Saguaro High School is a former A+ and Blue Ribbon Schools Program certified high school in the Scottsdale Unified School District in Scottsdale, Arizona. Saguaro was opened in 1966.
Beginning in 2006, Saguaro underwent massive renovation in response to the swelling student population (mostly caused by the huge inflow of families to North Scottsdale) and aging facilities. The school's boundaries are still oddly-shaped, with a pocket of North Scottsdale students carved out of what was once the Desert Mountain High School boundary zone due to massive overcrowding of the latter.
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Athletics
Saguaro's varsity football program has won an Arizona state championship nine times (1995, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016) The varsity baseball program is three time state champions (1992, 2010 and 2011). The varsity boys' basketball program has won three state championships (1990, 1996, and 2004). The varsity girls' basketball program won one state title, in 2013. The SHS varsity golf programs have combined for four state titles (boys' golf in 1977 and 1990; girls' golf in 1997 and 1998). The girls' swim and dive team won one state title, in 1971. The men's tennis teams through 2009-2013 reached the state playoffs four years in a row led by the 2013 senior class.
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Performing arts
Saguaro High School has five disciplines in its performing arts department: orchestra, band, dance, theater, and choir.
Choir
There are five choirs, including the mixed choir Voices of Saguaro which has attended multiple national competitions. Saguaro High's concert choir, Voices of Saguaro has won seven consecutive first place awards in the concert choir division at various Heritage festivals throughout the country. The group made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2005, performing the Mozart Requiem. Most recently the group was selected from thousands of applicants to perform the National Anthem in Boston's Fenway Park in April 2011 for the Yankees vs. Red Sox game.
The Advanced Vocal Ensemble has performed in concert twice with Josh Groban and with Jonathan Cain of the rock band Journey at Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding show. All Saguaro High School Choirs are currently under the direction of GayLin Tutnick, who has taught Vocal Music, Music Appreciation and The History of Rock and Roll for sixteen years at Saguaro High School. Under her direction, the Vocal Music program has grown to near 175 students in five choirs. In 2000 she was honored with the Walmart Teacher of the Year Award for the City of Scottsdale and was a recipient of the O.M. Hartsell Award for excellence in teaching by the Arizona Music Educators Association. She was also awarded the 2004 Scottsdale Charros High School Educator of the Year Award for the Scottsdale Unified School District. Most recently, Mrs. Tutnick was recognized as a Distinguished Educator by the Arizona Flynn Foundation in May 2008.
The choir program at Saguaro High School is incredibly successful, they show off student talents by putting on a "Coffee House" every year during the fall, in which students audition to perform songs in front of an audience in the Saguaro High School auditorium. This show has grown to be fairly successful over the years and has garnered the attention of parents and students alike. Every other year the Saguaro High School choir program put on a show entitled "Century of Song". This show is also popular among parents and the student body.
Band
The band department boasts several ensembles: marching band and percussion ensemble in the fall and winter, a jazz band in the winter and spring, and wind ensemble throughout the year.
The marching band is by far the most popular and visible group of them all. They go to all the football games home and away, participate in local and out-of-state parades, and are used as pep bands for the boys and girls basketball varsity games. They have always had a tradition of excellence, making the state marching competition every year except for the 2008-2009 season. In the 2010-2011 season, the band revived a classic marching band show, Carmina Burana and received a Superior rating at the State Marching Festival. This lead them to the State Marching Band Championship and was crowned one of the top ten bands in Arizona. In the 2011-2012 school year with their show, Anastasia, the marching band went to state competition and received a "Good".
Clubs
The extracurricular activities in the school include a number of clubs, such as the Gentlemen-Scholars' Club, Tennis Club, Art Club, the Environmental Club, the International Club, the French Club, the Sign Language Club, and the Think Tank.
Notable alumni
Professional athletes
- T.J. Beam, Former MLB player (New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Mike Brown, All-Pro defensive back
- Dale Hellestrae (football player), offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and the Baltimore Ravens. He played for 3 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl teams.
- Curt Hennig, a.k.a. "Mr. Perfect", professional wrestler for WWE, WCW and AWA (moved back to Minnesota before graduation)
- Jason Kershner, Former MLB player (Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres)
- Jay Pettibone, Former MLB player (Minnesota Twins)
- D. J. Foster, NFL player (New England Patriots)
Entertainment and media
- Sandra Bernhard, actress and comedian
- Andrea Cambern, TV anchor on WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio
- Scott Johnson, musician in the Gin Blossoms, class of '81
- Chelsea Kane, actress (attended for one year, then moved to California)
- J. S. Lewis, fiction writer
- Neal Pollack, novelist and humor writer
- Richard Sala, artist/cartoonist/author
- David Spade, actor, comedian and producer, class of '82
- Matt Barrie, ESPN Anchor, class of '97
Government
- David Schweikert, U.S. Representative from Arizona's 6th Congressional district.
- Bruce Rauner, Governor of Illinois
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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