Teacher By Day, Musician By Night

As the seventh-period bell rings, 30 restless Northglenn High School sophomores fill 27-year-old Brandon Warren’s classroom with their phone chimes, whispers of teenage gossip, abrasive spats of profanity and bursts of Gen Alpha slang. The space floods with mischievous laughter as wads of gum wrappers sail across the room and another Expo marker quietly disappears.

As his students leave his classroom, Warren prepares for the next period, which will be his fifth time teaching Integrated Math of the day. However, none of his students know about his life outside of school, where he will be playing the piano and conducting a 40-person a cappella choir come Sunday night.

“It’s sort of my double life,” Warren said.

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Run Ralphie VII, Run

Bright stadium lights pierce through the night sky as Sophomore Daniel Portman’s cleats touch the turf at Folsom Field. Screams from 50,000 fans echo over him as he reaches down and tightly grips a strand of long black rope, attached to the halter of a small bison. As the pen gates open, the University of Colorado’s newest live mascot, Ralphie VII, now known as Brandy, flies onto the field and jolts Portman and his team forward, sprinting to keep up.

“The first time I ran Ralphie in a game was surreal,” Portman said. “Most of the run I don’t really remember, probably because of the adrenaline, but I remember the relief of closing the trailer door after she ran in.”

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A Review: Sidewalk Chalk

By Caitlin Alexander
February 11, 2026

It is believed that chalk street art originally started in the streets of Europe during the 16th century. Italy was said to be the hub of these madonarri (street artists), as they would travel from festival to festival, drawing religious icons using chalk, coal, and tile. These painters later appeared in London in the 1800s, and developed the nickname of “screevers,” which later became popularized by the character Bert in the film Mary Poppins.

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