Columbia High School is a four-year public secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 in Nampa

Nampa, Idaho

Nampa is the largest and the fastest growing city in Canyon County, Idaho, USA. The population of Nampa was 81,557 at the 2010 census. Nampa is located about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. Nampa is part of the Boise metropolitan area...

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

. The third major high school in the Nampa School District 131, Columbia opened in 2006, designed with two floors and a separate building for the advanced classes. The school district shuttles students from one high school to the other to meet their class requirements. Each school has a different focus; Columbia's is technology, performing arts, and broadcasting.

Naming controversy

Before the school was built, the District had decided on the name Aurora High School. The name Aurora was based on the natural phenomenon Aurora Borealis

Aurora (astronomy)

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...

. Following a letter-writing campaign by students of the middle schools feeding into the future high school, in which reference was made to the character "Princess Aurora" in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)

Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...

, the District altered its proposed name to Columbia High School. Students accepted this name and it is expected to be permanent.

Performing arts

Although Columbia is a fairly new school, the Performing Arts Department jumped into activities with both feet. All choirs in 2006 got a Superior in the District Three Competition. The Drama Department put on the plays "A Girl In The Mirror", "Arsenic and Old Lace", and "Snoopy". As well as musicals such as "Grease" and "Hairspray".

Athletics

Columbia Wrestling has won at state for the past 3 years in a row (2009–2011).
Columbia went state for football in Fall of 2011.