CHS Today

The Voice of Conifer High School

CHS Today

CHS Today
Kanin Cadam

Kanin Cadam, Photographer/Reporter

Kanin Cadam is a junior reporter and photographer for CHS Today, taking photos through numerous lenses, attending school and community events, taking photos in nature, and experimenting with creative shots. He has also taken on his ambition in writing, writing multiple stories on important, interesting, and relevant topics. Winning numerous awards for his work, he plans to stay in the program until he graduates, hoping to capture moments for years to come, inspire those around him, and find a career in journalism. In his free time, he likes to play pinball, spend time outdoors and with friends, photograph, and play games.

All content by Kanin Cadam
La Sintra Townscape: Various buildings in Sintra, one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal. For their second day in Portugal, Conifer High School’s travel group of 42 students and 7 chaperones traveled to various locations within the Lisbon district, seeing historical towns and buildings like the National Palace of Sintra, which was a location of Portuguese royalty that incorporated town celebrations into its walls.

Beyond the Mountain Barrier – Photo Essay

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
May 15, 2025
Transitioning out of Conifer High School (CHS), the Conifer Jefferson County Public Library will be giving CHS around 5,000 books for its own library. Karen McIntosh, the Digital Teacher Librarian at CHS, is working with school and JCPL staff members and communities to expand the collection for the upcoming school year. The school has and will accept donations of books that are suitable for high school audiences. “We've already accepted book donations from families. We also had other schools, Chatfield has donated books to our library,” McIntosh said. “I will gladly accept donations.”

Boutique of Books

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
April 17, 2025
Cassidy Vallin (Left) and Bryan Connolly (Right) from Circus Foundry dance as a part of their show during the opening ceremony of Conifer High School’s 9th annual Peace Day. Circus Foundry is a Denver-based contemporary circus that formed to share their art, help others in the process, and support local under-represented demographics in community gatherings. “Our main goal with your show was to be able to share the excitement of what the circus brings to people throughout the world,” Vallin said.

Kaleidoscope of Perspective – Photo Essay

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
April 10, 2025

Human Genetic Modification: Why and How We Should Use It

Kanin Cadam, Alaina Faler, and Declan Tilly
April 7, 2025
Ms. Svigel working a stand to help the Class of 2024 leave their fingerprints on the finished mural. She offered a variety of colors for the seniors fingerprints as a part of the mural, allowing them to leave a part of them with the school before they step out into the next chapter of their life. “I do not have much say in how it will look other than there needs to be a place where the seniors will place their fingerprints, and that it needs to be to represent the school as a whole body, and not just a few students,” said Svigel.

[Photo] Another Year, Another Coat of Paint

Dylan Combs, Reporter
March 13, 2025
Cassidy Vallin (Left) and Bryan Connolly (Right) from Circus Foundry dance as a part of their show during the opening ceremony of Conifer High School’s 9th annual Peace Day. Circus Foundry is a Denver-based contemporary circus that formed to share their art, help others in the process, and support local under-represented demographics in community gatherings. “Our main goal with your show was to be able to share the excitement of what the circus brings to people throughout the world,” Vallin said.

Kaleidoscope of Perspective

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
March 10, 2025
Students in the yoga workshop engage in guided meditation. On Peace Day, Cara York came to help students practice mindfulness and relaxation through peaceful meditation. [Quote]

Teacher Owen Volzke exits the bouncy house-race course during lunch on Conifer's Peace Day. Students spent their on-campus lunch eating from food trucks, spending time with friends, and racing through the bouncy house which had dozens of racers. “I think it’s an opportunity to learn about stuff they don’t even know they don’t even know, and that offers this new perspective of the world,” Volzke said.

Sophomore Skylar Knight listens to Chuck Bierly's workshop about his experience in the Vietnam War from #### - ####.

Unknown - Body Image Foundation

Seniors Sidney Rogozinski, Rosie Gumina, and Sydney Aikin sing their 'Peace Day Rap' during the Peace Day opening ceremony. The seniors are all part of the peer ambassadoring program, a Conifer-exclusive program that has juniors and seniors be directly involved in school and community activities, spirit, and organization. "We live in a pretty small community where there's not a lot of diversity, so I really enjoy getting to hear other people's perspectives," Gumina said.

Keynote speaker Sarah Thomas shares with Conifer her experience with being an ultra-marathon swimmer and cancer survivor. Thomas holds the current world record for the longest continuous (unassisted, non-wetsuit) swim done in current-neutral conditions; She swam 104.6 miles over 67 hours in Lake Champlain (USA) in 2017. At 35 years old, she was diagnosed with a serious form of breast cancer, and soon after her treatments she became the first person to complete a four-way crossing of the English Channel in 54 hours and 10 minutes. On July 10, 2022, she became the first person to complete the 69-km double crossing of the North Channel between Britain and Ireland, in 21 hours 46 minutes 38 seconds, the freezing water having numerous stinging jellyfish.

Principal Greg Manier delivers his opening speech on the morning of Conifer's Peace Day. Thanking everyone for their attendance, he described the importance of the day and what it would do for the students. "You recognize things that don't necessarily engage you. Right? You're learning something in that moment," Manier said.

