Dakota Ridge High School

Dakota Ridge High School
Address
13399 West Coal Mine Avenue
Littleton, Colorado, 80127
 United States
Information
School type Public
Motto To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy[2]
Established 1996
School district Jefferson County Public Schools
CEEB Code 060923
Principal Dr. Jim Jelinek
Teaching staff 77.6 (FTE) (as of 2006-07)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,641 (as of 2006-07)[1]
Average class size 21
Student to teacher ratio 21.1 (as of 2006-07)[1]
Campus size 42 acres (170,000 m2)
Campus type Open/Close
Color(s) Navy and Cardinal          
Athletics CHSAA 5A
Athletics conference Jefferson County League
Mascot Eagle
Publication Dakota Ridge Yearbook
Newspaper Ridge Review
Yearbook The Dakota Ridge Talon
Website

Dakota Ridge Senior High School is a public school located in Littleton, Colorado.

Contents

History

Dakota Ridge High School opened in August 1996.

Campus

Dakota Ridge operates on an Closed Campus for Freshmen and Sophomores, and an Open Campus for Juniors and Seniors.

It sits atop a hill on Coal Mine Avenue overlooking Foothills Golf Course to the south.

A new wing was added roughly ten years after it's original opening. There are also temporary buildings.

Notable alumni

Todd Dunivant - Professional Soccer Player, Los Angeles Galaxy

Extracurricular activities

Student groups and activities at Dakota Ridge include BASIC, chess club, choir, DECA, Eagle Productions, Eagleaires, FBLA, FCCLA, German club, International Thespian Troupe 5837, Key Club, knitting club, math club, mock trial, National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, newspaper, robotics club, science club, snow riders club, student government, and yearbook among many others.

The school's athletic teams, known as the Dakota Ridge Eagles, compete in CHSAA class 5A in the Jefferson County League. Teams are fielded in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. In 2007, the men's cross country team won the State Championship. The women took their turn in 2008, setting a state record for dominance with the fewest team points scored in 5A state history leading them to the State Championship.

Instrumental Music and Performance

Marching Band

The Dakota Ridge "Screamin' Eagles" Marching Band and Colorguard had its inaugural competitive season in 1998 and has since competed in the Colorado Bandmasters Association unit (CBA) in class 4A. The band has been a constant state championship qualifier for the 11 years of its existence including seven state finals finishes. The 2009 band improved an almost unheard of nine places from a 16th place quarter-finals in 2008, and with only a little over 60 people, was the smallest band at state championships, but managed to place 7th out of 8 total finalist 4A bands, and for the first time in school history managed to place higher than longtime trend-setting band and powerhouse Green Mountain High School, who finished 8th in finals competition.

Marching Band finishes in CBA state championship competition

1999-7th place, 4A State Finalist

2000-6th place, 4A State Finalist

2001-6th place, 4A State Finalist

2002-16th place,5A State Quarter-Finalist

2003-18th place,5A State Quarter-Finalist

2004-8th place, 4A State Finalist

2005-5th place, 4A State Finalist

2006-5th place, 4A State Finalist

2007-11th place,4A State Semi-Finalist

2008-16th place,4A State Quarter-Finalist

2009-7th place, 4A State Finalist

2010-7th place, 4A State Finalist

2011-5th place, 4A State Finalist

Winter Guard

The Dakota Ridge Winter Guard has competed in the Rocky Mountain Color Guard Association (RMCGA) as well as Winter Guard International (WGI),and has managed to receive a state championship title as well as other medalist finishes in the RMCGA unit, most recently a bronze medal state championship finish in 2006. The winter guard is competing with the percussion ensemble for the 2010 season, and not competing in RMCGA.

Percussion Ensemble

The Dakota Ridge Percussion Ensemble, has been a constant competitor in the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association (RMPA). The ensemble has managed to have several finalist finishes.

Recent championship finishes 2004=4th Place, Percussion Scholastic Concert Open Class (PSCO).

2005=7th Place, Percussion Scholastic A (PSA).

2006=8th Place, Percussion Scholastic Open (PSO).

2007=1st Place, Element Percussion Ensemble(made mostly of Dakota Ridge students) Percussion Independent A (PIA).

2008=4th Place, Percussion Scholastic Open (PSO).

2009=4th Place, Scholastic Concert Open (PSCO)(highest school score to date).

2010=3rd place, Percussion Scholastic A (PSA).

For the 2010 season, the percussion ensemble was the RMPA Bronze medalist in PSA class, the school's best placement to date.The ensemble will be attending the WGI 2010 world championships in Dayton Ohio.

8-1-5 Jazz

The only jazz band at Dakota Ridge, manages to always have strong finishes at competitive festivals.

Symphonic Orchestra

The sole orchestra at Dakota Ridge. The ensemble has managed to become a musical force within the last couple of years, having strong competitive finishes in festivals, including a 2nd place finish in a festival competition in San Diego, CA.

Symphonic Band

The only concert band in the school, the band has been a strong performer for many years, always delivering strong performance and musically strong pieces, the band always manages to have strong festival competition finishes.

Media Attention

In 2004 former teacher and tennis coach, Kevin Ponis, was arrested for grooming tennis players for sex. He currently is serving an eleven 11 year sentence.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c "School Detail for Dakota Ridge Senior High School". National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?ID=080480001543. 
  2. ^ Scanlon, Bill (1996-06-19). "New school has a lock on ideals". Rocky Mountain News. "No one approaching the spanking new Dakota Ridge High School will have any trouble discerning that its mission is to teach students to live, learn, love and leave a legacy. Etched in red sandstone ... will be icons to the school's purpose." 
  3. ^ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4263087/detail.html

External links