Houghton High School

Houghton High School
Address
1603 Gundlach Road Houghton, Michigan 49931 United States
Coordinates	47°06′29″N 88°33′58″W / 47.108°N 88.566°W / 47.108; -88.566Coordinates: 47°06′29″N 88°33′58″W / 47.108°N 88.566°W / 47.108; -88.566
Information
School type	Public high school
School district	Houghton-Portage Township School District
Principal	Patrick Aldrich
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	438[1] (2013)
Campus type	Rural
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Mascot	Gremlin
Rival	Hancock Central High School (Hancock, Michigan) Bulldogs
Website	Houghton Homepage
Portion of 2010 addition

Houghton High School is a high school located in Houghton, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. It shares the same building as Houghton Middle School. 2012 enrollment was 407 students in Grades 9 through 12,^[1] with a 17/1 student to teacher ratio. In 2002, it was the 12th best public high school in the state of Michigan.^[2] As of 2010-2011, it was ranked 4th best in Michigan. A variety of courses are offered, including three foreign languages, a dual enrollment program with Michigan Technological University, and five AP classes.^[3]

The school mascot is the Gremlin, and the school colors are orange and black. There is a small controversy on what the mascot should be represented by as the word represents multiple symbols and can be seen in different forms on different parts of the school.

History

Three high schools predate the current building, all located on the same site in downtown Houghton. The Houghton School, also called the Rock School for its external appearance, was built before 1881.^[4] The Portage Lake High School was built to replace the undersized Rock School, but was gutted by fire in 1921. A replacement Portage Lake High School was completed in 1924.^[5]

The current building was constructed in 1989^[6] up the hill from the previous site. The Portage Lake High School was demolished in 1999.^[5][7] An addition was approved in 2008 and completed by 2010 that included a second gym, band room, and various energy efficiency upgrades.^[8]

Academics

The school has been slowly implementing a new system of academic standards. It has included changes in required classes for the classes of 2010 and on, which were changed a second time for the incoming class of 2013 and following years. In 2010 extra credits were added in math and science, giving the students two more years, 4 semesters, of math and one more year, two semesters, of science classes. This took away 3 years, 6 semesters, of elective classes to make up for the change.

For the class of 2013, the school has removed the requirement for having a year of computer education and has instead implemented another year in social science classes, requiring two years of world history.

Sports

As of 2012, Houghton's sports are Class C in the Michigan High School Athletic Association.^[9] Basketball, volleyball, swimming, diving, Alpine skiing, cross country, track and field, softball, ice hockey, golf, and football are the competitive sports programs.^[10]

The Varsity Girls' Basketball team won the 2005 state championship.^[11] Boys' basketball won the State Championship in 1955.^[12]

The girl's ski team has seen success in recent years, winning the 2010 State Championship.

The Varsity girls' swimming and diving team were the Upper Peninsula State Champions in 1985, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. The Varsity boys' swimming and diving team was Upper Peninsula State Champions in 2011^[13] and 2012.^[14]

The Varsity hockey team were the State Champions in 1982.^[15]

The Boys Varsity Cross-Country team won the Division 1 U.P finals in 2007^[16] and 2011.^[17]

Extracurricular activities

Houghton High offers a variety of extracurricular activities including:^[18][19]

• Drama: The drama department has put on multiple productions nearly every year for over a decade, including "Playing for Time by Arthur Miller, and The Curious Savage by John Patrick.
• Model United Nations: The members of the Model UN club take the school year to prepare for the Mid-American Model United Nations conference in February. Throughout the year, they fundraise for the trip to Kalamazoo, and research topics for the conference.^[20]
• Key Club: The Houghton High School Key Club is very active. It performs community service such as highway cleanups and story time sessions for children.^[21]
• National Honor Society
• FIRST Robotics (Team 857 Superior Roboworks)^[22]
• Junior Statesmen of America
• Quiz Bowl: The Houghton High School Quiz Bowl team is powerful, having taken second place in the 2007 Class C state finals and winning Class C state championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998.^[23]
• Math Team: The Houghton High Math Team began competing in 2010, with great immediate success. The team has won the NMU Challenge, the Houghton Math Jam, and the new Upper Peninsula Math Championships each year since. In addition, they have placed someone on the State of Michigan All-Star Team to compete at the national ARML competition each year, including a B-class National championship in 2012. The team has also had a representative at USAJMO, and placed students in the top 100 at MMPC several times.

School events

There are two major sporting events at Houghton High School: Copper Bowl, which celebrates the school's football and cross country teams and takes place in the fall, and Wing-Ding, celebrating the basketball, skiing, swimming & diving, and ice hockey teams, taking place in the winter. Both include a week of dress-up days and other activities, and an assembly that takes place on the last day of the week, meant to pep up the school's student body for the night's game(s). The weeks culminate with a sporting event between the Houghton Gremlins and their rivals, the Hancock Bulldogs.

References

External links

• Official site