The drums pound the hallways, purple streaks the air. Students gather together, arguing on which class will win. Pep-rallies. They have been in school since the beginning, changing and adapting as the world changes. Traditions. Old and new. Entering the school with the recently created Meet the Eagles, and ending an era of their life walking the halls of their old elementary schools. Various traditions the school has founded which keeps this high school different from others. 

Ever since the school was created, various traditions swarmed the hallways. Old traditions such as bonfires before football games have been replaced with themed pep-rallies. While others have stuck around, such as senior superlatives going from being named most beautiful to most scholarly.

“There’s always been a big sense of pride always wearing purple,” physics teacher and Canyon High alum Tara Sloan said. “There’s still a sense of school pride and wearing purple. I mean, there’s not a day of the week I don’t see a kid with a Canyon Eagle shirt on.”

Since Canyon was first established in 1902, there have always been traditions. Parades, get togethers, etc. At Canyon High school, it stays with the students forever, keeping students excited to finally reach the final stretch of school.

“It becomes a part of you,” ASL teacher Traci Prather said. “When you’re an eagle, there’s certain things I think the younger students look forward to when they arrive here at the high school level.”

In 1907, the first ever students graduated from CISD which consisted of 4 girls and 2 boys, slowly growing to be what it is today over 200 students .

In 1960, the original Canyon High burned down creating what is now known as Canyon Junior High School. Even then, traditions such as bonfires took place bringing the Eagles even closer together. Now, the student body that was once close-knit is beginning to drift apart.

“I miss just the involvement of the students in the different clubs,” business teacher Marcie Cook said. “I just don’t think we have as many or as much involvement as we used to.”

Today, the lack of contribution from the students is growing. Mass numbers are dropping out of school activities such as band, choir, sports, and various others. That has been happening for years, at least once a week a student threatens to leave their teams. Yet still, they find a place elsewhere, and try new things.

“Canyon High offers a place for everybody, for everybody to fit in,” Prather said. “There’s something for everybody. It doesn’t matter if it’s chess club, if it’s volleyball, softball, if it’s theater, ASL or Spanish. Kids have a place where they fall into those traditions, that it makes them feel the traditions, make people belong.”