University High School (Orlando, Florida)
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University High School is a high school in Orlando, Florida opened in 1990. The school is one of many public high schools in Orange County and is located about a mile from UCF. University High School has an International Baccalaureate program and a Global Technologies (GT) magnet program, which was formerly known as Global Information and Future Technologies (GIFT).
University High School has two campuses, the Freshman Campus (formerly East Campus) and Main Campus (formerly West Campus). The Main Campus is now the campus where the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classrooms are. The Main Campus is designed in a square architectural layout with a courtyard in the middle. The Freshman Campus is made up predominantly of fixed portable classrooms and located across the street from the Main Campus. In 2005, both campuses completed an extensive renovation on roofs.
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[edit] Main/West Campus
- Main Office
- Main Gymnasium - Indoor Basketball Courts, Locker Rooms, Exercise Room, and Wrestling Room.
- Main Cafeteria - Includes four food lines.
- Patrick Culler Performing Arts Center - Drama Department, Choir and Band Performances. Named in memoriam of former band director Patrick F. Culler.
- Large Central Courtyard - Features the school's iconic belltower and an outside eating area for students.
- Main Media Center - Features computers for student use.
[edit] Freshman/East Campus
- Secondary Gym - Includes weight room and Secondary Band room.
- Secondary Office - Deals mostly with attendance affairs and checking in and out of class.
- Secondary Cafeteria
- The East Campus used to be the location of Discovery Middle School (Orlando, Florida).
[edit] Playing fields
- Stadium - Football/Soccer field and track with stadium seating.
- Practice Field - Adjacent to stadium.
- Secondary Practice Field - Used for lacrosse, soccer and band practice.
- Outdoor Basketball Courts and Tennis Courts.
[edit] Programs
Aside from the IB and GT Magnets, UHS also offers a Marine Corps JROTC program and hosts a number of clubs and activities ranging from the Asian Club to the UHS Chapter of the National Honor Society.
[edit] International Baccalaureate
The UHS Chapter of the IB Program is designed to provide students with a rigorous education in many fields. Before actually being considered an IB student, the Freshman and Sophomores are technically Pre-IB students until the completion of their Sophomore year. The program is highly demanding and generally only the most dedicated students finish with an IB Diploma.
Requirements for acceptance include an essay, interview, 3.5 GPA from 7th and 8th grade, test scores, and teacher recommendations.
[edit] Global Technologies Magnet
The GT Magnet offers students a more concentrated education in fields pertaining to technologies such as engineering, computer science, and simulation. It also gives students access to hands-on courses dealing with programming, robotics, and other computer-oriented fields.Students applying are required to have a 3.0 GPA from 7th and 8th grade and teacher recommendations. The program, formally known as GIFT (Global Information and Future Technologies) is a great fit for University High School as it is adjecent to the University of Central Florida, one of the nation's top engineering colleges.
[edit] Athletics
The school's mascot is a Florida Cougar named Casey the Cougar. The school colors are blue and gold. In 2004, the shade of gold was changed from a yellow gold to varsity gold. University's main rivals are Colonial High School and Timber Creek High School. UHS was built as a relief school for CHS in 1990 and Timber Creek was built as a relief school for UHS in 2002.
The University High School cheerleaders won the 2006-7 state championship and were featured in the movie Bring It On.
[edit] Football
UHS has had a slow beginning, but success nevertheless in their football program. In 2002, John Flath was chosen as the new head coach, however, he later had legal issues. The 2002-2003 season resulted in a poor 2-8 record. However, the football program experienced a complete turnaround in the 2003-2004 season with a school record of 8 wins and 2 losses during the regular season. Although failing to defeat Boone High School for the District Championship, UHS still moved on to the playoffs. They lost their first game to Edgewater High School. Since then coach Flath has taken a job at another local high school and Coach Jeff Smily has taken over.
Kyle Israel may be said to be the most famed product of University football. He became the starting quarterback at the University of Central Florida in 2006 as a junior and also started in 2007, his last season with the UCF Knights. Israel did not go on to play in the National Football League.
A football game is played each year in which UHS and CHS compete for "The Boot." This is traditionally held around UHS homecoming festivities.
On September 21st 2007 University High school got "The Boot" back from Colonial. They beat Colonial 41-22.
[edit] Performing Arts
University High School is mostly known for its drama, choir, and band programs.
