Austin High School is a public high school in Austin in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Established in 1857, Austin High is one of the oldest high schools in Minnesota. The home of the Packers, the school has 1,390 students; AHS prides itself on having strong academics, athletics, and fine arts. The school colors are officially Scarlet and White, and the sports team is the Packers.
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Austin High School has 3 floors, divided into 3 colors. 1st floor is red, 2nd green, and 3rd blue. Most Freshman classes are on the 3rd floor, while the rest of the classes are organized by each education department (Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics and Science). The basement contains the cafeteria, a tunnel system for pedestrian traffic, and a section that originally contained a four lane pool. After the swimming teams moved to a new facility at Ellis Middle School in the early 1970s, the pool was only used for Phy Ed classes. The pool was closed and the section was remodeled into classroom space after the Ellis fire of 1986. There are 3 gyms in the main building: Packer gym, Hastings gym, and Ove Berven gym. Packer and Hastings gyms are adjacent to each other, with a door that connects the two gyms. Ove Berven locker rooms are two levels each and located in the southwest and northeast corners, with each having a level on the ground floor and in the basement. There is also a gym used in the past for wrestling practice, a locker room, and a weight training room in the annex, the building across the street from the main building. Students are required to use the tunnel under the street to get to the annex. This tunnel is accessible by using the stairs that lead to the lunch room in the basement. Classes in the annex include woodworking, auto shop, explorations (shop class), graphics, choir, band, and orchestra. There are 3 auditoriums on campus. Knowlton auditorium is the largest of the 3, located on the first floor but with access from all 3 floors because of the balcony. Christgau Hall is located on the 2nd floor with access to the balcony on the third floor. The annex auditorium is located in the tunnel leading to the annex. There is a commons area that includes vending machines, the cashiers office, counseling office, and health services (nurse) office. There are also several benches for students to sit on while they are waiting for school to start, waiting for rides home after school, etc. There is a school store on the 1st floor, however, it is rarely open during school hours. A second annex building, on the west side of Fourth Street NW between the main annex and Pacelli High School, is the maintenance shop and physical plant for the school and contains no student activities. The main school building is in two sections, each built around a central auditorium. The older section, c. 1919, has Christgau Hall in the center, while the "new" building, c. 1939, is built around Knowlton auditorium and Ove Berven gym. The back of the auditorium stage is directly connected with the north end of the gym, with the cafeteria in the basement below. Classrooms are on the outside of each ring, with the overall effect being the shape of a figure-eight.
Homecoming is an important event at Austin High School. An entire school week is dedicated to this event. Monday is pajama day and students are allowed to wear their sleep apparel. Tuesday is twin day, when students either wear Minnesota Twins baseball apparel, or dress identical to another student. Wednesday is dress up day. There is Coronation, an hour assembly where the homecoming king and queen nominees are recognized. The homecoming king and queen of the previous year then announce the homecoming king and queen by placing a crown on the head of whoever wins. Thursday is "Battle of the Connects", where each class wears a different color (Freshmen are orange, Sophomores green, Juniors blue, and Seniors black) and every connect participates in a number of events including waterballoon volleyball, egg walk, pinguard, and many more for points. The students then walk to Wescott Field, where the Austin Packers football and soccer games are held 8 blocks west of AHS. There they watch the Powderpuff football game, the girls' football team.. Thursday night there is a bonfire at Marcusen Park, lasting from 8:00 - 10:00 PM. Friday is red and white day, when students wear red and white or Austin Packers apparel. There is a pep fest in either Knowlton Auditorium or Ove Berven gym. The winner of the Battle of the Connects is announced, first the class with the highest number of points, and then the connect with the highest number of points in each grade. Friday night is the homecoming game held at Wescott Field at 7:00 PM. On Saturday night, there is a homecoming dance held in Hastings gym, lasting from 8:00-11:30 pm.
Dance Team (Girls)
Cheer Team (Girls)
Gymnastics (Girls)
Softball (Girls)
Basketball (Boys/Girls)
Soccer (Boys/Girls)
Tennis (Boys/Girls)
Golf (Boys/Girls)
Wrestling (Boys/Girls)
Hockey (Boys/Girls)
Bowling (Boys/Girls)
Cross Country (Boys/Girls)
Curling (Boys/Girls)
Track and Field (Boys/Girls)
Swimming/Diving (Boys/Girls)
Football (Boys)
Baseball (Boys)
Fight, Fight, Fight for Old Austin High
We're gonna win this victory
Win, Win, Win for Old Austin High
Winners we'll always be
Rah, Rah, Rah!
Go, Go, Go for Scarlet and White
Our colors stand for might
Waving to those courageous and bold
so, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!
A...U...S...TIN!
Austin is a member of the Big Nine athletic conference, with Albert Lea as its main conference rival. Austin High School is in the hometown of Hormel Foods Headquarters. The population was 23,314 at the 2000 census. "Spam Town USA," as Austin is sometimes called, is also home to the Spam Museum. American Football coach and broadcaster John Madden and 2-time U.S. Open golf champion Lee Janzen were born in Austin.