| Number of Schools Managed |
30 |
3 |
| Number of Students Managed |
20,408 students |
585 students |
| District Total Revenue |
$203,821,000 |
$5,590,000 |
| District Expenditure |
$173,092,000 |
$5,459,000 |
| District Revenue / Student |
$9,987 |
$9,556 |
| District Expenditure / Student |
$8,482 |
$9,332 |
| District Graduation Rates |
97% |
n/a |
|
- Blue Valley High School is a fully-accredited public high school located in Stilwell, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. The school currently operates in the Blue Valley Unified School District]. The principal is Scott Bacon, the associate principal is Bob Whitehead, and the assistant principals are Meagan Allam and Brett Potts. The current enrollment of the school is approximately 2,100 students. Blue Valley High was established in 1968 after Stanley High School and Stilwell High School were combined. The school mascot is the Tiger and the school colors are gold and black.
- History
-
In 1968, Stilwell High School and Stanley High School combined to form Blue Valley High School. The original school was on Metcalf and 151st St. The school adopted a Tiger as the mascot because the Superintendent, Jimmy Lee March (1968-1974) of the Southeast Johnson County School District now called the Blue Valley School District, attended the University of Missouri and was also a big fan of the Missouri Tigers. In the late 1970s, Blue Valley moved to its current location. The former building was turned into the district office which controls the Blue Valley School District, Blue Valley North High School, Blue Valley Northwest High School and Blue Valley West High School and every middle and elementary school in the district. Each year there is an addition to the building when the senior class leaves a gift to the building, such as a large neon sign in the main gym (donated by the class of 2002). In 1999, a new hallway was added to the building known as the "senior hallway".
- Academics
-
Blue Valley High School has received several awards for academics. The school had some of the highest SAT scores in the state for three years in a row. It has also met the Standard of Excellence for reading, writing, science and math.
- Extracurricular Activities
- Athletics
-
Blue Valley High School is well-known for its athletics and is classified as a 6A-5A school according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Additionally, the Tigers compete in the Eastern Kansas League (EKL). Blue Valley's main rivals are St. Thomas Aquinas and Blue Valley West. The Tiger baseball team won the 6A state championship in 2008, defeating the Goddard Lions in a 4-0 shutout victory. Blue Valley Tigers' football team won the 5A state championship in 1991, 1998, 2003 and 2006. The football team is coached by Steve Rampy. Additionally, Steve Rampy once coached the boys golf team, which won several EKL championships as well as the 2005 5A State Championship.
- State Championships
-
- Blue Valley is known for a myriad of school clubs, from the Environmental Club to the Programming Club to the Hip-Hop Club. Many clubs are required to have teacher sponsors in order to meet. Some school classes are considered extracurricular, such as Debate or Drill team.
- Once a year, around March, the American Cancer Society hosts a Relay For Life event in which approximately 30% of students participate. The event has grown in popularity, with more students participating each year.
- The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has a branch that meets at the school. Generally, they engage in behavior that benefits humankind, like meeting at a fixed time every week, discussing how putting you faith in God will help you in life. They also focus on how to be a better person, and how they can use their wealth to help others that are not as wealthy.
- thumb|right|350px|The 2004 Stridin' Tigers Marching Band and Drill Team
- Also, a new club has been added at BVHS in 2008. It is the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Task Force. The co-presidents are Corey Chesley and Ben Wilmes.
- Band
-
The school has one of the top marching bands in the state of Kansas. The Stridin' Tigers have won several competitions for their shows including Blue Shades (2003), Circuitry (2004), Metamorphosis (2005), Blue (2006), We Came To Play (2007), and Dark Side of Oz (2008). The band is currently under the direction of Avian Bear with assistant director Daniel Kirk. Prairie Star Middle band director Paul Aubrey, Blue Valley Middle band director Ben Strain, and former band parent Al Hapke also assist the band. The band has traveled around the country and performed at the 1996 and 2000 Orange Bowl and the 2004 Fiesta Bowl.In April 2007 the band went to Orlando, Florida and placed as band grand champion, edging out perennial powerhouse Westlake High School (from Texas). In addition to this trip, the band went to St. Louis for a Bands of America Super Regional Championship. The band performs at half-time of every Tigers home game and plays in the stands during the game. The band also performs at pep rallies, varsity basketball games, and other school functions.
- In May 2006, at the Worlds of Fun contest, the Blue Valley Concert band led by Ben Strain received straight "1" ratings for the first time in the school's history. The 2006 show, "Blue", won 1st place in Class 5A at the Blue Springs Marching Invitational. The show also received fourth place at the Blue Valley Northwest Marching Festival and a Division 2 rating at the Bands of America Super Regional in St. Louis. Blue Valley also had several members qualify for the NEKMEA District and KMEA State Honor Band.
