Ames High School
Encyclopedia
Ames High School is the sole high school in Ames
, Story County
, Iowa
.
Ames High School has been named one of the top high schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report. In its recently released rankings, the magazine awarded Ames High School a silver medal, one of only two Iowa high schools to receive such a distinction. John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids
is the only other Iowa school to earn a silver award.
Nearly one third of Ames High students retain a grade point of 3.5 or higher. Ames High School typically produces the second greatest number of National Merit Scholars in the state, with Iowa City West High School
typically obtaining the most. In the class of 2011, there were 16 National Merit Finalists and 17 National Merit Commended Students from Ames High. Thirteen Ames High School students have been named presidential scholars since 1964. Ames High School has an ACT average of 24.8, and a SAT average of 1261. The majority of Ames High School students go on to higher levels of education; in the class of 2010, 71% of graduates enrolled in four year colleges and universities. An additional 20% attended community colleges or vocational schools. Approximately half of Ames High Graduates attending college at Iowa Regents Universities maintain a grade point average above 3.0 in their freshman year. Ames High School has a Graduation rate of 93%.
The history of Ames High School as documented by the Ames Historical Society.
In 2011, Ames High School was ranked fifth in the Iowa AP Index, which is an annual release by the Belin-Blank Center that recognizes accredited Iowa high schools for providing Advanced Placement opportunities. The AP Index is calculated by taking the number of AP exams taken divided by the number of graduates.
Ames High School offers several AP, honors, and accelerated classes. The AP Courses include Biology, Physics B, Chemistry, Calculus AB, Statistics, US History, European History, US Government, Psychology, Language and Composition, Literature and Composition, Art History, French, German, and Spanish.
The girls cross-country team won the 2007 Conference Title. Coach Kirk Schmaltz won the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year. The girls finished in 2nd place behind defending state champions Dowling Catholic High. They also qualified for the State Meet.
Jamie Burrow earned a scholarship at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997 and started at middle linebacker for the Huskers in the 2002 Rose Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes.
In 1996 the Little Cyclones were conference champions and finished with a 9-0 CIML record and a 12-1 overall record. They also advanced to the state championship game. The 1995 team was 9-3 and advanced to the semifinal round of the playoffs. The '97 Senior class was arguably the greatest football class in Ames High history with a combined 2 year record of 21-4.
The Ames High Girls swim team won its first ever state meet in 2010
who went on to play for the Iowa State Cyclones
and later in the NBA, and has returned to coach Iowa State's men's basketball team. With a roster packed with three definite Div. 1 bound players Jesse Pritchard, going on to Yale
and Harrison Barnes
, a Senior, and Blaise Waller is one of the top players in the nation and is going to the University of North Carolina
. Barnes father, Ron Harris, was a star at Iowa State under Johnny Orr
in the 80's. The 08-09 team went undefeated in the regular season with a record of 21-0. The Little Cyclones went on to win the Iowa 4A (Large School) State championship and finish a perfect 26-0.The Little Cyclones have won eight championships in school history.
The team qualified six Wrestlers for State last year, and has three wrestlers ranked in the top ten this year.
2010
The wrestling team remained undefeated through the 09-10 season and won their second straight State championship. Ames became the first team from the big-school class to repeat as undefeated state champions. Michael Weber, Harrison Barnes, and Doug McDermott were all named to the all-tournament team. James Kohler received the Class 4A Iowa High School Athletic Association student-athlete achievement award. Ames won 53 straight games, dating back to the start of the 08-09 season. More than 13,000 fans attended the state final (2010), setting a tournament record. The previous best was 11,972 in 1997.
in the fall, The Sound of Music
in the winter, and "The Protagonist," a special student-written, directed, and choreographed two-act musical. The productions for 2008-2009 were Pride and Prejudice
, Babes in Arms
, and The Curious Savage
. In 2009-2010, the productions were The Crucible
, Grease (musical)
, and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
, which departed from the traditional plot-driven play and instead offered a series of intertwined vignettes. In the fall of 2010, senior Zack Hackbarth starred as detective Charlie Nickels in the comedy noir Kill Me, Deadly, with sophomore Emily Linch playing opposite as Nickels' murderous love-interest, Mona Livingston. In December, Hackbarth also directed the first annual fundraising event for the Thespian society, a short production of A Charlie Brown Christmas
by Charles Schulz. Despite minor setbacks and time constraints, the show turned out to be a tremendous success. A stage adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun
is in the rehearsal stages and will be presented in February as the winter musical.
