ThunderRidge Weekly Update

Happy Friday,

Fun was in the air this week at TRHS as our Tri-M music honor society students delivered 190 Valentine Music Grams! Our students brought the energy, not only with their music, but also with their ‘serious’ commitment to their roles. This represents a doubling of last year’s participation and we are so grateful to all who purchased these for students or staff! Proceeds go toward the Tri-M music honor society program at ThunderRidge.

I know we have some teachers who have caught the crud going around or who had other conflicts that made missing conferences Thursday afternoon unavoidable. Please don’t hesitate to email any teacher you missed with questions, concerns, or kudos! They want to hear from you and will get back to you as soon as they can.

Next week is Inclusion Week at ThunderRidge! We encourage you all to join us on Tuesday night at 6pm for Pack the Gym night. This high energy event showcases our Unified Sports Programs, and all funds raised go to support our fabulous SSN program.

As you may recall from last week, students will get an introduction to Brain Buffs during Grizzly Hour on Tuesday. This pilot, online program will give students personalized practice prior to the PSAT 9, PSAT 10, and SAT tests they will be taking in 10 weeks. Please encourage your 9th-11th grade students to bring their laptops or Chromebooks (if they have them) to school on Tuesday. Be sure to ask your students about the program and remind them to check their DCSD student email for login info.

We hope to see parents of current 10th and 11th graders at Grizzly Path next Thursday - so you can learn all about the career-related classes and pathways open to all our learners. More on that below.

We currently have three textbooks on review as a part of the district textbook adoption process. If you want to come see them, they are in the library. Two are for our social studies department and one is for peer counseling.

I am looking forward to the long weekend and hope you are too! Remember that we have no school on Monday for Presidents’ Day.

Hugs,
Liz

February 16 - Presidents' Day - No school

February 17-20- Inclusion Week - more information below

February 19 - Grizzly Path: Find Your Calling - 5:30-7:30pm

March 2-6 - Grizzly Gives Week

March 9-10 - Orchestra Concert - Auditorium - 7:00pm

March 10 - Band Concert - Auditorium - 7:00pm

March 10 - Grizzly Gives Assembly

March 11 - Choir Concert - Auditorium - 7:00pm

March 12 - Choir Concert - Auditorium - 7:00pm

March 13 - End of 3rd Quarter

March 16-20 - Spring Break 🏖️

April 2-4 & 9-11 - Spring Musical: Mama Mia

April 10 - 17 - Spring Testing

Monday - Presidents' Day - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday - Green Day

Wednesday - Blue Day

Thursday - Green Day

Friday - Blue Day - NO PLC - Classes will begin at 7:40am

Sophomores and Juniors - join us at ThunderRidge on February 19th from 5:30-7:30pm to explore your options for after high school. We will have over 40 colleges and universities on-site, along with representatives from the Career Technical industry, Military and workforce. Scan the QR code on the flyer below for more information.

Next week is Inclusion Week! Participate in the events and spirit days below to support our

TRHS Unified program!

Tuesday, February 17 - Pack the Gym

Support your Unified Basketball team in the TRHS large gym at 6pm!

$5.00 admission! Eat at Freddy's from 5-8pm to support TRHS SSN

Wednesday, February 18 - Regan Wednesday

Wear purple to honor our forever friend, Regan!

Eat at Cane's from 4-10pm and use code "REFUND92" to support TRHS SSN.

Thursday, February 19 - Silly Sock Day

Wear your silly socks for Down Syndrome awareness!

Friday, February 20 - Friendship Day

Find a Unified athlete to twin with for the day!

All proceeds will go to the ThunderRidge High School SSN program. Happy Inclusion week!

Seniors - scan the QR codes below to sign up for your opportunity to audition to speak or perform at graduation. Sign up closes on March 12th.

Speaker auditions will take place at 3:00pm on March 25th, and performer auditions will be held at 3:00pm on March 26th.

The deadline to order your seniors' cap and gown is May 1st, but any orders placed after April 1st will incur an extra shipping fee. Order online at urherffjones.com. For detailed ordering instructions, click here.

This past week in the counseling office, TRHS Counselors saw 227 students to provide academic and social emotional support, and help with post secondary planning. Speaking of post secondary planning! Be sure to attend Grizzly Path night!

February Career Exploration Series 🌟

Join us during Grizz Hour (10:25–10:55) in the Post Grad Room (Library) for three exciting career speakers this month!

Feb 17 – Financial Services

The Millionaire Blueprint with Jessica Bassan, MBA will teach students how to manage money, build credit, and start planning for big goals like cars, homes, and financial independence.

Students — come explore careers, ask questions, and start planning your future! 🚀

Click here to sign up.

