Basha High School
| Basha High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
5990 S. Val Vista Dr. Chandler, AZ | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 2002 |
| School district | Chandler Unified School District |
| Principal | Kristine Marchiando |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | >3,500 |
| Color(s) | Green and Gold |
| Mascot | Bear |
| Information | (480) 224-2100 |
| Website | [1] |
Basha High School is a public high school located in Chandler, Arizona. It was founded in 2002 as the third high school in Chandler, AZ. The other three are Chandler High School, Hamilton High School and Perry High School. The school's principal since its inception is Kristine Marchiando. Like Hamilton High School and Perry High School, Basha High also has a Branch of the Chandler Public Library that is integrated with the school itself. The School was named after the Basha family, which the family donated $1.2 million.
Basha High School is noted for its academics, and it offers a large catalog of Advanced Placement classes. It also has a very notable speech and debate team that competes in National Forensic League events.
Notable academic events
It also noted the Basha High School has a noteworthy marching band program that is taking prominence among the top echelon of bands within the state of Arizona (finishing #1 in their division in 2007) and that the band has received much recognition for their perseverece and sportmanship through Basha High's most recent marching season. The new show called 'Rio' is expected to please not only the crowds with its preformance but also the judges at competitions, and they have been working extremely hard on it, and wish to give recognition to the entire band, including all the instructors. Also in 2007, the winter drumline program received 1st place in the "A" Class division and the Shawn Patrick Reidy Memorial Award for outstanding marching percussion at the state competition. Basha High School has a wonderful Orchestra, who currently are working on getting better by the day. Most recently the Basha High School Competition Cheer squad has won its second state title in the state of Arizona for cheer. Their competition cheer team also won the Overall Grand Champs title beating out every team who competed in the pom, partner stunt, and coed cheer divisions. The school is also noteworthy for its participation in regional and national events: National History Day, Teen Court, Speech and Debate among others. The school also boasts an Air Force JROTC class which is actively involved in school events.A noteworthy feature of its staff specifically, Devon Christopher Adams, Benjamin Peterson, and Jessica Melvin, annually invite their students on a trip to Europe, although, not monetarily supported by the school itself i.e. Students must pay for their own trip. Basha also is known for their outstanding acheivements in cheerleading. The 2006 2007 competition squad took first at state in '07, and the 2007 2008 comp. squad recantly took first place at the AIA state competition, they also earned the grand champion award.
Basha Public Library
Basha High School also has within the school campus itself it's own branch of the Chandler Library System, appropriately known as the Basha Branch. However, somewhat disappointingly, the staff does not very well cater to the student population within the campus, instead taking extremely dramatic actions to assure that the public is more comfortable than the students whom attend the library on a daily basis. The faculty has gone so far as to hire their own "security guard" who happens to be an employee of the school aforementioned. It is also worthy to note that several students have make their complaints known about their displeasure with the library staff.
Noteworthy Organizations
Basha Robotics Team
The Basha Robotics Team AKA Team 1456 is currently in its building season, it is composed of many dedicated hardworking students that value intellect over "brawn". The team is run by biology teacher M. Davitt, contributing most of his time to assisting the students in their everlasting drive for success.
P.L.U.S
The school also presents PLUS, (Peer Leaders Uniting Students) a class that promotes diversity and lends a hand to discourage all forms of discrimination with teachers Ms. Frane, and Ms. Bellis. However, more recently, students and some staff, have publicly called into question the overall usefulness of P.L.U.S citing the minimal notoriety that it receives throughout the student body and the overall goal and one that is too high as to be achieved at such a high time in a students life. Whereas, it may be of more impact on those of a younger age.
Writing Club
The Basha High School Writing Club is planning to publish a literary magazine at the end of the school year, incorporating short stories and poems from the student population with submitted artwork correlating to the different writing pieces. The Writing Club is working closely with the Art Club on this project, and all published pieces will be student produced. Spearheading the organization is teacher Lindsay Palbykin, who may be contacted by students who wish to incorporate their own media.