Niwot High School

File:Niwot-high-school-cougars-700.gif

Niwot High School
Location
Niwot, Colorado United States of America
Coordinates	40°6′10.06″N 105°8′40.44″W / 40.1027944°N 105.1445667°W / 40.1027944; -105.1445667
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	Our Pride is our Life (original) Commitment to Excellence (current)
Established	1972
School district	St. Vrain Valley School District
Principal	Dennis Daly
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	~1,350
Campus type	Closed Campus
Color(s)
Mascot	Cougar
Website	http://nhs.stvrain.k12.co.us/

Niwot High School (NHS) is a public high school located in Niwot, Colorado and is part of the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Aim

Niwot High School's aim is to provide classes focusing on reading, writing, and mathematics at the various levels needed to educate the student body. Each year, the school aims to increase the proficiencies in each of these three areas, as measured by Colorado Student Assessment Program scores. In an effort to achieve this goal, the school strives to maintain vertical alignment with the middle schools in all of the core curricular areas.

Information

Niwot High School is a class 4A school, enrolling approximately 1,350 students^[1]. For students of Sunset Middle School, Niwot High is the default location to continue their education. The school also attracts students from throughout the St. Vrain Valley School District to participate in the school's International Baccalaureate program. The number of graduates from each class is typically around 300 students.

Background and History

Niwot High School is situated about halfway between the cities of Boulder and Longmont in the small unincorporated town of Niwot. First opened in 1972 ^[2], Niwot High School has been a part of the Niwot community for over 30 years.

The school's original construction was delayed, so for the first semester of the 1972-73 school year, students attended classes at the Longmont High School building after regular hours. Finally, on December 22, 1972, Niwot High was finished. The first class of students was given the honor to choose the schools colors, mascot, and motto. The colors were Kelly Green and Silver, the mascot was the Cougar (named "Carrie"), and the motto was "Our Pride is Our Life". There were no seniors in the first year, because the district did not want to remove current seniors from their home schools to finish their final year in a new school. Thus, the class of 1974 was the first graduating class, and the class of 1976 was the first to have been at Niwot for all four years. The football and baseball team won the conference championship their second year.^[3]

The current campus consists of two levels. On the upper level is the main entrance to the school, as well as the cafeteria, commons, main office, and counseling office. The lower level contains most of the classrooms, including the Science, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Fine Arts and Practical Arts classrooms, while the Language Arts and Music Classrooms are upstairs. The front parking lot is where the student body parking is located, as well as the visitor parking. The back parking lot is reserved for staff parking.

The school has had several additions since it was originally constructed; the new commons, auditorium, large gym, and a large portion of the lower wing were added after the school was originally built. In 2007, the school was fitted with electronic locks on all but the main doors, and the lower parking lot (which was originally the Senior Parking Lot) became the staff-only parking lot.

Schedule

Classes at Niwot High School operate on a 2 day, 8 block schedule. Class starts at 7:20 in the morning and ends at 2:23 in the afternoon. The classes vary between days, designated as "Day 1's" and "Day 2's". The time schedule on a Day 1 and a Day 2 is the same, but the classes are different, so that each class is held every other school day. Depending on the student's 3rd/7th block class, the student may have either "A" or "B" lunch, with "A" being the earlier lunch of the two. Both lunches last 38 minutes, including passing period.

Courses

Currently, Niwot High School offers a variety of courses in the following subjects:

• Art
• Business
• Career Development
• Drama

The drama department is an active and growing program at Niwot High School. Recent productions include Up the Down Staircase, Fame, and Arsenic and Old Lace.

• English
• Family Studies
• Foreign Language
• General Electives
• HILT
• Math
• Music
• Physical Education
• Science
• Social Studies
• Technology

Music Department

Beyond the standard academic courses, Niwot High School has a large music department. It is split into three sub-departments; Orchestra, Band, and Choir.

Band

Marching Band

The Cougar Marching Band is one of the most visible performing groups in the school, as it performs at all home football games, selected marching band exhibitions, and most holiday and school parades in Niwot and Longmont, Colorado. The band is noncompetitive, but a high level of musicianship is expected. Auditions are not required for entry to the woodwind and brass sections, but the drumline and color guard are auditioned in the spring before each new season.

