Logan Park High School

Logan Park High School

Logan Park High School is a high school founded in 1975 in Dunedin, New Zealand. It has a roll of 600 students with a teaching staff of about 50, with some 18 further auxiliary and administrative staff.

History

It was opened in 1975 on the site of a former rifle range in a small wooded valley adjacent to Logan Park, an area of land reclaimed from the former Lake Logan (itself previously Pelichet Bay) and now largely converted into a park and playing fields in Dunedin North. The city's main athletics and soccer venue, the Caledonian Ground, is located next to the school grounds. A new stadium for Dunedin city, Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza (under construction in 2009), and the University Oval cricket ground are also located nearby.

The school developed from an earlier school in central Dunedin, King Edward High School, which itself had long links with Otago Polytechnic (which has also previously occupied a central Dunedin site). The school's proximity to the city's tertiary institutions (The University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, and Dunedin College of Education) allows the school access to tertiary study facilities it would otherwise not have access to.

Education

Logan Park has a current roll of around 600 students, and its roll peaked at about 1200 in 1995. The school has a teaching staff of about 35, with some 15 further auxiliary and administrative staff. LPHS is one of the four state coeducational schools in Dunedin, and in 1998, Jane Johnson was appointed as the school's first female principal and currently holds the position.

Logan Park High School combines both a junior and a senior school. Year 9 (Form 3) and Year 10 (Form 4) are the juniors of the school; Years 11 to 13 (Forms 5 to 7) are the seniors of the school. Most senior students sit their NCEA examinations during their time at the school.

Culture

The school's motto, Kua mutu kua timata is Maori, and means "It is finished, but has again begun" - a reference to the new school rising from the old King Edward High School, and also to high school as a transition from childhood to adulthood. The school uniform's colours are maroon and white, though uniform is optional in year 13.

The school was divided into five houses although starting in 2008 there have been four, each with its own dean. These houses are named Clayton, Omimi, Aoraki (formerly Aorangi), Toroa and Potiki (although not featuring in the 2008 school year). Each house is split into five groups as of 2011.

Logan Park High School is regarded as important in the history of New Zealand rock music as being one of the elements that made up the Dunedin Sound. Many of the musicians who were at the forefront of this movement in the 1980s were pupils of Logan Park when they made their first public musical performances.

Notable alumni

• Andrew Brough, musician
• Belinda Colling, netball player
• Mark Dickel, basketballer
• Jane Dodd, musician
• Chris Donaldson, athlete
• Graeme Downes, musician
• Helen Varley Jamieson, theatre and digital artist
• Kashi Leuchs, cyclist
• Tania Murray, athlete
• Jesse O'Brien, musician, NZ Idol finalist
• Martin Phillipps, musician
• Darren Stedman, musician

References

External links

• Official School Website