Arapahoe High School (Centennial, Colorado)

Infobox School
name = Arapahoe High School


imagesize = 200
caption = Arapahoe Warrior
streetaddress = 2201 East Dry Creek Road
city = Centennial
state = Colorado
country = USA
zipcode = 80122-3100
motto =
established = 1964
type = Free public
affiliation =
district = Littleton Public Schools (LPS)
grades = 9-12
principal = Ronald Booth
viceprincipal = Mary Gottlieb, Darrell Meredith, Natalie Pramenko, Steven Sisler, Mike Campbell
dean = none
faculty = 129
students = 2,110
grade9 = 525
grade10 = 554
grade11 = 509
grade12 = 522
ceeb = 060928
ACT = 23.2
SAT = 1708
athletics = Baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, football, golf, lacrosse, marching band, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling
rivals = Heritage High School, Littleton High School, Cherry Creek High School
conference = Continental and Centennial
colors = Black and Old Gold color box|blackcolor box|gold
mascot = Warrior
yearbook = Calumet
newspaper = Arapahoe HeraldView Online: http://my.hsj.org/co/centennial/ahs/
campus type = Suburban
campus size = convert|254756|sqft|2|sp=us
coordinates = coord|39.58186|-104.96128|display=inline,title
homepage = http://www.arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.com

Arapahoe High School is a public high school in Centennial, Colorado, United States. Located in the suburbs of Denver, it is the largest of three high schools in Littleton Public Schools District with an enrollment of 2,229 students. The convert|254756|sqft|m2|sing=on high school has three gyms, a library, kitchen, a 647-seat theater, 70 classrooms, a pool, tennis courts, baseball, football, and soccer fields, and a track.

Arapahoe's mascot is a warrior, and the school colors are black and gold. The school is known for its affiliation with the Arapaho tribe of Wind River, Wyoming. Members of the tribe visit the school every other year.Fact|date=September 2008 Arapahoe consistently places "Excellent" on Colorado's statewide school accountability report, the only Littleton Public Schools high school to do so. [ [http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/Portals/7/Administration/ahs0607sar.pdf Office school website] ]

History

Arapahoe High School was built in 1964. Several additions have been made since that time:
* 1965: A gymnasium, built by Morse, Dion & Champion, architects and Hollister, general contractor
* 1967: An addition of a pool, classrooms and theater, built by Morse, Dion & Champion, architects and Webco, general contractor.
* 1979: An addition of locker rooms, wrestling facilities and a gymnastics gym, built by Allred/Fisher, architects and Frank Hall & Co., construction management.
* 1987: An addition of administration and counseling space, by Culbertson & Associates, who served as designer and general contractor.
* 1997: The school's aging interior library was replaced with classrooms, and a new library and media center were constructed on the north side of the building. Accessibility was improved with the construction of an elevator adjacent to second-floor classrooms and a student-designed east entrance with wheelchair ramps and automated doors, nicknamed "The Bubble."
* 2005: The school underwent significant remodeling. A new gymnasium was added, several classrooms were redesigned and walls were rebuilt to meet fire code standards.

chool environment

Arapahoe uses the variable scheduling system, which allows students to build their own schedules off of a master course list, and is designed to prepare the student for the scheduling that is found in most colleges and universities. There are 6 class periods per day, most of which last 59 minutes (3rd hour is 61 minutes to allow time for daily announcements). Between each period there is a 5 minute passing period. Lunch is staggered either before or after 4th hour, and referred to as "first lunch" and "second lunch", each lasting 35 minutes. Which lunch a student is assigned to is determined by the course scheduled during 4th hour. Students are allotted unscheduled hours during the day, and as the campus is open, students are free to do as they wish during this time. More than 98 percent of Arapahoe graduates continue their education. Students took the following Advanced Placement exams in 2006: English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, French Language, Spanish Language, Human Geography, European History, U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, Physics B, Physics C, Computer Science AB, Biology, Chemistry, Statistics, Calculus AB, and Calculus BC. [http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/co/other/1102#ap] Additionally, AP Music Theory is offered in alternating years. [http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/]

Additionally, the school has a unique relationship with the Arapaho Tribal Nation. After complaints about the pejorative depiction of Native Americans, the school sought a relationship with the tribe.Fact|date=December 2007 Since then, the Northern Arapaho tribe has endorsed the name of the high school and its use of the current warrior mascot, provided by the tribe. Additionally, the large gym was refinished and named the Sitting Eagle Gymnasium (this is now the second gym). According to the original agreement made by the school, the mascot is not to be put on the floor (where one could walk on it) or on any article of clothingFact|date=December 2007, but whether through subsequent agreement or disregard on the part of the school the mascot can be found on a wide variety of clothing. Additionally, tribal members visit the school for important events, speaking every year at graduation, and every two years a larger group will visit the school to perform various traditional dances and speak about Native American culture.

Students at the school generally perform above average on standardized tests, including the ACT and the SAT. All teachers at Arapahoe have subject expertise and hold degrees in the subjects in which they teach. [http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/forParents/SchoolProfile/tabid/1478/Default.aspx]

tudent journalism

Arapahoe High School is nationally recognized for its student journalism program, which consistently ranks as one of the best in the country. The unique program, which works at an academic level, goes beyond a school-sanctioned club or activity to provide the best education in journalism practice and ethics. Arapahoe's journalism program is both covetted and fostered by its recruitment of top students in this school. Students are selected competitively to participate in either Newspaper or Yearbook journalism each scholastic year.

