Batavia High School (Batavia, Illinois)

Address
420 Main Street Batavia, Illinois 60510 United States
Coordinates	41°50′54″N 88°19′56″W / 41.8483°N 88.3322°W / 41.8483; -88.3322Coordinates: 41°50′54″N 88°19′56″W / 41.8483°N 88.3322°W / 41.8483; -88.3322
Information
School type	Public, Secondary
Established	1969
School district	Batavia Public 101
Superintendent	Ms. Lisa Hichens[1]
Principal	Ms. JoAnne Smith[2]
Grades	9-12
Gender	Coed
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	crimson      gold[3]
Song	We're Loyal to You, Batavia High
Athletics conference	Upstate 8[3]
Mascot	Bulldog
Team name	The Battling Bulldogs[3]
Newspaper	Spectator
Yearbook	Echo
Website	http://bhs.bps101.net

Batavia High School, or BHS, is a public four-year high school located in Batavia, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It was created by the merger of West Batavia High School and East Batavia High School (and their separate school districts) in 1911 and is part of Batavia Unified School District 101; the East Batavia and West Batavia athletic programs merged in 1909. Since 2009, the school has added a new "D Wing" of classrooms, "E-Wing" of music rooms, a fieldhouse, new athletic facilities, and an auditorium, which was completed in 2011.

During the 2015–2016 school year, enrollment was 1,958.^[4]

The school was notably featured in the 2007 documentary film Sand and Sorrow which chronicles the origins and consequences of the ongoing genocide in Darfur. The film highlights the activism of students Riley and Hannah MacDonald and their efforts to organize aid for Darfur and galvanize other students into taking action.

Academics

The average class size is 24.1.^[5]

In 2010, Batavia graduated 474 students. 58.9% of these graduates enrolled in a four-year college, 29.7% enrolled in a two-year college, 1.5% went directly to employment, 1.7% went into the military, and 7.8% had plans elsewhere. The class of 2015 had an ACT mean composite score of 24.8.^[6]

Athletics

Batavia was a founding member of the Western Sun Conference (WSC), but joined the Upstate Eight Conference the following dissolution of the WSC in June 2010. BHS is a full member of the Illinois High School Association. The school's mascot is a Bulldog and the team is often referred to as the "Battlin' Bulldogs." The school's biggest rival is Geneva High School, which is located in Geneva, a town directly to the north of Batavia. From 1913 through 2014, the Geneva Vikings and the Batavia Bulldogs have faced off on the football field 97 times. The current record is 51-41-5, favoring Geneva. The Batavia-Geneva game is among the top twenty oldest football rivalries in the state of Illinois.^[7]

Basketball-: Batavia is known for its boy's basketball tradition for over a century and is known for its exciting atmosphere including the Batavia Pep Band, Cheerleaders, and the Dance Team; its first team dates to 1905–1906. Batavia finished 4th in 1921 and won its only state championship in 1912. Former Bulldogs hoopsters include Ken Anderson, Dan Issel, Dean Anderson, and TNT sideline announcer Craig Sager.

Football: The 2011 season, the Bulldogs went 9–0 (first in school history).In 2006, the Batavia Varsity Football Team played in the Class 6A State Championship game at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium against Normal Community High School. They took second place. In 2013, the Bulldogs headed back to the 6A championship game, emerging victorious with a 34-14 victory over Richards High School of Oak Lawn.

Track and Field: In 2006 Brittney Bernardoni won the IHSA Girls Track and Field Championship Class AA pole vault state title. In 2010, Kathryn Warner followed in her footsteps and also won the state title in the 300-meter hurdles race in the Girls Track and Field Championship.

Marching Band: In 2009 The Marching Bulldogs began competing in various competitions around the state. In 2015 the Marching Bulldogs received new uniforms, the first in 15 years, and won "Grand Champion" at the Watseka Invitational marching band competition with their show "Anatomy of Sound". In addition, at ISU, the Marching Bulldogs placed First out of over 50 bands.

Dance Team: Over the years the Batavia Dance Team has been very successful in the TDI, IHSA, and UDA competitions. In 2013, both the JV and Varsity teams competed in the TDI Grand Championship competition. Varsity placed 1st in Pom, 2nd in lyrical and 3rd in the hip-hop category. JV placed first in both the Pom and Jazz categories and were the overall grand championship for all JV teams. In 2015 the team competed in the UDA national championship in Orlando. During the 2016 season, the teams qualified for the IHSA state competition and place 12th in the 2A category.

Physical Education: In the spring of 2014, Bennett Bernardoni broke the school's all-time walking-mile record. This achievement allowed him to join his sisters, Brittney and Brooke, in the Batavia record book.

Music

There are approximately 500 students in the school involved in music, with 13 curricular ensembles and 8 extracurricular ensembles. This includes four concert bands, four concert orchestras, and five choral ensembles. Extra curricular groups include Swingsingers and Legacy (Showchoir), Marching Band, Troubadours, Madrigals, Jazz bands, Chamber Orchestra, pep band, and much, much more. Each fall, the school puts on a musical with a full pit orchestra. Some include 2011's "Beauty and the Beast" and 2012's "9 to 5". Each year students of the music department participate in the IMEA state honor music groups. The importance of music to the students is nurtured through the marching band and drumline.

School Layout

The school is divided into six wings, labeled A through F.
A Wing: Contains mostly specialty classrooms, such as foods rooms, and graphics arts. A wing also has some of the gyms and the lunchroom.
B-Wing: Contains the library and most of the computer labs. All the administration offices and departments are located here.
C Wing: Contains all academic classrooms, along with the entire social studies, math, and foreign language departments, with some science classrooms.
D Wing: Contains the majority of the science classrooms, with the art department, and drafting department.
E Wing: Is the musical wing, containing the chorus, orchestra, and band rooms.
F Wing: Contains the field house, the new shop, auditorium, and many other gym storage rooms.

Notable alumni

• Ken Anderson was a Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and 1981 NFL most valuable player who quarterbacked Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.^[8]
• Dan Issel was a professional basketball player, playing in the ABA (1970–76) and NBA (1976–85). He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.^[9]
• William B. Downs, American Orthodontist who created first Cephalometric Analysis in the field of Orthodontics.

References

External links

• Official Website