The marching band has grown in the years from about 80 members in the 2003 season to 140+ members in 2007, which is over 10% of the student population at NHS. The band is led by three Drum Majors who have gone through extensive interviews and auditions to obtain the position. Section leaders are selected by the director after a written application is submitted.

The band currently incorporates corps-style marching patterns as well as some elements of Big 10 drill. Field show themes have ranged from "In Your Face" Classical (2008) to Eclectic Rock/Pop (2006,2007) to Swing (2005).

The Marching Band starts with an at-school band camp the first full week of August. Once school starts, in addition to class times, there are required Wednesday night rehearsals and many sections also have practice outside of class. The season ends in early December with the Longmont Holiday Parade. At the beginning of the spring semester, all students then audition for one of the two concert bands at NHS.

In February 2009, the Cougar Marching Band took its first out-of-state band trip in nearly ten years. The band performed at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida as part of Disney Magic Music Days. The trip was a great success, with 118 students marching down Main Street USA on February 13, 2009. The band also participated in a music-reading workshop hosted by Disney.

The 2009 Cougar Marching Band was invited to play at various bowl parades and at the 2010 New Year's Day Parade in London, England. Because of school district policy, the band did not pursue the invitations.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band

These groups exist only during 2nd semester.

The Wind Ensemble is a small group that consists of only a few people for each part, and is the top performance group in the band department. This group performs a varied repertoire, in the Grade 3-4 range. Although mostly juniors and seniors, some freshmen and sophomores are members.

The Symphonic Band is the second band. This group is generally a larger group with more people on one part. Music for this group is also varied, but more in the Grade 2½–3½ range. Emphasis is placed on the continued building of musical skills and confidence.

Jazz I - III

Jazz I is the top jazz group at NHS. It is a classic 17-piece big band. The group's main focus is performance, performing many times throughout the school year. This group consistently receives high honors at the Skyline Jazz Festival.

Jazz II is the intermediate jazz band. This group is also a performance-based group. This group has varied in size through the years, initially being about twice the size of Jazz I to being easily over three times the size of Jazz I.^{[citation needed]} This group also does well at the Skyline Jazz Festival. Currently, this group has 21 members.

Jazz III is the newest jazz band, added in the 2007–2008 school year,due to increased interest in the jazz program at NHS. The purpose of Jazz III is to introduce students to jazz. Since the emphasis on this group is more on learning jazz fundamentals rather than performance, this group performs less often than the other two groups. Students are not expected to have any improvisational experience.

Auditions for these groups occur in February of the previous school year. These auditions are extremely competitive; prospective jazz students are advised to contact the director early in the New Year to obtain the audition materials in time for sufficient practice.

Choir

Currently there are three non-audition groups and four auditioned groups.

Non-Audition Groups

These groups all serve as an introduction to choir and singing.

• Varsity Men's Choir - A men's choir that is offered in the second semester.
• 9th Grade Treble Choir - A choir composed of 9th grade girls.
• Concert Chorus - Open to women in grades 10-12 and all men. It is offered only in the first semester.

Auditioned Groups

• Sedalia - a women's choir open to grades 10-12.

• Evenstar - the jazz/show choir of Niwot High School. Evenstar is a mixed choir that performs jazz standards, musical theatre arrangements and pop songs. Evenstar occasionally incorporates choreography into its songs.

• Chamber Singers - Chamber Singers is a selective mixed choir which focuses mostly on classical choral music, but also performs some contemporary pieces. Each year Chamber Singers is invited to participate in the CU madrigal festival.

• Cantible - An after-school chamber choir that takes place after the musical closes. To audition for Cantabile, students must participate in an auditioned choir at Niwot High School. Cantabile is usually a mixed choir with approximately five people per voice part. Its small size makes it the most selective choir at Niwot which allows Cantabile to perform advanced repertoire with frequent divisi.

Orchestra

Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra is an audition-only standard Symphony Orchestra setup, including wind, brass, percussion, and string sections. The group is an entirely performance-based group, where learning is achieved through the rehearsal and performance of challenging Symphony Orchestra literature. The group has a strong reputation of excellence, achieving various awards and honors throughout the years.

In the 2006–2007 school year, the Symphony Orchestra was invited to take part in the 2007 National Orchestra Cup, where it took 3rd Place against the top youth orchestras from across the United States with the performance of "Russian Easter Overture".

In the 2007–2008 school year, the Orchestra was invited to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Association Conference, the highest honor an orchestra can receive in the state of Colorado.

