Campion Academy

09/30/2026

Dorm students relax on staycation

After a jam-packed first quarter, Campion students had the opportunity to break away from their usual schedules and connect in a relaxing manner during the annual boys and girls dorm retreats this past weekend.

The girls had planned activities to stay on campus. The boys’ dorm was initially meant to head up to Glacier View Ranch, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they also remained on Campion grounds. Despite the change, both groups were able to take trips off campus and have more relaxed free time on campus.

Aaron Wawoerendeng, freshman, said, “It was sad when we first heard of the cancellation, but the activities set up by the dean more than made up for it.”

The weekend kicked off with both dorms going off campus, with the boys going to the Berthoud Rec Center and the girls going to the Loveland Sculpture Park.

On Sabbath, the students took a break from routine and got to sleep in a bit later before holding worship services in a more casual way in the dormitories. After the time to worship, students had free time to connect with each other and just relax.

The retreats also welcomed community students to stay in the dorms for the weekend. Courtney Cate, sophomore, shared, “Spending the weekend in the dorm was super fun. I got to spend time with my friends, doing arranged activities, or enjoying down time.”

The deans planned and prepared the food for the weekend and the students pitched in to help cook instead of the usual cafeteria schedule.

The next upcoming event, our very own Academy Days, will give students another chance to connect but with new faces, giving insight to Campion’s potential future student body.

Jayden Mambu, Student News Team
Girls' photos: Hallie Lah
Boys' photos: Henrique Calegari

09/30/2026

On September 29, Campion's Agriculture Science class visited FDR Farms, a 4th generation family farm located in Northern Colorado (Johnstown), on a field trip. Students learned about soil preparation, machinery, sowing techniques, targeted irrigation, integrated pest management systems, and harvest practices.

When asked what was his favorite part of the tour, freshman teacher's assistant, Kenai Sager, replied, "The story about how they use a wasp that lays eggs that will hatch on a squash bug and eat the bug was weird and gross. But I thought the pumpkin patch was pretty cool." Indeed. At the end of the tour, each class member got to choose a souvenir to take home with them!

09/25/2026

After a half day of classes, ninth through eleventh grade students spent the afternoon and evening at Rocky Mountain National Park for Outdoor School. Split into multiple groups, teachers led students on various lengths of hikes before gathering together in the evening to observe the Elk rut.

Students chose the length of hike or activity they wanted to do, ranging from five mile hikes to taking a driving tour up Trail Ridge Road. They enjoyed sunny weather and vibrant yellow aspen leaves throughout the day.

Mya Foster, 9, selected the medium length hike to Emerald Lake and commented, “I really enjoyed the hike. It was very fun to get outdoors and exercise with my friends that were on the hike with me. We had an assignment on Elk and it really made me think about it. Also, my friends and I prayed up at the lake and it was just really nice to get out and have the fresh air and see all of God’s creation.”

New this year, the students stayed through the evening to observe the elk rut. During the fall season the male elk will try to gather a group of females and fend off other males from their herd. They announce their presence with a unique bugling sound and will sometimes spar with other male elk.

Moses Wullur, 11, explained his most memorable part of the day “was when went out to the golf course and saw the elk doing their thing and making their special sound. It was cool.”

After the sun set, the students headed back to campus. Nolan Smith, 10, shared, “I loved the view of the sunset. It made me feel happy and vibrant.”

Jill Harlow, Communication Director

09/25/2026

Around 600 alumni showed off their Campion Academy pride by reuniting and reminiscing on campus this past weekend.

Organized by Toni Odenthal, Director of Alumni & Development, the event included the Reeder Classic Golf Tournament, vespers and church programming, performances from the music department, time for honor classes to socialize, and alumni versus students volleyball and soccer games.

Returning alumni especially enjoyed the time to reconnect with their classmates. In addition to the events planned on campus, many classes took the initiative to plan special dinners and events such as the 20-year reunion class of 2006. Nearly half of their 60-member class participated.

Elizabeth (Fagan) Webster, Class of 2006, shared, “Everyone seemed to easily and pleasantly reconnect in both our formal and informal events. Being able to hear about people’s lives for the past 20 years and share stories from days at Campion was amusing, enjoyable, and worth the drive!”

The class held their formal reunion lunch on the top floor of Hankins Hall which was restored a few years after they had graduated. “When we walked the halls of Campion, Hankins Hall had a storied past that felt almost like a whisper, but in reality was a huge dusty, cobweb ridden storage unit. Being able to look around at the refurbished Hankins Hall was like filling in a blank in your memory you didn’t realize was there.”

