Riverdale High School (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)

Riverdale High School
Riverdale logo
Address
802 Warrior Drive
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
United States
Information
School type High school
Founded 1972
School board Rutherford County Board of Education
Principal Tom Nolan
Vice principal 9th Grade: Judy Sides
10th Grade: Stephen Wayne
11th Grade: Ryan Nance
12th Grade: Chelsea Spaulding
Grades 9 - 12
Enrollment Approx. 2200 (Jan. 2009)
Language English
Colour(s) Gold and Cardinal Red
Mascot Chief Win-Em-All
Nickname Warriors, Lady Warriors

Riverdale High School is a public high school operated by the Rutherford County School system located in the southwestern part of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, It is located on Warrior Drive which intersects with South Church Street (US 231 South). Other schools also apart of Rutherford County School system are Blackman High School, Siegel High School, Smyrna High School, and La Vergne High School. Riverdale is one of the older high schools in Murfreesboro, along with Oakland High School (the brother school) which was also built in 1972. It is home to 12 academic Departments, 40 Extra Curricular Clubs, and 19 TSSAA Athletic Teams. Throughout the area, Riverdale is known for its state championship women's basketball team.

Academics

In 2014, Riverdale High School ranked better than 67.3% of high schools in Tennessee. It also ranked 2nd among high schools in the large Rutherford County School District.[1] Many foreign language classes are offered including: Spanish, German, and French. These active classes feature an annual international cultural trip for students.

Campus

The sprawling campus includes an two main academic buildings containing computer labs, science labs, an auditorium, band room, two cafeterias and many classrooms. The freshman have a dedicated building known as the Annex. The field house features a full size basketball court, a wrestling room, workout areas, locker rooms, and coaching offices. The spacious site also has softball, baseball, soccer, football fields and even a swimming pool.[2]

Warrior Philanthropy

Students at Riverdale High School are extremely generous and involved with their community. With the help of hundreds of students, faculty, and numerous people with gracious hearts, the on-line auction that was run by Comas Montgomery Auctions and Realty of Murfreesboro raised $5,606.00 for the family of Leah Smallwood. Leah is the daughter of former RHS football player and student Michael Smallwood.

Athletics

Band Program

Established in 1972, the Riverdale High School Band has a long tradition of success.[4] Opened (along with Oakland High School) after the closing of the original Murfreesboro Central High School, our legacy extends far past 1972.

Mr. Bob Lee, Riverdale’s first Director of Bands, came to RHS from Murfreesboro Central High School. While at CHS, he won the prestigious MTSU Contest of Champions. His predecessor at Central was Wayne Pegram, who eventually went to work with the bands at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville and then served as Director of Bands at Tennessee Technological University.

Mr. Lee left Riverdale in 1981 to serve Austin Peay State University as Director of Bands. He was followed at RHS by Mr. Ron Meers, who served as Director until his retirement in 2012. During his tenure, Mr. Meers served as MTSBOA President, oversaw auditions for the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, and served as President of TMEA. Upon his retirement, he began to serve TMEA as Executive Secretary. Many of our current band traditions and music were established by these three gentlemen.

Our history is one of excellence and rich in tradition. In marching, the band has been a finalist at the Contest of Champions, champion at several contests throughout the southeast and as far north as Toronto, Canada. Performances have taken the band throughout the United States, from California to Texas, from New York to Chicago, and include a performance at the 1995 Sugar Bowl.

The Riverdale Band is not just a marching program, as our concert bands receive superior ratings and several ensembles have performed at several events of significance. The Riverdale Band has performed at the National Band Association Biennial Conference; the Jazz Band, a clinic for the 2009 Tennessee Music Education Association Professional Development Conference; and the saxophone ensemble, at the 2013 National Association for Music Education National Convention.

