Blue Valley Northwest High School

Blue Valley Northwest High School
Address
13260 Switzer Road Overland Park, Kansas, 66213 United States
Coordinates	38.8883429°N 94.7029056°W / 38.8883429; -94.7029056
Information
School type	Public, High School
Established	1993
School district	USD 229
CEEB Code	172296
Principal	Dr. Amy Murphy
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,701
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Purple, Black and White
Mascot	Huskies
Rivals	Blue Valley North Blue Valley West
Newspaper	The Express
Website	School Website

Blue Valley Northwest High School (BVNW) is a high school in Overland Park, Kansas. It is part of the Blue Valley Unified School District. Blue Valley Northwest is one of several schools located within the city limits of Overland Park. The school colors are purple, black, and white. In the 2009 Newsweek ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States, Blue Valley Northwest was ranked #364, the highest in the district and the state. The school has been ranked in the top 700 since 2005. In 2010, Blue Valley Northwest was selected as one of the six finalists for the first annual Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Education under the Obama administration. The current enrollment is approximately 1,700 students.^{[citation needed]}

Blue Valley Northwest is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs, including eating. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Huskies". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Notable alumni include Olympic gold-medalist, Christie Ambrosi.

Academics

Ten courses, mainly for motivated freshmen and sophomores, are designated as "Honors" classes. In addition, nineteen Advanced Placement courses for college credit are offered. Students taking Honors or Advanced Placement courses receive weighted GPAs.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Blue Valley Northwest students achieved an average ACT score of 24.8 out of 36 and an average SAT score of 1772 out of 2400. The class of 2009 also had seven National Merit Finalists and eleven National Advanced Placement Scholars, both by far the highest in the district.

Extracurricular activities

The Huskies compete in the Eastern Kansas League and are classified as a 6A-5A school according to the KSHSAA. Throughout its history, Blue Valley Northwest has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.^{[citation needed]}

State championships

State Championships
Season	Sport	Number of Championships	Year
Fall	Soccer, Boys	1	2006
	Volleyball	3	1996, 1997, 2000
	Cross Country, Girls	1	2007
Winter	Swimming and Diving, Boys	2	1994, 1996
	Swimming and Diving, Girls	4	1995, 1996, 1997, 2008
Spring	Golf, Boys	1	2003
	Tennis, Boys	1	2002
	Tennis, Girls	2	2000, 2001
	Soccer, Girls	1	2011
Total		16

Orchestra

BVNW's orchestra has received a 1 (the best) ranking every year the school has been open. Students in the orchestra also have auditioned and represented the BVNW in local, state, and national orchestras.^{[citation needed]}

Yearbook and Newspaper

The school's yearbook is called Horizon, the newspaper is called "The Express", the school broadcast news program is called Husky Headlines and the school's literary magazine is called The Muse. The Horizon and Husky Headlines have been nominated for several Pacemaker awards, and in 2004, under editors Lauren Luhrs, Julia Wald, and Kaitlin Harrell, the "Horizon" won the Pacemaker Award, the only time a Blue Valley publication has received the honor. The school newspaper, The Express is a member of the High School National Ad Network. At the April 2007 JEA conference in Denver, "The Express" was voted the number one newsmagazine.^{[citation needed]} At the November 2007 JEA conference in Philadelphia, the newsmagazine was rated sixth.^{[citation needed]}

Conferences

• The school hosted the National Association of Student Councils (NASC) Conference in June 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Notable alumni

• Christie Ambrosi, a member of the 2000 Olympic USA softball team, which won the gold medal.
• Mike Dennison, Baseball, All-Sun Country Player of the Year (1999), pitched 4 years at Wichita State University and 2 years in the Boston Red Sox organization.
• Arash Ferdowsi, co-founder of Dropbox file hosting service.
• Bryce Holt, author of the suspense thriller series, The Red School Series: Red School, Little Island, and Children of Moloch.^{[citation needed]}
• Michael McMillian (Class of 1997), actor known for his roles as Henry Gibson on What I Like About You and Steve Newlin on True Blood.
• Adrianne Verhoeven, Josh Berwanger, and Justin Roelofs, three members of the indie rock group The Anniversary.

See also

• Blue Valley Unified School District
• Other Blue Valley High Schools:
  • Blue Valley High School
  • Blue Valley North High School
  • Blue Valley Southwest High School
  • Blue Valley West High School

External links

School

• School Website
• District Website

State

• Kansas State Department Of Education, KSDE
• Kansas State High School Activities Association, KSHSAA

Maps

• Blue Vally School District Boundary Map
• Johnson County Map, KDOT