Fife High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Fife High School
established = 1899
type = Public secondary
principal = Mark Knight
contact = 253.517.1100
mascot = Trojans
colors = Blue and Gold
city = Fife
state = Washington,
country = USA
website = [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/]
grades = 10–12
address = 5616-20th St. E

Fife High School is located in the small town Fife, Washington. FHS is the only high school in the Fife Public Schools system. [Fife High School (2007). [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/index.html Fife High School] Retrieved February 7, 2007.]

History

Fife High School initially consisted of the upper grades, of the general Fife School, founded in 1899. The high school was officially separated from the lower grades in 1930, when the new high school building was completed. [Fife High School: A Historical Perspective (2007). [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/history/intro.html] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] At that time, the official school colors of Royal Blue and Gold were chosen.

Due to its proximity to the Puget Sound, Fife High, as well as the rest of Fife, rest very close to the water table. With the frequent heavy rains of Washington, the school grounds often flood due to poor drainage. Remedied

Traditions

Cabbage Patch

From the roots of Fife's agricultural economy, the Cabbage Patch Olympics [Cabbage Patch (2007). [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/activities/asb/CabbagePatchOlympics20042005.htm] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] were born in 1980. [Olympics Founding (2007). [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/history/1980.html] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] These field games were named in honor of the many cabbage fields, which until the 00's, were still very prominent in the landscape. The Olympics occur every September as an inter-class competition, as the finale of the fall Associated Student Body (A.S.B) Week. Held in the football stadium, the competition consists of numerous events, most notably: The cabbage throw, Hula Hoop pass, tug of war, and pyramid building. Each class (sophomore, junior and senior) is awarded points for each event, tallied on large decorated posters. Points are also awarded for color unity (every class member wearing the class color), spirit, and mascot creativity. Traditionally, the class colors are Sophomore: White, Junior: Gold/Yellow, Senior: Blue. Each year a theme for the Olympics is chosen, Cartoon Characters for example, but the cabbage remains the overall emphasis each year. The only prizes for winning the Olympics are the substantial bragging rights, until the next year.

Daffodil Festival

Each year, Fife participates in the Pierce County Daffodil Festival, a regional tradition since 1933. As one of the first cities to participate, the high school holds particular standing as one of the longest represented schools in the annual parade. Each year a competition is held in the fall within the school, for the title of Fife Daffodil princess. Once selected, the Fife Princess joins other area school representatives in competition for the title of Daffodil Festival Queen. A prestigious regional award, Fife princesses often return to the parade as area celebrity alumni. At Fife High, every princess is professionally photographed, and her portrait is displayed alongside every other Fife princess in the school library, since the 1940s.

Every year, the Fife community builds a parade float, following the particular theme of the parade that year. All of the Fife princesses and the Fife Queen ride, accompanied by the high school band and dance team marching.

Notable alumni

*Edward (Ed) Jeffords (1945-2002), [Obituary, Tacoma News Tribune (September 1, 2002). [http://obitz.us/obits/Index%20J2/notesobit_j2_1155.txt] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] Former Texas Assistant Attorney General (served 1985-1992)

*Mark Emmert (1952- ) [Emmert Article (June 2004). [http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/june04/homecoming03.html] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] President, University of Washington.
Former Chancellor, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.

*Sarah Silvernail (1975- ) [WSU Hall of Fame (2007). [http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/wast/genrel/auto_pdf/silvernail-sarah-bio.pdf] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] Professional Volleyball Player (Switzerland), WSU (Washington State University) Athletic Hall-of-Fame: Volleyball

*Jake Wambold (1996- 2000 ) [Aiden Biography, MTV (2006). [http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/aiden/bio.jhtml] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] Founding member/guitarist, Aiden (punk band)

*Frank Dacca (?-) [General Election (2004). [http://co.pierce.wa.us/xml/abtus/ourorg/aud/elections/archives/gen2004/vp/dc3.pdf] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] Pierce County District Court Judge.

