Signature Programs Spotlight

It’s been a busy fall semester for many of our Signature Programs, which were on display Wednesday night during our Signature Programs Showcase for prospective families. Read below for updates, including recent tournament results for Model UN and Speech & Debate, as well as details on an upcoming robotics tournament hosted at Kent Denver on Saturday, December 14.

Model UN
Since the beginning of the school year, 114 KDS students have participated in a total of four Model UN conferences hosted at other schools, along with an initial state-wide training conference at Kent Denver in September.

On Saturday, December 7, 34 members of Kent Denver’s Sun Devils Model United Nations (SUNMUN) program participated in a conference hosted by Denver East High School. Six KDS students received special recognition for their contributions: Jacob B. ’27 and Cullen P. ’27 (Best Position Paper), Dylan K. ’26 and Kaitlyn M. ’26 (Best Position Paper), Amelie B. ’27 (Honorable Mention) and Axel Y. ’28 (Outstanding Delegate).

Next semester, in addition to local conferences, SUNMUN students will travel to Chicago to compete in the University of Chicago’s MUNUC conference in February before heading to Athens, Greece in March to compete in the Platon Schools PSMUN conference. 

Speech & Debate
On Saturday, November 23, Kent Denver’s Speech & Debate team attended the Mile High Tournament at Denver East High School. The following students received recognition:

• Christopher L. ’25: 2nd place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking
• Henry P. ’26: 11th place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking
• Noah H. ’26: 12th place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking

Our Speech & Debate team also attended the "We Didn't Start the Fire" tournament held at Overland High School on Saturday, December 7, during which Matilda V. ’25 placed seventh in Dramatic Interpretation. Congrats on a great semester of hard work, Sun Devils!

Robotics
Saturday, December 7 also marked the first robotics tournament of the season for our two Middle School teams. For many of the 11 students who attended, it was their first-ever robotics tournament, and they had a fantastic time!

“I'm very encouraged by the students’ ability to think on their feet and to problem solve,” said Head Robotics Coach Chris Spielmann. “The students are already looking forward to their next tournament, which is this weekend.”

Kent Denver will be hosting 22 robotics teams in a blended tournament for both high school and middle school students on Saturday December 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All seven of our Upper and Middle School teams will participate. Please join us in Bullard Gymnasium (Upper School Gym) to cheer on our students! If you’re interested in volunteering, you can sign up here.