Linn Mar High School

History

Linn-Mar High School was created in 1959 and renovated several times throughout its history. Linn-Mar's football Stadium is the 3rd largest in Iowa.

Scheduling

Linn-Mar High School operates under a "Modified Block Schedule".

Linn-Mar High School operates an eight-period/four-block schedule. Math, music, and foreign language courses meet for forty minutes per day for four consecutive quarters. All other courses meet for 95 minutes per day for one, two, or three quarters.

Linn-Mar High School has used the modified block schedule since the 1999-2000 school year. It was adopted in order to: a) maximize the number of courses that a student could take in a four-year period, b) match content areas with appropriate class lengths, and c) assure that the time allotment enables teachers to address multiple learning styles of students.

Math, music, and foreign language courses are designated as "skinny" courses (forty-minutes) because of the sequential nature of the content/subject matter. For example, a student who completes first level Spanish is best-served by taking level two Spanish during the next fall rather than waiting until mid-year. Almost every other course, such as Chemistry, however, can make great use of blocks to accommodate lab activities, group projects, and other exploratory activities. Allowing for extended periods of time for multiple learning activities helps to engage traditional, visual, and kinesthetic learners.

Most L-MHS Advanced Placement (AP) courses, such as the AP World History course typically taken by Sophomores, are three quarters in length, begin in the 2nd quarter, and meet for 95 minutes per day. This is done to minimize the length of time between the conclusion of a course and the spring AP exam. This format greatly increases the amount of class time for each AP course; the average AP score for Linn-Mar students has risen sharply since the inception of the modified block schedule.

Because most block teachers have three classes per quarter, they are working with 75 +/- students per grading period versus the 150+/- that a traditional teacher might work with at any given time. This allows for a very high level of personalization and enhances the teacher's ability to track progress and learning styles of individual students.

L-MHS offers an "Early Session" between 7:45 a.m. and 8:30 daily. This gives students unlimited access to the entire teaching staff (hard to find in most high schools because of co-curricular responsibilities) and gives students opportunities to make up work, quizzes, and projects. The "Early Session" opportunity helps to minimize the impact of missing a block class.

A student typically takes 35 credit hours per semester. This means that most students have a forty-minute ("skinny") unscheduled time per day. 9th and 10th grade students are assigned to study hall during unscheduled time. 11th and 12th grade students have “Time Release” privileges that allow them to leave campus or work independently in the Cafeteria, Outdoor Commons, or Media Center .

School additions

Linn-Mar High School is one of the largest high schools, in terms of square footage, in the state of Iowa. The building served as a 7-12 building until the 1999-00 school year. Recent additions were built in 1994 (classrooms) and in 1998. The 1998 referendum financed the construction of the beautiful 850 seat Performing Arts Center, the 2200 seat gymnasium, commons/cafeteria remodeling and expansion, kitchen renovation, the spacious Instructional Media/Technology Center, and the addition of two lab-lecture science rooms.

The high school facility also has: a 340-seat Little Theater, four large music rehearsal rooms, auxiliary gymnasium, 3,000-square-foot (280 m²) weight room, large wrestling room, eight computer labs, five mobile lab, 3 visual art studios, six industrial technology labs, an aquaculture laboratory, 5 well-equipped science laboratories (in addition to the new labs built in 1999) and ample classroom space.

In September, 2006 a music rehearsal complex, two new science labs, a multipurpose room, new art studio, new guidance center, graphics lab, and a total of 21 new classrooms were added.

In the summer of 2010 one of the older wings of the high school will be completely renovated, adding new science labs, and a new studio for Linn-Mar TV (LMTV).

Linn-Mar Stadium

The Lions had traditionally played their football, soccer, and track games/meets at Armstrong Field. But because Armstrong Field was too small for the vastly growing school, and because of the nearly yearly flooding of Indian Creek which ran next to it, a new athletic field was a major need. The Linn-Mar Stadium is located where the former transportation offices were, adjacent to the High School. Linn-Mar Stadium was completed in 2010, and is one of the top athletic centers in Iowa. It has 5,000 seats on the home side, 1,000 visitor seats, state of the art Field-Turf, state of the art press box, video board, regulation soccer field, and a modern track. The entire complex cost around $10 million.