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
, Story County
Story County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 89,542 in the county, with a population density of . There were 36,789 housing units, of which 34,736 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
Academics
January 2008 —Ames High School has been named one of the top high schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report. In its recently released rankings, the magazine awarded Ames High School a silver medal, one of only two Iowa high schools to receive such a distinction. John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
is the only other Iowa school to earn a silver award.
Nearly one third of Ames High students retain a grade point of 3.5 or higher. Ames High School typically produces the second greatest number of National Merit Scholars in the state, with Iowa City West High School
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City West High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. It is currently home to over 1900 students, in grades 9 through 12, and nearly 200 teachers, administration, and support staff...
typically obtaining the most. In the class of 2011, there were 16 National Merit Finalists and 17 National Merit Commended Students from Ames High. Thirteen Ames High School students have been named presidential scholars since 1964. Ames High School has an ACT average of 24.8, and a SAT average of 1261. The majority of Ames High School students go on to higher levels of education; in the class of 2010, 71% of graduates enrolled in four year colleges and universities. An additional 20% attended community colleges or vocational schools. Approximately half of Ames High Graduates attending college at Iowa Regents Universities maintain a grade point average above 3.0 in their freshman year. Ames High School has a Graduation rate of 93%.
The history of Ames High School as documented by the Ames Historical Society.
In 2011, Ames High School was ranked fifth in the Iowa AP Index, which is an annual release by the Belin-Blank Center that recognizes accredited Iowa high schools for providing Advanced Placement opportunities. The AP Index is calculated by taking the number of AP exams taken divided by the number of graduates.
Ames High School offers several AP, honors, and accelerated classes. The AP Courses include Biology, Physics B, Chemistry, Calculus AB, Statistics, US History, European History, US Government, Psychology, Language and Composition, Literature and Composition, Art History, French, German, and Spanish.
Athletics
Ames High School is a member of the Iowa Conference of the Central Iowa Metropolitan League. Teams sponsored by the school include football, boys and girls cross-country, boys golf, girls swimming, and volleyball in the fall season. During the winter season, the school sponsored sports are boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and boys swimming. There is also a hockey team with the Ames team name, but it is not school-affiliated. The spring consists of girls golf, boys and girls track, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls soccer. Summer sports are baseball and softball. The head of athletics activities is Judge Johnston.Cross country
The boys cross-country team won the District Title, advancing to the State Meet. The Little Cyclones were led with the meet win by senior captain Sam Bird.The girls cross-country team won the 2007 Conference Title. Coach Kirk Schmaltz won the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year. The girls finished in 2nd place behind defending state champions Dowling Catholic High. They also qualified for the State Meet.
Golf
The girls golf team was crowned champions for the State Tournament in 08/09 and the 2007 boys golf team finished 1 stroke behind the first-place team to finish 2nd at the State Tournament.Football
The 2007 football team finished the season 5-4. Tight end Ben Cotton signed with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Linebacker Josiah Fitzsimmons and Offensive Lineman Alex Olinger have signed with South Dakota State. In 2008 the Little Cyclones finished with an 8-4 record advancing to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.Jamie Burrow earned a scholarship at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997 and started at middle linebacker for the Huskers in the 2002 Rose Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes.
In 1996 the Little Cyclones were conference champions and finished with a 9-0 CIML record and a 12-1 overall record. They also advanced to the state championship game. The 1995 team was 9-3 and advanced to the semifinal round of the playoffs. The '97 Senior class was arguably the greatest football class in Ames High history with a combined 2 year record of 21-4.
Volleyball
Ames High Volleyball started out the 2010 season ranked first in the State. They also won the Conference Title.Swimming
The Ames High boys swimming team is noted for its numerous conference titles, undefeated seasons, 7th place at State in 2007 preceded by 5 top 5 finishes in the State meet. The boys swim team has been coached by Dan Flannery since 1998.The Ames High Girls swim team won its first ever state meet in 2010
Basketball
The Ames High Basketball team is coached by Vance Downs, with a state ranking of #1 and national ranking of #4. They completed the 2007-2008 season with a 20-3 record. The team's history is highlighted with a 1991 State Championship led by Fred HoibergFred Hoiberg
Fredrick Kristian Hoiberg is the head men's basketball coach at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he grew up and had played college basketball...
who went on to play for the Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State Cyclones
The Iowa State Cyclones are the athletic teams of Iowa State University. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams in 12 sports.*Men's sports...
and later in the NBA, and has returned to coach Iowa State's men's basketball team. With a roster packed with three definite Div. 1 bound players Jesse Pritchard, going on to Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Harrison Barnes
Harrison Barnes
Harrison Bryce-Jordan Barnes is an American college basketball player. He is a sophomore at North Carolina and was one of the top rated basketball players in the class of 2010. Barnes is sometimes known by the nickname "Black Falcon."...
