Henry B. Plant High School
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| Motto | Strength Through Unity |
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| Established | 1926 |
| Type | Public Secondary, Coeducational |
| Principal | Robert A. Nelson |
| Students | ~2000 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | Tampa, Florida,  United States |
| District | Hillsborough County School District |
| Accreditation | Florida State Department of Education |
| Colors | Black, and Gold
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| Mascot | Panther |
| Website | http://plant.mysdhc.org |
H.B. Plant High School was opened in 1926 on South Himes Avenue in Tampa, Florida. The school is named in honor of railroad and hotel magnate Henry B. Plant. The school mascot is the Panther. The school motto is "Strength Through Unity." Plant High School currently has enrolled more than 2,000 students.
The school established an Air Force Junior ROTC program in the 2005-2006 school year. The leaders of the AFJROTC program for Plant High School are Col. Henry Gilman and Sgt. Fortino Garcia who are both now retired from the military. The estimated number of students enrolled in H B Plant High School AFJROTC is approximately 75.
The athletic stadium is named Dad's Stadium, with the water tower in behind the stadium now reading, "Plant Panthers, Home Of State Champions" and hosts football, soccer and lacrosse games, track and field meets, and pep rallies. The flag team is known as the Pantherettes and the dance team is known as the Danceros.
The school has a notable academic reputation, and is consistently ranked among the 100 Best High Schools in America (as designated by Newsweek). Plant High also offers free Advanced Placement Program testing as early as freshman year.
Competition for school choice (a new program in Florida that allows students to apply to attend school outside of their district) is fierce, as Plant is overcrowded and thus not an available choice to students living outside the school district's boundaries. There is a zero-tolerance policy towards the common practice of claiming a relative or friend's in-district address to attend the school.
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[edit] Notable alumni
- Wade Boggs, World Series-winning third baseman and Baseball Hall of Famer
- Leo Gallagher, American comedian and prop comic, most popularly known for smashing watermelons as part of his act.
- Sam Gibbons, Unites States Congressman.
- D. James Kennedy, television evangelist
- Stephen Stills, musician.
- Mike Williams, National Football League player
[edit] Plant High School Band, Chorus & Drama
Plant High School boasts the 2007-2008 Marching Panther Band, known this year as "The Band with the Golden Sound", performing their show "Havana Nights". The show features a Trumpet solo performed by band captain Michael Vargas. Songs included in the Havana Nights show are the Stan Kenton classic "Malaga", a slow moving Latin swing piece called "Harlem Nocturne", and finishing of the show in style with an arrangement of Santana's "Da Le Yaleo".The director of the Marching Panthers is Robert Schoos, who has had experience working at Rampello Partnership School as the musical director there, and has been the brass instructor for the Tampa Youth Orchestra for some time now. Since Schoos has become band director for Plant High, the entire marching program has taken a new direction with screaming mellophone action, one that focuses on a more entertaining and college style performance, with a much more fun and contemporary theme. New changes and additions to the Marching Panthers' entire routine are songs that are played in the stands like Hay, Let's Go, Vehicle, and Come Out and Play, as well as an all-new arrangement of the song "The Final Countdown" by Marc Schulz, the Trumpet section leader, as a Trumpet fanfare, all of which have received warm praise from the Student body, Parents, Administrators, and sports teams alike. In addition to the Marching Panthers, Plant High also offers the Plant High Jazz band, who have won many awards and recognitions for their superior performances for the last two school years. Also, the Plant High "Wind Ensemble" is the premiere performance ensemble in the band program and it's membership is by audition only. This wind ensemble features classical performances by the best Plant High has to offer in wind instrument players.
Also, is the Plant High School Orchestra. The orchestra is directed by Steven Bossert, who also teaches elementary music at local elementary schools. The Orchestra has upwards of 75 members all represented by current student president RC Sanchez. The program is divided into three orchestras, Intermediate, Advanced and Chamber. The orchestra plays 4 concerts a year, as well as performing throughout the community in service oriented playing.
