Lincoln North Star High School
Encyclopedia
Lincoln North Star High School is a public secondary school located in Lincoln
, Nebraska
, USA. Lincoln North Star opened its doors in 2003 to 1,150 students, it currently has over 1900 students, and remains the newest high school in Lincoln, and is modeled the same as Lincoln Southwest High School
. North Star along with Papillion-La Vista South High School
, are the 2 newest high schools in the state of Nebraska both opening in 2003. It currently is the largest high school in Lincoln. It operates on a traditional 7-period day schedule, sometimes 8 periods for those who choose it. North Star is the only school in the Lincoln Public Schools
system that teaches the Chinese language
. North Star also features a system of academies to assist students with post-secondary planning. The means to implement the academies was provided through federal and local grants. Students are able to participate in a Science and Engineering Academy, a Business and Information Technology Academy, a Law and Global Affairs Academy, a Health and Biotechnology Academy, and an Arts and Communications Academy. Additionally, all freshmen are placed in a separate academy designed to help them transition to high school. North Star was the first Lincoln high school to use this innovative system, and the program has since been expanded to the other five Lincoln public high schools in the form of Professional Learning Communities. North Star was originally supposed to be named Lincoln Northwest (Every high school in Lincoln is named after a direction depending on where they are located with the exception of Lincoln High) due to its location in Northwest Lincoln. After a student vote before the school opened, the students voted on the name North Star due to the schools location and the positive symbolism and uniqueness of the name. North Star rivals Lincoln High as the most diverse school in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The school's colors are navy blue and burgundy/maroon. Although the official mascot is the North Star Navigators, its mascot is an alligator
, nicknamed as "Al Gator". Most students seemed to prefer the alligator mascot, and as a result, most locals now refer to the students and interscholastic teams as the Gators.
The Gator Galaxy is the school newspaper. (North Star High School, 2006).
The cafeteria is nicknamed The Bayou, the band room is The Bog, and the main gym is called The Swamp, a theme developed from the nearby freshwater wetlands.
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, USA. Lincoln North Star opened its doors in 2003 to 1,150 students, it currently has over 1900 students, and remains the newest high school in Lincoln, and is modeled the same as Lincoln Southwest High School
Lincoln Southwest High School
Lincoln Southwest High School is a public secondary school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA and rests on 74 acres adjacent to Wilderness Park. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools school district. When the school opened its doors in August 2002, it had 1,150 students from grades 9-12, and 77...
. North Star along with Papillion-La Vista South High School
Papillion-La Vista South High School
Papillion-La Vista South High School is a high school in Papillion, Nebraska. It is one of two high schools in the Papillion-La Vista Public School District. The school's principal is Dr...
, are the 2 newest high schools in the state of Nebraska both opening in 2003. It currently is the largest high school in Lincoln. It operates on a traditional 7-period day schedule, sometimes 8 periods for those who choose it. North Star is the only school in the Lincoln Public Schools
Lincoln Public Schools
Lincoln Public Schools is the only public school district in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. It is the second largest of Nebraska's 596 school districts, surpassed only by Omaha Public Schools. LPS educates more than 35,000 students in 57 schools....
system that teaches the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
. North Star also features a system of academies to assist students with post-secondary planning. The means to implement the academies was provided through federal and local grants. Students are able to participate in a Science and Engineering Academy, a Business and Information Technology Academy, a Law and Global Affairs Academy, a Health and Biotechnology Academy, and an Arts and Communications Academy. Additionally, all freshmen are placed in a separate academy designed to help them transition to high school. North Star was the first Lincoln high school to use this innovative system, and the program has since been expanded to the other five Lincoln public high schools in the form of Professional Learning Communities. North Star was originally supposed to be named Lincoln Northwest (Every high school in Lincoln is named after a direction depending on where they are located with the exception of Lincoln High) due to its location in Northwest Lincoln. After a student vote before the school opened, the students voted on the name North Star due to the schools location and the positive symbolism and uniqueness of the name. North Star rivals Lincoln High as the most diverse school in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The school's colors are navy blue and burgundy/maroon. Although the official mascot is the North Star Navigators, its mascot is an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
, nicknamed as "Al Gator". Most students seemed to prefer the alligator mascot, and as a result, most locals now refer to the students and interscholastic teams as the Gators.
Traditions
North Star also has many traditions which have started in the short 7 year existence of the school. One of these includes the Gator Walk to state, in which the North Star Drumline marches through the school playing cadences and picks up students who have qualified for state events to send them off to there state events. There is also a Gator Walk for all freshman on the first day of school at the end of the day, as well as a final Gator Walk for graduating seniors days before graduation. Qualifying state members also receive a "North Star State Qualifier" shirt. North Star also known for having lunch jams once a quarter, in which certain groups such as the LNS Drumline, the ENT Step Team, the concert choir, or other groups perform during lunch as a form of entertainment for the students.The Gator Galaxy is the school newspaper. (North Star High School, 2006).
The cafeteria is nicknamed The Bayou, the band room is The Bog, and the main gym is called The Swamp, a theme developed from the nearby freshwater wetlands.