Riverdale High School (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)

Riverdale High School is a public high school operated by the Rutherford County School system located in the southwestern part of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, It is located on Warrior Drive which intersects with South Church Street (US 231 South). Riverdale is one of the older high schools in Murfreesboro, along with Oakland High School (the brother school) which was also built in 1972. It is home to 12 academic Departments, 40 Extra Curricular Clubs, and 19 TSSAA Athletic Teams.

Academics

In 2014, Riverdale High School ranked better than 67.3% of high schools in Tennessee. It also ranked 2nd among high schools in the large Rutherford County School District.^[1] Many foreign language classes are offered including: Spanish, German, and French. These active classes feature an annual international cultural trip for students.

Campus

Along with Oakland High School (Tennessee), the sprawling campus includes two main academic buildings containing computer labs, science labs, an auditorium, band room, two cafeterias and many classrooms. The freshman have a dedicated building known as the Annex. The field house features a full size basketball court, a wrestling room, workout areas, locker rooms, and coaching offices. The spacious site also has softball, baseball, soccer, football fields and even a swimming pool.^[2]

Warrior Philanthropy

Students at Riverdale High School are extremely generous and involved with their community. With the help of hundreds of students, faculty, and numerous people with gracious hearts, the on-line auction that was run by Comas Montgomery Auctions and Realty of Murfreesboro raised $5,606.00 for the family of Leah Smallwood. Leah is the daughter of former RHS football player and student Michael Smallwood.

Athletics

• Bowling
• Dance
• Cheerleading
• Football – The Riverdale football team has won four 5-A state championships: 1994, 1997, 2001, and 2004.
• Soccer
• Women's Basketball - The Lady Warriors have been State Champions four times: 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013. The 2013 team went 35-0 and were named the ESPN National Champion.
• Tennis
• Baseball
• Softball
• Rugby

Band Program

Established in 1972, the Riverdale High School Band has a long tradition of success.^[3]

Mr. Bob Lee, Riverdale’s first Director of Bands, won the prestigious MTSU Contest of Champions.

In marching, the band has been a finalist at the Contest of Champions, champion at several contests throughout the southeast and as far north as Toronto, Canada. Performances have taken the band throughout the United States, from California to Texas, from New York to Chicago, and include a performance at the 1995 Sugar Bowl.

The Riverdale Band is not just a marching program, as our concert bands receive superior ratings and several ensembles have performed at several events of significance. The Riverdale Band has performed at the National Band Association Biennial Conference; the Jazz Band, a clinic for the 2009 Tennessee Music Education Association Professional Development Conference; and the saxophone ensemble, at the 2013 National Association for Music Education National Convention.

Choir

Students can choose General Music, Music Theory or one of our Choirs to earn their Fine Arts Credit. The Women's Chorale and Men's Ensemble just require a love and desire to sing, while the more advanced Riverdale Singers requires an audition with high performance expectations.^[4]

• General Music - Open to any student with a general interest in music and music history.
• Music Theory - For the ADVANCED music student (grades 10-12) who wants to dig into the mechanics behind the music. Strongly encouraged for upperclassmen planning to study music in college.
• Men's Ensemble - Open to all men, grades 9-12 - no audition required. Must have a strong performance desire, as performances range from small a capella ensembles with beat boxing, to formal choral festival settings.
• Women's Chorale - Choir open to ladies in grades 9-12 (no audition required) who have a strong desire to perform and improve their vocal and performance skills.
• Riverdale Singers - Advanced mixed ensemble open to upper level students by audition. Mid-State/All-State encouraged; private voice expectations.
• Advanced Ladies' Ensemble - Advanced Ladies' Ensemble open to upper level students. Primarily for 10-12 grades. Audition required; Mid-State/All-State highly encouraged.

Key Club

Key Club is THE club for students interested in making a difference in the community through volunteer service! It is open to all interested students. Every student should have the opportunity to work with others to make a difference! Every year at Riverdale High School, club members carry out 2 service projects a month. Some of our more popular service projects are:

• Holding TWO blood drives for the American Red Cross of Middle Tennessee. Key Club members recruit donors during lunches and volunteer to help out on the day of the drive.
• Collecting donations for homeless Rutherford County students through the ATLAS program. Key Club members encourage students to bring in needed supplies and then they collect, tally, and donate them.
• Creating the “Soup for Souls dinner event” to raise money for local homeless shelters. Key Club members sell tickets, make soup, decorate to tables, and then serve soup during the fundraising dinner. RHS art students donate their created ceramic soup bowls, and ticket-holders get to keep them.
• Organizing canned food drives for Second Harvest Food Bank and Greenhouse Ministries.
• Creating holiday cards for wounded veterans and birthday parties for the children of fallen soldiers.
• Taking care of animals at PAWS
• Fundraising through Trick or Treat for UNICEF’s Eliminate Program, to eliminate the deadly Neonatal and Maternal Tetanus disease
• Fundraising for the Change 4 Tay foundation.

^[5]

National Art Honors Society

NAHS is a Nationally recognized program designed to support and encourage students who demonstrate interest and skills in the Visual Arts. NAHS provides opportunities for scholarships, National recognition with 48,000 Art Students worldwide. Students at Riverdale that are active members are working on building character while performing community and school wide service. Projects include:

• Rutherford County Quilt Trail.
• Volunteer Face Painting for Discovery Center and John Coleman fall festival.
• Painting and creating for teachers who need visual props.
• Murals for beautification of Riverdale.

^[6]

School Newspaper and Yearbook

The Smoke Signal is Riverdale High School's online newspaper. Six staff members provide the writing, photography, and website updates necessary to keep the newspaper up to date. These writers are part of a larger creative writing class, but are dedicated to journalistic writing only and their focus is the Smoke Signal. During fall homecoming festival, the newspaper offers a photo booth as a fundraising event to help keep cameras and software updated.^[7]

The Riverdale High School yearbook, Lance & Shield, is a 360-page history book published every year by a staff of students who work both in and out of class to create the book. Students provide much of the candid photography used in the book and write all of the copy and captions. To help offset the price of yearbooks, members of the staff solicit local businesses for ads and offer senior congratulatory ads to parents. The staff organizes and runs both the fall and spring photo days, as well as club picture day in October.^[8]

References

1. ↑ http://www.schooldigger.com/go/TN/schools/0369001524/school.aspx
2. ↑ http://www.riverdalewarriors.com
3. ↑ http://www.riverdaleband.com/
4. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/teachers/Williamsb/williamsb_07/Riverdale_Vocal_Department/General_Music.htm
5. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/clubs/keyclub/key05index.htm
6. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcs.k12.tn.us/clubs/national_art_h_soc/art_honor_soc_05_index.htm
7. ↑ http://riverdalewarriors.com/smokesignal/
8. ↑ http://www.rhs.rcschools.net/yearbook/index.html

External links

• Riverdale High School website

35°48′57.07″N 86°24′34.2″W / 35.8158528°N 86.409500°W / 35.8158528; -86.409500Coordinates: 35°48′57.07″N 86°24′34.2″W / 35.8158528°N 86.409500°W / 35.8158528; -86.409500