Albemarle High School (Virginia)

Albemarle High School
Address
2775 Hydraulic Road Charlottesville , Virginia 22901 United States
Information
School type	Public high school
Motto	"Pursuing Victory With Honor"
Founded	1953
School district	Albemarle County Public Schools
Superintendent	Dr. Pamela Moran
Principal	Jay Thomas
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,779 (2008-09)
Color(s)	Red and Blue
Athletics conference	Virginia High School League AAA Northwest Region Commonwealth District
Team name	Patriots
Rivals	Charlottesville black knight, Monticello mustang, Western Albemarle warrior
Website	Official Site

Albemarle High School is a public high school serving grades 9 through 12. It is the largest of the Albemarle County Public High Schools and is located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. The current principal is Jay P. Thomas, who was appointed in 2009.

Features include science labs, two computer labs, a media center, a full auditorium, rooms for the band and choir, a ceramics studio, a cafeteria, and two gymnasiums.

Albemarle High School offers Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes through nearby Piedmont Virginia Community College. Adult Education and LED programs are offered in the evening.

Albemarle High School is renowned for being one of the toughest schools in the nation academically. Students from Albemarle High School typically place in the top 2% of all students taking the Advanced Placement tests. It is also famous for its inept guidance counselors that inhibit top students from attending top universities {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)

Athletics

On the school grounds is a stadium with a track encircling a field used for football, soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse. Sports fields are also available for baseball and tennis. Sports offered include golf, swimming, indoor and outdoor track and field, football, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, cross-country, field hockey, wrestling, tennis, lacrosse, and softball. In 2008, the school underwent a scandal when the

The school colors are red and blue and the athletic teams are called the Patriots. Albemarle competes in the Commonwealth District, Northwest Region, and Group AAA of the Virginia High School League. Historically, Albemarle has a very strong lacrosse program with the boys team reaching the AAA state championship game 8 years in a row from 1998 through 2005. But, the track team has easily surpassed the lacrosse team and claimed an Indoor State title in 2009.

Performing arts

The Albemarle Players are directed by Ms. Fay E. Cunningham. Each year they prepare a show for VTA (Virginia Theater Association), to hopefully move on and compete to perform at SETC (South Eastern Theater Conference) to represent the state of Virginia. In 2006, the players won first place at VTA with the show Black Comedy, and moved on to perform at SETC in Atlanta, Georgia. After VTA, the players prepare a show for VHSL and compete there as well. In the spring, they put on a musical, and while each year the musicals are more and more taxing, they represent the extreme talent of the students and director. Past musicals include Les Misérables in 2008 and Disney's Beauty and the Beast in 2010. The 2011 musical is currently set to be Fiddler on the Roof, although recently it has been rumored that Cunningham has bought the recently-released rights to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. In 2010, the Albemarle Players were one of 50 high schools nationwide invited to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, commonly accepted as the world's largest arts festival.

The forensics team is an important part of performing arts at AHS. Each year a team of students is created representing each category. The forensics team travels to VHSL each year and competes to hopefully move on to states. The Albemarle Forensics team has won the District Forensics Tournament for the past decade, and the Regional Tournament for the past 9 years.

The various bands (a Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and an award-winning Wind Ensemble and jazz band) are conducted by Mr. Greg Thomas. Each year, the Wind Ensemble prepares a demanding repertoire in preparation for a performance at the All-District Festival, usually held in March. In 2008, the players were awarded a "1" or a "Superior" rating with a repertoire consisting of Grade 6 pieces Mannin Veen, Divertimento, and the Grade 5 March Lucky Two and also achieved perfect individual category scores for the first time in its history. In 2009, they achieved this perfect score for the second year in a row with a repertoire of Frank Ticheli's Blue Shades, Ron Nelson's Rocky Point Holiday, and the popular circus march Thunder and Blazes, arranged by Louis-Phillipe Laurendeau.

The Albemarle Jazz Ensemble has also seen great success in recent years, as they have advanced to finals in the Chantilly Jazz Festival every year since 2004, and have won 1st place for the past three years consecutively (2008–2010). Their 2010 performance pieces included Bill Holman's arrangement of After You've Gone, Alan Baylock's arrangement of Caravan, and Pat Metheny's Have You Heard.

Mrs. Carrie Finnegan directs the school's two orchestras. At the District XIII Orchestra Festival, the two orchestras also consistently receive a "1". In 2009, they traveled to VA Beach to compete in the Fiesta-Val Music Invitational Competition. This is a national competition for both instrumental and choral groups. The Albemarle, Jouett, Sutherland Combined Concert Orchestra received a Superior Rating and 1st Place in division IV. The Albemarle High String Ensemble received a Superior Rating and 1st Place in division VI. The Orchestras also received the Fiesta-Val Champion Trophy, awarded for the highest numerical score among all orchestras, regardless of division. The Orchestras, as a group, were also awarded the prestigious Grand Champion Trophy, awarded for the highest total numerical score by combining scores from two different performing groups. In addition to being presented the Grand Championship Trophy, the director of the winning group received the Fiesta-Val Award of Distinction in recognition of a notable contribution to musical excellence.

Extracurriculars

Beyond athletics, Albemarle hosts chapters from a full variety of extracurricular clubs and groups for its students to participate in, and it annually enjoys high levels of participation, especially from upperclassmen. Some examples include:

• National Honor Society
• Math Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta)
• Science National Honor Society
• National English Honor Society
• National Art Honor Society
• Tri-M Music Honor Society
• Junior Classical League
• Spanish National Honor Society
• French National Honor Society
• German National Honor Society-Delta Epsilon Phi
• National Beta Club
• Key Club
• Songwriting Club
• Canoe Club
• Nick Janssens Anti-Semitic Organization for Proliferating Cancer

MESA

With a recent addition to the school in 2009 came the addition of a new program for students interested in engineering-related careers. The program, called the Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA), opened for the 2009-2010 school year, inviting approximately 50 rising freshmen and 25 rising juniors. These students were selected by an application which included essays, transcripts, and teacher recommendations. MESA offers an accelerated curriculum which allows students to earn 3 science credits in 2 years, in addition to 2 math credits.

The program has attracted some attention from the media, and is a feather in the cap for Albemarle County Public Schools. In addition to representatives from Microsoft and the school board, Congressman Tom Perriello visited during class to talk to students and faculty about the program.

Notable alumni

• Leroi Moore, Saxophone player; founding member of the Dave Matthews Band
• R. J. Archer, NFL quarterback; signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent
• Nick Novak, NFL kicker; attended the University of Maryland; finished career as the ACC's all-time leading scorer with 393 points
• Brandon London, NFL wide receiver; attended Albemarle before transferring to Fork Union Military Academy
• Drew Atchison, Former NFL tight end; was cut from the Dallas Cowboys
• Walter White, Former NFL tight end; played for the Kansas City Chiefs; recorded 808 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 1976
• Steve Carter, Former MLB outfielder; played for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Mark Linkous, Singer, songwriter, and musician; leader of the band Sparklehorse
• James McNew, Bass player; member of the band Yo La Tengo
• Denis Peskov, popularized pajama shorts

Notable faculty

• Al Groh, Former University of Virginia head football coach; began coaching career as an assistant at Albemarle
• Steve Robinson, Former Florida State head basketball coach; coached at Albemarle during the 1982-1983 season
• Eric Wilson, Former NFL linebacker; head coach of the JV Boys' Basketball team