Great Bridge High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Bridge High School | |
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| Address | |
|---|---|
| 301 West Hanbury Road Chesapeake, Virginia, 23322 USA |
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| Information | |
| School district | Chesapeake City Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Dr. W. Randolph Nichols |
| Principal | Dr. Janet M. Andrejco |
| Enrollment |
2407 (2006-07) |
| School type | Public high school |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Language | English |
| Mascot | Wildcats |
| Color(s) | Green and Gold ██ |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Homepage | Official site |
Great Bridge High School is a public secondary school in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is part of Chesapeake City Public Schools and is located at 301 West Hanbury Road.
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[edit] History
Great Bridge opened in 1907, holding students from 1st through 11th grade. Another larger building opened in 1924 which also housed students from 1st through 11th grade. In 1954, Great Bridge moved to another new larger building which accommodated students in 6th through 12th grade. This building has now become the site of Great Bridge Middle School. In 1983, the current site of Great Bridge opened, which accommodates students in the 9th through 12th grade.
[edit] Demographics
In 2005-2006, Great Bridge High School was 75% white, 21% black, 3% Asian and 2% Hispanic
[edit] Athletics and extracurricular activities
The mascot is a wildcat and the sports teams currently play in the AAA Southeastern District of the AAA Eastern Region. Great Bridge has been particularly known for its wrestling team, which has won eighteen of the last twenty AAA state titles including nine straight AAA titles at one point in recent years. This is the longest streak of consecutive state titles won by any Virginia high school in any sport and enrollment classification.
Great Bridge also has an extremely good marching band, directed by Rob Carroll, which has participated in competitions such as the JMU Parade of Champions, and currently enrolls 203 members. The band has been asked to perform at many locations including China for the lighting of the torches ceremony in the 2008 Olympics.
The Great Bridge Crew Club is also nationally recognized. In 2005 the men's lightweight eight placed fifth at the Stotesbury Cup, the world's largest high school regatta. In 2007, the men's lightweight eight boat placed first in the state, sixth at the prestigious Stotesbury Cup, and fourth in the national championship in Camden, New Jersey. The men's junior 4 placed 1st in the region, 4th at states, and 6th in a national event. Other notable achievements in the club's history include the men's first eight being placed 6th at states. In 2006, the men's lightweight four placed 1st in the region, 4th at states, and 11th in a national event. Also, the women's freshmen eight placed 2nd in the region and 16th in a national event. Great Bridge Crew has won the past 6 southeastern Virginia regional championships.
In 2005, the Great Bridge High School Theatre Company traveled to the Virginia Theatre Association and won first prize with the one act play, The Standard of the Man, written by Brian Wrestler, an alumnus of Great Bridge High School. The next year, the theatre company performed a 'showcase' play called Rashomon, directed by William Russell Staggs.
Football, indoor and outdoor track, swimming, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, soccer and wrestling are the sports offered at Great Bridge.
The high school also has a dance team called the RockCats, a step team and a varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squad.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Michael Cuddyer: Minnesota Twins player; ninth overall pick in the 1997 MLB Draft
- Dave Elkins: member of the band Mae, on vocals and guitar
- Randy Forbes: U.S. Congressman
- Lawrence Johnson: 2000 Olympics pole vault silver medalist; 2001 World Indoor pole vault champion
- Nate Parker: actor; wrestler
- Carlton Powell: Denver Broncos' fifth round pick in 2008 NFL Draft
- Chris Richardson: American Idol season six finalist
- Justin Upton: Arizona Diamondbacks player; top pick in the 2005 MLB Draft
[edit] Controversy
In March 2007, the principal, Clifton Randolph, was put on administrative leave after allegedly assaulting a parent[1] Randolph was later absolved of all charges when the presiding judge refused to hear the case and was reinstated at the end of the 2006-2007 school year, but chose to retire. Dr. Janet M. Andrejco succeeded Randolph in 2007.
In February 2008, one of the four assistant principals, Wesley Earnest, was arrested as a suspect in the murder of his wife.[2]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Clayton, Cindy & Rodrigues, Janette (March 9, 2007), “Chesapeake principal charged with assault, on leave from job”, The Virginian-Pilot, <http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=120835&ran=114009>
- ^ Coutee, Amy (February 28, 2008), “Chesapeake assistant principal charged with murder”, The Virginian-Pilot, <http://hamptonroads.com/2008/02/chesapeake-assistant-principal-charged-murder>
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