Gloucester High School (Virginia)

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Gloucester High School
Established	1976 (in current building)
Type	Public secondary school
Principal	Dr. Layton "Tony" Beverage
Students	approx. 2,200
Grades	9-12
Location	6680 Short Lane Gloucester, Virginia USA
Colors	Red and gold
Mascot	Duke
Website	http://ghs.gc.k12.va.us

Gloucester High School, a fully accredited high school located four miles from Gloucester Courthouse in Gloucester County, Virginia, was built in 1976. It was formerly located at the current Page Middle School, which houses sixth to eighth graders. The high school facility remains the only high school in the county, even though student numbers have risen steadily since its construction date.

Contents 1 Renovations 2 Class Structuring 3 Facilities 4 School Events 5 Notable Faculty 6 External links

[edit] Renovations

A major addition was built onto the school in 1993 and functions mainly as the school's science wing and is fully equipped with 3 computer labs, 2 full scale chemistry labs, as well as other classrooms with enough equipment for simple demonstrations. It is known to students and faculty as D-Hall. Also included in the expansion was a foreign language hall at the opposite end of the building, built onto A-Hall. Less extensive renovations have occurred since then, including the office and guidance sections in 2005. Beginning in April 2006, the Machining facilities were remodeled into new art rooms by the beginning of the following school year, freeing up the current art rooms for normal classroom use. The old primary Art room became the newsroom of the Dukes' Dispatch, the school newspaper. The most recently completed renovations were completed in October 2006, with the auditorium getting a $600,000 makeover. Over the summer before the 2006-2007 school year, the school's television production facility was revamped with new equipment and made into a studio. The school will begin producing programming on its own local cable access channel.

Currently, classrooms are being fitted with ceiling mounted LCD projectors, phasing out the cumbersome method of checking out an LCD cart from the library. Other construction is currently being planned, however details have not yet been released.

[edit] Class Structuring

Gloucester High School operates on an A-Day B-Day block scheduling structure. The school day begins at 7:40 am EDT and ends at 2:40 pm EDT. Every day there are four classes just over 90 minutes in length. The following day will contain four other classes of the same length, totaling in eight classes. There are four lunch blocks, each approximately 25 minutes in length, which take place in third block.

Grading at GHS is done on a full credit basis, where after completing 2 semesters, a full school year class, 1 credit is granted. This is a change from past years where a half credit was awarded after the completion of 1 semester.

[edit] Facilities

The facilities of Gloucester High School include:

• Various sports installations
  • Football stadium
  • Quarter mile track
  • Eight tennis courts
  • Two baseball fields
  • One soccer field
  • Weight Training building
  • Main gymnasium with pull-out bleachers and locker rooms
  • Auxiliary gymnasium
  • A large plot of land for multiple uses by gym classes
• Academic installations
  • Large Auditorium (Renovated 2006)
  • Fully equipped science laboratories
  • Nine computer labs, each with roughly twenty-five computers and a ceiling mounted LCD projector
  • A fully equipped, state-of-the-art library
  • A driver's education driving range
  • Television production lab
  • Greenhouse for Horticultural classes
  • An auto-mechanics facility
  • Complete restaurant kitchen facilities for the student-run International Café
• Other installations
  • Three cafeterias, a large open area known as The Commons, as well as two conventional cafeterias.
  • Nurse facilities including an emergency defibrillator
  • Student parking lot

[edit] School Events

• Spirit Week is held the week of Homecoming and consists of themed days including Decade Day, Wacky Day, Twin Day, and Red and Gold Day. On the day of the game, Friday, students dress in the high school colors, red and gold.
• Foreign Language Week is a week, usually in March, when students and teachers celebrate foreign languages. Students create displays and, along with teachers, organize a banquet to take place after school. The banquet, held in the Commons, consists of ethnic foods cooked and served by the school's culinary students. Language classes usually perform skits and songs for those in attendance.
• Junior Ring Dance is essentially junior prom. It is sponsored and run by the junior class, and it is during this dance that the Juniors are presented with their class rings.
• Sadie Hawkins Dance was held for the first time at GHS in 2006 and was organized by the sophomore class.
• Senior Prom
• Senior Graduation takes place every year in mid-June at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. This has caused some friction and controversy when it began in 2005. A group of seniors wanted to graduate at the high school itself, however the ultimate decision to move was based on seating, parking, and weather factors.

[edit] Notable Faculty

• Jon Stewart of the Daily Show was the assistant soccer coach at GHS while a student at The College of William and Mary.
• Tommy Reamon, the former high school coach of Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick now coaches Varsity football at GHS.
• Mrs. Donna Pierce Freeman was one of the first women to attend Princeton University.

[edit] External links

• Gloucester High School Webpage