Murray High School (Utah)

Murray High
Murray High School's main entrance and plaza Striving for excellence past, present, and future.
Address
5440 S. State Street Murray City, Utah United States
Coordinates
Information
Type	Public
Established	1916 (Hillcrest Location) 1954 (Current Location)
School district	Murray City School District
Principal	Dr. John Goldhardt
Faculty	79
Grades	10-12
Number of students	1,585 (2008-2009 School Year)
Campus size	21 acres (85,000 m2)
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Athletics conference	4-A Region 7
Mascot	Spartan
Website	http://murrayhighinformation.webs.com/

Murray High School is the only high school in the Murray City School District in Murray, Utah. Murray High School is one of the smallest high schools in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area with 1,885 students enrolled in the 2010-2011 school year. The school enrolls students in grades 10-12. The school's mascot is the Spartan, and the school colors are orange and black. Murray High is a 4-A school in Utah's 5 Division high school sports leagues (1A being the smallest, and 5A being the largest). The Disney Channel reality show High School Musical: Get in the Picture was shot on the Murray High campus in 2008 and American Idol (season 7) runner-up winner David Archuleta attended the school. The school also offers the highest amount of Salt Lake Community College Concurrent Enrollment classes in the state of Utah.

Building history

Murray High School was originally located on the east side of State Street at the current Hillcrest Junior High location, another Murray City School District School, at 126 East 5300 South Murray, UT. From 1916-54 Murray Junior High was named Murray High and Junior High. It was rebuilt and moved across to the west side of State Street in 1954.

Academics

• Salt Lake Community College Concurrent Enrollment offers classes in the state of Utah with over 120 classes in which students can take and earn SLCC credit and also in-state college credit. Murray High ranks #1 in the state for the number of SLCC (Salt Lake Community College) associate degrees earned by high school seniors.
• Murray High School also is the venue for Region Solo and Ensemble for instrumental music classes. And is the venue for State Jazz Ensemble. Both allow students from all over the state come and compete and attend clinics to improve overall playing. This status as host for the Region Instrumental Solo and Ensemble has been postponed due to health challenges in Murray's director of instrumental music.
• In 2008 the Murray High School Advanced Culinary Arts students were awarded the title of "Best New School" in the ProStart State Culinary Competition.
• Murray High School also will be one of the few schools in Utah piloting the Utah State Office of Education U-PASS & criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) online, the school has received $100,000 dollars to purchase new laptops and upgrade current computers for the future years. The administration of Spring 2008 criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) through computer-based testing (CBT) will be performed through Pearson’s assessment systems. In recent years, SAGE testing has taken over the role that CRT testing once held in the school.
• Graduation rate is 95% (as of 2009)

Going green

At the beginning of the 2007-2008 year, administrators, along with MHS's Environmental Club, started a program to save energy and money. Adjustments at the school, and other schools and offices in the district, will include changes to the thermostats; and during weekends and long breaks, copy machines and computers are unplugged, and running water to restrooms is turned off. This has resulted in difficulties to the instrumental music programs at Murray High, which find instruments can sustain harm when temperatures are allowed to drop drastically over long school breaks. Students at Murray High participate in a recycling program in which students may throw their trash into recycling bins placed throughout the school. Since its beginnings, the district has saved $405,000, all of which went into teachers' budgets. It is projected that in four years the district will have saved one million dollars, or a twenty percent savings per month.

Films and other productions shot at Murray

Disney filmed three movies at the high school: A few of the scenes from the wrestling movie Take Down (1978) was filmed prior to the rebuilding, Read It and Weep (2006), the auditorium scene of High School Musical (2006), Minutemen (2008), High School Musical: Get in the Picture (2008), and was the host venue for American Idol (season 7) runner-up winner David Archuleta homecoming television episode.

Disney has always donated generous amounts of funds to help and thank Murray High for having them film inside and outside the building and is expecting to film more films at the school.

Sport State Titles

• Men's Cross Country: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
• Men's Track: 1947, 1948, 1998
• Baseball: 1979, 1989, 1991, 1993
• Men's Basketball: 1931, 1996
• Football: 1954,1975,1977
• Women's Softball: 1990, 2005, 2007
• Men's Swimming: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2006,
• Men's Water Polo Club: 2008
• Women's Swimming: 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2000,
• Men's Soccer: 2001, 2013
• Ice Hockey Club: 1998, 1999, 2005
• Men's Tennis: 1990
• Women's Tennis: 2005
• Men's Lacrosse Club: 1997, 1998, 2007
• Women's Lacrosse Club: 2008,2010

NOTE: State championships for all sports can be viewed at the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) web site.

Sports National Titles

• Men's Inline Hockey 1998, 2005

Notable alumni

• David Archuleta, Runner-up on American Idol (season 7)
• Britton Johnsen, NBA basketball player, Utah's Mr. Basketball 1996-1997, & player for the Turkish club Galatasaray Cafe Crown.
• Mark Koncar, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers (retired)

External links

• Murray High School Website
• Murray City School District
• Murray Schools About MHS
• Murray High teen moving up on 'Idol'