Fossil Ridge High School (Colorado)

Last updated

Fossil Ridge High School
Sabercat.png
Location
Fossil Ridge High School (Colorado)
5400 Ziegler Road

Fort Collins, Colorado
80528

United States
Coordinates 40°30′50″N105°0′56″W / 40.51389°N 105.01556°W / 40.51389; -105.01556
Information
Type Public high school
MottoSko Ridge! / Once a sabercat, always a sabercat
Established2004(21 years ago) (2004)
School district Poudre School District
CEEB code 060606
NCES School ID 080399001848 [1]
PrincipalMark Barry
Teaching staff101.56 (FTE) [2]
Grades9-12
Number of students1,968 (2023–2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio19.38 [2]
Color(s)Green, silver, black
   
AthleticsDivision 5A
MascotSaberCat [3]
Website frh.psdschools.org

Fossil Ridge High School is the newest of four public high schools in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States.

Contents

History

Voters approved the opening of Fossil Ridge High School in 2000, and the school first opened to students in August 2004 with 475 students in grades 10 and 11. It was intended to help better distribute students in Fort Collins and alleviate pressure on Rocky Mountain High School.

Athletics

Fossil Ridge High School participates in the 5A Front Range League.

Swimming

The boys' swim team won state championships in 2015, 2016 and 2017 [4] while head coach Mark Morehouse was awarded National High School Coach of the Year honors by the National High School Coaches Association following the 2016 championship win. [5] The girls' swim team won state championships in 2011-12, 2014–15, and again in 2016-17.[ citation needed ]

Cheerleading

The Fossil Ridge Cheer team won the 2019 Varsity National Championship. The varsity team also won the 2001 and 2002 Front Range League competition for the fifth consecutive year holding the title from 2014 to 2018.[ citation needed ]

Unified sports

Fossil Ridge High School has a unified sports program, which pairs students with and without disabilities together on teams. [6] Fossil Ridge High School was named the 2015 Project Unify School of the year by the Colorado Special Olympics. [7] [8]

Fossil Ridge was the first high school in Fort Collins to begin a unified basketball team.[ citation needed ] It was the first school to host the Special Olympics track and field event for students from Poudre and Thompson School Districts, and the first to host the local Special Olympics flag football tournament. [9]

Activities

Band

Fossil Ridge High School Bands is directed by Aaron Herman and Hannah Peterson. [10] Ensembles include the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Marching Band, Winter Percussion ensemble and Winter Guard, and Jazz Band. Financial and manpower assistance is provided by the Fossil Ridge Band Boosters. [11] FRHS Bands is affiliated with the Colorado Bandmasters Association. [12]

Fossil Ridge High Schools Bands' concert ensembles have received numerous accolades and awards, including “Superior with Distinction” honors at CBA State Concert Band Festivals. In 2014 and 2020, all three concert ensembles earned Superior ratings at the CBA Regional Concert Band Festival. The Wind Symphony was selected to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Association's Clinic/Conference in 2012, 2015, 2020, and 2024, and attended the prestigious Music for All National Concert Band Festival in 2012 and 2016. The Fossil Ridge Band program has been nominated for the prestigious Sudler Flag of Honor from the John Philip Sousa Foundation and is a recipient of the National Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award from the National Band Association. [13]

The Fossil Ridge Marching Band is the only ensemble of its kind in the Poudre School District and accepts students from other district high schools and middle schools. The 2025 FRHS Marching Band includes approximately 135 musicians and color guard.

The FRHS Marching Band is a CBA Division 5A competetive ensemble and won the division's state championship title in 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. [14] (The 2020 CBA State Championship was canceled, and no championship title was awarded.) The marching band also competes in Bands of America's AAA Division, winning its division's championship title at Flagstaff in 2023 and Las Cruces in 2024 and placing second overall at Flagstaff in 2022. The band was selected as a finalist at its first BOA competition at St. George in 2019. [15]

FRHS Bands and the Fossil Ridge Band Boosters host the CBA-sanctioned Fossil Ridge Marching Festival at the Poudre School District Stadium at Timnath Middle-High School. [16] The festival is a "one-and-done" competition in which all bands are judged on a single performance and receive scores and rankings. On September 20, 2025 fourteen Colorado-based marching bands (9 from Division 5A, 3 from Division 4A, and one each from Division 3A and 2A) participated in the 2nd Annual Fossil Ridge Marching Festival.