- Debate and Forensics
-
Blue Valley High School is well known throughout the state for being a dominant Debate and Forensics squad.
- State Results
- School Layout
-
300px|thumb|right|The Entrance to the BV CommonsThe building is in the shape of a rectangle, with few outcurves. On the east side are the academic halls. There are five halls:
- 200 Hall - Generally referred to as the Freshman hall, it is the longest hall. The lockers are all for freshmen, and it has mostly math and science classes.
- 300 Hall - Generally referred to as the Language hall, it contains lockers for freshmen and sophomores. Contains mostly foreign language classes and a computer lab.
- 400 Hall - Generally referred to as the American hall, it contains lockers for sophomores and juniors. Contains social study classes and Communication Arts (English).
- 500 Hall - Generally referred to as the Senior hall, it contains lockers just for seniors. The seniors are allowed to choose their own lockers. The hallway was added in 1999 and has a large glass roof. The hall contains mostly higher level classes for upperclassmen, and some health classes.
- 600 Hall - The only hallway that is not parallel to the other halls. The 600 hall connects the other 4 hallways. The only lockers are in a small organized cluster for juniors (between the 300 and 400 hall). This hall contains history and science classes.
- On the west side of the building is the athletic department. All athletic areas are connected by a hallway with numerous wall murals on it. In it there are 6 athletic areas:
- Main gym - Gym where home basketball games are played; pep rallies also take place here.
- Auxiliary gym - Smaller gym.
- Wrestling gym - Small gym where wrestlers compete.
- Pool - Indoor pool where swimming competitions take place. It has two diving boards and bleachers for spectators.
- Locker rooms - Home to athletic coaches' offices, P.E. lockers and showers.
- thumb|right|350px|The entrance to the library.In the northwest part of the building is the arts department.
- Instrumental Music Room - Home to the Blue Valley "Stridin' Tigers" (band) as well as the Blue Valley High School Orchestra. This room is used for band and orchestra practice.
- Vocal Music Room - Contains large wall mural of a tiger and is home to the Blue Valley choir.
- Performing Arts Center - This large theatre is home to plays, musicals, and concerts.
- Black Box Theatre - This small theatre is the home to smaller productions of the drama department.
- On the east side of the building there are outdoor mobiles. These are used as additional classrooms separate from the main building.
- Other - The building has three separate stories; the lower level is the basement and fitness center, the second is the main floor, and the third is a small, restricted-access floor containing a security vault and a catwalk over the Performing Arts Center for maintenance of the lighting system.
- Multimedia
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The school's newspaper is called the Tiger Print, the school's yearbook is Reflections, and the closed circuit television program is called "Tiger TV". It also maintains cable channel 75 to display announcements throughout the school.
- Tiger TV's many features have won national Student Broadcast Network awards, including first place in 2001 and 2006 for the "Hallpass" segment (in the human interest story category) and a 2005 title for short movie award. Tiger TV is put together by Broadcast II students taught by former Emmy Award winning KSHB-TV anchor/reporter Denny Brand.
- Pictures, photographs, and poems are submitted every year and put together as the Headrush magazine. The Headrush crew also produces Headrush Junior for middle school level students at BVMS and PSMS.
- Future
-
Blue Valley underwent part two of its renovation in 2008 (part one being reconfiguration and turfing of athletic fields), receiving 8 new classrooms and an athletic department expansion, including a new above-ground weight room. Blue Valley installed two new mobiles for the 2007-08 school year. The office and serving area of the cafeteria was also reconfigured.
- Notable graduates
- Dirk Katstra (Class of 1987) - Former basketball player at the University of Virginia. Currently the Executive Director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. Was a 2-time first-team all-metro Kansas City selection.
- Tara Nott (Class of 1990) - Won a gold medal in Olympic Weightlifting during the 2000 Olympics
- Brian Schottenheimer (Class of 1992)- Current Offensive Coordinator for the New York Jets
- Justin Swift (Class of 1994) - Former star tight end at Kansas State University and former NFL player with the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos
- Sam Scott (Class of 1996) - Named to 1999 College World Series All-Tournament Team
- Josh Meyer (Class of 1997) - Appeared in the feature film, No Country for Old Men
- Jeff Bennett (Class of 1997) – Competitive Eater, won the 2003 Stuffed Sausage Contest, runner-up in the Rocky Mountain Oyster Eating Contest
- Joseph Potts (Class of 1998) - Coach in the Kansas City Royals organization, as of 2009 his teams had won back-to-back-to-back Minor League championships.
- Hayley Podschun (Class of 2004) - Role in the Broadway show Hairspray. Other Broadway credits include: Pal Joey, Sunday in the Park with George, and The Sound of Music
- External links
- Official School Website
- District Website
- Band Website
- Satellite Image of the school
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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