Talk:Colleyville Heritage High School/2014 Rewrite Draft

Colleyville Heritage High School
Address
5401 Heritage Avenue Colleyville , Texas 76034-5919 United States
Information
School type	Public high school
Motto	"A Community of Excellence"
School district	Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
Principal	Conrad Streeter
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	2,261
Color(s)	Red & Black
Athletics conference	UIL Class AAAAAA (6A)
Mascot	Panther
Website	www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/chhs

Colleyville Heritage High School (CHHS) is a public secondary school in Colleyville, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District and serves freshmen through senior students in Colleyville and the surrounding areas. In 2011, the school was rated "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.

CHHS is located several miles west of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In 2014, CHHS was ranked as the 38th best high school in Texas by US News, and was ranked as the 221st best high school in the country by Newsweek magazine. The school celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006. Rising ninth graders come from Heritage Middle School, Grapevine Middle School, and Colleyville Middle School, depending on the students' address and their placement in the district feeder pattern. Although Colleyville Heritage is in Colleyville, its students have addresses in Colleyville, Grapevine, and Euless.

History

Colleyville Heritage High School, the second public high school in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District, opened its doors on August 15, 1996, after two years of construction that began on March 1, 1994. The school's first principal, Dr. Marlin Stanberry, held his position for eight years (1996-2004). Other past principals include Dr. Robin Ryan (2004-2006), Becky Prentice (2006-2012), and Dr. Joe Harrington (2012-2013). The current principal, as of 2014, is Conrad Streeter.

Opening with approximately 1,300 enrolled students, Colleyville Heritage began as an 4A division school in accordance with UIL alignment policy, grew to a 5A school in 1999, and again to a 6A school in 2014. The school has no direct feeder system; therefore, enrollment is based on students' home addresses and the middle school they attended.

Campus

CHHS, adjacent to Highway 121, with a campus area of 3000 square feet, was purchased from the Harrington Estate in 1996. The campus is surrounded by facilities including a football field, eight tennis courts, and two baseball fields. The football field is 120-yards with a quarter-mile track around it and is used for sporting events, rented by the community, and practiced on by athletes. The administration and counseling offices are to the right of the main entrance. The first floor encompasses the Panther Den, the Go Center for computer access, and the lecture hall.

The academic wing has three stories and is constructed in a circuit-like pattern. There are five PC labs and five Mac labs provided for student research, a computer science lab, and an animation room. The school also provides science facilities including six biology labs, five physics labs, and four chemistry labs. The academic wing also includes an elevator for staff members or students with extenuating circumstances.

Colleyville Heritage features a two-story athletic wing; a 2500-occupant main gym used for sporting events and pep rallies; four auxiliary gyms used for basketball, dance, and wrestling; a recreational courtyard; two choir halls; a black box theatre with a construction workshop; a band hall with eight practice rooms; and a 1500-seat auditorium.

"Buster" and "Babs" are the official mascots that support sporting teams. There is a bronze panther located within the building named "Pride" that can be seen near the Panther Den.

Traditions

Students at Colleyville Heritage High School celebrate many loved traditions. On the day of home football games, students attend a pep rally where they enjoy Pep Boy skits, dance performances, and cheer routines. During homecoming week, students participate in a parade in front of the school and observe a fireworks show. Black Attack, a coordinated student section, is present at football, basketball, and volleyball games to cheer on and support the Panther athletes. Colleyville Heritage High School also participates in Red Ribbon Week and other national awareness events. Colleyville has a longstanding rivalry with neighboring school Grapevine High School. The annual football game between the two schools, known as the Red Rail Rivalry, is one of the most anticipated games of the year for both communities. Colleyville has won a slight majority of games and has not lost to Grapevine in the past five years. Although Colleyville has joined the 6A classification while Grapevine has remained in the 5A class, the schools continue to play each other.

CHHS students also participate in numerous annual charitable events, such as Color Runs and food drives. In 2013, students began selling shirts to raise money for Water is Basic instead of buying homecoming mums and garters. The tradition, known as HOPEcoming, has been continued by the students and has raised thousands of dollars to provide clean water in Sudan.

Alma Mater

Colleyville Heritage, all hail the one we love!

When we wear the Red and Black

It's you we're thinking of.

Colleyville Heritage, our faith will lead the way

As Panther Pride fills up our hearts,

United here to stay

Fight Song

FIGHT, MIGHTY PANTHERS, fight on!

Victory is ours today.

FIGHT, MIGHTY PANTHERS, fight on!

Faith will lead us on our way

FIGHT, MIGHTY PANTHERS, fight on!

