The evening of May 5, Wheat Ridge High School’s Gifted and Talented (GT) program held their fourth annual GT Night, where students presented second-semester projects and performed several skits and musical pieces; the staff and students took part in giving awards, welcoming incoming freshmen, and recognizing seniors.,/h3>

From 4:00 to 6:00, GT students stood behind colorful booths throughout the school hallways, displaying projects to visitors and fellow students that they had independently chosen to explore.. The theme of the night was The World’s Fair, as chosen by the GT sophomores. International flags festooned the halls along with balloons sporting the school colors, yellow and blue. Students’ presentations were self-chosen and their subjects varied, ranging from technological creations, research projects, and music, to homemade food, cultural snapshots, and hands-on activities. Visitors freely wandered the school’s halls to visit students at their booths and see their projects. The booths were lined up all around the Annex, in the Commons, and partway down the LMC hall. There were also a number of food trucks in the parking lot providing snacks.

GT teacher Lisa Lee, that evening decked out in a turquoise dress, turquoise hair, and rainbow butterfly wings as the “World’s Fairy,” said that the purpose of GT Night was to, “give students a chance to explore the things that…matter to them. We’ve got this student who loves Legos; he has this amazing Lego booth downstairs. We’ve got students that love to bake. We have students that love technology. Art. Music. Jewelry. …They get to come out and showcase their talents…in a way that you don’t always get to at school.”

GT Night served as their end-of-year project for GT, and it was also largely to welcome incoming freshmen interested in joining the program next year.

After two hours of going around to different booths, visitors and students were invited to the auditorium, where a panel of GT students of all four grades answered questions about what the GT program is and what it’s like, for the benefit of incoming freshmen. Students also performed several skits and musical pieces, and a raffle was drawn. Lee and Elliott Holm, the school’s GT teachers, then briefly spoke about the introduction of GT to the school four years ago and gave awards to five students who had worked especially hard in preparing for the event that night.

After a short break in the program, the Patrick Taylor Straut Scholarship, a scholarship provided to meritorious Wheat Ridge GT students, was awarded to four graduating seniors. The scholarship winners were Lexie Greenawalt, Marissa Ritter, Nathan Reich, and Jada Lister, and the combined scholarships added up to $3,500.00.

To wrap up the night, the GT seniors were recognized in a slideshow Lee had put together, showing pictures of each student from infancy until now. This was especially significant because this group of seniors is the first graduating class that has had the opportunity to be in GT all four years, as the program was introduced to the school four years ago.

GT Night was an event that the GT students worked hard to pull off, and their efforts were rewarded by a positive atmosphere and a great turn-out.