Linn-Mar Baseball/Softball Complex

With the addition of Linn-Mar Stadium the softball and baseball fields became very cramped. The school district has added a new baseball/softball complex near Lowe Park on the campus of the Oak Ridge Middle School. The new complex houses a regulation baseball and softball field, as well as a practice field for each sport.

Linn-Mar Aquatic Center

In 2013, Linn-Mar opened a brand new $11.7 million aquatic center. The new competition Myrtha pool is 8,900 square feet and holds 525,856 gallons of water. There is spectator seating for 496 fans. Linn-Mar swimming and diving teams had previously practiced at Coe College and the Marion YMCA without a pool of their own.

Basketball

Linn-Mar won its first state basketball championship in 1983 with a record of 25-0. Linn-Mar's first "Mr. Basketball" was Todd Lumsden, who later played for Northern Iowa and Mankato State (now Minnesota State). Other players who later played at Ohio State were Scott Anderson and the late John Anderson who were juniors at the time. Another member of the 1983 team was Bradley DeBrower, his family and some friends wore buttons with the words "DeBrower Power" on them, he went to ISU after graduating.

In 2004, standout sophomore Jason Bohannon led the Lions to a Mississippi Valley Conference, and State Championships. In 2005 the Lions won their second state conference title, and the Lions lost in the State Championship game. In 2006, Jason Bohannon's final year, the Lions won yet another conference title, and lost in the Semifinal game. For his outstanding career, Bohannon became Linn-Mar's second "Mr. Basketball". In 2007, the Lions found another star after Bohannon left. Jordan Printy (an Indiana State signee) led the Lions to their 4th straight conference title, and the Lions won their second state championship in four years. In 2008, the Lions won their 5th straight MVC title, and lost in the State Championship game, with the help of Grant Gibbs, a player who would go on to play at Gonzaga University before transferring to Creighton. In 2011 the Lions again won the conference title, went to state, and won the Class 4A State Title, led by Northern Iowa bound senior Matt Bohannon and junior North Carolina recruit, Marcus Paige.

Other sports

The Boys Basketball team has qualified for the State Tournament for 9 straight years 2004-2012, setting a state record. They placed 2nd in the state in 2005 and 2009, 3rd in 2008, and 4th in 2006. Other noteworthy finishes for the boys include: state champions in football in 1985, 1990 and 1991 (Class 4-A) and second-place finishes in 1986 and 1994. Wrestling finished 3rd as a team at State in 2002 as well as 3rd at the State Team Duals in 2002. Baseball qualified for state in 1987, 1995 and 2006. Boys Golf finished 3rd at State in 2007. Boys Cross Country finished 4th at state in 2003. Boys Soccer qualified for state in 2004, 2005, and 2008. In 1998 the women's swimming and diving team placed fifth at the state meet. The girls swimming and diving teams in 2008, 2009 and 2011 won their Regional Meets which have been their only three in school history. In 2011 the girls swimming and diving team placed 8th at the State Swimming and Diving Meet.

Sports including swimming, golf, cross country, track, tennis, bowling, cheer-leading, poms, and wrestling have had numerous individuals qualify for state competition.

Linn-Mar also has a football squad consisting of two Freshman Squads that run an 8-game schedule, a Sophomore squad, and JV/Varsity Squads. The 2014 Lion football team finished 9-2 and won District 5. They were led by quarterback Ryan Schmidt, running back Perrion Scott, and wide receiver Trevor Noble. Schmidt tied the school record of four touchdown passes during a game twice during the season against Waterloo West and Cedar Rapids Jefferson. Trevor Noble holds the school record of 4 touchdown receptions in a game. And kicker Sean Zimmerman tied the school record for PAT's in a game with 9/9 in a game against Waterloo West.

The Lions boys bowling team were impressive winners in their Class 2A district in 2012-2013 finishing 11:0 with a perfect season. The Qualified for State and finished 4th.