Courage to never give in

Strong and Always striving,

Hear our voices rising,

MIGHTY PANTHERS, FIGHT! LET'S WIN!

Awards and Recognitions

Since its inception in 1996, Colleyville Heritage has been awarded a number of distinctions, including but not limited to the four listed below:

Awards	Description
2011 College Readiness Award	Awarded by the Texas ACT Council for an increase in students taking the ACT over the last five years.
2011 NCEA Higher Performing Schools List	The National Center for Education Achievement rates the schools on this list as consistently having more success preparing its students for college and a career than other schools of a similar size. Only 10% of the schools in Texas are on this list.
National Blue Ribbon School	The U.S. Department of Education awards this to schools that demonstrate that all students are capable of high levels. As of 2014, only 7,500 schools across the United States have earned this recognition.
U.S.News GOLD High School	Ranked as one of the top high schools in the country by U.S.News as of 2014.

Academics

Colleyville Heritage High School is consistently highly-ranked locally and nationally for its ongoing academic excellence. In the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, it is ranked 8th in academic advancement and 333rd in the nation. While the national average high school graduation rate is 80%, the graduation rate at Colleyville Heritage is 90%, and 77% of graduates go on to a four year college or university.

CHHS students have the opportunity to take 25 AP courses for college credit, starting with Human Geography in freshman year. 66% of all students take AP courses at some point in their high school careers, and the average AP participant takes 5 exams. CHHS also offers many technical elective courses that are career-specific, such as sports marketing, culinary arts, and forensic science. CHHS also sponsors the Castle Chapter of the National Honor Society, which is available to seniors whom hold a 4.25 GPA and an extensive record of community service. There are also honor societies for students taking upper-level PreAP and AP language courses, such as National Spanish Honor Society and National French Honor Society, as well as an AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) program that prepares underachieving students with great academic potential for college.

The average SAT score is 1627 (out of 2400) and the average ACT is 25 (out of 36), compared to the national averages of 1500 and 21, respectively. In the 2014-2015 school year, there were 11 National Merit Semi-Finalists, juniors who scored at least a 218 out of 240 on the PSAT, putting them in the top 0.5% of test takers in the nation. Several CHHS students have made perfect scores on the ACT.

Fine Arts

Art

Colleyville Heritage High School has a diverse selection of art classes. The school offers studio art, electronic media art, drawing, jewelry, and ceramic classes to students. Students who have taken four semesters of an art class and have maintained a 95 or above grade average in the class also have the opportunity to join the National Art Honor Society. The members of this organization provide services to the community and participate in activities and fundraisers such as the annual Paint War, which was first held on March 22, 2014.

Art students have also been awarded national art awards and titles. Jinny & Susan Seo became National Scholastic Art Award winners in the spring of 2012. Colleyville Heritage art students also participate in VASE. At the regional competition in 2013, 54 artworks received a score of a 4, nine of which moved on to the state competition, and in 2014, 37 artworks received a score of a 4 and six of these works moved on to the state competition. Previous art students from Colleyville Heritage are also showing their creative talents in the real world today. Tyler Sharp, for example, is now a professional photographer for National Geographic.

Choir

The Colleyville Heritage High School choir program includes chamber choir, chorale, jazz choir, concert choir, and the choraliers. Thomas J. Rinn, who joined Colleyville Heritage as head choir director at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, and Casey Muckley, who has been associate choir director since 2012, direct all five choirs. Previous choir directors include Lauren Fisher, who led the Colleyville Heritage choirs for four years, and Danny Detrick, who was director for 12 years prior. All of the directors have taken the choirs to UIL competitions, where the choirs have received numerous sweepstakes in concert performance and sight-reading. Since 2005, both the varsity and non-varsity mixed choirs have had nine total sweepstakes awards, earning the highest ratings of straight ones at UIL. All choirs perform at annual spring and winter concerts, where they showcase their vocal growth. Individually, students regularly place in the TMEA Region 24 Choir, National and Regional ACDA Honor Choirs, the Texas All-State Choir, and consistently receive superior ratings at Solo & Ensemble Contests. In 2013, as many as five choir members earned a position in the All-State choir and had the privilege of performing in a highly selective chorus.

The CHHS choir department also offers music theory classes taught by Casey Muckley in both AP and Pre-AP forms. It also offers private voice lessons through private vocal coaches. Every year, the choirs of CHHS take a trip either in-state, out-of-state, or even out-of-country.