[edit] The Drama Department
University High School is known for their drama department. They have performed several smash hit musicals such as "Les Misérables," "Evita," "Aida," and recently, "Miss Saigon". "Miss Saigon," their latest show to hit the box office, is now known as the greatest musical of all University High School history. This is due in no small part to the direction of Mrs. Douglass, (director of musicals, assistant of plays), Mrs. Chase (director of plays, assistant director of musicals), Mr. Chase, Ms. Emnheiser, Mr. Juergans, and Mr. Obodo. The Drama Department has a thespian troop, 4848, who travels to compete against other troops across the country.
[edit] Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon - a classic love story based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly. Starring Elizabeth Galafa and Cristal Texidor as Kim, William Perez and Aaron Kass as Chris, Raul Otero and Taylor Sulouff as Thuy, David Collazos and Ryan Rabac as John, Tamir Hernandez and Katelyn Douglass as Ellen, Dustin Singh and Miguel Rosa as the Engineer.
[edit] Band
The University High School Cougar Band & Guard have a reputation of being one of the best band programs in the state. The Top Bands (Wind Ensemble, Jazz 1) have a history of receiving straight superior ratings at the District and State level MPA(Music Performance Assessment)[citation needed]. It is also known for its marching band program. Some of the more recent marching band shows include Channel One Suite (2003), Othello (2004), One City Block (2005), There And Back Again (2006)and Almost Yesterday (2007).
The University High School Winterguard has started to make a name for themselves and the school. The performance ensemble has been a finalist at nationally qualifying regionals and had strong placements in statewide competitions as well.
Under the direction of Patrick Culler, the marching band was highly successful, traveling around the nation to perform. The group participated in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in Washington, D.C., performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City (1995), and traveled to Los Angeles, CA to particpate in the Tournament of Roses Parade (1998). In the mid to late 1990s, the marching band was one of the largest in the Central Florida region. The membership was near 350 students; approximately 10% of the total UHS population at the time.
[edit] Clubs & organizations
At the beginning of the year the school holds the Club Rush, a day where clubs and organizations advertise themselves to prospective members in the courtyard. Clubs and organizations at UHS include: ACLU, Anime Club, Art Club, Asian Club, Band, Best Buddies, Beta Club, Business Professionals of America, Chess Club, Chorus, Club Hispano, Colorguard/Winterguard, Debate, Diamond Girls (baseball), Drama, Drama Club, Ecology Club, Fashion club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, FFA, French Club, French Honor Society, Freshman Class Cabinet, Future Educators of America, German Club, Youth Equality Alliance (local Gay-Straight Alliance), Junior Class Cabinet, Key Club, Latin Club, Literary Magazine/Quill and Scroll, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, Quiz Bowl, Robotics, SADD, SAFE Ambassadors/Non-violence, Science Club, Science National Honor Society, Senior Class Cabinet, Sophomore Class Cabinet, Spanish Club, Spanish National Honor Society, Student Government Association, The Torch (newspaper), Thespians, TV Production, Umoja, Unity Yearbook, Youth Alive.
[edit] 2006 murder
On October 19, 2006, a 15-year-old male student, Michael Nieves,[1] was fatally stabbed at about 2:15pm[2] while walking to his school bus to go home. He was known to be stabbed with a three-inch serrated blade.[3] The victim was said to be stabbed in the neck and the abdomen. After the stabbing, the 17-year-old Kelvin De La Cruz, then changed clothing and hid out in a classroom on the second floor, and was apprehended by a school resource officer. Kelvin de la Cruz pretended to give Michael Nieves a hug as to ask for forgiveness and then stabbed Michael in the back of the neck. Michael then bent over and Kevin stabbed him again, this time in the abdomen. [4] The 17-year-old, who was pointed out by witnesses, was arrested around 3:00pm the same day.[5]
[edit] 1998 murder
Shortly after classes on December 9, 1998, 20-year-old construction worker Omar Witt approached 16-year-old Mark Thornton, allegedly seeking to confront Thornton about harassment of a female student. After a crowd had gathered, someone in the crowd shouting a racial slur. Thornton denied having said it, and tried to leave. As he turned to leave, Pitt threw a punch that connected with Thornton's temple. Thornton fell to the ground and did not get back. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Omar Witt was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. A memorial dedicated to Thornton is located in the parking lot of the Main Campus.
Sadly, due to the racially-charged nature of the incident (Witt was an African-American; Thornton was white) Mark Thornton has been listed as a martyr on white supremacist web sites[6].
