| Northside High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 6758 Northside High School Road Roanoke, Virginia, 24019 United States |
|
| Information | |
| School type | Public, high school |
| Established | 1960 |
| School district | Roanoke County Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Dr. Lorraine Lange |
| Principal | Frank Dent |
| Assistant principals | Dominick McKee John-Michael Deeds |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 988 (2007-08) |
| Language | English |
| Color(s) | Green, White, Gold, Black |
| Athletics conference | Blue Ridge District Region III |
| Nickname | Vikings |
| Rival | Lord Botetourt High School William Byrd High School Salem High School |
| Website | Official Site |
Northside High School is one of five high schools in Roanoke County, Virginia.
Contents |
Northside High School (NHS), located in the northern area of Roanoke County, Virginia, first opened its doors to students in December, 1960. Initially the student body consisted of grades seven through ten and pulled students from portions of those classes at William Byrd High School in Vinton and the former Andrew Lewis High School in Salem (currently, William Byrd High School is still in operation, but Andrew Lewis High School has been replaced by Salem High School). NHS had no junior or senior classes its first year, so as to allow those students to graduate with the peers with which they had spent their scholastic careers. Two years later, in 1962, the first graduating class began the school year, and the entire student body consisted of grades eight through twelve. The first seniors from NHS received their diplomas in the spring of 1963.
When Northside Intermediate School opened in 1970, the rising Northside eighth graders were sent there, leaving the high school with grades nine through twelve. In 1973, the rising ninth grade class remained at the intermediate school (forming Northside Junior High School), and NHS became a senior high school. In the fall of 1994, the junior high returned to the middle school paradigm, becoming Northside Middle School (NMS), and NHS switched back to its current format, containing grades nine through twelve.
In 1977, Roanoke City annexed a portion of North Roanoke County, which resulted in a reduction in NHS’s enrollment. Since then, as a result of natural fluctuations in population as well as building new schools and redistricting, the student population has remained fairly stable at each grade level, with a graduating class of around 240 to 270. Today students from Glen Cove, Burlington, and Mountain View elementary schools attend Northside Middle School prior to coming to NHS. In 2007, Northside began renovations, which completed in the summer of 2009, to bring it onto a par with Hidden Valley High School, the newest school in the school district. NHS is situated on a campus that also contains Northside Middle School, as well as a football stadium (Hickam Field in Viking Stadium), baseball stadium, softball complex, and new, modern gymnasium.
Northside High School is a member of the Virginia High School League and competes in the AA Blue Ridge District, a district in Region III of Group AA. Northside formerly competed in the Group AAA Roanoke Valley District but dropped down to the Group AA Blue Ridge District in 1988. Northside won the 1995 Group AA state championship in Golf. However, the Vikings have been state runners-up two times in men's basketball and twice in women's basketball and wrestling. The Vikings also won three "unclassified" state titles in wrestling between 1967 and 1970. Most recently, in the 2007-2008 season, the Northside Viking wrestling team won the Region III wrestling championship. This championship was the first during coach Mark Agner's time as head coach. The NHS Baseball team appeared in the VHSL State Final Four in baseball in the years of 2006 and 2007. The school's track team has produced many outstanding athletes including many nationally ranked runners, most notably Catherine White, a record 15-time VHSL state champion. Recently, the Northside High School golf team finished third at the VHSL State Tournament in Bluefield, VA. Northside High School boy's soccer team made their second state final four appearance in 2007 and won the district title in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Northside High School became the first team in AA Blue Ridge District to use Nike uniforms based on the uniforms of the Oregon Ducks. Northside's football team won its first state championship on 12-12-2009, defeating Bruton High School 20-17. This is also notable as it is the first football championship for any high school currently in Roanoke County and the first football championship since the VHSL established playoffs. This was also the first time since 1995 that Northside won a state championship. It was also the first appearance by a Roanoke County school in the championship game since Andrew Lewis lost to T.C. Williams in 1971, a game that has become famous for being portrayed in the 2000 movie "Remember the Titans." In addition, Northside won its first Softball State title in 2010, and won its first Baseball State title in 2011. The Vikings went on a run, beating former state champion teams such as Jefferson Forest, Turner Ashby, Cave Spring, York, and Tunstall. Northside Vikings baseball team beat Tunstall in the State finals 4-0.
Northside High School is also home to the Northside Vocal Music Department and the Pride of Northside Marching Band. Additionally, Northside has fielded several terms in Odyssey of the Mind.