Niwot High School

Niwot High School
Location
Niwot, Colorado United States of America
Coordinates	40°6′10.06″N 105°8′40.44″W
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1972
School district	St. Vrain Valley School District
Principal	Dennis Daly
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	~1,200
Campus type	Closed Campus
Color(s)
Mascot	Cougar
Website	http://nhs.stvrain.k12.co.us/

Niwot High School (NHS) is a public high school located in Niwot, Colorado and is part of the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Aim

Niwot High School's aim is to provide classes focusing on reading, writing, and mathematics at the various levels needed to educate the student body. Each year, the school aims to increase the proficiencies in each of these three areas, as measured by Colorado Student Assessment Program scores. By the end of 2008, the school aims to have 9th and 10th grade students at a 3% proficiency level in reading, a 2% in writing, and an 9% in mathematics. In an effort to achieve these goals, the school strives to maintain vertical alignment with the middle schools in all of the core curricular areas.

Information

Niwot High School is a class 4A school, enrolling approximately 1,350 students . For students of Sunset Middle School, Niwot High is the default location to continue their education. The school also attracts students from throughout the St. Vrain Valley School District to participate in the school's International Baccalaureate program. The number of graduates from each class is typically around 300 students .

Background

Niwot High School is situated about halfway between the cities of Boulder and Longmont in the small unincorporated town of Niwot. First opened in 1972 , Niwot High School has been a part of the Niwot community for over 30 years. The campus consists of two levels. On the upper level is the main entrance to the school, as well as the cafeteria, commons, main office, and counseling office. The lower level contains most of the classrooms, including the Science, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Fine Arts and Practical Arts classrooms, while the Language Arts and Music Classrooms are upstairs. The front parking lot is where the student body parking is located, as well as the visitor parking. The back parking lot is reserved for staff parking.

The school has had several additions since it was originally constructed; the new commons, auditorium, large gym, and a large portion of the lower wing were added after the school was originally built. In 2007, the school was fitted with electronic locks on all but the main doors, and the lower parking lot ( which was originally the Senior Parking Lot ) became the staff-only parking lot.

Schedule

Classes at Niwot High School operate on a 2 day, 8 block schedule. Class starts at 7:20 in the morning and ends at 2:23 in the afternoon. The classes vary between days, designated as "Day 1"s and "Day 2"s. The time schedule on a Day 1 and a Day 2 is the same, but the classes are different, so that each class is held every other school day. Depending on the student's 3rd/7th block class, the student may have either "A" or "B" lunch, with "A" being the earlier lunch of the two. Both lunches last 38 minutes, including passing period.

Courses

Currently, Niwot High School offers a variety of courses in the following subjects:

• Art
• Business
• Career Development
• Drama
• English
• Family Studies
• Foreign Language
• General Electives
• HILT
• Math
• Music
• Physical Education
• Science
• Social Studies
• Technology

Music Department

Beyond the standard academic courses, Niwot High School also boasts a widely recognized music department . It is split into three sub-departments; Orchestra, Band, and Choir.

Band

Marching Band

The Cougar Marching Band is one of the most visible performing groups in the school, as it performs at all home football games as well as most parades in Niwot and Longmont, Colorado. The woodwind and brass sections do not require an audition. There are two sections in the group that are audition only: the Drum Line and the Color Guard. Auditions for these groups occur in February for the next season.

The marching band has grown in the past four years from 80 to 140 members, which is over 10% of the student population at NHS (The band includes both IB and non-IB students.) The band is led by three Drum Majors who have gone through extensive interviews and auditions to obtain the position. Section leaders/captains are selected by the director after a written application is submitted.

The band currently incorporates a mix of Corps-style and Big Ten drill and marching styles. Field show themes have ranged from "In Your Face" Classical (2008) to Eclectic Rock/Pop (2006,2007) to Swing (2005).

In February 2009, The Cougar Marching Band took its first out-of-state band trip in nearly ten years. The band performed at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida as part of Disney Magic Music Days. The trip was a great success, with 118 students marching down Main Street USA on February 13, 2009. The band also participated in a music-reading workshop hosted by Disney Music Days.

The CMB starts with an at-school Band Camp the first full week of August. Once school starts, in addition to class times, there are required Wednesday night rehearsals and many sections also have practice outside of class. The season ends in early December with the Longmont Holiday Parade. In January, all students then audition for one of the two concert bands at NHS.

Although the group is not competitive, high standards and a consistent level of musicianship is expected.

In the past year, the Cougar Marching Band has been invited to play at bowl parades and was invited to play at the 2010 New Year's Day Parade in London, England. Because of school district policy, the band did not pursue the invitation.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band

These groups exist only during 2nd semester.

The Wind Ensemble is a small group that consists of only a few people for each part, and is the top performance group in the band department. This group performs a varied repertoire, in the Grade 3-4 range. Although mostly juniors and seniors, some freshmen and sophomores are members.