2026 LaTEENa Conference & Advanced Leadership Symposium – Mar. 7

The 2026 LaTEENa Conference will be on Saturday, March 7, 2026. This event is FREE and is meant to help teen girls build life skills, explore career interests, and connect with their peers.

Join us at the 2026 LaTEENa Conference, where uplifting young women and fostering leadership take center stage. Adelante Mujer, Inc. invites you to connect, learn, and grow in a space dedicated to elevating women's voices.

Why Attend?

Engage in workshops designed to boost confidence and skills.

Network with like-minded leaders focused on community impact.

Experience inspirational talks that offer concrete steps for personal growth.

Your presence supports our mission to cultivate self-sufficiency and leadership. Together, we build a stronger future.

The Importance of Staying Organized

High school students build academic success through strong organizational habits: using checklists to track tasks, maintaining calendars for deadlines and activities, practicing effective time management, and establishing a consistent, quiet space for homework. Ask yourself:

1. Do you have a dedicated time and space at home for homework?

2. Do you put your phone away while doing homework?

3. Do you use a planner, checklist, or calendar to keep track of assignments? Do you check it regularly?

4. How do you map out your time and how you will use it? Do you have a schedule you follow when you’re not at school?

5. Do you know how you prioritize your work?

6. When you miss school, do you follow up with your teachers? Do you use Grizz hour to talk with teachers or get extra help?

Mindful minute - Balancing multiple priorities

High school students use mindfulness to stay present, manage stress, and respond thoughtfully to competing demands. By practicing awareness of their thoughts, emotions, and schedules, they prioritize effectively, avoid overwhelm, improve focus, and make balanced decisions about academics, activities, work, and personal responsibilities. Remember: all it takes is a brief pause, and a deep breath. Try the 7-11 Breath:

Inhale slowly for a count of seven.

Exhale slowly for a count of eleven.

Repeat for five rounds.

Use before tests, at bedtime, or whenever nerves spike.

For all things Counseling, including scholarships and community service opportunities, check out the full TRHS Counseling newsletter!

Did you know IB Families can help to support our IB Programme by enrolling in the King Soopers Community Rewards Program? The program donates a small percentage of proceeds from all of your purchases to our account. We use these funds to help support events and celebrations for our students.

Please consider enrolling-it's super easy! Here's how:

• Visit: https://www.kingsoopers.com/i/community/community-rewards
• or, on your King Soopers app: account-> payments & services-> community rewards -> search for IB Connect & enroll
• Organization: ThunderRidge Grizzly Bear Backer Club-- IB Connect
• Organization #: JS581

Students watched a presentation for our District’s nursing team. Students learned about the importance of building mental and physical resilience. Freshmen reflected on the best way they can individually strengthen their resilience. - Mr. Cohen

Students completed remaining conferences, and reviewed the expectations for the written report that will be submitted by March 31st. First drafts will be due on March 3rd - Mr. Carroll

This week’s lesson was all about resiliency. Our amazing school nurse Lisa Lewis showed our students a video about what small changes we can make in our habits to become more resilient. - Mr. Bidinger

Students finished Senior Project Conference #3. - Ms. Vande Vusse

Eldorado Elementary

• Eldorado Elementary is in need of 16 outgoing, energetic high school volunteers for our annual Family Dance at Eldorado Elementary on Friday, February 27. Volunteers arrive by 5:30pm and leave by 8:30pm. Volunteers will help with various activities (set up/clean up, games, greeting families, Panther costume) and other help as needed.

  Family Dance Volunteer Sign Up: https://bit.ly/eefamilydance

• Eldorado Elementary is looking for student volunteers to help us with childcare during each PTO/SAC meeting for the 2025-2026 school year. We need 2 volunteers per meeting. Please sign up here for the slots that you are available to help!

Trailblazer Elementary

• We are looking for 2 volunteers to help us with childcare during each PTO meeting for the 2025 - 2026 school year at Trailblazer Elementary. Meetings run from 4:00 - 5:00pm. We are asking that volunteers arrive 10-15 minutes early (3:45pm) to get set up. Please sign up here for the slots that you are available to help!

Please bring any volunteer forms needing to be completed and we will get those filled out at the end of the night. Please email Samantha Marino at trailblazerptosecretary@gmail.com with any questions. Thank you!

ThunderRidge is proud to offer a wide variety of clubs and activities! Click the bar above for a full list including meeting times, days and locations.

Principal: Liz Walhof

Mission Statement:

Empowering Grizzlies through curiosity, compassion, courage, community and service.

trhs.dcsdk12.org

1991 West Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
303.387.2000

Facebook: ThunderRidge High School
X (formerly Twitter): @TRidgeGrizzlies