Plant High School's chorus has more than 250 members and is led by director Bruce Yost. The chorus puts on several performances each year, including several Madrigal dinner performances and an annual show called "Rick's Cafe". The show is a revue of both famous and obscure musicals, featuring acting, singing and dancing. Past shows have featured numbers from Rent, Grease, Chicago, Gypsy: A Musical Fable, Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, and Mary Poppins.
Members of the drama program put on plays and musicals every year. Recent shows include Psycho Night at the Paradise Lounge, Alice In Wonderland, Old Saybrook, The Curious Savage, Grease, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Odd Couple:Female Version, Bathroom Humor, and the award winning Mystery of Twicknam Vicarage. The drama department is currently led by Teryle Traver. The Drama Club is heavily involved in community service. It participates each year in Winter Wonderland, raising money for Broadway Cares, and many other various fund raisers. Each year closes with an award banquet entitled "The Henry's", in which new members are inducted into the Thespian Troupe, awards are distributed, board members are announced, and Senior students are given a final goodbye.
[edit] Plant High School Service Clubs
Plant High School enjoys a fine tradition of community service, as shown by the seven service clubs (boys and girls) on campus. Students who are interested in joining are assigned to a random club and are "tapped" during homeroom. These clubs perform a variety of services to the community and loyalty to one's club is strong.
Boys' Service Clubs:
Girls' Service Clubs:
- Kiwanettes
- La Sertoa
- Zeta
- Anchor
[edit] Plant High School Varsity Football Team
With their "One Heartbeat" slogan, and their "Plant, Plant, Plant" chant, the 2006 Plant Panthers completed an undefeated season, winning their first Florida State Football Championship on December 9, 2006, by defeating the defending 2005 champions, Nease High School, 25-21. A touchdown pass from future Miami Hurricane, Robert Marve to Derek Winter with 17 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter put the Panthers ahead for the win. Also in the game, Marve broke the record for completions, attempts, and TDs (48) in a season, a record previously held by former Nease High School QB and current Florida Gators standout, Tim Tebow. The week before, Plant High School made history when the team won their first state semi-final game against Booker T. Washington; a team who had previously made the semi-final game for four years in a row. Plant High School's team had previously made it to the semi-final game in 1973, 1976, and 1978 but had gotten no further. In 2003, the Panthers were 1-9. Under Coach Robert Weiner along with 10 other players, the team had a 3-7 season in 2004, 9-3 in 2005, and finally in 2006, a 15-0 state championship. In 2007, new quarterback Aaron Murray led the Panthers to an 11-2 season.
[edit] Plant High School Varsity Sailing Team
The Plant High School Flying Panther Sailing Team is another premier club at H.B. Plant High School. The sailing team was founded during the 2001-2002 school year by Caroline Young. The sailing team practices at Davis Island Yacht Club and races all over the continental U.S. The Panther sailing team started with a strive toward excellence by qualifying for the 2002 ISSA national championship in San Fransico, California where they placed 15th overall. The Panthers have since attended four other national championships, in 2005 the panthers finished 13th overall, in 2006 the H.B.P.F.P.S.T The team attended the ISSA national championship in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, finishing 11th, and in 2007 they finished fifth at the fleet racing nationals and third in the team race nationals. The ISSA National Championship is an invitation only regatta that only the top three teams from the South Atlantic Interscholastic Saling Association are able to attend. In the 2007-2008 season the panthers came in first in the southeast regional regatta.
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- The H.B. Plant High School Marching Panther Band
- Henry B. Plant High School website
- 100 Best High Schools in America - Newsweek Website
- PHSDL.com - Plant High School Drum Line
- School District of Hillsborough County Website.
- High School Sailing USA website.
- PHS Chorus Official Website
- Plant High School Jazz Ensemble
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