Junior Maggie Sullivan paints a clown design on junior Quincy Partington's face during lunch. For Peace Day, NAHS (National Honor Art Society) set up a face painting table for students to attend at lunch, which ended up garnering a large line of students. "I just really like that energy of a whole school just doing something fun, being at school without it being school," Sullivan said.

Brazilian Top Team (BTT) member helps sophomores Lucius Johnsen and Skylar Knight learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. BTT has locations across the country, founded in April 2000 to develop and create new training methodologies for sports jiu-jitsu, submission & grappling, wrestling and mixed martial arts. They have locations in both the Conifer and Evergeen Safeway centers, allowing those in the mountain community to learn a range of martial arts. [Quote]

Senior Kendall Crosby sharing her sources of strength in the workshop, 'Project Kynd' on Peace Day. Project Kynd is an organization that aims to help those in need by providing kits packed with snacks, toiletries, positive messages, and other self-care products. It also aims to help individuals recognize what empowers them. "I just think it's always better to help someone out," Crosby said.

Peace Day speaker Johnny Nichols Jr. introduces his workshop to the Denver Gay Men's Chorus and establishes the rules that will be practiced in the room. Founded in 1982, the 140-member ensemble performs in the Rocky Mountain region in order to entertain, educate, inspire, and empower audiences to form acceptance and diversity throughout the Colorado area. [Quote]

BulletCasings

A ball hits a troll popup in the pinball game, “Medieval Madness.” The game was one of the 40 machines that were part of the Colorado State Pinball Championship held at Blizzard Mountain Pinball in Conifer. Every year, the championship rotates between locations and ensued despite the snow as state must be held on the same date across all states. “The player base, the talent pool, and the quality of tournaments here in North America are just much higher than outside of it,” IFPA State Representative for Colorado Snow Galvin said.

Practice, Patience, Passion, Prizes

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
February 19, 2025
Junior Avery LeRoy reading in the Learning Center. As a tutor in the Learning Center, LeRoy checks in on students and keeps them on track, providing support while possible. Tutors also use the period to study and get their own work done, providing an example for the students in the Learning Center. “I'm hoping that I can have helped some people and hopefully improve my own study habits,” LeRoy said.

Support in Small Places

Kanin Cadam, Reporter
February 3, 2025
Conifer’s Softball team celebrates the end of their season, their Elite 8 finish at state, and the 8 seniors that are graduating from the team. Having 16 players, the team beat Berthoud High School 11-6 and lost against Holy Family 13-2, ending a very successful season. 8 seniors will be graduating from the team, which will reduce the size of the team to 8 members, however more will join the team next year. “It’s all about family, and it’s really fun,” junior Sienna Shields said.

Changing Bases

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
January 23, 2025
A pinball ejects from a scoop on a popular game, “Road Show.” During Blizzard Mountain Pinball’s 24 hour tournament, players competed on 39 different machines, all from different decades. “It’s a huge spread, and there’s a lot of rare and unique machines, which are a good challenge for me,” player David Ariew said. (Kanin Cadam)

Midnight Madness

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
November 19, 2024
Levi Schaudt, or "Bright!"'s SoundCloud profile. Schaudt is a freshman artist at Conifer, and has been writing music for about 10 years now. He has various albums across many platforms, hoping to spread his message. “I just want my voice to be heard, and for my name to be known for what I’m trying to do for the community of Colorado,” Schaudt said.(Provided by Levi Schaudt)

Brighten Your Day Beats

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
October 15, 2024
Conifer High School in the fall of 2024 without its iconic lobo statue standing out front. The lobo statue which represented the school for 16 years rotted and fell over in the summer of 2023. “I know when I first saw it gone, I felt really confused, so it’d be great for us to get a new statue,” senior Vincent Rutter said.

Mystery of the Missing Lobo

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
September 10, 2024
Sophomore NAHS Member Enji Jensen paints the senior mural. This year’s senior mural is an underwater theme, featuring jellyfish, whales, bubbles, and other underwater creatures. Seniors’ fingerprints are meant to resemble fish, forming a school of fish following the large whales. “It takes a lot of people and a lot of planning,” Enji said.

A Lasting Legacy: Conifer Seniors Leave Their Mark

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
May 3, 2024
Sophomore Kayla Boyes paints a piece in the Art Therapy workshop. For Peace Day, one of the most popular workshops for the day was Art Therapy, where students expressed thoughts and emotions through creativity. "The world sees you differently than you see yourself," Boyes said.

Peace Day 2/2/24

Kanin Cadam, Reporter/Photographer
April 10, 2024
Student, Jax Murphy, doing his verb of the day warm-up. Murphy is in Nicole Burris’ 8th period Spanish Three Honors class. His verb of the day is “maldecir” which he has to conjugate for his warm-up.

[Photo] Saltarse el Clase de Español

Emily Bunchman, Reporter
March 11, 2024
Carissa Maseberg gives AP Statistic help to several students during Lab. Though AP Statistics is a difficult subject and a college-level class, her teaching has helped many students to understand and internalize the processes and strategies needed to be successful in her class. “She’s helped me figure out how to do math,” Roberson said.

[Photo] Missing Maseberg

Erich Bohn, Reporter
March 11, 2024
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