{"id":807930,"date":"2020-05-29T16:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T22:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=384141"},"modified":"2020-05-29T16:00:08","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T22:00:08","slug":"the-peak-school-hosts-chairlift-graduation-ceremony-at-copper-mountain-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/the-peak-school-hosts-chairlift-graduation-ceremony-at-copper-mountain-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"The Peak School hosts chairlift graduation ceremony at Copper Mountain Resort"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-1-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>With his little cousin beside him, Al Espinosa receives his diploma, via an old racing ski with a basket attached to the end, from The Peak School&#8217;s Head of School Travis Aldrich at the top of Copper Mountain Resort&#8217;s Super Bee chairlift Friday, May 29. Fourteen seniors graduated as the class of 2020 from The Peak School in Frisco.<\/strong><br \/><em>Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>COPPER MOUNTAIN \u2014 An old SL Dynastar racing ski long relegated to a backyard fence was the secret ingredient to giving The Peak School graduates what some said was the best graduation in America.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow skinny the ski is gives you an idea how old it is,\u201d The Peak School Head of School Travis Aldrich said.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of weeks ago, Aldrich reached out to the Summit County Public Health Department and Copper Mountain Resort General Manager Dustin Lyman with an idea for a chairlift graduation ceremony for his students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d take that old Dynastar ski and adhere a woven picnic basket to the end of it. In the basket, he\u2019d place each of the 14 Peak School graduates\u2019 diplomas. From there, the students, riding on chairs along with members of their households, would grab their diplomas as their chairs crested the top terminal of Copper Mountain Resort\u2019s Super Bee lift.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lyman loved the idea, especially on the Super Bee. Super Bee\u2019s base area behind Copper Station in the resort\u2019s East Village would be spacious enough to space out the 80 people \u2014 students, families, relatives and teachers \u2014 who came out Friday morning. And the top of the Super Bee, at tree line on Copper\u2019s eastern-most terrain, would be a glorious view for graduates and those there supporting them with the iconic Tenmile Range in the background.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether or not we could pull it off was a whole \u2018nother question,\u201d Lyman said. \u201cSo we worked with Summit County Public Health to establish the protocols for the ceremony with loading and unloading. Our operations team did a great job of just figuring out the logistics, and we got lucky with the weather (Friday), and it was great for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the 14 graduates and their family photo-takers dispersed from a final round of pictures on a patch of Copper Creek Golf Course grass after the ceremony, smiling Peak School teachers belted out how this was \u201cthe best grad ceremony in America\u201d and how they\u2019d \u201clike to do this every year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whether the tradition sticks, Aldrich said it was the small student body, along with creative thinking, that facilitated Friday\u2019s festivities.<\/p>\n<p>After the directive from health officials that household groups must stay 6 feet apart from one another, organizers planned to give masked students, sitting beside parents and siblings, the chance to have their pictures taken while grabbing their diplomas from the basket as the chairlift stopped one by one at the top before turning around for the ride downhill.<\/p>\n<p>Smiling from ear to ear beneath their special Peak School face masks \u2014 which were sewn by 2020 graduate Cameron Bryant\u2019s grandmother \u2014 the grads slowly descended 2,293 vertical feet, staring out at one of the most breathtaking views of Summit County. One grad even had the fickle Tenmile Canyon wind steal his cap on the ride down.<\/p>\n<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.0416666666667\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-384141-565\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-2-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com | The Peak School\u2019s commencement ceremony is held on the Super Bee chairlift at Copper Mountain Resort on Friday, May 29.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-0.85897435897436\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7.7307692307692\">\n<p><strong>The Peak School\u2019s commencement ceremony is held on the Super Bee chairlift at Copper Mountain Resort on Friday, May 29.<\/strong><br \/>Liz Copan \/ <a href=\"mailto:ecopan@summitdaily.com\">ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-2-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-3-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com | Graduates of The Peak School's class of 2020 distance themselves while waiting to load the Super Bee chairlift at Copper Mountain Resort on Friday, May 29.