Olathe North High School

Olathe North High School
Address
600 East Prairie Road Olathe, Kansas, 66061 United States
Information
School type	Public high school
Established	1883
School district	Unified School District 233
Principal	Dr. Connie Heinen
Grades	9-12
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Red and Royal Blue
Mascot	Eagles
Rival	Olathe Northwest High School
Website	School Website

Olathe North High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Olathe, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is one of four public high schools in the Olathe School District. The school colors are red and royal blue and the mascot is the Eagle. The fight song music closely resembles that of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Olathe North is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Eagles". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Notable alumni of the school include NFL running-back Darren Sproles.^[1]

History

Olathe North is the oldest of four high schools in Olathe, Kansas. The school was founded in 1883 as Olathe High School. The school moved to its current location in 1958 and changed its name to Olathe North High School in 1981. The mascot, school colors, and fight song of Olathe High were retained for Olathe North.

Changes through the years

The most recent addition includes a second floor added in order to make room for the admittance of freshmen to the school in the 2010-11 school year. Other recent updates include the 21st century classrooms, which are the home of the school's nationally renowned 21st Century programs. They offer classes such as Geosciences, Culinary Arts, Engineering, Video Game Design/Animation, and Sports Medicine. Many of these programs have curriculum written by the instructors. In addition to biology labs and replica doctor's offices for the study of sports medicine, North's 21st century wing includes a professional quality animation studio and news broadcasting station, which brings the school daily news reports and 2 TV stations. In addition, the Distinguished Scholar program offers students individualized lesson plans in the discipline of their choice. Distinguished Scholar areas include visual arts, political science, science, language arts, and math.

Extracurricular activities

The Eagles compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout its history, Olathe North has won thirteen state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.

Drama

Olathe North has an outstanding theater department, directed by Victor Dougherty for years (final school year 2009-2010). Along with productions of Once on This Island, Beauty and the Beast, Brigadoon, Olathe North premiered the regional production of Starmites.

Athletics

Football

Olathe North has won eight Kansas 6A State Championships (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2009) in football under the coaching of Gene Weir, John McCall and Pete Flood.^[2] No other Olathe school has won a state championship in football.^[2] Despite the success, Olathe North football has endured four coaching changes in the last six years. McCall became the head coach in 2003, when Weir took the football head coaching position at Richland High School in Texas. After leading the Eagles for two years, McCall accepted an assistant coaching position on Wier's staff. David Bassore was announced head coach in 2005 and led the Eagles to a 6-5 record and a district championship. In March 2006, just two weeks after announcing his resignation as head coach, Bassore died in a car accident. Pete Flood took the reins in 2006, and guided the Eagles to a 10-2 record in 2007. The Eagles were one game away from the state championship, only to lose to Olathe South at sub-state. The 2007 version of the Eagles was led by a strong senior class, including John Chmiel, and quarterback Jake Catloth. The 2009 Eagles won the 6A state championship on Saturday, November 28, 2009, vs. Wichita Heights. November 27, 2010, Olathe North played Wichita Heights at State losing.

Many Olathe North graduates have gone on to have successful collegiate and professional careers, including Darren Sproles, Arland Bruce III, and Kit Pellow.

State championships

State Championships[3]
Season	Sport	Number of Championships	Year
Fall	Football	8	1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009
	Soccer, Boys	1	1988
Spring	Baseball	1	1989
	Softball	2	1984, 1989
	Track & Field, Boys	1	2005
Total		13

The Olathe North Eaglette Drill/Dance Team

The Olathe North Eaglette Dance Team is the oldest drill team in the Olathe District. In 1996, the Eaglettes received 1st Place at the American Dance/Drill Team National Championships, under the direction of Dalene Moomau. The 2007-2008 Eaglettes traveled to Orlando, Florida for the National Dance Association National Championships for the first time ever. The team won 4th Place in the Large Varsity Jazz Division for their routine to "Bingo Bango". The 2008-2009 Eaglettes are under the direction of Sara Heptig, with assistance by Lisa Claudel and Jessica Brown.

Notable alumni

• Arland Bruce III, current football player for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Richard Hickock, an ex-convict legally executed by law in 1965 for executing the Clutter family in 1959.
• Eniak Mpwo, former track & field standout for the University of Arizona.^[4]
• Kit Pellow, current professional baseball player for the Saltillo Saraperos of the Mexican League, and for the Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón in the Pacific Mexican League, former Kansas City Royals player ^[5]
• Darren Sproles, current running back and kick/punt returner for the New Orleans Saints, former Kansas State All-American running back^[1]

See also

• Olathe Unified School District
• Other Olathe High Schools:
  • Olathe East High School
  • Olathe Northwest High School
  • Olathe South High School

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Darren Sproles" (English). http://scorecenter.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=8544. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "KSHSAA Football" (English). http://www.kshsaa.org/FOOTBALL/fbchmp.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "State Records & State Champions" (English). http://catchitkansas.com/Global/category.asp?C=112444. Retrieved 2010-02-05. 
4. ^ "Eniak Mpwo" (English). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1009219/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-30. 
5. ^ "Kit Pellow" (English). http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pelloki01.shtml?redir. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 

External links

	Schools portal
	Kansas portal
	Education portal

• Official school website
• Olathe School District