On Monday, Vista Ridge Academy Students and Staff gave a special presentation for local Veterans. To start the program, students of our local Pathfinders groups presented the flag as the audience sang our National Anthem. Next, students from the Early Childhood program led out in the Pledge of Allegiance. The First through Fourth Grade classes presented a short skit highlighting how we can appreciate our Veterans on Veterans Day.
Principal, Sandy Hodgson, interviewed special guest and former Vista Ridge Academy student, SSgt Jami DeVries from the 140th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. DeVries was named USO National Guardsman of the Year, and told us she has to give 100% every day in her work and encouraged students to do the same. Pat Koh, the Music and Spanish teacher, spoke about her father serving in the military as a US Army combat medic in the Korean Conflict from 1952-1954. Koh shared if her father were with us he would want everyone to follow and serve God. To conclude the presentation, Hodgson, gave a few remarks and prayed a special blessing on the Veterans attending.
Following the presentation, students and Veterans enjoyed a reception in the cafeteria. Students were able to meet the Veterans, and in turn Veterans were able to share about their experiences.
As you enter Vista Ridge Academy for an Open House you may be greeted by a Student Ambassador, “Welcome to Vista Ridge Academy, we are glad you are here.” Students in grades 5 through 8 at Vista Ridge Academy apply to the Student Ambassador program, and if accepted are responsible for guiding and touring visitors around campus. The ambassadors are quick to respond to questions, they look you in the eye, shake hands, and speak loudly and clearly. They are well informed about the school, what they are learning and where they are 
headed. While Vice Principal, Marsha Bartulec, is available for questions to the students, she does not prep students about what to say. She wants the students to lead the tours. The Student Ambassador program at Vista Ridge Academy reflects a Project Based Learning project because several student goals and essential project design elements are incorporated. Students have a voice and a choice, they have an authentic task, receive critique and feedback and reflect after the experience. “We have over 50 tours each year. Ambassadors support an authentic need. They are not just our students they are our partners,” says Bartulec. Community Leaders are invited to speak with the Ambassadors once a month and cover topics including, effective communication, serving the community, customer service and leadership. This year Guest Speakers include, School Resource Officer Thoen, Boulder Church Senior Pastor Japhet De Oliveira, Chick-fil-A Owner Barrie Goettsche and Marketing Director June Werner and Avista CEO Jillyan McKinney. Student Ambassadors also participate in service projects throughout the school year.
As parents dropped their children off, there were goodbye waves, hugs, and tears, after which parents could attend the annual Boo-Hoo and Yahoo Breakfast where they could both cry and rejoice about their kids being back in school, followed by a school-wide prayer session. After teachers and staff were introduced, Monica Wernick, school board chair, kicked off the year with a prayer of thanks.
The first and second grade classes performed “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” on the evening of Thursday, April 20. This was the third time Vista Ridge Academy has produced this show (each year alternates between Charlie Brown and “The Little Red Hen”). Pulling off a stage production is a a lot of hard work for this age group! Carisa Carr, the classroom teacher, says, “We begin by learning parts—which helps develop reading skills—and music two months before the performance. Rehearsal times are short to begin with, but during the week of the production, we begin full rehearsals figuring out how the whole performance flows on stage with microphones.”
Performing helps build confidence. Mrs. Carr notes, “There have been many times when I’ve seen kids who maybe struggled a little with reading or other classroom skills really come into themselves when they get the chance to shine in front of an audience. It affects the way they see themselves.”
The kids are obviously excited as they file into the library at Vista Ridge Academy, whispering and pointing at the various stations set up around the room. There are bear canisters, climbing harnesses, animal pelts, goggles, axes, helmets, and other specialized equipment. They show remarkable restraint—not touching a thing!—and take their seats on the floor to listen to a presentation by two rangers visiting from Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Riley Cavanaugh and Sarin Lomascolo are two of the five rangers assigned to the Environmental Education Program at RMNP. They do both onsite and offsite programs for school children, teaching them about the national parks through interactive activities and experiences. After a short presentation about the purpose of protected places in the U.S.—including national parks, national monuments, and national historic sites—they direct the kids to explore the stations, trying to determine for themselves the kind of work a ranger might do with the tools and equipment provided. The students try on clothing and harnesses and ask questions to figure out what some of the less obvious tools are. At the end of the session, they present what they’ve learned creatively through drama, speech, and by demonstrating the items and tools used in the park.
The third and fourth grades’ theme for this year has been “Celebrating National Parks.” Classroom teacher Shondra Cizek explains, “This was one of our project based learning or real life learning projects. Our project had many components including a discovery unit about camping which integrated math, science, writing, critical thinking, art, research, design and building. Students built 3D campsite models and researched camping sites across the world. They planned many details for their camping trips and wrote in their camping booklets.” The students also took a walk where they collected nature items which were later displayed in shadow boxes. They wrote and published a class book on national parks, with each student choosing a particular park to research, illustrate, and write about. They presented their learning to the fifth and sixth grade class.
Vista Ridge Academy believes experiential learning is vital, particularly during the elementary school years when children are naturally so energetic, curious, and engaged in discovery of the world around them. Mrs. Cizek says, “I find these kinds of real life learning projects provide long-term retention and improved critical thinking skills. In this case, the project has really helped the kids develop greater passion for God’s creation and the National Parks.”