The Symphonic Band is the second band. This group is generally a larger group with more people on one part. Music for this group is also varied, but more in the Grade 2 1/2-3 1/2 range. Emphasis is placed on the continued building of musical skills and confidence.

Jazz I - III

Jazz I is the top jazz group at NHS. It is a classic 17-piece big band. The group's main focus is performance, performing many times throughout the school year. This group cosistently receives high honors at the Skyline Jazz Festival.

Jazz II is the intermediate jazz band. This group is also a performance-based group. This group has varied in size through the years, initially being about twice the size of Jazz I to being easily over three times the size of Jazz I. This group also does well at the Skyline Jazz Festival. Currently, this group has 21 members.

Jazz III is the newest jazz band, added in the 2007-2008 school year,due to increased interest in the jazz program at NHS. The purpose of Jazz III is to introduce students to jazz. Since the emphasis on this group is more on learning jazz fundamentals rather than performance, this group performs less often than the other two groups. Students are not expected to have any improvisational experience.

Auditions for these groups occur in February of the previous school year. These auditions are extremely competitive; prospective jazz students are advised to contact the director early in the New Year to obtain the audition materials in time for sufficient practice.

Choir

Currently there are three non-audition groups and four audition groups.

Non-Audition Groups

These groups all serve as an introduction to choir and singing for those students who have never sang before or are unable to make it into an audition choir, all being performance based groups.

• Varsity Men's Choir - an all-male choir.
• 9th Grade Treble - an all 9th-grade female choir.
• Concert Chorus - for all males and females.

Audition Groups

• Sedalia - an all female audition choir with a performance focus.

• Evenstar - the jazz/show choir of Niwot High School, being open to both males and females. Evenstar performs everything from jazz standards to legendary musical numbers, even delving into the realm of many famous pop songs.

• Chamber Singers - the classical choir of Niwot High School and the second-hardest to get into, accepting both males and females and typically having smaller numbers accepted than Evenstar. Chamber Singers focuses mostly on classical choral music, but they have also been known to perform very contemporary pieces.

• Cantible - a unique choir in that it is not a class the meets during the school day, but instead rehearses after school on Fridays. It is by far the most difficult choir to get into, with only about five people per voicing and a pre-requisite of already being in an audition choir to even be eligible to audition for Cantible (though there have been occasional exceptions to the rule in special cases). This choir is very similar to Chamber Singers in the style of music they perform, revolving around classical and contemporary pieces.

Orchestra

Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra is an audition-only standard Symphony Orchestra setup, including wind, brass, percussion, and string sections. The group is an entirely performance-based group, where learning is achieved through the rehearsal and performance of challenging Symphony Orchestra literature. The group has a strong reputation of excellence, achieving various awards and honors throughout the years.

In the 2006-2007 school year, the Symphony Orchestra was invited to take part in the 2007 National Orchestra Cup, where it took 3rd Place against the top youth orchestras from across the United States with the performance of "Russian Easter Overture".

In the 2007-2008 school year, the Orchestra was invited to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Association Conference, the highest honor an orchestra can receive in the state of Colorado.

For the 2008-2009 school year, the Orchestra has been invited to Atlanta, Georgia to perform again on a national scale. Unfortunately, due to hard economic times, the trip was canceled. The group was also invited to a competition in Austria, but turned the invitation down due to district policy.

String Orchestra

Along with Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra department also has a String Orchestra, which consists only of string instruments. The String Orchestra is a much more relaxed group, being an non-audition group with a much lighter performance schedule. The group is for musicians at Niwot who are unable to perform with the Symphony Orchestra, where the majority of students being freshmen and/or less serious musicians. Still, it is a performance-based group that has a strong focus on teaching students classical music through the rehearsal and performance of standard orchestra literature.

Musical

Another excellent addition to Niwot's music department is its yearly musical. The number of students who take an active role in the musical varies, depending on which musical is selected, how many students audition, and how it is rehearsed.

Every year, Niwot High School performs a musical. Every three years the school puts on a major musical, one that involves students from all music departments and a pit orchestra. For these larger productions the auditions and rehearsals all take place after school, making it a fully extracurricular activity. Typically, since there are more actors and a true pit orchestra, these larger productions are usually more elaborate and difficult musicals.

Between those years, a smaller scale musical is performed by the Musical Theatre class, which performs a musical during the fall semester, and a "musical revue" [sic] during the spring semester. Rehearsals take place primarily during the school day, although occasional after-school rehearsals are necessary, especially the week before the opening of the musical.

In the past years students of Niwot High School have put on the productions of "South Pacific", "Into the Woods", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Aida". In the fall of 2008 Niwot will present Little Shop of Horrors, Showing November 13-16.

