Pueblo County High School is a four-year public high school in Vineland, an unincorporated area in Pueblo County, Colorado, near Pueblo. It is a part of the Pueblo County School District 70. The school's current mascot is the fighting Hornet, with school colors green and gold. Students have access to a variety of different clubs and extracurricular activities, as well as a highly respected program referred to as the School of Engineering and Biomedical Science (SEBS). Pueblo County High School offers courses for all academic levels, as well as the foreign languages of Spanish and Italian.
Pueblo County High School has recently finished new building renovations due to the Bond issue of 2012. The construction included a new Arts Department, Auxiliary Gym, and a relocated main office for staff.
Video Pueblo County High School
History
In the early 1950's it was decided by the School Board to build Pueblo County High School as a merging school. Students from Pleasant View, Vineland, Avondale, and Boone enrolled to attend Pueblo County High School in the fall of 1953, where they took up Pueblo County High School's new colors and mascot. A school-wide vote was cast to select the mascot, and a pair of colors. The selected mascot was a Hornet, the colors chosen were green and gold.
Farmers to Students
While the school opened as a legal Senior High school, construction of the building was still in progress, leaving many classrooms unavailable. Students and teachers took learning to the grass, boiler rooms, or inside buses as an alternative. Originally, the location in which Pueblo County High School was built was used as farmland and was tended as such. Harvest time and planting season respectively were the most important times of the year for Pueblo in that era, which caused many students to miss months of school, as Harvesting and Planting was more of a priority.
Principals
Like the traditional American school, Pueblo County High School has a current principal, as well as many predecessors of which have their own private wall of fame, featuring their faces. There has only been one female principal: Terrie Tafoya (2010-2016).
A Better Learning Environment: Bond Projects
In the 1970s Pueblo County High School was booming with roughly 1400 students. The student body was so large that the campus needed to be expanded. This Bond Project, originating in 1977, allowed construction of a pool, auditorium, original stadium, and another building containing English and foreign language classrooms.
In November 2012, Ballot Question 3A was approved, granting a second bond to Pueblo District 70 schools for improvements. NorthStar and H&L were responsible for facility changes. Renovation began in early 2013, including an artificial turf football field and a multi-weather track. The main office structure was moved from the West Building to the center south side of County. A new Auxiliary Gym, Wrestling Room, and breezeway were also built.
One-to-One: School Computers
Pueblo County High School incorporates the One-to-One computer method, designed to enable more learning opportunities for students. Each student that attends Pueblo County High School is given a MacBook Air 2015.
4-Day School Week
There is no school on Fridays as a result of large budget cuts. In March 2010, the District 70 School Board voted unanimously to switch from the traditional 5-day school schedule. There are no means of switching back in the near future.
Class normally begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. MST. Bus routes are also available only to areas in the District 70 region during a regularly scheduled school day.
Curriculum
There is a wide variety of classes open to students including weighted classes. AP (Advanced Placement) and Honors courses are offered to students with adequate grades.
Pueblo County High School also offers language courses in Spanish and Italian with their own respective Honors/AP courses. A full list of available classes can be found on the public Word Document on the School Website.
Demographics
There is a close 50-50 ratio between Hispanics or Latinos to Whites. This is due to Pueblo's tie with the largest steel industry in the 1970s, where immigrants came to work, largely Hispanics, for money. Not only did the steel industry influence the demographics of Pueblo, but the land has also been owned by multiple nations, becoming a cultural melting point.
Because of this history, generations later, students who attend Pueblo County High School carry their ethnic group with them, leaving the school with students who are 52% White in origin, and 45% who are Hispanic in origin or Latino in the school year of 2016-2017.
Pueblo County High School features a graduation rate of eighty-seven percent, which is higher compared to the state average of seventy-six percent. Roughly 900 students currently attend the school.
Urban Legends
It is common for speculation to surround a building, and Pueblo County High School is no exception. There is claimed to be many ghost stories around the school. A number of comments come from teachers themselves. Although they cannot be counted as credible, these stories mainly revolve around the West Building, the oldest part of the school.
However, not all stories and tales are about ghosts. In the Mess Hall, a tiled hornet (seen in the image to the right) can be found in the red wing of the lunch line of the Cafeteria. Many consider it bad luck to step on the Hornet. It is unclear where this practice first took place.
