Grassfield High School
Address
Map
2007 Grizzly Trail

Chesapeake
,
Virginia
23323

United States
Coordinates36°42′50.5″N 76°18′50.3″W / 36.714028°N 76.313972°W / 36.714028; -76.313972
Information
School typePublic, High School
Founded2007
School districtChesapeake City Public Schools
PrincipalBrian Haughinberry
Teaching staff126.66 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,232 (2020-21)[1]
Student to teacher ratio16.35[1]
LanguageEnglish
Campus100-acre (0.40 km2) Suburban
Color(s)Red, White, and Navy Blue      
Athletics conferenceVirginia High School League
AAA Eastern Region
Southeastern District
MascotGrizzlies, Mr. Griz
RivalGreat Bridge High School
Hickory High School
Deep Creek High School
Feeder schoolsCedar Road Elementary School
Hickory Elementary School
Deep Creek Central Elementary School
Grassfield Elementary School
Great Bridge Middle School
Hickory Middle School
Hugo A. Owens Middle School
WebsiteOfficial Site

Grassfield High School is a public high school located in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA, and is administered by Chesapeake City Public Schools. It was built to ease overcrowding at Deep Creek High School, Great Bridge High School, and Hickory High School.[2] Grassfield, along with Western Branch High School and Oscar Smith High School, features the latest technology available in the school district.[3] Grassfield is also the City of Chesapeake's location for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) school as various high school students around the city can apply for admission into the program.[4]

History

By 2004 the school district was planning to spend $63.6 million to build Grassfield, and anticipated it would open in 2007.[5]

Extracurriculars

Athletics

Grassfield's 24 varsity sports teams compete in Conference 2 of the VHSL's Group 6A South Region.[6]

In November 2007 Grassfield held a home run derby to raise money for their athletic teams. It included B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright, Michael Cuddyer, and Mark Reynolds.[7] The Girls Varsity Volleyball team made school history in their fall 2008 season by winning both the regular season and district tournament titles, and receiving the first district championship banner in the gym.[8]

Football

The football team is currently coached by Joe Jones.

Year Division Region District W L Playoff Seed Head Coach
2007 5 Eastern Southeastern 1* 9 Did not qualify Martin Asprey
2008 7 4 6th
2009 6 9 3 4th
2010 8 3 5th
2011 10 2 4th
2012 8 3 6th
2013 9 3 4th
2014 4 6 Did not qualify
2015 8 4 5th
2016 9 3 7th
2017 6A 3 7 Did not qualify
2018 4 6 Did not qualify
2019 5 6 6th
2020** 3 4 Did not qualify
2021 1 9 Did not qualify
2022 1 9 Did not qualify Joe Jones
2023 3 7 Did not qualify

(*) Nansemond River High School forfeited their victory due to an ineligible player.[9]

(**) VHSL moved the 2020 season from autumn to spring and reduced the number of games played due to COVID-19 restrictions.[10]

Swimming

During the 2017-2018 Grassfield Swim season the girls team secured a first place victory at regionals.

Wrestling

In February 2009 the Grassfield wrestling team secured 1st place for the regular season and won Southeastern District tournament title.[11] During February, they finished 2nd in the Eastern Regional Tournament and 4th at the AAA state tournament. In 2009, the Grizzlies had 2 state champions: Caleb Richardson in the 103 lb (47 kg) class (The Grizzlies' 1st male state champion) and Andrew Clement in the 171 pounds (78 kg) class.[12]

Drama

In its first year, the Grassfield High School Drama Department collected many awards for its performances. Some awards include Second place at the state level for VHSL Theatre competition, best actor awards and best ensemble from the Greek play "Medea".[13] In their second year, The Grassfield Theater Company travelled to the VTA and got second place in the state, first in districts regionals and state for VHSL, winning two best actor awards and first place overall for their production of John Steinbeck's The Pearl.[12] Grassfield has consistently held one of the top theatre departments in the region, winning 1st place in the VHSL Southeast District competition thirteen years consecutively, and once the reorganization of VHSL, the theatre company has been the Conference 2 champion, regional champion in 2014, and garnered VHSL State Championships for Region 6A in 2014 with their production of "King Midas and the Golden Touch" as well as their original play "Digital Breadcrumbs" in 2016.

Choral department

The Singers of Grassfield High School received a rating of superior in their inaugural year, and are a participants in various other performances in Chesapeake and Southeastern Virginia. All three of Grassfield High School's choirs, the Select Women's Treble Singers, Chamber Singers, Concert Singers and Freshmen Choir all received a rating of superior in their second year of existence. The Select women's and Chamber are the honors chior that are more evolved in competition and harder music. Both choirs promoting musicianship and pushing the students.[14]

The choir is taught by Elise Krepcho, who creates a positive environment for all the students. The choir holds an annual variety show to raise money for the choral department.

