Blue Valley Northwest High School
Encyclopedia
Blue Valley Northwest High School (BVNW) is a high school
in Overland Park, Kansas
. It is part of the Blue Valley Unified School District
. Blue Valley Northwest is one of several schools located within the city limits of Overland Park. The school colors are purple, black, and white. In the 2009 Newsweek
ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States, Blue Valley Northwest was ranked #364, the highest in the district and the state. The school has been ranked in the top 700 since 2005. In 2010, Blue Valley Northwest was selected as one of the six finalists for the first annual Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Education under the Obama administration. The current enrollment is approximately 1,700 students.
Blue Valley Northwest is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association
and offers a variety of sports programs, including eating. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Huskies". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Notable alumni include Olympic gold-medalist, Christie Ambrosi
.
In 2009, Blue Valley Northwest students achieved an average ACT score of 24.8 out of 36 and an average SAT
score of 1772 out of 2400. The class of 2009 also had seven National Merit Finalists
and eleven National Advanced Placement Scholars
, both by far the highest in the district.
. Throughout its history, Blue Valley Northwest has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.
awards, and in 2004, under editors Lauren Luhrs, Julia Wald, and Kaitlin Harrell, the "Horizon" won the Pacemaker Award, the only time a Blue Valley publication has received the honor. The school newspaper, The Express is a member of the High School National Ad Network. At the April 2007 JEA conference in Denver, "The Express" was voted the number one newsmagazine. At the November 2007 JEA conference in Philadelphia, the newsmagazine was rated sixth.
State
Maps
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
. It is part of the Blue Valley Unified School District
Blue Valley Unified School District
The Blue Valley Unified School District is one of the major school districts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Located in east central and southeast Johnson County, Kansas, covering of Overland Park including parts of Leawood and Stilwell...
. Blue Valley Northwest is one of several schools located within the city limits of Overland Park. The school colors are purple, black, and white. In the 2009 Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States, Blue Valley Northwest was ranked #364, the highest in the district and the state. The school has been ranked in the top 700 since 2005. In 2010, Blue Valley Northwest was selected as one of the six finalists for the first annual Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Education under the Obama administration. The current enrollment is approximately 1,700 students.
Blue Valley Northwest is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association
Kansas State High School Activities Association
The Kansas State High School Activities Association is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the state of Kansas at the high school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, and sponsors championships in several sports and activities.The KSHSAA was...
and offers a variety of sports programs, including eating. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Huskies". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Notable alumni include Olympic gold-medalist, Christie Ambrosi
Christie Ambrosi
Christie Ambrosi is an American softball player and Olympic champion. She attended high school at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas....
.
Academics
Ten courses, mainly for motivated freshmen and sophomores, are designated as "Honors" classes. In addition, nineteen Advanced Placement courses for college credit are offered. Students taking Honors or Advanced Placement courses receive weighted GPAs.In 2009, Blue Valley Northwest students achieved an average ACT score of 24.8 out of 36 and an average SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
score of 1772 out of 2400. The class of 2009 also had seven National Merit Finalists
National Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation , a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955...
and eleven National Advanced Placement Scholars
Advanced Placement Awards
The College Board offers several awards to select students who take Advanced Placement exams.The term "award" is perhaps misleading, as no benefit is awarded to the recipient except the title itself.-AP Scholar Designations:...
, both by far the highest in the district.
Extracurricular activities
The Huskies compete in the Eastern Kansas League and are classified as a 6A-5A school according to the KSHSAAKansas State High School Activities Association
The Kansas State High School Activities Association is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the state of Kansas at the high school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, and sponsors championships in several sports and activities.The KSHSAA was...
. Throughout its history, Blue Valley Northwest has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.
