Sandra Day O'Connor High School (Texas)
| Sandra Day O'Connor High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
|
12221 Leslie Road Helotes, Bexar County, Texas 78023 United States | |
| Coordinates | 29°33′10″N 98°40′03″W / 29.552703°N 98.667526°WCoordinates: 29°33′10″N 98°40′03″W / 29.552703°N 98.667526°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public, High School |
| Founded | 1998 |
| School district | Northside Independent School District |
| Superintendent | Dr. Brian T. Woods[1] |
| Principal | Jackie Horras |
| Vice Principal | Ryan Purtell |
| Academic Dean | Jennifer Bishop |
| Assistant Principal |
Thomas Johnson Jason Christian Sonia Almanza Cynthia Barrett |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 3,367[2] (2017) |
| Color(s) |
Navy Blue, Vegas Gold, and White |
| Athletics conference | UIL Class AAAAAA |
| Mascot | Panthers |
| Newspaper | The Prowler |
| Feeder schools |
Folks M.S. Garcia M.S. Jefferson M.S. Stevenson M.S. Stinson M.S. |
| Sports District | 28-6A |
| Rival school | Louis D. Brandeis High School |
| Website | Official Website |
Sandra Day O'Connor High School is a public high school in Helotes, Texas, United States, in the San Antonio metropolitan area. It is a part of the Northside Independent School District (NISD).
Overview
Opened in 1998, O'Connor High School followed the tradition of all the Northside ISD high schools in being named after a Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, who served from 1981 to 2006, and was the first female justice on United States Supreme Court. The school colors are navy blue, white and old gold and the mascot is the Panther. The principal was Larry Martin until from 1998 to 2010 when Jacqueline Horras became the new and current principal. O'Connor High School serves the entire town of Helotes and a small part of the larger central city of San Antonio. The campus comprises over 15 limestone buildings and the walkways are mostly outdoors. In 2017, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.[3]
.
Athletics
Students can participate in a wide variety of school sports including:[4]
- Student Athletic Training Aide's
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Cross Country
- Football
- Goldusters Dance Team
- Starduster Pep Squad
- Golf
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming & Diving
- Tennis
- Track
- Volleyball
Most school sports have practices and home games at O'Connor High itself, however, the football team, soccer team, and swimming & diving team uses The Dub Farris Athletic Complex off of Loop 1604 and Bamberger Trail for practice and home venues.
FFA
O'Connor has the largest and most expansive FFA complex in the Northside Independent School District. The Agriculture Department at O'Connor is a unique program in which students learn a wide variety of agricultural techniques in a hands-on environment. Any students residing in NISD are able to transfer from their zoned high school to attend O'Connor to participate in the agriculture program. The O'Connor FFA is one of the largest in the Texas FFA Association.[5]
Band
The Sandra Day O'Connor High School Marching Band has been in existence since the school was opened, and it is one of the largest high school marching bands in Texas, with over 360 members at its height. The band was led by Wallace Dierolf from its inception until 2004. It is now headed by Roland Sandoval. After Dierolf's retirement, the school's newly built multipurpose facility, containing both a band hall and a dance studio, was named after him. When Louis D. Brandeis High School opened in 2008, the band's numbers dropped to 230, but is now back to 380 members. Associate Directors are George G. Garza, Wesley Perkins, and Jaime Ramos.[6]
| Year | Theme | Musical Composer | Drill Writer | Notable Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Things That Go Pop" | Key Poulan | Advanced to State Competition for the first time | |
| 2009 | ||||
| 2010 | "Phobia: What Are You Afraid Of?" | Key Poulan | Advanced to the State Competition | |
| 2011 | "Chrysalis: A Journey Within" | |||
| 2012 | "Rain" | Daniel Montoya Jr. | 2nd place in Area, Advanced to State Competition, Placed 22nd out of 38 bands | |
| 2013 | "Zombie Apocalypse" | Daniel Montoya Jr. | ||
| 2014 | "Between Heaven and Earth" | Daniel Montoya Jr. | Roland Sandoval | 1st place in Area, Advanced to State Competition, Placed 28th out of 37 bands |
| 2015 | "Access Denied" | Daniel Montoya Jr. | Roland Sandoval | |
| 2016 | "The Living Sea" | Ron Ellis | ||
| 2017 | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Ron Ellis | ||
Theatre
The O'Connor theatre program was pioneered by the Drama Department director Deann Fleming's (whom has since retired) senior one-act project. It allows fourth-year theatre students to direct their own shows and produce them through via the International Thespian Society at the Texas State and International Thespian Festival s.
