Murphy High School

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S.S. Murphy High School

Established	April 26,1926
School type	Public
Principal	Douglas Estle Jr.
Location	100 South Carlen Street Mobile, AL 36606
Phone	(251) 221-3186
Enrollment	approx. 2,369
Homepage	[1]

S.S. Murphy High School, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a public high school operated by the Mobile County Public School System.

1 History
2 Academics
3 School uniform
4 Athletics
5 School creed
6 Feeder patterns
7 Alma Mater
8 External links
9 See also

[edit] History

In 1922, the Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) began to plan for the construction of a new high school that would serve the entire county, as the facilities of Barton Academy were becoming overcrowded with soldiers returning from World War I. Prior to that time Barton Academy had been used as a public school. In 1923, the Mobile County School Board acquired 38 acres from the Carlen family for a site for their proposed high school complex, with room for a student body from 8th to 11th grade. The cornerstone of the school was laid on December 14, 1925, and on April 26, 1926, Mobile High School, later known as Murphy High School, opened. Construction costs totaled $850,000 for the first six buildings with an additional $200,000 spent on the gymnasium and the Olympic-size pool installed in 1930, leading to the local designation of the school as the "million-dollar high school".

The school was first known as Mobile High School, but two years after its opening the school's name was changed to Murphy High School in honor of Samuel Silenus Murphy, MCPSS superintendent who directed public education in Mobile from 1900-1926. While still called Mobile High School, the yearbook was called the "Mobile High Annual." At the change of the name to Murphy High School, the workers did not want to change the name of the yearbook. They agreed to shorten the name to "Mohian," or a shortened version of Mobile High Annual.

Murphy was selected in 1987 as a Presidential Model School by the U.S. Department of Education, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1982. In 1994, Redbook Magazine named Murphy one of the top high schools in America and one of the biggest high schools in Alabama.

[edit] Academics

Murphy attracts students from all over Mobile County. It has extensive offering of courses, including 14 courses of Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate program. Students at Murphy consistently score above the national average on SAT and ACT tests. Earning over $6.5 million in scholarships annually, an average of 65% of Murphy's seniors attend four-year colleges, and approximately 20% attend two-year colleges, including vocational training. From 1990-2003, Murphy had 24 National Merit semi-finalists, and 28 commended students. Nine students earned National Achievement Recognition. Murphy also offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

With block-scheduled classes, instituted in the school year of 1997-1998, students now spend 96 minutes per class and earn one credit for each class per semester.

[edit] School uniform

Murphy students are required to wear school uniforms [2]. Shirts allowed include light blue oxford shirts and navy blue tennis shirts. As of the 2006-2007 school year, light blue tennis shirts were no longer allowed. No manufacturer logos are allowed on shirts.

Trousers must be khaki. Students are not permitted to wear corduroy or denim material. Skirts are also allowed but must be plaid.

The school has a system called retract similar to detention except during school.

[edit] Athletics

Murphy plays in Class 6A's region 1.

The mascot for athletic teams is a Panther.

Murphy High School football team is coached by head coach Ronn Lee. The 2006 Varsity Football team finished 9-3, with losses to Foley, rival McGill-Toolen, and a 2nd round playoff loss to Opelika.

The roster to the 2006 Varsity/JV team can be found Here

[edit] School creed

Let me remember that, if I am really to live, I must live my own life.
For when I pretend to be someone else, to claim someone else's ideas and knowledge, I am not actually living at all.
Let me be constantly broadening the horizons of my own understanding, my own knowledge, my own beliefs; striving to be, when each day dies, better than the morning found me.
Let me learn to be a giver in this school fellowship and not one who takes and only takes.
Let me seek to share my knowledge, my zeal, and my faith through service to those about me.
Let the light of my enthusiasm and friendship so shine that others may be guided aright.
Let me find my task and ever have the courage and persistence to do it.
Let me keep my standards on a plane that will be a credit to my home, an honor to my school, a strength to myself, and an influence for my Creator.
And, o'er all else, in the living of these high school days—let my life be a true expression of what "I" believe.

[edit] Feeder patterns

The following middle schools [3] feed into Murphy: Burns, Calloway-Smith, Denton, Eanes, Hillsdale, Pillans, Scarborough, and Washington. Also, Murphy has two feeder magnet middle schools, Clark and Phillips.

[edit] Alma Mater

Stan Mitchell president of the student council in 1944 started a drive for an Alma Mater and received many songs written by Murphy students. Weezie Durant explained the good points of song number one at a student assembly, claiming the words of the song described perfectly the spirit and beauty of Murphy. Song number one later became the Alma Mater, and it was revealed that the song was written by Stanley McLain. On May 11, 1945 the students voted to select the Alma Mater as their own.

  In days of old, when Spaniards bold
  Were sailing Mobile Bay,
  A dream was born, one early morn;
  That dream's come true today.
  Now colleges and high schools, too,
  May have tradition old,
  But none can boast the glorious birth
  Of Murphy's blue and gold.
  They built a shrine to knowledge fine.
  They called it Murphy High
  A soul was there, a soul so fair,
  Whose spirit shall never die.
  They took the blue of deepest hue,
  The blue of southern sky,
  They took the gold from sun so old,
  The colors of Murphy High.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

List of International Baccalaureate Schools

International Baccalaureate Schools in Alabama
Auburn High School • Austin High School • Central High School • Decatur High School • Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School • Murphy High School • Hoover High School