Hunter High School

Infobox School
name = Hunter High School

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motto =
established = 1990
type = Free public
District = Granite School District
grades = 10-12
principal = Mrs. Maile Loo
location = 4200 South 5600 West. West Valley City, Utah
country = USA
campus type = Urban
campus size =
enrollment = 2,250 Students
faculty = 106 Faculty & Staff Members
mascot = Wolverine
colors = Navy, Silver & White
website = http://www.graniteschools.org/hs/hunter/

Hunter High School is a large public high school located at 4200 South 5600 West West Valley City, Utah. It was opened in 1990 with its first graduating class graduating in 1991. During the first school year (1990-1991), the enrollment was below capacity, largely due to the fact that seniors and juniors (classes of '91 and '92, respectively) were allowed to choose whether to come to Hunter or complete their high school education at their current schools. The school was heavily featured in the TV movie Wish Upon A Star starring Katherine Heigl. The main gym was also the used for the filming of a LA Gear shoe commercial featuring Utah Jazz player Karl MaloneFact|date=October 2007.

Hunter High's mascot is the Wolverine and the school's colors are navy, silver, and white. The mascot and school colors were selected by a student vote prior to the school opening, from among a number of alternatives (including the Knights and the Hunters) previously chosen by an ad hoc committee of prospective students. Michigan's uniform colors were among some of the various color-combination suggestions (which also included hunter green and white) considered by the ad hoc committee, but most members of the committee voted against the colors because of neighboring Cyprus High School's colors of blue and gold. The school colors of Navy, Silver, and White were eventually selected. Also of note is that the school's fight song is the same as The University of Michigan's. The current Lyrics to the school song were written in 1990 by Brian Sorensen, who submitted the lyrics as part of a school-wide contest.

Academics

Hunter high offers a broad range of scholastic disciplines ranging from core classes (English, Math, the Sciences, Foreign Languages, etc.) to art and trade classes (Auto Mechanics, Electronics, Photography, Video Productions, Drama, etc.). Hunter High School is highly regarded for its wide array of foreign language classes. Students have the option of studying Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese, and American Sign Language. Hunter is one of seven schools in UtahFact|date=February 2008 and one of two in the Granite School District to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (the other being Skyline High School). Hunter also offers a wide array of off-campus programs ranging from Travel and Tourism to Aviation to Home Building. Many of these courses are provided in conjunction with Salt Lake Community College.

Athletics

In their first year of competition, Hunter's Football team was held winless but turned their fortunes around the next year and made it to the "turf" (a reference to the playing surface that was installed at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium which hosts the state high school playoffs). Hunter's football team has had repeated success ever since with its run-first offense which, as a result, has given Hunter the nickname of "Tail Back High". In 2003, Hunter's football team won their first state championship. As of the end of the 2005 season, Hunter's overall record is 123-56 and has only three times finished a season under .500 (1990, 1994, 2007)

Like the football team, the basketball team was held winless in its first season. 2003 saw Hunter's Boys Basketball and Hockey teams winning championships. The Drill Team (The Silhouettes) have twice taken state championships in both 1997 and 1998 and the Boys Swimming team took the 1998 Championship.

The Boy's and Girl's Tennis teams won numerous region title's throughout the 90's and dominated play out west. The Boys Tennis team finished 2nd in State in 2000 with Alan Tran winning the 5A State Championship in #1 Singles while still attending Hunter Junior High School.

In the first season of competition, one of the only sports to perform well was the Boys Soccer team, which made it to the state playoff game, which it lost.

Hunter participates in the following sports"Legacy 2007", Hunter High School Yearbook] :

Boys

*Baseball
*Basketball
*Football
*Soccer
*Swimming
*Tennis
*Water Polo

Girls

*Basketball
*Dance Company
*Drill (Silhouettes)
*Soccer
*Softball
*Swimming
*Tennis
*Volleyball
*Water Polo

Co-Ed Sports

*Cheerleading
*Cross Country
*Golf
*Track
*Wrestling

Clubs and Organizations

Hunter High has the following clubs/organizations:http://www.graniteschools.org/hs/hunter/clubs/index.html List of Clubs at Hunter High School]
*ASL Club
*Believers Club
*Bowling Club
*Chess Club
*Debate
*DECA
*Drama Club
*FBLA
*FCCLA
*Fencing Club
*French Club
*R.A.I.N.
*Hockey
*Key Club
*Japanese Club
*Legacy
*Lit Mag (Literary Magazine)
*MESA
*National Honor Society
*Skills USA
*Spanish Club
*Stage Crew
*Writing Club

Performing Arts

Instrumental

There are three instrumental groups at Hunter High that compete in various competitions.

Wind Ensemble

The band includes Brass Instruments, Woodwind instruments, Percussion Instruments, and occasionally a Piano. There are occasionally some other instruments, but these make up the majority.

Students in Wind Ensemble practice their various pieces throughout the year, performing in a large concert around the Winter holidays, and then competing in a region competition near the end of school in the spring.

Jazz Band

The Jazz Band is an audition band, and only accepts those committed to learning the music. It emphasizes solos, and the learning of quite advanced pieces of music. They also perform at the Winter Concert with the Wind Ensemble, and participate in their own competition in the early spring.

Orchestra

This group uses entirely String instruments. They also perform in the Winter Concert, and have their own competition as well. Occasionally they will include members of the Wind Ensemble to help them with pieces requiring wind instruments. Since 2006, they have accompanied student soloists in a Concerto Night, a concert of held near the end of the school year.

Vocal

Junior Choir

Junior Choir is the entrance choir at Hunter High. Anyone can be in Junior Choir. Junior Choir practices and performs at school concerts. They do not compete.

Concert Choir

Concert Choir is an audition choir at Hunter. The standard is a little higher, so the group performs more difficult pieces. As well as school concerts, they also perform in a region competition in the spring.

Madrigal Choir

The Madrigals are also an audition choir at Hunter. In order to help unify the choir, blend and talent are both key factors in the auditions. This group also performs at the choir concerts, and competes in a region competition in the spring. They are also required to prepare either a solo or smaller group number to be performed at that same competition.

Dramatic

The drama department is responsible for many events throughout the school year. They prepare and present many things, such as the School Musical, and many smaller, student produced works.

chool Musical

The school musical is a high point not only for the drama department, but for all of the performing arts at Hunter. Members of the choir often join the cast for the play along with the drama students, and the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra combine for the Pit Orchestra, which provides the music. Recent productions include "The King and I" (2004), "Beauty and the Beast" (2005), "Camelot" (2006), and "The Wizard of Oz" (1987 stage play) (2007). The 2008-2009 school year musical is slated to be "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

Competitions

The members of the Drama Department compete in a very large competition in the spring. They prepare either group pieces to be acted out, or scenes that can be performed alone. There are very many categories that these fall under, ranging from comedy to dramatic, to pantomime. In 1999 the department took 2nd Place overall in the Utah State Dramatic Competition.

Notable alumni

*John Madsen (Class of 2001) - NFL Football Player
*Rachelle Kunkel (Smith) (Class of 1996) - US Olympic Diver
*Anton Palepoi (Class of 1996) - NFL Football Player
*Juan Johnson (Class of 1994) - CFL/XFL Football Player

ee also

*List of high schools in Utah

External links

* [http://www.graniteschools.org/hs/hunter/ Official web page]

References