| Chalmette High School Home of the Fighting Owls |
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| Address | |
| 1100 East Judge Perez Drive Chalmette, Louisiana, 70043 United States |
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| Information | |
| Established | 1954 |
| School board | St. Bernard Parish Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Doris Voitier |
| Principal | Wayne Warner (1973-) |
| Asst. Principal | Carole Mundt Emily Boackle Charlotte Mayne Stephen "Larry" Cowen |
| Teaching staff | 153 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | approx. 1,400 (2011) |
| Education system | Block scheduling |
| Campus | Main Campus (10-12) Lacoste Campus (9th) |
| Campus size | 35 acres (140,000 m2) |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Maroon and White |
| Song | Chalmette Alma Mater |
| Fight song | Chalmette High Fight Song |
| Athletics | LHSAA |
| Mascot | Owl |
| Team name | Fighting Owls |
| Rival | Holy Cross High School |
| Accreditation(s) | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [1] |
| National ranking | Bronze Medal, U.S. News Rank [1] |
| Publication | Magnum Opus (literary magazine) |
| Newspaper | 'The Owl Post' |
| (Class of 2012) Graduates | 275 |
| Disciplinarian | Jack Serigne |
| Athletic Director | David Brosette |
| Website | http://www.chsowls.org http://www.stbernard.k12.la.us |
Chalmette High School is a high school in the Chalmette area unincorporated St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a part of St. Bernard Parish Public Schools.Chalmette High School opened in 1954 at the current site of Chalmette Elementary School, previously known as Chalmette Middle School. In 1961, the school moved to the current location on the corner of Palmisano Avenue and Judge Perez Drive. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded the school, which was being used as an emergency shelter, along with the rest of the Greater New Orleans area. Chalmette High hosted the St. Bernard Unified School, before reopening as Chalmette High School for the 2006-2007 school year. In 2009, U.S. News magazine released their rankings of the best high schools in America, based on test scores and other factors. Chalmette earned a bronze medal as one of 39 schools in Louisiana to make the list.
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The history of Chalmette High School began in 1928 with the addition of a freshman class to Meraux Elementary School. It is believed that an additional grade level was added each of three subsequent years until a four year institution could be established. It is interesting to note that prior to 1928, any student wanting a high school diploma had to transfer to an Orleans Parish Public School. Orleans Parish agreed to educate any secondary student from St. Bernard for a nominal annual fee, which was paid by St. Bernard Parish School Board.
In the fall of 1966, Chalmette High School became an all boys high school. This helped meet the demand of more classrooms to house the ever growing school population. The solution to the problem of having four co-ed high schools was to segregate by sex. This would cut costs drastically since the parish would only have to build and maintain two stadiums instead of four.During the 1968-1969 term, the school's name was officially changed to Chalmette High School. The year 1971 brought construction to Chalmette High. As the school population grew, more space was needed. An addition was built that is still referred to as "the new building."
Chalmette High School has seen only six principals in its 68 years. Wayne Warner has been the leader of this school for the past 30 years. From its inception in 1928 until now, as the school population increased and changed with the times, so did Chalmette High to accommodate growth throughout St. Bernard Parish. The school has evolved to meet the increasing demands of an everchanging society.
Chalmette takes great pride in their athletics program. The athletic programs continue to strive towards achieving the goal of an LHSAA state championship, which has never been won in the school's history. The Owls have bounced between districts in their 56 year history, with their longest stay in one district being from 1970–1988, in the famed New Orleans Catholic League. Due to the closure of St. Bernard and Andrew Jackson High Schools and the re-locations of Archbishop Hannan and Holy Cross, Chalmette became the only High School in St. Bernard Parish, thus moving the school to class 5A, the highest classification of the LHSAA, for the first time.
The Owls retain a rivalry against Holy Cross from their Catholic League days and have played 41 times in football since 1967, HC leading 27-11-3. Notable meetings include the Owls' first state playoff game in 1967, three straight ties between 1973 and 1975, and a 41-6 defeat of the Tigers in 2003 which set the stage for an undefeated regular season. In 2011, the Owls joined a 5A district consisting of three former Catholic League schools (Rummel, Jesuit, and Brother Martin), and West Jefferson.
There are quite a number of successful people who reign from Chalmette. Norris Weese, a former quarterback of the Fighting Owl Football Team, led Chalmette to the 1968 state semi-finals and later played for the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, held in the Louisiana Superdome. Ronnie Lamarque is a locally famous automobile dealer. Walter Boasso is a successful businessman, former state senator, and a 2007 candidate for governor of Louisiana. Mike Romano is Chalmette's most recent major league athlete, having pitched three games for the 1999 Toronto Blue Jays. Jane Boisseau (1963) graduated from NYU law school, was a partner at Dewey and LeBouef law firm in New York City, and was selected one of the USA's Best Lawyers.