Founded in 2021 and under the direction of Destiny Smith, the Fossil Ridge Winter Guard participates in both the Rocky Mountain Color Guard Association's and Winter Guard International's competition circuits. The group claimed its RMCGA division's championship titles in 2022, 2024, and 2025. [17] The winter guard's associated Fossil Ridge Middle School Winter Guard claimed its first state RMCGA championship title in 2025. [18]

Also founded in 2021 and under the direction Matt Hauser, the Fossil Ridge Winter Percussion ensemble participates in the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association's and Winter Guard International's competition circuits. The group claimed its RMPA division's championship titles in 2022, 2023, and 2025. [19]

Knowledge Bowl

Fossil Ridge's Knowledge Bowl team won the Colorado state title in 2012 and 2013. The team took second place in the state in the interscholastic academic competition in 2014, [20] and claimed the state title again in 2015 and 2016. [21]

Newspaper

The school's monthly newspaper, Etched In Stone, won the Colorado High School Press Association's 2012 Best In Show: Website Award, as well as the National Scholastic Press Association's Pacemaker Finalist Award.

Theater

The school's Improv team ranked first in the state in the International Thespian Society's state conferences in 2015 and 2016.[ citation needed ]

School design

Fossil Ridge High School was the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) high school in Colorado. The building was constructed out of environmentally friendly materials and has double-pane windows and solar panels. The school also has energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems, and sustainable landscape design. [22]

As a result of its design, Fossil Ridge's energy savings are about 60 percent. The school saves approximately $100,000 a year in utilities. [23] The Discovery Channel hosted a special, highlighting energy saving at the school and its importance in modern society.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Search for Public Schools - Fossil Ridge High School (080399001848)". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fossil Ridge High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  3. ↑ "About Our School | Fossil Ridge High School". frh.psdschools.org. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ Marburger, Zach (May 20, 2017). "Fossil Ridge wins third-straight 5A boys swimming championship". CHSAANow.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  5. ↑ Lytle, Kevin. "Fossil's Morehouse named National Coach of the Year". Coloradoan. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ Vaughan, Kierra (September 25, 2015). "Fossil Ridge: Let's unify through Unified". Etched in Stone. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ Horan, Kyle (September 9, 2015). "Fossil Ridge receives honor for unified sports, starts flag football team". Denver Channel 7. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  8. ↑ Lytle, Kevin (September 9, 2015). "Fossil Ridge earns Project Unify award". Coloradoan. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Fossil wins award for including students with disabilities in sports". Poudre School District. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Directors and Staff". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Band Boosters". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Colorado Bandmasters Association". Colorado Bandmasters Association. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Our Story". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Past Champions". CBA Marching Affairs. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  15. ↑ "MARCHING BAND". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Marching Festival". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  17. ↑ "WINTER ENSEMBLES". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Scores". Rocky Mountain Color Guard Association. December 30, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  19. ↑ "WINTER ENSEMBLES". FOSSIL RIDGE BANDS. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  20. ↑ Staff, Coloradoan (April 26, 2014). "Fossil Ridge state runner-up in Knowledge Bowl". Coloradoan. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  21. ↑ Staff, Coloradoan (March 15, 2016). "Fort Collins school wins state Knowledge Bowl titles". Coloradoan. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  22. ↑ Team, Haselden (September 26, 2014). "Fossil Ridge High School". Haselden. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Energysmart Schools Case Study" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  24. ↑ Harding, Todd (June 21, 2015). "Windsor Resident Crowned Miss Colorado 2015". Windsor, CO: KUAD-FM . Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Sophia Smith - Women's Soccer". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Sophia Smith". Portland Timbers. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  27. ↑ "NWSL College Draft | National Women's Soccer League". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Jaelin Howell - U.S. Soccer". Jaelin Howell - U.S. Soccer. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  29. ↑ "To new Voyager pitcher Codi Heuer, Centene Stadium already feels like home".
  30. ↑ "Brady Russell". seahawks.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Captain Chronicles | 'I Knew I Could Come Here and Make an Impact': Arkin Builds Trust, Confidence in Second Year at Illinois". University of Illinois Athletics. November 14, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  32. ↑ Miller, Alex (February 3, 2020). "Texas A&M nabs commitment from 2021 4-star OL Trey Zuhn". Dallas News. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  33. ↑ Colanto, Kelly. "Sabercat Story: Makenna Kelly". Etched in Stone. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
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