CONIFER HIGH SCHOOL

'Conifer High School' is a secondary school in Conifer, an unincorporated town located in the foothills of Jefferson County, southwest of Denver, Colorado. The school is located about 20 minutes southwest of C-470 and a short distance north of U.S. Route 285.

Contents

History

Campus

Community use

Architectural distinction

Extracurricular activities

Sports

Marching Band

Notable alumni

In the News

External links

References

History

'Conifer High School' opened in the fall of 1996 to serve students in the southern portion of what had previously been Evergreen High School's matriculation area. The area encompasses a large part of southwestern Jefferson County, including the communities of Aspen Park, Buffalo Creek, Pine and Pine Junction, as well as parts of southern Evergreen and southwestern Morrison.
The land for the school campus was acquired in a county action of Eminent Domain which gives landowners the choice of either a county purchase of the land or condemning the property. One parcel was a picnic area named "Rancho Lobo"; when it came time to choose a school mascot, the vote decided upon the Lobos.
The opening of the school coincided with changes in the divisions of secondary, junior high, and elementary schools for the district. This change meant that the first year of students consisted of eleventh grade students that had attended Evergreen High School during the previous year and two classes of "freshmen" in ninth and tenth grade students from West Jefferson Middle School. The first year had no senior class, as such the first graduating class was in 1998 .
The first principal was Barry Schwartz, who retired after the 2002-2003 school year.
Cyndi Whitlock was principal from 2003 - 2006.
Pat Termin was interim principal for the 2006 - 2007 school year.

Campus

Community use

The building houses a substation of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. It also housed a campus of Red Rocks Community College. This relationship with Red Rocks allowed students to take some college courses, after normal school hours, and receive both college and high school credit.^[3] As of 2007 Red Rocks no longer operates this campus.
CHS shares its library with Jefferson County Public Library system. During school hours the library is restricted to only school staff and students. After school and on weekends the library is open to the public. The public library is open six days a week, being closed on Friday.
The building is also used for many events including health drives, holiday boutiques, and community festivals. During the wildfire season, the school has been used as a Red Cross shelter.
^[4][5]

Architectural distinction

Designed by architectural firm LKA Partners^[6], Conifer High School's architecture has been awarded several honors:

★ Project of Distinction, Council of Educational Facilities Planners, 1996

★ The James D. McConnell Award, Council of Educational Facilities Planners, 1997^[7]

★ Citation Award, American Association of School Administrators, 1998

Extracurricular activities

Sports

When it opened, CHS competed in the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A in all sports.
'Softball'

In 2003 the CHS Softball team won the 4A state championship.^[8] The team had made its first appearance in the state tournament the year before.
^[9]
'Boys Soccer'

In the 2006 season, both Junior Varsity and Varsity earned the title of 4A League Champions. JV Soccer finished with seven straight shutouts, ending their season with a 14-0-0 record. They only allowed eight goals the entire year. They also beat rival school Evergreen in a 1-0 victory decided in the closing four minutes by midfielder Aaron Fitzgerald. Varsity Boys competed in State, but were eliminated by Battle Mountain in the second round.
'Boys Basketball'

In it's 2006-2007 season under first year coach Jeff Debuhr the Lobos, seeded #7 in the state tournament, won 3 games before being eliminated by Widefield High School in the "Great 8". In the process they knocked off the 2-time defending state champions, Thomas Jefferson High School. Conifer had never won a playoff game in boys basketball before this year.
'Girls X-Country'

Kristen Wakeman, 2003 4A state champion.^[10]
'Girls Track and Field'

2004 4A state champions 4 x 800m relay.^[11]

Emily Blok, 2007 4A state champion, 100m dash.

Emily Blok, 2007 4A state champion, 200m dash..^[12]

'Boys Track and Field'

Bobby Potrykus, 2006 4A state champion^[13] and state record holder, 800m run.

Bobby Potrykus, 2007 4A state champion, 800m run..^[12]

Marching Band

In 2006 the Conifer High School Marching Band won the 3A state championship.^[15] It was Conifer's first time competing in the 3A class, as previous marching seasons were competed in class 4A. ^[16]

Notable alumni

★ Meagan Hoffman, forward for the Rhondda Rebels (English Basketball League)

In the News

The 2006-2007 yearbook has been featured extensively in the news for controversial pictures of drug use. ^[17]

External links

★ Conifer High School official website

★ Conifer Senior High School on GreatSchools.net

★ Conifer Senior High School on Public Schools Report

References

1. Conifer Senior High School School Accountability Report 2005-2006 School Year. Colorado Department of Education. 2006-12-12.
2. Profile - Conifer High School. Colorado High School Activities Association.
3. College Courses at High School
4. For Conifer Principal, School is Busy Place Lynn Bartels
5. Conifer High is Big on Character Holly Yettick
6. Designs for Learning: Ten New Metro School Buildings Range from the Daring to the Drab
7. James D. MacConnell Award Site
8. 2003 STATE GIRLS' SOFTBALL RESULTS. Colorado High School Activities Association.
9. A New Look for Finals: 4 Fledgling Teams Will Get Shot at Softball Title Today Paul Willis
10. 2003 Cross Country State Championship Results
11. 2004 Track and Field State Championship Results
12. 2007 Track and Field State Championship Results
13. 2006 Track and Field State Championship Results
14. 2007 Track and Field State Championship Results
15. Colorado Bandmasters Association. 2006 1A/2A/3A State Marching Band Championships.
16. Conifer tops County in marching band finals Gayle Perez
17. School Yearbook Features Kids Doing Drugs