Alvirne High School
Encyclopedia
Alvirne High School is located in the town of Hudson, New Hampshire
with an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students from grades 9-12. Alvirne gets its name from a prominent Hudson family, the Alfred and Virginia Hills family, who left a large piece of property to the town in the early 20th century to provide land for the building of a high school. A contraction of their names (Alfred and Virginia) provides the name for the school. The school mascot is the Bronco, and the school colors are maroon and gold.
On September 8, 1974 a large fire gutted the building, requiring most of it to be rebuilt. The agricultural school was opened in the 1950s, and the modern vocational building opened in 1993. The large, 100-year-old Alvirne barn was heavily damaged by a fire in late March 1993, a year after the Palmer Vocational Center was opened.
The school's Gymnasium is named after former principal Chester J. Steckevicz.
s. They include: AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, AP United States History I & II, AP American Government, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP French, AP Spanish, and AP Physics. The school is renowned for its numerous high-scorers on the AP exams. For over 10 years, 99% of all students taking the AP Calculus exam have passed with a 5, the highest score possible; the scores of AP US History and AP Government students are also continually very high.
center that features programs of study in finance
, accounting, agriculture mechanics/diesel technology
, banking, biotechnology
, building trades, business
, culinary arts, early childhood education
, floriculture
, health occupations
, landscaping
, marketing
, natural resource management/forestry
, production agriculture
, and veterinary technology
.
The program focuses on application-based education and centers around student-managed businesses. The center features several fully operational businesses that are open to the public, including a bank, convenience store, restaurant, day care, and dairy farm. The dairy farm has cows, chickens, turkeys, sheep, and a barn on campus.
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
.
In 2010, Alvirne's JROTC program earned the rating of "Distinguished Unit."
and Salem High School. Throughout the years, the band has grown from 32 members to over 160, including a full drumline, pit, and color guard. The concert band has also grown through the past decade, having gone to Walt Disney World and marched down Main Street U.S.A. in 2002, 2006, and 2010. They have traveled to places like Maryland, Ohio, New York, Virginia, and Canada. The jazz ensemble (stage band) has become known worldwide, traveling with the marching band to Florida and going across the Atlantic to Germany in 2001, 2006, and 2009. The entire music department has also been hosting its annual "Cabaret" each spring for the last decade, starting at one performance to an entire three-performance weekend that the public raves about the entire year.
School Store in the United States. Besides selling food and drink items, the store sells student and faculty apparel, balloon orders, Hallmark cards and much more. It is operated by marketing students.
at Alvirne is committed to excellence. Members are academically proficient and are supporters of the Alvirne community. Members of the NHS volunteer around Alvirne and throughout Hudson in many different ways.
, held their first inductions in March 2007.
, football
, cheerleading
, cross country
, golf
, soccer, volleyball
, wrestling
, tennis
, softball
, basketball
, track
, swimming
and ice hockey
.
Alvirne High went many decades without a football team, despite being one of the largest high schools in the state. It had long been rumored that the Hills' only son died during a football game and the school did not conduct a football program out of respect. After the 1974 fire, some residents questioned if the school should continue its "no football" tradition since the town would be rebuilding the school. It was assumed that such a stipulation was a condition of the high school's charter, however, when it was learned that this had never been recorded, local supporters encouraged the formation of a football team. In fall of 1994, Alvirne High School fielded its first junior varsity football team, with varsity play beginning in 1996. The varsity first made the playoffs in 1999, with their second appearance being in 2009 under Coach Robert Nimblett.
Fans of Alvirne often chant the phrase "Shut 'em down Bronco's!" and "Where's the Rodeo?"
measuring 320 feet 11.1 inches in length. It was completed in March, 1979. The record was broken later that year by students at the University of Illinois.
Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 24,467 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 7,336 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hudson census-designated place and is located at the junctions of New Hampshire...
with an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students from grades 9-12. Alvirne gets its name from a prominent Hudson family, the Alfred and Virginia Hills family, who left a large piece of property to the town in the early 20th century to provide land for the building of a high school. A contraction of their names (Alfred and Virginia) provides the name for the school. The school mascot is the Bronco, and the school colors are maroon and gold.
History
The school was almost never built. A tract in the Hills' will providing for the school required that it open by a certain date. Behind schedule, the town held 4-H horticulture classes in the partially complete building to meet the literal deadline.On September 8, 1974 a large fire gutted the building, requiring most of it to be rebuilt. The agricultural school was opened in the 1950s, and the modern vocational building opened in 1993. The large, 100-year-old Alvirne barn was heavily damaged by a fire in late March 1993, a year after the Palmer Vocational Center was opened.