Dance

The Dance team in CHHS is broken into two main groups, the varsity Panteras and junior varsity Pantherettes. The CHHS dance teams are led by Kelli Woodruff, who has been the director since 2003. For the past 13 years, the Panteras have received numerous awards in jazz, lyrical, pom, and modern sections of dance, and have secured the title of national champions since 2010. The Panteras and Pantherettes practice daily and perform in school-led activities such as pep-rallies and football games. Most recently, the Panteras participated in a national competition in San Antonio and received top scores in all events, including sections of jazz, lyrical, pom, and modern.

Panther Band

The Colleyville Heritage Panther Band, created in 1996, is organized around two main seasons of the year: marching in the fall and concert in the spring. The program has three concert bands whose members are chosen based on each student's individual abilities, judged during biannual auditions. Wind Symphony, the top varsity group of musicians, is led by head director Nick Thomas. Symphonic Band and Concert Band, the first and second junior-varsity groups respectively, are both led by assistant director Laura Hunt.

The Panther Marching Band, which includes the Colleyville Heritage Color Guard and Drumline, is composed of a varsity and junior-varsity (JV) group. All band students participate in football games and perform during the halftime show, while only the varsity group performs in competitions. The Panther Marching Band has produced and performed a marching show every year since 1996, and has continually received high ratings at a multitude of competitions. In 2003, the CHHS band was selected as one of ten bands in the nation to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. The band has consistently received superior ratings at the Texas UIL Marching Competition since the school was opened. The organization regularly attends various Bands of America (BOA) competitions including Denton, Austin, San Antonio Super Regionals, and, most notably, Indianapolis Grand Nationals in 2008. The Panther Band also regularly competes in local competitions such as Duncanville, the Birdville Marching Competition, and the Carrollton Tournament of Champions. Lastly, the CHHS band has attended various U.S. Bands since the organization's enrollment in 2014.

Year	Show Name	Directors
1996	Procession of the Toy Soldiers	Duane Minnick, Laurie Kent
1997	A Journey Through the Imagination	Duane Minnick, Laurie Kent
1998	Arabian Nights	Duane Minnick, Laurie Kent
1999	Visions of the Future	Duane Minnick, Lera League, Loy Studer
2000	Elements of Design	Duane Minnick, Lera League, Loy Studer
2001	Portraits of Spain	Duane Minnick, Lera League, Loy Studer
2002	Classical Images	Duane Minnick, Chris Hayes, Loy Studer
2003	Carnival of Illusions	Duane Minnick, Jennifer Vowles, Loy Studer
2004	Chronometry	Jed Weeks, Jennifer Vowles, Loy Studer
2005	Canon	Jed Weeks, Jennifer Vowles, Loy Studer
2006	Reaching for the Note	Jed Weeks, Jennifer Vowles, Loy Studer
2007	Talk Show	Jed Weeks, Jennifer Vowles, Jeff Ausdemore
2008	Arrhythmia	Jed Weeks, Jennifer Vowles, Jeff Ausdemore
2009	Joy	Jed Weeks, Jennifer Vowles, Jeff Ausdemore
2010	Tango	David Zahrndt, Jennifer Vowles, Jeff Ausdemore
2011	Celestial Fantasies	David Zahrndt, Jennifer Vowles, Jeff Ausdemore
2012	Corner Pocket	David Zahrndt, Jennifer Hay, Jeff Ausdemore
2013	La Deux	Eric Gilley, Jennifer Hay, Jeff Ausdemore
2014	Whispringssic of Change	Nick Thomas, Laura Hunt, Jeff Ausdemore

Percussion

The Colleyville Heritage Drumline is led by percussion coordinator Jeff Ausdemore and assistant percussion coordinator Dan Darrah. In years past, in addition to performing with the Panther Band, the CHHS drumline regularly competed in high-level marching competitions, including the Plano Drumline Competition at Plano Senior High School, the Lone Star Classic competition at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, the Lewisville Drumline Competition, and most notably, the PASIC high school level drumline competition. CHHS only performs at PASIC when the convention is held in Texas; however, students frequently take solos to PASIC when it is held elsewhere.

However, the Colleyville Heritage percussion program no longer competes in these competitions, and has instead shifted to Winter Guard International (WGI). Since the founding of the North Texas Colorguard Association (NTCA), of which Jeff Ausdemore, the director of the CHHS percussion program, is the vice president, CHHS has succeeded as the first North Texas school to take the title of Scholastic World Class drumline in WGI and has had a streak of first place each year. The CHHS Drumline has performed in WGI since the spring of 2012; its shows including The 17th Parallel (2012); Red, Yellow, Green (2013); HAL 9000 (2014), and Well-Rounded (2015).