For the 2008–2009 school year, the Orchestra has been invited to Atlanta, Georgia to perform again on a national scale. Unfortunately, due to hard economic times, the trip was canceled. The group was also invited to a competition in Austria, but turned the invitation down due to district policy.

In 2011, the Orchestra again took part in the National Orchestra Cup competition where they placed fifth in the nation where they performed "The Wasps" among other pieces.

String Orchestra

Along with Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra department also has a String Orchestra, which consists only of string instruments. The String Orchestra is a much more relaxed group, being a non-auditioned group with a much lighter performance schedule. The group is for musicians at Niwot who are unable to perform with the Symphony Orchestra, where the majority of students being freshmen and/or less serious musicians. Still, it is a performance-based group that has a strong focus on teaching students classical music through the rehearsal and performance of standard orchestra literature.

Musical

Every year, Niwot High School performs a musical. The number of students who participate in the musical varies, depending on the musical that is selected and how many students audition.

Every three years the school puts on a major musical, one that involves students from all music departments and a pit orchestra. For these larger productions the auditions and rehearsals all take place after school, making it a fully extracurricular activity. Typically, since there are more actors and a true pit orchestra, these larger productions are more elaborate and difficult musicals.

Between those years, a smaller scale musical is performed by the Musical Theatre class, which performs a musical during the fall semester, and a "Musical Revue" during the spring semester. Rehearsals for the musical revue take place primarily during the school day, although occasional after-school rehearsals are necessary, especially the week before the opening of the show.

In the past years students of Niwot High School have put on the productions of "South Pacific", "Into the Woods", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aida", "The Wizard of Oz", and "Oklahoma".

Athletics

Niwot High School competes against many local high schools, including those in the St. Vrain Valley School District: Longmont High School, Skyline High School, Erie High School, Mead High School, Frederick High School and Silver Creek High School.^{[citation needed]}

The Niwot/Silver Creek swim team won 4A state in 2008.

Niwot's football team won the 4A State Championship in 1990. The Cougars made it to the 3A Playoffs in 1995,1996,2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and the 4A playoffs in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

The Niwot baseball team has won the 4A State Championships in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005.^[4] Niwot High School was also recognized as Legion A State Champs in 2003, 2004, and 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Niwot Golf team also won the Northern Conference for Golf in 2006 with golfers Nick Zelie and Vance Brown finishing 1st and 4th in their conference.^{[citation needed]}

The Tennis program under coach Miikka Keronen has had considerable success in recent years. The Girls varsity team won the 4A State Championship in 2008. The Boys varsity team came in third at state in 2009 and second in 2010, taking first place at both #1 singles (Harrison Lang) and #2 singles (Michael Ogez), and third at #3 singles (Chris Gang) in 2010. ^[5]

Other athletic programs that Niwot offers include:

• Boys' and Girls' Basketball
• Boys' and Girls' Soccer
• Boys' and Girls' Swimming
• Boys' and Girls' Tennis
• Boys' and Girls' Volleyball
• Cheer Leading
• Cross Country
• Football
• Girls' Softball
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Track and Field
• Wrestling

Extra Curricular Activities

• Amnesty International
• Book Club
• Color Guard
• Dance Team
• Drama
• Economics Club
• Environmental Club
• FIRST Robotics (Team #1552)
• Forensics
• FRICH Newspaper (Forum for Research Into Communication History)
• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
• Glee Club
• Habitat for Humanity
• Key club
• Knowledge Master team
• National Honor Society
• The Niwot South Paw Newspaper
• Odyssey of the Mind (OM)
• Student Council
• Tech Crew
• Yearbook

Notable Alumni

Lauren Miller
Brian Dietzen
Kyle Axner - American Real Estate Investor

Zachary Armitstead - Human Being Extraordinaire

Notes

1. ^ http://nhs.stvrain.k12.co.us/School_Report.pdf
2. ^ http://www.stvrain.k12.co.us/schools/nhs/#history
3. ^ Longmont Daily Times-Call Dec 1972
4. ^ "Colorado High School Baseball Championship Games". http://chsaa.org/sports/baseball/pdf/bsblchscores.pdf. 
5. ^ http://longmontledger.com/longmont-sports/boys-tennis-lang-ogez-take-state-crowns-lead-niwot-to-second-place-overall/

Niwot High School Yearbook "Cougar Pride" 1973–present