Mrs. Fleming's first year at O'Connor included performances of: Foxfire, Any Number Can Die, Oklahoma, and The Grapes of Wrath. Year two would consist of Noises Off!, The Music Man, Steel Magnolias and Of Mice and Men.
The production of "Of Mice and Men" in the 1999-2000 season would be a great success for the school. Two members of the ensemble would go on to win scholarships for their roles in the production, however they would not use them. The cast competed in the Selena Auditorium at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, and won Regionals securing a trip to the International Thespian Festival. The show was featured twice in Lincoln, and the ensamble, production staff, and Mrs. Fleming received great positive from the reviewers.
In addition, the drama students participate as Korny Klowns in the annual Helotes festival Cornyval, an event that allows the students to express themselves creatively and humorously while providing a service to the Helotes community. The Drama Department is a 6A participant in The University Interscholastic League.
The O'Connor theatre program is currently a part of the Texas Thespian Society Troupe #5872.
Air Force JROTC
O'Connor activated their Air Force JROTC detachment (TX-20082) for the 2008-2009 school year. The current Senior Aerospace Science Instructor (SASI) is Major Eric Cox (USAF ret.) and The Aerospace Science Instructors (ASIs) are MSgt Ralph Perez (USAF ret.) and SMsgt. Beatrice Fleureau (USAF ret.). In 2012 the JROTC department, along with the Math department, moved into a newly constructed permanent facility on the northwest side of the campus.
JROTC performs ceremonial Color Guard and Saber Guard for numerous school and Civic Organizations. They have 13 teams that compete at the local, state and national levels. Those teams are Cyber Patriot, Rocketry, Marksmanship, female and male Physical Training, Female and Male Color Guard, Armed Drill and Unarmed Drill, Orienteering and Academic Bowl. They have won numerous awards over the school year.
Notable awards for the 16/17 school year. Physical Training placed in the top three of every competition they entered this year, with the female team capturing First overall in 6 of 12 competitions. O' Connor captured the coveted title of overall Grand Champions at Somerset and Kennedy H.S. Drill Meets. Marksmanship placed first at the Lee H.S. Invitational, Wagner, Clark, Kennedy H.S. O'Connor placed a team of 4 shooters and an individual shooter in the Air Force National 3 position Championships in Feb, then 2 shooters qualified for the JROTC Nationals in March. O'Connor competed at the National Drill Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida in May 2017.
JROTC detachments are required to perform community service in addition to teaching an Air Force approved curriculum. OC cadets performed over 4,270 hours of community service in the 16/17 school year.They are frequent volunteers at the San Antonio Food Bank, have a long-standing relationship with the Helotes Cornyval Association and Scholarship Beauty Pageant and participate in 6-8 Elementary School Carnivals for NISD schools. They instituted a training program for Kuentz Elementary School's Safety Patrol Squad that raises and lowers the flags every day.
Notable alumni
- Boone Logan (Class of 2002) mdash; Professional baseball player for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.[7]
- Justin Olsen (Class of 2005) mdash; 2010 Winter Olympic Gold Medalist for the U.S. in four-man Bobsleigh[8]
References
- ↑ Northside ISD Superintendent
- ↑ UIL 2018-2020 Reclassification and Realignment
- ↑ "TEA 2017 Accountability Reports". Texas Education Agency. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
- ↑ O'Connor Athletics
- ↑ "Agriculture Science Teachers". nisd.net. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ↑ O'Connor Band Director Biographies
- ↑ "Boone Logan MLB Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ "Vancouver 2010 Bobsleigh". Retrieved 2018-03-11.