Sitka High School
Encyclopedia
Sitka High School is the principal high school
for the Southeast Alaskan
community of Sitka and the Sitka School District
.
The school's student body is primarily composed of Caucasians
, Alaskan Natives
, and Asian-Pacific Islanders.
courses are offered: AP Statistics
, AP Calculus
, and AP Human Geography
.
Dr. P.J. Ford Slack is the current principal and Charlie Robison is the current vice principal.
), the second highest level of competition available in the state — for schools with an enrollment less than 400. SHS's traditionally most successful sports are softball
, baseball
, swimming
, and wrestling
with the former two claiming state championships in the 2004-2005 school year and with baseball and swimming claiming championships in the 2005-2006 school year. So far in the 2006-2007 school year boys swimming has claimed another state championship and the Wolves baseball three-peated winning their state for the third time in a row in 2006-2007 academic school year. In the past 3 years Sitka High School has won the Region V 4A Wrestling championships twice. SHS is also renowned for its competitive drama
, debate
, forensics
(DDF) team, which has multiple state championships under its belt including a forensics state championship in 2005-2006, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010 and its music program and jazz band, which has taken awards at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
and Columbia Basin Jazz Festival.
Sitka High's traditional rivals consist of the boarding school Mt. Edgecumbe High School
which is also located in Sitka (across the O'Connell Bridge on Japonski Island
), and its 4A southeast rivals Juneau-Douglas High School
and Ketchikan High School
, however the recent change to 3A means the Juneau-Douglas Bears and the Ketchikan Kings no longer compete against the Sitka Wolves for regional and state titles.
, the school has an enrollment of just under 400 students making it the fourth largest high school per enrollment in Southeast Alaska behind Ketchikan High School, Juneau-Douglas High School, and Thunder Mountain High School, the 21st largest in Alaska
, and among the largest of the 3A classified schools in the state.
The Sitka High School Auditorium is a 617 seat performing arts
facility attached to Sitka High. It functions as a performing center for all performance arts in Sitka from ballet recitals to band concerts.
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....
for the Southeast Alaskan
Alaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
community of Sitka and the Sitka School District
Sitka School District
The Sitka School District provides for the educational needs of citizens of Sitka, Alaska. The district's offices are located in Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School....
.
The school's student body is primarily composed of Caucasians
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
, Alaskan Natives
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
, and Asian-Pacific Islanders.
Academics
Three Advanced PlacementAdvanced 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...
courses are offered: AP Statistics
AP Statistics
Advanced Placement Statistics is a college-level high school statistics course offered in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program...
, AP Calculus
AP Calculus
Advanced Placement Calculus is used to indicate one of two distinct Advanced Placement courses and examinations offered by the College Board, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC....
, and AP Human Geography
AP Human Geography
Advanced Placement Human Geography is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the USA.This college-level course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human...
.
Dr. P.J. Ford Slack is the current principal and Charlie Robison is the current vice principal.
Extracurriculars
Sitka High School's sports teams are known as the Sitka Wolves with female teams sometimes known as the Lady Wolves with all teams competing at the 3A level of interscholastic competition in Alaska (as dictated by the Alaska School Activities AssociationAlaska School Activities Association
The Alaska School Activities Association is the regulating body for Alaska high school interscholastic activities and is Alaska's member to the National Federation of State High School Associations.-History:...
), the second highest level of competition available in the state — for schools with an enrollment less than 400. SHS's traditionally most successful sports are 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...
, baseball
Baseball
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...
, 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 wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
with the former two claiming state championships in the 2004-2005 school year and with baseball and swimming claiming championships in the 2005-2006 school year. So far in the 2006-2007 school year boys swimming has claimed another state championship and the Wolves baseball three-peated winning their state for the third time in a row in 2006-2007 academic school year. In the past 3 years Sitka High School has won the Region V 4A Wrestling championships twice. SHS is also renowned for its competitive drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, forensics
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
(DDF) team, which has multiple state championships under its belt including a forensics state championship in 2005-2006, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010 and its music program and jazz band, which has taken awards at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival
The Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival, the largest west of the Mississippi, that takes place on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho in the month of February...
and Columbia Basin Jazz Festival.
Sitka High's traditional rivals consist of the boarding school Mt. Edgecumbe High School
Mt. Edgecumbe High School
Mt. Edgecumbe High School is a State of Alaska-run public boarding high school located in Sitka, Alaska in the United States.The school is named for Mount Edgecumbe which is located on Kruzof Island, a dormant volcano visible from Mt...
which is also located in Sitka (across the O'Connell Bridge on Japonski Island
Japonski Island
Japonski Island, or Yak'w Kashaneixí, is a small island in the city of Sitka in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska, United States...
), and its 4A southeast rivals Juneau-Douglas High School
Juneau-Douglas High School
Juneau-Douglas High School is one of two high schools in Juneau, Alaska. It is the primary high school for the Juneau School District. The other high school, Thunder Mountain High School, is smaller, and most of its students are from the Mendenhall Valley...
and Ketchikan High School
Ketchikan High School
Ketchikan High School, often referred to as Kayhi, is the principal high school for the Southeast Alaska community of Ketchikan and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District.-Academics:...
, however the recent change to 3A means the Juneau-Douglas Bears and the Ketchikan Kings no longer compete against the Sitka Wolves for regional and state titles.
, the school has an enrollment of just under 400 students making it the fourth largest high school per enrollment in Southeast Alaska behind Ketchikan High School, Juneau-Douglas High School, and Thunder Mountain High School, the 21st largest in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and among the largest of the 3A classified schools in the state.
Sitka High School Auditorium
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
facility attached to Sitka High. It functions as a performing center for all performance arts in Sitka from ballet recitals to band concerts.
3A switch
As of 2007, Sitka high school has made the decision to move from 4A to a 3A school because of a decrease in student enrollment over the previous decade. This will affect many activities and sports such as wrestling, basketball, cross-country, etc. The decision took effect in the 2008-09 school year.Notable alumni
- Richie Whitson, MMA Fighter and contestent on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United KingdomThe Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United KingdomThe Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom is the ninth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It began production in January 2009, and began airing on Spike on April 1, 2009. The season featured Lightweight fighters ...
.
See also
- List of high schools in Alaska
- Mt. Edgecumbe High SchoolMt. Edgecumbe High SchoolMt. Edgecumbe High School is a State of Alaska-run public boarding high school located in Sitka, Alaska in the United States.The school is named for Mount Edgecumbe which is located on Kruzof Island, a dormant volcano visible from Mt...
- Pacific High School (Sitka)