Castle rock news press 0703

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JULY 3, 2014 VOLU M E 1 2 | I SS UE 1 3 | F R E E

CastleRockNewsPress.net

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D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

A publication of

Program to expand education’s definition

KIND OF A BIG DEAL

Castle View plan emphasizes projects, student-led learning By Jane Reuter

jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Performers march in the Royal Parade at the Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur on June 29. For more coverage, turn to page 11. Photo by Mike DiFerdinando

Boy Scout raises money, awareness for veterans ShopLocalColorado.com

P O W E R E D

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Teenager partners up with Castle Rock Half Marathon to assist Semper Fi Fund By Mike DiFerdinando

Local Ads, Coupons, Special Offers

mdiferdinando @coloradocommunitymedia.com Boy Scout Caspar Placke used the Castle Rock Half Marathon on June 28 to help raise money and awareness for wounded veterans. Placke’s Eagle Scout Project aimed to raise money for the Semper Fi Fund with a goal of $12,500, which is the cost of an Action Track Chair. Placke, 13, will be a freshman at Regis Jesuit High School in the fall. “I didn’t raise enough, but I did raise $3,000,” Placke said. “That money will be well spent. It will go to sports equipment and adaptive technology and all kinds of things for the Semper Fi Fund. It was never really the main purpose to raise money.

The main purpose (of my project) was to raise the awareness for these soldiers.” Placke said he is dedicated to sharing the Semper Fi Fund mission and to remind everyone of the continuing needs of our wounded, injured, and ill Service Members. He has coordinated his efforts with the Castle Rock Economic Development Council, the Castle Rock Town Council, and the race organizers for the Castle Rock Half Marathon. Placke moved to Colorado a little more than a year ago from Virginia, where he had volunteered by assisting physically wounded veterans from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It had a deep effect on the young scout. “We took them out in boats on the Potomac and drove them around and it was just awesome to see one day where they could just have fun and forget about all of their misfortune,” Placke said. “I’ve always felt a sense of guilt toward these warriors. They Vets continues on Page 8

& More

Castle View High School Principal James Calhoun believes the majority of high-school students are compliant and somewhat disengaged, with untapped reservoirs for deep learning. A new program that will be introduced at CVHS this fall is designed to reach that core. By meeting students where their interests lie, and building the learning from there, Calhoun believes their intellectual passions will ignite. The projectbased approach to learning is called Mosaic. It’s unique to Castle View, though it’s modeled after — and includes elements from — similar programs already used in school districts nationwide. The pilot program launches in August with 96 volunteer freshmen and sophomores. Sophomore McKinley Breen didn’t hesitate to sign up for the program’s inaugural year. “I’ve never been in project-based learning, and that’s why I’m so excited,” Breen said. “Most of my classes are incredibly boring to me. The one exception was my humanities class. It’s a mini-Mosaic.” Michael Schneider, one of the four Castle View teacher who will devote themselves to Mosaic full-time in 2014-15, taught that humanities class. Assignments included researching poverty-plagued countries, then Mosaic continues on Page 8

Chamber’s chief talks town growth Hometown, not small town, is what Ridler sees in vision By Mike DiFerdinando

mdiferdinando @coloradocommunitymedia.com

Log on

When Pam Ridler, the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, first came to town, the community was home to just 17,000 people. “There wasn’t a lot here,” Ridler said. “The best thing at the time was that Castle Rock was between the two metro areas (Denver and Colorado Springs) and people could go back and forth between the two.” Ridler came to Castle Rock for her present position in 1998 after six years working for the chamber in Fort Collins, which had a population of 120,000 at the time. Over the last 16 years, she has seen Castle Rock grow to a community of more than 50,000 people — a benchmark reached in 2012.

today

Scouts for Wounded Veterans raise money and awareness at the Castle Rock Half Marathon. Courtesy photo

Chamber continues on Page 8


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