Theatre

The Colleyville Heritage Theatre department was established at the school’s opening. Its courses include Technical Theatre I-IV, Theatre Arts I-IV, and Theatre Production I-IV. Productions are performed in the school’s main auditorium and the more intimate black box theatre throughout the year. Past productions include West Side Story, Oklahoma!, Seussical, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Urinetown, and Curtains. In addition to its regular season, the department also competes every year in the Texas UIL one-act play competition.

Colleyville Heritage High School’s International Thespian Society (troupe #5610) attends the statewide Texas Thespian State Festival (TTSF) on a yearly basis. At this convention, students engage in theatre workshops, watch main stage musicals and plays, and audition for colleges. If selected, a troupe may perform at the festival once every 6 years. Colleyville Heritage High School’s International Thespian Society troupe performed at the society’s annual state conference with Bang Bang You're Dead in 2004 and Urinetown in 2014. Some notable awards that the school’s theatre department has received are as follow: Best Set Design for level 2 (2001), District Winning U.I.L. One-Act Play (2002), award of recognition for its lead main stage performance of "Bang Bang You're Dead" (Thespian Festival 2004), and District 6-AAAAA One Act Play Zone 1 Alternate (2011).

Athletics

Since the 2014-2015 school year, all Colleyville Heritage athletic leagues have played in division 6A. Before 2014, the school was classified as 4A from 1996 to 2000 and 5A from 2000 to 2014.

Baseball

The Colleyville Heritage Panther Baseball Team was established in 1997. The Head Coach of the team for the 2014-2015 season is Alan McDougal, who has resided as head coach since the 2006-2007 season. The Panthers have qualified for the UIL Conference 5A playoffs every year since 2007. The Panthers were also Area Finalists in the 2011-2012 UIL Conference 5A Baseball Playoffs and were Regional Quarterfinalists in 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 UIL Conference 5A Baseball Playoffs.

Basketball (Girls)

The Lady Panther basketball program began the same year the school was established. Since 2002, the team has been head coached by Dianna Sager, who received Coach of the Year in the 5-5A district in 2012. Sager was also promoted to Athletic Coordinator of Colleyville Heritage in May of 2014. Each year, players across every district are given awards commending them for their outstanding performances. Colleyville Heritage has had at least three players each year since 2003 who have received awards in this All-District category. This includes recognitions such as MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and 1st/2nd Team All-District.

Cross Country

The CHHS cross country team was established in 1996 and currently competes in the Texas 6A UIL competition. The coaching staff for each year is as follows: Maxie Hays (1996-1999), Allen Burns (1999-2004), Robin McCourt (2004-2006), Lindy Lombard (2007-2012), and Will Carter (2013-present). The CHHS cross country program includes girls’ and boys’ JV and Varsity teams that are comprised of participants from the 9th-12th grades. Cross country is a non-cut sport, but only the top seven athletes, as determined by the current coach for each race, are allowed to participate at the Varsity level. Colleyville Heritage High School Cross Country individuals have made three state appearances:

Year	Runner	Place	Time
2008	Alyssa Nielson	2nd	10:55 (3.2 km)
2009	Alyssa Nielson	4th	11:14 (3.2 km)
2014	David Strome	1st	15:23 (5 km)

The Colleyville Heritage Cross Country team has competed in various races at the Nike South XC Invitational, located in The Woodlands, Texas, during the past two consecutive years. In the fall of 2014, David Strome placed 2nd place at the Nike South Elite Boy’s Race. On November 8th of 2014, David Strome, then in 11th grade, placed 1st at the UIL state competition in Round Rock, TX.

Football

The Colleyville Heritage football team played its inaugural season in 1996, winning few games within the first two seasons. Since then, the team has made the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons beginning in 2006 to 2015, with a 75-29 record during this span. During the 2006 season, the team reached the state quarterfinals before losing to eventual state champion Southlake Carroll. The team won its first district championship in the 2001 season, and finished with a 10-2 mark before losing to Desoto in the second round of the playoffs. The Panthers reached ten game victories again in the 2012 season, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to Waco Midway.

For the first eleven years, the team was led by head coach Chris Cunningham, who previously worked as the defensive coordinator at Grapevine High School. He guided the program to a 63-58 record in his tenure, including the team's only district championship in 2001, and its farthest run in the playoffs in 2006 before leaving for Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano. Mike Fuller, formerly the coach at Coppell, replaced Cunningham before the 2007 season. Fuller then led the team to a 60-19 record in 7 seasons, and reached the playoffs each year. In the spring of 2014, Fuller stepped down from his position to become the head coach at Decatur High School, and was replaced by former Odessa Permian and Austin Westlake head coach Darren Allman. In his first season with the Panthers, Allman led the team to a playoff berth before losing to eventual state champion Cedar Hill in the first round of the tournament.

