open concept elementary school and its acticality in today's world. 9news crime and justice reporter anastasiya bolton looks at where this artistic design may leave kids vulnerable. >> it's an innovative concept. >> reporter: exciting for a parent of two boys at boulder's creekside elementary. >> it's forward thinking. it's thinking about the education process beyond just let's make an elementary school with the cookie cutter classroom. it's not the standard school layout. >> reporter: ryan webb says his wife, a teacher, can't wait. she and the students will move from this old building into the new one in 2017. >> it's a whole new approach to education. pretty exciting. >> students out of sight is a powerful life-saving strategy. >> reporter: jean michel keys is a school safety advocate. of glass that's replacing walls. >> elements of this design are absolutely stunning, beautiful. we want an engaging area for

but we also need to temper that with risk. >> reporter: keys created what's called the standard response protocol, simple steps many of your children in schools statewide practice during a lockdown, including in boulder. a lockdown includes locks, lights, out of sight. >> it really is about not allowing violence into the building. >> how are you going to be able to have kids out of sight if a school is built like that? >> part of the training when we move into the new facility will be to make sure stavinoha in the event we need to, you know, have a more intense security, where they would take the children, how they would do a more formal lockdown. >> reporter: parents are thinking of that as well. >> if you look at the rendering i just showed you, where would your kids hide if something were to happen? >> it's a good question. and i know it's a concern that with the old school, the safety under the new environment that we live in now is a huge concern. and i know in the community

about is this an improvement to our child's safety with this new design. >> reporter: a conversation for the webb family over dinner tonight. anastasiya bolton, 9news. >> boulder valley school superintendent also adds the glass front entrance will be bullet proof. meanwhile, denver public schools tells us the open classroom design doesn't fit into today's teaching style. the district is putting up walls and building separate hallways in eight schools that were built in the '60s and '70s with that open classroom design. if you have a news tip, e-mail us at blowthewhistle@9news.com. the weather system expected to bring colorado a decent size snowstorm early next week is currently pushing across parts of northern california. the forecast calls for that storm to build up along colorado's front range, with much colder temperatures right after these nice warm temperatures we're getting right now. meteorologist kathy sabine joins us now. kathy, so far looks like sunday's the day we turn the corner. >> that's exactly right.

going to come in tomorrow night that will bring a few snow showers about this time tomorrow night. but during the day we'll be dry. sunday, a transition day. it's sunday night into monday the california low will cause problems across much of the state. hard to believe with southerly winds, mid-50s across the front range. winds easing along the foothills, but guesting to 50 and 60 miles per hour ahead of a front that will be here midday tomorrow. winter weather and travel advisories will go up late tonight. northern and central mountains, between a foot of snow between midnight and sunday. winter weather advisories across the southern mountains and foothills. no advisories for denver at this point. a little wind to the west, a few clouds tonight. all is calm and quiet tonight and tomorrow. a little foal snow and a band of snow showers coming into the city, between about 6:00 and 9:00 tomorrow night. the evening drive, no issues. weather-wise, dry, mild. again, two hands on the steering wheel west of i-25, but the winds are ushering in a stronger storm that we'll be tracking for sunday night into

some of the models have as measuring the snow in feet for some areas along the front range. we'll break it down for you and take a closer look at the weekend forecast, coming up. >> lot of people interested in knowing how much we'll get. thanks, kathy. today, all about the winds. strong winds were a challenge for firefighters in boulder county this afternoon. crews battled 40 mile-per-hour winds as they tackled a grass fire. it was about 100 feet from a high school. flames scorched 2 to 5 acres of open space behind monarch high school in louisville. one building and some vehicles were in the path of the fire, but it was contained before it got close to the school. firefighters from multiple agencies put the flames out in less than an hour. crews didn't want to take any chances because the wind was gusting so strongly. >> while it's not as high a risk assay in the summer where you have the hotter temperatures and the really dry conditions, in the winter you do have a lot of dead grass. when you have windy days like today, you get one little source of fire and it can spread quickly.

what caused the grass fire. monarch high was not evacuated because crews were able to get the flames out quickly. students and parents saw more security today at horizon high school in thornton. the additional security was in response to anonymous tips reported by safe to tell about a weapon at school today. school security works with local law enforcement to determine that threat was not credible. as a precaution, though, local law enforcement provided extra security for the school. safe to tell provides a safe and easy way to anonymously report information about safety concerns in schools. you can make those reports online, by phone, or text message. new charges filed against a former denver bronco who played in super bowls 32 and 33. he's accused of being part of drug trafficking, sports gambling and money laundering 47-year-old derek lavelle allegedly sold drugs for the crime ring.

