Benjamin Bosse High School

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Benjamin Bosse High School
Location
Evansville, Indiana, USA
Information
Locale Mid-size city
Principal William Roberts
Students 855
Type Public high school
Grades 9-12
Mascot Bulldogs
Established 1924
Snapshot BBHS
Homepage

Benjamin Bosse High School in Evansville, Indiana, USA, is a public high school of the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation.

Contents

[edit] History

Benjamin Bosse, mayor of Evansville from 1914 to 1922, bought land and financed the building of a school. Bosse died in 1922, the same year construction began on the school. Benjamin Bosse High School opened its doors to juniors from old Central High School on January 29, 1924 and graduated its first class in 1925.

Students living in the newly created Bosse district attended the old Central High School downtown until Bosse opened. When the students moved into Bosse High School, construction was not yet complete. Classes were held during the racket of construction. Electricity and running water had not yet been installed, so the principal signaled the beginning and ending of classes with a bugle call and students drank from a community cup. The auditorium stage served as the gymnasium and hosted boys' sectional games.

Since Bosse was on the border of the city limits, it was more accessible to the local families of kindergarteners and first graders. These students attended Bosse Elementary in the west wing of Bosse High School until Washington Elementary School opened in 1937.

Blue and white were the original school colors. But since they were similar to other schools' colors, they were changed to scarlet and gray.

The students ran the school government. The students who enforced the laws of the school were called prefects and were elected by the students. The laws of the school were based on the honor system - one was expected to behave and do the right thing. It was the job of the prefect to issue detention slips to those who misbehaved. The prefects controlled the detention room during the 40 minutes before school each day. This form of government was well thought out but not always effective.

Bosse's boys basketball team was the first area team to win the state championship in 1944. Bosse won again in 1945 and 1962. Bosse's band marched in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on New Year's Eve in 1970-1971. The band also played in the ceremonies preceding the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany in 1972. January 1989 found the band playing in the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Bosse's drama department was the first in Evansville to present a Broadway Musical, Brigadoon, in 1952. Bosse hosted the State Student Council Convention in the fall of 2000.

Bosse High School exemplifies how a historic school can be functional while remaining an architectural showpiece. Additions to the original 1922 structure retain the same architectural style as the original building. No less than four remodeling projects over the years have added science labs, industrial technology rooms, an elevator, and nearly doubled the amount of total classroom space. The cafeteria was added in 1958, a vocational wing in 1969, the "old gym" downstairs in 1969, the weight room in 1987, the new gym in 1989, the auditorium in 1993, the office and science area in 1994, the technology area in 1998, and the day care in 1999. From 1993 to 2000 the entire school was renovated at an approximate cost of $20 million.

[edit] Principals of Bosse High School

1924-1926 Mrs. Roswell Pucket
1926-1950 Mr. Carl Eifler
1950-1961 Mr. David Dudley
1961-1975 Mr. Paul Jennings
1975-1985 Mr. Paul Schmidt
1985-2007 Mr. Robert Adams
2007-pres. Mr. William Roberts

[edit] Fight Song

We're cheering for you Bosse High
We're loyal to you Bosse High
We'll back you to stand
Against the best in the land
For we know have sand Bosse High
So fight till the end Bosse High
Go crashing ahead Bosse High
For our team must be the winner
Fight team for we expect a victory from you Bosse High.
B-H-S Let's Go Dogs

To the tune of Illinois Loyalty.

[edit] Student Population

Benjamin Bosse High School remains the only "neighborhood school" in the city. Bosse's student population, 61% Caucasian and 39% African-American and other minorities, comes from diverse backgrounds, ranging from the children of university employees and other professionals to a large blue-collar segment.

[edit] External links