Sylvan Hills High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Sylvan Hills High School
established = 1962
type = Public secondary
principal = Danny Ebbs
faculty = 70
students = approx. 1,100
mascot = Bear
colors = Blue and White color box|bluecolor box|white
city = Sherwood
state = Arkansas
country = USA
website = [http://www.pcssdweb.k12.ar.us/shhs/ pcssdweb.k12.ar.us/shhs/] | grades = 9-12
average ACT scores (2005) = 18.8 math, 20 english
address = 484 Bear Paw Road
newspaper = "The Banner"
yearbook = "The Bruin"

Sylvan Hills High School is a public secondary school located in Sherwood, Arkansas for students in grades nine through twelve. Sylvan Hills is administered by the Pulaski County Special School District. Founded in 1962, since that year the school has been accreditated by the North Central Association (NCA) Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI).

Academics

College preparatory offerings include Advanced Placement classes with opportunities for college credit and concurrent credit for college courses along with business and vocational offerings including building trades, cosmetology, and Cisco Systems network training which leads to certification. Sylvan Hills also offers EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) classes which are designed to help the school and community using state of the art technology. Sylvan Hills also serves special needs students with a full range of special education courses.

Math and Science

Courses that are available include: Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Physical Science, Environmental Science, Physics, and AP Chemistry. Offering in mathematics include: algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.

ocial Sciences and Studies

Students may take courses in American History and European History, both offered as AP classes as well.

Language Arts

Courses in English I through IV, Pre-AP English I, AP English III, and oral communication are available along with Spanish and French.

Journalism

Sylvan Hills students may take classes in journalism and creative writing and produce an award-winning student newspaper (The "Banner") and yearbook (The "Bruin"). Sylvan Hills is a member of the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association (ASPA), which provides an opportunity to compete in individual and school contests, seminars, and workshops. In 2005, Daniel Gallegos received several awards for his work in the sports department. In 2006, the ASPA honored editor Andrew Reynolds with its Editor of the Year award (He was also the school's valedictorian for the graduating class of 2007).Fact|date=December 2007 Other staff members of the 2006- 2007 Banner staff included Kenny Bir, Cameron Luth, and Tyler Thomason. All of whom were also awarded with multiple "Superior" honors for various newspaper categories at the annual ASPA conference in the Spring of 2007. Gallegos, Reynolds, Bir, and Thomason went on to pursue careers in journalism, while Luth ventured into the finance/business world.

Fine Arts

Students may participate in various musical and performing arts including: band (e.g., concert band, jazz band), choir (e.g., a cappella, barbershop quartet, beautyshop quartet) and theater (e.g., competitive speech, drama, stagecraft).

The Sylvan Hills Marching Bear Band and Concert Choir are both locally known for their numerous awards and 1st division ratings over the years, as well as the competitive speech team.

Honor societies

Sylvan Hills encourages academic excellence through several honor society organizations, including math (Mu Alpha Theta); science (Science National Honor Society (SNHS)); vocal and instrumental music (Tri-M Music Honor Society); journalism (Quill and Scroll Society); and Spanish, in addition to National Honor Society and National Beta Club. It also has recently opened a new chapter of the drama honor society [International Thespian Society] .

EAST Initiative

Since 2003, Sylvan Hills has participated in the EAST Initiative, a project-based, service-learning class that provides students with high-end information technology that creates an educational atmosphere that allows them to gain insight into their own abilities to acquire and use information, solve problems, and gain valuable experience on their way to becoming life-long learners. The [http://www.eastproject.org/ EAST Initiative] began in 1996 in a single classroom in rural Arkansas and has since grown to over 230 schools in six states

Athletics

Sylvan Hills Bears have a strong tradition in athletics with seven baseball state championships [http://www.ahsaa.org/activity.asp?aID=12 Arkansas Activities Association Record Book] [http://www.ahsaa.org/2004-2005%20Champions.PDF AHSAA 2004-2005 Champions] , one football state championship [http://www.ahsaa.org/2005%20Football%20Playoff%20Guide.pdf Arkansas Activities Association] , two girl's track and field state championship [http://www.ahsaa.org/2002-2003%20Champions.PDF AHSAA 2002-2003 Champions] [http://www.ahsaa.org/2003-2004%20Champions.PDF AHSAA 2003-2004 Champions] , two girl's golf state championships, one girl's slow pitch softball state championship [http://www.ahsaa.org/1999-2000%20State%20Champions.htm AHSAA 2000-2001 Champions] , and several national cheerleading titles [http://www.nationalspirit.com/page.asp?aid=62 National Cheerleading Association: 2000 National Champions (Super Large Varsity)] [http://www.cheerwca.com/05-06SquadRankings.PDF 2005-2006 WCA National Cheerleading & Dance Championships] [http://www.cheerwca.com/ChampionsMember.aspx?mid=61 World Cheerleading Association Super Large Varsity Level 5] . Competition is primarily sanctioned by the Arkansas Activities Association.

National and state championship seasons

* 2008: Boys Baseball State Champion
* 2006: WCA National Cheerleading Champion (Super Large Varsity Level 5); NCA National Cheerleading Champion (Super Large Varsity)
* 2005: Boys Baseball State Champion; ASC National Cheerleading Champion (Super Large Varsity)
* 2004: Girls Track and Field State Champion
* 2003: Girls Track and Field State Champion; Boys Baseball State Champion
* 2001: Girls Slow Pitch Softball State Champion
* 2000: NCA National Cheerleading Champion (Super Large Varsity)
* 1981: Girls Golf State Champion
* 1980: Class AAAA Football State Champion
* 1979: Girls Golf State Champion
* 1977: Girls Volleyball State Champion
* 1968: Boys Golf State Champion
* 1965: Boys Baseball State Champion

Community

In 2003, Sylvan Hills was one of ten schools recognized as a Arkansas Weyerhaeuser Recycling Award Winner for its Be Educated About Recycling (BEAR) program. [http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/solwaste/branch_recycling/pdfs/2003_ark_wey_recycling_award_winners.pdf 2003 Arkansas Weyerhaeuser Recycling Award Winners (PDF)]

Notable alumni

*Kevin McReynolds ('78), former Major League Baseball player
*Don Baker ('83), Ph.D., emerging political scientist
* Michael V. Taylor ('85), U.S. Army Major killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom [http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2507422.html MilitaryTimes.com: Honor the fallen]
*Terry Tiffee ('97), Major League Baseball player
*Wes Bentley ('96), film actor; most famous role in American Beauty
*Michael Finnell, film actor; was mostly known for O Brother, Where Art Thou? and 21 Grams

References

External links

* [http://www.pcssdweb.k12.ar.us/shhs/ Sylvan Hills High School]
* [http://www.pcssd.org/shhs/eastwebsite/ Sylvan Hills' EAST Initiative website]
* [http://www.pcssdweb.k12.ar.us/ Pulaski County Special School District]
* [http://www.ahsaa.org/ Arkansas Activities Association]
* [http://www.shhs98.com/ Sylvan Hills High School Class of 1998]