| Barnstable High School | |
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| Main Entrance to Barnstable High School
Pride, Respect, Honor
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| Address | |
| 744 West Main Street Hyannis Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, 02601 United States |
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| Information | |
| School type | Public High School |
| Established | 1800s |
| Status | Open |
| School district | Barnstable Public School District |
| Superintendent | Patricia B Grenier |
| Principal | Patrick Clark |
| Asst. Principal | Scott Pyy |
| Grades | 8–12 |
| Enrollment | 2,213 |
| Language | English |
| Hours in school day | 6 Hours, 35 Minutes |
| Houses | 5 |
| Color(s) | Red and White |
| Athletics conference | Old Colony League, Division 1 |
| Sports | Basketball, Baseball, Cheerleading, Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Sailing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball, Winter Track, and Wrestling |
| Nickname | Red Raiders |
| Rival | Falmouth High School |
| Newspaper | Insight |
| Yearbook | Barnacle |
| Communities served | Town of Barnstable |
| Feeder schools | Barnstable Intermediate School |
| Alumni | 19,510[1] |
| Website | www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/bhs |
Barnstable High School is a public high school (grades 8–12) in the village of Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA, Town of Barnstable. It is the largest high school in Barnstable County on Cape Cod. It is divided into 5 "houses", described as "schools within a school".[2] In the 2010–2011 school year, it had 2,213 students in grades 8-12. The school's principal is Patrick Clark. Scott Pyy is the assistant principal.[2] The school is operated by the Barnstable Public School District.
The school was founded in the 19th century after several attempts of creating a public high school. The school was then moved to the High School Road location for about thirty years before being relocated to its present location in 1959. The school has also gone through three different renovations and building additions over the years, with the last one being completeted in 1998.
As a Division I school, Barnstable also has a talented sports program. The girls volleyball team have been state champions for the past six years, while the girls gymnastics team has also held recent state titles. The boys hockey and lacrosse teams have also made it into the playoffs many times, but they have yet to win a recent state title.
Barnstable also boasts superior arts and music departments. Many artists have even been chosen for their art works by the Boston Globe. The music department is also home to talented students who have propelled the department to many awards for excellence over the years. The Barnstable High School Drama Club have been the producers of many acclaimed plays and they also been on a webisode filmed by the Warner Brothers Corporation.
Barnstable is also one of the most diverse schools in Southeastern Massachusetts due to its large population of Cape Verdean, Brazilian, and Portuguese-American families in the community.
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The school itself has had a long and tumultuous history. The several attempts to establish a secondary school in town failed before the founding of the high school.[2] Among the failed schools were: Barnstable Academy 1837; Hyannis High School, 1837; and the Hyannis Seminary, 1849.[2] These schools were mostly run with private funds. There was the feeling though that these schools were insufficient and the was a consensus that a town funded high school should be established.[2] In 1871, it was voted that a high school would be established in West Barnstable and Centerville.[2] In 1872, it was voted that another one be established in Hyannis.[2] A struggle ensued among the three villages on who would get the school. Centerville soon dropped out and this led to a compromise being reached between the two villages.[2] It turned out that Hyannis started classes in 1873, maintaining the school until 1876.[2] Barnstable then oversaw the school from 1876–1879.[2] In 1879, the school moved permanently back to Hyannis.[2] As a result of these moves in location, the first graduating class occurred in 1883.[2] This was caused because when the school would move, the students from which the school was originally located would drop out and the students in the new location would join the school. The first class originally included two people, Miss Phoebee Crowell and Miss Nellie Coleman.[2] Class sizes grew slowly from there. In 1890, the class size was four.[2] The 1895, eleven; 1900, fourteen; 1905, fifteen; 1920, twenty-two.[2] From 1920 on, the classes grew steadily until the first class of over 100, the class of 1949 was graduated.[2]
The school never really had a permanent location until 1905, when a building was erected at the present site of Pope John Paul II High School.[2] In 1930, the building was rebuilt.[2] The building was renovated in 1939, due to the increase of students.[2] Unfortunately, the building was already three stories tall in the 1950s and there was very little room with which the building could use for expansion.[2] This also was complicated by a lack of room for athletic fields, which included McKeon Field and a football/soccer field. It was decided that a new school should be built using land willed to the town by Enoch Cobb.
