Robbinsdale Cooper High School
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| Robbinsdale Cooper High School | |
 |
|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| New Hope, Minnesota, United States of America | |
| Information | |
| Principal | Mike Favor |
| Students | approx. 2,000 |
| Type | Public |
| Mascot | Hawk |
| Established | 1964 |
| Colors | Blue and Orange |
| Homepage | www.rdale.k12.mn.us/chs/ |
Robbinsdale Cooper High School is a public secondary school located in New Hope, Minnesota, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis. Cooper, as it is informally referred to, became an IB World School in July 1998, and now offers the IB Middle Years (MYP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs along with a wide variety of courses and curricula suited to the needs of every student[1]. RCHS offers a comprehensive fine arts and music program, as well as many extra-curricular activities including a broad selection of athletics. RCHS is home to more than 2000 students. Cooper students and Alumni are referred to as Hawks, after the school's mascot.
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[edit] School History
Cooper Senior High School, as it was originally known, was built in 1964 to accommodate increasing enrollment in the Robbinsdale Area School District (Independent School District 281). Once called the most modern high school in the area, Cooper was advanced in both structure and Audio Visual technology. It was named for district superintendent Edwin J. ("E.J.") Cooper, and for years E.J. was a popular guest at school gatherings. The school's first principal was Lyndon Ulrich. In its first year, Cooper held classes for kindergarten as well as grades 10 through 12. After that, it held grade 10 through 12 school. Because the needs of the school district have changed, the school now teaches grades 9 through 12.
In 1982, declining enrollment in the district forced the closure of one of the district's high schools. Robbinsdale High School, a sister school to Cooper, was chosen after contentious debate. In an effort to placate Robbinsdale residents, the two remaining high schools within the district, Cooper and Armstrong, were renamed Robbinsdale Cooper and Robbinsdale Armstrong.
[edit] Cooper Athletics & Activities
| State Athletic Team Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Activity | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Soccer, Boys | 1 | 1978 |
| Winter | Wrestling | 2 | 1965 and 1969 |
| Spring | Tennis, Boys | 1 | 1970 |
| Softball, Girls | 1 | 1985 | |
| Lacrosse, Boys | 2 | 1999 and 2000 | |
| Total | 7 | ||
| State Finearts Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Activity | Number of Championships | Year |
| Winter | Lincoln-Douglas Debate | 1 | 2007 |
Cooper entered into the MSHSL North Suburban Conference in 2005. The Girls' Swim Team won the North Suburban Conference Championship in 2005 and 2006. The Boys' Basketball Team won the Conference Championship in 2006, and finished 2nd in the state tournament behind Hopkins High School. This was the first time since 1975 that the team had made it to the state tournament.
Traditionally, the Cooper Hawks' primary athletic rivalry has been with the Armstrong Falcons.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Actor Steve Zahn, who has starred in many films, including Saving Silverman, Sahara, National Security, and That Thing You Do [2].
- Actor John Elsen [3].
- United States Marine Lance Cpl. Scott Modeen, who was killed in 2005 while serving in Iraq.
- Steve Plasencia, a two time Track and Field athlete on the US Olympic Team
- Cindy (Seikkula) Peterson, a speedskater in the 1976 Winter Olympics.
- Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer, the weekday morning meteorologist for KCWY-TV News 13, and former Weather Central meteorologist.
- Hip-Hop Recording Artist Brother Ali, has recorded critically acclaimed records including Shadows on the Sun, Champion EP and his newest record The Undisputed Truth. He is signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment and has toured with acts Atmosphere, Rakim and many others.
- Former NHL Hockey player Lance Pitlick, a defenseman who played between 1994 and 2002 for the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers.
- Former college football player Dan Nystrom, who was a placekicker for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. On November 6, 1999, he kicked the game-winning field goal against the Penn State Nittany Lions, which at the time was ranked #2 in American college football. This was the first major upset win during coach Glen Mason's 10-year coaching career with the Gophers.
- Former National Football League football player Dan "Bomber" Johnson, a tight end for the Miami Dolphins from 1983 to 1987. In Super Bowl XIX, a 38-16 Dolphins' loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Johnson caught 3 passes from quarterback Dan Marino for a total of 28 yards and 1 touchdown.
