Damascus High School

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Damascus High School is a high school located at 25921 Ridge Road in Damascus, an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The school principal is Mr. Robert Domergue and assistant principals are Ms. Brandi Heckert, Mr. Michael DeBoy, and Dr. Gregory Pleasant.

Its feeder schools are John T. Baker Middle School and Rocky Hill Middle School.

Damascus High School was built in 1950 (26,600 square feet) with major additions added in 1951 (11,790 square feet), 1958 (21,339 square feet), 1963 (33,852 square feet), 1964 (30,297 square feet), 1971 (2,126 square feet), 1975 (40,017 square feet), 1977 (35,700 square feet) 1993 (32,892 square feet) and 2004 (1,373 square feet addition and 2,025 square feet of renovation of the original 1950 building). The building now totals 235,986 square feet.

[edit] Traditions

Every year in early or mid-August before the school year begins, members of the DHS senior class will gather for the annual Press Box Painting. The senior class constructs some form of slogan or saying which will rhyme with the senior class's year of graduation.

Past sayings have been "Outta the Hive, 2005", "The Best Class to Hit D-Mass, 2006".

During the 2005-2006 school year, the school added a second story to its Press Box, and the DHS class of 2007 was the first class to paint the new Press Box addition.

Currently the message on the Press Box reads "2008 Dominate".

[edit] Homecoming

Damascus High School and the town of Damascus become different, and very school spirited during Homecoming Week at DHS. Every day of Homecoming Week consists of a different theme, in which each grade level is assigned a different topic under that theme. For example, on color day, the senior class usually picks red, the junior class would select blue, the sophomore class assigned black, white, or pink, and the freshman class wears purple.

On the night of the Homecoming football game, about an hour before the game begins, there is a parade starting from the end of Bethesda Church Road, and ending in the DHS parking lot. The parade consists of the Damascus High School Hornet Marching Band, the cheerleading and pom squad, members of the DHS Homecoming Court, and each grade level's Homecoming float.

During halftime of the the football game, the winning grade levels of Homecoming Week are announced, and the Homecoming Court is also announced, with the members walking across the middle of the football field between the members of the DHS Marching Band.

[edit] Athletics

Damascus High School has a strong history in athletics, and is regarded as having one of the top athletic programs in the D.C. Metro area. Some notable achievements include:

• Football- 7 state championships (1981, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2008), 3 finalists (1989, 1990, 2005)
• Boys Cross Country- 2 state championships (1961, 1965), 3 second place finishes (1960, 1995, 1996)
• Girls Cross Country- 1 state championship (1994), 1 second place finish (1995)
• Golf- 1 state championship (1993), 2 second place finishes (1990, 1991)
• Volleyball- 2 finalists (1978, 2006)
• Wrestling (Tournament)- 3 state championships (1994, 1996, 1999), 2 second place finishes (1995, 2000)
• Wrestling (Dual)- 2 state championshps (1995, 1999), 3 finalists (1994, 2006, 2007)
• Boys Basketball- 1 state championship (1949)
• Boys Indoor Track- 1 second place finish (1990)and Wil Zahorodny ran the fastest 500m in the U.S
• Girls Indoor Track- 1 state championship (1997)
• Baseball- 2 state championships (1998, 2000), 1 finalists (1978)
• Softball- 3 state championships (1987, 1992, 1994), 6 finalists (1982, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2005, 2007)
• Boys Track and Field- 1 finalist (1959)
• Girls Track and Field - 2 finalists (1979, 1997)

Since 1990, Damascus teams have won a total of 19 state championships, more than almost any other school in the state.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Kevin Thompson (football), played in the NFL for Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, and New York Giants, played in college for Penn State University.
• Brian King (football), played in the NFL for Carolina Panthers, played in college for West Virginia Mountaineers.
• Areen Movsessian (CEO, Intellireach), Developed a market research company Intellireach, where it is on the verge of its initial debut in the Stock market NYSE.

[edit] External links

• Damascus High School