bunch, Jake Burdick, Athena Cantrall, Brett Davis, Caleb Dunn, Caden Farnsworth, Isela French, Ethen Gardner, Hailey Gelroth, Leslye Gonzalez, Zane Hefty, Samuel Johnson, Noah Jones, Alden Kaiser, Diessen Lindsay, Shaye Lovato, Malachi Mariscal, Jordan Martinez, Caden McDermott, Joseph McKeown, Trenton Miller, Silas Padilla, Giovanna Perrault, Lauren Rohlwing, Tyler Schaben, Nevaeh Schmitz, Jamie Seehusen, Jamie Sikorski, Kiley Sparks, Tyler Swineford, Norah Vair, Amy Ward, Emma Williams

Valedictorians

Ryken Angel, Athena Cantrall, Caleb Dunn, Caden Farnsworth, Hailey Gelroth, Samuel Johnson, Noah Jones, Shaye Lovato, Joseph McKeown, Giovanna Perrault, Lauren Rohlwing, Amy Ward.

Continuing its tradition of community service, the entire student body of Elizabeth High School took the day on Wednesday to spread out across the region to clean up streets, the Elizabeth cemetery, hiking paths at Castlewood Canyon and a park in Castle Rock. They also painted murals at the district's Transportation Office, cleaned mats and equipment at Gymnastics Etc., and carried out various jobs at several local ranches and every other school in the district.

Fourth- and fifth-graders at Running Creek and Singing Hills Elementary Schools marked Earth Day on Thursday with a special native-plant growing exercise provided by Schneider Electric.

Specialists from Schneider explained how native plants can be beneficial to local landscapes and led students through a process of making seed pods out of clay, putting a little soil and some seeds in the middle, adding just a bit of water and then rolling the combination into a ball.

They gave each student a watercolor paint set to decorate their seed pods. Some painted them to look like the Earth, others made animal heads and still others made unique fictional characters. The students then wrapped them in parchment paper so they could take their seed pods home to dry out before planting. Schneider staff members also gave each student a pencil bag to take their paint sets home.

Schneider Electric has partnered with Elizabeth School District for the Resource Efficiency Initiative, which is helping make each school building more cost-efficient with new LED lights, better-sealed buildings and upgraded climate control systems. The company is also helping provide education opportunities for students by providing internships for high school students as well as Thursday's events with elementary students.

Thanks to Ashlyn Crossland, Steve Beaudoin, Kaitlyn DeCristino and Jessica Schmidt for the Singing Hills photos.

EHS senior Meghan Benkendorf was honored at the CHSAA Legislative Council Meeting on Tuesday with the presentation of the Children's Hospital Colorado Outstanding Sports Medicine Student Award. The award is open to any high school student in Colorado who volunteers in their sports medicine program, has a GPA above 3.0, is reliable and wants to gain knowledge in athletic training practices and care and prevention of athletics injuries.

Meghan logged 175 hours through the fall as a sports medicine intern at EHS, in addition to being involved in various other sports and school activities. She was chosen out of eight

EHS Athletic Trainer Megan Zoesch said Meghan is "very well deserving of this award!" She wrote the following in Meghan's application:

"Meghan is an incredible asset in daily tasks, administrative duties, game preparation, taping and anything else I asked of her during the fall season. She is a self-starter and stepped up whenever I needed an extra set of hands or eyes; always noticing when there was a change in an athlete's performance and wanted to learn how to aid in their return to peak abilities. Through all of this I have watched Meghan grow, mature, and become a true leader. Her ability to problem solve, mentor younger students, have empathy for injured athletes and encourage everyone around her are a few of the many reasons I think she is very deserving of this award."

Meghan was joined by her parents, EHS Athletic Director John Everhart, and Zoesch at the CHSAA award presentation.

Thanks to Megan Zoesch for the information and John Everhart for the photos.

The EHS Audio/Video Program hosted a film festival Thursday night, featuring the work of AV Production Teacher Jonny Horton's EZTV students and those in his AV1 and AV2 classes.

The well-attended festival featured screenings from all three levels followed by an award ceremony. The night also featured the premiere of the finale of the Jeremy-and-Jackson saga, which has been serialized throughout this school year's EZTV episodes, as well as a special clip of prom.

EHS staff, former AV teachers, and his Horton's film production team all voted on the students’ work.