The modern high school building was built from 1956–1957.[2] On September 5, 1957, the new building was officially opened. The original layout included the modern 1200s, 1300s, 1400s, and 1500s.
The original layout lacked the present library and cafeteria, which were added later on.[3] The original library was located near the entrance to the modern library.[3] A unique feature of the building were the two cafeterias.[3] One cafeteria was located near on the site of the weight room and athletic office, and the kitchen was also located on the site of the present weight room.[3] The field house was also absent in the original layout.[3]
Originally, the high school hosted a vocational high school in the modern lower 1200s.[2] The basement of the original building also was built as a bomb shelter, not unusual during the Cold War.[2]
Interestingly, the completion of the school did not mean an end to the usage of the old building's facilities.[3] When the school was completed, it lacked athletic fields, which were still under construction.[3] For at least the first year, sporting events were forced to be held at the old building.[3]
In 1963, the modern 1600s wing was added.[2] The school underwent a renovation in 1976, which added the field house, cafeteria, library and some classrooms nearby.[2] In 1975, the vocational high school closed because of the opening of Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich. The wing was then turned into the art wing for the school. Mechanical drawing was one of the classes offered in the old shop wing.[3]
In 1998, the wing that was part of the old vocational high school was demolished so that new classrooms could be added in place of the shop rooms. The new renovation also added the Performing Arts Center, the 1100s, lower 1200s, 1700s, 2200s and 2700s.[2]
The renovations also added a new overhang in the busport area, the original one literally falling on the heads of students. After the renovation, the main office and administration rooms were moved to its present location, the old ones being located at the present child development room locations.
Originally the school was renovated with the installation of central air in mind. This was unable to be completed because the air ducts were improperly installed. It does not help that the school also was renovated to include small windows because of the anticipation of central air.
Today, Barnstable High School is a diverse school with over 20 different spoken languages. The school is notable for its many clubs and community outreach programs. The school has also played host to the 7th and 8th grades at the time that Barnstable Middle School at Hyannis was being renovated.
With declining enrollment in the system, it was announced in 2009 that the 8th grade would be moved into the building permantly. The students would then be grouped in a 8th–9th grade academy. This raised concerns among parents about the safety of students. Although some students and teachers are optimistic of the merger of the 8th grade into the school for the coming school year, many remain wary because they question the idea of bringing middle school students into the high school.
In September, 2008, students were invited to send a Youtube message to Governor Deval Patrick. Twelve students took up this offer, and one student was sent a video reply back.[4] The student, Carlos Rodriguez-Russo, was one of three in the state to be responded to in this way.[4] The student was even featured on a local newscast because of his concern for the arts.[4]
Barnstable High School sports teams are known as the Red Raiders (using a logo similar to the University of Utah), a name they share with, most notably, Texas Tech University.
W. Leo Shields Memorial Field is the sports field on the campus of Barnstable High School. On November 25 the Red Raider football team played its first game on newly installed FieldTurf, beating the Falmouth Clippers 46-14. Previously the field had been natural grass and Barnstable is the first school on Cape Cod to have Field Turf installed. Renovations also included new field goal posts. It was also home to the Cape Cod Crusaders of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL).
The Barnstable High School girls volleyball team has won 13 Division One State Championships in the past 15 years, including the past 6 State Championships.[5]
The team holds the state volleyball record for the most consecutive victories.[6]
The team also holds the state volleyball record for the most consecutive victories.[7] The team's 110-game winning streak came to a halt on October 6, 2007, when the team played Brentwood, California and lost.
Recent graduates include four Boston Globe and Boston Herald All Scholastics: Genny Moore, Katelyn Morin, Liz Auger, and Carly Newton (who was also named Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year and Prepvolley.com All American).
The girls tennis program has fared very well in recent years. In the 2006 spring tennis season, the entire team went undefeated in the regular season and team captain Lauren Donnelly (her 2nd consecutive championship) and her partner Kortney Kelly won the South Sectional doubles championship, also earning recognition as Boston Globe All-Scholastic Team winners. That year the Red Raiders won the team South Sectional championship. During the past year of 2011 season for the girls team coach Headly Smith ( who has been coaching tennis at barnstable for fourteen years now) was an amazing help for the girls undefeated season in there division one league. Also 6 of the 7 girls on varsity were all-stars. '
The boys soccer team is coached by Foster Cass, who has over 6000 career wins. Although they have been unstoppable many years, they have been unable to bring home a championship win.
