Centennial High School History

The new school was organized with grades 7-10. Grades 11 and 12 were sent to
White Bear or Marshall High School in Minneapolis.
For the 1959-60 school year, 11th grade was held at Centennial. In 1960-61, when the
second building was completed, it was designated the Senior High School
with grades 10, 11 and 12. The first building then became the Junior High school.
There were 51 students in the first graduating class in June 1961.

A newspaper article dated March 15, 1960 stated that the Centennial district had a junior
high school that was completed in 1958, had a senior high partially done and plans to
build an elementary school. Also from that article: students in the 11th grade attended
classes in the junior high as well as the finished portion of the high school, seniors attended
school in White Bear Lake or at Marshall High School.

The first, (undated) Chieftan, announced the new high school was to open, with the chemistry
and biology classes moving in shortly after Christmas. The article calls this the first of a three
phase plan for expansion. Another early Chieftan reports on the second phase of a three
part building program to begin in May of 1960. This second phase would be the construction
of a gym and cafetorium for the high school.

The September 28, 1961 Sentinel (district newsletter) sites the second phase including a
vocal music room, a band room, and four biology classrooms. This publication also commented
that a Centennial Elementary School would soon need to be built. At this time there were
elementary classes being held in both high school buildings, as well as at the Centerville
and Lovell Schools.  Senior High Dedication, April 29, 1962 Booklet.

Centennial High School was designated a National School of Excellence on May 27, 1987.

In the fall of 1997, with the opening of the new middle school, the high school took over the
old junior high building and became a two building high school, consisting of grades 9-12.
The junior high building became the red building, and the original high school building
took on the designation of white building. In the fall of 2012 the white building was renamed
the East Building and the the red building was changed to the West Building.