In the fall of 2009 Niwot will present The Wizard of Oz, showing in early November.

Athletics

Niwot High School competes against many local high schools, including those in the St. Vrain Valley School District: Longmont High School, Skyline High School, Erie High School, Mead High School, Frederick High School and Silver Creek High School.

The Niwot/Silver Creek swim team won 4A state in 2008, decimating all other teams (by 3 or more points).

Niwot's football team has made it to the 3A Playoffs in 2001,2002, 2004, 2005, and in 2008, made it to the 4A playoffs as well. Meanwhile, the Niwot baseball team has won the 4A State Championships in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005. Not to mention, the Cougars were also recognized as Legion A State Champs in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Niwot Golf team also won the Northern Conference for Golf in 2006 with golfers finishing 1st and 4th in their conference. Other athletic programs that Niwot offers include:

• Boys' and Girls' Basketball
• Boys' and Girls' Soccer
• Boys' and Girls' Swimming
• Boys' and Girls' Tennis
• Boys' and Girls' Volleyball
• Cheer Leading
• Cross Country
• Football
• Girls' Softball
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Track and Field
• Wrestling

Extra Curricular Activities

• Amnesty International
• Book Club
• Color Guard
• Dance Team
• Drama
• FIRST Robotics (Team #1552)
• Forensics
• FRICH Newspaper (Forum for Research Into Communication History)
• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
• Habitat for Humanity
• Knowledge Master team
• National Honor Society
• The Niwot South Paw Newspaper
• Odyssey of the Mind (OM)
• Student Council
• Tech Crew
• Yearbook

FRICH

FRICH

File:FRICH Logo.svg FRICH Logo
Type	Satire newspaper
Format	Ledger
Owner(s)	Varies from year to year
Publisher	Editors of FRICH
Staff writers	11
Founded	1998
Ceased publication	2007–2008
Headquarters	Basements of FRICH staff
Circulation	400 Monthly
Website	www.frichonline.com

FRICH (Forum for Research Into Communication History) (IPA: [frɪtʃ]) is an "underground" (not paid for by the school, with no staff supervisors) high school newspaper published in Colorado and distributed in Niwot High School. Founded in 1998, FRICH has attempted to produce satirical views on issues typically not published in the school's traditional newspaper, The Niwot South Paw. The publication honors have traditionally been passed down from generation to generation and currently, these honors lie in the hands of the present high school senior class, the Class of 2009.

The newspaper is typically organized into two columns on the first, second, and fourth pages, and one column on the third. There is little that FRICH will not print, as it gladly welcomes submissions from the student body (those who are not part of the writing staff of FRICH) and anyone else who wishes to express their opinion.

Content

FRICH publishes a variety of content. The most typical form of content is satirical editorial, in the form of a 300-600 word article. Lists are also published, which typically give a sarcastic view on a general belief. Lists are typically ten elements long, but have been longer than this.

There is no rule on what these editorials can be about. In the past, they have ranged from personal opinions on politics to rants about the new food system in the school. FRICH only has two rules that the writers are asked to follow: use a pseudonym, and do not single out one person to write an article on (a group is acceptable). The pseudonym ensures that the writer will not be chastised for his or her opinion and helps to give an air of security, so that the writer can openly express an opinion that may be crucial to understanding an event or construct. Not allowing the singling out of one person helps to keep fairness in the articles and maintains the privacy of the people being addressed in the article, so that no one person is hurt by the writers’ published opinions of them.

History

FRICH was originally a fictional source used as a citation for a paper in an English class in 1997. The next year, the idea was resurrected as a satirical newspaper. Since its conception, FRICH has experienced varying degrees of success. One such example of this is occurred during the 2005-2006 school year: the newspaper was a hit until the administration of the school silenced the publication due to blatant disrespect of the principal. The next school year, only two issues were published after which its production ceased. During the 2007-2008 school year, there was no publication at all. It has recently been revived, once again, during the 2008-2009 school year.

Controversy

FRICH, being an "open forum" has been controversial in some instances during its days of publication. One of the most notable instances was during the 2005-2006 year, when the administration of the school summoned the writers to the office due to the nature of some of the articles published in the newspaper. The fact that the writers of FRICH would openly criticize the administration of the school in a disrespectful manner, including the principal and vice principals (breaking one of the two rules listed above), led to its disbandment.

Education Foundation

Niwot High School also has an education foundation. The NHS Education Foundation is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization founded in 1994 on the principle that children are our most precious resource. Charged with the mission of enhancing and enriching student learning, NHS EF contributes to every student in the NHS community through mini-grants, major grants, fellowships, scholarships, and departmental awards. Through fund-raising efforts, as well as corporate and individual donations, the Foundation has distributed annually, an average in excess of $22,000 over the last five years.

External links

• Niwot High School website
• FRICH website