Valley Lutheran High School (Michigan)

Valley Lutheran High School
Address
3560 McCarty Road Saginaw, Michigan, 48603 United States
Coordinates	43°28′4″N 83°59′12″W / 43.46778°N 83.98667°W / 43.46778; -83.98667Coordinates: 43°28′4″N 83°59′12″W / 43.46778°N 83.98667°W / 43.46778; -83.98667
Information
Type	Parochial High School
Denomination	Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Status	Open
CEEB Code	233311
NCES School ID	00642037[1]
Principal	John Brandt
Teaching staff	18.8 (2011-12)[1]
Grades	9 to 12
Gender	Co-ed
Number of students	340 (2011-12)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	18.1 (2011-12)[1]
Color(s)	Blue & Gold
Athletics conference	Tri-Valley Conference
Team name	Chargers
Accreditation	AdvancED
Intermediate school district	Saginaw Intermediate School District
Website	School website
[2][3]

Valley Lutheran High School is a private, parochial school located in Saginaw, Michigan. There were 347 students enrolled for the 2005-2006 school year. There are 350 students enrolled for the 2013-2014 school year.

The school is owned and operated by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the Saginaw Valley. The school was founded in 1977.

Sports

Valley Lutheran is a class "C" school.^[4] Prior to the mid-1990s Valley Lutheran did not have a football team (also due to budget restrictions), as a result, the school was always well known for its soccer team. Because there was no football team, the annual homecoming dance was held in conjunction with a soccer match instead of the more-traditional football game.

The following sports are offered at Valley Lutheran:^[5]

Music

Valley Lutheran has a very active music program. Its choir and band routinely receive Superior scores at district and state festivals (MSVMA and MSBOA). An annual Lenten tour is often the musical highlight of the year, where the Symphonic Band and Golden Voice choir tour to Midwestern states for five days. These have proven to be very popular tours. Recent tour destinations include, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.There are also several concerts throughout the year. A fall concert for the bands, a Christmas concert for the choirs, and a spring concert with all musical groups.

Bands at Valley Lutheran

• Wind Ensemble - This group primarily made up of Freshman does not require an audition. Students in this group begin the transition from grade school pieces to more mature, high school pieces.
• Symphonic Band - This group requires an audition. Students in this group often play more challenging pieces, as well as traveling around the midwest with the Golden Voice choir for the annual Lenten concert.

Choirs at Valley Lutheran

• Mixed Chorus - This group primarily made up of Freshman does not require an audition. Students in this group begin the transition from grade school pieces to more mature, high school pieces.
• Golden Voice - This group requires an audition. Students in this group often sing more challenging pieces, as well as traveling around the mid west with the Symphonic Band for the annual Lenten concert.

The "Carpet Dome"

Prior to 1995 Valley Lutheran's basketball court was carpeted, and students dubbed the gym the carpet dome. When the school was constructed, the decision was made to cover the gym in carpet for financial reasons as well as noise reduction. Because of the school's religious background, there are daily chapel assemblies and it was thought that a carpeted gym would be quieter than wooden flooring. In 1995, the school replaced the carpeted basketball court with a more-traditional wooden flooring. The Saginaw News frequently reported that the carpeted floor gave the home team a 10-point advantage and lots of carpet burns.^[6]

References

External links

• Valley Lutheran High School