You may have been hearing more buzz around the shiny, new Student Leadership Alliance in the past few months. Perhaps you’ve seen the dazzling PTV advertisements for the first few events of the week: the designated community events that the club selects for each week to funnel our support and school spirit into. Potentially at one of these events of the week you have been lucky enough to receive a wildly stylish community logo t-shirt. Not to push these hypotheticals too far but maybe, just maybe, you picked up a newspaper and actually read about the club back when we wrote about its humble origins and noble aims during first semester. The point is that the SLA has been up and running in our school for a couple of months now, and with funding from the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) coming down the pipeline and big plans for the months to come, we at The OWL find it applicable to discuss the work that is being done by the group. 

The primary project of the SLA is a joint effort between the PAC, Boulder High alumni and former and current faculty members and admin, and dedicated SLA representatives Evie Richardson and Torrance McCarty (both seniors), and Nathalia Aguilar and Paola Garcia (juniors). Together this team of hardworking individuals has come up with a three phase plan for renovations to the school’s main hallways, transforming them from ho-hum to historic monuments of Boulder High and its legacy in Colorado. They are doing this by raising in total over $60,000 for sweeping and spirited changes, an estimated $20,000 per phase. The initial phase, for which $13,000 in funding has already been allocated, focuses on revamping the stretch of hallway from the main doors of the school to the hallway connecting to the gyms and cafeteria. The renovations would involve turning the hall into a museum-style stroll through the history of Boulder High from the time that Arapaho Native Americans occupied the land up through the first hundred years of BHS/Boulder history. Still $7,000 short of the necessary funding to undertake the first phase project, SLA members are hard at work to organize a multi-week coin war between the grades culminating in a fundraiser that will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 26 after school in the courtyard. The grade that raises the most money through the coin wars for the project will be immortalized with their class photo displayed for years to come in phase two of the project that focuses on “the modern era” of the school. The fundraiser will include games with cash prizes, music and much more, so be sure to mark your calendars for it. Phase one of the hallway reconstruction is set to begin this summer once the final bit of funding is secured.

Once the first phase is complete, phases two and three involve redoing other sections of Boulder High to focus on the history of the school from the 1960s to present day and the history of athletic excellence at the school, respectively. 

It is the sincere hope of the SLA that this project for the historic preservation of Boulder High will increase school spirit and pride, inspiring Panthers for generations to come by showcasing the rich and unique history of Colorado’s first high school. 

In addition to this monumental undertaking, SLA will also be involved in the months to come with the Saint Baldricks event that is set to take place March 19 at Boulder High. While the Panther Pride/360 leaders will be in charge of the behind-the-scenes work for the event as is traditional, SLA members will be working to drum up support and raise funds for their shavees. Make sure that you attend the big event on March 19 from 4-6 pm. 

SLA representatives are hoping for a healthy turnout to both the Historic Boulder fundraiser and the Saint Baldricks event to foster stronger commUNITY within our school. Be sure to listen in the announcements and on PTV in the weeks to come for more information and updates.