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-0.88541666666667\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7.96875\">\n<p><strong>Graduates of The Peak School\u2019s class of 2020 distance themselves while waiting to load the Super Bee chairlift at Copper Mountain Resort on Friday, May 29.<\/strong><br \/>Liz Copan \/ <a href=\"mailto:ecopan@summitdaily.com\">ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-3-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-4-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com | Head of School Travis Aldrich, right, gives Cameron Bryant his diploma in a basket attached to a ski at the top of Copper Mountain Resort's Super Bee chairlift on Friday, May 29. Fourteen seniors graduated as the class of 2020 from The Peak School in Frisco.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"0.46271186440678\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11.105084745763\">\n<p><strong>Head of School Travis Aldrich, right, gives Cameron Bryant his diploma in a basket attached to a ski at the top of Copper Mountain Resort\u2019s Super Bee chairlift on Friday, May 29. Fourteen seniors graduated as the class of 2020 from The Peak School in Frisco.<\/strong><br \/>Liz Copan \/ <a href=\"mailto:ecopan@summitdaily.com\">ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/05\/PeakSchool-SDN-053020-4-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/the-peak-school-hosts-chairlift-graduation-ceremony-at-copper-mountain-resort\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/the-peak-school-hosts-chairlift-graduation-ceremony-at-copper-mountain-resort\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>For Bryant and his mother, Marilyn, the effort and creativity on the part of the resort and school administration meant the world and crystallized for them why they moved from Leadville to Silverthorne for Cameron to go to The Peak School. Along with his grandmother and mother, Cameron had a tribe of family members with him Friday riding the lift in separate groups. They held up homemade signs of Cameron holding beakers and dressed in a chemistry gown to celebrate his next step: studying pharmaceutical engineering at Regis University in the fall.<\/p>\n<p>It meant that much more to the Bryants that their grandparents could be there. Until this week, they hadn\u2019t seen them for almost three months through the pandemic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-facebook wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-facebook\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fb-video\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/summitdailynews\/videos\/1159985894362896\/?notif_id=1590768772150382&amp;notif_t=live_video_explicit\" data-width=\"500\" readability=\"5.8538011695906\">\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/summitdailynews\/videos\/1159985894362896\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\" readability=\"5.4035087719298\">\n<p>The Peak School graduates ride up the Super Bee Lift at Copper Mountain Resort as part of a special graduation ceremony<\/p>\n<p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/summitdailynews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summit Daily News<\/a> on Friday, May 29, 2020<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>For another graduate, Summit Tigers football star Al Espinosa, Friday was the exclamation point on the reason why he chose The Peak School two years ago as an international student from Mexico City. When he looked into living with his uncle Luis in Breckenridge, The Peak School rose to the top of the list because it was one of the few schools that sponsored student visas. Ever since, The Peak School has provided him with a community, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s family,\u201d Espinosa said, \u201cjust a family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for what\u2019s next for that community, Aldrich is hopeful The Peak School will be able to resume classes at its Frisco campus this fall. That\u2019s thanks to the numbers game: The Peak School already has a 1-6 student-teacher ratio.<\/p>\n<p>Time will tell if, even in a post-COVID-19 world, this Peak School tradition sticks. For now, Aldrich and the school community are just grateful \u2014 thanks to that old, skinny racing ski \u2014 they threw a creative graduation party at Copper.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/the-peak-school-hosts-chairlift-graduation-ceremony-at-copper-mountain-resort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With his little cousin beside him, Al Espinosa receives his diploma, via an old racing ski with a basket attached to the end, from The Peak School&#8217;s Head of School Travis Aldrich at the top of Copper Mountain Resort&#8217;s Super Bee chairlift Friday, May 29. Fourteen seniors graduated as the class of 2020 from The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-807930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-09 21:51:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}