North Mecklenburg High School

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North Mecklenburg High School (simply North Meck, or North) is a high school in Huntersville, North Carolina. The school was founded in 1951 as an all-white school. It integrated in the 1960s. With over 3000 students, it was the largest school population-wise in North Carolina during the 2005-2006 school year. The current principal is Joseph Burch. Mr. Burch replaced retired principal Jimmy K. Poole in 2005.

There are many nicknames for the school, the most common being North Meck, North, and Crunk Meck. An older nickname was Redneck Tech.

The school mascot is the Viking, and school colors are royal blue and white. The original mascot was a Rebel.

The official school song is to the tune of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Hark The Sound, the fight song is to the tune of Ohio State's Across the Field, and the dance is named "The Boogaloo". These are performed at pep rallies (which the new principal, Mr. Burch, does not allow) and sporting events.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] History

North Mecklenburg High School first opened its doors to students on September 4, 1951. Students came from five local schools in Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Long Creek, and Derita, forming a student body of just over 400, with a senior class of 126, and a faculty of only 27. Marion Bird became the first principal, the Rebel was adopted as the mascot, and red and black were chosen as the school colors. By 1952, the students began class councils and student body councils. Organizations like Key Club have been around since the first decade of North Meck. In 1957, North Meck won its first State Championship in baseball. The Alma Mater is sung to the tune of the song "time of our life" from the movie Dirty Dancing. In 1958 North Mecklenburg High School hosted its first foreign exchange student: Tapu Putanen from Finland. In 1960 North Mecklenburg High School hosted its second foreign exchange student: Hans Achterhuis from Holland.

[edit] Buildings

The school is an outdoor campus, with walkways connecting different halls together. Most halls have a specific academic purpose, from C-hall (English), to H-hall (History), and so forth. North Meck's halls are lettered A, B, C, D, E, F, H, K, L, N, and S. The campus also encompasses sixty-five mobile units.

[edit] Curriculum

North Mecklenburg High School offers a comprehensive program including International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Academically Gifted, and advanced classes, fine arts programs, Air Force JROTC, and a variety of workforce development courses. The school has one of two auto tech courses in North Carolina. Eighty-six percent of graduates attend four-year colleges, universities, or junior colleges.

[edit] School day

Most of North operates on a semester schedule, which began during the 2006-2007 school year. Previously, the entire school operated on a block schedule, with classes alternating between "A Day" and "B Day" schedules. Now, only Juniors and Seniors in the IB or AP program use "A Day/B Day." Due to the large number of students, there are four lunch periods (A/B/C/D) each day. Lunch periods are determined by which building a student is in during third block.

[edit] Awards

In 2006, it was placed 93rd on Newsweek Magazine's Top 1200 Schools list.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

North Mecklenburg competes in the MECA-7 (Mecklenburg-Cabarrus 7) conference with the following local high schools:

  • Jay M. Robinson High School "Bulldogs"
  • Central Cabarrus High School "Vikings"
  • North Mecklenburg High School "Vikings"
  • Hopewell High School "Titans"
  • Zebulon B. Vance High School "Cougars"
  • West Charlotte High School "Lions"
  • Mallard Creek High School "Mavericks"

The school held the title for the North Carolina State Men's Basketball Championship in 2005.

North Meck is known for it's fan support at sporting events, especially basketball. This distinction earned the student section the name "Crunk Meck" in 2004.

North Meck's cross-town rival is Hopewell High School. Older North Mecklenburg alumni consider Zebulon B. Vance High School and West Charlotte High School to be their rivals. Mallard Creek High School, only a few miles from North Meck, took 1000 students from North Meck's student population just as Hopewell and Vance did, possibly making Mallard Creek the 3rd newest rival to North Meck since 1997.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

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[edit] External links

v • d • e
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
High schools … full list Ardrey Kell | Berry Academy | Butler | East Meck | Garinger | Harding | Hopewell | Independence | Mallard Creek | Myers Park | North Meck | Northwest | Olympic | Providence | South Meck | Vance | Waddell | West Charlotte | West Meck
Middle schools … full list Alexander Graham | Cochrane | Piedmont | Quail Hollow
Elementary schools … full list Albemarle Road | Shamrock Gardens
Alternative and Exceptional schools … full list Metro School | Morgan | Derita | Hawthorne | Midwood | Morningside at Graham
v • d • e
The ME-CA 7 4A
Central Cabarrus • Hopewell • Mallard Creek • North Meck • Robinson • Vance • West Charlotte