Barnstable also has traditionally strong baseball and hockey programs. Notable rivals of the Red Raiders are the Sandwich Blue Knights and the Falmouth Clippers.
Barnstable has played Falmouth in football on Thanksgiving Day nearly every year since 1895, making the annual game one of the longest-standing high school football rivalries in history. In 2007, the Red Raiders beat Falmouth 19–12 which evens the overall record in the rivalry at 56–56–8.[8]
The music department is renowned in town because of its many accomplishments. The choral program, led by Myrcia Wytral has won many trophies at MICCA and FiestaVal competitions. The string program, led by Jung Chen, has also won a few trophies over the years. The current teachers of the High School Music Department are Myrcia Wytral (Chorus), Casey Machado (Percussion Director/ Assistant Band Director), Andrew Vince (Strings Director), and Jayson Newell (Band Director/ Music Department Head).
The Barnstable High School Red Raider Marching Band is known for its achievements on and off the field. The band Division 2 winner in MICCA from 2006 to 2009 (four years in a row). In 2010 the band will be competing in Division 1 of MICCA due to changes in the number of members in the band.
Throughout the fall and leading into the spring, the Marching Band frequently performs at various venues, including football games, holidays, and community events. Various trips are performed throughout the year, including a bi-yearly appearance at Fiestaval.
The Red Raiders primarily march in the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association circuit, often referred to as MICCA. Other appearances occur at the NESBA and USSBA marching shows around the state. The Winter Percussion unit, an offshoot of the marching band season, compete in Winter Guard International championships on a bi-yearly basis. In April 2009 (their most recent appearance at WGI) the Winter Percussion Ensemble almost made it into the semifinal round achieving their best performance ever at WGI. The winter percussion was the 2004 Class A NESBA Champions. The Winter Guard has won Class Championships in 2000, 2001 & 2004.
In the late 1990s, the school received a major renovation and expansion.[2] This project included the construction of the Barnstable High School Performing Arts Center, which also serves as the home stage for the Barnstable High School Drama Club, music department concerts, and Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra.[2] The Performing Arts Center has a capacity of 1,440 people and has hosted a number of events, including large cast musicals that the Drama Club has performed. It also hosts musical performances such as the All Cape and Southeast District music festivals. In 2008, after a nationwide search the BHS Drama Club was selected by Warner Brothers to produce The Wizard of Oz.[9] Over 360 hours of auditions, rehearsals, classroom lessons and free time was recorded by Warner Bros. Company for webisodes of a real high school musical from start to finish called "High Drama, Against all OZ" to be shown on theWb.com in September 2008 and sold on iTunes as a four part television series.
Starting with the 2006–07 school year, all staff members at Barnstable High School were given new Lenovo R60 laptop computers running Windows XP Professional. Most class rooms now have SMARTBoards. The school also uses the Moodle Course Management System and the SchoolDude online work order distribution program. Starting with the 2009-10 school year, the Barnstable High School ordered a multitude of new iMacs for use in its television production studios, which broadcast locally on local Public-access television cable TV channel 22. Along with the upgrade of the production studio come over 20 new Canon 1080 HD camcorders along with Manfrotto tripods,studio and portable lighting kits, and shotgun, lapel, and wireless (UHF) microphones to be used both in the studio and out in the field.
The High School also features a technology help desk, where students are given the opportunity to learn about the repair and maintenance of school computer and information technology systems. In the 2009-10 school year, a multitude of new 21st century multimedia courses were introduced. One of the primary goals of these courses is to video, edit, and produce content to be shown on Barnstable local access channel 22.
In recent years, the high school has been home to the annual convention of the Massachusetts Junior Classical League. This also coincides with the creation of a chapter at the school. Barnstable was also one of only 13 public schools in the nation that taught Greek until it was canceled for the 2009–2010 school year.
The school is also home to over twenty clubs. In the 2008–2009 school year, a series of new clubs were created. One of these was a chapter of the Model United Nations. The Astronomy, Drama, Film and Broadcasting, Key, Photography, Student Council, and Young Democrats/Republicans clubs are among the most popular among students. In 2011, it hosted the annual Massachusetts Junior Classical League State Convention.
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