Harriton High School

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Harriton High School
Corpori Menti Moribus


School type High School
Established 1957
Principal Mr. Steven R. Kline
Faculty 85
Students 889
Colors Red, White, Black
Location Rosemont in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, 19010
Information (610) 658-3950
Website LMSD.org

Harriton High School is a public secondary school located in Rosemont, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.

Harriton is one of two high schools in Lower Merion School District; the other is Lower Merion High School. It is a comparatively small high school, containing 889 students in 9th through 12th grades. The student teacher ratio is 16:1, and the average class size is 25 students.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1697, William Penn sold a 700-acre tract of land to Rowland Ellis. Years later, Ellis sold his home to Richard Harrison who had married a local woman named Hannah Norris. Some of the land holdings of her family were known as Norriton. Thus the combination of the names of Harrison and Norriton became known as Harriton. The daughter of Richard and Hannah Harrison married Charles Thomson.

In 1957, a new "campus-style" school was designed by architect Vincent Kling. It situated on a portion of the plantation grounds belonging to Charles Thomson, which gave Harriton High School its name. Harriton High School opened its doors for the first time in 1958.

[edit] Notable Teams

[edit] Science Olympiad

The Harriton Science Olympiad team is one of the most followed teams at the school. Harriton has placed first in the Pennsylvania state Science Olympiad competition for the last nine years and has won the national Science Olympiad competition in 1995, 2001, and 2005. It is considered the team to beat in Pennsylvania. The Harriton team traditionally scores in the top ten at the national competition. Most recently, Harriton placed ninth at the 2006 Science Olympiad National Championship at the Indiana University.

[edit] Soccer Team

The 2006 Harriton Boys Soccer Varsity Team, got to State Playoffs, which had not occurred since the team of 1991.

[edit] Politics, International Affairs, & Forensics

Harriton is also noted to have an excellent Speech and Debate Team. In the recent past, interest in politics and world affairs has risen at Harriton, due mainly to the advent of a formal Model United Nations delegation in 2006.

[edit] Harriton Theater Company

The Harriton Theater Company is one of Harriton's most prized clubs, most noted for being a completely student-run organization. The shows are chosen by a student director, who then, with the guidance of a sponsor, directs the show. All of the set construction and lighting is done by students as well.

[edit] Harriton Music

Harriton features a full symphonic band and orchestra, currently under the direction of former Philadelphia Orchestra bassonist Dr. Kathy White, who also teaches music theory. The freshman chorus and concert choir are directed by Mr. Jason Bizich, a nationally recognized choir conductor. Mr. Bizich is also the AP Music Theory teacher. Harriton also features a performance jazz band, led by Michael Norton. Every fall and spring Harriton has a music concert featuring all the ensembles as well as the occasional string quartet or percussion ensemble.

Every year Harriton musicians audition for positions in the PMEA district band and/or orchestra. Dozens of students attend the try-out. Some succeed, and a few even go on to perform in the regional band/orchestra and all-state band/orchestra.

Harriton also has a number of musical opportunities for students who do not want to study music. There is a music forum, where students get together and critique each other's taste in music. Also hosted at Harriton are a number of open mics, well attended events that always show off Harriton's musical talent and variety.

[edit] The Harriton Banner

Since the opening of Harriton High School in 1957, the school newspaper has been called either the Harriton Forum or the Harriton Free Forum but as of October, 2006 it was renamed to The Harriton Banner.

[edit] High School Modernization

Currently, Lower Merion School District is undergoing a High School Modernization program. Construction of a new school will begin on Harriton's athletic fields, starting in January 2007. The new school is set to open in time for the 2009-2010 school year, with the original building being demolished the same year.

The new school is planned to house approximately 1250 students and cover about 330,000 square feet as opposed to its current square footage of 176,825.

[edit] Notes

  • Harriton is built in a unique way for a Philadelphia-area public school because it is built with a California-style campus, with its buildings surrounding a main quad known as the Tombs. The new Harriton High School, currently being built, will not feature this style.
  • Harriton is also one of only 426 high schools in the United States to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.
  • One notable Harriton graduate is former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and former President of Harvard University Lawrence Summers.
  • Harriton is considered to be among the best public schools in the nation. It is a two-time recipient of the Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School Award, and consistently ranks high in Newsweek's lists of the top 1000 high schools in the country. In a 2005 Newsweek list of the top high schools in the United States, Harriton ranked 427. On a similar Newsweek list from 2003, it ranked 384.
  • In Philadelphia Magazine's September 2006 issue, it ranked Harriton the 33rd best school in Pennsylvania, 6th best public school in Pennslyvania and, 2nd best school in Montgomery County (just behind its sister school).

[edit] External links

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