Maps Pueblo County High School
SEBS - School of Engineering and Biomedical Science
The school of Engineering and Biomedical Science, more commonly known as "SEBS," is a specialized program offered to high-level students to prepare for career readiness and hands-on experience in the fields of Engineering and Biomedical Science. There are also courses that assist in careers revolving around software and computer programing within SEBS. SEBS is paired with Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses, and is a certified PLTW school. SEBS courses are only found at Pueblo County High School, although other schools may have a similar plan known as STEM.
Uniquely, although classified as a separate course, the SEBS program is more commonly known to be a school within a school, rather than offered courses. Students must register into SEBS program. It is expected of all SEBS students to stay within an unweighted Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher. Managers, advisors, and/or counselors may recommend other courses if a student's grade does not meet the above criteria.
History
Formerly known as Pueblo Technical Academy, SEBS started off as its own District 70 school in the GoodYear building of the Pueblo Industrial Park. John Musso, the current principal of SEBS, was among others who reinforced startup of the school. Economic issues forced the Tech Academy to move to PCC around 2005, then finally to Pueblo County High School in the year of 2010.
Opportunities
Since the SEBS program offers opportunities for a wide variety of real world jobs and scenarios, there are different branches of the school that are similar in nature but different in education. An engineering student may be taught how to build a robot physically as well as understand every aspect of the machine; while a biomedical student might dissect a sheep heart in order to physically understand its function as well as the many different cells of which it is made.
Athletics
The Fighting Hornets
Pueblo County High School has a proud athletic division. Students that choose to participate in athletics represent their school and compete to be the best of their ability.
The school has a wide variety of athletic opportunities for capable students to choose from. Each sport has a specific season it is available to organize the games and schedules of students and coaches alike.
It is also important to note that all significant games are recorded and can be re-watched on the NFHSNetwork under the Pueblo County High School channel. These are produced by Sting TV.
Available Sports
Championships
Student achievements are rewarded to students who went above and beyond. Green banners are created for these students who have ranked highly in the state and are displayed in the main Gymnasium in order of years for all to see. Those who have ranked highly within the league receive a banner that states the sport and ranking.
State Champions
Awards
Annual Academic Assembly
Every year, Pueblo County High School hosts a banquet to recognize notable athletes. Awards given out are listed below:
- Liz Villegas (Most Competitive Athlete): Volleyball coach and teacher at Pueblo County High School 25 years, died of cancer in 1998.
- Dennis Shefcyk (Fighting Spirit Award): Coach and Teacher at Pueblo County High School 30 years.
- Sam Solano (Most Valuable Athlete Award): Killed in Vietnam, 1968
- Mike Hanratty (Fighting Hornet Award): Lost at Battle in Vietnam, 1967
- Jerry Ellis:(Most Dedicated) Former Principal and Sports Coordinator
Extracurricular Activities and Clubs
Student Leadership
Homecoming, Snoball, Project Respect, Tailgate, and other activities are coordinated by the Student Leadership Club. In order to be in Student Leadership, a student must fill out a paper requesting to participate and receive 15 teacher signatures of approval. The student must also maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (Unweighted).
National Honors Society (NHS)
National Honor Society is a club for students that have had a GPA of 3.5 or higher to get involved in their school community. Students in NHS fundraise to support other clubs and are expected to volunteer to help with different events such as graduation or Green and Gold.
Skills USA
SkillsUSA is a national organization serving teachers, high school, and college students preparing for careers or looking for further career education. SkillsUSA's mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA offers local, state, and national opportunities in which students can demonstrate their skills.
Arcana Verba
Arcana Verba, translated to 'The Mysterious' from Latin, is a local school opportunity present for young writers, poets, and artists by hand or by photography at Pueblo County High School. The goal of the club is to promote publishing done by a student body.
Future Farmers of America (FFA)
Future Farmers of America is based around agricultural business and farming. Everyone enrolled in an agriculture class is automatically in FFA, and can participate in Supervised agricultural experience events. FFA is involved locally by participating in middle school events such as painting pumpkins for Halloween or fundraisers. They also help run the Barnyard during the Colorado State Fair.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a group of Christian athletes within the Pueblo County High School that meet once a week to discuss the importance of God within their sports. This group is led by Jeff Wilson. On occasion, this club also helps out around the school when they can by doing tasks, such as raising and lowering of the US Flag.
