Fort Dodge Senior High School
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Fort Dodge Senior High (commonly abbreviated FDSH) is the only secular high school in Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city and county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 25,206 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,136 in the 2000 census. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S...

. The school is located in the north-central part of Fort Dodge between Martin Luther King Drive and North 25th Street.

History

Currently covering 248300 square feet (23,067.8 m²), Fort Dodge Senior High School was built in 1958. The swimming pool and additional physical education areas were completed in 1974. The last addition, the vocational area, was completed in 1979. Its open-floor design and industrial-style
Industrial Style
Industrial Style refers to an aesthetic trend in design that emphasizes sharp lines, abrupt connections and dynamic interactions of motion. It is derivative of the same forces that created the architectural movement Deconstructivism and the anime genre Mecha, and can be seen in such automobile...

 architecture is representative of the spacious neo-futuristic school designs that originated in California and other warmer climates during the middle to late 1950s. In 2008 and 2009, the kitchen, cafeteria, and surrounding sections of the interior received extensive renovations, part of a five year plan to improve the student environment and to update the decor. In addition, the band, choir, and orchestra rooms were remodeled. Additional renovations are planned to classroom areas as well as athletic/fitness facilities. These updates are expected to cost more than $50 million and are planned to be completed in short phases over many years.

Athletics

Brick-walled Dodger Stadium is home to Fort Dodge Senior High football, baseball, soccer and track teams. It is also home to Saint Edmond Catholic High School and Iowa Central Community College football teams. It remains one of the state's best athletic facilities, with permanent seating for 5,000 persons in the two concrete bleacher sections. The stadium is located in the north central section of the community on an 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) tract of land. Built in 1939–1940, Dodger Stadium is a product of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to get depression-era America back to work. In 2008, the school district received over $1,000,000 in private donations to renovate the stadium's locker rooms and grandstands and replace the natural grass playing surface with artificial turf. Work was completed on the turf in August 2008, with the inaugural game taking place on August 29, 2008. Renovation plans for the restroom and locker room areas have stalled due to lack of funding. Also included in the plan are new bleachers and a new scoreboard.

Additionally, Fort Dodge hosts the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union's state softball tournament and the Iowa High School Athletic Association's state cross country championships. The softball tournament is held at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex, while the cross country championships are located at Lakeside Golf Course at John F. Kennedy Park.

Music

Music has been a popular elective at Fort Dodge Senior High since the beginning of the 20th century. The famous march composer Karl L. King wrote and conducted the majority of his music in Fort Dodge from 1920 to 1971, making marching band a popular activity for students and the community. The All-American Dodger Marching Band performs at all varsity home football games and competes in several regional field marching competitions throughout the year. The marching band also performed during halftime of the 2010 Alamo Bowl
2010 Alamo Bowl (January)
The 2010 Alamo Bowl was the seventeenth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, January 2, 2010. The game featured the Michigan State Spartans against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.The 2010 game was the last one to feature a team...

 in San Antonio, TX.

In addition to marching band, FDSH offers pep band, two jazz bands, and two concert bands for students to participate in. The Wind Ensemble has received several awards and recognitions for excellence in concert music, often performing college-level pieces.

Choir has also been popular with FDSH students. In 1930, director Howard Orth founded The A Cappella Choir, a concert choir consisting of 45 mixed voices, for the purpose of singing more challenging sacred and secular choral literature. Since that time, the choir department has added three other choirs, a vocal jazz
Vocal jazz
Jazz singing can be defined by the instrumental approach to the voice, where the singer can match the instruments in their stylistic approach to the lyrics, improvised or otherwise, or through scat singing; that is, the use of nonsensical meaningless non-morphemic syllables to imitate the sound of...

 choir, and a second mixed chorus for beginning music students.

Every Spring, FDSH's A Cappella Choir performs a Broadway musical. These musical theater productions have taken place every year since 1927, making it the longest consecutively running high school musical tradition in the United States. The Spring of 2011 marked the 84th annual Spring musical with the performance of Mercer & DePaul's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a 1954 musical film directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer....

. In 1990, The A Cappella Choir, under the direction of Larry Mitchell, debuted Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

's Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...

. This was the national amateur debut performance of the show.

In 2010 The A Cappella Choir was invited to perform at the Dorian Invitational Choral Festival at Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...

.

Notable alumni

  • Lisa Koll – elite distance runner
  • Dale Warland
    Dale Warland
    Dale Warland is an American conductor, composer, founder of the Grammy-nominated Dale Warland Singers, scholar, teacher, choral consultant, and renowned champion of contemporary choral composers.-Professional Biography :...

     – world renowned choral conductor
  • Steve Stark
    Steve Stark
    -Career:His credits include The New Lassie, Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show, The Game, Medium, Fairly Legal and The Event. He began his behind-the-camera career as an acting/comedy casting director on Star Search in 1983...

    – television producer, production manager, casting, and actor
  • Mary Fischbach - swimming and diving, won national titles on all three boards at the 1988 NCAA Championships and was a seven-time All-American.

External links

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