Conifer High School
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| Conifer High School | |
 |
|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| 10441 County Highway 73, Conifer, Colorado 80433 USA |
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| Information | |
| School district | Jefferson County Public Schools |
| Principal | Dr. Mike Musick |
| Staff | 82 (including faculty)[1] |
| Enrollment |
1036[2] |
| Faculty | 47 full time, 6 part time[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Campus size | 105 acres (424,920 m²) |
| Athletics | 3A/4A |
| Athletics conference | Jefferson County |
| Mascot | Lobos |
| Color(s) | forest green, silver and black |
| Established | 1996 |
| Information | 303-982-5255 |
| Homepage | School website |
Conifer High School is a secondary school in Conifer, an unincorporated town located in the foothills of Jefferson County, southwest of Denver, Colorado. The school is located about 20 minutes southwest of SH 470 and a short distance north of U.S. Highway 285.
Contents |
[edit] History
Conifer High School opened in the fall of 1996 to serve students in the southern portion of what had previously been Evergreen High School's matriculation area. The area encompasses a large part of southwestern Jefferson County, including the communities of Aspen Park, Buffalo Creek, Pine and Pine Junction, as well as parts of southern Evergreen and southwestern Morrison.
The land for the school campus was acquired in a county action of Eminent Domain which gives landowners the choice of either a county purchase of the land or condemning the property. One parcel was a picnic area named "Rancho Lobo"; when it came time to choose a school mascot, the vote decided upon the Lobos.
The opening of the school coincided with changes in the divisions of secondary, junior high, and elementary schools for the district. This change meant that the first year of students consisted of eleventh grade students that had attended Evergreen High School during the previous year and two classes of "freshmen" in ninth and tenth grade students from West Jefferson Middle School. The first year had no senior class, as such the first graduating class was in 1998 .
The first principal was Barry Schwartz, who retired after the 2002-2003 school year.
Cyndi Whitlock was principal from 2003 - 2006.
Pat Termin was interim principal for the 2006 - 2007 school year.
[edit] Campus
[edit] Community use
The building houses a substation of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. It also housed a campus of Red Rocks Community College. This relationship with Red Rocks allowed students to take some college courses, after normal school hours, and receive both college and high school credit.[3] As of 2007 Red Rocks no longer operates this campus.
CHS shares its library with Jefferson County Public Library system. During school hours the library is restricted to only school staff and students. After school and on weekends the library is open to the public. The public library is open six days a week, being closed on Friday.
The building is also used for many events including health drives, holiday boutiques, and community festivals. During the wildfire season, the school has been used as a Red Cross shelter. [4][5]
[edit] Architectural distinction
Designed by architectural firm LKA Partners[6], Conifer High School's architecture has been awarded several honors:
- Project of Distinction, Council of Educational Facilities Planners, 1996
- The James D. McConnell Award, Council of Educational Facilities Planners, 1997[7]
- Citation Award, American Association of School Administrators, 1998
[edit] Extracurricular activities
[edit] Sports
When it opened, CHS competed in the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A in all sports.[citation needed]
Softball
In 2003 the CHS Softball team won the 4A state championship.[8] The team had made its first appearance in the state tournament the year before. [9]
Boys Soccer
In the 2006 season, both Junior Varsity and Varsity earned the title of 4A League Champions. JV Soccer finished with seven straight shutouts, ending their season with a 14-0-0 record. They only allowed eight goals the entire year. They also beat rival school Evergreen in a 1-0 victory decided in the closing four minutes by midfielder Aaron Fitzgerald. Varsity Boys competed in State, but were eliminated by Battle Mountain in the second round.[citation needed]
Volleyball
In the 2005 season, Varsity earned the title of 4A League Champions. 15-7 overall, 9-1 in League. They competed in Districts, but were eliminated by Mountain View.
Boys Basketball
In its 2006-2007 season under first year coach Jeff Debuhr the Lobos, seeded #7 in the state tournament, won 3 games before being eliminated by Widefield High School in the "Great 8". In the process they knocked off the 2-time defending state champions, Thomas Jefferson High School. Conifer had never won a playoff game in boys basketball before this year.