The Panthers found their first win over local rival Grapevine High School in the 2001 season. The rivalry dates back to the school's first season when the cities of Grapevine and Colleyville were split between the two high schools at the time of Colleyville Heritage High School's construction. Colleyville leads the series 11-9, but has won eight of the previous nine meetings and five consecutively. In 2010, the rivalry was officially named "The Battle of the Red Rail" and given a trophy.

The varsity home football games are played at Mustang-Panther Stadium, a 9,100-seat multi-purpose venue that Colleyville Heritage shares with Grapevine High School. The junior varsity and freshman football teams play their games on the CHHS campus field.

Gymnastics

CHHS gymnastics is a cut sport; prior to the 2010-2011 school year, anyone could signup for the team; however, that year, CHHS coaches were finally allowed to implement the tryout process to create JV and Varsity. CHHS gymnastics won the 2012-2013 district meet and made CHHS history by qualifying as a team for State in 2012.

Lacrosse

The Colleyville lacrosse program was started in 2002 and is considered a club team as it is not affiliated with UIL. Gary Dennington is the current head coach and is assisted by Darrel Barabash, James Kaleigh, and Ryan Gradke. The program competes in Division II Texas high school lacrosse and had its best year in 2014, with a 5th place finish in the state.

Soccer (Boys)

The Colleyville Heritage boys soccer team was established in 1996 at the school’s opening. As of the 2014-2015 season, the team competes in the UIL 6A District 7. The team's deepest playoff push came in the 2010-2011 season, under head coach Mike Ridley, when the team reached the 5th round of the competition and became the Area Champions. The previous head coaches are: John Furin (1997-2000), Rex Armstrong (2001), Jason Venable (2002-2003), Brian Beswick (2004-2007), Mike Ridley (2008-2013), and Adam Phillips (2014-present). The boys soccer team has reached the playoffs eight out of a possible eighteen seasons, reaching the first round in 1997 and 2005, the second round in 2003, 2006, 2012, and 2014, the fourth round in 1998, and the fifth round in 2011.

Soccer (Girls)

The Colleyville Heritage girls soccer team was created along with the founding of Colleyville Heritage High School in 1996. The Lady Panthers currently compete in the UIL 7-6A district as of 2014, and will continue to compete in this district until 2016. Misail Tsapos led the team from 1998 to 2001. In 2002, head coach John Furin led the team for eight years until Misail Tsapos took charge again in 2010, and is the present coach.

The team won the Class-4A state title in 1999, defeating Friendswood High School 2-0. The team returned to the state finals in 2011, but ended as the runner up. Lady Panthers' soccer has consistently competed with the top teams in its area for around a decade.

Softball

The Lady Panthers Softball team was established in 1996 at the inception of the high school. Currently a UIL district 6A team, Lady Panthers Softball consists of one Varsity team and, as of 2014, two Junior Varsity teams: JV Black and JV Red. The Lady Panthers regularly play teams within its district such as the L.D. Bell Lady Raiders, R.L. Turner Lady Lions, Irving Nimitz Lady Vikings, Irving Lady Tigers, Irving MacArthur Lady Cardinals, Grapevine Lady Mustangs, and the Trinity Lady Trojans. The Lady Panthers play both the fall and spring season, and have been doing so for the last several years. The team is ranked 65th in the region, 299th in the state, and 2698th in the country.

The Lady Panthers have made several appearances in Finals and District playoffs, and were district champions in 1997, 1998, and 2014. In the 1996-1997 school year the Lady Panthers reached Regional Quarterfinals, and in the 1997-1998 school year the team reached State Semifinals. The 2002-2003 achievements include reaching Area, Bi-District, and Playoffs in the 2004-2005 season. Additionally, the team progressed to Bi-District and Playoffs in 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014.

The Lady Panthers' latest achievements include going 14-0 during the 2013-2014 district games; the team won 14 district games in a row and made it to the playoffs where the Lady Panthers played two games against the Hebron Lady Hawks.

Swim Team

The Colleyville Heritage High School Swim Team is within the 6A Division as of 2014, and is associated with the National Federation of State High School and the University Interscholastic League. Both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams are coached by Daniel Jau, 2013 District Coach of the Year. Individual achievements of the Swim Team include:

Year	Name	Event	Place
2000	Briana Brotherson	100-yard butterfly	1st
2000	Michael Cabassol	1-meter diving	Placed
2002	Lizzie Rippe	100-yard butterfly	2nd
2002	Kim Gainey	500-yard freestyle	1st
2003	Scott Derner	1-meter diving	2nd
2003	Katie Roberts	200-yard freestyle	Placed
2005	Madison Luce	1-meter diving	1st

The girls' team has also placed 4th overall at the UIL State Finals twice, in 2002 and 2003.

