Type Public High School Grades 9 to 12 | Established 1926 | |
Principal of Upperclassmen: New hire approx. June 2009 Dean
Principal
Principal
Activities of Students: Brian Baca
of Prep. Academy: Julie Smith
of Underclassmen: Robert Stevens
Director: Pam Davis Faculty 33 Faculty, 109 Teachers | ||
Los Lunas High School is a high school (grades 9 - 12) in Los Lunas, Valencia County, New Mexico. In 2003 it had some 2,383 students. The school's student count before US Labor Day in September 2007 was 1,791.
Contents
Los Lunas High School was founded in 1926 as Solomon Luna High School. It was named for Solomon Luna, the most prominent political and financial leader of the area at the time. The school was created to ease travel to Belen High School in southern Valencia County. Solomon Luna High School was consolidated into the Los Lunas Public Schools in 1945 and later renamed to "Los Lunas High School."
The aging main building of old Soloman Luna High School still stands, and currently serves as the administration offices of the Los Lunas School District. An engraving above that building's main doors continues to read "Soloman Luna High School."
Los Lunas High School is known for its emphasis on Athletics, and more recently, on Performing Arts.
Los Lunas High School's rival within its school district rival is Valencia High School which has its first full graduating class in 2010. The main in-county rival is and will continue to be Belen High School.
For the 2010-11 through 2013-14 school years, the Tiger athletic teams are set to compete in Class 4A in a district that includes local rivals Belen and Valencia.
Schedule
Los Lunas High School has returned to a full-block schedule. With this system a student will have 6 classes per semester and 12 classes in 1 year. The return to the regular full-block schedule comes after an experiment with a modified block schedule for the 2006-2007 school year.
The modified block was implemented because some teachers and administrators felt that some courses needed to be year long. Courses offered as half-blocks were core classes such as Math, English, Science and other various electives including Spanish and Yearbook. Marching band remained full-block and concert band was offered as full-block in the spring as well.
Performing arts
The Los Lunas High School Tiger Band received 3rd Place and Outstanding Brass in class 4A during the 2008 NM Pageant of Bands in Albuquerque, NM. It was disqualified in 2010 at the same competition. The bands also received 10th place in finals competition and 7th place in preliminary competition at the 2004 NMSU Tournament of Bands; this was the first time the band placed in the top 10 at this event. A band website is located at: http://www.freewebs.com/loslunashigh/
Sports
The Tiger athletic teams have had modest success through the years in terms of winning championships, but are nearly always competitive. LLHS teams have often been placed in districts alongside some of the top programs in the state.
One of the more consistent teams at the school in the early 2000s was the girls basketball program, led for four seasons by Paige Powers.
In 2005 the Football team toppled the Las Cruces Bulldawgs for the first time since 1992. However, in recent years, the school's football program has been mediocre. The numbers of football athletes have dropped off, due in part to the 2006 opening of nearby Valencia High School. In a four-year block set to begin with the 2010-11 school year, Los Lunas drops down to Class 4A in most sports.
In 2008 the Lady Tiger Soccer finished second in District 5-5A, its best performance in the 23-year history of the program. They were undefeated in district until their second match against Highland and Eldorado. The season record for 2008 was 6-2 in District. The Lady Tigers then made it to pool play in the State Championships and beat Mayfield 1-0.
In the spring of 2009, the victorious Lady Tiger softball team reached the state tournament for the fourth straight season. The girls track and field team finished half a point away from a third-place trophy at the Class 5A state championships, aided largely by a spectacular performance by senior Lesly Torres.
The tiger wrestling team has had many success stories thought its years including numerous state championships, Along with many notable athletes in College including Travis Lopez who wrestled in international competition with the Marine Corps wrestling team.
Also in the spring or 2009, the LLHS Tigerettes dance team traveled to the USA National Dance Competition. They took 7th in the jazz dance division and twelfth in the hip hop division, beating out several professional teams. Later that spring they placed fourth at state. The dance team holds the second largest number of trophies, second only to the LLHS wrestlers. Los Lunas played in there first Class 4A State Football championship against the Goddard Rockets.
Los lunas has brought the basketball program to a successful program with the girl basketball team winning the 2013 class 4A state championship, and the 2014 Class 4A state runners-up. Also three district titles with the 2013,2014 District 6-4A champions and the 2015 District 3-5A champions. The boy basketball team won two District champions 2013,2014 and they are the 2014 Class 4A state runners-up.
Popular culture
Los Lunas High School's campus and likeness were used to portray the fictional Division II school Los Lunas College in the USA Network original series In Plain Sight episode: High Priced Spread. The episode aired on Sunday, July 6, 2008. University Arena, more commonly known as "'The Pit,'" was used to establish shots during the film as all metro collegiate basketball games occur in this arena; however, the scenes were filmed at Los Lunas High School.