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
Future Business Leaders of America is an organization for student business of young people progressing for success as leaders in business, government, and communities. It is their mission to bring both education and business together through inventive career development and leadership programs.
Sting TV
Sting TV is a broadcasting crew originated in SEBS that broadcasts different events at Pueblo County High School. Videos are available at The High School Sports Network. Sting TV was a finalist in a nationwide broadcasting competition for new broadcasting channels in 2017.
Graduation Ceremony
Each year, Seniors obtain their official High School Diplomas during the Graduation Ceremony on the Pueblo County High School Football Field on the Saturday before Memorial Day. During the ceremony, family and friends of the graduates are invited to the stands to watch as valedictorians and salutatorians of the graduating class give a personal speech before each student receives their diploma. After the ceremony is over, the observers are allowed to leave the stands to go down to the field to take pictures with the graduates. This is after the graduates have conducted the traditional graduation cap tossing, and moving of their cord to the other side of the cap to signify officially graduating.
The official diploma is delivered in the mail to the graduates due to the reason that not all graduates could attend the ceremony.
Assemblies
Traditionally, Pueblo County High School holds assemblies where students gather in the auditorium or in the gymnasium to celebrate student achievements, sports, dances and other notable events.
Assembly Traditions
There are many annual and commonly repeated traditions throughout assemblies that are unique to Pueblo County High School and usually cannot be found in other schools.
Class Yell
Every class has a certain chant they share collectively. These chants are usually shouted in a contest against their other classmates during an assembly, to which the winner is determined by which class shouted their chant the loudest. These chants, however, are not created by classes themselves but given to them during freshmen orientation by the Seniors of the school. The shouts usually consist of 3 verses of which the last two rhyme together. The last is always the year of the class.
Example - "Fresh and clean; bright and fine; we're the class of the Big one-nine ('19)!" The Bell
The school bell is given to the class with the most school spirit. During an assembly, each class is given common ground to shout their class yells as loud as they can, while their peers and other classes are permitted to "boo." If the class can cheer louder than the surrounding booing, they have a high chance to obtain the bell.
Clapping the Seniors Out
This tradition is after assemblies and it involves all students respectfully waiting in their assigned areas while clapping, allowing the seniors to exit first. The tradition serves as a tribute to the seniors of the school.
School Chant
To further the pride of the school, there is a school chant shared between all classmates. Usually when shouted, teachers alike sometimes join in on the shouting but is mainly shared between students. When sung, each class present gets to say a verse, starting with the freshmen to senior till the full verse is spoken. It is also yelled as loud as the students can muster. We also have a school song that is sung at assemblies and played during sporting events.
Example - "Rip them up; tear them up; give them hell--Hornets!"
As well as a school chant, Pueblo County High School features a school song that can be found on a banner hung in the main Gymnasium.
Traditions
Traditions are a large part of the culture and traditions bring communities together. Listed below are a select few annual traditions found at Pueblo County High School.
Pigskin
Established in the year of 2000, The Pigskin Classic is an annual football game between the Pueblo County High School Hornets and the Pueblo West Cyclones of Pueblo West High School. The home location of the game rotates between the two schools each year and is always the first football game of the school year. For the first 8 years, Pueblo County High School won the Pigskin Classic. For the next 8 years, Pueblo West won the Pigskin Classic. At the 17th annual Pigskin Classic (2016), Pueblo County High School won the pigskin for the first time in 8 years. The school of the winning Pigskin team gets to take home the Pigskin Trophy.
School Dances
Homecoming, SnoBall, and Prom are dances at Pueblo County High School that the students look forward to all year long. The dances are formal and the students come dressed up ready to dance the night away!
Homecoming is an annual dance where the Senior class elects six candidates to be on the Homecoming Court. The Homecoming Court consists of six senior girls who have been chosen for Homecoming Queen.The Homecoming football game is played on the Friday night before the dance and the dance takes place on Saturday of that week.
Snoball is an annual dance where the Senior class elects six candidates to be on the Snoball Court. The Snoball Court consists of six senior boys who have been chosen for Snoball King. The Snoball basketball game is played on the Friday night before the dance and the dance takes place on Saturday of that week.
