Well folks, it is that time of year again…time to put the 23-24 school year behind us and turn our attention to the 24-25 school year. Leander High School has so much to celebrate! From individual accomplishments in a variety of Academic, Career and Technical education competitions to success on the field, on the stage and on the marching field, the students, sponsors, and community shined in all sorts of ways. And to say that Principal Chris Simpson loves his students is a complete understatement. He has again provided his annual “Year in Review” to recap just a snippet of the year’s recaps.

 

“Our 23-24 school year actually begins long before we bid farewell to our senior class. Students from our two main feeder middle schools began selecting their courses and participated in Start to Finish in January of 2023. The week following the 2023 graduation was immediately dedicated to moving on for student athletes, artists and musicians when they started showing up to Leander High that summer to begin their preparation for the upcoming school year. Then, in the blink of an eye, on August 16, 2023, we welcomed nearly 2200 students to the halls of Leander High School. For our senior class of 2024, it would be their last “first day” of public school because in 184 short days they would be leaving us to fulfill their passions. 

 

Every fall starts off at a full sprint. Our band, who started practicing on the never cool asphalt field at the front of LHS, diligently rehearsed their show entitled “Ripple.” Led by the most talented set of directors around and after many competitions, our band claimed 5th place in the UIL State Marching competition. Following this, the amazing theater department put on two shows, Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and Monster Bash. 

 

Next, there’s just nothing that beats Friday Night Lights. It is our community’s opportunity to see our amazing Lion Band perform, Blue Belles shine in performing both modern and traditional routines and our cheerleaders lead our amazing student section by creating a rowdy and fun environment. Lions Football athletes came out of the gates knocking off longtime rival Pfugerville, but lost in heartbreakers against Del Rio and Bastrop before beginning the gauntlet that was our district play. 

 

Volleyball came out swinging at the annual LISD Volleypalooza and finished the year making the playoffs, losing in the first round to New Braunfels Canyon. Michael Lopez made his second appearance at the UIL State Cross Country meet, ultimately finishing as the 34th fastest in the entire 5A field. And wrapping up Fall sports, LHS Tennis won it all, for the first time ever, awarded District Champions in Team Tennis. 

 

Soon the hustle and bustle quickly turned to October and November and we were facing the end of the first semester. Both of our basketball teams dribbled their way through their tournament season before running into one of the toughest district runs in our area. Our boys finished 4th place in the district, earning a trip to the UIL State Playoffs and almost took over San Antonio Veterans Memorial team, an eventual State Tournament qualifier. With the ending of basketball, we found our soccer teams beginning their tryouts in preparation for their seasons. 

 

The beginning of December came with our Blue Belles once again putting on their Winter Dance Clinic followed by the always exciting holiday show entitled “All Wrapped Up.”

 

We also began our final semester of 2024 school year putting the finishing touches on the first phase of the Leander High School Master Redesign that should, once all construction is completed, give our high school its long-needed facelift. This phase of the project, taking just over 2 years, will completely revamp our athletic facilities by moving our auxiliary gym to the front of the building. It will also add a new foyer and, for much needed safety and security, complete a separation of the Don Tew PAC from the rest of our campus.  

 

Our Wrestling team, led by Coaches McLain and Britton finished their season with 7 state qualifiers. Sophomore phenom Mauricio Bryant had an impressive run in the tournament, ultimately placing 6th. Our swimmers, led by the talented Coach Weeks, had their best showing in many years sending over 15 swimmers to the UIL State meet. Once again, our girls’ soccer team made a deep run in the playoffs, ultimately losing to district foe and state runner up, Rouse High School. These Lady Lions went further than any other Lady Lion team in the history of Leander High School girls’ soccer. On the boys’ side, in Coach Girard’s final season with the Lions, we narrowly missed the playoffs. We wish Coach Girard the best as he gets an opportunity to build the new Legacy Ranch program in Liberty Hill. 

 

Meanwhile, on the Fine Arts side of the house, we didn’t slow down a bit. Band and Choir had impressive showings at the UIL Sight Reading and Concert contests. Our award winning band kept its tradition of having three musicians, Logan Anderson, Hunter Irwin and Aiden Spicer, named as All State members. Meanwhile, our amazing Winterguard managed to place sixth with their beautiful routine entitled “A House in Nebraska.” Our Lion Thespians put on quite the show in Matilda, ultimately garnering 9 Heller Awards for Young Artists, and landing the biggest award for Best Scenic Design. Blue Belles hosted and competed in the always exciting Winter Dance Classic before preparing for their Spring Show entitled “Remix.”

 

The coming and going of Spring Break found us knee deep in the track, baseball and softball seasons. However, we took a moment to be eclipsed by the once in a lifetime Total Eclipse of 2024. Lions gathered together at Bible Stadium to safely view this epic event. Our amazing softball team made it 4 rounds deep in the playoffs, ultimately having their magical run end in the 5th round of the playoffs to eventual state runner-up, Harlingen South, in a 3 game thriller in Corpus Christi. The Varsity Boys track team won the always competitive district championship. Junior Varsity Boys and Freshmen Girls track teams showed that we will be in good hands for years to come. Track sent 14 athletes to the UIL Region IV meet. Baseball saw their season cut short, as they narrowly missed the playoffs, placing 5th in a district that had Cedar Park and Rouse playing one another for a shot at the regional final.

 

As athletics wrapped up, we turned our attention to the always popular testing season, where once again our Lions thrived. This year we saw 921 of our Lions earn an Industry Based Certification, that will allow them to leave our halls as certified electricians, cosmetologists, veterinary technicians and medical assistants. In addition, our DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) students sent an impressive four competitors to the annual DECA national competition. These students competed successfully against the best in California. Led by Mrs. Hall, members of the area HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) Leadership team Leander High School, sent 26 HOSA students to the annual state competition. 

 

With Advanced Placement, STAAR and International Baccalaureate testing winding down, we turned our eyes to wishing our class of 2024 farewell. For me, May is always a mix of emotions. I love celebrating all that our students have accomplished, from Senior Awards to Senior Walks, to the ever-popular Graduation Practice, but in the back of my mind, knowing that I will soon be sending them off to whatever path they have chosen. This year was particularly difficult with Ms. Jennifer O’Chester announcing her retirement after 42 years in public education and 30 years at Leander High School. May 25, 2024, Graduation Day, the best day of the year, was celebrated with nearly 500 students, their families and friends, who had reached the first of many milestones in their young lives after ending their public education careers. Hearing wonderful speeches by our Valedictorian, Annanth Abbaraju, and our Salutatorian, Kaushik Kurapati, I knew the moment was coming to wish this group farewell. I was incredibly lucky to serve as this group’s principal for the past 4 years. I know they are going to do amazing things and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for each and every one of them. 

 

So here we are today, as the walls of our weight room are literally coming down and construction is fully underway, we turn our eyes and hearts to the coming of August 14, 2024, when we will welcome a new class of freshmen, the Class of 2028, and begin to wish our Class of 2025 farewell with every day being the last “first” day.