Stone Bridge High School is a public secondary school in Ashburn, a community in Loudoun County, Virginia.
The school is part of Loudoun County Public Schools and is located on 43100 Hay Road in Ashburn, Virginia. Stone Bridge High School serves the northwestern part of Ashburn, including Ashburn Farm, Goose Creek Village, and Belmont Greene, The majority of the Belmont Country Club community no longer attends Stone Bridge High School and now goes to the new Riverside High School in Lansdowne because of overcrowding. Newsweek ranked Stone Bridge the #4 high school in Virginia and the #1 high school in Loudoun County in 2014.
History
Stone Bridge opened in 2000, with its student body coming from Broad Run High School and Loudoun County High School. It opened the same year as two other Northern Virginia high schools, Forest Park Senior High School opened in Prince William County, and Westfield High School opened in Fairfax County; all three schools regularly played against each other in many sports in their inaugural year. The school's capacity is at around 1,600 students.
During the first year, there were nearly 1,200 students from 9th through 11th grade; seniors stayed at Broad Run or Loudoun County. There were also nearly 500 8th graders housed at Stone Bridge during the 2000-2001 school year because of overcrowding at Harper Park Middle School, the feeder middle school at that time.
In 2002, most of Stone Bridge's Leesburg student body (except for Lansdowne residents and upcoming seniors if they chose so and could provide their own transportation) were moved to Heritage High School, but some additional students from Broad Run were moved to Stone Bridge, dropping enrollment to roughly 1,400 students in the 2002-2003 school year. However, by the 2004-2005 school year, the student body went up to nearly 1,900 students, the biggest enrollment at the time for a Loudoun County high school. In 2005, Briar Woods High School's opening helped alleviate crowding, but its enrollment remained above 1,600 students. In 2010, the enrollment rose up to 1,800 students. To accommodate, the rest of Stone Bridge's Leesburg student body was transferred to Tuscarora High School to relieve overcrowding,. Stone Bridge moved students who live inside Belmont Country Club to Riverside High School in 2015 and picked up additional students from Broad Run. This dropped the enrollment by roughly 300 students, leaving it just above 1,600.
Schedule information
Stone Bridge High School is open from 9:15 AM until 4:03 PM on all school days. Loudoun County schools are open later than neighboring jurisdictions such as Fairfax County and Prince William County where most schools open considerably earlier.
Stone Bridge operates on an 8 period block schedule alternating each day, which are designated as A and B days. Periods 1-4 are on A days (all class periods in order); and periods 5-8 are on B days. Though there are eight periods, all students have a mandatory study hall period which is on one of these days (A/B) and periods. Some students, usually seniors or juniors (who must take a marketing co-op class) may obtain exemptions to leave school early or arrive late.
Academics
Accreditation
Stone Bridge High School is fully accredited based on its performance on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia since its opening in 2000.
Stone Bridge holds the state title for the Virginia Math League, 2009-2010 being the first year entering.
Curriculum
Stone Bridge High School offers a comprehensive curriculum to all of its students. Most students take a standard curriculum, but the school is also a member of the Advanced Placement program, ESL courses for those who cannot speak English well, and special education courses for students with learning disabilities. Some students also elect to take classes at the Loudoun Academy of Science for math and science courses or the C.S. Monroe Technology Center for vocational courses.
SBHS offers a wide variety of elective courses in a wide variety of areas, including Marketing, Technology, Home Economics, Art, Music, and Advanced Physical Education (for 11th and 12th graders only). Many of the elective courses offered at Stone Bridge require a great deal of work outside the classroom and some of these groups are mentioned in further detail below.
Demographics
Stone Bridge High School's student body in 2007-2008 was 74% White; 9% Black; 9% Asian; and 7% Hispanic.
Fine Arts
Drama
Stone Bridge's drama department puts on four annual shows, which include a fall play, a winter one-act (submitted for competition through the VHSL program), a musical in the spring, and senior-directed one acts at the end of the year. The department is part of the National Capital Area Cappies Program. 2002 was the year Stone Bridge had won their first cappie, which was for Best Comedic Actor in a Play (Sean Kinslow) in their production of "Twelfth Night". In 2006, Stone Bridge took home three Cappies for their production of "Seussical the Musical." These awards were: Best Musical, Best Lead Actor (Mace Sorensen), and Best Ensemble (Wickersham Brothers). In 2009, Stone Bridge was awarded two Cappies, one for Best Set (John Darr and Rachel Martin) and one for Best Comedic Actor in a Play (Erik DeLong) for the play "You Can't Take it With You". In 2010, Stone Bridge won two Cappies for the musical "Merrilly We Roll Along", those being Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Bardenett), and Best Song (Franklin Shepard Inc.). In 2011, Stone Bridge took home two Cappies for their production of "Lord of the Flies", for both Best Props and Effects and Best Play. In 2012, the award of Best Comedic Actor in a Musical was awarded to Ian Peterson of Stone Bridge for his role in "Anything Goes". In 2014, Stone Bridge's Sarah Santoro won the award for Best Rising Critic for their production of "Macbeth". In 2016, Stone Bridge won a Cappie for Creativity (Olivia Knight & Sara Wolfley) in their production of "The Crucible". In 2017, the Creativity Cappie was awarded to Phoebe Taylor, Emily Young, Caleb Rouse, and Karen Zipor of Stone Bridge for ASL narration and interpretation in their production of "Pippin".
