Curtis Senior High School

For the school of the same name in Staten Island, see Curtis High School.

George R. Curtis Senior High School
Established	1957
Type	Public secondary
Principal	David Hammond
Asst. Principal	Jeff Johnson Juanita Stone
Students	1342 as of 2010
Grades	10–12
Location	University Place, Washington, United States
District	University Place School District
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Blue and White
Mascot	Vikings
Website	[1]

Curtis Senior High School is a public high school located in University Place, Washington.

Curtis Senior High School is a part of the University Place School District and the only high school in the district. The school's namesake comes from the former UPSD Superintendent George R. Curtis. Opened in 1957 as a joint Junior-Senior High School at the corner of 40th and Grandview. In 1969 a high school facility was built about 500 yards east of the junior high that then extended up 40th Street. After this the original site became just a junior high school. In 2009 the original junior high was torn down and a new facility was built about 400 yards northeast of that site.

History/Current Layout

Both facilities featured several buildings (i.e. 400 building, 200 building etc.)The buildings that remain today from the original 1969 high school are the 200 building (home to some foreign language and social studies classes), the 100 building which houses administrative offices, the theater, and the performing arts rooms. In addition to these the 500 building in the northeast corner of the high school still is used for ceramics and health even though carshop and woodshop classes have been discontinued. Newer additions have been added with the main, two story 400 building added in the mid 90's. This building houses math classes, lab sciences, some history classes and the lunchroom and library.

Activities

Curtis has the following clubs:

• Anime Club
• ASB
• Curtis Companions
• Dance Team
• Dance Blast
• Environmental Club
• Fashion Club
• Future Business Leaders of America
• Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)
• FCCLA Chef's Club
• French Club
• Gay Straight Alliance
• Honor Society
• Key Club
• Knowledge Bowl
• MAC Scholars (Minority Achievement Committee)
• Math Club
• Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
• Photography Club
• Polynesian Club
• Spanish Club
• Sports Medicine Club

The school's ASB is the student council.

Academics

Curtis has a rigorous curriculum with graduation standards that exceed state requirements. The school offers many Advanced Placement classes such as US History, Chemistry, Physics, Government, Foreign Languages, and English.

Athletics

‎Curtis has traditionally been a strong sports school with sustained success over the years. Since 1957 the boys basketball, football, boys swimming, boys and girls water polo, boys lacrosse, boys golf, and boys cross country teams have all taken first at least once at the state tournament.

Sports offered at Curtis

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Cheerleading
• Cross Country
• Football
• Golf
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swim/Dive
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Wrestling

Curtis at State

• 1971: Boys Basketball (1st)
• 1973: Boys Cross Country (1st)
• 1974: Boys Golf (1st) *1977: Boys Wrestling (2nd) Boys Cross Country (1st)
• 1983: Boys Basketball (3rd)
• 1984: Boys Basketball (3rd)
• 1985: Boys Basketball (2nd)
• 1986: Boys Basketball (2nd)
• 1987: Boys Swimming (2nd)
• 1989: Football(1st)
• 1990: Football (1st)
• 1992: Boys Swim and Dive (1st)
• 1993: Boys Swimming (2nd)
• 1994: Boys Lacrosse (1st), Boys Swimming (2nd)
• 1995: Football (1st)
• 1996: Football (1st)
• 1997: Girls Swimming (2nd)
• 1998: Boys Soccer (3rd), Girls Soccer (2nd)
• 1999: Boys Swimming: (2nd)
• 2000: Boys Swim and Dive (6th), Boys Track and Field (7th)
• 2001: Boys Swimming (2nd)
• 2002: Boys Track and Field (4th), Boys Lacrosse (1st)
• 2003: Girls Track and Field (1st), Boys Soccer (4th), Boys Lacrosse (2nd)
• 2004: Girls Track and Field (1st)
• 2005: Girls Track and Field (6th)
• 2006: Girls Softball (7th), Boys Basketball (6th), Boys Swim and Dive (6th), Boys Track and Field (6th), Boys Water Polo (1st)
• 2007: Boys Water Polo (1st), Girls Water Polo (1st)
• 2008: Volleyball (5th) , Boys Water Polo (1st), Girls Water Polo (1st)
• 2009: Volleyball (2nd), Boys Water Polo (2nd), Girls Track (2nd), Girls Water Polo (1st)
• 2010: Boys Water Polo (1st), Football (3rd), Girls Water Polo (2nd)
• 2011: Boys Basketball (2nd), Girls Water Polo (2nd), Boys Water Polo (3rd), Volleyball (3rd)

Athletic Facilities

For athletic facilities Curtis has a stadium, pool and large gym that reside in between the high school and original junior high site. The gym opened in 69' and had a north south layout. Torn down in the spring of 2009, a new gym was built in its place. Opened in February of 2010this gym features a large glass lobby, entirely new locker room and weight lifting facilities and a gym with a capacity of 2,000 that runs east west. Currently the Curtis pool (opened in the mid 70's) is also undergoing renovation. Expansion in the form of advanced timing systems, more lanes and a newer facility will benefit the students of Curtis greatly. The pool, while still under construction, has a tentative opening date of December 2011. The third facility is the football field, Viking Stadium. Designed to seat several thousand this stadium was opened in the mid 1980's. It replaced the need to use an older grass field at the junior high site. All Curtis teams play at these sites with the exception of golf, tennis, baseball and bowling.

Daffodil Festival

Every year, Curtis participates in the Pierce County Daffodil Festival. A competition is held in-house to select the Curtis princess, who goes on to compete against other regional schools for the Daffodil Festival Queen title. The Queen title is considered the highest honor of the regional festival. The Curtis band accompanies the float of the Curtis princess each year in the April parade.

Past Curtis Daffodil Festival queens

• Paula Nelson, 1979
• Minina Faustina 1985
• Heidi Johnson, 1988
• Allison Porter, 1998
• Mollie Ruiz, 2006
• Claire Flemming, 2011

Notable alumni

• Gary Larson - Author of The Far Side
• Cindy Brunson - SportsCenter anchor on ESPN
• Singor Mobley - Professional football player
• Beau Baldwin - Head Football Coach of Eastern Washington University

Theater

Past Musicals:

• 1981-82: Pippin
• 1982-83: Pirates of Penzance
• 1983-84: Guys and Dolls
• 2008-09: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• 2009-10: The Wizard of Oz^{[disambiguation needed ]}
• 2010-11: Cinderella
• 2011-12: The Little Shop of Horrors

References

External links

• Curtis NJROTC
• Daffodil Festival website

A, B, Independent Classifications
1A Conferences Nisqually: Cascade Christian Cougars Cedar Park Christian (FOOTBALL ONLY) • Charles Wright • Chimacum • Life Christian • Orting Cardinals • Port Townsend Redskins (FOOTBALL ONLY) • Seattle Christian • Vashon Island Pirates  1B Conferences North Olympic: Clallam Bay • Crescent • Neah Bay  Independent Auburn Adventist Falcons • Tacoma School of the Arts 1A (MUSIC ONLY)