Burnsville High School

Burnsville Senior High School
File:BurnsvilleBlaze.jpg
Location
Burnsville , Minnesota USA
Information
Type	Public
Established	1957
Principal	Dr. Kay Joyce
Number of students	approx. 2,300
Mascot	Sparky
Colors	Black and Gold
Website	www.isd191.org/bhs

The front entrance of Burnsville High School

Burnsville High School (BHS) is a three-year public high school located in Burnsville, Minnesota. The school is part of Independent School District 191, which covers all of Burnsville, as well as parts of the surrounding cities Savage and Eagan. A majority of the incoming sophmores come from Eagle Ridge Junior High, Metcalf Junior High, or Nicollet Junior High. The school mascot is Sparky, a humanoid with a fireball for a head.

History

Burnsville High School originally opened in 1957 as a K-12 school with an initial enrollment of about 400 students. In 1966, upon completion of the newly constructed school, students in grades seven through nine started attenting Metcalf Junior High. Today, students attending Metcalf Junior High along with Eagle Ridge and Nicollet Junior High Shools will attend Burnsville Senior High School for grades 10-12.

On April 25, 1994, part of the school was destroyed by arson. During the 15 million dollar restoration, high school students studied at Nicollet Junior High and Sky Oaks Elementary Schools. In 1998, the separate Senior Campus of Burnsville High School was opened to handle increased enrollment. Around the time of the fire, the school's mascot was changed from the Braves to the Blaze due to concerns about political correctness and the mascot's meaning to the Native American communities in the area. The name "Blaze" had nothing to do with the fire and was merely a coincidence.

In 1997, the school board bought the Dimondhead Mall and converted the top level into the Senior Campus. A year later, in 1998, it was opened for use. Students can drive from campus to campus, or they take the shuttle bus. Many classes available only to 12th graders are offered at the Senior Campus. All 12th graders at Burnsville High School spend half their day at this separate campus. There has been some controversy over the Senior campus because of the scheduling of classes. The travel time needed to travel to one campus from the other is only about five minutes, but students feel they need to take their middle period (fourth) as a study hall and use it for travel time and open campus lunch. Many students also feel they need to take a second study hall to make up for the one used as travel time and lunch. As a result, student that would normally be taking six or seven classes are taking only five. This combined with a series of budget cuts, has caused the elimination of several elective classes.

In 2006 the school spent $50,000 dollars on an electronic greeting sign, replacing an old stone one, as part of the schools 50th anniversary. There has been some controversy over the cost, voiced even in the school newspaper, asking if people would raise such money for books or new computers.

Athletics

Burnsville High School is affiliated with the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and is a member of the Lake Conference.

State Championships
Season	Sport	Number of Championships	Year
Fall	Soccer, Boys	4	1980, 1982, 1990, 1993
	Soccer, Girls	2	1992, 1993
	Football	5	1972, 1980, 1985, 1989, 1991
	Swimming and Diving, Girls	5	1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 2002
Winter	Dance Team, Girls	9	1982, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
	Gymnastics, Girls	4	1975, 1977, 1978, 1982
	Hockey, Boys	2	1985, 1986
	Swimming and Diving, Boys	1	1985
	Basketball, Girls	2	1977, 1991, 1992
Spring	Golf, Girls	2	1990, 2000
	Softball, Girls	2	2004, 2005
	Track and Field, Boys	1	1978
Total		39

External links

• Burnsville High School