the indictment says lavelle and others distributed drugs through a company called o-dog enterprise and collected payment from customers across the country. the indictment also states members of the group used collectors to threaten individuals who owed them money. the chance to find $2 million in gold and treasure has inspired tens of thousands of people to search remote corners of the rocky mountains. in an effort to lure people into the great outdoors, a mexican an particular tees dealer announced a hunt. fin is on an increasingly desperate mission to find him. brandy bellu disappeared along the rio grande weeks ago. fin says he and his treasure hunters will not give up. an auto shop in denver created a symbolic car sculpture in preparation for

elder auto shop at evans avenue and south holly streets backed a broncos mini van on top of a smaller, weaker, puny carolina panthers car. they used a tow truck to hoist the broncos van on top. the whole process took about an hour. fans driving by honked their horns to show support. the owner says it's just his way of having a little fun while also showing off broncos pride. >> you know, when a team makes it to the super bowl, it turns us all into big kids. we just want to have fun and support our team. >> big kids, indeed. elder says the vehicles will be up outside his shop until the broncos win the super bowl. obviously, an optimist. we like it. >> took about an hour. play a full 60 minutes, you no he? then it happens. a more detailed look at the snowstorm due to arrive early next week. >> also ahead, a class project about immigration that students in denver hope will go viral.

of a long-time broncos fan

. as students in a denver school studied the issue of immigration, they decided maybe the best way to learn was by telling their own stories. as 9news education reporter nelson garcia shows us, they viral. >> page 160. >> reporter: paul clifton wants his fifth grade class to know. sometimes the best stories-- >> momma don't get worried anymore? >> should they feel guilty in this situation? >> the idea they have amazing stories, too.

life. >> reporter: so as shown in this class video, they made a podcast called the immigration of room 121. >> today you will be hearing our stories about immigration and its impact in our lives. >> like almost everyone in the past, their parents are immigrants. when i interviewed my dad, my dad told me that he came crossing through the desert and it took him three days. >> reporter: this class and [ speaking spanish ] >> reporter: and some of these kids have undocumented parents. >> even a student will have a family member that is deported in the middle of the school year, in the middle of the week. >> reporter: students, like edwin, want people to know that despite what people say, some cross over illegally to find a family. >> sometimes they judge you because you're latino or another race.

went through makes me want to act. >> reporter: students hope their podcast can change people's minds and perceptions. >> at the end, someone watches them and they see how someone feels. you know, this should be a beginning of making a difference. >> reporter: all by sharing some stories. >> i believe that they will change the world through this podcast. >> reporter: in denver, nelson garcia, 9news. >> students unveiled that podcast to their parents at a special assembly last night. a long-time denver broncos fan is going to the super bowl, thanks to some determination from his daughter. leona lawless e-mailed the devin broncos asking them to honor her dad cecil, a long- time fan. cecil is 80 years old. he has been a season ticket holder since 1970. he went with his kids and wife to the game for years, until his wife developed alzheimer's disease and passed away. cecil's daughter shared his

thinking maybe they would give him a t-shirt. instead, the broncos gave cecil the opportunity to buy super bowl tickets. since his name was not picked in the initial lottery. >> they called me and told me they had some tickets for me, so i, i, i wasn't aware that she had done it at the time, but it's quite a shock and it's been a pretty much a sleepless night. >> how about that? the two did pay the going rate which is $1500. cecil predicts, by the way, the broncos will win 24-20. hope he's right. >> hot top. >> how about that? that lottery is so touchy. good timing. >> they freed up a couple. expect more warmth tomorrow before we start to get a little colder and wetter on sunday. and all that. because the big snowstorm, the forecast, where it's going to

welcome back. i'm meteorologist kathy sabine, outside in the 9 backyard on a beautiful and mild january evening. though. tonight. couple of the forecast models have this california storm cruising in, digging into the

focus for heavy snow in the central and southern mountains by monday morning, then shifting into southeastern colorado with the bulls eye for 12 to 18 inches of snow in the areas shaded in red. again, one of these models does have the heaviest snow south of denver, but another one has it very close, right over the top of the city, so 6 to 12 inches of snow, certainly a potential between sunday night and tuesday morning, with the storm on track to cross southern colorado late in the weekend. southerly winds pushing temperatures above average today, 55 is 10 degrees warmer than where we typically are this time of year. calm winds outside the studios and 46 degrees. this system is off to the north and west of us. we do have winter storm watch and warning areas out. snow will start in the highcountry tonight with a winter storm warning out for about 8 to 16 inches of snow. difficult driving on i-70 late tonight and tomorrow. winter weather advisories for 6

