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Parkersburg High School (PHS) is a secondary school located in Parkersburg, West Virginia, that serves grades nine through twelve and is part of the Wood County School District. As of the 2008-2009 West Virginia Secondary School Activity Commission's high school classifications, the school has 1,446 students (the largest in the state of West Virginia) and the average classroom size is sixteen. The Wood County School District has 13,746 students in 29 schools. Its partner in education is DuPont. [2] Parkersburg High is the largest school in the state of West Virginia and the largest campus in the state. The feeder schools that contribute to this student population are Jackson Middle School, Hamilton Middle School and VanDevender Middle School. When the new high school and campus opened in 1917, the old high school was re-named Washington Junior High School. Previously, Washington Jr. High school fed PHS as well. The old downtown Washington Jr. High School building was demolished in 1964.[3] Washington Junior High then opened in the former Jefferson Elementary School on Plum street, adjacent to a newly built Jefferson elementary school. Washington Jr. High closed in 1997, combining with Jefferson Elementary School to become an elementary center in 1998. [4]
[edit] HistoryParkersburg High School was one of the very first high schools in the state of West Virginia. The school was founded in 1867, and the original location of Parkersburg High School was in downtown Parkersburg. The current building housing PHS has a Tudor Style architecture with three stories. It was built in 1917, making it one of the oldest school buildings in West Virginia and it remains the largest high school campus in the state. Later additions included Stadium Field and a multi-story gymnasium. [5] PHS continued to serve as the only high school in Parkersburg, at one point holding a population of around three thousand students. It was only after graduating a class of one thousand that a second public school was founded in 1967. This in turn started a rivalry between the two schools that continues to be one of the largest and most famous in the state of West Virginia. The rivalry between the two sides of Parkersburg originated much earlier in the town's history, so the rivalry between the two schools was a natural spin-off that has brought about some dramatic competition.
The construction of a planetarium was conducted in the 1960's through the joint efforts of the Rotary Club, Corning Glass Works, the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) and the Wood County Board of Education. Cost for constructing the room and purchasing equipment was $32,770.00. It is one of the first high schools in America to have a planetarium. [6]
During the 1965-66 school year, PHS became one of the first high schools in the United States to offer students classes in data processing and computer programming in the "new" and expanding technology. The Burroughs computer required a huge, temperature controlled room of its own, and had a memory capacity of 640 Kb -- considered top-of-the-line then. It used six phone booth-sized magnetic tape readers for computations.[7] in 1967, upon completion of the second high school, the computer center was re-located to the new building. [edit] Mascot, Alma Mater, and School ColorsThe nickname "Big Reds" came to PHS in 1915 with the arrival of Ralph Jones, who came from Denison University. The Big Reds of Denison were an athletic power at the time and their colors were red and white. This name has remained with Parkersburg High School as well as the school colors since. [8] The mascot of PHS is the Big Red Indian. It was adopted in 1961. The Alma Mater of PHS is set to the Christian tune "Spanish Chant." Some may recognize it is as the same tune used by Ohio State for their alma mater, and is known to OSU alumni as Carmen Ohio. The PHS alma mater pre-dates Ohio State's. [Need source.] The words are presented below: O PHS to you sing praise And songs to alma mater raise, While we strive to keep thy name Forever in the halls of fame Mountains fair and valleys bright Renew the path for banners bright Times of joy or times of stress We’ll always love you, P-H-S [edit] MusicPHS is home to musical ensembles that are regarded as some of the most successful ones in the state. The two most recognizable ensembles are the A Cappella Choir and the Parkersburg Big Red Band. In addition to these groups, Parkersburg High School has a percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, and a chamber choir. [edit] Choral MusicThe A Cappella Choir idea came about in 1931 with its first director, Dr. Marie Boette, after she sent some of the students to Detroit to an A cappella singing competition. This led to the formation of West Virginia's first A Cappella Choir in 1932, as a way to present advanced music without accompaniment. The robes are a white cotta (or surplice) worn over a red cassock, similar in form to Roman Catholic or Episcopal altar boy or chorister vestments, and have remained the same since the inception of the choir. They were initially created by Hazel McHenry. The choir is best known for its annual Christmas Concert, which begins with "Fanfare for Christmas Day" sung in the hall. The choir will then process to "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" by candlelight (originally real candles and then replaced by electronic ones). The end of the concert is with the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, where all alumni come up to sing