Several swimmers have also gone on to swim at the university level, including

• Madison Luce, who dives at the University of Virginia
• Kim Gainey, who was named Texas "Female Swimmer of the Year" in 2002 by the Fort Worth Star Telegram, and now swims for the University of Missouri
• Gwen Blythe, who swam for Notre Dame on a swimming scholarship and competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials for the 200 meter breaststroke, the only GCISD alumni to advance to this level of Olympic competition
• Scott Derner, who is an NCAA qualifier and three-time NCAA Zone qualifier at Florida State University

Track and Field

The Colleyville Heritage track and field program has been active since the school's opening in 1996; students participate in running, jumping, throwing, and field events. Track is a no-cut sport: any athlete in track is able to compete in meets. Six athletes have competed at the UIL 5A State Championships in the last five years.

Year	Name	Event	Place
2008	Alyssa Nielson	1600m	7th
2013	Brett Bofinger, Jahrod Henderson, Matt McGann, Johnny Joe	4x400m	7th
2014	Megan Harris	200m	9th

Volleyball

Heritage volleyball, now in District 7-6A, has a history of college commits, district champions, and playoff records. The team was the district champion from 2010-2014, defeating both Carroll Senior High and Coppell High School, state champions in recent years. The program was directed under head coach Jamie Siegel - a 2012 Under 30 Winner as named by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as well as District 6-5A Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2012 - from 2010 to 2014. Siegel was also honored as one of the top three choices in the sports category for the John C. Maxwell Leadership Award.

Years	Head Coach
1996 - 2004	Dayna Horak
2005 - 2009	Libby Torres
2010 - 2014	Jamie Siegel

• Evoni Darling, ‘06, Texas Wesleyan
• Caitlin Neese, ‘07, Centenary College
• Angel Agu, ‘10, University of Dayton; Claudia Koch - Friends University
• Claudia Koch, ‘10, Friends University
• Kimmy Gardiner, ‘12, Mississippi State (2013), Oklahoma University;
• Sarita Mikals, ‘12, University of Houston (2013), Texas Christian University;
• Holyn Handley, ‘12, University of Texas at Dallas;
• Morgan Hatwig, ‘12, Arkansas Tech University (2013)
• Chandler Templin, ‘13, Pittsburgh State University
• Anna Walsh, ‘14, University of Virginia;
• Maddie Jones, ‘14, Kennesaw State University;
• Alex Janak, ‘14, University of North Texas;
• Ashlan Cunningham, ‘14, Florida Atlantic University

Wrestling

After many years in the UIL 5A district, Colleyville Heritage’s wrestling team now participates in the UIL 6-6A district. The most decorated wrestler to attend Colleyville Heritage is Jeremy Sandoval, who won the state championship in wrestling in 2006 in the 112 weight class, 2007 in the 130 weight class, and 2008 in the 130 weight class. Going into his senior year, Jeremy had 101 wins and one loss, and he came in third place in the state tournament of 2009 for the 140 weight class. Jeremy now attends the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he is on the wrestling team. During Jeremy Sandoval's time at CHHS, the head coach was David Traver, who held the position from 2004 through 2009 while the current wrestling head coach at Colleyville Heritage is Waymon May, who became the coach in 2013.

Other Organizations

Colleyville Heritage High School offers a diverse selection of extracurricular clubs and organizations for students. Some activities are part of national chapter, such as National Honor Society, but others, such as the Red Jackets and Spirit Sisters, are unique to the school. Colleyville Heritage offers the standard range of organizations such as Student Council and Key Club. There are also language and cultural clubs that correspond to language classes offered in the school, such as French Club. Some students propose their own clubs or organizations for mutual interests, such as Poetry Slam Club.

