Keene High School

Infobox_School
name = Keene High School
established = 1828
motto = "Veritas Per Scientiam" " (Latin translation "Truth Through Knowledge")
type = Public high school
principal = Alan Chmiel
enrollment = Approx. 1,800 (as of 2007-08)
faculty = 134.5 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 13.5
nickname = Blackbirds
location = 43 Arch Street Keene, NH 03431
information = 603-352-0640
website = [http://www.keene.k12.nh.us www.keene.k12.nh.us]

Keene High School (KHS) is a public high school located in Keene, New Hampshire. It serves the city of Keene and the surrounding towns of Chesterfield, Harrisville, Marlborough, Marlow, Nelson, Westmoreland and Winchester.

The Cheshire Career Center, a co-curricular and community education center, is also located in the South Annex of the building.

Other area high schools include: Monadnock Regional High School (MRHS), Contoocook Valley Regional High School (ConVal), Conant High School, and Fall Mountain Regional High School.

As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of approx. 1,800 students and 134.5 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 13.5. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3304050&ID=330405000202 Keene High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed October 27, 2007.]

Mission statement

The school's mission statement is inscribed at the main entrance beneath the school seal:

"The Mission of Keene High School is to provide each student with the tools to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world." [ [http://www.keene.k12.nh.us/ Home page] , Keene High School. Accessed October 9, 2007.]

Awards and recognition

Teacher Kelly Budd was recognized in 1999 as a winner of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards for work that included a ninth-grade unit on the Holocaust that culminated in a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. for the entire freshman class. [ [http://www.mff.org/mea/mea.taf?page=recipient&meaID=2263 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards] , accessed March 20, 1999]

Keene High School was winner of the 2002 International Envirothon title, a high school environmental competition, defeating 47 teams from high schools across the United States and Canada. [ [http://www.nhpr.org/node/3567 Keene Envirothon Team Returns Triumphant] , New Hampshire Public Radio, August 7, 2002] [ [http://www.des.state.nh.us/press/archive/2004/press051304_envirothon.htm New Hampshire Students Set to Compete in the 2004 Envirothon At Saint Anselm College in Manchester] , New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services press release dated May 13, 2004. "In 2002, the Keene High School team bested 47 other teams from Canada and the U.S. to win the Canon International Envirothon title!"] The Keene team won the New Hampshire Envirothon competition in 2006, then placed 12th overall in the North American competition. The 2007 team won as well, and are heading to nationals in July. [ [http://www.nhacd.org/envirothon.htm New Hampshire Envirothon] , accessed March 10, 2007.]

Courses

On average, 200 courses are taught each school year, pending involvement from staff and students.

Administration

The school is under the administration of the New Hampshire School Administrative Unit No. 29 (SAU 29) which is located on West Street, in downtown Keene.

Within the school, there is a Main Office, Guidance Office, Health Office, Department Offices and "House Offices". The Houses are arranged in groups of students, alphabetically. There are four house offices: Blue, Green, Gold and Red.

Departments

There are 10 curricular departments:
*Social Studies
*World Language
*Science
*English
*Fine Arts
*Life Education
*Special Education
*Physical Education
*Technology Education
*Business Education

Music

KHS is an award-winning school for music. It has two choirs: the Concert Chorus and the A Cappella Choir. It has two concert bands: Freshman Concert Band and the -Senior Concert Band. It also has three Jazz bands: the Freshman Jazz Group, which is consisted of small combos,the Jazz Band (less experienced), which is a combo/small band, and the Jazz Ensemble (more experienced, which is a big band. The Jazz Ensemble is the focus of many local Jazz concerts.

In addition to the performing classes, there are courses in Music History, Music Theory, Beginning Piano, Intermediate Piano, and Beginning Guitar.

Each May, the Keene High Music Department hosts the variety show, "Nostalgia", which is one of the most attended events in the Keene Area.

Athletics

2006 was a successful year for the Keene High School sports teams, with the Boys Swimming and Diving winning the state championship over Oyster River High School 235-135, and the girls winning the Division I cross-country skiing championship over Concord High School. The boys ski team was runner-up to state champion Concord High School in both the Division I Alpine and Division I Cross Country. [ [http://nhiaa.org/PDFs/1047/2006_Spring_STATOR.pdf NHIIAA 2005-06 WINTER CHAMPIONS] , "New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association Stator", Spring 2006, p. 9.]