The Theater Department has also performed well in VHSL Competition, winning the Liberty District title multiple times and placing as high as 3rd in the Northern Region until 2014. In the 2014 VHSL Theater Competition, the Running Dogs performed "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind", placing first in the newly created Conference 14 Theater Festival, first in the Northern Region 5A, and first in the State of Virginia for all 5A Schools, outscoring their closest competitors by an astounding 19 points. Various individual awards were given to members of the cast. In the 2017 VHSL Theater Competition, the Running Dogs performed "Reflex Action", placing first in the Conference 14 Theater Festival, second in the Northern Region 5A, and first in the State of Virginia for all 5A Schools.
Band
Stone Bridge's band program includes two concert bands, a marching band, a jazz ensemble, and a jazz lab band, which is a full size jazz ensemble that meets before school. Stone Bridge obtained the title of "Honor Band" for 4 years, as a result of the marching band and the wind symphony getting a superior rating at the State and District assessments, respectively.
The marching band participated in the 2009 and 2013 London New Year's Day parades, where they performed in front of over 600,000 spectators who line the streets of London. (Stone Bridge was the first Loudoun band to make the trip to this event.) On October 23, 2015, the band was extended an official invitation to the 2017 parade(where it will make its third appearance) by Bob Bone, the parade's executive director, and its principal patron, Roger Bramble.
Orchestra
Since Loudoun County Public Schools opened a string program in the middle schools in 2002 to 7th graders, Stone Bridge and the other nine Loudoun high schools now also have string ensembles starting in the 2005-2006 school year during the school day. The string students from Stone Bridge often participate in North Central Regional Orchestra.
Chorus
The choir program is also made up of several groups, which are Concert Choir, " Junior Varsity" Men's Choir, "Varsity" Men's Choir, Treble Choir, Chamber Choir (also known as 7-4-5 Chorale), and Jazz Choir, which sometimes performs with the band's Jazz Ensemble and often performs around the community. The various choirs constantly receive Superior Ratings from both District Assessments and from competitions at places such as Hershey Park and Busch Gardens. In 2010 the jazz choir and in 2012, the 745 Chorale was picked to perform at the VMEA Conference at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, one of the highest honors a high school choral group can achieve in Virginia.
Extracurricular activities
Stone Bridge competes in the Liberty District of the Northern Region for debate competitions. These are the same districts that Stone Bridge athletics are in, because debate is sponsored by the Virginia High School League. The debate program won the AA state title in 2005.
Stone Bridge's chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) has been named as an Honor Chapter by the Virginia FBLA since it was chartered in 2002. In 2006, the chapter was recognized with its first award from the National FBLA organization; receiving the Business Achievement Award.
Stone Bridge has a chess club. In 2010, the Stone Bridge High School chess team came in second in the Virginia Scholastic Championships.
Athletics
The mascot is a bulldog and the sports teams play in the AAA Liberty District and Northern Region. The Bulldogs' athletic teams have won many team state and regional championships in their short history.
Stone Bridge's athletic program was established in 2000 when the high school opened. The school's mascot (bulldogs) and colors (navy, Carolina blue, and silver) were established in 1999 after over 1,100 students at Broad Run High School, Loudoun County High School, and Harper Park Middle School voted. Other mascots that were proposed were the Stone Bridge Knights, the Stone Bridge Sabers, and the Stone Bridge Thunderbirds. Other color combinations that were considered included Navy Blue and Orange; Purple and Gold; and Green and Silver.
Stone Bridge has won 15 state titles, which are:
- Four for cheerleading (AA champion in 2004; AAA champion in 2005, 2006, and 2008)
- Eight NVSHL titles for hockey in 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2007â€"2008, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2014-2015, 2015-16, and 2016-17
- One AA title for girls soccer in 2005
- One AAA title for football (Division 5) in 2007
- One AAA title for girls soccer in 2010
The Bulldogs have been state runners-up twelve times, which are:
- One in AA cheerleading in the 2002 season, one in AAA in the 2009 season, and again in 5A in the 2014 season.
- Six in AAA Division 5 football in 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2016.
- Two in AAA softball in 2006 and 2013
- One in AAA girls volleyball in 2010
Stone Bridge has also won three awards for sportsmanship, which are:
- Two for the Wachovia Ethics and Integrity Award (2001â€"2002 and 2004â€"2005)
- One in AA Girls Volleyball in 2003â€"2004
The Bulldogs have also been recognized in the Wachovia Cup standings for their overall athletic performance in the following years:
- 8th place for the AAA Wachovia Cup for Athletics in 2005â€"2006
State championships
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Notable alumni
- Jonathan Allen, defensive end for the Washington Redskins: graduated in 2013.
- Adam Comrie, defensiveman for the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League whilst under contract to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League.
- Ryan Ellis, racecar driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: graduated in 2008; attended George Mason University from 2009-2012.
- Zach Thompson, defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens: graduated in 2009.
- Ed Wang, football player for the Oakland Raiders: graduated in 2005.
- J.B. Bukauskas, baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros: graduated in 2014.
- Nick Vazquez, Keystone College lacrosse goalie, Voted worlds most average pancake
External links
- Gameday: Covers in depth on all sports in Loudoun County, including Stone Bridge High School.
- VHSL-Reference
- http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/84964
- http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/pvUkH_xP-EyWP2R-qaIO-g/football-fall-10/profile-mike-ghanem.htm