Here is the list of film festival winners:

• Best AV1 Project: Kaylah Martin & Sami Maynard
  
• Best AV2 Music Video: Nataliyah Chavez, Rachael Dickinson, Morgan Ferland, Savannah Bishop & Alex Evans.
  
• Best AV2 Genre Film: Julian Milster, Jennifer Martinez-Cardenas, Jacob Myers & Alex Prigmore.
  
• Best AV2 Project Overall: Nataliyah Chavez, Rachael Dickinson, Morgan Ferland, Savannah Bishop & Alex Evans.
  
• Bed EZTV Intro: Senioritis by the whole EZTV Crew
  
• Best Anchor Duo: Jackson Zander and Jeremy Lazoskie
  
• Best Cinematography: Cash Randle
  
• Best Editing: Bradley Richardson
  
• Best Acting: Luke Chisholm
  
• Best Activities Segment: Ava Davie & Amanda Casaretto
  
• Best Sports Segment: Cooper Connelley and Cash Randle
  
• Best Episode of EZTV chosen by the audience: EZTV #110 (The EZTV Carol)
  

Thanks to Isabella McCasland, Jonny Horton and Lori Horton for the information and photos.

April – National Poetry Month

April 27 – EHS Performance Theatre presents "Urning It", 7 p.m.

May 1 – National Principal Appreciation Day

May 6-10 – National Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6 – Board of Education Meeting, 6 p.m.

May 6 – EHS Marching Band Info Night, 6 p.m.

May 7 – National Teacher Appreciation Day

May 7 – EHS Instrumental Pops Concert, 7 p.m.

May 8 – National School Nurse Appreciation Day

May 9 – EHS Pops Choir Concert, 7 p.m.

May 17 – Last Day of School for Seniors

May 17 – Graduation Rehearsal and Changing of the Guard, 12:30 p.m.

May 18 – National Speech Pathologist Appreciation Day

May 20 – Board of Education Meeting, 6 p.m.

May 23 – Last Day of School

May 25 – EHS Graduation, 10 a.m.

EMS sports calendar

EHS sports calendar

The EHS Student Council will host a Father-Daughter Western Hoedown at 5 p.m. Saturday at the EHS gym.

The cost for the dance is $20 per family (cash only), and parents and their kids are encouraged to dress up in western wear for the memorable evenings.

Carson Powell, the director of the Cardinal Pride Marching Band will host a 2024 season informational meeting -- and reveal the show the band will perform -- at 6 p.m., May 6, in the EHS Band Room.

The marching band, coming off its best-rated season ever, is an extracurricular activity and open to students in grades 8-12 with at least one year of musical experience.

For more information, and to register by May 10, check out the Cardinal Pride webpage.

Music from "Star Wars," Pixar's "Coco," Disney's "Frozen," "The Lord of the Rings," "The Hobbit" and more will fill the EHS cafetorium at 7 p.m., May 7.

The "Movies in Concert" event will be the final EHS Performing Arts musical performance for the Jazz Band, Orchestra, Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra for this school year.

Admission is free.

The Elizabeth Education Foundation partners with Elizabeth School District in numerous ways throughout the year to support students and teachers. This volunteer-led, independent fundraising foundation provides scholarships for graduating seniors, classroom grants for teachers, and the STARS Awards for outstanding citizenship among students.

Learn more about the EEF at its website.

EEF has arranged for a trio of food trucks to be on site at the EHS multi-district track and field meet on May 11:

• Catalina's Tacos
  
• The Chaotic Kitchen
  
• Kona Ice

The food trucks will set up around 10 a.m., and Catalina's and The Chaotic Kitchen will have a limited breakfast menu in addition to lunch items. The food trucks will stay until approximately 3 p.m. and each will donate a percentage of their proceeds to the EEF.

The Colorado Rockies are partnering again this year with the Elizabeth Education Foundation to offer a pair of games that will benefit Elizabeth Schools.

The Elizabeth days at the ballpark are Saturday, May 11, for a 6:10 p.m. first pitch versus the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers and Sunday, May 26, for a 1:10 p.m. game versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

By visiting Rockies.com/ELIZABETH to buy tickets, a portion of each tickets sold will be donated to the EEF. Seats available at that link for the Elizabeth fundraiser start at $16 each.

The sections that have been reserved for these ticket sales will be released for public sale 10 days before each of ESD's games, so if families, groups or teams want to be able to get a block of seats together, make sure to get tickets before the public release date!