, a Senior, and Blaise Waller is one of the top players in the nation and is going to the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
. Barnes father, Ron Harris, was a star at Iowa State under Johnny Orr
Johnny Orr
John M. "Johnny" Orr is a retired American basketball player and coach, best known as the head coach of men's basketball at the University of Michigan and at Iowa State University.-Life as a player:...
in the 80's. The 08-09 team went undefeated in the regular season with a record of 21-0. The Little Cyclones went on to win the Iowa 4A (Large School) State championship and finish a perfect 26-0.The Little Cyclones have won eight championships in school history.
Wrestling
The Ames wrestling team is coached by Drew Kelly. Kelly is a former three time state champion at Chars Chity High School in Northern Iowa.The team qualified six Wrestlers for State last year, and has three wrestlers ranked in the top ten this year.
2010
The wrestling team remained undefeated through the 09-10 season and won their second straight State championship. Ames became the first team from the big-school class to repeat as undefeated state champions. Michael Weber, Harrison Barnes, and Doug McDermott were all named to the all-tournament team. James Kohler received the Class 4A Iowa High School Athletic Association student-athlete achievement award. Ames won 53 straight games, dating back to the start of the 08-09 season. More than 13,000 fans attended the state final (2010), setting a tournament record. The previous best was 11,972 in 1997.
Soccer
The Ames High boys soccer team enjoyed a very successful 2008-2009 season, playing in the class 3-A state championship game, though losing 3-2 to Iowa City West. The Little Cyclones had two players, Michael Schmidt (goalkeeper) and Bubu Palo (forward) selected to the All State team. The girls soccer team 2011 season had a 5-5 record while losing to Des Moines East in sub-state. Goalkeepers Liz Kaloupek (senior) and Marissa Terando (freshman) had a combined season total of 108 saves. Kenna Kenton (sophomore) led the team with 9 goals.Boys Tennis
For the first time in school history, the Boys Tennis team won the state championship for Iowa in 2011, defeating the Iowa City West Trojans in a come-from-behind win to clinch the state title. The Ames team went undefeated for the year, and has lost only one meet in the past two years (losing to West Des Moines Valley in the State Championship Game in 2010). The 2011 team was powered by Seniors Nirvan Tyagi, Sam Frishman, and Peter Yin; juniors Victor Wang, Calvin Song, Bryan Graveline, and Alex Constant; and Sophomores Alex Qin (who i also a number one fan of Chris Xin and leader of the main fan group), Tommy Pitcher, and Alex Huang. Ames also performed well at the 2011 Individual State Tournament: Alex Qin took 7th place and Tommy Pitcher 8th place in Singles; Calvin Song and Victor Wang took second place in doubles, and Nirvan Tyagi and Alex Huang took 6th place in doubles. Coached by Miriam Skrade, "The First Lady of Ames Tennis", the Ames High Boys Tennis Team is looking forward to an exciting year in 2012 defending their state championship crown.Girls Tennis
The Ames High Girls Tennis team, under the leadership of longtime Coach Len Thiede was undefeated 2009-11 and have been 4A State Tennis Team Champions for three years in a row.Boys Track and field
Since 1941 Ames High has won an unprecedented 20 state championships and 9 state runners up in track and field.Rugby
This is an athletic club that meets at North River Valley Park Tuesday-Thursday every week at 4:30 pm. Games are held on Saturdays starting April 4. They were the 7s State Champions for 2010.Campus
The school rests on a 74 acres (299,467.6 m²) campus which includes a 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) natural prairie reserve. The building has been recently renovated to incorporate new lockers, a wrestling room, a larger cafeteria, a modernized gym, and new weight room equipment.Fine Arts Department
The student body at Ames High School is heavily involved in music. There are three concert bands (Symphonic, Concert, Freshman), three choirs (Chorale, Choir, and Freshman), two orchestras, three jazz bands, a pep band, and several instrument choirs (Horn, Clarinet, Flute, and Percussion). Other notable fine arts events include: Madrigal, with a select groups of students performing in chamber choir, string ensembles, and a brass choir; the Marching Band, where all band members perform in parades and at every home football game; and the spring Solo-Ensemble Contest.Drama Department
Steven Woolery, English teacher, is the head of the drama department. Seniors Alex Canfield and Zack Hackbarth have been elected Thespian co-Presidents for the 2010-2011 school year. The drama department typically puts on two plays and one musical during the school year. The productions for 2007-2008 were Inherit the WindInherit the Wind (play)
Inherit the Wind is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. The play, which debuted in 1955, is a parable that fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means to discuss the then-contemporary McCarthy trials.-Background:...
in the fall, The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
in the winter, and "The Protagonist," a special student-written, directed, and choreographed two-act musical. The productions for 2008-2009 were Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
, Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.- Production history:...