A modernist, 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) pillared cultural arts building opened at Chalmette High School in 2011. Clad in brick, stainless steel panels and cement plaster, and complete with a glass atrium lobby, the $28.7 million building on East Judge Perez Drive features a 420-seat theater as its centerpiece. It was paid for through FEMA and Community Development Block Grant funds and private donations.
Designed by Waggonner & Ball Architects of New Orleans and constructed by Mapp Construction of Baton Rouge, work began in March 2009 and was substantially completed by December. It includes a 7,980-square-foot (741 m2) public library on the first floor, fronting Judge Perez.
In addition to the larger theater, there's a 120-seat technology center that has a large cinema screen. Students can plug in laptops at their seats while listening to lectures. Upstairs, there's a choral room, two practice rooms and an instrumental music ensemble room, each soundproof and equipped with recording equipment. There are two dance studios, one that has the same dimensions as the large theater's stage, thereby providing students with a separate practice space. The large theater is designed with acoustics in the forefront, according to its architect, David Waggonner. It sports a classic proscenium arch, an orchestra pit and a fly loft that will allow students to hoist scenery and lights. A student-run coffee shop will provide concessions during shows.
In 2009, construction was completed on a new building across Judge Perez Drive. The complex, across from the main campus, boasts of a 3-story classroom building, a new gymnasium, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a wrestling arena, and a fitness center. The Academy is home to approximately 380 freshmen. The facility was built around research-based practices that recommend 9th-Grade Academies as a way to stem the drop-out tide that seems to hit 9th-graders across the nation. The program divides students into 3 cohorts of about 126 students which are served by the same 6-8 teachers. The school provides tutoring to students during lunch and after school. In addition, students who choose not to complete assignments or who may choose to complete them without a best effort are required to attend tutoring sessions until work is completed. The Chalmette High School Lacoste Campus complex will also house the school's Cultural Arts facility. That building, scheduled for completion in November 2010, will feature a dance studio, music and choral studios, a performance theater, and a 9th-grade library emphasizing cultural arts. The facility will also house a branch of the public library.
•Japanese Cultural Club
•TV Production
•Computer Repair
•Game Design
•Future Teachers of America
•Charmers
•Cheerleaders
•Key Club
•CHS Live Drama Club
•Book Chat Club
•Cultural Diversity
•Marching Band
•Distributive Education Club
•Mu Alpha Theta
•Owlettes
•Newspaper
•Future Business Leaders of America
•Pride Platoon
•Science Club
•Future Homemakers of America
•Student Council
•VICA
•Yearbook Staff
Bobby Nuss Stadium is Chalmette's Football, Soccer, and Track and Field stadium.
The stadium became officially named on November 1, 1991 in a pre-game ceremony. The stadium was named after Bobby Nuss, a longtime Chalmette football coach who died of a heart attack the year prior to the ceremony.
The stadium's former name was Noel Suarez Stadium which is now the name of the Owls' baseball field next door to Bobby Nuss.
Many memorable moments in Chalmette's athletic history have occurred in the stadium. In 2001, the New Orleans' area single game rushing record was broken twice in a three week span, both times at Bobby Nuss. In addition to this accomplishment, the Owls Football Team completed a 10-0 regular season, their first ever and only one to date, in 2003.
Chalmette football has won district championships in 1961, 1968, 1992, 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2004, but has won multiple playoff games once, in 1968, when they made it to the state semifinals.
The stadium was flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina, but was repaired in time for the 2006 football season. It will become one of the nicest football facilities in the state of Louisiana for the start of the 2011-2012 season after Chalmette unveils a brand new state of the art fieldhouse. Its reopening was compared to the New Orleans Saints reopening of the Louisiana Superdome. For the 2007 football season, artificial turf and a new scoreboard with a messaging board were added. The stadium seats 3,750 on the visitor's side and 4,050 on the home side, with concessions on both sides.
Voted one of the top ten gyms in the state of Louisiana, Chalmette's gym seats approximately 1100 in wooden chairback seats and was a location for the filming of Hurricane Season and Glory Road, as well as commercials featuring Michael Jordan and Chris Paul. Chalmette basketball made two Top 28 appearances in 1984 and 1985, and the girls' basketball team was state runner-up in 1991.
Noel Suarez Stadium is the baseball stadium at Chalmette High School. A new scoreboard was added in 2008, along with the new football scoreboard. The stadium seats approximately 500. For the 2011 season Chalmette artificial turf was added, and an indoor batting cage and clubhouse is being constructed next to the stadium. Chalmette baseball was state runner-up in 1969 and 1977, and made it to the state semifinals in 1978 and 2005.