Prom is the final dance of the year and it is a junior/senior orientated dance that happens towards the end of every year for departing seniors and new seniors for the upcoming year.
Tailgate
Every year on a Thursday before Prom, most of the students meet up in the back parking lot of Pueblo County High School for an annual Tailgate. During Tailgate, students are allowed to bring grills and food to cook in the back of their vehicles. Games are also available sometimes provided by teachers for students to play. It's a good bonding experience for students just to sit back and relax before a weekend of fun.
Badminton Tournament
The Badminton Tournament is a tournament against many different teams, all competing for the title of Badminton Champion. The teams are made up of one boy and one girl (student or staff member), and they compete against the other teams until we are left with one winner!
Spirit Weeks
Spirit Week is a student event created by the students for mainly entertainment purposes. During Spirit Weeks, each day is selected for a certain theme in which both students and teachers are allowed to follow. For instance, a Monday could be registered as Pajama Day, where students and teachers are allowed to come to school in pajamas and night-time slippers. The following day would be different, holding a different theme such as Hat Day, permitting all students and teachers to wear a hat inside the school building. During the final day, on Thursday, the theme usually revolves around school pride, such as Green and Gold Day. Spirit Weeks are usually held the week of a large school event or sporting event.
Veterans Day Assembly
The Veterans Day Assembly is one of the most treasured annual traditions of Pueblo County High School. Six soldiers who graduated from Pueblo County High School lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and they are honored by both teachers and students.
The names of the fallen soldiers are as follows: Reuban Aragon (1965), Mike Hanratty (1963), David Heller (1966), Danny Ruybal (1965), Sam Solano (1965), and Pete Valdez (1967).
Championship Flags
For every state championship achievement of a student or team of students at Pueblo County High SchoolHigh School, it is rewarded and remembered by the school. In the main Gymnasium of Pueblo County High School, flags of the student's success are displayed for all to view. There is usually an assembly held to reward those select students' achievements before they are hung up on the walls.
The Unified Basketball Game
Students with disabilities and/or special needs are given the opportunity to participate in a Unified Basketball game as a part of Pueblo County's "Respect Assembly." The assembly is designed to teach students about accepting their peers.
Trunk or Treat
On Halloween, the Deca students at County High School park their cars in the parking lot and decorate them any way they want and get ready to hand out candy. It provides a safe way for younger children in the community to have fun on Halloween.
Powder Puff/Powder Buff
Powder Puff is an annual football game where the roles are switched! The junior girls play football against the senior girls while the boys are cheerleading on the sidelines!
Powder Buff is an annual boys volleyball game between the Junior and Senior Boys. Whoever wins the game gets to claim the school bell.
Green and Gold
Green and Gold is an assembly that recognizes the achievements of the graduating senior class. These achievements can include academic achievements, awards from clubs and organizations that the student was a part of, the students joining any of the armed forces, and scholarships that are being given out to particular students.
Baccalaureate
Baccalaureate is an optional Catholic Mass that honors the graduating class. It is typically done on the Wednesday evening before graduation and after Green and Gold.
Graduation
Requirements
Like all US schools, there are certain requirements needed to graduate from Pueblo County High School. A total of four years of education is required to graduate. The system used in this school is high school credits, to which a certain amount of each must be earned each year. If a student fails to make the quota of credits in one year, they will either have to be 'held back' or take the failed classes during Summer School, online school, or night school. Each passed semester counts as 0.5 credits, so if a student passes a class for one full school year, he/she will receive one full credit.
- Graduation: 25 credits total
- English: 4 credits
- Social Studies: 3 credits
- Math: 3 credits
- Science: 3 credits
- Physical Education: 1.5 credits
- Health: 0.5 credits
- Technology: 1 credit
- Electives: 9 credits
If a student has extra credits in any core section will be transitioned into elective credits. For example, if a student were to take four science classes for four years, they would have 4 science credits. Since the requirement is only to have 3 science credits, that student will have 3 science credits and an elective credit if their elective slots are not full. There are other requirements for graduation such as SAT scores and ACT scores. The specifics can be found on a PDF on the District 70 website.
Alumni
Here are a few select picks of known Alumni that graduated from this school.
References
External links
- Photo of Pueblo County High School
- Pueblo County High School Band
- Hornet Sports
- Live/Recorded Sport Events and Assemblies
- Staff List (2011-2012)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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