Western High School (Auburn, Michigan)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bay City Western High School (or WHS) is a high school located at 500 Midland Rd., Auburn, Michigan. Its mascot is the Warrior, and its colors are brown and gold.
Contents |
[edit] History
It has been 30 years since Western High School opened its doors in 1973. Overcrowding at Central and Handy High Schools was the reason Western was built. During this time the city kids would go to school in the morning and the country kids would go in the afternoon. New boundaries were established, with everyone west of Euclid Avenue attending Western High School. Seniors were given the option to complete their education at Handy or Central.
Sometime during the 1980s some portions of the school's tunnel systems collapsed due to water damage and was fixed with wooden beams and to prevent future damage.
[edit] Opening
On the first day of school there were Handy kids on one side of the room and Central kids on the other side. By the end of the year they were all Western High Students.
When the building opened, many parts were not done. Some examples were the main hallway, the pool and the commons. There were student desks still in boxes in some parts of the building. You would have found rolls of carpet stacked against the walls. In some cases students actually ate their lunches on top of those carpet rolls.
[edit] Building
Western High School has a moderate amount of departments. These include English, Math, Social Studies, Science, Computers, Arts, Broadcasting and Communications, Human Services, Physical Education and Industrial Arts as of which are separated into wings.
There is a library in between the High School and Middle School sides which are connected as one room, but students are restricted from the other school's library.
There is also a second floor which consists mostly of Math, Human Services, Social Studies and Computers as of which a Middle School portion is connected in the East wing.
The lower portion of the first floor on the south side of school consists of Science, Social Studies, and English. The library entrance is also in this area as well as a locker bay. The south portion also consists of most of the classrooms in Middle School.
Heading north are the administration offices which are halfway between the lower level and the second floor which leads to the main entrances, commons, gym on the west side. And towards the east are Bryant Auditorium and the Arts Department
The Arts Department contains of classes such as Art, Auto-Mechanics, Industrial Drawings, Welding, Wood Shop, Video and Radio, Drama and Band. There is a backside and backstage entrance to Bryant Auditorium as well as a locker bay and entrances to the school's tunnel system.
Bryant Auditorium seats about 1200 people and is used for various activities including school plays and presentations. Beneath the stage is a rehearsal/dressing room and behind the stage contains the part of the Sound system and access stairs to the technical aspects of the lighting system. There is also a loading dock behind the stage as well. In an upper portion of the auditorium there is a lounge and spot light access.
The Commons is the area in which students of Western High and Middle school eat, all though is separated into areas for them. It consists of a small vending area a corner store in which students can buy school supplies and snacks. There is also two lunch lines on each end of the common which are shared by the Western High and Middle School students which sometimes can cause problems with shared lunch periods between the schools. A trophy case is in the hallway at the front of the commons. High School students have an open campus lunch due to the sharing of the commons with the Middle School.
The lower and upper gym are located next to the commons as of which there are two entrances from the commons. Access to the locker rooms are also provided. Through the locker rooms there is a pool which can be reached from other points in the building such as the 190's hallway which is above the gym.
The 190's hallway which consists of Middle School and the-all-important Economics class. There is access to the pool, gym and school grounds in this hallway which has lockers aligned against the walls which are both used by High and Middle School students. Some students think the 190's can be used to skip classes due to its distance away from the main classes and little student traffic. There is also a bathroom that is always locked due to little traffic and vandalism.
[edit] Grounds
The grounds consist of tennis courts, practice fields, baseball fields and track surrounding the football field. Also the student parking lot which is placed next to the baseball and football fields, there are also some old, abandoned basketball hoops in the center of the parking lot. There is a visitors and staff parking lot on the other side of the building which is not accessible through the student parking lot nor can students park in this lot. Sidewalks are surrounding the building guiding to Midland Road. The courtyard is located at the main entrance in which some students during eat at during lunch.
[edit] Middle School
Western Middle School is connected to Western High School but follow different school schedules. Classrooms currently are scattered, but primarly in wings.
[edit] Additions
Many things have changed since that first year. We have a new gym floor and lights, five computer labs, new carpet in many of the rooms, and updated athletic facilities. Our curriculum has also changed. There is a variety of classes for students to select. We have Advanced Placement classes where students can earn college credit, a Dual Enrollment Program, and outstanding Fine Arts and Industrial Arts Programs. We feel that when a student leaves Western High School upon graduation, they will have the skills necessary to pursue any interest they may have. An addition to the Middle School is currently being added in 2007. Some of these plans include a new band room and other several other classrooms.