- Hip-Hop Recording Artist and Producer, Knonam, Dana Willy has recorded two critically acclaimed albums, “I Swear to Drunk I’m Not God” and “Length of the Blade”. He has shared stages with artists such as Guru of Gangstarr, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Eyedea and KRS-One. He has also been a featured photo model in print ads and magazines.
- Former NHL Hockey player Jim Johnson, a defenseman for several teams between 1985 and 1998, including the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota North Stars, the Dallas Stars, the Washington Capitals, and the Phoenix Coyotes.
- Carolyn (Mattson) Peterson, a freelance TV, radio and film producer. She was Miss Minnesota USA in 1983.
- Dan Terhaar, a radio sports reporter and hockey play-by-play announcer. He has been the television voice of the Minnesota Wild since the beginning of the 2005-06 season.
- Photojournalist Sean Skinner, The Emmy Winning Photojournalist from WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also currently is the Stadium Announcer for the Robbinsdale Cooper Football Team.
- David Mudek United States Military Academy at West Point class of 2007 and North Regional Olympic Trials Team alternate to the 2004 Olympic Wrestling Trials. Two time NCA All-American.
- Jacob Jacobson, a 1999 grad, who is currently employed by J&L Steel Erectors was selected to contribute to the rebuild of the 35W bridge collapse.
- Jesse Schelitzche, also a 1999 grad, is the Head Boys Lacrosse Coach at Burnsville High School and is the owner/ operator of Lavin Lacrosse in Rosemount, MN.
[edit] Interesting Tidbits
- The school's geographical coordinates are 45°02′26.96″N, 93°23′04.42″W.
- The Quill, the newspaper of RCHS, is recognized as a Minnesota All-State Silver Newspaper.[1] The Quill's current editor-in-chief is Douglas Fish.
- RCHS has topped Newsweek's annual ranking, making in one of the top 10 high schools in Minnesota several years in a row.[2]
- In 2004, four DECA students from Cooper; Johan Gjenvick (Co-Captain), Stefanie Jones (Co-Captain), Jen Dinuis, and Tatyana Liskovich qualified for the International DECA Conference in Nashville, Tennessee for their victory in the DECA QUIZ BOWL TEAM EVENT. They represented Minnesota finishing top 20 overall, internationally.
- Cooper entered into the MSHSL North Suburban Conference in 2005. Numerous successes have included the Girls' Swim Team Conference Champions award in 2005 and 2006 and the Boys' Basketball Team Conference Champions award in 2006.
In 2006, Cooper's basketball team finished 2nd in state behind Hopkins High School. This was the first time since 1975 that the team had made it to the state tournament.
- In 2006, Cooper Senior Robert Cegla tied for 8th place with Sylvania Northview Senior Sundeep Mutgi in the National Tournament of Debate. This marks the highest placement ever for a student in District 281 (5 out of the top 20 national finalists were from Minnesota).
- The Cooper Lego Robotics team were State Champions in 2007.
- In 2006, 4 students from Cooper, Sameer Adam, Monika Hanson, Jessica Shae, and Sarah Keck, finished in first place at state HOSA competitions and qualified for nationals in Anaheim, California.
- In 2007, two DECA students from Cooper, David Pearson and Steven Ames, qualified for the International DECA Conference in Orlando, Florida for their performance in the E-Commerce MDM Team Event.
- In 2007, junior Dan Willey, won the Minnesota State High School League State Tournament in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
- In 2007, 4 students from the Cooper Debate Team qualified for the National Forensics League National Tournament in Wichita, Kansas. Junior Dan Willey qualified in Lincoln-Douglas debate, junior Jared Caspers and freshman Erik Legried qualified in Public-Forum debate and junior Emilia Spalding in Student Congress debate.
- On July 2, 2007, it was announced that Mike Favor, formerly principal at Minneapolis North High School, was named principal at Robbinsdale Cooper starting with the 2007-08 school year. Cooper's former principal Jeff McGonigal will become principal at Coon Rapids High School.
- In 2007, 4 students from Cooper,Maia Brisse,Ashely Henke,Dana Mueller and Kelsey McNosky attend the National FCCLA Conference in Anaheim,California and Maia and Ashley received Gold and Dana and Kelsey received silver in Hospitality.
