Bear Creek High School (Lakewood, Colorado)

Bear Creek High School

Bear Creek High School (completed 2009)
Address
9800 West Dartmouth Place
Lakewood, Colorado 80227
United States
Coordinates 39°39′28″N 105°6′28″W / 39.65778°N 105.10778°W / 39.65778; -105.10778Coordinates: 39°39′28″N 105°6′28″W / 39.65778°N 105.10778°W / 39.65778; -105.10778
Information
Established 1920 (1920)
School district Jefferson County Public Schools
CEEB code 061043
Staff 141 (as of 2006-07)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,732 (as of 2015-2016)[2]
School color(s) Forest green and gold [3]
         
Athletics CHSAA 5A
Athletics conference Jefferson County League
Mascot Bear
Publication Bear Creek Television Network
Newspaper Bear Facts
Website School website

Bear Creek High School is located in the southwest corner of Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of the greater Denver metro area. It is one of 18 high schools in Jefferson County.

The school colors are forest green, gold, and white. The mascot is a bear. The principal is Lynn Torr. There are 1,732 students as of July, 2015,[4] along with 97 full-time teachers.[5] It is a Class 5A Athletic Program and has over 34 clubs and activities.

History

Bear Creek Consolidation School[6]

Bear Creek High School was established in 1894 as the Montana School.[7][8] The school was a single room that served elementary grades one through eight. It was not until 1920 that the neighboring community decided to consolidate, thus giving the region its first high school.[9] Before the school was built, all students planning to continue their education either had to live in or commute to schools in Denver.[10]

The Bear Creek Consolidated school combined five elementary school school districts. The four other schools were Montana School, Lakeview, Midway and Mount Carbon.[10]

The first class in 1923 consisted of five graduates. From this point on, the school was known as the Bear Creek Consolidated School.[9]

By 1950, all of the schools in Jefferson County had been consolidated and became the Jefferson County School District R-1.[8]

The class of 1952 became the first to graduate in the newly named Bear Creek High School.[8]

Although a fire in 1959 destroyed the original structure, classes were still held in the gymnasium. The new building was built just east of where the current school stands.[8] This building stood for nearly 57 years until a new building, completed in 2009, was built where the original Consolidated School once stood.[11]

Bear Creek 1962-2009[12]

During the construction of the new building, Bear Creek High School students experienced another major fire that destroyed a gym and damaged many classrooms.[13] After further investigation, it was determined that the fire started on April 22, 2008, was arson by two Bear Creek students.[14] The fire started in the school's small gymnasium used for gymnasts and wrestlers. An exercise mat caught on fire by a discarded cigarette. This was the second fire within a year at a Jefferson County school. On June 1 at Weber Elementary School a fire, also determined to be arson, caused nearly $65 million in damages.[14]

Instrumental music program

The Bear Creek Instrumental Music Department includes a concert band, a wind ensemble, a marching band, a jazz band, a string orchestra, a chamber orchestra, winter percussion, and a winter guard, among other various small ensembles. It has participated in the Percussion Scholastic Concert Open since 2006. The ensemble has been in state championships twice.

The marching band has also been competitive in the state, being named a semi-finalist in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014. It was named finalist in 2010, after being named finalist numerous times in the 1990s and in 2000.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Bear Creek High School School Accountability Report 2006-2007 School Year" (PDF). Colorado Department of Education. 2007-10-19.
  2. ↑ http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/schools/demographics/high/bear_creek.pdf
  3. ↑ "JEFFCO Public Schools - Bear Creek High Profile". jeffcopublicschools.org. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Demographics: Bear Creek High" (PDF). JEFFCO Public Schools. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bear Creek High School Overview". US News.
  6. ↑ "Bear Tracks 1947-1948" (PDF). Bear Creek Foundation. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "BCHS History". Bear Creek High School. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Bear Creek High School Community Foundation". Bear Creek Foundation. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Bear Creek High School Community Foundation History". Bear Creek Foundation. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  10. 1 2 Wilcox, Patricia (1994). Lakewood, Colorado: An Illustrated Biography. Lakewood, Colorado: Lakewood's 25th Anniversary Commission. p. 34. ISBN 0-9641751-1-8.
  11. ↑ "Bear Creek High School Construction Overview". JEFFCO Public Schools. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "BCHS History". Bear Creek High School. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Fire at Bear Creek High School Extinguished". The Denver Channel. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  14. 1 2 Schrader, Ann. "Arson Gutted Bear Creek High Gym". The Denver Post. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Dennis Rasmussen". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Jeremiah Sirles". Chargers. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bear Creek High School.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.