Bentonville High School

Bentonville High School is a public high school in Bentonville, Arkansas, for grades 9 through 12. Student population is approximately 3000 in 2006-2007 with the addition of the freshmen class to the campus. The current principal of the high school is Steve Jacoby.

Facilities

The performing arts center is known as the Arend Arts Center, host to the annual Northwest Arkansas Music Festival. A small and lesser known location on school grounds is the green house, which contains an interesting array of plants ranging from native ones found in the ozarks to rare tropical species. Recently, a new building was added to the high school in order to facilitate the new students coming into the high school from the two junior high schools. It also hosts an band program led by the Gale family.

Academics

The school has switched from a traditional high school curriculum to an academy, or small learning community. There are five SLC's(small learning communities) that students are in. Freshman Learning Community, which all freshman are in is included to help for transition into SLC'sOnce in 10th grade, there are four options which are IMPACT, SCRUBS, STEAM and VPAC.More information is available right here [http://users.bentonville.k12.ar.us/bhs/slc.asp]

BHS also offers a wide variety of courses, including 19 Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

In 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007 Bentonville High School is increasingly ranked in the top 10 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/education/challenge/2005/challengeindex09.html WashingtonPost.com: Newsweek Top 1200 US Schools] best high schools in the nation according to the Newsweek magazine's Top 1200 US Schools. Public schools are ranked according to a ratio called the Challenge Index.

In April 2007, Bentonville High School was approved as an International Baccalaureate World School. This form of learning is the hardest curriculum in the U.S. for any public high school. In the 2007-2008 school year only 16 juniors signed up with the strict program of in-depth studies and strict homework assignments.

BHS is one of two high schools in Arkansas that is a recipient of the Blue Ribbon School award in 2007. This prestigious award was only given to 33 schools in the nation.

Fine Arts

Bentonville High School has an exceptional choral program under the direction of head director,Terry Hicks and assistant directors, Kayla Abernathy and Ken Griggs. The Chamber Choir won the 2007 "Best in Show" award at the All-State Choir Festival, and the A Cappella Choir was ranked the third in the state. The Chamber Choir also traveled to New York City in March 2007 to sing at Carnegie Hall in the 4th annual National High School Choral Festival. This experience was chronicled in a two part series on National Public Radio. Other choirs at BHS include Chamber Choir and A Cappella SATB, Women's A Cappella Choir, Concert Men, Concert Women, Harmony, and four freshman choirs under the direction of BHS Ninth grade choir director, Ken Griggs. The Bentonville High School band, led by Rebecca and Gary Gale, performed at the 2006 Fiesta Bowl in Arizona and will be performing in Disney World this summer.Bentonville High School is also known for its remarkable drama program which, under the direction of Brooke Morrell-Smith, produces at least three exceptional shows a year. In the spring of 2007 the program produced All Shook Up and was one of the first high schools in the country to perform this exciting Broadway hit. It was met with rave reviews from members of the community.

Traditions

Fight SongHail to the TigersThe mighty, mighty TigersRise up and fight with prideTo honor black and goldWe are the TigersThe mighty, mighty TigersStand up and cheerT-I-G-E-R-S
Bentonville march onTo victory
Alma MaterFrom o'er the shiningOzarks to plains andOceans wide.Your walls will alwaysBeckon me.A symbol of devotion todays we hold most dear.An anchor for our loyalty.Thru years of joys andSorrow your lessonsWill hold true,Our thoughts of BHS willGuide us on.Our tasks will be muchLighter as ages roll along,To you our alma materPledge we now ourLove to you.

The Running of the Colors

At the beginning of the 2006 American football season Bentonville's Principal Steve Jacoby thought that the new stadium needed a new tradition to lead it into the season. New Head Coach Lunney was in agreement and it was decided that the team would be lead on to the field from the field house by three students bearing flags with the letters B, H, and S and them. The running of the colors was met with unexpected success and excitement. The crowd loved it and the tradition was continued beyond the graduation of its three first members and into the 2007 season.

The Bentonville-Rogers Rivalry

Bentonville's fiercest rival are the cross-county neighbors of Rogers High School whose mascot is known as the "Mountie". The Tigers traditionally play the Mounties as the first and last regular season soccer game, and the first and last conference basketball game. The match-up between the two schools American football teams is the most heated of athletic events. The games are always met with high security and even higher tensions due to the intense school spirit from both sides and an always inflated game attendance. Bentonville High School won the 07-08 game. Many worry that the rivalry will end this year do to a second high school opening in Rogers.

Vandalism Controversy

In the past five years the cities of Bentonville and Rogers, AR have been raising security levels due to an increased amount of vandalism by students of both schools. During the 2004 season a pair of RHS cheerleaders were picked up for spray painting the RHS logo onto a street in Bentonville. In the 2005 season RHS students attempted to burn the letters RHS into the Bentonville football field but the effort was thwarted by the Bentonville Police Department. The worst case of vandalism came in 2006 when Bentonville High School students who still remain unknown today, broke into the Rogers Public School Bus depot and spray painted all of the windows of the buses black. The act caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage and has led to road blocks between the borders of Bentonville and Rogers during to week of the game. In the weeks following the incident, an anonymous donor gave a large sum of money to Rogers High School enough to pay for the damages. Whether these events are related are up for debate.

Overcrowding debate

In 2007, the Bentonville School District administrators began talking about building either a new high school or a freshman center, due to the amount of new students being higher than previously expected. It is still unknown which choice has been made.

Notable alumni

* John T. Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton

* Jeremy R. Eldred, awarded 4 Air Medals in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Joint Forge. Currently has over 600 combat hours in the C-130.

References

External links

* [http://users.bentonville.k12.ar.us/bhs Bentonville High School website]
* [http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/3809 PublicSchoolReview.com Bentonville High School profile]