Other noteworthy finishes for the girls teams include. Girls Basketball won the first 5-on-5 girls basketball title in 1985 and then again in 2010. The Lions girls basketball team reached the state tournament in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Lions Softball teams qualified for state in 1995, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Boys' track team placed 3rd in the state meet in 2011. For the first time in school history,and won the State Track & Field Championship in 2013. The Volleyball team qualified for State in 2009 and 2010. Other sports for women are: cross-country, soccer, tennis, track, golf, and swimming. The boys cross country team qualified for state in 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. The boys placed 3rd in 2012, 4th in 2013, and for the first time in school history won the State Cross Country Championship in 2014. The girls team qualified in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Clubs and co-curriculars

75% of Linn-Mar High School students participate in one or more co-curricular activity.[2]

Some of the clubs offered at LMHS include: Art Club, Anime Club, Best Buddies, Contest Speech, Future Farmers of America, Future Business Leaders of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Intramurals, Key Club, Lean on Me, Linn-Mar "Life" newspaper, Linn-Mar Students for Bernie, LMTV Linn-Mar Television, Math Team, Model UN, National Honor Society, Robotics, Science Club, SODA, Spectrum, Student Council, Students International, International Thespians Society, TRY, VOICE (Diversity activities), and Yearbook.

Music, drama and speech

Linn-Mar has an exemplary performing arts program. The music department (band, choir, and orchestra) has been listed as a Grammy Signature School twice, once in 2006 and again in 2009. Linn-Mar offers various extracurricular music programs, including: five performing choir ensembles (Ninth Grade Choir, Bella Voce, Cantemus, Chamber Singers, and Concert Chorale), three orchestra ensembles (Symphony Strings, Concert Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra), four concert bands, five jazz bands (Colton Center Jazz Ensemble, Jazz I, Studio Band, Stage Band, and Jazz Lab Band), and the over 200 member voluteer LM Marching Lions.
Linn-Mar also fields three show choirs. Hi-Style and Instep compete at the prep level, while 10th Street Edition competes at the varsity level. 10th Street Edition is consistently one of the top choirs in the state of Iowa and consistently ranks as one of the top national showchoirs. Over the last several years, 10th Street has finished 21st (2011), 7th (2012), and 27th (2014) in the Final National Show Choir Ranking.

Robotics

Linn-Mar Robotics is a group of over 70 students and mentors who build, design, and program robots to compete in FIRST competitions. We also work outside of the competitions to build interest in science, technology, and engineering.

FIRST is “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” This national nonprofit organization was founded by Segway inventor Dean Kamen and MIT professor Woodie Flowers in 1989 to inspire young peoples’ interest and participation in science and technology. The FIRST Vision is “To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”

FIRST organizes several levels of competition, including FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and FIRST Lego League (FLL). In FRC, two alliances of three 120 lb robots compete on a 54′x27′ field. A new game is revealed each year, and teams get only six weeks to design and build a robot to meet the new challenges. FTC is a similar competition with alliances of two 18″x18″x18″ robots and a 12′x12′ field.

Linn-Mar Robotics has fielded an FRC team since the 2002 season, and we have competed in FTC since the 2011-2012 season. We have also mentored FLL and FTC teams. Through the history of our team, we have won many awards. Many of our students go on to major in engineering and other technical fields. Our team is indebted to the parents, mentors, volunteers, and sponsors that help us successfully carry out our mission.

First Tech Challenge

FTC Team 4324, Lost in Time has been able to make it to the quarter finals at the state FTC competition, with the last two years having made it to Super Regionals. Every year they have created some impressive robots! FTC Team 4150, Dark Matter Has won many awards some of these are the Connect award at the Iowa state championship for their community outreach, and were robot semi-finalists at the North Super Regional.

First Robotics Challenge

Linn-Mar has competed with an FRC team since the club was founded, and has encountered many different game types.Team 967 has won a number of regionals and even attended the World Championships Multiple times recently in 2013 and 2015.

Marching Band

Linn-Mar also has a marching band, the Linn-Mar High School "Marching Lions". In the 2010-2011, 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 school years, they went undefeated in their competitive season with approximately 200 students in the band.

Notable alumni