Organizations with National Affiliation	National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, Language Honor Societies, Best Buddies, Key Club, FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), Business Professionals of America, Destination Imagination, Interact
Organizations that Coincide with Academics	UIL, Spanish Club, French Club, Science Olympiad
Organizations of Service	PALS (Peer Assistance Leadership Service), Interact Club, Redefining Beautiful
Student-Run Organizations	Chess Club, Pep Boys, Black Attack, Poetry Slam Club, Anime Club

Best Buddies

Best Buddies International is an organization that aims to create one-to-one relationships between students with and without intellectual/developmental disabilities, creating friendships in an effort to positively impact many individuals. The current sponsor, Toni Byam-Pirotte, helped found the Best Buddies chapter at Colleyville Heritage High School. Colleyville Heritage Best Buddies aims to expose a great deal of the student population at CHHS to the special education students at Colleyville Heritage. The Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District has a Special Olympics program in which intellectually challenged students are given the opportunity to compete in Olympic-type sports. The program at GCISD has existed for 30 years, and the district annually hosts a GCISD Special Olympics Track Meet, which allows students from all over the metroplex to come and compete in track styled events. Currently, the program in the Grapevine-Colleyville School District has 100 athletes, and is still growing.

Clubs

Colleyville Heritage High School currently offers over thirty clubs, including the Anime Club, the Chinese Club, the Business Professionals of America Club, and many others. Some of these clubs are created by campus students while others are nationally recognized. One of the most notable clubs of the school is "Redefining Beautiful," which was sponsored by Suzanne McGahey in 2010 and created by students Samantha Gibbs, Lauren Gilby, Nina Smith, Caroline Tessler, Emily Gates and Laura Kelly. The club was established to encourage girls to focus on their inner beauty. Members came to school on Tuesdays wearing no makeup and "Redefining Beautiful" shirts. The club received national recognition in 2010, and, after a period of inactivity, returned in 2015. Other notable clubs include Best Buddies, National Honor Society, Interact, and Key Club, which are all chapters of larger national organizations.

Leadership

The Leadership Class has been offered at Colleyville Heritage High School (as well as several other schools across GCISD) for many years. In this class students come together to improve the school's environment and community. These students are in charge of the student council organization, and strive to set an example for the rest of the student body. To apply for the the program, students fill out applications with short essay questions. The essays are looked over by the students of the leadership class from the previous year and by Terri Kitzmiller, the leader of the program. Each year, an average of 40 kids are accepted into the class. During a normal day, the students from class make posters for upcoming school events, help teachers with their needs, and perform other tasks around the school to improve the aura of the campus. The students of the leadership class take part in dress up days, and also encourage other students to take part. In the fall, the Leadership class works on Homecoming and the homecoming parade. These events can include fireworks, for which the Leadership class fundraises. Around November, the Leadership class works on the Color Run Against Human Trafficking. During February, March, and April, the students work on senior citizen prom which is held at a retirement home for senior citizens. During April and May, the students strive to go the the Texas State Leadership Conference.

PALs

PALs (Peer Assisted Leadership) is an organization in Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District that consists of a variety of students from different walks of life who are all tasked with the same goal of creating a better school environment and setting. In order to be part of this organization, a student must first be nominated by his/her fellow peers and teachers who feel that he/she has the characteristics of a PAL. Once selected, the student is asked to submit answers to essay questions and is given an interview in front of a selected group of adults. If a student scores high enough, he/she will be granted a spot into the PAL's class which typically holds around 30 students. This group of students provides assistance and spirit both inside and outside of CHHS. During a normal week, a PAL can be expected to create posters for upcoming events, sell school spirit shirts, and provide a helping hand for teachers. CHHS PALs are also paired with students from the GCISD elementary schools, which PALs visit once a week in attempt to develop new friendships. In 2013, this organization took part in HOPEcoming, which allowed students to purchase $20 T-shirts instead of homecoming mums. All the money raised was then donated to the 'Water is Basic' organization, which is responsible for drilling clean water wells in Sudan. PALs also partake in school dress up days and other theme days in an attempt to build school spirit within Colleyville Heritage High School.

Pep Boys

The Pep Boys organization was created in 1996 with the help of Dr. Wes Watters, a faculty member who has been in charge of the club since 1998, to increase school spirit. The organization was inspired by other male spirit organizations in the area such as the Grapevine High School Spirit Rustlers. To become a Pep Boy a student must be interviewed and go through several trials, including writing a skit. A total of 14 members are selected from the application process. The boys entertain and energize the student body during Pep Rallies with skits based on recent events in the student body. The Pep Boys also entertain crowds at football games with cheers, dances, and other antics. They support the football team by running flags across the field as the team enters.