The boys baseball team won back-to-back Class L state championships in 1996 and 1997, winning their second in a row with a 12-5 win over Merrimack High School in the championship game. [ [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADDD234511346A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM KEENE IS TOO BUSY WINNING TO THINK ABOUT REBUILDING BLACKBIRDS ARE IN THICK OF TITLE FIGHT AGAIN] , "Boston Globe", May 31, 1998. "Take the Keene High School baseball team, which graduated some key players after winning a second straight Class L championship last spring."]

Keene High School's Dave Minickiello retired in 1999 after 31 years as the school's wrestling coach, having led the team to nine state titles and a New England crown, having coached seven New England individual champion wrestlers and winning more than 60 New Hampshire state championships. ["Keene High's pioneering coach retires Minickiello got wrestling started", "Boston Globe", March 7, 1999. pg. 14.]

Activities

43 student clubs and activities are listed on the school's website. The oldest club is the Ushers club; the Drama club is one of the largest. An unofficial Assassins guild, mentioned on local radio station WKNE, also exists.

cheduling

Keene High School is based on a block scheduling system. There are four blocks in a school day. Each block is 87 minutes long. Classes switch during the second semester. There is a 6 minute transition between classes. Between first and second blocks there is a 5 minute homeroom.

Languages

Keene High offers three foreign language courses:
* French
** French, I, II, III, IV, IV Honors, V, and AP French
* Spanish
** Spanish For Beginners, Spanish I, II, III, IV, V, and AP Spanish
* Latin
** Latin I, II, Latin Poetry, and Latin Prose

Visiting speakers

Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at the school on February 11, 2007. [ [http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2007021201040 Clinton stumps nearby at Keene High School] , "The Dartmouth", February 12, 2007]
Wesley Clark spoke at the school in the run-up to the 2004 New Hampshire primary. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2004-01-09-clark-climb_x.htm Clark catching on with voters as contests near] , "USA Today", January 8, 2004]

During the 1992 Presidential Primaries, future president Bill Clinton spoke at the school and entertained questions from selected students.Fact|date=March 2008

During the 1976 primaries President of the United States Gerald Ford spoke at Keene High School, in his efforts to stave off an incipient challenge from Ronald Reagan. ["FORD INTENSIFIES ATTACK ON REAGAN; However, Aides Minimize New Hampshire Vote", "The New York Times", February 20, 1976. p. 13.]

United States Senator George McGovern spoke at the school during the run-up to the 1972 Democratic New Hampshire primary, in his ultimately successful bid to win the party's nomination for President. ["McGovern to Remake Robert Kennedy Tape", "The New York Times", February 17, 1972. p. 24.]

In the spring of 2007, Holocaust survivor and author David Faber gave a presentation to the entire student body regarding his experiences in Nazi Germany. ["The Keene Sentinel", April, 2007. p. 1]

Post Education

On average, seventy percent of the Keene High School graduating class attends some sort of post education.

Notable alumni

*John Bosa (1964-), former defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins. [ [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BOSAJOH01 John Bosa] , database Football. Accessed January 14, 2008.]
*James Cochran, skier and member of the U.S. Alpine Ski team competing for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics. [ [http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Jim+Fennell%3A+Cochran+readying+for+world+event&articleId=508c1807-fb02-4203-900f-bb6fff4c4b10 Jim Fennell: Cochran readying for world event] , "New Hampshire Union Leader", February 11, 2007. "Seven years ago, Jimmy was just worried about beating his brother Tom and the Harrington boys, Sean and Ryan, down the hill at Pat's Peak as part of the Keene High School ski team."]
*Jonathan Daniels, Episcopal seminarian killed during the civil rights movement. [Sanborn, Karen. [http://www.sentinelsource.com/main.asp?SectionID=49&SubSectionID=675&ArticleID=77028 "Remembering Jonathan Daniels: Part 1"] , "The Keene Sentinel", August 11, 2005. Accessed January 14, 2008.]
*Heather Wilson (1960-), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing ushr|New Mexico|1|. She is the first woman veteran ever elected to the United States Congress. [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000789 Heather Wilson Congressional biography] , accessed March 20, 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.keene.k12.nh.us Keene High School Official site]
* [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/nh/226 Keene High School Web page at Great Schools Web site]
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3304050&ID=330405000202 Keene High School] , National Center for Education Statistics