Bleed Blue week celebrates high school's accomplishments

Columbia Falls High School’s first Bleed Blue celebration is this week, and the community might be wondering what “Bleed Blue” means. Bleed Blue is an expression of pride and support for all students of Columbia Falls, with an emphasis on spotlighting the many achievements of students at CFHS.

Bleed Blue is about more than pride in our academic progress, which includes:

• A 2016 graduation/completion rate at CFHS of 88.44 percent, better than the average of all schools in the Flathead Valley (86.71 percent) and the state (86.21 percent)

• A dropout rate at CFHS in 2016 of 2.66 percent, below the Flathead Valley average of 3.56 percent or the state average of 3.39 percent.

• Three national-board certified teachers among our outstanding faculty members, and rigorous academic offerings that include 15 dual-credit classes, 10 Advanced Placement classes and the unique building trades triad classes.

Bleed Blue is more than a celebration of our outstanding extracurricular successes. These include:

• Our second consecutive state volleyball championship

• Our 12th straight state championship in speech and debate

• Our state runner-up football team

• The wrestling team’s second-place finish at state

• A second in state for boys swimming

• State semifinalist spot in boys soccer

• Divisional championships in soccer, volleyball, wrestling and speech and debate

Bleed Blue is more than honoring the the remarkable academic achievements of students. These include:

• 65 students with straight A’s first semester

• Two high school seniors accepted into Stanford

• A junior achieving one of the best PSAT scores nationally.

• Seniors placing among the finalists in multiple prestigious national scholarships, including the The Coca-Cola scholarship

• One senior winning the Emperor Science Award and spending the year in research involving DNA and cancer.

Bleed Blue focuses on the important achievements of individuals at CFHS, such as:

• A nationally ranked archer

• A professional mountain biker

• Students who works 30 hours a week while attending school every day while still maintaining high grades

• Students who take extra time to tutor peers during lunch or help first-graders learn to read.

• Students who honor our community and veterans each year by organizing the CFHS Veterans Day assembly

• Students who plan, cook and serve at the monthly community kitchen dinner, or paint houses of people in need

At its heart, embracing Bleed Blue also means supporting a classmate and his family as they journey through the emotional and financial costs of battling cancer. I

t acknowledges our connectedness — when one hurts we all hurt, when one succeeds we all succeed.

Bleed Blue reflects upon our blue-collar roots and realizes that success is forged from grit and determination. Bleed Blue marks our past, present and future and most of all, celebrates who we are at Columbia Falls High School.

So fly the blue flag to display your support and pride in the students of Columbia Falls and please join us on Friday, Feb. 17, in the gym at 11 a.m. for our Bleed Blue celebration assembly.