Avon High School (Connecticut)
Avon High School is a public high school in Avon, Connecticut, United States, serving grades 9–12. The student population is about 1100. The school has undergone extensive renovations over the last 20 years. The school started its latest renovation project in 2006, which was completed in the fall of 2008. The latest renovation included the addition of classrooms, a second gymnasium, a new kitchen and cafeteria, orchestra room, several media centers, and interior cosmetic changes. An indoor track and a softball field were proposed, but were canceled due to a lack of funding. The school was also renovated during 1996 and 1997. The most recent renovations (2018-2019) done to the football field and track, replacing the grass field with turf and replacing the track. The principal for the 2018-2019 school year is Michael Renkawitz. On August 11, 2016, Newsweek ranked Avon High School as the 116th best public high school in the United States.[3]
| Avon High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
510 West Avon Road , 06001 United States | |
| Coordinates | 41.7833°N 72.8623°W |
| Information | |
| Motto | Scientia Veritas (In knowledge there is truth). |
| Founded | 1958 |
| School district | Avon Public Schools |
| Principal | Michael Renkawitz [1] |
| Faculty | 83.60 (FTE)[2] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 951 (2018–19)[2] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 12.09[2] |
| School color(s) | Blue and White |
| Athletics conference | Central Connecticut Conference |
| Mascot | Falcon |
| Accreditation | NEASC |
| Website | www |
Academics
Academic departments include Math, Social Studies, English, Science, World Languages, Health, Visual Arts, Music, and Physical Education. There are 67 subject area teachers.[4]
In order to graduate, students of the class of 2018 (the class of 2019 faces updated graduation requirements) and earlier must earn a minimum of 22.5 credits according to the following distribution:[5]
Arts
Arts offerings include music, visual arts, and theater arts.
The music offerings at Avon High School have expanded in recent years. Ensembles currently include:[6]
Bands
- 9th grade Concert Band combined with the Symphonic Band.(2018-2019)
- Wind Ensemble (audition-only)
Choirs
- Women's Choir
- Men's Choir
- Chamber Choir
- Camerata Singers
Orchestras
- Concert Orchestra
- Symphony Orchestra
- Chamber Orchestra (audition-only)
Other musical opportunities include the jazz band, American School Band Directors Association festivals, American Choral Directors Association festivals, Connecticut Music Educators Association Northern Regional and All-State Festivals, and the New England Music Festival Association's festival (NEMFA).
Activities
The Avon High website notes that, "Avon High offers a great variety of extracurricular activities for students to get involved. A wide array of sports teams is well complemented by an eclectic mix of school clubs and groups."[7] Popular extracurricular activities include Student Government, the Avon Volunteers On Newness (A.V.O.N.) Club, Diversity Club, FIRST Robotics Team, Katie's Club, Model United Nations, National Honor Society, Gay-Straight Alliance, debate club, cooking club, Peer Support Club, and Yearbook. The Model U.N. club has been successful in local and state level competitions, and the Robotics Team, the ÜberBots, regularly competes in local, New England, and International FIRST Competitions.[8]
Sports
Avon High School has an extensive athletics program that frequently earns recognition in the Central Connecticut Conference and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Several athletes have earned All-American status. Offerings include cheerleading (co-ed), cross country (boys and girls), field hockey, football, soccer (boys and girls), volleyball, crew (boys and girls), basketball (boys and girls), ice hockey (joint program with Farmington and Windsor), swimming and diving (boys and girls), wrestling (co-ed), baseball, golf (boys and girls), lacrosse (boys and girls), softball, tennis (boys and girls), and track (boys and girls).[9]
Facilities for field hockey, football, cheerleading, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, track, and girls lacrosse are located at the high school. Boys lacrosse and girls tennis play at the middle school. Soccer, softball, and cross country have home bases at the Fisher Meadow recreational facility. Baseball plays at the Buckingham recreational facility. The crew team's home base is at the Batterson Park recreational facility in Farmington, CT.
Strong sports rivals include Canton High School, Farmington High School, Simsbury High School, and Suffield High School.
The crew team, despite from being a new addition to the school (founded in 2007), has won multiple Connecticut Public Schools Rowing Association Championship races, as well as many local races and titles. They often participate in the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Avon High School's Club Sport, Ultimate Frisbee, has had success, with the Avon Falcons winning the Division II State Championship (2015) for Ultimate Frisbee after only three years of being present at AHS.
