Bowie High School (Austin, Texas)

James Bowie High School
Address
4103 W Slaughter Lane Austin, Texas, USA
Information
Type	public comprehensive
Established	1988
School district	Austin Independent School District
Principal	Stephen Kane
Staff	243
Grades	9–12
Number of students	2,850 (2005); 3,000 (2010 estimate)
Color(s)	Black,      Red,      Silver
Athletics conference	UIL 15-AAAAA
Mascot	Bulldogs
Website	http://www.jbhs.org/

James Bowie High School is a public high school in southwest Austin, Texas. With an estimated student body of 3,000, and a campus sitting on 60 acres (240,000 m²), Bowie is the largest school in the Austin Independent School District and also the largest secondary school in Central Texas. The school was established in 1988 on land donated to the school district by Circle C Ranch, which again in 2011 donated 100 acres (400,000 m²) for athletic purposes. Until the 2005-2006 school year, Kent Ewing served as principal. Bowie has consistently produced a high percentage of college-bound graduates over the years.

School song

We grasp the hands and join to sing in the light,
Pride in performance leads us to glorious heights.
We strive for unity, displaying loyalty,
With fighting spirit we are James Bowie High

Lyrics by Jennifer Hart and her daughter, Alex Hart.

Academics

Bowie was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1992-93. Other awards include 2002 "Exemplary" School of Excellence by Texas Education Agency, 2002 "Gold Performance Acknowledgments" by Texas Education Agency, 2002 5 Star High School by Texas Monthly & National Center for Educational Accountability, and 2004 Recognized High School by Texas Education Agency.

Famous alumni

Michael (pictured) and Marcus Griffin graduated from Bowie.

• Twins Marcus and Michael Griffin played football for Bowie before playing for the University of Texas Longhorns and in the NFL.
• Bowie's basketball team is coached by Celester Collier. They starred in the 2006 film The Quiet.
• NCAA Basketball Class of 2008 Graduate Jeremy Green is a shooting guard for The University of Stanford Cardinal Basketball Team.
• Stephen Randolph, former Major League Baseball player and current pitcher for the Yokohama BayStars of NPB.
• Amber Collins, Ms. New York USA 2011 and broker for The Trump Organization.

Band Program

The James Bowie High School Outdoor Performing Ensemble is under the direction of Kim Shuttlesworth with assistance from Amy Suggs, Ryan Thomas and Stephen Howard. The JBHSOPE has gone to many regional and national events. The band has attended BOA San Antonio annually since 2001, their highest ranking being second in 2005. The ensemble also attends other BOA events such as BOA Pearland and have gone to BOA Grand Nationals twice, placing twelfth in 2006 and tenth in 2009. The JBHSOPE also participated in the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, becoming the first high school marching band to perform in the event. In 2008 they placed fifth in the state of Texas, and are holders of the Sudler Shield. In 2009 the Wind Ensemble One performed at the American Band Masters Association 75th Annual Convention in the Rudder Auditorium at College Station. In 2010, the JBHSOPE was ranked 3rd at BOA San Antonio finals, also receiving the "Outstanding Visual Performance" caption. Also in 2010, at UIL Area D Finals the JBHSOPE was ranked first place and at UIL State Marching Band competition finals the band tied for third with Duncanville and the tie breaker placed them in fourth. In the early 2010 concert band season, the Wind Ensemble One performed at the WIBC (Western International Band Clinic) in Seattle, WA. They were under the direction of their head director, Bruce Dinkins, their associate director, Kim Shuttlesworth and were joined by three guest conductors, Johan De Meij who conducted his T-Bone Concerto, with soloist Mark Babbit; Satoshi Yagisawa who conducted his Machu Picchu- a city in the sky; and Greg Goodman (director of fine arts at AISD) who conducted Sousa's Rifle Regiment March.

Starlight Theatre Company

When Bowie High School opened in the fall of 1988, the theatre was still under construction. Performances at Bowie began in January,1989, with a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Bowie cafeteria. The $2 million theatre facility was first used in the spring of that year when Bowie hosted the UIL Zone and District One-Act Play Contests. Since then, the company has annually produced at least one full-length play, one musical, and numerous shorter plays directed by the three theatre teachers, student teachers, guest directors, and senior-directors. Each year, the directors choose plays which will challenge the current group of participating students and also provide the Bowie audience with a variety from seasons past. In 2007, the company traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Edinburgh International Festival In addition, the company hosts a Creative Dramatics Workshop for elementary school children in the Bowie vertical team and sends students to the elementary schools to read stories and to area middle schools to coach theatre students in competitive events. Our Children's Theatre series provides study guides and on-site performances to AISD elementary schools. The Bowie theatre is the host site for performances of the National Theatre Touring Company, local dance companies, and numerous organizations at Bowie that hold concerts, award ceremonies, and large meetings. Technical theatre students serve as the site crew for these events. Since its opening, the theatre has already been renovated with a new light board and sound board, and we have installed a robotic lighting system for special effects in performances and concerts.

List of some of the Productions since 1999

1999–2000

• Alice in Wonderland - (Alumni Show directed by Melinda Bosch)

2000–2001

• Comedy Festival - Twelfth Night
• Lysistrata
• Scapino
• You Can’t Take It With You
• Sweeney Todd

2001–2002

• Romeo and Juliet

2002–2003

• Shepard and Shakespeare
• A Chorus Line
• As Bees in Honey Drown
• Harvest Women (Original Student Playwright)
• Progress Report (Original Student Production)

2003–2004

• Trojan Women
• Bury The Dead
• Into The Woods
• Necessary Targets (Guest Directed by Gregg Wiggins)

2004–2005

• Julius Caesar
• House Arrest: The Search Into the American Character In and Around the White House
• Past and Present
• Evita
• The Women
• The Orestes Project (Guest Directed by Mark Pickell)
• The Hero's Compilation Project (Guest Directed by Eliza Elliot)

2005–2006

• Camino Real
• Rags to Riches
• Trudy Blue
• Spring Storm (Guest Directed by Hillary Harrison and Heather Routt)

2006–2007

• Shadow Box
• The Tempest
• Chicago
• By the Bog of Cats
• Durang! Durang! (Guest Directed by Hillary Harrison)
• Working (Edinburgh Festival Production)

2007–2008

• The Triangle Factory Fire Project
• Aida
• Six Degrees of Separation
• Addict
• The Children’s Hour (Alumni Production directed by Lara Doll)
• Death and Deceit on the Nile (Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre with Culinary Department)

2008–2009

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Sound of Music
• Hollywood Arms
• Suddenly Last Summer
• Run for Your Wife

2009-2010

• School For Scandal
• The Birds
• Into The Woods
• The Curious Savage
• The Window (Original Script and Directed by Katherine Gee)

2010-2011

• The Oedipus Cycle (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone)
• Les Miserables
• Selkie (Original Script Written and Directed by Katherine Gee and Hillary Harrison)
• Southern Hospitality
• August: Osage County
• Seussical

Sources

1. Bowie's home page 2. [1] Info about results 3. [2] Starlight Theatre Company