, and The Curious Savage
The Curious Savage
The Curious Savage, written by John Patrick, is a comedic play about Ethel P. Savage, a woman whose husband recently died and left her approximately ten million dollars. The play was first produced in New York by the Theatre Guild and Lewis & Young at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 24, 1950...
. In 2009-2010, the productions were The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
, Grease (musical)
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
, and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a book of short essays by American minister and author Robert Fulghum. It was first published in 1988....
, which departed from the traditional plot-driven play and instead offered a series of intertwined vignettes. In the fall of 2010, senior Zack Hackbarth starred as detective Charlie Nickels in the comedy noir Kill Me, Deadly, with sophomore Emily Linch playing opposite as Nickels' murderous love-interest, Mona Livingston. In December, Hackbarth also directed the first annual fundraising event for the Thespian society, a short production of A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
by Charles Schulz. Despite minor setbacks and time constraints, the show turned out to be a tremendous success. A stage adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun may refer to:*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1946 musical play*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1950 film version of the 1946 musical*Annie Get Your Gun , 1946, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton...
is in the rehearsal stages and will be presented in February as the winter musical.
Notable alumni
- David M. DobsonDavid M. DobsonDavid M. Dobson was raised in Ames, Iowa. He is a software developer and an associate professor of geology and earth sciences at Guilford College. He is most notable for being the creator of Snood, a clone of the arcade game Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move, and other games including Snoodoku, a Sudoku...
, software developerSoftware developerA software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management... - Leslie HallLeslie HallLeslie Merritt Hall is an American satirical rap artist and front-woman for the band Leslie and the LY's and the operator of a "gem sweater museum"....
, rap artist and front-woman of Leslie and the Ly'sLeslie and the Ly'sLeslie & the LY's is a pop music band from Ames, Iowa that began as an open mike trio in 2004.Leslie & the LY's is made up of front-woman Leslie Hall, also known as Mother Gem, who composes all of the music herself generally using the Apple Computer program GarageBand. Other past and present... - Fred HoibergFred HoibergFredrick Kristian Hoiberg is the head men's basketball coach at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he grew up and had played college basketball...
, current Iowa State Cyclones basketball coach and former NBA player - Ted KooserTed KooserTed Kooser is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006.-Early Life:...
, poet and 13th Poet LaureatePoet LaureateA poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - Edward MezvinskyEdward MezvinskyEdward "Ed" Mezvinsky is a former congressman. A Democrat, he represented Iowa's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for two terms, from 1973 to 1977....
, former congressman in the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution... - Margaret LloydMargaret LloydMargaret Lloyd is an American soprano who is particularly known for her performances in contemporary operas and concert works. She has sung in the world premieres of several operas, most notably portraying the role of Lightfoot McClendon in the premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree at the...
, operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... - Brian SmithBrian Smith (photographer)Brian Smith is an American photographer best known for his celebrity portrait photography. Born in Ames, Iowa, he got his start in photography while a high school swimmer photographing swimming and other sports as a stringer for the Ames Daily Tribune...
, photographer and author of Art & Soul - Neal StephensonNeal StephensonNeal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
, contributor to WiredWired (magazine)Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
and author known for his speculative fictionSpeculative fictionSpeculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
works - Jeroen van de WeijerJeroen van de WeijerJeroen van de Weijer teaches phonology, morphology, phonetics, psycholinguistics, historical linguistics and other courses at Shanghai International Studies University, where he is Full Professor of English linguistics under the "211-Project" at the College of English Language and Literature...
, Professor of English Linguistics at Shanghai International Studies University - Harrison BarnesHarrison BarnesHarrison Bryce-Jordan Barnes is an American college basketball player. He is a sophomore at North Carolina and was one of the top rated basketball players in the class of 2010. Barnes is sometimes known by the nickname "Black Falcon."...
, Led Ames High School to back-to-back undefeated state championships in basketball from 2008-2009 & 2009-2010. Current member of University of North Carolina baseketball team, #1 ranked recruit in the country. - William D. BondWilliam D. BondWilliam D. Bond is an inventor and mechanical engineer who retired from General Motors after spending his entire career with the car maker...
, Inventor, Mechanical Engineer.