Burnsville High School
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| Burnsville Senior High School | |
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| Established | 1957 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| Principal | Dr. Kay Joyce |
| Location | Burnsville, Minnesota, USA |
| Students | approx. 2,400 |
| Mascot | Sparky |
| Colors | Black and Gold |
| Website | www.isd191.org/bhs |
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.
[edit] 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 attending 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, the largest high school arson ever in the United States was started and resulted in over 15 million dollars in damages (the same arsonist also started fires at Edina High School and Minnetonka High Schools) . During the 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", was thought of because of the word "Burnsville" in the school name, and had nothing to do with the fire as it was merely a coincidence.
In 1997, the school board bought the Diamondhead 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. The travel time needed to travel to one campus from the other is only about five minutes, but some students feel they need to take their middle period (fourth) as a study hall and use it for travel time and open campus lunch. Some students also think they need to take a second study hall to make up for the one used as travel time and lunch.
In 2006 the Beautification Committee, a group of volunteer parents, raised $50,000 dollars from donations and proceeds from 50th anniversary blanket sales to purchase an electronic greeting sign, replacing an old stone one, as part of the school's 50th anniversary. This group has also volunteered their time, energy, and resources to help upkeep the gardens and grounds of the school. There has been some controversy over the cost of the sign, voiced in the school newspaper, asking if people would raise such money for books or new computers, but as the sign was obtained purely by volunteers, most feel it saved the school a considerable amount of money.
[edit] 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 | ||