The Class of 1976, celebrating their 50-year anniversary, had the largest turnout of 35 people.

The annual golf tournament on Thursday was held at Bella Ridge Golf Course in Johnstown and included 31 participants who raised money for the Worthy Student Fund.

Randy Barber, Class of 1966, shared the main message at church on the topic Homesick for Heaven. Current students also shared about their study abroad trip to Spain and their work in Campus Ministries during Vespers and Sabbath School.

Two alumni were given the Alumni of the Year Awards: Amy Gane, Class of 1986, for her service to Campion Academy and mission work, and Mary (Enoch) Hedger, Class of 1960, for her service to Christian education and her documentation of Campion history. In addition, Miriam Kittrell was nominated for the Alumni Hall of Faith for her dedication to students and staff in her 17 years of service at Campion Academy.

Many alumni demonstrated their competitive side by participating in the Saturday night games against students. For the first time in many years, the current students won the soccer game with a final score of 8-4. However, the alumni still beat the students in the volleyball game 3-2, after playing five close games.

An addition this year, a small group of alumni met on Sunday to discuss and support the Friends of Campion fund, which is for capital improvements. They are organizing a committee of alumni who will help fundraise and volunteer labor for campus projects.

Odenthal reflected on highlights from the weekend, saying, “It was wonderful watching the students visiting with the alumni honor classes both young and old. They were able to share with each other what is currently happening on campus and memories from the past. It was also amazing to have the Kittrell family and friends here to honor Mrs. Miriam Kittrell who meant so much to many alumni.”

Jill Harlow, Communication Director

09/24/2026

All of the music ensembles had their first performances for Alumni weekend! It was awesome! Watch recordings of their performances on Campion's youtube channel: www.youtube.com/

09/24/2026

Come out and cheer tonight for our Campion Cougars Men's Soccer Team!
6 PM at the Campion field against the Denver Eagles.

09/19/2026

We are live streaming Alumni Weekend Church Service on your YouTube page!

Alumni 2026 - Church

09/16/2026

The Campion Academy Boy’s Soccer team have had an exciting start to the 2026-2027 season. The Cougars have played strong and confident. The team showed a new chemistry with an incredible attack, scoring 28 goals in 5 games and solid defense that suffered only 7 goals so far throughout the season. Their record so far is 4-1.

Campion opened the season winning against Denver Jewish Day with a score of 6-0. The Cougars followed up with a 6-3 win in a tough game against Nederland, before defeating Rocky Mountain Lutheran 5-1 in a game without the Seniors, showing that the team has potential for the future.

Nicollas Rodrigues, a senior, said, “I believe that from all my three years playing for Campion, this team (26-27) has shown more stability and team chemistry than the past years. We hope to bring the Union tournament home again.”

The Cougars continued their season applying a mercy rule against Estes Park winning 11-1, Once a 10-goal lead is attained, the referee will officially end the match.

However, in the most recent game the Campion soccer team faced Loveland Classical and ended up losing by 0-2, ending Campion’s streak.

Bruno Lopes, Student Yearbook Editor.

09/11/2026

Classmates push and pull together at SA Picnic

Students, dressed in their designated class colors, showed off their strength and speed in fun class competitions at the annual SA Picnic, featuring traditional activities such as the bus push and tug of war. New this year, the SA Picnic was held on Labor Day Monday instead of the first weekend of school.

Danilo de Alcantara, a senior, shared the mentality he had during the games, “It felt good. I had to put all my strength and everything I had because it's my last year, so I was trying to enjoy the most I could.”

SA also introduced new games into the mix, adding a relay race, a connect four race and a school wide capture the flag game.

Several students shared that capture the flag was their favorite activity, including Ethan Hernandez-Hulett, a freshman. He shared, “I enjoyed capture the flag because I used to play that in my past a lot as a kid. That day was just hot, but it made me happy.”

Seniors reigned over most of the games like the bus push, tug of war, frozen shirt, and capture the flag. SA Picnic ended with snacks and a slip and slide for everyone.

Bruno Lopes, a senior, reflected on SA picnic, “Yeah, I enjoyed the time with my friends and the slip and slide. Since I'm a senior, that's gonna be my last SA picnic, and it was fun to bond together with my friends and to put in all the work so that we could win, cause we are seniors, right? We got to earn the respect of the other classes.”

After SA Picnic, students gathered in the chapel for class officer reveal, where each class announced their newly elected officers in a fun and creative way.

Aome Jacob Angeles, Student News Team