Garland High School

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Garland High School, which was founded in 1901 (the official date, although the actual date is disputed), is the oldest of the district's high schools, having celebrated its 100-year anniversary in the 2001-2002 school year, although some evidence suggests that the school started in the late 1800s. The school celebrates its 100th anniversary at the current location in the 2006-2007 school year. The school is a member of the International Baccalaureate program and AP program, and is known for its football team, the Garland Owls. Garland High School is also the Arts Magnet for the District with its Performing Arts Endorsement Program, and has a Acappella Choir, String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, and Band. The school mascot is the Owl, and a costumed owl named Ollie makes appearances at pep rallies and football games.

Garland High School houses the rigorous IB program. The school attracts many bright and successful students from around the city. Students from Garland are known to always do fair in UIL competitions, and the Academic Decathlon team often advances to Regional and State level competitions. A small proportion of Garland's students are admitted into Ivy League or equal caliber colleges. Through the years students have been accepted into Stanford University, Caltech, Columbia University, New York University, Rice University, University of Chicago, University of Southern California, Cornell University, Tufts University, George Washington University, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy and other top caliber schools. The school is also frequently the recipient of the most National Merit Finalists in the school district. The Fine Arts department also continuously receives excellent UIL scores and numerous state nominations. In the 2005-2006 school year, the Garland High Acappella Choir received the honor of performing at a Texas Music Educators Association concert in San Antonio, Texas.

In its annual area high school rankings D Magazine ranked GHS as the 41st best high school in the Dallas-Ft. Worth

Newsweek Magazine ranked GHS as the 279th best Public High School in the United States.

[edit] Architecture

Garland High School is the product of varying architectural styles. The original building on the site was built as a public works project under the WPA during the Great Depression. This building is built in the Spanish mission style and features terra cotta roofs and the school's signature beige brick. This theme was emulated in later additions and renovations to the school. While the school is the oldest in the school district, each of the building additions features its own distinct character. However, the school is under a fairly constant state of repair. The school's heating and air conditioning system is notorious for its byzantine structure and endless miles of piping that are cooled in order to provide air conditioning. A recent slate of renovations to the school is intended to modernize this system.

Other signauture elements to the school include the "fish bowl," or courtyard located in the center of the original building. This area is called the "fish bowl" because it is rumored that unsuspecting freshmen (fish) can be lured in from an adjacent hallway only to find that the doors are locked from the inside. Because many different sub-buildings were added to the main building at various points in the school's history, it is incongruous and something of a maze to navigate. In the original building, the room numbering scheme resembles a "G." Visitors to the school are often confused by the disparate numbering system used throughout the school. As with many larger public schools in the nation, the hallways are too small for the amount of students attending the school. This congestion causes frequent and unavoidable hallway jams between classes. A new, state-of-the-art auditorium, additional student parking, and a building for History and Art classes and renovations to the cafeteria, were added in the 2005-2006 school year. The performing arts magnet school finally has adequate facilities to explore artistic talents.

[edit] Athletics

Garland High School football has a long history of success and a long term rivalry with South Garland High School. The program has won four state titles in its history and consistently makes the playoffs. The latest championship came in 1999 with a victory over Katy High School. Every week in the fall, the team plays to a packed stadium with Owls fans young and old (sometimes spanning generations in families) cheering on the team. The team's superiority on field performance is conducted under the mottos "WE WILL WIN," and "GIG 'EM OWLS"

The Girls' Softball team also has a winning track record. In the 2005-2006 school year, the team won the 5A UIL State Softball Championship.

The Girls' Soccer Team has also performed well in recent years and consistently advances to playoff matches.

We receive most of the athletic funding for our district. Because of this we have always gone to playoffs and beaten every other school in the district.

This year Rockwall was added to our football schedule and we tried to have that fixed because we wanted the seven schools already in our district to beat up on each other,