Arapahoe Herald

The monthly "Arapahoe Herald" newspaper is produced by journalism students. In 2005, "Arapahoe Herald" was named a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist and went on to win a Pacemaker. The National Pacemaker Awards have been called “the high school equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.” In 2005, the "Arapahoe Herald" was under the leadership of Katrina Schuler (2005-2006 Editor in Chief) when it received the Pacemaker as well as a Silver Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association. It is only the sixth high school newspaper in Colorado to win a Pacemaker in the award’s 100+ year history. In 2007 "Arapahoe Herald" received the National Scholastic Press Association's All-American rating, Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Gold Medalist Award, and in 2008 placed first in the American Scholastic Press Association's Newspaper Review and Contest, under the leadership of Kelley Bruce Robinson (2007-2008 Editor in Chief). "Arapahoe Herald" is also included in the National Scholastic Press Association's Hall of Fame for ten consecutive All-American ratings. To date, the newspaper has earned 14 All American ratings since 1992.

An online edition of the "Arapahoe Herald" can be viewed at http://my.hsj.org/co/centennial/ahs/.

Arapahoe Calumet

Calumet, the Arapahoe year book is produced by journalism students. Calumet received All American ratings in both 2005 and 2006 and was a Pacemaker Finalist in 2005 under the leadership of Lindsay Ourada, Mary Hayworth and Anya Lehrner.

Clubs

Future Business Leaders of America

In the summer of 2007, Arapahoe saw its first ever FBLA national qualifiers go to the conference in Chicago, Illinois. The qualifiers included Steven Doss (placed fourth in the nation for desktop publishing), Raychel Hirsh (placed fourth in the nation for desktop publishing), Kelly Hanson (placed eighth in the nation for emerging business issues), Michael Marino, Nicole Markinsohn (placed eighth in the nation for emerging business issues), Page Wunderlich, and Mary Hayworth (placed eighth in nation for emerging business issues).

In the 2007-2008 school year, Arapahoe made a strong showing when qualifying over 15 people for the state conference and having many teams take first at the district competition. After the state conference, again 7 people qualified for the national level of competition. Steven Doss, Raychel Hirsh, Cade Schacher, and Rick Maestas are the 4 that will be traveling to Atlanta to compete.

Art Club

"Frame It Up" across Dry Creek Road from Arapahoe High School has honored multiple 2008 seniors throughout the year as "Artists of the Month." The artists of 2008 included: Dylan Pierpont, Jill Popp, Lindsay Downs, Steven Doss, Mike Sakas, Tyler Lira, and Brett Hillbrand. Dylan Pierpont won a gold key in the scholastic art and writing competition in 2008 and is being sent to New York City to receive the award. [http://my.highschooljournalism.org/co/centennial/ahs/article.cfm?eid=11207&aid=170432]

"Muse"

"Muse" is Arapahoe's Literary Arts Magazine. In 2007 the "Muse" placed eight in the National Scholastic Press Association's Best-in-Show, during the Denver Convention. [http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/winners/s07bs.html] The "Muse" is a school-sanctioned activity that does not meet as a cocirricular publication, as other Arapahoe publications do.

Athletics

Arapahoe is part of the 8-team Centennial League that also includes Cherry Creek, Grandview, Cherokee Trail, Smoky Hill, Eaglecrest, Mullen, and Overland. [http://my.highschooljournalism.org/co/centennial/ahs/article.cfm?eid=10870&aid=164964] Arapahoe athletics include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, football, golf, lacrosse, marching band, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling. All athletics at Arapahoe are competed at the 5A level.

Baseball

The 2008 Warrior Baseball team made it to the final four teams in the state for the first time since 1993.

Cheerleading

The 2007-2008 Warrior Varsity Cheerleading team finished 11th in the nation at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships.

Cross Country

The boys Cross Country team received 2nd place at state this year. The girls team finished 7th this year.

Dance

Arapahoe's competitive dance team is called Tom Toms. They received 9th place in the preliminary round of the state championships.

Football

Arapahoe's only state football championship is from the 1970 season. They were state runner up in 1991.

Golf

The 2007 boys' golf team finished third at state. The 2007 girl's team did not get ranked as a team over all.

Lacrosse

The 2007 boy's lacrosse team received a first round bye in the playoffs, and went on to lose in the semi-finals. The 2007 girl's team also lost in the semi-final round of the playoffs.

Marching Band

The Arapahoe High School Warrior Marching Band (nicknamed "The Pride of Arapahoe") took second place at the state semifinal competition in the fall of 2007 (the finals were cancelled due to high winds). The Warrior Marching Band led the Denver Parade of Lights in 2007 and received 2nd place overall in the parade's marching band competition.

occer

The Arapahoe Ball Kickers (ABK) have won more state soccer championships in Colorado than any other school. The girls teams have won 9 championships since 1978, the last coming in 2006, and the boys teams have won 5. These championships can be viewed at the Colorado High School Activities Association web site. {http://www.chsaa.org/sports/soccer/soccer.asp

The girls progam has registered 472 wins to date since 1978. (As of February 2008) This ranks them 4th all time nationally according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. NSCSAA link is http://www.nscaa.com/downloads/HSGWinningestTeam042308.html

wimming

The 2006-07 boy's swim team finished 5th at state. The 2006-2007 girls team finished 6th.

Track

The "2008 Boy's team won the Class 5A State Championship". This is the State's largest classification, and the first team state championship win for Arapahoe in Track since its conception over 40 years ago. The boy's team did not have any individual champions in the state meet.

In the 2007 season, the boy's track team finished 22nd at state and the girls team finished 18th.

Wrestling

The Warriors qualified three wrestlers for state in 2008.

References

External links

* [http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/ Official website]
* [http://www.littletongov.org/history/othertopics/sch_high.asp Littleton's high schools] at Littleton.gov
* [http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues02/Co11022002/CO_11022002_Arapaho.htm "Denver Post" article] recounting school's relationship with Wyoming tribe