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University High School (Orlando)
Encyclopedia
University High School is a public high school
in Orlando, Florida
opened in 1990. The school is one of many public high schools in Orange County and is located about a mile from UCF. University High School has an International Baccalaureate program and a Global Technologies (GT) magnet program, which was formerly known as Global Information and Future Technologies (GIFT). The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
University High School has two campuses, the East Campus (formerly the Freshman Campus) and the West Campus (also known as the Main Campus). The West Campus is the campus where the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classrooms are. The West Campus is designed in a square architectural layout with a courtyard in the middle. The East Campus is made up predominantly of fixed portable classrooms and is located across the street from the West Campus.
named Casey the Cougar. The school colors are navy blue and vegas gold. In 2004, the shade of gold was changed from a yellow gold to varsity gold. University's main rivals are Colonial High School
and Timber Creek High School
. UHS was built as a relief school for CHS in 1990 and Timber Creek was built as a relief school for UHS in 2002. East River was also built as a relief school for both University and Timber Creek in 2009.
The UHS football team had a slow beginning but has had some recent successes. In 2002, John Flath was chosen as the new head coach. The 2002-2003 season resulted in a poor 2-8 record. However, the football program experienced a complete turnaround in the 2003-2004 season with a school record of 8 wins and 2 losses during the regular season. Although failing to defeat Boone High School for the District Championship, UHS still moved on to the playoffs. They lost their first game to Edgewater High School. Since then coach Flath has taken a job at another local high school and Coach Jeff Smiley has taken over. Coach Smiley resigned at the end of the fall season in 2008. Coach Don Stark is now the current coach. During the 2010-2011 season the Cougars went 2-9-0 winning the two games against Lake Nona(59-21) and Cypress Creek(36-6) Failing to make the playoffs. They are currently ranked 8622 in the National Ranking. They are also Ranked 392 in the Florida State Ranking. Also the Cougars are Ranked 75 in the Florida the Florida 6A Division Ranking.
, Carousel
, Evita, Aida
, Miss Saigon
, The Wiz
and Beauty and the Beast
. University has presented Lend Me A Tenor the fall of 2010, and was one of the first high schools in the world to put on the production Phantom of the Opera in Spring of 2011.
The Drama Department also boasts a Thespian Troupe. Troupe 4848 of District 5 travels to Dr. Phillips High School
every winter to compete in District competition, and to Tampa every spring for State competition. The Troupe's One Act, The Window School, won "Best in Show: One Act" and went on and received straight superiors at State in 2008. Silas Marner was presented in 2009, and received straight superiors at District and State competition. Troupe 4848 attended Districts 2010 and won straight superiors for their One Act, A Tulip For Lily.
Some of the more recent marching band shows include There And Back Again (2006), Almost Yesterday (2007), The Enigma (2008), An Inconvenient Truth (2009), Through The Mind Of A Child (2010), and Reflections (2011).
The University High School Winter Guard has been a finalist at nationally qualifying regionals and had strong placements in statewide competitions as well. The Winterguard was also elevated to Scholastic Open Class for the 2009 season receiving 14th place at WGI World Championships.
Also recently, the University High School Percussion Syndicate gained massive national recognition by winning their first FFCC Circuit Championships and placing 4th in Scholastic A class at the 2009 WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. This is quite an accomplishment as this was only their 2nd season in a row competing in indoor percussion after a long seven year hiatus. Previously, they competed in the 1999 WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio and placed 3rd in Scholastic A in the 2001 WGI World Championships held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Under the direction of Patrick F. Culler, the marching band was highly successful, traveling around the nation to perform. The group participated in the National Cherry Blossom Festival
Parade in Washington, D.C.
(1995), performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
in New York City
(1995), and traveled to Pasadena, CA to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade
(1998). In the mid to late 1990s, the marching band was one of the largest in the Central Florida region. The membership was near 350 students; approximately 10% of the total UHS population at the time. The performing arts center was also named in Culler's honor after his death. It is now the Patrick F. Culler Performing Arts Center.
The band is currently under the direction of Adam Steff and Jon Brown.
, Junior State of America
, Key Club
, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society
, Sabor Latino Dance Team, Senior Class Cabinet, SADD, Science National Honor Society, Student Government Association, TV Production, Youth Equality Alliance (local Gay-Straight Alliance), Best Buddies and many others.
The 17-year-old, who was pointed out by witnesses, was arrested around 3:00 pm the same day. On June 15, 2007, De La Cruz was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
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....
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
opened in 1990. The school is one of many public high schools in Orange County and is located about a mile from UCF. University High School has an International Baccalaureate program and a Global Technologies (GT) magnet program, which was formerly known as Global Information and Future Technologies (GIFT). The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
University High School has two campuses, the East Campus (formerly the Freshman Campus) and the West Campus (also known as the Main Campus). The West Campus is the campus where the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classrooms are. The West Campus is designed in a square architectural layout with a courtyard in the middle. The East Campus is made up predominantly of fixed portable classrooms and is located across the street from the West Campus.
Athletics
The school's mascot is a Florida CougarEastern Cougar
The North American Cougar , is the cougar subspecies once commonly found in eastern North America and still prevalent in the western half of the continent...
named Casey the Cougar. The school colors are navy blue and vegas gold. In 2004, the shade of gold was changed from a yellow gold to varsity gold. University's main rivals are Colonial High School
Colonial High School
Colonial High School is a high school located in Orlando, Florida. As of August 2008 the school serves over 3,500 students in grades 9 through 12, making it one of the largest schools in Florida. Colonial has one of the biggest production studios in Orange County, Florida, headed by Nathan Whaley....
and Timber Creek High School
Timber Creek High School
Timber Creek High School is a public high school located in Orlando, Florida. The Timber Creek mascot is a wolf and the principal is Mr. John Wright.-History:Timber Creek High school was built in 2000 as a relief school for nearby University High School....