Girls X-Country
Kristen Wakeman, 2003 4A state champion.[10]
Girls Track and Field
2004 4A state champions 4 x 800m relay.[11]
Emily Blok, 2007 4A state champion, 100m dash.
Emily Blok, 2007 4A state champion, 200m dash..[12]
Boys Track and Field
Bobby Potrykus, 2006 4A state champion[13] and state record holder, 800m run.
Bobby Potrykus, 2007 4A state champion, 800m run..[14]
[edit] Marching Band
In 2006 the Conifer High School Marching Band won the 3A state championship.[15] It was Conifer's first time competing in the 3A class, as previous marching seasons were competed in class 4A. [16]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Meagan Hoffman, forward for the Rhondda Rebels (English Basketball League)
- Andrew Brand, 2006 NCAA All-American in swimming at the University of North Dakota
[edit] In the News
[edit] Yearbook Controversy
The 2006-2007 yearbook has been featured extensively in the news for controversial pictures of drug use. [17]
[edit] Bomb Scare
On December 04, 2007 the school was evacuated because of a student with a suspicious package. The school was searched, but no bomb was found, and students were allowed to return to class.[18]
[edit] External links
- Conifer High School official website
- Conifer Senior High School on GreatSchools.net
- Conifer Senior High School on Public Schools Report
[edit] References
- ^ a b Conifer Senior High School School Accountability Report 2005-2006 School Year. Colorado Department of Education. 2006-12-12.
- ^ Profile - Conifer High School. Colorado High School Activities Association.
- ^ "College Courses at High School", Rocky Mountain News, 1996-08-20. "A branch of Red Rocks Community College is contained in the new Conifer High School, providing high school students with college courses, and evening classes for adult mountain residents."
- ^ Bartels, Lynn. "For Conifer Principal, School is Busy Place", Rocky Mountain News, 2000-06-16. "School's out but the principal is in. Barry Schwartz has been a busy man since Monday, when fire forced the evacuation of hundreds of mountain residents and turned his Conifer High School into a Red Cross shelter."
- ^ Yettick, Holly. "Conifer High is Big on Character", Rocky Mountain News, 2002-04-06. "For the past two days, Red Cross shelter and senior high school have been cohabiting."
- ^ "Designs for Learning: Ten New Metro School Buildings Range from the Daring to the Drab", Rocky Mountain News, 1996-10-06.
- ^ James D. MacConnell Award Site
- ^ 2003 STATE GIRLS' SOFTBALL RESULTS. Colorado High School Activities Association.
- ^ Willis, Paul. "A New Look for Finals: 4 Fledgling Teams Will Get Shot at Softball Title Today", Rocky Mountain News, 2002-10-19. "The 4A semifinals field includes two third-year programs - Ralston Valley and Northridge - a program in its first appearance at the state tournament in Conifer, and Pueblo East, a team that has advanced to two title games but lost both."
- ^ 2003 Cross Country State Championship Results
- ^ 2004 Track and Field State Championship Results
- ^ 2007 Track and Field State Championship Results
- ^ 2006 Track and Field State Championship Results
- ^ 2007 Track and Field State Championship Results
- ^ Colorado Bandmasters Association. 2006 1A/2A/3A State Marching Band Championships.
- ^ Perez, Gayle. "Conifer tops County in marching band finals", Pueblo Chieftain, 2006-10-24. "Pueblo County High School's battle for the top spot in the Class 3A state marching band competition went down to the final note Monday night. And when the final numbers were tallied, Class 3A newcomer Conifer High School was just a tad sharper than the Hornets in the Colorado Bandmasters Association's state marching band championships held at Dutch Clark Stadium."
- ^ "School Yearbook Features Kids Doing Drugs", wnbc.com.
- ^ Student Questioned After Conifer High Bomb Scare. TheDenverChannel.com (December 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
