Sentinel High School

Sentinel High School is a four-year public high school in the western United States, located in Missoula, Montana. In the Missoula County Public Schools District No. 1., Sentinel has approximately 1,300 students, and a faculty of approximately 100.^[3] Sentinel was ranked sixth-best high school in the state of Montana, two spots behind the district's Hellgate. Big Sky and Seeley-Swan were unranked.^[4]

Sentinel High School
Address
901 South Avenue West Missoula , Montana 59801 United States
Information
School type	Public, secondary school
Motto	Spectemur Agendo Latin motto meaning "Let us be judged by our acts"
Established	1965; 60 years ago (1965) 1956; 69 years ago (1956) (as Missoula County HS)
School district	Missoula County Public Schools District No. 1
Principal	Stephanie Thennis[1]
Staff	87.32 (FTE)[2]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,386 (2023–2024)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	15.87[2]
Language	English
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Purple & Gold
Team name	Spartans
Rivals	Hellgate, Big Sky
Yearbook	Bitterroot
Communities served	Missoula
Elevation	3,190 ft (970 m) AMSL
Website	www.mcpsmt.org/Page/13

History

Missoula County High School added a second campus in the fall of 1956, with freshmen staying at the Higgins Avenue unit (built in 1908, now Hellgate High School), and the three upper classes moving to the new building on South Avenue, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest. Eight years later, the Hellgate and Sentinel names were established for the respective sites; the incoming junior class (1966) was divided between the campuses, with the full senior class (1965) at South Avenue in the last year as MCHS. In the summer of 1965, each campus became a stand alone four-year high school; the team names and colors of MCHS stayed at Sentinel, while new team names and colors were created for Hellgate, with all new traditions.

Programs

• Band and Jazz Band
• Choir
• Orchestra
• Drama

Clubs and Activities

• Amnesty International
• Art
• Bitterroot Yearbook
• DECA
• Design Studio
• Ecology Project International Club
• FIRST Robotics
• French Club
• Key Club
• Gay-Straight Alliance
• Konah (student newspaper)
• Kopee
• Model United Nations
• Native American
• National Honor Society
• Speech & Debate
• Student Government
• Thespians

Athletics

• Boys basketball
• Girls basketball
• Cheerleading
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Boys soccer
• Girls soccer
• Softball
• Baseball (Most recent sport circa 2024)
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track
• Volleyball
• Wrestling

Notable alumni

• Zack Wagenmann (2010), football player who played for the Montana Grizzlies and was on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad^[5]
• Zaccheus Darko-Kelly (2016), basketball player who plays professionally in New Zealand^[6]