. UHS was built as a relief school for CHS in 1990 and Timber Creek was built as a relief school for UHS in 2002. East River was also built as a relief school for both University and Timber Creek in 2009.
Football
The Drama Department
University High School has an accomplished Drama Department. They have performed several popular plays and musicals such as [Les Misérables (musical)|Les Miesérables]], RagtimeRagtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
, Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
, Evita, Aida
Aida (musical)
Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical....
, Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
and Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
. University has presented Lend Me A Tenor the fall of 2010, and was one of the first high schools in the world to put on the production Phantom of the Opera in Spring of 2011.
The Drama Department also boasts a Thespian Troupe. Troupe 4848 of District 5 travels to Dr. Phillips High School
Dr. Phillips High School
Dr. Phillips High School is a high school located in Orlando, Florida, United States.The area of Dr. Phillips, Florida is named after Dr. Philip Phillips, a physician who later became a Central Florida citrus magnate. He was responsible for several key innovations in the processing and packaging of...
every winter to compete in District competition, and to Tampa every spring for State competition. The Troupe's One Act, The Window School, won "Best in Show: One Act" and went on and received straight superiors at State in 2008. Silas Marner was presented in 2009, and received straight superiors at District and State competition. Troupe 4848 attended Districts 2010 and won straight superiors for their One Act, A Tulip For Lily.
Band
The University High School Band & Guard have a reputation of being one of the best band programs in the state. The top bands (Wind Ensemble, Jazz 1) have a history of receiving straight superior ratings at the District and State level MPA (Music Performance Assessment). In 2005, their show One City Block received 5th place at State competition.Some of the more recent marching band shows include There And Back Again (2006), Almost Yesterday (2007), The Enigma (2008), An Inconvenient Truth (2009), Through The Mind Of A Child (2010), and Reflections (2011).
The University High School Winter Guard has been a finalist at nationally qualifying regionals and had strong placements in statewide competitions as well. The Winterguard was also elevated to Scholastic Open Class for the 2009 season receiving 14th place at WGI World Championships.
Also recently, the University High School Percussion Syndicate gained massive national recognition by winning their first FFCC Circuit Championships and placing 4th in Scholastic A class at the 2009 WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. This is quite an accomplishment as this was only their 2nd season in a row competing in indoor percussion after a long seven year hiatus. Previously, they competed in the 1999 WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio and placed 3rd in Scholastic A in the 2001 WGI World Championships held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Under the direction of Patrick F. Culler, the marching band was highly successful, traveling around the nation to perform. The group participated in the National Cherry Blossom Festival
National Cherry Blossom Festival
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington...
Parade in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1995), performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1995), and traveled to Pasadena, CA to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
(1998). In the mid to late 1990s, the marching band was one of the largest in the Central Florida region. The membership was near 350 students; approximately 10% of the total UHS population at the time. The performing arts center was also named in Culler's honor after his death. It is now the Patrick F. Culler Performing Arts Center.
The band is currently under the direction of Adam Steff and Jon Brown.
Clubs and organizations
At the beginning of the year the school holds the Club Rush, a day where clubs and organizations advertise themselves to prospective members in the courtyard. Some clubs and organizations at UHS include: Asian Student Association, Beta Club, Chorus, Colorguard/Winterguard, Debate, Ecology Club, French Honor Society, German Club, International Thespian SocietyInternational Thespian Society
The International Thespian Society is an honorary organization for high-school and middle-school theatre students located at more than 3,600 affiliated secondary schools across the United States, Canada, and abroad. The International Thespian Society was founded in Fairmont, West Virginia...
, Junior State of America
Junior State of America
The Junior State of America is an American non-partisan student-run youth organization. It is also the largest high school student-run organization in the country...
, Key Club
Key Club
Key Club International is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. Key Club International is a part of the Kiwanis International family of service-leadership programs...
, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, Sabor Latino Dance Team, Senior Class Cabinet, SADD, Science National Honor Society, Student Government Association, TV Production, Youth Equality Alliance (local Gay-Straight Alliance), Best Buddies and many others.
2006 Murder
On October 19, 2006, a male student, Michael Nieves , was fatally stabbed at about 2:15pm while walking to his school bus to go home. He was stabbed with a three-inch serrated blade. The victim was said to be stabbed in the neck and the abdomen. After the stabbing, 17-year-old Kelvin De La Cruz then changed clothing and hid out in a classroom on the second floor, and was apprehended by a school resource officer.The 17-year-old, who was pointed out by witnesses, was arrested around 3:00 pm the same day. On June 15, 2007, De La Cruz was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
1998 Murder
Shortly after classes on December 9, 1998, 20-year-old construction worker Omar Witt approached 16-year-old Mark Thornton, allegedly seeking to confront Thornton about alleged harassment of a female student. The nature of the incident was also considered racially charged (Witt was African American; Thornton was Caucasian).Movies
- The school's stadium and junior parking lot were used as a backdrop for the 2007 film Sydney WhiteSydney WhiteSydney White is a 2007 teen comedy film starring Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton, and Matt Long, and based on the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.-Plot:...
. - The University High School cheerleaders won the 2006-2007 state championship and were featured in the movie Bring It On: In It to Win ItBring It On: In It to Win ItBring It On: In It to Win It is a 2007 teen film. First a sneak peek on The Jake Show Season 2 premiere, directed by Steve Rash and starring Ashley Benson, Michael Copon and Cassie Scerbo. It is the fourth film in the Bring It On franchise, which focuses on competitive cheerleading. It was shot at...
. - University High School students were featured in an episode of MTV's hit show True LifeTrue LifeTrue Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...
: I'm Going to Prom.