CIAC State Championships
| Year [10] | Team [10] | Class [10] | Runner-up [10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Girls Volleyball | L | Guilford |
| 2018 | Girls Outdoor Track | MM | Sheehan |
| 2018 | Boys Golf | Div. II | Berlin |
| 2017 | Girls Cross Country | MM | RHAM |
| 2017 | Boys Golf | Div. II | New Canaan |
| 2016 | Girls Outdoor Track | MM | Nonnewaug |
| 2015 | Boys Soccer | L | Wethersfield |
| 2015 | Girls Cross Country | MM | RHAM |
| 2014 | Boys Soccer | L | (Co-Champions) Branford |
| 2014 | Girls Cross Country | MM | New Fairfield |
| 2013 | Boys Tennis | M | Guilford |
| 2012 | Boys Tennis | M | Joel Barlow |
| 2012 | Girls Cross Country | MM | Guilford |
| 2012 | Girls Soccer | L | Masuk |
| 2011 | Boys Tennis | M | Stonington |
| 2011 | Girls Soccer | L | Farmington |
| 2008 | Girls Basketball | M | Morgan |
| 2005 | Boys Basketball | Div. III | Fairfield Ludlowe |
| 2003 | Girls Soccer | M | Joel Barlow |
| 2002 | Girls Soccer | M | Waterford |
| 2001 | Girls Soccer | M | Lauralton Hall |
| 2000 | Boys Soccer | M | Lewis Mills |
| 1995 | Wrestling | S | Canton |
| 1994 | Boys Track and Field (Outdoor) | S | Rocky Hill |
| 1994 | Boys Tennis | S | |
| 1994 | Girls Cross Country | SS | |
| 1994 | Wrestling | S | Rocky Hill |
| 1993 | Wrestling | S | Nonnewaug |
| 1993 | Boys Soccer | M | Lewis Mills |
| 1991 | Boys Track and Field (Outdoor) | S | Litchfield |
| 1990 | Wrestling | S | Terryville |
| 1989 | Boys Soccer | M | Joel Barlow |
| 1989 | Wrestling | S | Platt |
| 1988 | Boys Basketball | S | Windsor Locks |
| 1988 | Boys Soccer | M | Stonington |
| 1987 | Boys Soccer | M | Waterford |
| 1987 | Girls Cross Country | M | Pomperaug |
| 1987 | Wrestling | S | Berlin |
| 1986 | Boys Tennis | S | |
| 1986 | Girls Tennis | S | (Co-Champions) New Fairfield |
| 1985 | Boys Soccer | M | Brookfield |
| 1985 | Girls Cross Country | Open | |
| 1985 | Girls Cross Country | M | |
| 1985 | Boys Golf | Div. II | |
| 1984 | Boys Soccer | M | Joel Barlow |
| 1984 | Field Hockey | S | Weston |
| 1984 | Girls Cross Country | Open | Montville |
| 1984 | Girls Cross Country | M | |
| 1983 | Field Hockey | S | Old Saybrook |
| 1983 | Wrestling | S | Derby |
| 1982 | Wrestling | S | Pulaski |
| 1980 | Boys Track and Field (Outdoor) | S | (Co-Champions) Stafford, Litchfield |
| 1979 | Boys Track and Field (Outdoor) | S | Litchfield |
| 1976 | Boys Soccer | M | Middletown |
| 1968 | Baseball | S | Cromwell |
| 1968 | Boys Track and Field (Indoor) | S | |
| 1966 | Boys Track and Field (Outdoor) | S | |
| 1966 | Boys Track and Field (Indoor) | S | |
| 1965 | Boys Track and Field (Indoor) | S | |
| 1964 | Boys Track and Field (Outdoor) | S | |
| 1964 | Boys Track and Field (Indoor) | S | |
| 1962 | Baseball | S | Coventry |
Source: CIAC. http://www.casciac.org/
Notable alumni
- Will Friedle, actor
- Jessica Lundy, actress
- David Yoo, author
- Justin Lucas Arroyo, holds world record for "Cart Surfer" on the online game Club Penguin[11]
- Kia McNeill, professional soccer player[12]
- Nico "Gunnar" Lopez, professional Dota 2 player[13] [14]
References
- "Staff Directory". Avon Public Schools. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
- "Avon High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- McCready, Brian (August 11, 2016). "Newsweek's Top Public High Schools 2016: How Connecticut Schools Ranked". Manchester, CT Patch. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
- Staff Directory for Avon High School Archived April 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- AHS Guidance: Avon Public Schools CT
- New Page 1
- Avon High Extracurricular Activities Archived October 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- "Avon High School Robotics Team". Archived from the original on 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
- Avon High Athletics Archived April 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- "CIAC Sports Champions Database Search".
- Justin, Arroyo. "***CLUB PENGUIN CART SURFER WORLD RECORD - 1050 COINS*** SEPT 2018". YouTube. JLAwesome1. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- Riley, Lori (August 21, 2010). "McNeill Helps Beat To Victory Over Breakers In Women's Soccer". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
- Lopez, Nico. "Gunnar". luquidpedia.net. luquidpedia.net. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- Lopez, Nico. "Gunnar". Twitter.com. Twitter.com. Retrieved 14 November 2019.