Columbia High School is a four-year public secondary school in Nampa, Idaho. The third major high school in the Nampa School District 131, Columbia opened in 2006, designed with two floors and a separate building for technology, agriculture, and shop classes. The school district shuttles students from one high school to the other to meet their class requirements. Each school has a different focus; Columbia's is technology, performing arts, and broadcasting.Naming controversyBefore the school was built, the district had decided on the name Aurora High School. The name Aurora was based on the natural phenomenon aurora borealis. Following a letter-writing campaign by students of the middle schools feeding into the future high school, in which reference was made to the character Princess Aurora in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, the District altered its proposed name to Columbia High School after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Students accepted this name and it is expected to be permanent.Performing artsImmediately after Columbia's establishment, its Performing Arts Department initiated several activities. All choirs in 2006 got a superior in the District Three Competition. The Drama Department has put on plays such as A Girl In The Mirror, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Snoopy, as well as musicals such as Grease and Hairspray.AthleticsColumbia competes in athletics in IHSAA Class 5A, the highest classification, and are members of the Southern Idaho Conference (5A). Originally in Class 4A, Columbia moved up to 5A in the summer of 2014.