with them. Finally, they will recess to "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" by candlelight. They have performed for two presidents: Harry S Truman in 1949 and Lyndon B Johnson in 1966. They also performed in Washington DC in 1997. They were selected as an honor group for the 2000, 2002, and 2005 West Virginia Music conferences. [9] The Chamber Choir sang at two professional basketball games, in 2004 and 2005. They were invited to sing again in 2006. In addition to this, they were with Parkersburg South's Chamber Choir and West Virginia University at Parkersburg's chorus in premiering "The Unknown Region" by Kenton Cole. The current choral director is Pamela McClain, a graduate of Parkersburg High School. Due to the 2008 grade shift in Wood County Schools, there is a new organization called the Freshman Choir. In its first year, there are over eighty members in this organization. [edit] Instrumental MusicThe Big Red Band was first a concert band only and was under the direction of C. O. Chapman. The first Big Red Band as a marching band was organized under George Dietz in 1924. It was all-male and women were not allowed into the band itself until 1970. It is the only organization in the state of West Virginia that practices strict military-styled maneuvers that have even been praised by officials at West Point.[10] They pride themselves on being a music-making organization first. [11] One noticeable change to the band is the lack of a color guard. This is now done by the Navy Junior ROTC. In addition to this, it is known that the Big Red Band previously had a rifle corps. [12] The current incarnation of the Big Red Band has no auxiliary units. The original uniforms for the band were all white with red trim and buttoned down the middle. They featured red capes and red navy-style dress uniform hats (similar to the ones worn by the Navy ROTC at PHS). The current uniforms have been essentially the same since at least 1955, with the only noticeable change being the crossbelts. Originally they were just one sash crossing over the body; the current ones have two sashes (which in 1955 were worn by the field commanders) that criss-cross the band member with the right one over the left one. The current uniforms also are made of wool and are red tops with white bottoms. The uniform top has two sets of silver buttons, one for each side, and the uniform pants have a red stripe down each outward facing side. The field commander's uniform has seen its share of changes also. Originally, there were multiple field commanders/drum majors. One wore an all red uniform with the same styled white hat, and the others wore the white uniforms that eventually became the current field commander's uniform. The current field commander uniform was all white with a tall white hat with the 1955 set, this was changed slightly to include a red breastpiece and yellow shoulderpieces. The crossbelts worn by them in 1955 became the current crossbelts for the band. The Big Red Band has its own fair share of recognition, performing at the World's Fair in 1982. They were also in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in November 1992. They also performed in the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade in 2005, and are regularly invited to participate in New Year's Day "bowl festivities." Also, the Big Red Band won two Veterans of Foreign Wars junior band championships, one in Boston (1955) and one in Dallas (1956) [13] [14] and are one of only a few groups at PHS to be able to call themselves national champions. The band also won the Lion's Club International Band Contest four times: in Providence (year unknown), Chicago (1937), Pittsburgh (1939), and New Orleans (1941). They performed for the National Moose Convention in 1948. In addition, they were selected as the best band in the state in 1930 and won the tri-state band concert in 1933. [15] The concert and jazz band also traveled to New Orleans for the Heritage Festival national competition in the 2004-2005 school year, the jazz band ended up taking 2nd place nationally and the concert band 1st place. The band has performed for Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush during their visits to Parkersburg as Presidents of the United States. They also played for Queen Marie[disambiguation needed] of Romania during an incidental visit to Parkersburg (this was due to a snow squall hitting the area, forcing the Queen's train to stop) in 1926.[16] The current director of the Big Red Band is Daniel White. A 1989 graduate of PHS, he marched as a sousaphone player from 1986-89, and is the first alumnus to be named director. His former percussion instructor is E.J. Oesterle, himself a 2002 graduate of PHS and a member of the "Long Red Line" as well. [edit] Fine ArtsWith active drama, dance and forensics programs, the fine arts department at Parkersburg High School is widely recognized as one of the best and fastest growing in the state. [edit] DramaThe Parkersburg High School drama program is split between the PHS Drama Club and Thespian Troupe #264, which work together to produce plays as the combined "PHS Players." Drama Club members work towards earning enough Thespian "points" in order to be inducted into the Troupe at a ceremony which takes place at the end of each school year. The Troupe is one of the oldest in the country, and became registered with the International Thespian Society while former Broadway actor John Lee was teaching as Parkersburg High School's Director of Performing Arts in the 1960's. Other past directors include Connie