The school's Gymnasium is named after former principal Chester J. Steckevicz.
School District
Alvirne High School is the only high school in the Hudson School District, under the authority of School Administrative Unit # 81 of New Hampshire (SAU81). The Superintendent of Schools is Randy Bell. The system is under the direction of the Hudson School Board, consisting of 5 elected members (elected by town vote) and one student representative (non-voting; elected by Alvirne's student body).School administrators
- Principal - Bryan K. Lane
- Dean of Students - Susan M. Hanley
- Assistant Dean of Students - Vincent Pagan
- Dean of Academics - Susan Bureau
- Director of Guidance - William R. Hughen
- Assistant Principal for Student Services - Scott Ridell
- Vocational Director - Karen Worthen
Academic programs
Alvirne teaches a standard college preparatory course of study, but also features an extensive vocational education program. Various Advanced Placement and Honors level classes are available for those who excel in core subjects.Advanced Placement (AP) Programs
Alvirne offers several Advanced Placement ProgramAdvanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
s. They include: AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, AP United States History I & II, AP American Government, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP French, AP Spanish, and AP Physics. The school is renowned for its numerous high-scorers on the AP exams. For over 10 years, 99% of all students taking the AP Calculus exam have passed with a 5, the highest score possible; the scores of AP US History and AP Government students are also continually very high.
Foreign language program
Alvirne offers both French and Spanish classes in its foreign language department. Classes range from level 1B to level 5. There are also Honors Spanish and French classes (Advanced Placement preparatory) for academically accelerated students.Wilbur H. Palmer Vocational-Technical Center
The campus is home to the Wilbur H. Palmer Vocational-Technical Center, a comprehensive vocational educationVocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
center that features programs of study in finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, accounting, agriculture mechanics/diesel technology
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
, banking, biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, building trades, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, culinary arts, early childhood education
Early childhood education
Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...
, floriculture
Floriculture
Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry...
, health occupations
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
, marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, natural resource management/forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, production agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and veterinary technology
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
.
The program focuses on application-based education and centers around student-managed businesses. The center features several fully operational businesses that are open to the public, including a bank, convenience store, restaurant, day care, and dairy farm. The dairy farm has cows, chickens, turkeys, sheep, and a barn on campus.
AFJROTC
Alvirne is home to NH-20031, a unit of the Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
.
In 2010, Alvirne's JROTC program earned the rating of "Distinguished Unit."
Band
While Alvirne High School has always had a music program, the marching band and competitive concert bands began with the addition of Gerry Bastien to the music program in 1995. The marching band began as a volunteer pep band for the growing football program, continuing to become respected statewide for unique and challenging shows, even among larger high schools such as Londonderry High SchoolLondonderry High School
Londonderry High School is a public secondary school serving grades 9 through 12 in the town of Londonderry, New Hampshire. The school, located on Mammoth Road , is on a parcel of land in the center of town. The main building is . and the separate gymnasium takes up an additional...
and Salem High School. Throughout the years, the band has grown from 32 members to over 160, including a full drumline, pit, and color guard. The concert band has also grown through the past decade, having gone to Walt Disney World and marched down Main Street U.S.A. in 2002, 2006, and 2010. They have traveled to places like Maryland, Ohio, New York, Virginia, and Canada. The jazz ensemble (stage band) has become known worldwide, traveling with the marching band to Florida and going across the Atlantic to Germany in 2001, 2006, and 2009. The entire music department has also been hosting its annual "Cabaret" each spring for the last decade, starting at one performance to an entire three-performance weekend that the public raves about the entire year.
Bronco Barn (school store)
The Bronco Barn, Alvirne's school store, is the only Hallmark CardsHallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
School Store in the United States. Besides selling food and drink items, the store sells student and faculty apparel, balloon orders, Hallmark cards and much more. It is operated by marketing students.
