North Canyon High School

North Canyon High School
Location
1700 E. Union Hills Drive Phoenix, AZ
Coordinates	33°39′24″N 112°02′36″W / 33.656776°N 112.043441°W / 33.656776; -112.043441Coordinates: 33°39′24″N 112°02′36″W / 33.656776°N 112.043441°W / 33.656776; -112.043441
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1991
School district	Paradise Valley Unified School District
Principal	Elaine Jacobs
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,180 (October 1, 2012)[1]
Color(s)	Black and Purple
Mascot	Rattlers
Website	North Canyon High School

North Canyon High School (NCHS) is a nationally recognized public high school located in north central Phoenix, Arizona. It features an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. It enrolls approximately 2500 students and is the largest high school by student body in the Paradise Valley Unified School District.

The campus opened in the 1990-1991 school year as Paradise Valley High School before PVHS moved into their remodeled school. It became North Canyon starting in the 1992-1993 school year. The first graduating class was the class of 1996.

The school's athletics teams are known as the Rattlers, and the school colors are purple and black.

Academics

North Canyon features special programs in academics. In addition to its IB Diploma Programme, NCHS offers a variety of Advanced Placement classes, and many of its highest-ranking students have grade point averages above 4.0. Students have won a vast array of awards spanning from the sciences to literary honors, from a football state championship to a sophomore tennis state championship. In the class of 2009, there were ten National Merit semi-finalists.

North Canyon's Academic Decathlon team won the State Championship in 1995 and 1999, placing fourth and fifth, respectively, at Nationals.

In 2007, North Canyon was on Newsweek's list of top schools in the country, placing 837th out of thousands of schools.

Athletics

• In 2003, the girls' track and field team beat their rival Xavier, and won the Region Championship
• The Rattlers won the 5A-2 State football title in the 2005/2006 season
• Sophomore tennis state champions
• The Rattlers won the region championship in wrestling back-to-back in '08 and '09
• The Rattlers won the region championship for badminton two years in a row in 07-08 and 08-09.
• The Rattlers won region championship for tennis three years in a row, in 06-07, 07-08, and 08-09.
• In 2005, the Rattlers won the region championship in track & field.
• The Rattlers softball team won the region title in back-to-back years: 2008 and 2009.
• In 2010, the Rattlers won the cross country district title.
• In 2011-2013, the Rattlers won the track and field district title.
• In 2013, the Rattlers won the Cross Country District title.
• In 2015, NCHS Rattlers Cross Country won both the men's and the women's varsity district title, as well as the men's junior varsity title, bringing home three out of four district cross country titles.

Instrumental music

The Instrumental Music Department is led by Dylan Suehiro, a graduate of Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. Featuring band, orchestra, guitar, and percussion classes, North Canyon showcases a well-rounded instrumental music curriculum. Main performances are held four times a year, and the ensembles are also featured in many other venues, including events with schools from around the state.

Marching band

The North Canyon High School Marching Band is known as the "Marching Rattlers." When the school opened, the name of the ensemble was "The Stars of the North," which was changed in 2013 to align with the school's mascot. Averaging around 40 members, the band serves two distinct, but related functions: presenting popular music (stand tunes) in performance at assemblies, at athletic events, and around the community; and advancing the art of the field performance, through the exploration of movement, and a blend of classical and modern music. The Marching Rattlers have been featured at the Bully Patrol Squad Assembly at Cactus View Elementary School.^[2]

It is an integral part of North Canyon's Instrumental Music Department, and all students in the marching band are also members of the Concert Band or the String Orchestra. Some students elect to perform on secondary instruments in the marching band, or take on other roles as members of the color guard or percussion section. The Marching Rattlers ended their 2014 season as one of the top 20 division III bands in the state.

Notable alumni

• Nick Sundberg, football

References

External links

• North Canyon High School main website
• North Canyon Choir Website
• North Canyon High School Choir Performing "Africa"
• North Canyon Instrumental Music