Monacan High School
Monacan High School is a public secondary school in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States, near the city of Richmond. The school is a part of Chesterfield County Public Schools. The school was founded in 1979, and its enrollment is roughly 1450 students. The building underwent a major renovation in the summer of 2015 into the fall of 2016. The almost $30 million renovation brought a brand new fine arts wing, including new band, chorus, orchestra, and black box theater spaces, along with a music production lab. Connected to the new fine arts wing is a new  athletic space including a new three-court gym and premier training facility. Also, a part of the renovation was brand new main and counseling office spaces, along with a brand new library, complete with academic meeting rooms and a multi-media recording studio. Stan Murmur, of the Stan Murmur controversy, taught at Monacan High School. Sports. Sports include field hockey, golf, football, volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, indoor track, wrestling, basketball, swimming, soccer, lacrosse, outdoor track, baseball, softball, tennis, forensics, and debate. The Chiefs Stadium underwent a massive renovation in 2013 when they replaced all the bleachers and installed brand new  sound systems. Monacan High School is a member of the Dominion District in all sports. Notable moments in Monacan Sports include: Academics. Monacan offers standard core classes along with honors classes, electives, and Advanced Placement Program classes. Advanced Placement Program classes at Monacan currently include Biology, Calculus AB, Chemistry, Computer Science, English/Literature, Environmental Science, Human Geography, Physics, Psychology, Spanish, Statistics, U.S. History, and U.S. Government. Advanced Placement classes such as Art History, French, German, Latin, Virgil, Music Theory, and World History are offered on an enrollment basis, if there are enough interested students to create the class. Monacan's  World Language Department offers Latin, Spanish, and French. In the past, Japanese and Greek have been taught, but in the 2006–2007 school year, these subjects were not offered. German was taken out of the course offerings in the 2009–2010 school year. In 2008, Monacan's music department earned the Virginia Music Educators Association Blue Ribbon Award. The Performing Arts at Monacan offer classes in choir, band, orchestra, guitar, and theatre. Monacan also, earned the Blue Ribbon Award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2016, the Academic Team won the Conference 20 Scholastic Bowl Championship . Center for the Humanities. The Center for the Humanities is a selective specialty center at Monacan High School. Eighth-grade students must apply and be reviewed, which includes an interview. Applications from said students have grown to over 100 each year. The Center for the Humanities has a rigorous curriculum that requires all of its students to take certain courses and receive an Advanced Studies Diploma. The program enrolled its first students in the fall of 2000 and the first class graduated in 2004. The goal is an enriched, advanced liberal arts education. Requirements include: One of the foundations of  the Humanities Curriculum is the Perspectives on the Human Experience course. The course is unique to the Center for the Humanities, and integrates art, art history, history, and other disciplines. Another foundation of the Humanities Curriculum is the Socratic Seminar, a student-led group discussion that focuses on one specific topic. Socratic Seminars aim to foster student leadership, communication skills, and discussion techniques. Health Professions and Therapies Center. The Health Professions and Therapies Center is a selective specialty center that provides students with academic and practical field experiences in preventative medicine and therapeutic health careers. Students explore health care careers  that focus on therapy and prevention such as: sports medicine; athletic training; physical and occupational therapy; physical education; and exercise science. Students choosing this center: Monacan High School Marching Chiefs. The Monacan High School Marching Chiefs are a seven time Virginia Honor Band and a six-time VMEA Blue Ribbon School for Music. The current band director of the Marching Chiefs is Jennifer Ryan. Joining Monacan in the spring of 2000, Ryan has directed over twenty one shows including some of Monacan's most recent shows, "Music From The Lion King" and "The Music of Motown". "The Lion King" earned  them an array of awards during their 2015 competition season including 1st Place Percussion, 2nd Place Overall in Class AA, Best Music, 1st Place Auxiliary, and scoring a state rating of Excellent at VBODA 2015. Their 2016 field show entitled "The Music of Motown", consisted of classic songs like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Get Ready". The Marching Chiefs took "Motown" to several competitions and events throughout Virginia including, "Showcase of Bands", "James Madison University: Parade of Champions", and VBODA 2016. At the Hermitage Classic 2016, the Marching Chiefs took 3rd in class AAA overall, earning a VBODA  Competition rating of 79.5/100, "Excellent". On October 29, 2016, the Marching Chiefs earned a final VBODA State Competition Rating of 85.0/100, "Superior". On September 28, 2018, The Marching Chiefs took their 2018 Field Show entitled, "The Music of Santana" to the Hermitage Classic. Earning 1st Place Music and 3rd Place Overall in class 3A, their total score came to 81/100. On October 13, 2018, Monacan took their show to the Midlothian High School Showcase of Bands, receiving an overall score of 89/100 and 2nd Place overall in Class 4A, also taking 1st Place General Effect and 2nd Place in Music , Percussion, Auxiliary, and Marching. 2018 VHSL Ken Tilley Student Leaders Conference at Monacan High School. Monacan High School was selected to be the site host for the 22nd Annual VHSL Ken Tilley Student Leaders Conference. Beating out several other applicants, Monacan made history by being both the smallest and oldest school to ever host the SLC. From the beginning, their conference committee had a dream to impact students and change the way they perceive themselves. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, anyone can be a leader. Anyone can change the world. An experience unlike  any other, the conference allows students to unlock their leadership potential and expand that potential into their schools and communities. With thought provoking keynote speakers as well as captivating breakout sessions, it's one of the biggest leaders conferences in Virginia for high school youth. By the end, Monacan's edition of the conference brought over 900 leaders from over 64 different high schools statewide.