Red Jackets

The CHHS Red Jackets act as representatives of Colleyville Heritage High School and are called on to serve as ambassadors for all of GCISD. The Red Jackets were started by the current superintendent of GCISD, Dr. Robin Ryan, during his time as the principal of Colleyville Heritage High School. He adopted the idea from the Green Jackets of Southlake Carroll, a neighboring school district. Red Jackets act as ambassadors in their school and community by helping with public events such as graduations, open houses, and assemblies. Future Red Jackets are first nominated then chosen from a list of eligible sophomores who have maintained a 4.5 or higher GPA by the CHHS faculty, amounting to 10 male and 10 female students; therefore, there are only 20 junior members and 20 senior members in total. These requirements show that each selected student is not only diligent and responsible, but has also made a positive impression on his/her teachers as leaders and learners in the classroom.

Science Olympiad

Science Olympiad is a national science competition with thousands of teams composed of middle and high school students. The teams compete in 23 events out of a possible 28 events spanning all of the major STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) disciplines. The CHHS Science Olympiad team reached the Texas State Competition in 2014 and placed 19th.

Speech and Debate

The Colleyville Heritage Speech and Debate program was established in 1996 by Coach Cindi Timmons. Each year, the program intends to develop students’ public speaking and performance skills while creating a sense of competition. As a part of the program, students can participate in four different types of debate--Congressional, Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum and Policy--along with various Extemporaneous Acting, including Poetry, Prose, Duet Acting, US Extempt, Humorous Interpretation, and Original Oratory options. The team competes in the Texas Forensic Association State Tournament, National Forensic League National Speech Tournament, International Public Policy Forum, and other local and national tournaments. In 1998, CHHS hosted the Texas Forensic Association Competition and, in 2006, the National Forensic League Speech Tournament. David Huston has been the head coach of the CHHS Speech and Debate program since 2005. He has led various teams and individuals to both state and national tournaments. During the competitive season, debaters have the opportunity to receive awards at local tournaments, helping them later qualify for the national and state tournaments.

Year	Student Competitors	Place	Type of Debate	Tournament
2000	Kiran Talluri & Michael Linford	Cochampions	Policy Debate	Texas Forensic Association State Tournament
2003	Aimi Hamraie & Justin Murray	Cochampions	Policy Debate	Texas Forensic Association State Tournament
2007	Caitlin Taylor	First	Poetry	Texas Forensic Association State Tournament
2008	Evan Defilippis & James Hamraie	First	Policy Debate	National Forensic League National Speech Tournament
2008	Lyndon Lee, Jonathan Wang, Andrew Murray, Alex Nasr	Second	N/A	International Public Policy Forum Debate
2009	Andrew Murray & Alexander Nasr	Fifth	Policy Debate	National Forensic League National Speech Tournament

Controversies

In 2004, allegations were brought against Colleyville claiming that the culture of the athletics program pressured students to use performance enhancing drugs in order to better their performance. Coaches were alleged to have turned a blind eye as well as implicitly encouraging the use of drugs by practices such as bench strength comparison. A Dallas Morning News report entitled "The Secret Edge" prompted the district to conduct its own investigation, which found no evidence of official wrongdoing, but the district made assurances it would do more to reduce pressure on the students to use these drugs.

This controversy was one of the factors that led to UIL imposing a random drug testing policy for all students enrolled in UIL activities beginning in the 2007-2008 school year. Although this was a new requirement for Texas schools, CHHS had already implemented their own drug testing system two years prior. This policy is still discussed and criticized by many in the district because of the high cost and the small percentage of positive tests: less than 4% of those selected to be drug tested return positive results. Others, however, argue that the policy of random drug testing should be expanded further than the UIL boundaries.

Notable Alumni/Staff

• Tellis Redmon, '98, former Baltimore Ravens running back
• Annie Ilonzeh, '01, actress (Charlie's Angels, Arrow (TV series), He's Just Not That Into You)
• Jaimie Alexander, '02, actress (Kyle XY, Thor)
• Stephen Lambdin, '06, 15x Multi-National Taekwondo team member representing the U.S.f
• Christian Ponder, '06, Quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings
• James Russell, '06, Major League Baseball player
• Kyle Kubitza, '08, minor league baseball player in the Atlanta Braves organization
• Patrick Palmeiro, '08, baseball player for the Chicago White Sox organization
• Randall Thorpe, '08, former baseball player for the Chicago White Sox organization
• Page Grossman, '09, Co-Author of Welcome to College! 101 Ways to Rock Your World
• Austin Kubitza, '09, baseball player for the Detroit Tigers organization
• Disco Curtis, '10, rock band made up of alumni
• Myles Crosby, '13, defensive back at Southern Methodist University, former model for Calvin Klein
• Cody Thomas, '13, quarterback for Oklahoma University, drafted by the New York Yankees in the 30th round in the 2013 MLB draft

References

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Category:High schools in Tarrant County, Texas Category:Public high schools in Texas