*Larry Brown (?- ) [Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association, Hall of Fame (1995). [http://www.washingtonwrestling.com/hall/hall.htm] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] Hall of Fame, Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association, 1995 Inductee

*Heidi Pasinetti (?- ), [Seahawks Cheerleaders (2000). [http://www.seahawks.com/SeaGals/History.aspx?id=12384] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] [Seahawks Cheerleaders (2001). [http://www.seahawks.com/SeaGals/History.aspx?id=12386] Retrieved February 7, 2007.] Former Seahawks NFL Cheerleader, aka "Sea Gals" (2000-2001)

Academics

Due to its small size, and the breadth of community it must serve, Fife has somewhat limited academic depth. However, the school is compensated through strong selected classes, such as calculus, physics, Spanish, German and its Honors classes, although AP and IB classes are absent.Within the recent decade, Fife has seen a surge of graduates attend college and university, including (but not limited to) the University of Washington, Washington State University, Pacific Luthern University, USC, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, Pepperdine, The Naval Academy, West Point, UPenn, and others.

Athletics

Fife competes as a 2A school in the Nisqually League. However, Fife previously competed as a 3A classified school in the Seamount League-Pierce County, Washington. Fife's rival in athletics is White River High School, in Buckley, Washington.

The Volleyball powerhouse

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Fife was the regional girls' volleyball powerhouse of the South Puget Sound region. This was due to the leadership of head coach Jan Kirk, still heading the program. During this time the team took 1st in 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, in state volleyball and placed in the top 4 from 1992-2001. [WIAA Volleyball [http://www.wiaa.com/history/school.aspx] Retrieved March 29, 2007.]

Fall

*Cheerleading
*Cross Country
*American football
*Tennis (men)
*Golf
*Soccer (women)
*Swimming (women)
*Volleyball

Winter

*Cheerleading
*Basketball (women)
*Basketball (men)
*Wrestling (men and women)

pring

*Baseball
*Softball
*Soccer (men)
*Tennis (women)
*Track

The arts

Fife High Schools administration has historically had a strained relationship with its art teachers, serious artistic students and community members. Although many schools are traditionally sports-oriented, the FHS arts programs are very well supported by the school district. The offerings of the school include:
*Band/Wind Ensemble
*Concert Choir
*Jazz Band
*Jazz Choir
*Drawing
*Pottery
*Drama
*Metalworking

The Jazz programs have exceptionally flourished, due to artisic director, Karl Sorenson. Both the jazz choir and band consistently place in the Top 3 of Clark College Jazz Festival, as well as the Envision Jazz Festival in Surrey, B.C, and the B.C. Interior Jazz Festival in Kelowna B.C, and the Clackamas Community College Jazz Festival. The Jazz groups are frequently assisted by Jack Halsey, alumni of the internationally known Kent-Meridian High School Jazz Band, UW graduate, and co-founer of the internationally famous Seattle group DoctorfunK. The concert groups are also well known and have received superior rating at the league concert band festivals. Famous alumni from this group include Jake Davison, founder of Aiden.

Since orchestra is not offered, students at Fife are encourage to participate in the Tacoma Youth Symphony, Seattle Youth Symphony, or Capital Area Youth Symphony (Olympia, Washington).

The Drama program is slowly burgeoning. There are two main concentrations of the program: classes and performances. At the high school, the drama program offers three classes: Beginning Acting, Advanced Drama, and Actor's Workshop. These classes allow many students to grow in their confidence and learn different aspects of acting, from improvisation to the Stanislavski System. The performances take place twice a year, with a dramatic performance in the fall and a musical in the spring. The musical is done in collaboration with the Columbia Junior High. The Drama program has received high praise for their performances, especially for their 2005-2006 fall drama, The Diary of Anne Frank, and their 2006-2007 fall drama, Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

References

External links

* [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/index.html Fife High School] (official site)
* [http://www.fifeschools.com/fhs/history/intro.html Fife High School: A Historical Perspective]