Additionally, the Riverdale Band is a consistent fixture at the TMEA State Concert Festival. These opportunities for individual growth are beneficial for students not only for their inherent value, but also for potential college scholarships, regardless of major. Former Riverdale Band students serve in a variety of capacities today; band directors, lawyers, doctors, politicians, and as touring musicians, just to name a few.

Choir

Students can choose General Music, Music Theory or one of our Choirs to earn their Fine Arts Credit. The Women's Chorale and Men's Ensemble just require a love and desire to sing, while the more advanced Riverdale Singers requires an audition with high performance expectations.[5]

Key Club

Key Club is THE club for students interested in making a difference in the community through volunteer service! It is open to all interested students. Every student should have the opportunity to work with others to make a difference! Every year at Riverdale High School, club members carry out 2 service projects a month. Some of our more popular service projects are:

[6]

Student Council

The Riverdale High School Student Council (RHSSC) is one of the most hard working organizations at Riverdale. The club picks up pace before school starts in the fall by having a summer meeting and planning out projects for the school year. First and foremost, the freshmen orientation at the beginning of the year is the kick-off project. As the year progresses, the council takes on more projects such as homecoming activities and other school events. Homecoming is one of the best times of the school year because of the many activities that occur. During football homecoming, RHSSC organizes the dance and the weekly activities for each day during homecoming week. Throughout the school year, there is competition amongst the classes. Points are earned through Students of the Week, pep rally winners, spirit days and various class competition activities. The signs and posters all over the main and annex cafeteria are also made by one of the many hard working committees in RHSSC. The organization never rests and are always hard at work.[7]

Ultimate Frisbee Club

This club sport is the fastest growing sport in TN and possibly the southeast. This is only the 2nd full year that Riverdale has an Ultimate Frisbee Team. The coach is Alan Hardy who has always shared the love of the sport and played a short time in FL. The team also is coached by a MTSU player - J.J. Thompson who has traveled all over the country playing in Regional Tournaments. We hope to build the team in the upcoming years, so as of now, it is open to anyone who loves the game and has a competitive spirit.

National Art Honors Society

NAHS is a Nationally recognized program designed to support and encourage students who demonstrate interest and skills in the Visual Arts. NAHS provides opportunities for scholarships, National recognition with 48,000 Art Students worldwide. Students at Riverdale that are active members are working on building character while performing community and school wide service. Projects include:

[8]

School Newspaper and Yearbook

The Smoke Signal, http://riverdalewarriors.com/smokesignal/, is Riverdale High School's online newspaper. Six staff members provide the writing, photography, and website updates necessary to keep the newspaper up to date. These writers are part of a larger creative writing class, but are dedicated to journalistic writing only and their focus is the Smoke Signal. During fall homecoming festival, the newspaper offers a photo booth as a fundraising event to help keep cameras and software updated.[9]

The Riverdale High School yearbook, Lance & Shield, is a 360-page history book published every year by a staff of students who work both in and out of class to create the book. Students provide much of the candid photography used in the book and write all of the copy and captions. To help offset the price of yearbooks, members of the staff solicit local businesses for ads and offer senior congratulatory ads to parents. The staff organizes and runs both the fall and spring photo days, as well as club picture day in October.[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.schooldigger.com/go/TN/schools/0369001524/school.aspx
  2. ↑ http://www.riverdalewarriors.com
  3. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/sports/rubgy_w/index.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.riverdaleband.com/
  5. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/teachers/Williamsb/williamsb_07/Riverdale_Vocal_Department/General_Music.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/clubs/keyclub/key05index.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/clubs/student_council/studentcouncil05index.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/clubs/national_art_h_soc/art_honor_soc_05_index.htm
  9. ↑ http://riverdalewarriors.com/smokesignal/
  10. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcschools.net/yearbook/index.html

External links

35°48′57.07″N 86°24′34.2″W / 35.8158528°N 86.409500°WCoordinates: 35°48′57.07″N 86°24′34.2″W / 35.8158528°N 86.409500°W