| Fairview High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Boulder, Colorado, United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public High School |
| Established | 1960 |
| Principal | Don Stensrud |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Number of students | Around 2,000 |
| Campus | "Open Campus" (Students are free to come and go at all hours of the day) |
| Mascot | Knight |
| Website | fairviewhs.org |
Fairview High School is a public high school located on the southern edge of Boulder, Colorado in the Table Mesa area. About 2,000 students attend Fairview, placing it in the 5A category for Colorado sports. A group of seniors recently redesigned the school's website to vast community and critical acclaim; it is now available at fairviewhs.org.
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Prior to recent additions, Fairview High School's interior was unique: only a single room in the entire building was rectangular, as most rooms were fragments of hexagons. Generally the rooms in the building lack windows, or have only tall thin windows. The school is situated on a slope, so hallways are on separate levels, with stairs allowing passage in between. Situated in the center of the school, the student center has student lockers. Large ramps on either side serve as the main passageways throughout the school. On clear days, visibility extends north to Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park; however, the library with its large panoramic windows is the only room with a good view. The building was originally constructed in 1971, and underwent renovations to the north end of the student center after a roof collapsed in the winter of 1978–1979. (During this period, classes were held at nearby University of Colorado.) Recent additions to the main entrance and the south-west side have added more windows, classrooms, and offices. Additionally, solid, permanent walls in the two uppermost levels have been built; the attendance office has been relocated; and the senior balcony has been removed. (See "Future Improvements" section.)
Fairview’s student body is led by the Head Girl and Head Boy. The rough equivalent to a Student Body President, the Head Girl and Boy are responsible for all Student Council-led projects ranging from Homecoming to the Fairview Tennis Open to All Cultures Week. The Head Girl and Boy create the class curriculum for the Student Council (approximately 70 students each semester) and Student Senate (approximately 45 students each semester) classes, work directly with Administration, supervise all school activities, speak publicly, attend sporting events, and operate as the personification of Fairview High School.
Fairview High School has a long history of music and theater programs with eight choirs, directed by Janice Vlachos, Rochelle Gallup with Jim Keller directing the Madrigals choir. They are Voices of the Knight (the freshmen choir), Troubadors (the show choir), Enchantment (the women's choir), Festival (the advanced mix choir), Madrigal Singers (an extracurricular choir specializing in madrigals), Chivalry (an extracurricular men's choir), Excalibur (the senior jazz choir, specializing in a cappella), and Age of Guinevere (the elite women's jazz choir, started in 2007).
Fairview High School's instrumental music program includes an orchestra (The Classic Knights), jazz bands, and a concert/marching band. With three jazz bands and six smaller jazz combos under the direction of Travis Keller, Fairview High School purportedly has the most extensive jazz education program in Colorado. Fairview High School also has a concert and marching band. The Fairview Marching Knights, under the direction of Travis Keller, placed fourth at the Colorado Bandmasters Association state finals in October 2006 and again in October 2009 and have been in the top 10 in the state each year since CBA's inception. During the marching season, students spend about 300 hours outside of regular school hours practicing for competitions.[1]
Fairview High School's orchestra is directed by Bret and Stephanie Wallace. In addition to a large string orchestra, they also conduct a smaller Chamber Orchestra, which is a select, audition-only group.
Fairview High School's theater program, headed by Rochelle Gallup with assistance from Janice Vlachos and Tracy Warren, produces a musical in the fall and a play in the spring.
Each year in March, all three departments (choral, instrumental, and theater) present the Pops Festival, a show of music and dance. This festival includes choral, a Cappella, full band, jazz band, dancing, and comedy acts.
Art classes (ranging from introductory to IB levels) are taught by Cheryl Harmon and Rebecca Feeney. Class types include painting/drawing, photography, studio, and digital.
As of 2009, choir teachers Jim Keller and Ron Revier have gone into retirement, but occasionally do assist Janice Vlachos.
Fairview High School offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma program. At Fairview High School the IB program requires no application, and is composed of two years of an internationally standardized curriculum. The classes are taught during a student's junior and senior years. In addition to the coursework, students in the IB program must also write an Extended Essay (EE) and participate in 150 CAS hours within the community before the full IB Diploma is awarded. Fairview High School also offers a pre-IB program composed of two years of preparatory honors classes during the 9th and 10th grades. These classes are not formally required for the IB Diploma, but are recommended and sometimes required by the school to move into the IB classes. Fairview High School students have the opportunity to enroll in a mixture of IB, AP and/or regular classes.