State championships
| State Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Soccer, Boys | 1 | 2006 |
| 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... |
3 | 1996, 1997, 2000 | |
| Cross Country, Girls 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... |
1 | 2007 | |
| Winter | Swimming and Diving, Boys 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... |
2 | 1994, 1996 |
| Swimming and Diving, Girls 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... |
4 | 1995, 1996, 1997, 2008 | |
| Spring | Golf, Boys 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.... |
1 | 2003 |
| Tennis, Boys 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... |
1 | 2002 | |
| Tennis, Girls 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... |
2 | 2000, 2001 | |
| Soccer, Girls | 1 | 2011 | |
| Total | 16 | ||
Orchestra
BVNW's orchestra has received a 1 (the best) ranking every year the school has been open. Students in the orchestra also have auditioned and represented the BVNW in local, state, and national orchestras.Yearbook and Newspaper
The school's yearbook is called Horizon, the newspaper is called "The Express", the school broadcast news program is called Husky Headlines and the school's literary magazine is called The Muse. The Horizon and Husky Headlines have been nominated for several PacemakerNational Pacemaker Awards
The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."The National Scholastic...
awards, and in 2004, under editors Lauren Luhrs, Julia Wald, and Kaitlin Harrell, the "Horizon" won the Pacemaker Award, the only time a Blue Valley publication has received the honor. The school newspaper, The Express is a member of the High School National Ad Network. At the April 2007 JEA conference in Denver, "The Express" was voted the number one newsmagazine. At the November 2007 JEA conference in Philadelphia, the newsmagazine was rated sixth.
Conferences
- The school hosted the National Association of Student Councils (NASC) Conference in June 2007.
Notable alumni
- Christie AmbrosiChristie AmbrosiChristie Ambrosi is an American softball player and Olympic champion. She attended high school at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas....
, a member of the 2000 Olympic USA softball teamSoftball at the 2000 Summer Olympics-Medals:-Schedule:Starting September 17, there will be four preliminary games each day until September 23 for a total of 28 games.Two semi-final games played September 25, with the game for third place same day. The final game for the gold medal played on September 26 at 7:30pm local...
, which won the gold medal. - Mike Dennison, Baseball, All-Sun Country Player of the Year (1999), pitched 4 years at Wichita State UniversityWichita State UniversityWichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
and 2 years in 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"...
organization. - Arash FerdowsiArash FerdowsiArash Ferdowsi is an Iranian-American entrepreneur known as the co-founder and chief technology officer of Dropbox.-Career:Ferdowsi launched Dropbox in June of 2007 with his business partner at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
, co-founder of Dropbox file hosting serviceFile hosting serviceA file hosting service, online file storage provider, or cyberlocker is an Internet hosting service specifically designed to host user files. Typically they allow HTTP and FTP access. Related services are content-displaying hosting services A file hosting service, online file storage provider, or...
. - Bryce Holt, author of the suspense thriller series, The Red School Series: Red School, Little Island, and Children of Moloch.
- Michael McMillianMichael McMillianMichael McMillian is an American actor and writer, known for his roles as Henry Gibson on What I Like About You and Steve Newlin on the HBO series True Blood...
(Class of 1997), actor known for his roles as Henry Gibson on What I Like About YouWhat I Like About You (TV series)What I Like About You is an American television sitcom set mainly in New York City, following the lives of two sisters, Valerie Tyler and Holly Tyler . The series ran on The WB Television Network from September 20, 2002, to March 24, 2006, with a total of 86 episodes produced...
and Steve Newlin on True BloodTrue BloodTrue Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
. - Adrianne Verhoeven, Josh Berwanger, and Justin Roelofs, three members of the indie rock group The AnniversaryThe AnniversaryThe Anniversary was an American band formed in Lawrence, Kansas in 1997 by Josh Berwanger, James David, Christian Jankowski, Adrianne Verhoeven and Justin Roelofs. The Anniversary was the solidification of a line-up that had been in flux for a year...
.
See also
- Blue Valley Unified School DistrictBlue Valley Unified School DistrictThe Blue Valley Unified School District is one of the major school districts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Located in east central and southeast Johnson County, Kansas, covering of Overland Park including parts of Leawood and Stilwell...
- Other Blue Valley High Schools:
- Blue Valley High SchoolBlue Valley High SchoolBlue Valley High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Stilwell, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. The school currently operates in the Blue Valley Unified School District. The principal is Scott Bacon, the associate principal is Bob Whitehead, and the assistant...
- Blue Valley North High SchoolBlue Valley North High SchoolBlue Valley North High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is one of the five currently-operated high schools in the Blue Valley School District. The principal is Dr. Tonya Merrigan, the associate principal is...
- Blue Valley Southwest High School
- Blue Valley West High SchoolBlue Valley West High SchoolBlue Valley West High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, and one of five currently operated high schools in the Blue Valley Unified School District. The school opened in August 2001, and has a current enrollment of approximately 1600 students...
- Blue Valley High School
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