| North Canyon High School | |
| Feeder Schools: | Vista Verde Middle School (partial), Mountain Trail Middle School (partial), Greenway Middle School (partial) |
| Established: | 1991 |
| Grades: | 9–12 |
| Ratio: | 20.74 |
| Staff: | 88.80 (FTE) |
| Enrollment: | 1,842 (2022–23)[1] |
| Principal: | Melissa Molzhon [2] |
| Colors: | Black and Purple |
North Canyon High School (NCHS) is a nationally recognized public high school located in north central Phoenix, Arizona. It features an International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Construction started in 1989, the campus was designed by Hickman, Schafer & Turley Architects Ltd. of Mesa.[3] The campus opened in the 1991–1992 school year as Paradise Valley High School before PVHS moved into their remodeled school. It became North Canyon starting in the 1993–1994 school year. The first graduating class was the class of 1994.
The school's athletics teams are known as the Rattlers, and the school colors are purple and black.
North Canyon features special programs in academics. In addition to its IB Diploma program, NCHS offers a variety of Advanced Placement classes, and many of its highest-ranking students have grade point averages above 4.0. Students have won a vast array of academic awards spanning from the sciences to literary honors. In the class of 2009, there were ten National Merit semi-finalists at North Canyon. North Canyon's Academic Decathlon team won the State Championship in 1995 and 1999, and placed fourth and fifth respectively in the national competition. In 2007, North Canyon was on Newsweeks list of top schools in the country, placing 837th out of thousands of schools.
The North Canyon Rattlers have won several athletics competitions. The Rattlers track and field and cross country teams has consistently done well in their competitions.
North Canyon's Instrumental Music Department has been led by Dylan Suehiro, a graduate of Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, since the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year. Featuring marching band, concert band, orchestra, guitar, and percussion classes, the department showcases a well-rounded instrumental music curriculum. Main performances of these ensembles are held four times a year, and many of them are also perform in other venues, including events with schools from around the state.
The North Canyon High School Marching Band is known as the "Marching Rattlers." When the school first opened as North Canyon, the name of the ensemble was "The Stars of the North". The marching band's name was changed in 2013 to align with the school's mascot. Averaging around 40 members, the marching band serves two distinct, but related functions: presenting popular music (stand tunes) in performance at assemblies, at athletic events, and around the community; and advancing the art of the field performance, through the exploration of movement, and a blend of classical and modern music. The Marching Rattlers have been featured at the Bully Patrol Squad Assembly at Cactus View Elementary School.[4]
The marching band is an integral part of North Canyon's Instrumental Music Department, and students in the marching band are usually also members of the Concert Band or the String Orchestra. Some students elect to perform on secondary instruments in the marching band, or take on other roles as members of the color guard or percussion section. The Marching Rattlers ended their 2014 season as one of the top 20 division III bands in the state.
| Year | Production title | Drum major(s) | Selections | Instructor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Lion King | Kaitlin Schultz, Amanda Watkins, Lisa West | Rian Swearingen | ||
| 2005 | Rockin' the 80s | Erin O’Connor, Ashley Rivara | Rian Swearingen | ||
| 2006 | The Incredibles | Caitlin Leech, Erin Seahorn | |||
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean | ||||
| 2008 | Nightmare Before Christmas | ||||
| 2009 | |||||
| 2010 | |||||
| 2011 | Batman | Josh Floyd, George Njock | Kris Hutson | ||
| 2012 | Fantasmic! | Sydney Welp, Chandler Cleveland | Kris Hutson | ||
| 2013 | Tower of Power | Sydney Welp, Chandler Cleveland | Dylan Suehiro | ||
| 2014 | Carnaval of the Animals | Lauren O'Donnell, Ashley Rabenstine | Dylan Suehiro | ||
| 2015 | No Rain, No Rainbows | Lauren O'Donnell, Ashley Rabenstine | Dylan Suehiro | ||
| 2016 | Over the River | Eleanor Faussane, Kyle Borden | Dylan Suehiro | ||
| 2017 | Defying Gravity | Leah Davenport, Caleb Jackson | You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly; One Day I'll Fly Away; I Vow to Thee My Country; Defying Gravity | Dylan Suehiro |