The Fairview High School athletic program has garnered numerous state championships and consists of many different sports. Some of the most prominent are cross country, girls swimming and boys basketball, which have all been consistently involved in state championships. Girls' cross country has won two state titles in the past six years and have placed in the top five in other years. In 2006, the girls' swim team became nationally ranked in the country's top ten and for the past few years have held a first and second finish at the Colorado State Championships.The team won the state championship in 2004 and has finished in the top three the past five years. The team has boasted a national top-10 ranking and numerous All-Americans. The 2005 200 Freestyle relay team, made up of Emily Weigel, Madeline Rovira, Kristen Lahey, and Elizabeth Rovira, was ranked second nationally, by just one-tenth of a second. The boys basketball team finished the 2009 regular season number one in the state in 5A, with a perfect 23–0 record and reached the final four before losing in the semi-finals. In 2007 the golf team won the state championship and the tennis team got second in state. Fairview has 3 football state championships in 1978, 1979 and 1987. The football team came in 2nd in 1977 losing in the state championship game. From 1999 to 2002 the football team won four straight Centennial League championships including going to State in 2001 and 2002. In 2009 the football team went 12–0 before losing in the semifinals, this team was the first to go 12–0 in school history, Fairview also went undefeated in the Front Range League, which included wins over 8-0 Ft. Collins, Legacy, and Rocky Mtn. The 2009-10 Men's Basketball team made it to the state championship game losing to defending state-champion Regis Jesuit in overtime. The Fairview Men's soccer team reached the state quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009. The Fairview Women's soccer team won the state championship in 2010 for the first time in school history. The two most well known coaches at Fairview are Frank Lee the boys basketball coach and also the athletic director. The other coach is Tom McCartney the football coach and the son of former CU coach Bill McCartney. Tom McCartney also teaches at Fairview as PE teacher.
Fairview High School was ranked by Newsweek Magazine as the 3rd best high school in Colorado and the 204th in the nation. 79.8% of all seniors passed an AP or IB test.
Fairview High School's mascot is the Knight and the school colors are red, white and black. The lobby, at the South end of the school, contains a knight's armor on display. The entire school follows the "medieval" theme, occasionally referring to the school as "The Castle," The gym is called the Dungeon, and the cafeteria the "Round Table Café." The choir program continues this theme with choirs named: Voices of the Knight, Enchantment, Madrigals, Chivalry, Festival, and Excalibur. Dance themes at Fairview always include the word knight (for example, "A Knight In Las Vegas"). The school's yearbook is called "The Lance" and the newspaper "The Royal Banner".
Fairview High School like many other schools, has a fight song: "Fight on, ye knights, for victory / Fight on, ye knights, for fame / The red and the white will never say die 'cause spirit always wins the game! / Shout a cheer for old Fairview High / Let the world know why (Why!) / We're proud of our school and praise it high, so fight! fight! fight fight fight!"
Former American Idol contestant Ace Young graduated from the class of 1999. He participated in sports and choir. Chicago White Sox reliever Jesse Crain also graduated from the class of 1999. He played baseball, basketball and football and was named 1999 All-State and Colorado High School Player of the Year. Former NFL Tight End Dustin Lyman graduated Fairview in 1995. He played football and baseball at Wake Forest University, and went on to play five seasons for the Chicago Bears. Though she never directly attended Fairview High School, Jessica Biel was tutored at Fairview. Former Major League Baseball player Jay Howell graduated from Fairview High School in the 1970s. Actress Sheryl Lee was born in Germany but grew up in Boulder, and went on to appear as the dead Laura Palmer in the television show Twin Peaks. Former NBA player Tom Chambers played at Fairview High School in the 1970s. Former NFL All-Pro offensive lineman Tony Boselli graduated in 1990. Former Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Kevin Call graduated in 1980. Patrick McCoy, a professional water polo player for the Croatian club Jadran SD, attended Fairview High School. TV Actress Sheree J. Wilson (Dallas, Walker – Texas Ranger) graduated 1977. Sean Foreman, singer in the band 3OH!3, graduated from Fairview High School and filmed one of the band's music videos in one of the Chemistry lecture halls as well as in the 800 hallway. Kevin Russo, 2002 Fairview graduate, is on the active roster for the New York Yankees. Poker pro Paul Wasicka, who played five sports at Fairview, placed 2nd at the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. Jeff Knapple, a Fairview High School 1974 graduate, was a Denver Broncos backup quarterback in 1980 and also played for the Denver Gold of the USFL.
In 2006 a bond issue was issued to the Boulder Valley School District for school improvements.[2] Fairview High School was included in this issue and now improvements are being planned for the school. These renovations include reconstructing the 300 level to allow for more classroom space, moving all of the administration offices to the senior balcony, remodeling the 700 level locker rooms and other spaces, creating new classrooms and space near the 600 level, enclosing open spaces on the 800 level to create more classrooms and to improve the ones in place, and adding skylights to the student center. On top of these, the front entrance to Fairview High School will be remodeled to reduce confusion from the current two door design. The athletic facilities at Fairview will also be improved. A field house will be constructed near the track and water/sewage lines will be extended out to there. Signs, fences and gates will be added to provide more security and the softball field will be upgraded. Some of these changes have already been completed. See the project website for further information.