Cheshire High School


Cheshire High School is a comprehensive public high school serving approximately 1,538 students; it is the sole comprehensive high school of Cheshire Public Schools.
Located at 525 South Main Street in Cheshire, Connecticut, Cheshire High School is 15 miles north of New Haven and south of Hartford. It is the town's sole public high school.
As of 2016, Cheshire High School has approximately 1,538 students, 104 faculty members, six guidance counselors, three assistant principals, and one principal. The school is accredited by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges.

Academics

Advanced Placement courses

Cheshire High School offers Advanced Placement courses in subjects including biology, calculus, chemistry, English language, English literature, AP Human Geography, environmental science, European history, French, German, Latin, music theory,, psychology, Spanish, statistics, studio art, United States government, and United States history.

World Languages

Currently Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish are offered as world languages to take as electives. Chinese only has one course compared to the rest of the languages that offer upwards of three language levels worth of classes.

Renovations

The last renovations to Cheshire High School were completed during the summer of 2000. Prior to this, the school was last renovated in 1971. Designed by DeCarlo & Doll, Inc. and built by Trataros Construction, Inc., the renovations added of space at a cost of over eight million dollars.
The renovation brought to the school a new two-story wing of about, containing:
A new band room was also built in the rear of the building. Additionally, three science classrooms were renovated, faculty parking lots were created, and landscaping work was done in the front of school, around the new wing. As this new addition faced the main road, it became the new facade and main entrance to the school. Previously, the main entrance was tucked away at the south side of the building.
In 2011, the Technology Department received a $73,000 grant to improve its video studio. Cheshire High School offers multiple media-based classes which use the studio, including video production and news media production. Graduates had been excelling at media colleges for years prior to the renovation and now are doing so to a greater extent.

Athletics

Cheshire High School participates in the Southern Connecticut Conference.

Baseball

The Rams baseball team won the class LL state championship in 2018, defeating the Ridgefield High School Tigers by a score of.

Hockey

Division 2 SCC/CIAC

Arts

The Marching Ram Band, founded in 1983 by Band Director Ray Mancinelli, has won many competitions and championships, including the 2007 Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida, and many EMBA and USSBA and MAC Championship titles. The Ram Band also marched in prestigious parades such as the 43rd Presidential Inaugural Parade, the 1999 Tournament of Roses Parade, and the 2000 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The band was scheduled to play for the Queen of England in London's 2012 New Year's Parade, but was unable to do so due to economic issues. The band has captured many USSBA and MAC titles including the 2005 New England and National Group 5 Open title with their show "Dimensions of Time" taken from an original composition by John Meehan. They won the New England and National Championship for group 5 Open with their show "Snapshots". In 2007 the band received 3rd place at Championships in Group 5 Open with their show "Frida". In 2008 although the band was a Group 4 Open size, they were allowed to compete in 5 Open that year with their show "C2 Code" capturing second place at USSBA Championships. In 2009 the band went undefeated in 3 Open with their show "Bugging Out" and won the 3 Open Northern States championship.
The current band director is John L. Kuhner.
Below is a table of the band's shows and placements:
YearShowPlacement and score
1988EMBA class 4/5 Champion
1989EMBA class 4 Champion
1990
1991Mack the Knife, Can-Can, and others
1992The Four Seasons
1993Dvorak's New World Symphony
1994The Three Musketeers
1995Cirque du Soleil
1996
1997
1998
1999Carmina Burana
2001Heroic Journey
2002First Flight
2003Dance Portraits
2004The Storm2nd Place USSBA Group V Open
2005Dimensions of Time1st place USSBA Group V Open
2006Snapshots1st Place USSBA Group V Open
2007Freda3rd Place USSBA Group V Open
2008C2 Code2nd Place USSBA Group V Open
2009Bugging Out1st USSBA Northern States Group III Open
2010Ping11th USSBA Group IV Open
2015Duality8th US Bands Group V Open 93.625
2016The Midas Touch5th US Bands Group V Open 94.725
2017Transcend5th US Bands Group V Open 94.038
2018You've Changed9th US Bands Group V Open 91.963
2019When The Clock Strikes 127th US Bands Group V Open 91.825

Cheshire's Winter Percussion Ensemble won first place two years in a row at MAC Championships with their shows "Circuitry" and "Bent, Warped, and Twisted." They also won USSBA National Championships in the AAA category in 2011 with their show "What-If."

Notable alumni

Note: Birth and death dates listed do not reflect attendance at Cheshire High School.