Huron High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

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Ann Arbor Huron High School
Location
Ann Arbor, MI, US
Information
Locale Ann Arbor Public Schools
Type Public secondary
Grades 9-12
Mascot River Rats
Established August 1969
Homepage http://www.a2huron.org


Huron High School is a public school in Ann Arbor, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located at 2727 Fuller Road in eastern Ann Arbor near the banks of the Huron River, it serves grades 9 through 12. The school's principal is Dr. Arthur Williams.

Contents

[edit] History

Huron opened in the fall of 1969, when the high-school baby boom population was at its peak. The student body at the city's only public high school, Ann Arbor High, had recently outgrown its quarters on the city's west side. The school board constructed a second high school, renaming the first to Pioneer High School, with the new school named Huron High School. In 1968, before Huron's building was completed, students from the old and new schools shared the Pioneer building in a split schedule with Pioneer students attending classes in the morning and Huron students in the afternoon. Reaction against Pioneer's "factory-like" building was a large factor in Huron's organic curvilinear form. Huron was also known for its arch, under which cars could drive. In the summer of 2005, the school board decided to close the arch to auto traffic due to safety concerns despite opposition from the student body.

The two schools possessed distinct cultures and a rivalry soon sprang up. "River Rats", originally an epithet hurled at students of the new school by Pioneer students, quickly became a term of pride for Huron students. When offered a ballot for school mascot with two choices ("Huron Hawks" and "Huron Hammerheads", both names provided by the school board), Huron students conducted a write-in campaign for "Huron River Rats" which, after twice receiving a majority vote, was finally approved by the board.

The film Jumper had a scene filmed at Huron High School and neighboring Gallup Park in February 2007. One hundred students were chosen from Huron to be extras for the movie. The screenplay of Jumper was written by Huron High School graduate David S. Goyer and was released in February of 2008 to mixed reviews.[1]

[edit] Clubs and Organizations

[edit] Huron Players

The Huron Players are the official theatre group of Huron High School. They put on four shows every year: three full-length plays and "Finale", an assortment of student-directed one-act plays. The group is sponsored by Bj Wallingford, who also directs many of the plays. Students may join the Huron Players at any time at no cost. Besides acting, they participate in all "crews" to create the final product of a show including Set Construction, Costumes, Makeup, Props, Costumes, Lighting, Sound, Publicity, and House Management, as well as the positions of Assistant Stage Manager and Stage Manager who assist the director in rehearsals. Student participation in acting and on the "crews" earn points which go toward a varsity letter in theatre.

In Spring 2004 the Huron Players performed the play "W;t", by Margaret Edson, at the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association annual competition and earned first place in the state of Michigan. The Huron Players were then invited to perform "W;t" at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival at Western Michigan University in May 2004.

The television screenwriter and producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach is a former Huron Player.

It is tradition for the outgoing seniors in the group to sign their names with paint on a wall or the ceiling in the scene shop.

[edit] Film Club

Huron's film club is a group that meets after school to make movies. The club was started in 2005, and has since acquired high quality equipment (also used by film class students) through a technology grant. Their editing software is Final Cut Pro, the same program used to edit several TV shows, including Scrubs, for example. They also have a GL2 camera valued at about $2000, as well as half a dozen cheaper hand held cameras, tripods, wireless mics, boom mics, and more. Currently they are filming a feature length movie which, in addition to entering the script in several screen writing contests, will be submitted to Sundance and Slamdance.

[edit] Student Council

Student Council is the student government body at Huron High School. Its foremost purpose is to serve the student body at Huron, which it does by maintaining constant contact and dialogue with the Huron administrators and PTSO, many of the student organizations here at Huron and of course, the students themselves. In addition to this, Student Council also engages in many activities to benefit our school and city community. These include blood banks, a can drive, and the famed Teacher Appreciation Breakfast. Student Council is also responsible for the creation and distribution of the student directory. It was previously coordinated by Joan Berman, who has retired since 2007.


[edit] Publications

  • The Emery: the official school newspaper.
  • The Symposium: a student-published alternative newspaper. Authors of The Symposium do not identify themselves in the publication, and have been criticized by the school's official newspaper following accusations of libel.
  • The Other Voice: an older alternative newspaper which was published during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
  • Full Circle: the school's award-winning annually-published literary magazine. The publication contains student-submitted poetry, prose, and artwork.
  • Enthymion: the school yearbook

[edit] Notable alumni

Jeffrey Charles Weaver Major League Baseball pitcher with the Milwaukee Brewers

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jenn McKee, "Local teens with bit parts in 'Jumper' will see who made the cut," Ann Arbor News, 10 Feb. 2008.

[edit] External links