Huron High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Infobox School2
name = Ann Arbor Huron High School


motto =
established = August 1969
type = Public secondary
locale = Ann Arbor Public Schools
grades = 9-12
head_name =
head =
head_name2 =
head2 =
city = Ann Arbor
state = MI
country = US
students = 2174 (05-06 school year)
faculty =
teaching_staff =
athletics =
school_colors = Forest Green and Old Gold
mascot = River Rats
free_label =
free =
website = http://www.a2huron.org

Huron High School is a public school in Ann Arbor, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located at 2727 Fuller Road in eastern Ann Arbor near the banks of the Huron River, it serves grades 9 through 12. The school's principal is Dr. Arthur Williams. Huron is one of the three major high schools in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.

History

Huron opened in the fall of 1969, when the high-school baby boom population was at its peak. The student body at the city's only public high school, Ann Arbor High, had recently outgrown its quarters on the city's west side. The school board constructed a second high school, renaming the first to Pioneer High School, with the new school named Huron High School. In 1968, before Huron's building was completed, students from the old and new schools shared the Pioneer building in a split schedule with Pioneer students attending classes in the morning and Huron students in the afternoon. Reaction against Pioneer's "factory-like" building was a large factor in Huron's organic curvilinear form. Huron was also known for its arch, under which cars could drive. In the summer of 2005, the school board decided to close the arch to auto traffic due to safety concerns despite opposition from the student body.

The two schools possessed distinct cultures and a rivalry soon sprang up. "River Rats", originally an epithet hurled at students of the new school by Pioneer students, quickly became a term of pride for Huron students. When offered a ballot for school mascot with two choices ("Huron Hawks" and "Huron Hammerheads", both names provided by the school board), Huron students conducted a write-in campaign for "Huron River Rats" which, after twice receiving a majority vote, was finally approved by the board.

The film "Jumper" had a scene filmed at Huron High School and neighboring Gallup Park in February 2007. One hundred students were chosen from Huron to be extras for the movie. The screenplay of "Jumper" was written by Huron High School graduate David S. Goyer and was released in February 2008 to mixed reviews. [Jenn McKee, [http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/features-2/120262926720400.xml&coll=2 "Local teens with bit parts in 'Jumper' will see who made the cut,"] "Ann Arbor News", 10 Feb. 2008.]

Athletics

Huron High School is a member of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). Huron joined the Southeastern Conference "SEC" in the 2007-2008 school year. Dottie Davis has served as the school's athletic director since the 2006-2007 school year.

Teams

The Huron athletic program offers the following sports:

*Boys: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swim & dive, tennis, track and field, water polo, and wrestling
*Girls: basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swim & dive, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and cheerleading
*Coed: equestrian, crew, bowling, athletic training, and figure skating

Huron athletic teams consistently perform well in state tournaments. Some of the strongest programs include swim & dive, water polo, soccer, field hockey, tennis, crew, and bowling.

Facilities

The Huron campus is well equipped for its athletic teams. Riverbank Stadium houses a rubber track (resurfaced in 2006) as well as an astroturf field (completed in 2004) with lines for a variety of sports. Other outdoor facilities include two softball diamonds, a baseball diamond, two full size grass fields, and an additional astroturf field completed in summer 2008. Indoor facilities include the "Dome Gym", a secondary gym, and the state of the art "Ratatorium" Pool. Teams have also found the 4200 hallway in Huron's symbolic arch to be an effective place to run laps during spring sports when the weather does not permit outdoor training. This, however, it not an officially recognized athletic facility.

Clubs and Organizations

Huron Players

The Huron Players are the official theatre group of Huron High School. They put on four shows every year: three full-length plays and "Finale", an assortment of student-directed one-act plays. The group is sponsored by Bj Wallingford, who also directs many of the plays. Students may join the Huron Players at any time at no cost. Besides acting, students participate in all "crews" to create the final product of a show. Some of the crews include Set Construction, Costumes, Makeup, Props, Costumes, Lighting, Sound, Publicity, and House Management, as well as the positions of Assistant Stage Manager and Stage Manager who assist the director in rehearsals. Student participation in acting and on the "crews" earn points which go toward a varsity letter in theatre. It is tradition for the outgoing seniors in the group to sign their names with paint on a wall or the ceiling in the scene shop.

*Wit by Margaret Edson- Spring 2004. Earned first place at the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association annual competition. Also performed at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival at Western Michigan University in May 2004.

The television screenwriter and producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach is a former Huron Player.

Ryan Drummond, the voice of Sonic the Hedge Hog and the voice for many other commercials is a former Huron Player.

Huron Players' website is: http://www.a2huron.org/huron.huron_players/home

Film Club

Huron's film club is a group that meets after school to make movies. The club was started in 2005. A grant provided the school with better technology that could be used by the club as well as film class students. The Huron Film Club editing software is Final Cut Pro. They also have a GL2 camera, as well as half a dozen less expensive hand held cameras, tripods, wireless mics, boom mics, and more.

tudent Council

Student Council is the student government body at Huron High School. Its foremost purpose is to serve the student body at Huron, which it does by maintaining constant contact and dialogue with the Huron administrators and PTSO, many of the student organizations at Huron and the students themselves. In addition to this, Student Council also engages in many activities to benefit the school and city community. These include blood banks, a can drive, and the famed Teacher Appreciation Breakfast. Student Council is also responsible for the creation and distribution of the student directory. It was previously coordinated by Joan Berman, who retired in 2007.

Publications

* The Emery: the official school newspaper.
* The Symposium: a student-published alternative newspaper. Authors of "The Symposium" do not identify themselves in the publication, and have been criticized by the school's official newspaper following accusations of libel.
* The Other Voice: an older alternative newspaper which was published during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
* Full Circle: the school's award-winning annually-published literary magazine. The publication contains student-submitted poetry, prose, and artwork.
* Enthymion: the school yearbook

Notable alumni

*John Knoll (1980): original creator of Adobe Photoshop, visual effects guru
*Jay Nordlinger (1982): editor at the "National Review"
*David S. Goyer (1984): screenwriter, director and producer
*Brad McCaughey (1984): professional ice hockey player in the AHL, IHL, and ECHL
*John Pollack (1984): author, Presidential speech writer
*Zeke Jones (1985): silver medalist in wrestling at the 1992 Summer Olympics
*James "Lights Out" Toney (1986): professional boxer
*Javier Grillo-Marxuach (1987): screenwriter, producer
*Ryan Drummond (1990): actor, singer
*Annette Salmeen (1992): gold medalist in swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics
*Jill Carroll (1995): journalist; 2006 kidnapping victim in Iraq
*Rick DiPietro (1999): NHL goaltender
*Devin Thomas (2003): collegiate football player at Michigan State University, drafted in Round 2 of the 2008 NFL Draft. Transferred to Canton
*Elizabeth Armstrong : member of the United States women's national water polo team
*Evan Bates (2007): professional ice dancer
*Kevin Shattenkirk (2007): professional hockey player in the NHL

References

External links

* [http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/huron.home Official Huron website]
* [http://huron.aaps.k12.mi.us/athletics/hof/ River Rat Hall of Fame]