Richmond High School (Richmond, Indiana)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richmond High School
Location
Richmond, IN., USA
Information
Principal Barbara Bergdoll
Students 1,662
Type Public
Grades 9-12
Mascot Red Devils
Newspaper The Register
Homepage [1]

Richmond High School is a public high school in Richmond, Indiana, located at 380 Hub Etchison Parkway. It is the home of the Richmond Red Devils, who are members of the North Central Conference of the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). The current enrollment of the school is around 1,700. Prior to 1939, the school was known as Morton High School in honor of Indiana's Civil War Governor, Oliver P. Morton.

Contents

[edit] Facilities

Former Morton High School building, about 1911, from a postcard
Former Morton High School building, about 1911, from a postcard

Completed in 1939, the Colonial revival-style school consisted of an academic building called Morton Hall, a gymnasium called Civic Hall which is now the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center, an auditorium which seats 924 and McGuire Hall which houses the Richmond Art Museum, believed to be the only public art museum connected with a public high school. An icon of the museum collection is a very large self portrait of the American impressionist William Merritt Chase painted for the museum in 1915-16. After outgrowing the Civic Hall gymnasium, the Tiernan Center was built as the home to boys and girls basketball, volleyball, and wrestling. It is the fifth largest high school gyms in the United States, with a seating capacity of 8,100 persons.

The Richmond High School Alumni Association is one of the oldest public high school alumni associations in the United States and boasts a significant scholarship endowment known as the Richmond College Incentive Plan.

[edit] Music Department

The Music Department at Richmond High School is a multi-million dollar facility that is named Civic Hall. It contains an orchestra, band, and choir room, but also contains a stageroom that is used for the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, various performances, speeches, and for school assemblies.

[edit] Orchestra

The orchestra department at Richmond High was the first high school orchestra in the nation, established in the year 1899 by Will Earhart. A plaque commemorating this achievement is located in McGuire Hall.

[edit] Band

[edit] Wind Ensemble and Concert Band

The band, during the school year, is divided into two parts: a Wind Ensemble and a Concert Band. The band is large enough to divide the better players into a separate group so that they may perform at a higher level. Richmond’s wind ensemble is a high-level instrumental performing group. The band has performed at ISSMA during the years 2002-2007. They perform at a group one level, the highest out of four. The concert band, a lower division of Richmond's Band, performs at a level three.

[edit] Marching Band

The Marching band at RHS has competed at the Indiana State Fair Band Day since 1959 with the exception of 1984 and 1997. Some accomplishments include 1st place in the state competition in 1973 and 1988 and 2nd place in the state competition in 1965, 1986 and 2003. Recent shows include “Miss Saigon,” “Circ du Soleil,” music from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Music from Disney’s “Reflections,” and in 2006 “One Track Mind.” The 2006 show received third place and two captions: General Effect caption and the overall Percussion caption. The marching Red Devils also won a third place in 2007 with "Chaos and Order" music from Conan the Barbarian.

[edit] Choir

The RHS choir program has been very successful, with the top group (Chamber Choir) competing at the Indiana Concert Choir State Finals and placing in the top-16 every year since 1997. In 2006, the group received their highest ever ranking of sixth place. In 2007, Chamber Choir placed 10th at the State Finals.

[edit] MRSA Outbreak

On Wednesday, October 17, 2007, administrators at Richmond High School informed faculty and students that a student-athlete at RHS had a confirmed case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a drug resistant type of staph infection that kills approximately 19,000 Americans per year. The school system, lead by Superintendent Allen Bourff announced that the school was not closing, and would conduct special cleaning and disinfecting throughout the evenings in order to insure safety at the school.

The decision not to close the school was criticized by some students and parents in the community. The day following the announcement, twenty-five percent of the students at Richmond High School did not attend. On Thursday, October 18, 2007, two more cases in the school system were reported.[1]

[edit] School Song and Alma Mater

[edit] School Song

(Set to the tune of Illinois Loyalty)

We're loyal to you, Richmond High. We're red and we're white, Richmond High. We'll back you to stand, 'gainst the best in the land, for we know you have sand, Richmond High. Rah, Rah.

So pass 'round that ball, Richmond High. We're backing you all, Richmond High. Our team is our fame protector, on team, for we expect a victory from you, Richmond High.

[edit] Alma Mater

Dear Richmond High, stately thy grace, all hail. Tribute we bring to thee as we sing, all hail. Mem'ries float by as through the halls we trail. Cherished with pride, oh school of our life, all hail. Cherished with pride, O school of our life, all hail.

[edit] Key Administrative Staff

  • Principal: Barbara Bergdoll
  • Grade levels 11/12 principal: Rusty Hensley
  • Grade levels 11/12 principal: Joe Spicer
  • Grade level 10 principal: Rachel Etherington
  • Grade level 9 principal: Rae Ferriell-Woolpy
  • Athletic Director: Chris Rodal

[edit] Famous Alumni

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

[edit] References

  1. ^ RHS scrubs facilities to beat bug: Michelle Manchir http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS01/710180307/1008/NEWS17, URL accessed October 20, 2007.
  2. ^ Really Good Music: Al Cobine, http://www.reallygoodmusic.com/rgm.jsp?page=composers2&compid=123140, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  3. ^ Space Age Pop Music: George Duning, http://www.spaceagepop.com/duning.htm, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  4. ^ Weeb Ewbank, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=65, URL accessed May 30, 2006.
  5. ^ FindAGrave: Norman Foster, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11777752&pt=%3Cb%3ENorman%3C/b%3E%20Foster, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  6. ^ FindAGrave: Harry Frankel, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10193921, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  7. ^ Jazz at Newport 2006, http://www.jazzatnewport.org/home.cfm?dir_cat=47265, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  8. ^ Mendel Medal recipient: Charles A. Hufnagel, http://astro4.ast.vill.edu/mendel/hufnagel.htm, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  9. ^ Harold Jones' web site, http://www.haroldjonesbigband.com/, URL accessed May 30, 2006.
  10. ^ Harry Keenan, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444645/, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  11. ^ Esther A. Kellner (1908-1998), http://www.mrlinfo.org/history/biography/kellner.htm, URL accessed May 29, 2006.
  12. ^ Naples Illustrated, Past Lives, http://www.naplesillustrated.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_article&whicharticle=112, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  13. ^ Kenneth MacDonald, http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/villan27.htm, URL accessed September 9, 2006.
  14. ^ Official Ned Rorem Website, http://www.nedrorem.com/, URL accessed May 30, 2006.
  15. ^ Uncrowned Queens: L. Lena Sawyer, http://www.buffalo.edu/uncrownedqueens/files_2004/sawner_lena.htm, URL accessed May 29, 3006.
  16. ^ Wendell M. Stanley, http://nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1946/stanley-bio.html, URL accessed May 30, 2006.
  17. ^ The Wright Brother, http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/wright.html, URL accessed May 30, 2006

[edit] External links