Brant, Heather Gates-Rusher and current Performing Arts director Amanda Witt. Past PHS productions include No Exit, Dinny and the Witches, Interview, The Serpent, War, Charlie's Aunt, The Boyfriend, The Acting Lesson, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Wizard of Oz, Our Town, Small Actors, French Toast, The Great Pandemonium, The Empty Chair, The Crucible, Little Shop of Horrors, A Piece of My Heart, and many more. In 2009, under the direction of Amanda Witt, Thespian Troupe #264 historically won first place at the West Virginia Thespian Festival in the one-act play competition against thirteen other schools state-wide for their performance of Bradley Hayward's Imaginary Harry. Other awards at the 2009 Festival included the naming of Frankie Love (Harry) and Jamie Mace (Mom) as All State Cast Members and Scarlet Sheppard (Jamie) as WV Best Actress. Following this win they were awarded a $10,000 grant towards representing West Virginia at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska in June 2009. The troupe travelled and performed, but there was no one-act competition at the Festival. Imaginary Harry playwright, Bradley Hayward, travelled from his home in Canada to see PHS's performance. [edit] DanceThe dance program at PHS consists of students taking dance classes for arts credits. Along with learning about the history and application of dance around the world, dance students also perform at multiple venues such as the annual Justo Lamas concerts presented for Spanish students and the Parkersburg High School Talent shows. [edit] ForensicsThe Parkersburg High School Forensics Team consists of a Speech team under coach Amanda Witt and a Debate team under coach Joe Stephens. Both teams travel and compete together around the state and at a "home" Tournament dubbed the Isenhart Invitational in spring. The Forensics Team sponsors various fundraisers including the Mister and Miss PHS Pageants held in April. In 2008, three competitors from the PHS Speech Team won at the state level in their respective "events" (Original Oratory and Dramatic Duo) and a bid to compete at the Grand National Tournament in Appleton, Wisconsin where all three did well, but did not "octofinal" or go on to place nationally. In 2009, Parkersburg High School was awarded third place overall at the State Tournament behind Wheeling Park High School and Huntington High School. At the Qualifying tournament, two PHS team members were selected as alternates for the 2009 National Tournament. Also in 2009, Senior Speech Captain Valerie Price was named PHS's first All American by the National Forensic League, the oldest and largest speech and debate honor society in the nation. All Americans are students with exceptional combined achievements in GPA, Test Scores and NFL (National Forensics League) points earned through performance at tournaments. [edit] AthleticsParkersburg High is well known for its athletic achievements. The school is known as "The School of Champions" and holds twice as many state titles in athletics as any other high school in West Virginia. The football team has the 8th most victories in the United States with 750 (as of 8/1/2009). For the first time in one hundred three years of PHS football, 2007 marks the first time the team has won back to back state championships (2006 and 2007). The boys and girls soccer teams are also 2006 state champions with the boys' team having successfully won two in a row, making for a state record four state championship wins for one high school. The boys' team is also currently ranked 24th in the nation. Parkersburg High School is also famous for the achievements of its wrestling team including a 2006-07 and 2007-08 AAA State Championship of their own, tying the Wrestling team with the PHS Boys Tennis Team , which has 21 titles, the record for the most amount of titles for one team in West Virginia. PHS was rated by Sports Illustrated as the #9 sports high school of all time due to its long winning traditions and graduates such as Earl "Greasy" Neale who is in the Football Hall of Fame as well as other graduates such as outfielder Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees (and formerly of the Chicago White Sox), and Larry "Flash" Rhodes. During the summer of 2008, due to the successes of the Parkersburg athletic programs, Parkersburg, West Virginia was featured on ESPN as a candidate for Titletown USA.[17] [edit] State Championships by SportBaseball: 1946, 1954, 1971 Basketball (Boys): 1916, 1917, 1923, 1932, 1958, 1960, 1970 Basketball (Girls): 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2006 Bowling: 2006, 2007, 2008 Cross Country: 1982, 1994, 1995, 2000 Football: 1938, 1940, 1943, 1958, 1976, 1978, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007 Golf: 1957, 1961, 1962, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1983, 1986, 1987 Soccer (Boys): 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2008 Soccer (Girls): 2006 Swimming (Girls): 2002 Tennis (Boys): 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2001, 2002, 2003 Tennis (Girls): 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 2002, 2005 , 2008 Track (Boys): 1922, 1923, 1928, 1932, 1965 Track (Girls): 1976, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 Volleyball: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007 Wrestling: 1948, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 [edit] Schools[edit] References
http://newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/518202.html [edit] External links
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