and southwestern mountains. denver's dry tomorrow. a front arrives late in the afternoon, bringing the chance of a few rain showers to the eastern plains. the bulls eye for heavier precipitation will stay to the 48 hours. even with this front coming in, winds ahead of it will allow for temperatures to soar close to 60 again, but as of this time tomorrow night, we've got the potential for a few snow showers in denver, between 6:00 and 10:00 tomorrow night. snow continues in the highcountry and will impact travel on i-70. once the front drops south tomorrow night, sunday's kind of a drier day, colder day, a transition alday before the california low is on the move, bringing that heavy snow to us by monday morning. lows tonight, 20s in the highcountry. 30s on the plains tonight, with this high cloud deck about. high temperatures tomorrow, how about 70s in southeastern colorado. mid-50s in denver. close to 60s on the plains, but kind of a cold day in the foot hill areas. 50 for evergreen. 44 in blackhawk. in the denver metro area, lighter winds in the foothills.

with lows in the mid to upper 30s. tomorrow, we have a partly sunny day, windy conditions west of town, and snow showers tomorrow night. we have a cloudy and colder day on sunday, but the snow holds off till the evening, turning heavy. heavy snow and wind monday into tuesday, with highs in the lower 20s and overnight lows in the single digits. so hello, february! . number one versus number two. now, i'm not talking about the two top teams from 2015. i'm talking about the two top picks from 2011. the draft. von miller went second to the broncos, right after carolina chose quarterback cam newton with the overall number one selection. now, you might think that miller would be bitter about the place position, but von insists he loves the panther qb. >> peyton is obviously my favorite quarterback. other than that, it's cam. i don't think it's another quarterback that's ever played

and especially the way his personality is on the field. you know, i'm a big fan of everything that he has going for him. he's a huge role model. >> it's the number one sport sentence ever uttered in our state. this one's for john. pat bowlen giving credit and thanks to his quarterback after the broncos' first-ever super bowl championship. i asked elway today if we might hear this one's for pat next sunday, should the broncos beat the panthers. >> everything we do is for pat and the bowlen family. they are the ones that give us the opportunity to do what we do. they are a great family. pat's been a tremendous owner. for them to give us the opportunity to, and the resources to be able to do what we do, we owe everything to them. it's always to pat. it's always for the family. hopefully i'm not uncovering any secrets now, but hopefully there's an opportunity there for us to say something. >> hope he gets that chance. we finish with high school sports. douglas county is the seventh most populous county in colorado, but when it comes to

number one in the country. here's taylor temby. >> reporter: why stop? [ cheers & applause ] >> reporter: at being the best in state? >> yes, we are somebody to worry about. >> reporter: the castle view saber cats-- >> let's go, guys! come on! >> reporter: -- have put their focus on being champions in the u.s. >> i think 22,000 cheerleaders are going. >> reporter: next weekend, the cats will head to orlando, florida to compete in the national high school cheer championships. there may be a face or two on their squad. >> i think we are one of the most competitive districts in the country. >> reporter: eight of the nine high schools in jeff cowill be sending their squads along for the ride. >> i do believe douglas county schools will be dominant. >> reporter: that's because in this 210-square-mile box where the population is booming, cheerleading, too, is reaching new heights. >> cheer definitely has grown more here in colorado and we're making it on the map.

of that competitive success can be attributed to new all-star gyms and certified coaches who entered the sport at a much younger age. >> it allows them to have that opportunity to go into high school with the skills needed and then all of those kids together become supercompetitive. >> reporter: and while a school in the district has yet to take home the top prize in orlando? >> we are absolutely making a name for ourselves by making finals in various categories. >> reporter: -- colorado is tumbling into the national spotlight for good. >> i would love for my kids to keep pushing and even maybe opening the doors to what colorado could build into. >> reporter: taylor temby, 9news. and the nuggets are off tonight. good thing we've got high school sports to get us through our friday night. >> and good thing we have you here to get us ready for everything. >> yeah. she's so much nicer than adele. >> should we give you a cheer? >> we'll work on it during the break, okay? >> that was pretty good.

>> go rod! . microsoft, visa, mastercard, some of the big winners on wall street today. price of oil going up four days in a row. dow climbed 400 points in today's trading.

. give me an r! [ laughter ] >> how about s for sunshine!

night. we have a cool front coming in. we'll get close to 60 before it gets here. snow showers tomorrow night, but that's not the storm. nice day on sunday, rather cool. night. tough. tuesday morning's drive, tough. storm winds down on tuesday night, but highs in the 20s. hello, february! lows in the single digits with more. >> enjoy the weekend! >> okay. you've been warned! "entertainment tonight" is next and we're back at 9:00 and 10:00.

only concentrate on the killer and t ignore the victims? there's something wronhere. >> new oj miniseries backlash as the fans and the victims unite on dr. phil. >> what the fans are telling us about why they are outraged. >> they're very upset. >> that is epitome of

>> as the cast opens up up about