Reno High School (RHS) is a public secondary school in Reno, Nevada that is a part of the Washoe County School District. The school's team name is the Reno Huskies and the school's colors are red and blue.
History
Reno High was the first high school in Reno,Nevada which is celebrated by it's well-known motto: "Reno High-- Older than Reno". High school students in Reno were originally taught in the basement of a building on the corner of First and Virginia streets, on the future site of the Mapes Hotel. In 1869 students were moved to a one-room school, and in 1879, due to Reno's expanding population, a larger high school, called "Central School," was built near Arlington and Fourth Streets. This school was commonly referred to as "Reno High School" and 1879 is the generally accepted date of the school's founding. In 1910 a fire in the chemistry lab destroyed the school's main building. The school was rebuilt in downtown Reno in 1912, at a location now occupied by the Old Sundowner Casino. The architecture of the 1912 campus closely resembled that of present-day Mt. Rose elementary school at Lander Street and La Rue Avenue, and McKinley School on Riverside Drive, near the present Reno High Campus.
In 1951, Reno High moved to it's current location on Booth and Foster streets. just south of the Truckee River and near Idlewild Park. The 71 acres (29Â ha) campus is less than 200Â yd (180Â m) from the Truckee River.
Campus
Reno High has a 71 acre campus at the corners of Booth Street and Foster Drive in the Reno's older southwest neighborhood district. Reno High occupies a large two-story brick building with architecture that is unique among Washoe County schools. The Reno High campus is within 200 yards (180Â m) of the Truckee River, which receives its water flow from alpine Lake Tahoe.
Reno High boasts 71 acres (29Â ha) of campus space, large green areas, a unique student quad, modern football/baseball/tennis and track and field facilities,the large Kahl Fieldhouse, and many tennis courts. A distinctive red arch brick structure adorns its main entrance, which sits behind a circular driveway that has a large newly renovated 50Â ft (15Â m) tall brick "R" on the grass in the center. Reno High is unusual among high schools in having a modern alumni center building on the Reno High campus. The large round brick Alumni building was completed in January 2000, and houses a large collection of Reno High yearbooks, memorabilia, and school artifacts, including the 1879 Reno High School class bell.
The RHS principal is Mr. Kris Hackbusch. Reno High does well academically, and was ranked in the top 400 high schools nationally in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 by Time Magazine.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
Reno High has won numerous state championships this past decade. The boys' cross country team has been most dominant, winning 11 state championships (5 of them being consecutive wins). The girls' basketball team won the State Championship in 2001, then won back to back state and region championships in 2013 and 2014. The football team won the Nevada state title in 2003, the baseball team won state in 2004 and the boys basketball team won the championship in 2006, knocking off North Las Vegas' Rancho High School. The Reno Huskies compete in the Sierra League of the Northern Nevada 4A Region, which is the large-school level in Nevada. Since 2003, the Reno High boys' sports varsity teams have won Nevada state championships in these sports: football, basketball, baseball, track and field, swimming, diving, and snow skiing. On Friday, February 22, 2008, the Reno Huskies defeated Cheyenne High of Las Vegas 76 to 72 for their second state basketball championship in the previous three seasons. The Huskies have won at least one state championship in 7 different sports in every year from 2002 to 2008. Men's soccer at Reno High School has been a sport with some controversy and some Reno students feel soccer has been notorious for the lack of acknowledgment it receives from the school's athletic department.
Football Record: *Reno High football placekicker Dirk Borgognone set a world record for the longest high school football field goal in 1986. The 68 yard long field goal, which was kicked in a game at Sparks High School is the second-longest in organized American football at any class level, just short of Ove Johansson's 69-yard field goal in 1976, for NAIA college school Abilene Christian.
- Reno High cross country runner Marie (Mel) Lawrence holds the U.S. high school record in the 2,000 m and 3,000 m steeplechase.
Speech & Debate
Reno High School has a large and successful speech and debate team. The team placed first in the Sagebrush District (covering Northern Nevada) every year from 1996 to 2010 and won Nevada state championships in 2000, 2006 and 2007. The Reno High School Speech and Debate Team participates in the following events: Lincoln-Douglass, Policy, Public Forum, Congress, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Original Oratory, Impromptu, Story Telling, Foreign Extemporaneous, and Domestic Extemporaneous. The current teacher of the class, and coach of the team is Mrs. Christy Briggs. The team also puts on an annual Night of Comedy and Drama in the school theater, and hosts a tournament at Reno High School every year. The participants of this tournament are teams from the Sagebrush District. The team sends members to the National Debate tournament yearly, where many often do well.
Orchestras
Reno currently has three performing Orchestras:
- Chamber Orchestra
- Sinfonia
- Concert Orchestra
All three orchestras are directed by Gerald Willis. The Chamber Orchestra tours each year, participating in college level master-classes and festivals at schools and Universities such as Stanford University, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University and University of the Pacific. Members of the Orchestras audition for and consistently participate in the Reno Philharmonic Youth Symphonies, the Washoe County Honor Orchestra and the Nevada State Honor Orchestra.
Bands
- Wind Ensemble
- Jazz Band
- Concert Band
- Pep Band
The Reno High School Band program is currently directed by Rachael Cowell. The program is successful in yearly festivals and competitions.
Performing Arts
The Reno High School Theater Program, known as the Booth Street Players, presents 3 to 4 shows a year along with outside school community performances. The Fall production is a play and The Spring production is a musical. Past shows have included Little Shop of Horrors, Our Town, Grease, The Boy Friend, and Pippin (the last of which included students trained in silk aerial acrobatics).
Publications
- Re-Wa-Ne â€" school yearbook
- The Red & Blue â€" monthly school newspaper
- The Mirror â€" school literary magazine (publication ceased in 2008)
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The current instructors of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program at Reno High School are Sergeant Major (Ret) Rick Camacho, and Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Nicole Gardner.
Notable alumni
- Walter S. Baring, Jr. (1929), former U.S. congressman (D-NV)
- Josh Barrett (2003) - NFL professional American football player, with the Denver Broncos
- Shawn Boskie (1986) - former major league baseball pitcher
- Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps (1900) - Nevada State Architect, designer of many Nevada buildings.
- Frank Fahrenkopf (1957)- political adviser to President Reagan,former chairman of the Republican National Party
- Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton (Freshman only) - National Radio Personality
- Ray Handley (1962)- former professional American NFL football player and NFL coach
- Patrick Anthony McCarran (1897) - former United States senator (D-NV)
- Don Manoukian (1953) - professional American football player and pro wrestler
- John Savage, UCLA Bruins baseball head coach
- Hillary Schieve - Mayor of Reno, Nevada
- Inga Thompson - Three time Olympic cyclist
- Willy Vlautin (1986), Writer of novels The Motel Life, Northline, Lean on Pete; lead vocalist and songwriter for Alt-Country band Richmond Fontaine
- Dawn Wells (1956) - actress, starred in Gilligan's Island as Mary Ann
References
External links
- Official school site
- Alumni association (Alumni Center Web page)
- Washoe County School District
- An Inventory to the Reno High School class reunion records, NC1063. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