Band Program

In their inaugural year, both the Grassfield High School Freshman and Upperclassmen Concert bands received superior ratings at VBODA District IV band festival. In their second year, the Freshman and Upperclassmen Concert bands received ratings of excellent, and the newly created Symphonic Band received a Superior rating. This gave Grassfield the title of Virginia All-State honors band, for receiving Superior ratings for their Marching and top-ranked Concert bands. In 2019 the Symphonic Band and Concert band both received superior ratings.[15]

In the beginning of 2021, new changes were proposed to the Grassfield High School Band Program in an effort to try and earn honor band credits for the students. The Symphonic Band was rebranded as the new Wind Ensemble, while the Concert Band was named as the new Symphonic Band. These changes were put into effect at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. The Marching Grizzlies received a superior rating in the 2021 VBODA District IV Marching Band Assessment, which gave Grassfield High School the first half of the title of Virginia All-State Honors Band. The Freshman Band and the Symphonic Band both earned excellent ratings at the 2022 VBODA District IV Band assessment, while the newly established Wind Ensemble received a superior rating; earning Grassfield High School another title of Virginia All-State Honors Band.

Orchestra Program

The Grassfield High School Orchestra Program is in its 15th year of existence, and is made up of three main performing groups that span approximately 216 students. In the 2009-2010 school year, the Grassfield High School Chamber Orchestra won the coveted Music Festivals Grand National Championship as the top performing group to participate in their clinic/workshop division. In 2016, the chamber orchestra was crowned Music Festival National Champions. Beginning in its inaugural year, all three ensembles (the Grassfield Freshman Orchestra, Grassfield Concert Orchestra, and Grassfield Chamber Orchestra) continue to score and receive superior ratings at the VBODA District IV orchestra assessment festival. Grassfield High School currently is also the host school of the District IV VBODA orchestra assessment, held usually in early March. Notably, the Grassfield Orchestra Program continues to place many of its students into both regional, state, and national ensembles each year such as the Virginia Southeastern Senior Regional Orchestra, and the Virginia All-State Orchestra.[16]

The Grassfield Orchestra Program also covers another performing group, a string rock and pop group called Polyphonix. The group consists of members of the Grassfield Fine Arts Department, and is focused on performing popular and rock tunes for audiences. In the 2022-2023 school year, the Grassfield Philharmonic Orchestra was established, under the direction of Keith Dublin, the Band Director, and Steven Vutsinas, the Orchestra Director. The new symphonic orchestra has performed at the Grassfield Orchestra Spring Concert in 2023, and at the Chesapeake Public Schools' Grassfield High School Graduation at Chartaway Arena at Old Dominion University.

The Grassfield High School Orchestra Program is under the direction of Steven Vutsinas, acting as not only the Orchestra Director, but also as the Fine Arts Department Co-Chair at Grassfield High School. Mr. Steve Vutsinas or, “Mr. V” as he is called by his students, is a 1988 graduate of the East Carolina School of Music. Mr. V was Grassfield High School’s Teacher of the Year and was also a finalist for Chesapeake Teacher of the Year in 2014. Mr. Vutsinas was also selected as a top ten finalist for the inaugural Grammy Music Educator of the Year in 2014 from a list of over 33,000 music educators from across the United States.[17]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c "Grassfield High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Cupitt, Tom (Spring 2007). "Grassfield High School on Target" (PDF). CPSchools.com. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  3. ^ Rita Frankenberry (September 1, 2006). "What makes Grassfield High School cool?". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "Stem Academy – Grassfield High School". Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  5. ^ Bowers, Matthew (2004-10-12). "Chesapeake reveals building plan for schools". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on 2005-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  6. ^ "Classification: 6A South". Virginia High School League. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Rich Radford (November 4, 2007). "Homegrown stars a hit at home run derby". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  8. ^ John Streit (November 4, 2008). "Girls volleyball: Grassfield, Landstown cruise into region semis". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. ^ Larry Rubama (October 24, 2007). "Nansemond River forfeits two football wins". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  10. ^ Greg Giesen (July 27, 2020). "VHSL moves football and other fall sports to spring. Prep sports won't start before Dec. 14". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  11. ^ John Streit (February 7, 2009). "Wrestling: Grassfield ends Great Bridge's Southeastern reign". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "2009 Theatre State Competition". Chesapeake Public Schools. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
  13. ^ Christy Barritt (April 11, 2008). "Grassfield High drama places 2nd in the state". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  14. ^ "A Note from the Director". Chesapeake Public Schools. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  15. ^ "Concert Bands". Grassfield High School Bands. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  16. ^ "About". Grassfield High School Orchestra. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  17. ^ "Meet Mr. V". Grassfield High School Orchestra. Retrieved 2023-06-22.

External links

Virginia High School League AAA Eastern Region
Authority control databases: Geographic
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