Bronco Talk (student newspaper)
Alvirne High School's student newspaper is Bronco Talk. Alvirne's journalism classes support the newspaper by reporting on controversial issues and covering stories that are important to the community. Bronco Talk has a website, that is current with the most recent issue of the newspaper, and also includes past issues of the newspaper. Also, among other features, businesses can find out how to advertise in Bronco Talk.Checker's Restaurant
Checker's is Alvirne's school restaurant. Students can pre-order and enjoy a restaurant meal during their lunch period Tuesday through Thursday. Parents and members of the general public are also welcome to visit the restaurant. Checker's also hosts special occasions, such as alumni reunions and honor society inductions.Studio 19
Seniors get the chance to run Alvirne High's very own television studio, broadcasting the morning announcements three times a week. This tradition was started by Jan Monihan-Cooney and later taken over by Eric Pascoal starting the fall of 2008. A worthy tradition every year at Alvirne High School, Studio 19 is something many kids at Alvirne look forward to taking a part of as seniors. Using top-of-the-line cameras, a green screen, teleprompters, the Avid video-editing suite, etc., Studio 19 stays at the top of Alvirne's academic accomplishments and keeps the school unique.Other clubs
- The Alvirne High School Academic Decathlon Team has won state championships 14 years in a row and numerous gold medals on a national level. http://www.usad.org
- Alvirne has won the Granite State ChallengeGranite State ChallengeGranite State Challenge is an American television quizbowl game show that airs on New Hampshire Public Television and began in 1983.-Description:...
championship three times, giving the school the status of being one of the few multiple-time champions to have won every championship game appearance. - FIRST engineering competitionFirstFirst or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
- Model UN team- starting in the 2008-2009 school year, there will also be a Model UN class offered.
- The Gay Straight Alliance, for those who support gay, straight or bisexual studentsLGBTLGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
in the school community.
National Honor Society (NHS)
The National Honor SocietyNational Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
at Alvirne is committed to excellence. Members are academically proficient and are supporters of the Alvirne community. Members of the NHS volunteer around Alvirne and throughout Hudson in many different ways.
Société Honoraire de Français (SHF)
The Société Honoraire de Français (SHF), or French National Honor Society, was established at Alvirne in 2007. Members of the SHF must have an A in a French class (French 2B or higher) and must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Members must strive to learn French and must be proficient speakers and writers of French.Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH)
The Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH), or Spanish National Honor SocietySpanish National Honor Society
Spanish National Honor Society is an academic honor society focused on Spanish language excellence in secondary education and promotes a continuity of interest in Spanish studies. The group, which was established in 1953 in the United States is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of...
, held their first inductions in March 2007.
National Music Honor Society (Tri-M)
The National Music Honor Society (also known as the Tri-M (Modern Music Masters) Music Honor Society) held their first inductions in the Fall of 2004. Members of Tri-M must uphold a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and be actively involved in the school's music program, either in a band or a singing group, or both. Tri-M promotes the ideals of service to the school music program, the school-at-large, and the community.National Technical Honor Society (NTHS)
Alvirne is home to a chapter of the National Technical Honor Society.Athletics
Alvirne fields athletic teams in baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
.
Alvirne High went many decades without a football team, despite being one of the largest high schools in the state. It had long been rumored that the Hills' only son died during a football game and the school did not conduct a football program out of respect. After the 1974 fire, some residents questioned if the school should continue its "no football" tradition since the town would be rebuilding the school. It was assumed that such a stipulation was a condition of the high school's charter, however, when it was learned that this had never been recorded, local supporters encouraged the formation of a football team. In fall of 1994, Alvirne High School fielded its first junior varsity football team, with varsity play beginning in 1996. The varsity first made the playoffs in 1999, with their second appearance being in 2009 under Coach Robert Nimblett.
Fans of Alvirne often chant the phrase "Shut 'em down Bronco's!" and "Where's the Rodeo?"
Trivia
Alvirne was listed in the 1980 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Alvirne High School math students built a slide ruleSlide rule
The slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a...
measuring 320 feet 11.1 inches in length. It was completed in March, 1979. The record was broken later that year by students at the University of Illinois.
Notable alumni
- Ed French - Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning make-up artist.
- Kyle Jackson - Minor league baseballMinor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
player drafted by the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
in 2001. He most recently played for the Portland Sea DogsPortland Sea DogsThe Portland Sea Dogs are the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Established in 1994 and based in Portland, Maine, the Sea Dogs play in the Northern Division of the Eastern League....
of the AA Eastern League in 2008. - Jennifer LavoieJennifer LavoieJennifer J. Lavoie is an American model, actress and entrepreneur. She was selected as Playboys Playmate of the Month for August, 1993, and she appeared on the cover of the October 1994 issue of the magazine. Her centerfold was photographed by Richard Fegley...
- August 1993 PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
Playmate, charter member of the Playboy X-treme Team, and star of various Playboy videos. - Joey Polewarczyk, Jr., NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver, winner of the 2010 ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway